TYPES OF THE VBCW (22) - BOULEVARDIER (AND WORKER)

As this is the 22nd post on the theme of "Types of the VBCW", appropriately enough, its a double bill:

The "Boulevardier" and the Worker

The nearest English equivalent to a "boulevardier" would be "a man about town", and with his cane, homburg, monocle and luxuriant moustaches, our gentleman on the left would seem to qualify. Perhaps useful to denote an artillery observer in "WTDW", but even better as a player character in the forthcoming "VBCW Hereford - the RPG". On the right, a typical 1930s "worker" - a horny handed son of toil in overalls and flat cap; either ready for a fist fight or ideal as a member of the crew of a proletarian "Big Gun".

Both of these figures come from a Blue Moon boxed set, titled "Things that Go Bump in the Night". Although some of the figures can only be used in Victorian Adventures, quite a few are adaptable (in various guises) to the 1930s:

TYPES OF THE VBCW (21) - REVOLTING CLERKS !

These Old Glory "European Civilian Volunteers" from their Boxer Rebellion range (see HERE), with their bowler hats, short jackets and rifles, make good office clerks for a VBCW "urban faction" of whatever ideological persuasion:

Boxer Rebellion Civilian Volunteers. Unknown painter - but
very nice urban bases.

Excellent value at £35 for 30 figures - enough to make 3 Infantry Sections !

TYPES OF THE VBCW (20) - SPANISH SOVIET ADVISER

The relationship between the Spanish Civil War and the Very British Civil War, as previously noted, is somewhat hazy; one thing that is certain, however, is that just as the Spanish Civil War was winding down (it officially ended in the Spring of 1939), the Very British Civil War was heating up. Hence, it's no surprise that a variety of battle-hardened "advisers" made their way from Spain to Herefordshire, including this stern-looking "Spanish Soviet" officer:

Very nicely painted Bolt Action Soviet Adviser.
Ideal for the Presteigne or Kington Communist Fronts.

Strangely, notwithstanding the chaotic and deadly nature of the fighting in Herefordshire, Soviet "advisers" may have thought a transfer "in County" from Spain to be some form of life-saver. The record of Communist military advisers recalled from the Spanish Civil War direct to Moscow was not a happy one, as illustrated by the well-known Vladimir Copic (see full Wiki bio HERE):

Vladimir Copic. A prominent Yugoslav Communist and famous (or notorious)
Republican Commander and Commissar of the XVth International Brigade
during the Spanish Civil War. After the Battles of Jarama and Belchite, recalled
to Moscow, denounced and imprisoned as a Trotskyite deviationist, then shot by
the NKVD in April 1939. For earlier purges of prominente, see HERE.

Add edit:

A similar fate befell Manfred Stern, aka General Kleber, the "Saviour of Madrid".
Recalled to Moscow, he was tried, condemned and sentenced to fifteen years
hard labour in May 1939. The remainder of his life was spent in the Gulag.
He died of exhaustion in February 1954. See his WIKI HERE

TYPES OF THE VBCW (19) : STAFF OFFICER

Every VBCW Platoon needs a "Staff Officer" - someone who might just know where the Platoon is within the County, and where it might usefully go to. Often operating as the "No.2" to an inevitably charismatic Platoon Commander, here is a nice 28mm Staff Officer type:

VBCW (probably Royalist) Staff Officer, complete with detailed folding map.
From the Gripping Beast WW1 Pilots Pack, painted (many years ago!)
by Rob Bresnan (aka Comrade Colonel Professor Winters aka 
Roderick Spode, 7th Earl Sidcup aka etc. etc.)

With his bushy blonde waxed moustache, this Staff Officer might even serve as a 28mm personality figure, none other than a VBCW type "Lord Flashheart" (although, in those circumstances, the map might have to be repainted with a quite different kind of "centrefold"):

Staff Officer ? Some kind of joke ? Lord Flashheart takes over command of the Platoon.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (18) - WAR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Between accounts of the Spring Big Game 2024 seems a good time to look at VBCW war photographers (and film crews). Somebody has to be "embedded" with the various factions to bring you all these lovely AAR photos:

28mm stills camerman and film camerman from "Colonel Bills".
Unknown painter, Wehrmacht Green paint scheme, but v. suitable (in black)
for the BUF and passable (in khaki grey/green) for Soviet propagandists..

Bolt Action cameraman in Luftwaffe grey. No wonder Reichsmarschall Goering

is getting "a good press" at the moment....

Eureka's 1930s Pulp Film Crew. Excellent for post Big Game interviews...

one more from Warlord:

An excellent "combat cameraman" for a Royalist (or even Anglican) Platoon.

and two more from Colonel Bills:

Berets paintable in any colour - green for Royalist Special Forces ? Blue for Anglicans ?

Note : for more VBCW Types, see the relevant Label to the right of this blogpost..........

TYPES OF THE VBCW (17) - THE CRICKETER

The Very British can lay claim to having invented and codified at least four of the great world sports - rugby, boxing, football and cricket - and even more importantly, the very idea of "sportsmanlike behaviour". Hence the need for a 28mm cricketer in the VBCW:

Play up, play up and play the game!
A Wargames Foundry Darkest Africa figure.
(Excellent) painter unknown.

Note: suitable odd "cricketer figures" can be found in a number of manufacturer's lists (like this Wargames Foundry figure, or check out Hasslefree, for example) but Sloppy Jalopy helpfully produce a whole cricket team - see some very nicely painted examples here.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (16) - WOMEN'S INSTITUTE ARTILLERY OBSERVER

An "observer" figure helpfully extends the range of a "Big Gun" under the WTDW Rules. A 28mm figure with binoculars or a telescope is instantly recognisable on the table as an artillery observer, and here is a female d'un certain age that fits the bill admirably:

 Pulp Figures "Miss Marple". Very nicely painted by "Orctrader"

Correctly attired for the period, "Miss Marple" makes the ideal artillery observer for a Women's Institute Platoon, ready to bring down fire upon "enemies of the King/the Church/the People/the Parish" (choose as you will!)

VBCW COMMERCIAL TYPES (1) - 1930s CIVILIAN "UNIFORMS"

Before the internet, before "pop up shops" and hypermarkets and supermarkets and out of town "destination shopping" - in other words back in the 1930s - the sturdy independent retailers of the local High Street provided all of life's necessities. Contemporary ephemera, in this case a 1930s card game, give some idea of how these retailers looked (or could be stereotyped):

White jacket, bow tie and stiff collar - the immaculate grocer.

A man who enjoys his product - the butcher in striped apron and straw boater

Overalls, apron and rubber boots - the Fishmonger.

Top "uniform information" for 1930s VBCW small traders !

TYPES OF THE VBCW (15) - IRASCIBLE NEWSPAPER EDITOR

A classic VBCW personality figure:

"Colonel Marbles" - a "Frothers" personality figure sculpted

by Shane Hoyle and painted by Ben Brownlie 

Rear View

A dyspeptic Colonel in civvies and retirement, a choleric land owner - this figure could fulfil any number of roles. However, we imagine him as the fiercely independent but irascible editor of a local newspaper:

A slight different but equally impressive paint job. Unknown painter.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (14) - ANGLICAN BISHOP

A VBCW campaign would not be complete without at least one Bishop, and here is a lovely 28mm example sculpted by Mark Copplestone - a long time ago:

Originally a Grenadier figure, then marketed by EM-4, now sold by Forlorn Hope Games
(Fantasy Warriors 0284, "Bishop with Raised Hand")

Front - great painting and basework by an unknown hand.

Rear view.

Bishops can be painted in many different ways - for an "authentic 1930s look" see THIS POST.

 Top "uniform" information !

TYPES OF THE VBCW (13) - AUTHORITARIAN OFFICER

Reaper Miniatures generally produce fantasy figures of various sorts, but their "Chronoscope" line has the occasional gem suitable for use in the VBCW. Here is their "General Drake" figure:

Reaper Miniatures 50107 "General Drake"
Sculpted by Bobby Jackson

The good thing about "General Drake" is that he is wearing a 1930s style uniform, but one sufficiently "indistinct" that it can be painted in different ways:

"General Drake" as BUF Group Leader Drake.
Black, very black.........

"General Drake" - in Soviet brown and green -
transformed into "Commissar Drake".

However he's painted, "General Drake" doesn't appear to be a supporter of democracy - hence the simple "authoritarian officer" description.....

TYPES OF THE VBCW (12) - ANGLICAN EXORCIST

While "magick", supernatural forces and "the power of the occult" have yet to feature in the Hereford1938 VBCW campaign, the "Types of the VBCW" thread could not pass by a characteristic Anglican "Exorcist" - in campaign clerical garb, army trenchcoat and 28mm :

Artizan Designs PLP 131 "Father Sweeney". Beautifully painted by Steve Dean

Should Aleister Crowley ("the wickedest man in the world") ever take up residence in a remote and abandoned country house in Herefordshire, or the sinister black clad brethren of the "Cult of Arrowsmith" seek to dabble in the "dark arts", the Anglicans will no doubt be well prepared....

In the interim, this figure would make a useful "No.2" to an Anglican army commander, or an easily identifiable forward observer ("Spotter") for a "Big Gun" on a VBCW battlefield!

Notes:

(1). Aleister Crowley's (1875 - 1947) wiki entry is HERE

(2). The Artizan Exorcist would also make a useful officer for a unit of similarly posed OOP Citadel Vicars, of which at least one variant also had a "raised crucifix" in hand. See HERE

(3). For a complete list of Country Houses in Herefordshire, see HERE

TYPES OF THE VBCW (11) - WOMENS INSTITUTE CHAIRWOMAN (TOWN)

Continuing our "VBCW Types" series (see the Label on the right for previous figure entries), nothing could be more "Very British" than the Chairwoman of a branch of the Women's Institute:

This Lady's not for turning.....Reiver Castings Code BBB1. Unknown painter.

Two piece suit, gloves, pearls and handbag - a perfect example of a Women's Institute Chairwoman of some urban branch - for the rural branches would surely deserve a classic tweed, rather than dark blue, two piece. In the 1930s, the Women's Institute had close to 300,000 members - absolutely dwarfing the membership of either the BUF or the Communist Party (c. 30,000 - 60,000 members dependent upon the precise year). Just to prove that pretty much any "modern" figure can be adapted to the VBCW (and quite a few from other historical periods), this 28mm lady comes from the Reiver Castings "Battle of Britain 1984 - What If Scenario" range, marketed by Northumbrian Painting Service - see HERE - and might otherwise be recognised (in quite another historical time stream, unimaginable in 1938) as Britain's first female Prime Minister.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (10) - REGULAR ARMY OFFICER

A splendidly painted Regular Army Officer to add to our series of "Types of the VBCW":

Artizan Miniatures "General Clearwell" (PLP 165)
Painted by Dave Woodward

It's not quite clear what rank this 28mm officer holds - without red tabs or hat band, however, he can't be more senior than a Major. Portly and "passed over" by the look of him, more than a little choleric and a stickler for discipline in the ranks; mind you, it doesn't look as if he's undertaken an infantry assault course for quite a while (possibly 1913...). All in all, less "General Armageddon" and more "Major Disaster"...

TYPES OF THE VBCW (9) - POLICEMEN

As long term followers of this blog will attest, the local constabulary, now led by Chief Constable Recurrin-Lockdowne, have endured "a very rough time of it" in the Hereford VBCW. Such is the price of seeking to maintain 'law and order' in circumstances where both have entirely broken down. While most of the 28mm Hereford VBCW Police Force have been sourced from plastic Lledo figures (see blogposts passim), one section is made up of very OOP Citadel policemen:

Constable with whistle - Citadel OOP Gothic Horror figure.
Painter - Fairoaks 024

Reverse side.

Constable on watch - 2nd version OOP Gothic Horror figure
Painter - Fairoaks024

Reverse side.

Unfortunately, the Citadel Gothic Horror range of figures is now very OOP, and hence prices for these characterful figures tend towards the astronomical. However, if you're lucky enough to have some already, or to track some down at a reasonable cost, they fit right in to the VBCW....

TYPES OF THE VBCW (8) - CHURCH MILITANT

Anglican "Field Armies" in the VBCW bolstered their ranks with a substantial number of "muscular Christians" drawn from the clergy, determined upon a "religious revival" within England and the  overthrow of "Edward the Oathbreaker", aka Edward VIII :

28mm OOP Citadel "Gothic Horror" Vicar
Unknown Painter

Reverse Side. Useful as a Platoon Leader, Artilleryman, "Mortar Spotter",
or simply a fanatical "Bringer of Fire and Brimstone".

Note : a more bumbling peaceable sort of Anglican Vicar can be seen HERE

Add Edit : at a certain point, Citadel were notorious for making minor conversions to existing figures, thereby producing a "new" release with minimal effort. This vicar duly got the 'Citadel treatment':

A different version - headswap and left hand conversion to hold
a crucifix.The every useful "Stuff of Legends" page has full
information on the Citadel "Gothic Horror" line.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (7) - THE FOOTMAN

An occasional series of painted 28mm VBCW archetypes 

The "Country House" was central to England in the 1930s, and indeed to the Hereford VBCW - see this list of Herefordshire's Country Houses. Every "Country House" had its own staff and family retainers, many of whom took up arms in defence of their squire and locality. Usually lead by "the Butler", such household forces relied heavily upon already uniformed "footmen" and "valets" to act as junior NCO's, bolstering their otherwise fragile line-up of nannies, maids, cooks, etc:

"The Footman". 28mm figure - old Citadel "Gothic Horror" line.
Unknown painter. 

Replace the cream jugs with grenades, and ready for the Civil War - a line up of determined footmen.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (6) - THE NUN

 An occasional series of painted 28mm VBCW archetypes 

Every VBCW Campaign needs at least one nun ! Preferably, of course, a heavily armed section of nuns with an LMG - but let's not get carried away. While it is the Anglican factions that appear to have adopted 28mm nuns in the greatest number, there is no reason why nuns of the Catholic faith could not turn out in support of another faction (other than the Communists, of course...)

"Sister Mary Stigmata" aka "Mother Superior Firepower"
Reaper Nun. Painter Fairoaks 024

And we do mean superior firepower.....

A nun with a Machine-Gun : a favourite choice for female VBCW re-enactors.

TYPES OF THE VBCW (5) - THE RURAL SHOOTIST

An occasional series of painted 28mm VBCW archetypes 

A country chap well known in the Hereford VBCW - plus fours, flat cap, bristling moustache and double barrelled shotgun - it's the "Rural Shootist":

Rural Shootist - Copplestone figure, unknown painter

Reverse view

But for one small matter, our "Rural Shootist" might stand in for a certain well known Prime Minister on vacation in the County:

Ramsay McDonald strides out, swapping a walking stick for shotgun.
Otherwise, well dressed for the Hereford VBCW.
And yes, that's Charlie Chaplin with him (c.1931)

The 'small matter' is not that Ramsay McDonald was pretty much a pacifist, but that he died on 9th November 1937, having been notably "ga-ga" for a number of years before that (including when in No.10 Downing Street). See his WIKI entry HERE. While the Hereford VBCW, as an alt-history, occasionally bends the arc of time (and a few other 'scientific laws' when it suits), we'd better leave poor Ramsay McDonald at peace...

TYPES OF THE VBCW (4) - THE PUZZLED INTELLECTUAL

 An occasional series of painted 28mm VBCW archetypes

Another VBCW type from the Cluedo "Super Sleuth" boardgame (see HERE) - "the Puzzled Intellectual". Glasses, hair greying and slightly too long, bow tie, notebook, handkerchief - you just know that there is a pipe hidden somewhere - experiencing the confusion of the convinced rationalist in an age of civil strife and unreason:

28mm Cluedo figure aka "Professor Plum"
Copplestone sculpted, unknown painter.

Curiously, this figure is an almost dead ringer for Harold Nicolson, probably the best diarist of the interwar years (vying, of course, with 'Chips' Channon), and certainly a "confused intellectual" of the period:

When Mosley founded the New Party in 1931, Nicolson edited the Party's newspaper, Action, and stood as a New Party candidate for the Combined English Universities in the General Election of that year. However, Nicolson opposed Mosley's formation of the British Union of Fascists in 1932, and was elected in the 1935 General Election as the National Labour MP (i.e. a supporter of Ramsay McDonald and the National Government) for Leicester West. He was married to Vita Sackville-West, and one day we'll find a 28mm figure for her - and (of course) Virginia Woolf.

Add Edit:

(1). In fact, it didn't take that long to find a "Vita Sackville-West" figure in 28mm - 

Askari Miniatures "Marion the Librarian". Unknown painter.