I will say off the bat I like themes and ideas that augment existing plastic kits. I.E. Command Groups, heavy weapons, etc., for existing plastics. STLs like that will enable one to actually field a fully playable army/force.
Casualties and Zombies has already been proposed. This is a fantastic idea. Casualties are geat for casualty/fatigue/pin markers. Bonus if WGA includes a printable base for the casualties that has a dial or at least holds a dice to record numbers.
And of course Zombies make every game and setting better.
Command and Control is another already proposed theme that would be great. Officers, NCOs, Color Bearers, medics, RTOs, etc.
The theme for March 2023 is females. I'm sure we will see this theme repeat as there's so much one can do.
I'm hoping for female bodies compatible with the plastic arms from existing sets. (Much like how the female Cannon Fodder bodies can use the arms from both sets). Yes I am talking about female Panzer Lehr, female Conquistadors, etc.
In sci-fi & fantasy females' figures would be OK, but in history? Nope, except for the Red Lanterns (pratically females' equivalent for the Boxers). Logically you've to consider a product's marketability, don't think female napoleonics will ever an option, (except for civvies/guerrillas, either spanish or russians). Ancient female greeks logically would be seen as Amazons, and for female (fantasy) pirates a plastic multi part kit could be interesting (NO high hells, please!)
Just because you don't have an interest doesn't mean there isn't one.
Female Napoleonic miniatures are having a mini renaissance right now. (Pun intended). At least three companies are making physical female Napoleonic (Hussars, Rifleman, etc) miniatures and at least one is making STLs.
I believe there is a similar interest in female combatants for all eras. There's only one way to find out....
"But, but, but, it's not historical!" No matter how hard one tries it will always be a GAME played with toy Soldiers, not a simulation. It's OK to have fun.
@JTam As I just said there's a difference btw historical and fantasy, the real problem is to sell some products more than others, naturally if all-female range sell well the better, this is the benefit of 3D's printing, whoever can create a range of figures and sell the STL files without too many costs for either manifacturing and stockings.
P.s. a "generic" boarding party, either in plastic or STL could be interesting, given the lack of uniforms the sailors had until early 19th century, it could cover pratically from late 1600 'til the napoleonic era, with 5/6 bodies and various heads/arms & weapons options, similar to Blood & Plunder's sprue.
@Alessio De Carolis and on top of that, naval uniforms FROM the 19th C through in some cases present day were very similar internationally too. You could probably cover age of sail and age of steam/diesel with two sets 😉
@JTam if there are rules for them in Bolt Action, I'd hope they take into account that the dogs almost certainly caused more freindly fire than damage inflicted on the enemy, and that many of them had to be shot by their own side when they panicked and returned.
Which I imagine could not have been great for morale, concealment or ammunition stocks.
@Mark Dewis There was an old novel by P. Anderson ,"Hunters of the sky Cave", where the main adversaries were a race of "wolfmen", a sort of evoluted wolwes, very similar to those pictured.
And yes, USMC in the Pacific used extensively dogs against enemy snipers, it seemed that these animals had a sort of sixt sense to locate the enemies.
@Alessio De Carolis not so much a sixth sense as better in some of the regular five than humans (particularly smell, but dogs have a different hearing range too, so might hear noises that humans on both sides do not).
@JTam yeah, IMHO that table gives FAR too high a chance of success. Should be more like successful on a 6, no effect on 4-5 and runs back towards the handler on a 2-3. In the case of the latter give the owning side a chance to shoot it. Failure it blows up the handler, "success" gives a morale penalty of some kind.
(I would note that that rule gives no chance of a bad result if the owning side has no vehicles left)
There really isn't a problem if the dog returns to Soviet lines/particularly the handler. Look at the mechanism of the bomb in the above diagram. Unless the dog crawls under a fixed object the bomb is not going off. The only real danger (as represented by the Bolt Action rules) is if the dog is drawn to the familiar diesel powered goodness of a Soviet tank.
Franco-Prussian War Cuirassiers would compliment the upcoming WGA plastic Franco-Prussian War Bavarians.
The obvious choice would be Bavarian Cuirassiers:
But Prussians Cuirassiers:
Or French Cuirassiers:
Would also be great kits.
The Perry Brothers are just releasing the French Infantry to compliment their Franco-Prussian War Prussians.... So interest in gaming the Franco-Prussian War is probably currently at its high water mark.
