The Sharp Practice rules by the Too Far Lardies focus on the actions and impact of key leaders, referred to as Big Men. These are the officers and NCOs who take command in the heat of action and who are given personalities to add flavour and narrative to the games.
For Saturday’s upcoming game at Goat Major’s we are using a variety of figures to meet the requirements of the scenario. Most are in 18th century attire, but some are from a slightly later period. We’re not bothered, as it’s the game that’s going to be most important. One contingent I am providing is 40 ‘light infantry’ who will be on single bases to allow them to adopt skirmish order. For these I’m using my ‘post-Napoleonic to mid-19th century’ Medetians, in their distinctive Tyrolean hats (Victrix plastic Old Guard Chasseurs with Perry plastic Austrian heads). This meant that I needed a few ‘Big Men’ to lead them, something I had been meaning to get round to..
So, this week I have been busy painting these guys. They are on bigger bases than the rank and file (25mm vs 20mm) to help them stand out. Although I really only needed 4 for Saturday, I’ve managed to do 9 (4 officers and 5 sergeants) so I’ll have a variety to choose from for future games. I have a couple of Jager Big Men and a couple of mounted officers still to do which I’ll get round to sometime.
Here they are, Perry figures bar 2 from Front Rank. There are a couple of conversions; the officer waving the newly-added RSM sword and the one with 2 pistols, both of whom were originally pointing or designed to hold standards. They’ve also had head swaps. Hopefully they’ll make a decent showing in their first outing!
Officers:
Sergeants:
