Interrogation vignette

For a few years now Dave Brown and Eclaireur, respective authors of the "General de Brigade" and "British Grenadier" rules sets, have organised large games that take place over a weekend at London's National Army Museum. As well as granting us the space for larger games, the National Army Museum provides an inspiring venue and gives the museum's visitors a chance to see what wargamers do (although this also induces spasms of nervous twitching when youngsters start manhandling and playing with models that are sitting around off-table).

In 2004 and 2005 these wargaming weekends featured both a Napoleonic and an AWI game (in the case of the latter, 2004 saw the battle of Monmouth and 2005 the battle of Brandywine). Alan and Michael Perry came along for the AWI games to demonstrate their uncanny ability to throw nothing but double-sixes for prolonged periods. It was noted that Alan's AWI range was nearing the magic "100 packs" mark. Shortly afterwards, I suggested on the TMP forum as a joke that a suitable way of celebrating this landmark would be for Alan to do a "National Army Museum characters" pack. It was then suggested (I'm not sure by whom, perhaps Eclaireur or Alan himself) that a suitable vignette might be a group of British/Hessian officers interrogating Alan, as an allegory of the pestering that Alan has to put with from those of us who are always demanding that he makes specific packs of obscure AWI troops.

And so pack AW100 was born. Mug-shots and measurements (our heights, obviously...) were sent to Alan early in 2006, there was a bit of discussion about what uniforms the various, er, "personalities" should be wearing and then in July I received an email from Alan with a picture of the greens he had finished. The likenesses that he has captured in such a small scale are absolutely incredible. The Perries together with other Games Workshop designers have already demonstrated their superb skill as portrait artists through their "Lord of the Rings" figures, so I suppose we should not really have been surprised at how well these figures turned out. But many thanks to Alan for being so game and taking on this capricious idea!

In front of Alan are a gesticulating Eclaireur (in the uniform of a Guards officer; of impeccable breeding is EC), Dave Brown in the yellow facings of the 44th Foot (which became the East Essex Regiment in 1782) and myself reading the captured despatches, dressed as an officer in the Black Watch. Behind Alan are two Hessians in the orange facings of the von Lossberg regiment. The tall officer is AWI expert and guru Supercilius Maximus (as he is known on TMP) whilst the sentry is a chap I think is called Norbert. I also painted a set of masters for Alan's own collection which he's put up on his site. Painted November 2006. Tree stumps and fence from Redoubt Miniatures. Base size: 100mm x 100mm.