Napoleonics
To have a go at really big battles, you need lots of figures, or a high figure-to-man ratio. I prefer the look of loads of figures. So, how to do it cheaply? One of the best options is to choose a small scale, such as 6mm or 1:300/1:285 scale. An average height bloke will be a smidgin under 6mm for 1:300 scale and a bit over for 1:285. 1:300 is an American preference, while 1:285 is, apparently an old "NATO" standard - you can Google the details if you really want to know...
I looked at some websites that use paper figures, and one that used matchsticks for the figures, I decided I still wanted a bit of 3Dness to my figures. I saw that the humble cocktail-stick/toothpick is about 75mm long and 1.75mm wide. Even though the stick is over 7mm long, it has pointy ends, which aren't that useful. Allowing for these gives about 60mm of usable stick. Now, that gives ten 6mm figures. So, by default we're going for the 1:300 American 6mm. They're also about the right width for scaled down Mr Average as well.
Here’s the first couple of “platoons” for the 1808 Österbotten Regimente:
The hats look more like the pre-1800 tricorns - I had neglected to smooth off the tops. Also, the first base is green - I just painted it up, then realised that Siikajoki was in April. The next base was appropriately white.
I have been experimenting with adding detail to other figures - In the end photo, you see an uncut cocktail-stick with the top two figures with arms. The base at the back has the back row of figures - I have smoothed the edges of the heads and added blobs of glue for the hats. But I get about five or ten minutes here and there. The idea isn’t to be quick & easy, well, not difficult either, but mainly cheap! And fun, as I like the making of them as much as the gaming.
I’m aiming for one base (20 “figures”) per platoon, so there with be ten per battalion.
For the battle of Siikajoki, I will need about fifteen battalions worth for the Finns and about twenty for the Russians. Better get cracking them…