What new ranges of figures would gamers like to see?

[sir_shvantselot]

Boers.

[misterdirector1]

You mentioned sailors, how about American sailors and Marines for Barbary Pirate Wars?

You can get the pirates a couple of places but I've yet to find the Americans to face them.

[Mad Guru]

I second Carlos' vote for Burmese.  The 19th Century featured 3 Anglo-Burmese wars -- 1824-26, 1852-53, 1885.  The Burmese forces are visually super cool, include both irregular and regular troops, and employed some interesting tactics.  Like Carlos says, I'm pretty sure there has only ever been one range in 28mm, and for years it's been virtually impossible to buy.

I also second traveller's vote for 1870-1885 Colonial Russians, suitable for the Russia's wars of conquest in Central Asia and for the great "What If?" war between the Queen Empress and the Tsar somewhere between Khiva and Peshawar.

[huevans]

I second Carlos' vote for Burmese.  The 19th Century featured 3 Anglo-Burmese wars -- 1824-26, 1852-53, 1885.  The Burmese forces are visually super cool, include both irregular and regular troops, and employed some interesting tactics.  Like Carlos says, I'm pretty sure there has only ever been one range in 28mm, and for years it's been virtually impossible to buy.

I also second traveller's vote for 1870-1885 Colonial Russians, suitable for the Russia's wars of conquest in Central Asia and for the great "What If?" war between the Queen Empress and the Tsar somewhere between Khiva and Peshawar.

The Russians would probably grab my interest before the Burmese. But the Russians are challenging to research. In particular, I have tried to find what rifle-musket the Russians were equipped with in the late 1850's - early 1860's and have found it hard going.

The later period you mention is easier to research and I am a huge fan of Vereshchagin's art. But it's outside my zone of interest.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Civilians and armed civilians, women of all station.

[sultanbev]

"In particular, I have tried to find what rifle-musket the Russians were equipped with in the late 1850's - early 1860's and have found it hard going."

My incomplete notes for wargaming 19th century indicate the following Russian small arms:
.60” Vintovka RML (introduced 1857)
Karle Needle Gun (introduced 1867)
0.75" Model 1843 Luttich ML Rifle (Russia 1848 Brunswick copy made by Liege in Belgium)

This site seems to more detailed:
https://www.militaryrifles.com/russia/krnka

[carlos marighela]

There already exists a couple of ranges for 'Russian colonial'. Both Eureka and Tiger(?) do Russians for the Russo-Turkish War and if you paint the trousers as red leather you can use them for the 1873 Khivan campaign, the 1866 Bailkal Uprising and Central Asia generally in the 1870s. As they are wearing kepis with havelocks, you can probably stretch them on into the 1880s or 90s by adding a disk of milliput to the top and converting the kepis into peaked furashkas.

Steve Barber does a range of Russians for the Russo-Polish War of 1830 and these can be repurposed for the arguably more interesting conflicts against Persia and in the Caucasus in the early part of the century (think Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time). TBH as Russian uniforms changed little in the first three decades of the 19thC you could get away with very minor conversion work using a plastic Napoleonic Russian set.

Ranges that nobody has done and commercially viable are not the same thing, hence the numberless iterations of Imperial Romans, Normans and Napoleonic French ranges and the relative paucity of figures for say the Guerra das Laranjas. That said, as the Perry twins and several others have shown if you build it they will come. I would not have dreamt of a dedicated range for the War of the Triple Alliance/ Guerra do Paraguai a decade or so back.

Gap fillers for existing ranges is probably a sensible place to start if the project is to combine personal interest with a modicum of commercial success, ie enough to cover your costs. If it is a personal whim then I'd say go with what interests you. That's the whole point of a vanity range or private commission.

The only thing I would suggest if gap filling is that you will need to be fairly specific about which existing ranges you want the figures to be compatible with and choose or instruct your sculptor accordingly. No point doing exquisitely detailed and proportioned 32mm Grand Fenwickian Guards if the only existing range of friends or foes are 25mm Dixon turnip heads.

Choosing a period or army that nobody does is arguably a larger project but potentially offers more freedom. To this end there are a host of little wars nobody covers. My personal favourite would be the Burmese, Wars as noted above there are plenty of others.  The 1860 Abyssinian campaign for example. You could probably cobble together proxies from other ranges for the Abyssinians and maybe proxy 2nd Anglo China Wars figures for the British but nothing exists as a dedicated range.

Think outside the Anglosphere and things expand considerably. I'm not one for gaming genocidal campaigns but the Argentine colonial wars against the Mapuche, the so called Conquest of the Desert makes for a South American flavoured variant of the US Indian Wars. As an added bonus, you could use some of the Mapuche for other conflicts.

[huevans]

"In particular, I have tried to find what rifle-musket the Russians were equipped with in the late 1850's - early 1860's and have found it hard going."

My incomplete notes for wargaming 19th century indicate the following Russian small arms:
.60” Vintovka RML (introduced 1857)
Karle Needle Gun (introduced 1867)
0.75" Model 1843 Luttich ML Rifle (Russia 1848 Brunswick copy made by Liege in Belgium)

This site seems to more detailed:
https://www.militaryrifles.com/russia/krnka

I owe you a vodka!!

Do you have some links for uniform resources as well?

Less challenging, but one can never have enough sources for button-counting!!

The Russians are prime "bad guys" for all sorts of scenarios! (Or good guys, if you want!)

[sultanbev]

"Do you have some links for uniform resources as well?"
This site looks like it may be interesting for the first half of the century at least:

https://www.marksrussianmilitaryhistory.info/index.html#Russian

Askari miniatures have a painting guide for their colonial Russian range:
https://askari-minis.com/shop/painting-guides-accessories/painting-guides/russian-infantry-painting-guide/

[sultanbev]

Was I dreaming it, or are Wargames Atlantic producing a plastic Russian colonial box at some point? Or is someone due to release a 28mm metal range?

My first suggestion for a filler part for existing ranges would be EIC Sepoys, gunners and cavalry for the 1st Afghan War, including Shah Shuja's force if anyone knows what it looked like.

I do like the idea of a 19th century Burmese army (can be used for Napoleonics too, the Brits fought them in 1812ish), but don't forget the war elephants.

Another one would be Ashanti, another would be Bornu-Kanem.

What I really want is a 28mm plastics range for the Sikh Wars, including EIC troops.

[carlos marighela]

Castaway Arts in Queensland do an Ashanti range. Hausas and properly equipped Brits. They aren't exactly tp of the range sculpts but they ain't bad either.

[huevans]

"Do you have some links for uniform resources as well?"
This site looks like it may be interesting for the first half of the century at least:

https://www.marksrussianmilitaryhistory.info/index.html#Russian

Askari miniatures have a painting guide for their colonial Russian range:
https://askari-minis.com/shop/painting-guides-accessories/painting-guides/russian-infantry-painting-guide/

Cheers!
Among other goodies, I found a niche article about Colt revolver knock-offs and their issuance to boarding parties in the Imperial Navy. Prime stuff for a skirmish / RPG enthusiast like me!!!

[MaleGriffin]

I would love to see a line of figures representing colonial sailors and marines from all the powers. Not just for colonial campaigns, but also for Victorian Science Fiction.
Generic sailors would be a welcome addition as well. Many would be usable for the late 18th century through some early pulp, especially with a wide variety of weapons and headgear!

[huevans]

I would love to see a line of figures representing colonial sailors and marines from all the powers. Not just for colonial campaigns, but also for Victorian Science Fiction.
Generic sailors would be a welcome addition as well. Many would be usable for the late 18th century through some early pulp, especially with a wide variety of weapons and headgear!

Are you more interested in landing parties with rifles, boarding parties with pistols and cutlasses or crew working on the ship?

[MaleGriffin]

Ultimately, I'd like both, but there are miniature lines with armed sailors. Perry is a great example. But getting a generic crew, I've come up dry. In a perfect world, modular 3d files with separate heads and arms. Weapons could range from flintlocks to BARs, from bare-handed to knives, cutlasses, and boarding pikes. I have aeronefs with crew manning pedestal-mounted guns while holding their own rifles. Even if you cut the rifle away, the poses are very limited.