Colonials/Victorian Science
FictionWe'd always been interested in Colonials, as a group, but other than a brief foray using 1/72 plastic troops for The Sword & The Flame, no one had ever done it as a project. That was until my friend Tom got the idea to write his own set of rules. They began as Colonials, and once he was satisfied with the basic move and sequencing, he began to add in Victorian Science Fiction elements. We playtested them a number of times, each evening leading to new tweaks, it seemed. Actually, they're still a work in progress, and Tom hasn't pronounced himself completely satisfied, yet.
We enjoy them though, and have had a number of great games using them. Tom even ran it at Origins 2007, and it was well received by his players (a couple who are veteran colonial gamers). Eventually, Tom's enthusiasm convinced me to paint up a force for his project. So, at Cold Wars 2006 I picked up Italian Colonials by Tin Soldier (the only ones who make them in this scale, I think). With Tom's basing scheme, a European force paints up extremely quickly. Infantry "half battalions" are generally four stands of two figures each. So, before long, I had two units of Italian Colonial line, two units of Italian Colonial elite Bersaglieri and two units of Askari infantry. The next Cold Wars I picked up Maxim machine guns to augment the force, along with a unit of cavalry (which is still to be painted).
I have plenty more from that initial purchase to paint, so you may see additions to the Italian Expeditionary Force in Africa, from time to time...
