New Products: Hessian Fusiliers and Continentals in Round Hats

 

Continentals in Hunting Shirts and Round Hats

We are happy to announce the addition of 14 new packs of figures for the Fife and Drum Miniatures American Revolution (AWI) range. There are 8 new packs of Continentals wearing round hats with some wearing uniform coats and some wearing hunting shirts.

There are also 6 new packs of Hessian Fusiliers wearing miter hats. These arrived just in time for me to paint a regiment for my Battle of Trenton game at this year's Historicon convention (July 15 - 19, 2026).

Here are the links to the Fife and Drum webstore where you can take a look at the new figures, and dare I say, order a few packs and start building your AWI regiments. Note that each Continental product code has pictures of the new figures whereas the Hessians do not yet have their pictures. I recently finished painting the Hessian samples and still must snap some pictures and upload them to the web store.

Hessian Fusiliers in webstore

Continentals in webstore

The new Continental in round hats

CA-029 Continental Command in Round Hats

CA-030 Continentals in Round Hats Firing

CA-031 Continentals in Round Hats Advancing

CA-032 Continentals in Round Hats ram rods

CA-033 Continentals in Round Hats cocking muskets

CA-034 Hunting Shirts with Round Hats, cocking muskets

CA-035 Pullover hunting shirt with round hat , firing

CA-036 hunting shirts open in the front and round hats, firing

New Hessian Fusiliers in Miter Hats

Note: no pictures yet, but coming soon!

HP-010  Hessian Fusilier Command, Standing

HP-011  Hessian Fusilier Command, Marching

HP-012  Hessian Fusiliers Marching

HP-013  Hessian Fusiliers standing firing

HP-014  Hessian Fusiliers 2nd rank for firing line

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"Official" Fife and Drum Miniatures Facebook Page

 

I have had an "official" Fife and Drum Miniatures Facebook  page for some time now. I have been remiss in not promoting it very well. Below is a link to the page. Click the link and take a look.

Fife and Drum Miniatures Facebook Group

If you go to that page you can view the new movie trailer video that I have posted about my upcoming Battle of Trenton games at this year's Historicon convention July 15 -19, 2026 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Blogger won't let me post the video on this blog for some reason).

Continental Artillery Battery of two Swedish 4-pound cannon.

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Washington, Greene and Rall Personality Figures

 

His Excellency General George Washington from Fife and Drum Miniatures.

Here are several pictures of some of the Fife and Drum Miniatures personality figures for the American War of Independence. We have specific personality figures for Washington, Greene and Francis Marion for the American side and Howe, Cornwallis and Tarleton for the British team. The command stand vignettes shown in these pictures center around the personality figure, which I have augmented with various mounted and foot figures from the Minden and Fife and Drum figure ranges to help tell the story. The headquarters flag is from GMB Designs in the UK.

George Washington command stand

I start with, naturally, the Washington figure and add a mounted horseman that carries Washington's headquarters flag. The latter is the mounted standard bearer from the AWI 1st Light Dragoons. The dismounted officer in the hunting shirt is shielding his eyes as he looks off into the distance and seems to be a natural to use in a variety of vignettes. He comes from the Continental Infantry in Hunting Shirts Command pack set. Since everyone is looking in the same direction I also added a Hessian lager office holding a telescope and painted him in a Continental uniform.

Major General Nathaniel Greene command stand.

Major General Nathaniel Greene
Fife and Drum Miniatures

Once again I used the Hessian lager officer with the telescope and the Continental dragoon standard bearer to set the scene. The standard bearer is carrying a "grand division" flag which indicates that the command stand is for a Continental division in my game rules. Division commanders have a flag bearer whereas brigade commanders only have the mounted officer figure. The grand division flag is from GMB Designs.

Hessian Colonel Johann Rall command stand

For the Colonel Rall (he wasn't a "von") figure I used the Prussian general Prinz Moritz personality figure from the Minden Miniatures figure range. The foot officer shielding his eyes is from the Hessian Standing Firing command pack from the Fife and Drum figure range. Rall would not have worn the orange sash of the Prussian military order, but he looked the part and so I drafted him into the Hessian army.

Colonel Johann Rall, commander of the Hessian garrison at Trenton.
Minden Miniatures "Prinz Moritz" personality figure.

Washington Crossing the Deleware vignette

Washington Crossing the Delaware River vignette.
Various Minden and Fife and Drum Miniatures figures.

I found a printing file for the Durham boat on line and available for free download. See my previous post about Durham boats for the direct link to the web site. After a little bit of experimenting I decided that twelve figures were enough for the boat crew. 

The seated Minden wagon team driver figures seemed like a natural to be holding the oars of the boat, however, I found it difficult to maneuver the arms so that they could hold an oar so I gave up on that idea. I used some of the Minden Pioneers figure to hold oars or poles: the figure at the front holding a pole, the standing figure in the middle of the boat holding an oar, and the figure at the rear holding an oar is from one of the Minden Agricultural Workers vignette pack. The oars are made by both Brigade Games and Old Glory.

I ended up using four of the Minden wagon drivers as simply seated passengers on the boat. You can see General Washington standing near the front  and he comes from the Minden personality pack PER-001 "Duke of Brunswick and staff, dismounted". The flag bearer is a Fife and Drum hunting shirt command figure as is the chap standing to the left of Washington (the hunting shirt figure with one hand shielding his eyes). I added a couple of AWI rank and file figures to fill out the crew.

American Artillery Battery

I am also showing two of the Continental Army artillery sets from the Fife and Drum Miniatures figure range. They are made in both the firing and loading poses.

Continental artillery battery with Swedish 4-pound cannon.

American crew loading a Swedish 4-pound cannon

American artillery firing a Swedish 4-pound cannon.
Note the crew figure covering his ears.

You can see all of these figures and more at the five games that I am hosting at this year's Historicon convention in July 2026 at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

 

Fife and Drum 42nd Highlanders of the AWI period marching through Winter snow.

I am running three games at Historicon this year in July 2026. The first two games will be the Battle of Trenton. I figured that there probably aren't enough convention goers to fill up the same game three times, so I am working on a different scenario for the third game on Saturday. It will be called "Now Let's Go Surprise Mr. Washington".

The concept is that Lord Cornwallis has received good information from spies about Washington's intended surprise attack on Trenton. So Cornwallis plans for his own surprise by rushing a brigade of British Highlanders, Guards and Grenadiers to Trenton before the Americans arrive. Instead of facing one brigade of Hessians, Washington will now face two brigades, one Hessian and one British.

And when push comes to shove. I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!

(from the musical "Hamilton")

The Grenadier company on the left and the light company on the right.
I haven't added the snow effects to the bases.
Fife and Drum Miniatures

So for the third game I will need some British troops on Winter bases. The first to be painted are the 42nd Highlander regiment: 40 center company figures, 8 grenadiers and 8 light company figures in the entire unit for a total of 56 figures.

Next in the painting queue are 16 British grenadiers wearing bearskin hats. These will be converged with the 42nd's flank companies to create a battalion of 32 flank company figures.

I might then paint some Continental castings as British regulars wearing cocked hats (32 total figures).

And finally, finish things off with the Brigade of Guards: 16 flank company figures wearing peaked caps and 16 center company figures wearing round hats, for a Guards battalion of 32 figures.

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Durham Boat File Link

Durham boat for Washington's crossing of the Delaware is manned by Fife and Drum
Miniatures and a few Minden Miniatures. Flag by GMB Designs.

Several people asked me to post a link to the 3D file for the Durham boats that I have shown in my blog, so here it is:

Durham-Boat

So far I have three of them painted and based on stands as shown below. I have painted a fourth model and I plan to place a cannon and artillery crewmen in it as a vignette .

Trenton game set up in my basement. Note the Durham boats at the front end of the table.

Durham boats and Fife and Drum Miniatures - a perfect combination.

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Sharpe Takes on the Little Wars Convention

 

Table set up for my Sharpe's Bridge game on Saturday 
The British light division was trying to escape across the Coa River before
being overwhelmed by superior French numbers.

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Here are some pictures of the three games that I hosted at Little Wars this years. 40mm Napoleonic skirmish games based on the Richard Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. My game was tucked away in some hard to find room next to the vendors area so it is understandable if you were at the convention and couldn’t find my game.

Major Hogan, one of Wellington's Exploring Officers, leads a scouting party
trying to find where Der Alte Fritz's games were being held at this year's Little Wars convention.

My game table featured custom built terrain using 2-inch pink insulation board which allowed me to sculpt and form realistic terrain . The figures were mostly Sash and Saber castings plus a few Perry 40mm figures and some of the Sharpe series personality figures from Steve Barber Models to represent Sharpe, Sgt Harper, Theresa, Pierre Ducos, and Jane Gibbons.

Sharpe (left) and Harper (center) - Steve Barber Models personality figures

The buildings were mostly 3D printed models from Battle Honours and I did all the painting and terrain making starting August 2025 through November 2025 so as to have the game ready for the Fall In Convention in Lancaster, PA. I added more bits and bobs and refinements through March 2026 before bringing the game to Little Wars this year.

Battle Honours buildings - 3D printed in 40mm scale
Cobblestone mat is from Lemax

We had a good group of players for all of the games and they made the games fun by really embracing the role playing element of a skirmish style of game. Some serious acting chops were put on display in my games. A big thanks to all of the participants for making it a good time.

The gentleman on the left played in two of my games, first playing the role of Richard Sharpe,
and then playing in the second game as Obadiah Hakeswell. He role played his characters to 
the hilt and demonstrated great acting chops and Oscar worthy performances.

Theresa (left) draws a bead on Hakeswell's hat (what would Mother think?) as she
attempts to rescue Lady Jane Fish and Lord Hamilton Fish. Somehow Hakeswell
talked his way out of this jam, only to fall into the hands of French General Calvet
who finally put Obadiah out of his misery for good (or did he?).

Theresa Sharpe (yes that Sharpe) also known as The Needle, leads her merry band of 
guerrillas around the wilds of the Little Wars hotel searching for Der Alte Fritz's game room.

40mm Sash and Saber British Riflemen figures

Perry Miniatures 40mm Peninsula War British light company figures representing
the South Essex Light Company.

Vistula Lancers comb the countryside trying to pick up the scent of Der Alte Fritz's game trail.

The South Essex Regiment on the march towards the Coa River bridge.
Flags by David Morfitt of "Not By Appointment" fame.

Colonel Henry Simmerson of the South Essex Regiment.
He led his men from the jaws of victory to a horrible defeat.
At least he didn't lose the Colours in this battle.

Besties Sharpe and Harper reach out to each other as they expire on 
the battlefield after hand to hand combat with the French. Corporal Harris (Jason Salkey)
looks on in despair, knowing that Sharpe's death means the end of his acting gig in the 
Sharpe television series.

Both Sharpe and Harper had a plus eight die modifier in melee, yet both men were cut down by swarms of French soldiers and incredibly bad dice rolling. Prior to the melee the game master was heard to say something along the lines of "Sharpe and Harper both get a +8 to their D20 die roll. They can't lose."

Colonel Henry Simmerson mucked up the retreat across the Coa River Bridge by suddenly stopping the South Essex road column and ordering his men to dress ranks and put their leather neck stocks back on. This blocked the road and prevented all of the other British units from reaching the safety of the bridge. However, Karma briefly reared its head and cause a Spanish mule driver to accidentally (?) strike a whip to the rear flank of Simmerson's horse, causing said horse to go careening back down the road towards the advancing French infantry.

The South Essex rally and reform on the safe side of the Coa River as Captain Leroy takes temporary
command of the regiment at the behest of Major Hogan who has relieved Simmerson of command.

Major Hogan organizes a defense of the bridge as the Vistula Lancers come charging in.

Birdseye view of the French cavalry breakthrough that cut off the South Essex Light Company from escape.

The South Essex center companies rally on the far side of the bridge.

The remnants of Sharpe's Rifles reform on the safe side of the bridge and begin a 
galling fire on the French cavalry that is charging across the bridge.

The end? Will Sharpe and Harper march again?

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Little Wars Update: Maybe My Best Game Ever?

I hosted my Richard Sharpe Peninsula War (circa 1809 - 1812 for my game purposes) skirmish game at Little Wars thursday evening. The event was listed for 8 players, but I had some extra commands to use in the game so I ended up with ten players.

This game may well be one of the very best scenarios and players of all of the convention games that I have run going back to 1990. The players really took to the idea of role playing and they gave it their best effort. The result was a funny, Hollywood style of game that generated a number of surprises during the game. I want to thank all of the players in my game for such a fun time.

This is what I live for when I run a game at a convention.

"Sharpe! You are no gentleman. Humpf!"
-Colonel Henry Simmerson of the South Essex Regiment

The game was titled "Sharpe's Rescue" and it was loosely based on Bernard Cornwell's book, "Sharpe's Enemy". A band of renegade deserters from all armies has captured Sir Hamilton Fish and his wife Lady Jane Fish and they are being held for ransom. Lord Wellington has sent Richard Sharpe and his 95th Rifles Chosen Men on the mission to deliver the ransom and secure the safety of the hostages. The leader of the deserter band is none other than Obadiah Hakeswell, Sharpe's nemesis and mortal enemy.

"Sharpie, old boy. You are not a real officer. You were raised from the ranks."
Obadiah Hakeswell

Hakeswell was the leader of the renegade army of deserters, some of which were French and others were British. He wanted the ransom that the British were going to pay, but what he really wanted was Lady Jane Fish. He would double-cross anyone, including his own men, to save his skin and to get what he wanted.

Both the British and the French were on a mission to rescue the hostages and their combined numbers would overwhelm the Deserters. Hakeswell took the first opportunity to steal away from the convent where all of the fighting was taking place for he could see that his men were going to lose. So Hakeswell dashed out of the backdoor of the convent with the two hostages at gunpoint, but he ran into a battalion of French regulars who were attacking the convent. He bargained with the French to take Lord Fish as a prisoner while he and Lady Fish took off cross-country to escape.

Everything looked all tickety-boo for Hakeswell who was on the verge of escaping with his life and the forthcoming pleasures of Lady Fish. However, Sharpe had one last bullet in his rifle, he took careful aim, and gunned down Obadiah Hakeswell at 300 yards for the finale.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."
Colonel Pierre Ducos
Napoleon's master spy and nemesis of Sharpe

Pierre Ducos was Napoleon's master spy and in charge of intelligence operations in Spain. His mission was to find and capture Major Hogan, one of Wellington's Exploring Officers. His colleague, Colonel d'Eclin of the French Guard Chasseurs a Cheval managed to capture Sharpe in a melee. Concurrently, Ducos was captured by Major Hogan. Ducos surrendered to Hogan on the condition that he be given his parole and sent on his way home. Ducos proposed the he and Sharpe be swapped as prisoners.

As you can see there was a lot of action and first class role playing going on during the game. The rules were simple and easy to learn, fitting on two sides of a letter sized piece of paper. I thought that the rules really helped propel the flow of the game.

My next game is the same scenario, Sharpe's Rescue, at 1PM Friday. I am also running a game on Saturday afternoon at 1PM, titled Sharpe's Bridge. Sharpe and his men will be sprinting towards the Coa River Bridge to escape the on-coming French, whose attack has taken the British by surprise. Will Sharpe and his Chosen Men escape across the bridge in time, or will that idiot Colonel Henry Simmerson of the South Essex Regiment panic and blow up the bridge and cutting off Sharpe from his bridge.

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