We used Featherstone's rules with all units being 20 figs, preferably of the same pose, preferably not too silly. This was a bit tricky given some of the French poses for their Waterloo infantry.

We thought we were the bees' knees when Paul bought a unit of metal Brunswickers from a 6th former in the school wargames scoiety. Very reluctant to take casualties, that unit, and spent most of its time looking on in disdain as its plastic relatives got stuck in. Very, very shiny uniforms I recall.

Remember that chap in the ridiculous bent knees pose, looking as if a passing horse had kicked him between wind and wave?

Yes; two of them in a box IIRC, so for us 9 boxes to make a unit of gonadally challenged line infantry. Elite or effete? 

My favourite was the guy at march attack with only one foot on the base.  Four in a pack so a Featherstone French unit was a little more economically viable for schoolkids, if you could find a shop that sold them of course.

And the infuriating practice of wasting one of the small number of mounted on a figure waving a sabre from behind a fallen horse!

No wonder I'm never tempted to revisit Napoleonics!

It's only thanks to 10mm that I've decided to revisit the period in a pathetic attempt to recapture the fun of those Saturday afternoons before the wrestling started on ITV and all thoughts of freeing the Peninsula vanished from our heads.

Quote from: Malbork on 30 January 2013, 10:54:10 AM
We used Featherstone's rules with all units being 20 figs, preferably of the same pose, preferably not too silly. This was a bit tricky given some of the French poses for their Waterloo infantry.

You must have been using the same rules as we were. I have a feeling they were the old London Wargames Section set, adapted by DF. Figures were always two to a 1" square base, but mounted diagonally to pad out the unit. When metal figures did appear they were mainly pirated Minifigs (You didn't hear that from me!).

You might be right about the rules.  I think ours came from the DF book Wargames or The Wargame - the one with the three simple sets for ancients, H&M and modern plus the (for their time) sophisticated Lionel Tarr rules for the Eastern Front.

We had great fun, enjoyed the games and didn't give two hoots about whether this type of musket ball flew faster than that one or whether we should only have one battery per 9 regiments. All our 20 units were regiments, we'd never heard of battalions etc then 

QuoteRemember that chap in the ridiculous bent knees pose, looking as if a passing horse had kicked him between wind and wave?

French bloke? I think he was supposed to be carrying a cannon ball.

Quote from: Last Hussar on 31 January 2013, 08:57:21 PM
French bloke? I think he was supposed to be carrying a cannon ball.

Wasn't there a separate French artillery set? I think the one FK means had a musket across what sixties rugby commentators always referred to a the "lower abdomen". Definitely sculpted for ease of moulding. 

You're right HB; Cannonball boy was in the French artillery set.

Quote from: FierceKitty on 30 January 2013, 10:21:31 AM
I wonder whether standards have climbed more in rules or in figures?

Figures win that one hands down i think.

Rules remain hit and miss at best, and the modern lot being chucked out at £25-35 a pop for 14 pages of poorly tested rehashed 'game' rules padded by 200 pages of glossy waffle can in no way be called a 'climb in standards'.

Figures on the other hand...well, some are miniature works of art nowadays.

Iim a bit late to this thread. But Yep I'm afraid if you don't play 28mm you tend not to be taken serious as a collector or gamer by those producing the big rules sets. Lets be honest had Warhammer historical taken up Rick Priestlys offer of Warmaster II. Hail Caesar  would be full of 10mm but alas they said "no Thanks and Warlord said "yep"...... just a rumour. I was asked by the two chaps who wrote and produced Deus Vult for Foreforge for some of my 10mm Crusade/Arab armies as they where wanting it to be used for other scales as well as 28's if need be but as per us players of the One True Scale where put aside. as for Pike and Shotte in 10mm it looks better than 28mm. Each to their own.. but they are wrong

[quote author=Bishop Lord link=topic=6820.msg69
if need be but as per us players of the One True Scale where put aside. as for Pike and Shotte in 10mm it looks better than 28mm. Each to their own.. but they are wrong
[/quote]

Hear hear!

Said it before (so you are probably bored of me by now), ignore what the rules writers think they wrote for and go with 10mm.  Some rules I put more 10's on 28's bases, others I just use cm instead of inches.  The only time I use 20mm+ figures is for the real low level stuff - TW&T, Dux Brittanicum, etc.  Even for IABSM, which is 1 fig = 1 man, we used 1 base (3 figures) = 1/2 section, and use diceto mark casualties, because moving 10 sections of 8 men would take too long!

Why you'd do BP, F&F etc with anything larger than 10mm is beyond me