Casualty Markers
I find myself needing some casualty markers for my next game, most of my units have medical services and wounded and a few dead figures which I sometimes use as casualty markers during a game.
But for this next scenario I need quite a few, so dug through my various bags of plastics and my bits box to get a suitable number for the visual look of the game.
18 dead and wounded figures painted up in a generic khaki/brown uniform, some with British pith helmets.
These come from all over the place - Airfix WW1 French, Airfix FFL, Airfix WW2 Australians, old Airfix US Marines (with head-swaps), Matchbox WW2 Australians, Airfix US Cavalry, Airfix WW1 British (this one figure is about 50yrs old), IMEX ACW union soldiers plus some Tumbling Dice metals (with head-swaps).
In wargames casualties are often overlooked (simply “removed” in many cases). I suspect though that these casualties will allow you to tell a bit more of a “story”.
ReplyDeleteYes, more to tell the story (window dressing in effect), though the wounded figures may have a more active role
DeleteNice casualty markers, they have turned out really well, a figure that does tend to be well overlooked.
ReplyDeleteNot something us wargamers consider high on the important list, but I was inspired by recent photos of big show games in the UK to try something different.
DeleteNice markers. What I always found strange in many wargame rules is the absence of these kind of markers. Omaha or Dieppe beaches "clean" of casualties looks always very bad and doesn't look right as it look a nice spanish beach in the spring (you know waht I mean :) . What I found very nice in ACW Fire&Fury and all Rich Hasenaur rules is markers for most of the actions and yours look great.
ReplyDeleteHola João, Yes for some battles you need the visual reminder that war isn`t clean. Like I wrote most of my armies have a small medical unit which includes casualties, but for this next game not to have more would have looked weird.
DeleteThese are a great bit of modelling pragmatism — eighteen figures in a generic khaki-brown uniform, with a few pith helmets, will read as casualties on almost any table. I like the range of sources too, from Airfix WW1 French and FFL to the old Airfix US Marines and that fifty-year-old WW1 British figure, plus the Tumbling Dice metals with head-swaps. You are right that a battlefield without any fallen figures looks oddly clean, and having wounded figures on the table should tell the story of the fight much better. Between painting sessions I found this Kick the Buddy APK download guide handy for a quick break.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment, much appreciated :)
DeleteCasualties are easy to overlook in wargames, and this post is a good reminder of why they matter — a battlefield without any fallen figures does look oddly clean, and the wounded tell the story of a fight better than any after-action report. Elliesdad's point about rules that actually use them is a good one, and the way you built these from Airfix bits and Tumbling Dice metals with head-swaps shows the modelling side is as much fun as the gaming. I also play a fast anime fighter on my phone, and the link is here for anyone who wants a quick match between painting sessions: https://narutosenkiapk.app/naruto-senki-storm-3/ — the short fights are a fun change of pace. It is a nice break from the modelling bench.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments much appreciated
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