September 5, 2016 – Man of Tin blog

Some useful artillery park accessories – A127 “Piled arms” (muskets / rifles), A121 mortar, A129 powder barrel and A125 pile of large cannon balls, all very useful in many periods.

Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian Artillery Train

Another favourite figure the Peter Laing Marlburian (A112 Muleteer?)

Peter Laing’s first figures – the first 15mm Wargames figures ever produced in October 1972 – were a small range of Marlburian figures. Literally a small range as they are somewhere between 12mm and 15mm and very slender!

I have been chatting by email with fellow Peter Laing collectors Ian Dury and Alec Green in the Midlands about this Marlburian range, a few of which I bought directly by post from Peter Laing and painted c. 1983. Recently I found a small group of a few unpainted Marlburians, mixed in with other figures in a 15mm figure job lot online.

What I liked about Peter’s range were the link items or his suggested possible “Dual Use” items that fitted more than one range – more for your money if the figures could be (painted to be) used in several periods. I have some of these lovely Highlanders, but that’s another blog story.

Some of the early Peter Laing Marlburian figures can be seen in the advert (above) from Peter Laing figure collector Ian Dury, shown in Bob Cordery’s excellent blog: http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/in-praise-of-peter-laing-figures-part-1.html

Marlburian limber (A108) for artillery, painted c. 1983 with Muleteer (A112) and draught horse walking (M104).

Peter Laing 15mm artillery equipment – waggon(A???) cannonballs (A125) and powder keg (A129)

Doing the Lambeth walk? Close up Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian drover (A106), a figure to use across many periods.

Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian Mortar (A121) and escort – Private marching (A102)

Keep your powder dry with this A113 Powder Cart.

Lots of tricornes, horses and turn-back long coats abound in this Marlburian range, it’s like an outbreak or episode of Poldark. Or Smoldark as it / he is known amongst the ladies at work …

Not part of Capability 300 to celebrate landscape gardening but the Marlburian gunner with bucket (A119), another lovely figure from Peter Laing in 15mm.

Peter Laing Marlburian gunner with sponge horizontal (A102), with a very delicate but well-proportioned sponge.

A game of bowls? No, a surplus of Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian artillery gunners (A120) holding cannonballs!

Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian infantry (grenadiers on the right) F122 Private advancing, F102 Private marching, F101 Grenadier marching and F120 Grenadier throwing grenade.

Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian F117 grenadier drummer, F104 infantry drummer marching, officer F114? and sergeant F116? standing with half pikes.

Peter Laing 15mm Marlburian infantry painted as French-Indian Wars in America, French troops, painted c. 1983. F109 Private standing, F124 Private kneeling.

Peter Laing 15mm Mounted officer (M103) – is it Marlborough himself? Mounted dragoon, musket slung (M101).

Beautifully modelled Marlburian dragoon with slung musket (M101) and mounted officer (M103).

Three different paintings of a Marlburian mounted kettle drummer (M106).

A fine Peter Laing 15mm unpainted Marlburian mounted trumpeter (M107) and drummer (M106).

A spirited Marlburian cavalry trooper charging, M105 in the Peter Laing 15mm range.

Henry Hyde the editor of Miniature Wargames also has / had a Peter Laing collection from the Marlburian period, shown here on his blog: http://henrys-wargaming.co.uk/?p=1458 and a lovely Flickr selection of photos with some Marlburian figures I never had: https://www.flickr.com/photos/battlegames/sets/72157635085527870/

John Patriquin in his Wargames Hermit blog shows some more unusual sapper, hautbois musicians and other gunner figures from the Peter Laing Marlburian range: http://wargamehermit.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/15mm-peter-laing-marlboroughs-campaign.html

http://wargamehermit.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/more-15mm-peter-laing-marlborough.html

Alec Green sent me a picture of a group of his well painted Private and Grenadier advancing figures (F122 and F121):

Lovely figures, half the size but still as charming and ‘toy soldier-like’ as the classic Spencer Smith 30mm 18th Century figures.

Happy gaming!

Posted by Mr. MIN, Man of TIN, September 2016.