Just something which occurred to me when considering the various bids for new figures. Is there an irreducible minimum that every range needs to contain? Now obviously some basic infantry, cavalry and artillery types are required, but does a range need personality and casualty figures? My feeling is that it does, or that at least it needs to include reference to where suitable figures reside in the rest of  the range. So many rules now require markers for stress, disorder or suchlike, that casualty figures seem a necessity . Equally, every army needs a commander. Any other universal requirements?

Mollinary

I likes engineers. There are always bridges to be destroyed, or bridges to be repaired, or a dozen other engineering tasks.

Personality, not really, but then again, I tend to game at the company/brigade level rather than division/army level. I have very little use for a Napoleon or a Caesar.

It's also funny how the ineducable minimum includes the exotic. A French Armee of Napoleon without Mamelukes? Unthinkable! An ACW range without Zouaves? Foolishness! A late mid-Earth South Dwarf army without Boar Valkyries (sidesaddle)? Disgusting! Yet these units were relatively small in number.

I'm also a big fan or baggage of whatever description, and civilians. They add colour and make for objectives in some scenarios. 

I don't have any Zoauves.  Well I might, but I'm buggered if I'm painting stripy trousers in 10mm

As has been said, line infantry, line cavalry, line horse and foot artillery as appropriate. Command figures for both infantry (with the right number of standard bearers for a battalion) and cavalry.  General officers and ADCs, ammunition caissons and baggage waggons.  That would do for me. 

Agree with SV52, but I like the odd 'unusual' units as they break the monotony of another 300+ dark blue figures.

Depends on what the range is surely?

Some things can be adequately covered with two or three figures. Others need more than that for a single unit.

Personally I don't feel the need for casualty figures nor, by and large, for limbers, caissons and baggage wagons.

I'm happy to use generic officer types for personalities so don't see them as essential.

Not saying I would never use these things but they're not on my "must have" list.

There again, I'm the product of the era where producing almost every troop type required a scalpel, some pins, plasticene and banana oil so I'm happy with something all the players can recognise. Can't be arsed with "Oooh the straps are wrong!" or "They didn't use that style of spade until nineteen canteen!"

Now, about that Goliath and the Soviet tracked artillery ....

My own personal hobby-horse is the provision of the correct teams and limbers for the various artillery contingents.

For the horse-and-musket era there needs to be a distinct hierarchy of figures that should be adhered to strictly, viz.

line infantry,
line cavalry,
line artillery (including teams),
guards or elite troops,
generals and mounted officers 
other foot or horse in popular but non-standard units,
engineers, signal troops or other specialists
wagons, caissons and other behind-the-lines vehicles
dead, wounded or other markers
odds and sods - including bands, first-aiders, generals' doxies, and anything else that doesn't shoot, lunge, twang, whirl or cut.

Obviously, the list would vary for the other eras, but the principle should be the same - commonest first, trivia last and finish any category before starting the next.

In fairness, I believe Pendraken keeps roughly to this sort of schedule, subject to commercial pressures, but there are a few odd omissions down the ranges. 



     

 

Pretty range dependent, but I agree with the most mentioned below -

Infantry & Cavalry (Line, or any other "common type" - if it's likely to be there and can't be "paint" or easily converted from somewhere else, you needs it)
Artillery (assuming it's a period with arty; not so vital for say Gauls, pretty darn important for Nappies...)
Command (preferably a "general" type thing, which I often use personality figures for, as well as "line" command - commander, standard bearer (s), musician. Naked slave girls, dancing bears, tea party optional)

Less fussed about wounded/casualties - we tend to use markers anyway these days, as they're quite generic without looking rubbish. That sort of thing is a "nice to have" but by no means vital IMO.

Vehicles - tricky. Mostly if you want a (for example) WW2 Western Allies, then - Sherman with a short gun, Sherman with a long gun, jeeps, BGCs, M3/5 half track, 6 pdr/57mm and a 17pdr ATG. But - then there's the Cromwell, and the Churchill (in several variants - gun tank, flamethrower, AVRE etc), and possibly several slightly different types of Sherman and some very different which for more than the odd game as a "sub" I'd consider shading into essential...

Engineers are often very useful as suggested. Not always vital, esp. pre-WW2 (IMO) but certainly anytime you get wire and mines and ditches and bridges and flamethrowers and...

But as a minimum - commonly encountered infantry, cavalry, arty, command (line and higher).

Greetings

Assuming, for the moment, horse and musket types, in order of priority:

Line infantry with command (may be more than one type eg musketeer, fusilier)
Line artillery with crew in most common calibre for brigade/division artillery (limber can wait unless no short term options)
Light infantry with command
Mounted officer(s) suitable as brigade etc commander
One or more cavalry types usually attached to a division/corps e.g. Chasseurs/Hussars possibly dragoons
Battle cavalry e.g. Cuirassiers, Lancers
Horse artillery [if common]
Line artillery - heavier calibres
Line/horse artillery limber
Corps commander
Personalities [optional]
Casualties [may be generic]
2nd line/reserve units [if important]
Guard infantry [if important or different]
Guard cavalry [if important or different]
Guard artillery [if important or different]
Engineers [can usually be dealt with by generic figure for most of era]
One-off units [optional]
Variant uniforms [optional]

Regards

Edward

I notice a horse and musket theme emerging; perhaps for this era there should be a set of "common figures" e.g transports, casualties etc.

For ancients and medieval; core troops (spear, shooters, skirmisher, light cavalry, heavy cavalry) plus a few elites for main armies plus common packs that have re-use.

Modern and WW2 ... such a huge diversity it'll never keep people happy but infantry, support, vehicles, AFVs, arty, support weapons (AT, Mortars etc) are all needed. Horse and carts are one of the most important components needed that is always left out ...

Pendraken pretty much has most of all areas covered and if you observe the "I want requests" they seem to be looking for the rare and uncommon stuff.

So in short I have nothing useful to add 

Quote from: Last Hussar on 13 October 2014, 07:28:54 PM
I don't have any Zoauves.  Well I might, but I'm buggered if I'm painting stripy trousers in 10mm

Come on! I can manage it in 6mm and it is only one unit in an Eastern Confederate army. Also, don't understand why someone feels the need to decry personality figures just because they don't use them. Hundreds of other gamers do. In other words a range should be as complete as possible or else why bother. Bits of ranges are a pain for collectors. It's one reason that I don't understand the lack of a 6lb gun in the otherwise complete  ACW range.

Quote from: Dour Puritan on 14 October 2014, 11:25:21 AM
Also, don't understand why someone feels the need to decry personality figures just because they don't use them.

In my case I'd say they're just chrome. I'd sooner a manufacturer concentrated on the "teeth." To use your own example, I'd sooner see an ACW 6lb gun than models of Lee, Grant and co.

If a manufacturer can do both then brilliant but if it's a question of priorities lets have troops before toffs

We play most games at a scale and with rules that encourage the use of "higher command", although that varies from showing the CinC on a base on his own with ADCs, Battalia/Division or Regt./Brigade HQ etc to having one of the troop bases with some of the "normal" figures replaced with "command" type figures to show they include the general/whatever. If said command figures aren't available it's a pain. I'm not wedded to demanding "personalities" as such, but do want "proper" command type figures as they look nice - if they happen to be specific individuals all the better, and presumably no worse to sculpt the look of someone specific as doing a same quality generic person?

Quote from: Last Hussar on 13 October 2014, 07:28:54 PM
I don't have any Zoauves.  Well I might, but I'm buggered if I'm painting stripy trousers in 10mm

Draw them. It can be done.

As a medical man I'm always keen to see figures generic enough to become the dressing station staff. Yeah its eye candy, but many rules now have vignettes for lines of command and protected camps etc.

They also make good objective markers.

I'm about as good at kitbashing as I am at not spending money on miniatures so I'd rather things were available to buy out of the packet so I dont have to waste too much time on thinking.....