Jacobite Rebellion - One Hour Wargames

Subsequent to this year's Plastic Warrior Show, Anthony has acquired the greater part of a Jacobite 54mm wargames collection created by our old friend Eric Kemp.  Needless to say, we couldn't wait to get them out on the table.  We turned to our default ruleset for such games, One Hour Wargames by Neil Thomas and selected Scenario 6 - Flank Attack.

This post is really a shameless opportunity to show off some very pretty toy soldiers, for which I offer no apology!

The scenario opens with the Jacobite army on the road home to Scotland, their path blocked by two units of Government troops, while another 4 units are approaching on the east flank. 

The basic rules were tweaked to reflect national/tactical differences so that Highlanders have a longer move distance and can charge but not shoot they also gain a +2 in melee, regular infantry can move or fire but not both and can't charge. 

This makes for a fast moving and very bloody game so we actually managed to play the scenario twice and this was the first game

Two units of Highlanders in the van followed by artillery and a unit of French allies (their only regular unit) approach the Government regulars.

The blocking Government troops get off a volley before they are hit by the Highlanders charge, once in melee they are unable to disengage.

The Government troops out on the flank include a unit of loyalist Lowlanders who have the same movement and combat features as the Highlanders.

The regulars and artillery on the flank advance into range and begin to pepper the attacking Highlanders.

The French regulars turn to face the threat from the flank.....

......and defend against the charging Lowlanders 

The Highlanders have the advantage in melee but need to engage quickly before they take too much punishment from the musket volleys, flexibility in changing formation proved to be the key to the game.

In the second game the Government drew a unit of cavalry, together with the artillery they blocked the path of the Highland army.

Cavalry follow the standard OHW Horse and Musket rules, they can charge but if they do not eliminate the unit attacked they are bounced back half a move.

The collection includes Jacobite cavalry in the form of Bagot's Hussars but sadly they didn't get drawn when units were diced for, I think they would have made a substantial difference to the dynamics of the game.

With the Highlanders enhanced movement both sides moved rapidly into contact and very quickly became depleted in combat, these were without doubt the fastest OHW games we have played to date.

The Government troops carried the day in both games but they were each a very close run thing.

The figures themselves include a large number of conversions, particularly among the Highlanders, makers include: Replicants, Armies in Plastic, A Call to Arms, Accurate, Barzo, Marx, Cherilea and Timpo.

Galloglass and Kern - Oojah-Cum-Pivvy

 Back in October last year I posted a picture of this Irish Galloglass up on facebook asking if anyone knew who made it and if it was a one off or part of a set?   The same day an old friend, Jim Lloyd, identified it as being from the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range issued by Shamus O D Wade between 1982 and 1984, not only that but he told me he had the Kern from the same series and sent it to me as a gift!

The figure is marked under the base O.3 and is listed as Irish Galloglass 1522, he has the distinctive look of a Tudor period Galloglass, in my opinion the sculpting and factory paint job are not of the highest standard but you have to admit it's a fairly unique subject in the world  of toy soldiers.

After the success of his Nostalgia range of modern "old toy soldier style" figures, which featured obscure units from the British Commonwealth and Empire 1850-1910, Shamus launched the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range to produce subjects which just happened to take his fancy.  

Rather more colourful is the figure that Jim Lloyd kindly sent me, it is marked O.2 under the base and is listed as Irish Kern circa 1545.  I understand that the O stands for Oojah-Cum-Pivvy (Shamus marked his Nostalgia range figures with a stylised n) and the number relates to the sequential order in which they were issued.

In the Collectors Guide to New Toy Soldiers, Stuart Asquith tells us that the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range  ran to 36 different white metal figures and had a limited edition of just 100 castings for each.  They were sculpted by Graham Morris and produced by Peter Cowan.

I only recall seeing 54mm figures of Tudor period Kerns and Galloglass once before, made in a rubber material by a chap in Russia, so they are now beyond our reach.

This is a more recent acquisition, marked O.9 and listed as Patzinak Mercenary 11th Century (Byzantine), he is a horse archer of the semi nomadic Turkic Pechenegs from Central Asia who allied with the Byzantines to control the Southeast European steppe and Crimean peninsula.  Another very unusual subject, there were three other Byzantine figures in the range.

I don't think this is the start of a new collection for me, because of the 36 figures in the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range at least half depict 20th century subjects (primarily from the Indian Armed Forces) which don't really appeal to me. There are some interesting and unusual subjects among the Ancient and Medieval figures so I will be tempted to pick up more if I come across them.

Given that Shamus O D Wade was of Irish heritage (like me, he was born and raised in England to Irish parents and lived near us in West London) I had hoped that he might have included more Irish subjects in the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy range but sadly not.  I knew Shamus through the British Model Soldier Society and subscribed to his sales lists in the 1970s/80s, but at that time I was only interested in buying hollowcast figures from minor UK makers so took little interest in his Nostalgia and Oojah-Cum-Pivvy ranges of modern white metal figures.

Although he had no real interest in plastic toy soldiers Shamus was always supportive of Plastic Warrior from the earliest days, he was one of the few dealers to take a stand at the very first Plastic Warrior Show and it was entirely down to his continuous urging that we started to lodge copies of the magazine with the British Library so that the information they contain would be preserved for posterity. 

Die Zinnlaube vol. 14

 Volume 14 of Die Zinnlaube arrived recently, now only published once a year, this is the 2024/25 issue, 112 pages (including the cover) printed in full colour throughout with text in German and English.

Articles include: 

Figures portraying Andreas Hofer and others made by Johann Hilpert

Czech Gymnasts Association flats made by Ernst Heinrichsen

British Life Guards and Prussian Hussars, solids from 1880 by Ammon of Furth

Figures from the Hungarian Uprising of 1848/49 by Sohlke

Characters from fairy tales (more early flats)

Sack of Louvain 1914, rare set from Ernst Heinrichsen

10cm composition figures 1914 from SFJB of Paris

The Death of Marshal Schwerin 1757 

Swedish Kings from Karl XV to Gustav VI

Tin figure exhibition at the German National Museum, Nuremeberg

German infantry battle Franc tireurs in Louvain 1914

The heavy coverage of tin flat toy soldiers won't appeal to everyone but I find the articles are always very refreshing with subjects and figures you will rarely ever see elsewhere.