Warlord Games Epic Battles Waterloo Prussian Starter Set Unboxing

[@dorb1530]

For non painter like me this is great to be able to assemble and play out of the box. Glad they are staying with the colors of the nations being separate.

[@MiniatureRealms]

It’s great isn’t it, they’re definitely trying to copy the Airfix coloured plastic army vibe.

[@CTID-9320]

Great stuff, I’m holding back on purchasing my Prussians until I’ve got at least four French brigades painted and based. I’ve just finished my first so it will be a few months yet. At least you will probably have a painting guide up by then. No pressure 😊. Always enjoy your videos so thanks for all you do. 👍

[@MiniatureRealms]

Thank you that’s very kind 😊 You have good willpower as well, that’s exactly what I should have done really. Though I’m happy for these to sit in boxes, even if it takes me years to get through them, it’s a period that I won’t give up and I can’t think of a better scale and format for me.

[@CTID-9320]

@@MiniatureRealms Very true, it’s a wonderful scale and you don’t have to spend a fortune to build up a fair sized army. I’ve had 18mm Napoleonic army’s and dappled a bit into 28mm but to get a decent army of either scale is fairly expensive and in my opinion the epic scale look amazing once they are all painted and based. I know we have been spoilt recently with so many releases but the icing on the cake would be for Warlord to produce a sprue of Guard cavalry one day. Would love a unit of Polish lancers in my army. 🙏

[@MiniatureRealms]

Go have a look at the Warlord Community blog posts when they announced the Generals/personalities, there’s some guard cavalry hiding at the back of one of the pictures.

[@CTID-9320]

@@MiniatureRealms Great spot, I’ve just had a peek. 😄

[@stephenritchie9581]

Brilliant and very informative Stuart. Can’t wait to see your painted versions which will be awesome as usual 👍👍👍👍👍

[@MiniatureRealms]

Thank you 😊

[@ratelmike8825]

Thanks for the insight into this boxset, Stuart. Having grabbed the hundred day war book, this set is definitely on my shopping list to follow the campaign in the book. Catching up on your paint guides for the Prussians.

[@MiniatureRealms]

They’re great little sets, really like the Prussian models.

[@kelvinhawkins9535]

I'm holding back from purchasing the Prussians. It's really tough because I adore their military history in this period. (pre-ordered Blucher though) I just have too many British and French left to paint, as well as a Normandy German Bolt Action force. You know, that glorious pitfall for all hobbyists - biting off more than you can chew. :( Great review as always.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Thank you. Totally understand this, a very sensible approach, completely understandable the many spinning plates of hobby projects.

[@norm977]

Thanks, picked my starter set up from Warlord Games yesterday at the Phalanx wargame show. Overall, I think this is an important set in expanding the napoleonic Epic range of nationalities. When I did my test base, I primed in black with brush primer, which felt strange as the plastic is black and I had to trust that I had covered the figure properly, but on completion, everything was fine and looking good. After priming, I dry brush white and find the Prussians paint up quite quickly from that point. I am basing on 55mm frontages rather than the 60mm as this, to my eye at least, reduces the gap between the bases. I had been cutting the plastic bases down with a fine toothed razor saw, but yesterday, I picked up the MDF bases from Warbases.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Yeah it’s hard priming black over black, you can’t tell what you’ve done until it’s dried, but at least any little missed bits won’t show up. I’ve seen a few people trim the edges of the bases for ACW, looks good.

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Handy tip i found scoring with a sharp knife and ruler ,on some other plastic bases ,they will snap clean

[@norm977]

@@Rusty_Gold85 Thanks, I will try that. These bases are not so brittle / hard, so snapping might not be so straight forward, but certainly worth a try ... anything that makes life easier 🙂

[@Richard-jp7wz]

Any thoughts of painting up some of the Landwehr as Russian Militia? I’m certain you could whip up some excellent looking Russian Militia.

[@MiniatureRealms]

I’ve not thought much about it myself yet, but could be something fun to explore in the future.

[@graemehay6814]

Magic stuff 👍The starter set is great. Maybe a bit light on Landwehr but still great value. I'll be making von Bulow's IV Corps and the 5th Brigade from Pirch's II Corps...so they will come your way at some point 😂👍

[@MiniatureRealms]

Probably well before mine are painted 😂

[@graemehay6814]

@@MiniatureRealms 😂😂😂

[@thatwargaming5459]

Thank you this is what put me over the edge to buy this particular starter set

[@MiniatureRealms]

🙂 I hope you’re enjoying getting started.

[@thatwargaming5459]

@@MiniatureRealms the flags are actuate to Waterloo they are the post 1806 flags*

[@thatwargaming5459]

@@MiniatureRealmsjust wondering for the landwer how do add the flags I’m not likely going to paint them😅

[@thatwargaming5459]

Just to add more flair

[@MiniatureRealms]

They’re very much optional, I think they include individual banner poles on the sprue, so you’d have to glue one to a strip, maybe trimming off a musket first. I’ve not done this myself, so it just theory I’m afraid.

[@scoticvsgossage9378]

It'd be finicky, and you'll have to be careful with storage, but you could magnetize your favorite characters from the diorama set so they can be swapped out to a command base! Tiny magnets would do, these are small and light models after all.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Absolutely, that would work well. I’ll probably go down the route of finding a second set (and maybe more) first).

[@scoticvsgossage9378]

So what's your plan for the extra cavalry minis left after everything's said and done? I have a starter box in hand and I've come to the realization one could technically add another base of Landwehr cavalry, just with mostly all swords and one lance, or add the man with the sabre to the middle of each base, and evenly distribute the lances between each of them. Boom, you have two standard units of Landwehr Cavalry (3 bases each for newcomers) My hang up is the other cavalry sprues. Its six cavalry minis per 'unit' on the sprue. So 6 Hussars, 6 Dragoons, and 6 Uhlans, per sprue. There's enough slots for 5 men per base. My thoughts are this: 1. Could forgo creating a new base of Landwehr and use the lancers to add to the Uhlans, then use the spare cavalry saber 'officer' minis from the other units to create a new base of Hussars or Dragoons depending on what works 2. Use the spare cavalry for improvised casualty tokens. All in all its 9 horsemen that cant technically go together to create whole units, doesn't mean I cant do some drilling, cutting, and bending of plastic to create some gory set pieces for said counters. 3. Use them as 'Cavalry Commanders' and free up the infantry officers to act with their intended regiments, and use some of the remaining cavalry minis to add little 'retinues' for said officers. 4. Create a dynamic diorama to go with my promo Plancenoit minis

[@MiniatureRealms]

I honestly haven’t given it much thought yet. I’ve got a bundle with extra sets, plus my review stock as well, so all in all there’s quite a bit to work out before I see what spares I might have. However as it stands, apart from the odd paint video, I’m not making any plans for my Prussians until I’ve done quite a bit more of my British and French. You’ve got some good ideas there though.

[@sergiol1949]

Nice video, I have a question, what painting kit you can recomend for this bundle, Im starting and dont know a lot of all this.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Thank you. That’s potentially quite a big question, are you new to painting, or just this game? Watching a few of my painting tutorials will help give you a good grounding on what I use.

[@sergiol1949]

@@MiniatureRealms Yes, I'm new at painting, but I mean that, how can I know what paints I need?

[@MiniatureRealms]

Different painters will use totally different methods and paints, so it’s quite a tricky question to answer. If you wanted to copy the way I paint them, then I list and explain in the videos. For a more general approach, Warlord Games have starter sets based on the different nations. I’d also search for some beginner painting videos, don’t worry too much what game, but just some videos that show basic principles and techniques.

[@sergiol1949]

@@MiniatureRealms Thanks, I will look for that starter packs tht you say, really really thanks.

[@MiniatureRealms]

No problem. I’m aware I’ve given you very little in the way of information, but it’s such a huge subject. More than I could easily cover in a comment. The starter paint sets won’t necessarily give you what you need to follow my tutorials, but the way I paint isn’t the most common way people learn, so I think started sets are a good place to go. Please do watch some beginner painting videos as well, as there other information you’ll need, like preparing models, glues, priming models etc. It’s given me an idea for a video, but it will be a while off, so too late to help you.

[@electricfootballhero1349]

Accessible? I don't know about that. A starter set costs approx. $100, not counting the cost of paints, brushes, a gigantic table that is not commercially available, a workshop filled with tools to build said table yourself, and an additional $100 for another starter set just to have an enemy army to fight. Entry level into this hobby is more expensive than model trains, Subbuteo, electric football, and Dungeons and Dragons combined.

[@MiniatureRealms]

It’s very definitely not a cheap hobby, and I agree not as accessible as some of your examples. But compared to compared to other ways for getting large armies of this period on the table it is more so now. If you’re comparing to those other hobbies, it’s probably fairer to look at other Wargaming starter products, there are many much cheaper. It’s probably worth also being fair with your other points. You don’t need all those tools to start with, you don’t need the massive table to start with, but you may want to add them later. This is exactly the same for model trains (which can be way more expensive if you go beyond a child’s beginners set). So I agree to a point, it’s definitely not ‘walk into a toy shop and grab a set’ accessible, but as a way to get a huge Napoleonic army in one box, it is in the current market. I’d still like to see a 2 player starter set for this, they’ve current got a new one for ECW, and two for ACW in the same scale (the smaller one is an excellent starter, and about accessible as historical Wargaming gets).

[@Rusty_Gold85]

I was counting the Battalions of French at waterloo today and concluded there was 201 Light and line and 53 various Cavalry, 2o divisions. So I was thinking you would have to break down the sprues into 2 Battalions each to even be get close to enough if you buy 100 sprues all up .Perhaps Greatcoats into one group. The second 2 stands will need a pole invented on a musket or buy some metals. Then do we add the skirmishers en march ? But i am not sure should I go 4 stands for British to represent a Regiment of 8-10 companies? perhaps !

[@MiniatureRealms]

I’ve no plans to try and represent all the battalions, fun for a a massive multiplayer game one day maybe, but I’m more than happy with 1-2 Divisions being represented on the table. I prefer 3-4 stands visually, it just looks like massed troops, which I think is what I’ve always been looking for. I used to play 6mm many many years ago, could field huge armies, but ultimately they were still only made up of around 24-30 models, so didn’t look like enough men. I’d go with what’s more important to you, size of army or visual appeal.

[@suburbiapheonix7960]

I am going to ask the 'squirm' question now just for bedevilment. Have finished painting all your French and British now?

[@MiniatureRealms]

😅 Oh god no 🤣 I fully expect/am prepared for this to be a long term project, it’s definitely a slow grow project to keep me going for years. Now do I wish I’d painted a bit more, yes definitely, I’m behind where I expected for sure. Some of that is because I’ve added KZbin as a hobby, and making videos takes up some hobby time, but I wouldn’t change it. I’ll keep plugging away, and will be a lot happier when I’ve got playable forces for British and French so I can start doing battle reports.

[@suburbiapheonix7960]

@@MiniatureRealms Just made me feel a whole lot better! I got as far as solving the rattle can problem and then stopped dead. I did pick up the Prussians but my epic collection sits in the loft mocking me for now. Too hot to paint anyway. The Prussian frames look very shiney so a good wash I think is the start point. Again I will hand primer them. But I think this time the volume of unpainted plastic is telling me to stop buying for now. I get this feeling however that pike and shot ECW is on the cards for year end for some reason. Think I will need to rob a bank.

[@MiniatureRealms]

😂 I’d love Epic ECW, but I also wouldn’t be too sad if they took a year off and released something else to give me time to catch up.

[@suburbiapheonix7960]

@@MiniatureRealms I hear you there. They caught me utterly unaware with Slaine and I have to say I am out of cash to take the entire second wave now. I just don't have the funds even for the epic leaders and casualty sets let alone the supplement. I have to just stop.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Totally understand. They’ve done my favourite two periods now, so I may have more restraint on others 😂

[@gundricsgamesandhistory.9450]

Sadly, the flag coverage for the line regiments is a bit spotty. They haven't added any East Prussian flags at all. Whether that is due to them not being heavily involved in 1815 I don't know, but it leaves me with having to source other flags for my 1813 Prussians that I have planned.

[@suburbiapheonix7960]

I think it was the full intent of Warlord to supply for the Battle of Waterloo specifically. The greater Napoleonic period probably doesn't sell as well sadly. We shall see what they intend to do going forward.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Oh that’s a shame, luckily there’s a good supply of suppliers out there. I like that Warlord provide some, and I’d happily pay for more if they sold them. I don’t begrudge them with what they do provide though, more than many I think.

[@gundricsgamesandhistory.9450]

@@MiniatureRealms It is a shame, I do like the flags that Warlord have produced as well and would definitely purchase the additional flags if they make them.

[@joken-actual]

This is a box to far for me. I think the Wargames Illustrated sprues I have will give me 3 Battalions of Prussian which I think will be enough to give an impression of the Prussians with the Anglo-Dutch I have from the British Starter set I have.

[@MiniatureRealms]

Totally get you, I’m very aware that these will sit in the box for quite a while, and I may have held off getting them longer if it wasn’t for the channel. I have a vision of a large ‘Epic scale’ (including 3d prints to fill the gaps) collection that will take many years to complete, so this helps me with it collecting dust. I may do a bit of a calculation on what I may need though, if I’ve got too much I’ll move the excess on.

[@joken-actual]

For me the key is to buy what I’ll realistically use. At 3 bases per battalion/regiment the table is all but full at 16 infantry units with supporting artillery (4 units of two bases) and cavalry at 3 units of heavy and 3 light. If I buy any more I’m kidding myself that it’ll even make the painting table let alone get played - I just can’t paint 10 battalions of figures I don’t have the table size to use. Assuming I finish the British this year, which is doable, then I’ll do the French Starter next year, but there may be Epic ECW coming down the pipe which would be another definite buy so the Prussians are just not for me.

[@MiniatureRealms]

This is all entirely smart and sensible, soothing you won’t always get with me 😂 My plan is to work on my Waterloo forces, then maybe even do separate Peninsular forces with different paint jobs. I’m certainly comfortable with lots of the plastic frames sitting in boxes until I need them, not putting any pressure on myself to get them done to a timescale now. ACW is paused for a bit really, but I know once day/film/book and I’ll move it back higher in rotation. Napoleonics and ACW are by far my favourite periods, have always been so, so is larger scale battles, so I feel safe they won’t be abandoned. Epic ECW would be too hard to resist. There’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind if it was a period I didn’t want to do next 😅