Saturday, December 8, 2012

AWI Loyalists (?)

It's winter in North Idaho, which means I cannot prime figures very easily.  Usually I set aside a warm day in October to spray a few hundred figures, and that sees me through the cold months.  This year I simply forgot.

So instead of finishing projects, I will have to go back and revisit some old ones.  I do have a few hundred odd figures that got primed and then, for whatever reason, set aside.



Like these 150 AWI figures, all first edition Old Glory, all march attack Continentals.  I had primed these about three years ago, ready to paint them once my buddy had finished his British Army.  Of course, he never did get those Brits done, and these Continentals have been sitting on a shelf since then.

I have a few ideas for these guys.

  • Idea One: stick to the original plan, paint these guys as six regiments of Continentals for my British Grenadier American army.  Of course, I have no opponents for my American army, so it makes little sense to make it still bigger.
  • Idea Two: paint these as six regiments of loyalists for my British Grenadier British army.  Although they are in various states of undress, I could simply paint the trousers in different colors, paint the coats red, go with a variety of facings, give them generic British flags, and call them loyalists.  They could then double as British troops as necessary, depending on how particular my friends are.
  • Idea Three: paint these as a mix of Continentals and loyalists, base them individually, and use them for Sharp Practice AWI.  I have both scenario books set in the south, and these figures would allow me to field both sides for any scenario.

I'm really torn between these three.  I have all the GMB flags ready to go for option one.  These figures are in a mix of headgear, pants, and equipment, so they seem to me a good fit for Continentals.

The second option is tempting, as I could start playing some AWI games right away.  I have other figures I would rather use for British, but these will do in a pinch.  The problems I see are that I have no idea what uniforms the loyalists would have worn.  I assume they would have tried to present as British an appearance as possible, but that they would not have been high on any British supply officers priorities.  I also do not know what colors they may have carried in the field.

The third option combines the strengths and weaknesses of the other two.

It's a dilemma.  Or rather a trilemma.


5 comments:

  1. If your asking for a suggestions then go for option one. By the time your finished with these guys the weather will have warmed up some and you'll be ready to do some real British.

    Christopher

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  2. I would be done with these guys in a couple of weeks, I think. I was just going to do a basic paintjob.

    I figure winter will last into April or May. It usually does.

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  3. Ahh yes, I do forget your rather quick with a brush!:-)

    I suppose do the one that appeals to you just a little bit more then the others.

    Christopher

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  4. No waffling, sir! Stick with the original plan. Enlist your friends to field the British.

    I have six regiments of Germans and one British regiment painted and could be easily talked into painting a few more British regiments. Kevin would likely tackle some British as well.

    How many British regiments do you want?

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  5. Early in the war the Loyalist regiments wore green coats. After about 1778, they switch to regular British red coats with a few exceptions (Queens Rangers and Johnson's Loyal Americans retained their green coats).

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