Back of Beyond collection choices?

[Lord Raglan]

Evening all,

Given the lack of OBs for the back of beyond period, just wondering how people went about their collection choices?

Being a obsessive collector, I have British, Red Russians, White Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Mongols and Tibetans, but apart from the British, I randomly based my choices on the miniatures I liked and what I thought was fitting for the faction i.e. hordes of infantry for the Reds or cavalry heavy for the Whites etc.

For the British, I focused on developing a small elite force consisting of the following:

4 x British officers
3 x 8 man British infantry sections
3 x 10 man Gurkha infantry section
1 x 10 man Sikh infantry section
2 x British HMG teams
3 x 18 pdr artillery gun with 6 crew
1 x 9 Indian lancer cavalry troop
1 x Austin armoured car
1 x Sopwith Camel

I welcome your reflections?

Cheers,
Gareth

[Johnno]

At one time I went through the " Setting The East Ablaze" rulebook and campaign book. I tallied the max. number of listed troops needed for any scenario.
I have started acquiring figures based on those numbers.

Also, I have this grandiose game plan in mind so I'm building up core troops for each faction and can use other nationalities as stand ins for others.

I have largish (60-100 figures) Whites and Reds, Chinese and Bohkaran forces now.
EDIT: My Reds have now grown further with a successful EBay purchase of 21 painted Siberians.
Smaller (25-30) German Freikorps now with plans for Poles, Czechs, Greens, Austrians and Ukrainians.

[FramFramson]

At one time I went through the " Setting The East Ablaze" rulebook and campaign book. I tallied the max. number of listed troops needed for any scenario.
I have started acquiring figures based on those numbers.

Also, I have this grandiose game plan in mind so I'm building up core troops for each faction and can use other nationalities as stand ins for others.

I have largish (60-100 figures) Whites and Reds, Chinese and Bohkaran forces now.
Smaller (25-30) German Freikorps now with plans for Poles, Czechs, Greens, Austrians and Ukrainians.

What are you using for your Freikorps? And are you planning on using Studio Siberia Poles, or a different line?

[Byblos]

Hi Raglan !

There is ORBAT for MallMiss and DunsterForce , it's a solid base for your choice of minies !

[Sir Rodney Ffing]

I decided I wouldn't be content if I didn't have flexibility to cover as much as possible from Baku and Dushak to Sinkiang and Mongolia, and that megalomaniac dream determined my initial choices.

So, I went for a bit of (mostly) everything with starter forces (5 infantry and 2 cavalry plus artillery and MGs) for Reds, Whites/Mad Baron and Chinese, and a smaller British/Indian set up (3 infantry plus MGs).  However, I couldn't resist adding some adventurers, Russian partizans and Chinese bandits, making the first order quite large.  Thankfully I had help with painting it all, and have added more, more, more every time I get close to finishing 

No Turks yet for Baku, and I haven't decided what to do about Bokharans and Basmachis as I was hoping Mr Copplestone could be persuaded to revisit the range and fill in the gaps.  Sadly, that isn't going to happen, so I will have to compromise a bit and choose another manufacturer.

[Johnno]

What are you using for your Freikorps? And are you planning on using Studio Siberia Poles, or a different line?

I have Great War Miniatures WW1 German Army 1916-1918 figures.

For Poles I'm thinking of using Brigade Games Shock Troops, or Harlem Hellfighters. Want my Poles to be helmeted for some reason. Maybe based on an Osprey cover

And I want to like Studio Siberia miniatures but I dont. Just my own taste really.

[Johnno]

No Turks yet for Baku, and I haven't decided what to do about Bokharans and Basmachis as I was hoping Mr Copplestone could be persuaded to revisit the range and fill in the gaps.  Sadly, that isn't going to happen, so I will have to compromise a bit and choose another manufacturer.

My Turks do double duty as Turks and trained Bohkarans.
Some Artisan Arabs are organized militia,  Artizan Sharifans are either trained troops or elites depending on the inclusion of my Turks.
Foundry basmachis are my less organized militia.
Artizan 2nd Afghan War Herati will be Beast of Bohkara's ceremonial guard.

[Sir Rodney Ffing]

Hey Johnno, thanks very much for the suggestions. 

I've not looked at Artizan before and don't think I have even a single figure from them in any of my collections. How do they compare size wise to Copplestone? (my last mix and match attempt used Brigade for Austrian PoWs and Indian cavalry, but although they are lovely figures, the size difference bothered me  )

[Nogbad]

Artizan are pretty good match for Copplestone, both have that same chunkiness. Also look at Studio Siberia for Basmachis, as they are exactly the same size as Copplestone. Their figures have less definition for painting but the poses are imaginative and their horses are superb

[Lord Raglan]

Thanks for the response boys, I'd imagined a rather mixed approach to people's choice. The Setting the East Ablaze scenario book is a great resource, so I was pleased to hear that Steve is gearing up to releasing another book.

I also have some Austro Hungarian POWs in the pipeline, following a purchase of 40 WWI Germans from eBay for 30 quid, these miniatures are from Renegade and mix well with Copplestone.

Byblos: thanks for the heads up on those orbats

Gareth

[FramFramson]

Personally I find Artizan's figure to be a bit on the small side as compared to Copplestone (though not so far off as to be completely incompatible), but YMMV.

[Ignatieff]

And hot on the heels of Bob Giglio's Opus on Dunsterforce, I've started the (purposeful) planning of the third book: 'The God of War, the life and times of Baron Von Ungern Sternberg, 1914-21'.  Will cover his full military career from Tannenberg to the final act.  That will have army lists for not only his armies and those of his opponents, but also of Semenov's majestically degenerate White army in Siberia, complete with armoured trains, brothel trains and torture trains.  Basically lots of trains.

[Lord Raglan]

And hot on the heels of Bob Giglio's Opus on Dunsterforce, I've started the (purposeful) planning of the third book: 'The God of War, the life and times of Baron Von Ungern Sternberg, 1914-21'.  Will cover his full military career from Tannenberg to the final act.  That will have army lists for not only his armies and those of his opponents, but also of Semenov's majestically degenerate White army in Siberia, complete with armoured trains, brothel trains and torture trains.  Basically lots of trains.

You got my attention once you mentioned brothel trains 

Any up-date on the Dunsterforce release date Steve?

[Byblos]

Any up-date on the Dunsterforce release date Steve?

yes excellent question 

[ecwcaptain]

Update on Dunsterforce:

The edits for the layout are complete, and the book should be going to the printers either the end of this week, or Monday next.
Once I have details about delivery, then I'll update things on various forums.

The book is 160-pages, full-color, containing 16 scenarios, appendices, etc. I cut/pasted the backcover verbiage from the book, below, to give everyone the details.

Regards,
Bob Giglio

--

THE MINIATURE ADVENTURES OF DUNSTERFORCE, 1918

A Scenario Book for World War One in Northern Persia and the Caucasus

For the Setting the East Ablaze! Rules, and easily adaptable for other rules sets
 
In 1918, the last year of World War One (WWI), the British dispatched a military mission into Northern Persia. The mission’s overall aim was to protect British interests in the region and prevent Turkish or German expansion to the Caspian Sea, part of a larger operation to prevent a threat to India from Persia or Afghanistan. Its leader was the charismatic Major-General Lionel Charles Dunsterville. Its members were selected for their specialties from all over the British Empire, drawn from fronts in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Western Europe. This mission became known as “Dunsterforce”.

Are you looking for …
•   Tabletop wargaming scenarios in an overlooked WWI theater in the Back of Beyond?
•   Involving a myriad of units drawn from the Mesopotamian and Western Fronts?
•   Units accompanied by armored cars and airplanes?
•   Battles that may be more exciting than the attritional warfare of Flanders or Gallipoli?
•   Battles more akin to the mobile actions fought in Mesopotamia or East Africa?
•   Battles fought out in some of the most desolate and difficult terrain of the whole war?

Then this book is for you.

It includes:
•   A brief history of Dunsterforce
•   16 scenarios for miniature tabletop battles, from small-unit skirmishes to large-scale actions
•   Complete with historical background, game notes, objectives, and army lists
•   Maps and notes for ease of set-up of the tabletop terrain required
•   Appendices covering Dunsterforce, Ottoman Caucasus−Islam forces, special rules, figures required, and more

There has never been a scenario book for wargamers that covers Dunsterforce in such detail … until now.