 |
| Battle of Schweinsburg gamed with flats from Christian Rogge's collection |
I have always been a little bit intrigued by the German flat figures for the Seven Years War. The makers of flats have always been very creative in their poses and these often give me ideas for new figures in the Minden Seven Years War figure range.
As you can see from many of the pictures below (mostly from Christian Rogge's collection), one can stage a very good looking wargame using flats.
As you can see from many of the pictures below (mostly from Christian Rogge's collection), one can stage a very good looking wargame using flats.
 |
| Battle of Laufeldt - Christian Rogge collection |
While flats seem to be aimed towards collectors ( I could be wrong about this), there are some wargamers in Germany that game using flats. One particularly good blog about such activities is the one that Christian Rogge publishes from time to time:
 |
| Rogge Blog Header photo |
Christian's blog is worth a click. Scroll down through his blog archives and you will find a number of terrific posts about his specialty: research of WAS/SYW era artillery pieces. His schematic drawings were used as a guide in the sculpting of various Fife and Drum Miniatures artillery pieces.
Here are some pictures of German flats that I found on Pinterest:
 |
| Prussian cavalry and grenadiers at Rossbach |
 |
| Austrian cavalry flats. |
The Berliner Zinnfiguren website is a good place to visit if you are interested in buying unpainted or even painted SYW flats. Herr Schulz and family have long made their own brand of flats going back to the 1920s, if I recall correctly.
Another famous maker of flats is Henrichsen, which are often available on eBay. The company has been out of business for quite awhile, so their figures are harder to find.
Wargamer Steve Cady is a master painter of flats and I enjoy reading his posts about his latest "finds" and painted flat figures. Again, this blog is worth the click:
Wargamer Steve Cady is a master painter of flats and I enjoy reading his posts about his latest "finds" and painted flat figures. Again, this blog is worth the click:
While flats are traditionally made with a tin alloy, you can also find flats made from wood at Skull & Crown:
These are particularly compelling figures that would be fun to game with.
Who knows, may one day I will start painting flats and put on a "really Old School" wargame with them.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOpps forgot to look at my typing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff Jim, I would love to do a couple of armies using flats. However with all the round lead/plastic waiting for paint, it may take sometime.
Happy gaming,
Willz Harley.
I've never gone into 'flats' myself, but every time I see pics of them, I am impressed by just how well they paint up. They seem to have a special character all of their own.
ReplyDeleteI admit, too, to being intriuged by flats. My friend and fellow wargamer, Pete, paints them superbly well, but only for display. The thing that puts me off is that the 'picture' for the battle laid before you disappears when you view your troops from behind - as most wargamers do. Perhaps we should all sit at the side of a table to fight 'side-saddle' from now on the get the best 'picture' from flats.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Glenn