Silver bayonet Monsters
March 21, 2025
Hi, this is the other Dave from Wargames Emporium. To recap this has been a journey in force building for The Silver Bayonet ‘A Wargame of Napoleonic Horror’ authored by Joseph A McCullough published by Osprey games. So far just using single sprues I have built & painted the core of a British Warband and French Warband. This article though looks at the start of the Monsters, and I’m really excited because the Monster list is quite long and varied.
I started by referencing the Bestiary in the Rulebook, it lists around twenty different monsters, of various numbers, so where do we start?
As usual I visited the Wargames Emporium website, followed by a store visit in Sheffield UK. My first consideration was the Revenant (probably in ignorance, let me know, I’m just thinking zombies) Now in a slight change I already have a number of torsos & legs left over from the previous builds, all Perry’s. The idea is to have some Napoleonic soldiers rising from the dead as well as some generic undead peasantry. I wanted the new Wargames Atlantic zombie sprue, as it really does look good, but at the time I was a little bit ahead of the release. I instead chose the Oath-mark undead peasants sprue. On a number of the Perry figures I cut the legs and/or feet and moved until they were at an awkward angle and reglued. This was my attempt to create that shambling movement, that is stuck in my head for zombies. All the heads were from the Oath-Mark sprue and I mixed and matched the arms. The Oath-Mark heads and arms are oversized on the Perry figures; however I think I’ve mostly got away with it, what do you think?
My next step were the Werewolves and Wargames Atlantic didn't disappoint. A single sprue builds four Werewolves, I think you may need more but I already had some from a different project
I went off track for the remaining figures, and I used EMP Games, this is an eclectic range of figures we at Wargames Emporium have been developing over the years. My first choice was a single Pumpkin head, this is from a pack four metal figures, and at present this became my Living Scarecrow. I have never painted these figures and I was so surprised at how quick I painted this; it was so easy, and I’m pleased with the result.
My final figure was a resin troll, again this was my first time painting and again it was really quick and easy. Completely biased here, but this is a new release figure, and this along with it’s brethren I think are worth checking out, they are kind of ‘cute’.
Well, I’ve finished this mini project, however I have a lot more Monsters to source and build and it has been a great deal of fun. I’ve a couple of infantry figures to be recruited by bandits, and I’ve got three undead peasants left, maybe they will become ghouls?
The paint job is very dark and grimy, but I do like that. The standard of painting is ‘Don’t look close, four foot is fine’ and again I’m happy with that. I paint quite prolifically as you may notice in my final photo, as I have a bunch of rats and giant rats for a Ratman army – as part of an escalation campaign I’m playing, and a Space Marine Chaplin on a bike. I have an unusual Space Marine force and this Chaplin will fit quite nicely. He isn’t necessary I just liked the model. (Currently this whole force is in the window of our Mansfield store if you are passing) The point is I’m always painting or crafting, so I can play, and that is the standard I aim for. What painting standards do you strive to achieve, and why?
On reflection now I’ve got to a level where I can play the game and build and paint more figures, I’m surprised at the level of satisfaction I derived from using the sprues in a manner they weren't intended for. Learning basic Kit-bashing is just good fun, and I intend to do a lot more.
As an aside Trench Crusade is Red Hot at this time, and it does look amazing and very tempting. However, Osprey publish a game called ‘A War Transformed, WW1 on the Doggerland front’ authored by Frederick Silburn-Slater, the premise has similarities, what do people think of this, and how do you rate it?
Thanks for getting to the end and I hope you enjoyed this brief distraction.
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