Over recent years I had seen many of Peter Dennis' wonderful paper soldiers on Facebook and YouTube and had often thought about having a go if just to see what all the fuss was about! When I saw his 'Peninsular War' title pop up on Amazon for just £10 I could not resist ordering a copy. For those unaware it contains every type of British, French and Portuguese soldier for the War that can be printed, glued and folded to create armies in 28mm scale for wargaming as an alterative to painting model soldiers. They are of course 'flats' but the artwork is very clever in the way it portrays for example, cavalry. I'm sure that I will have a go at a couple of units just to see what I can do with them! Patience is required as you need to cut carefully around each individual figure including muskets and bayonets to remove all trace of white edges but Peter does explain the method of doing this in his video linked below. It looks fun and it looks really therapeutic, and while it will never replace traditional metal or plastic figures it does offer a cheap alterative way of getting into the hobby.
So. Paper Soldiers, what do you think?
Cutting them out looks really fiddly and they look quite susceptible to bending / creasing. For 2D figures like this I think the Wofun approach is better, albeit they still need the edges colouring.
ReplyDeleteHi Rob, yes cutting out can be fiddly but Peter has a clever method of twisting the figures and keeping the scissor hand rested which works well. I originally bought the book with the idea of printing them at 50% and simply using then to create 'blocks' with pre cut MDF but then I went with the 15mm Essex figures! Re the bending, using 100g paper as suggested with the layer of PVA sandwiched between the front and back makes them fairly sturdy. I doubt I will go anywhere with this but I really wanted to try making a few up.
DeleteWofun are great of course but very expensive.
All the best
Lee.
They are a great idea and perhaps some value if you want to dip your toe in a new period and try it without making the bigger investment of lead / plastic / 3D figures first …… we have all be down that expensive route! I did see an article years ago about cutting these and the recommendation then was to use Decoupage scissors, which are intended for fiddly cutting.
ReplyDeleteThe one book that I bought, I was not impressed by the rules, but in truth, the paper lads are rules agnostic!
Hi Norm and thanks again for leaving a comment here. To be honest I doubt I'll do much with these, maybe just a base or two but I know that what I am doing with C&CN is the way ahead for me, 1 metal 15mm figure replacing each wooden block, I'm really thinking about Ancients next as Essex have a great range. The book itself is lovely though!
DeleteCheers
Lee.
https://peterspaperboys.com/
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link :)
DeleteLee.
Hi matey, you may not recall but I went with Wofun several years ago and came to regret it. I got swept away with the look of the figures but could’ve done the whole thing much more cheaply and possibly better with the Peter Denis paper boys. The 2D aspect was never an issue for me but the cost of Wofun was ridiculous. One thing to bear in mind is that while the paper figures are cheap the printer ink used to produce them en masse is not.
ReplyDeleteHi JBM, I'd forgotten about your Wofun experience, they seem very popular but as you say very expensive. I think they do the Napoleonics in 10mm now too? No regrets buying the book but I doubt I'll do much with it! I'm happy painting a few 15mm's for myself as and when I feel like it.
DeleteAll the best,
Lee.
They look very similar to the metal flat model soldiers which are so popular in Germany. I visited many museums in Germany where they are on display, and they look very impressive. I also had some friends who had collections of them, and up close the detail is fantastic. They are ideal for diorama work, but I would not use them for wargaming. You would have to play with them at eye level to get the full impact, on a wargames table they would look very strange at an angle. On the other hand they are very cheap and a good introduction to collecting model soldiers.
ReplyDeleteregards
Paul
Hello Paul, I agree re these paper soldiers. I love the German metal flats and would love to paint a few myself. I think that the collector in me could never be satisfied with paper armies, metal is the way to go. The book is a lovely product though so I'm glad I have it to flick through and admire Peter Dennis' artwork.
DeleteCheers
Lee.
I really like them paper boys. Played a game of pike and shotte (Breitenfeld) over Christmas with my brother. He cut out the swedes and I the Leauge. I have also used them for Battle Cry (maybe already shared) https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8829388/battle-cry-150th-civil-war-anniversary-edition
ReplyDeleteCarl, just looked at your photos and the game looks great played like that! Thank you for sharing.
DeleteCheers
Lee.
Hi Carl and thanks for leaving a comment. I love Battle Cry too but play using Warlord Epics cut down in half strips! I have not started cutting out as yet but will do so soon to see how I get on.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Lee