PEONY WARS (2) - 28MM SOVIET CAVALRY

Being an occasional series on converting the classic convention game, "Pony Wars", to a VBCW variant...

There seems to be a shortage of 28mm "Red Cavalry". Not just in Herefordshire, as Comrade Colonel Knokisblokov is only too aware, but generally. True, there are a variety of "Bolshevik" horsemen in Copplestone's "Back of Beyond" range, but these are from a slightly earlier period than the 1930s, are sold in random variants (grrr!) and cost £3.30 each (plus P&P). For a true late 1930s/early 1940s look, the only option seems to be Westwind's "Berlin or Bust" range, which has three cavalrymen in helmets:

Westwind's Berlin or Bust Red Cavalry

The problem with the Westwind offering is that there are only 3 poses (for 600 figures!) and, having been produced for years and years, the figures are rather "elderly" in sculpting style. Plus, at £5.00 a figure (plus P&P)(!!) they clearly disqualified themselves from any further "Pony Wars" enquiries on economic grounds alone.

Enquiries on the Lead Adventure Forum confirmed the general shortage of "Red Cavalry", with suggestions for 3D Printing figures, using Tsuba Miniatures cossacks (£4.25 each plus P&P) or Tsuba Miniatures RCW cavalry with headswaps (£4.25 each plus the head plus P&P) or Empress Miniatures Spanish Civil War cavalry, again with a few headswaps (ditto).

Against this dismal canvas of general non-availability, it seemed to the Communist planning staff that plugging away at converting Perry ACW Cavalry (c.£1.75 each) with a suitable headswap (and lots of vodka..) was the only realistic (?) way forward...

Thankfully, Comrade Colonel Knokisblov's Intelligence Unit has been covertly listening in to the chatter on the Pony Wars Facebook Group, which yielded this priceless nugget of information:

Q: "Just a quick question - what's the average number of mounted [Sioux] braves that a typical game requires? I know the [Pony Wars] rules specify 600 but what can I get away with - anyone played a few games with any insight?"

A1. "...We have about three hundred at our club but we very rarely have them all on the table at the same time. Best thing is you can recycle them when they become casualties..." [Nigel Perks]

A2. "...I probably have just over 300 15mm and have coped for several years. Once, when the drums were beating, hundreds [of Sioux] built up waiting to strike, but I just counted each figure as 10 actuals until numbers had dropped or a US withdrawal happened!" [Paul Jeune] 

"Recycling"/"Counting as..." - jolly useful wargamers' tricks of the trade. Comrade Colonel Knokisblokov has accordingly pencilled in 300 cavalry as his "Minimum Requirement Stat" for Peony Wars....