This month I have spotted online and bought several new units of OOP (out of production) Peter Laing 15mm figures from his WW1 range.
I am quite pleased to have spotted them on eBay as they were vaguely or wrongly listed as “Minifigs / Other 15mm”.
Bird watchers talk about recognising the different “jizz” of similar looking SBJs (Small Brown Job) birds. Certain figure manufacturers have a typical or distinctive look and Peter Laing is one of those.
Originals were carved by hand from thick plasticard in the 1970s and 1980s in the days before ‘green stuff’. Peter Laing figures also have certain slenderness, deliberate under-detailing and a limited number of familiar Laing poses – advancing, firing, walking Officer with pistol – that make them more easily recognised.
As these figures are just about to vanish into the Christmas present cupboard for the next four months, I thought I would share these pictures with you.
15mm WW1 German Infantry and Machine Guns by Peter Laing.
Peter Laing 15mm WW1 (700s) with early pickelhaube spiked helmet
F0712 German Infantry Marching
F0713 German Infantry Firing
F0714 German Officer Marching
F0715 German Machine Gun and Gunner
F0716 German Machine Gun Loader
Distinctive and familiar poses of Peter Laing figures.
As well as German infantry, there were French WW1 Infantry
F0720 French Chasseur D’Alpin advancing
F0709 French Officer Marching
Chausseurs d’Alpins with their distinctive walking sticks
There was an interesting suggestion from Ian Dury fellow Laing collector who runs the Peter Laing page on the MeWe community forum (which replaced the Google + Community Peter Laing page) that, with walking stick removed, these figures make excellent 19th century Carlist Infantry (obviously an oversight by Peter Laing?)
Red and blue early war “target practice” and the more sensible later grey blue French?
F0708 French Infantry Advancing
F0707 French Infantry Firing Officer Marching
The machine gunners are not by Laing. The horses and artillery team at the back are Laing figures. Laing horses are very distinctive, with a primitive pony look to them.
The light blue French gunners, infantry and officers could pass as Austrians at a pinch.
Ian Dury (in his comments below) identified the artillery riders for me as
M0704 French Hussar with Lance removed.
A0706 French Gunner kneeling.
A0707 French Gunner kneeling with shell.
A0708 French 75mm field gun
If I have misidentified any Laing figures, cavalry or guns Ian Dury and the Peter Laing MeWe collectors group will happily always put me right – find us on
I have no great desire to run any WW1 historical game scenarios, instead I look at these troops as Bronte ImagiNations fodder for Ruritanian conflicts and border skirmishes.
Hopefully I might have painted some more of my WW1 Peter Laing unpainted figures to join these painted ones in time for the 50th Anniversary next autumn 2022 of the first Peter Laing figures being advertised and sold next October / November 1972, possibly the first ever 15mm gaming figures.
I have neglected my 15mm Peter Laing figures this year. I also have to confess – I didn’t paint these 15mm Belgian cyclists, but I did spot them for sale online buried away amongst thousands of 15mm listings.
I took a punt on these being Peter Laing figures as they were not listed by manufacturer. Having collected and painted several hundred Laing figures, I hoped I had correctly recognised these as Peter Laing figures which have quite a overall slender, stylish and distinctive look to them.
F711 Belgian Carabinier Cyclists
These cyclists are attractively based in units on road section bases.
Looking up the website of experienced Peter Laing collector John Patriquin (The Wargame Hermit blog) I saw an unpainted cyclist casting that gave me some hope that these figures for sale online were by Peter Laing. The sales photo left me with a few doubts. http://wargamehermit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/peter-laing-machine-gun-cyclsts.html
Nearby were some well painted 15mm Peter Laing WW1 Belgian infantry which I also purchased.
The Belgian infantry Carabiniers wore an interesting black uniform and shako that had yet to be fully modernised by the time WW1 broke out in 1914, so some units went to war in almost Napoleonic uniforms.
Peter Laing F710 Belgian Carabinier advancing
Although they are not Peter Laing figures, there are some attractive dog cart machine guns and the odd officer figure by another manufacturer.
Eventually I will split these unit bases up and rebase them as my rules use individual figure bases.
Another old unposted blog entry on Bicycle Troops
Finding some odd bicycle troops amongst a job lot of Peter Laing WW1 and WW2 15mm figures was interesting – still not sure of maker.
From Victorian era Boer War bicyclists to modern Afgahnistan and the modern Swiss Army, bicycles have played an interesting role in getting infantry and paratroops mobile, from the WW2 Bicycle Blitzkreig through Japanese cyclists on the jungle tracks to the airborne infantry with their parabikes.
Two recent books cover this area: Jim Fitzpatrick, The Bicycle in Wartime: An Illustrated History Paperback 2011 and R.S. Kohn’s book Bicycle Troops (2011) is also available on Amazon.
Both of these I look forward to reading, they are now on this year’s 2019 reading list.
Airfix had the odd OO/HO bicyclist in its RAF Crew figures range that could have a rifle added or a well equipped one or two in its WW1 French infantry. Bicycles were also added clutter in some of its OO/HO buildings range (Forward Strongpoint)
A useful bicycle figure from RAF Ground Crew which could have a rifle added etc.
Some wargames have simply added Bicycle shaped novelty paper clips.
In Mark Thompson’s The White War Life and Death on the Italian Front (p.71) tells the story of a Slovene child seeing Bersaglieri with their plumed hats approaching by bikes into the Caparetto / Isonzo area in 1915 and exclaimed “Daddy, look at all the ladies coming here on bikes!” Hardly the image that these tough mountain troops wished to create.
Many other amazing posts on this BSA Museum website such as AA Cycle scouts in wartime.
I have bought the odd small mixed lot of gaming figures recently online because they contained small caches of 15mm Peter Laing figures. Now that the moulds are missing, this is one of the few ways to acquire new Peter Laing figures.
Amongst one lot was a small group of about a dozen WW1 Russian Infantry figures with rolled greatcoats F759 and officer F760 but all painted brown with unusual black and white cross-gartered boots.
Ahead of many other makers, Peter Laing produced 15mm WW1 figures of many of these nations.
A quick check in Military Uniforms of The Worldin Colour suggests that the original owner painted them as WW1 Bulgarian Infantry. They needed basing and some of the paint touching up, whilst about half of them have no fixed bayonets.
An unusual choice of figure. I had to go and look up which side the Bulgarians fought for in WW1 – with Germany and the Central Powers from 1915 – and against whom. After a period of early neutrality, courted by both sides, they joined the Central Powers and fought initially against the Serbs, then against other Allied troops including the British on the stalemate of the Macedonian / Salonika Front.
“The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers from 14 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, until 30 September 1918, when the Armistice of Thessalonica came into effect.” (Wikipedia)
The unusual leggings are called Opankers and a dull brown woollen uniform was already in use amongst other ranks.
Bulgarian Infantry information in Military Uniforms of the World in Colour
During basing and flocking, I managed not to obscure the well painted opanker leggings too much.
Bulgarian troops in WW1 with distinctive foot gear (Wikipedia public domain image source)
So these Bulgarians were part of the army that invaded and pushed back the Serbian army, whose soldiers that Marvin at the Suburban Militarism blog has been beautifully painting recently, albeit in slightly larger 1:72 plastic figures.
Alongside the painted Peter Laing Bulgarians were some unpainted original figures of Russian infantry and others in peaked caps that may be British, Russian or other figures.
With Peter Laing figures details being so slight at 15mm size, there are a range of similar looking figures in similar helmets or soft and peaked hats which are almost interchangeable with some suitable painting.
Unpainted Peter Laing WW1 Russian infantry, F759 and officer F760, the originals of the Bulgarians and an artillery figure with shell British A703? Russian A728? German A711?
A suitbale painting guide for these figures as Russian WW1 infantry can also be found in the same uniform guide.
Russian and Serbian infantry from Military Uniforms of The World in Colour.
Useful uniform notes on WW1 Russian Infantry.
Amongst some of the other mixed figures were these artillerymen, one type medieval and the other Russian fur hatted artillery men.
A749? Soviet Gunner kneeling with fur hat, flanked by medieval range A904 kneeling gunner.
There were also a couple of machine gunners. Not sure which nation or side the left hand figure represents, the right hand figure may well be ANZAC machine gunner Fseven five two.
With so few of these Russian figures it is difficult to know whether to paint the remaining nineteen unpainted infantry as Russians.
Alternatively I could paint most of them as Bulgarians to make a small Bulgarian skirmish force of about thirty to thirty five figures to fight my British pith-helmeted infantry in a Macedonia or Balkan scenario, aided by the WWI Turkish infantry that I have. The two uniforms are pretty close anyway to paint and use interchangeably with a bit of gamer’s licence. I may keep one figure back to use as a future mould original and one to paint as a Russian figure.
Peter Laing 15mm WW1 Late War German infantry, converted to WW2 Desert DAK Deutsche Afrika Korps. Almost finished except for faces, fine details and gloss varnish.
You won’t find a Peter Laing 15mm WW2 Western Desert range as his WW2 range was a limited WW2 range of Americans, British and Germans.
Now that the Peter Laing figures are sadly no longer available and the original moulds probably lost, there will be no specific WW2 Western Desert range. However the slight detail of Peter Laing’s 15mm figures, which were painstakingly carved from laminated plasticard, here proves to our benefit:
“Detail is kept muted so there is no overscale effect, the detail in the figure depends on the amount that is put in the painting.” (Peter Laing Catalogue intro)
“It is naturally difficult to cover every Army type, but I have tried to give a good representative range to enable satisfactory games to be played. In 15mm scale it is possible, by judicious use of paint, to vary one figure to represent various army types, and of course the use of a file and knife can extend the utility of a figure even further.” (Peter Laing Catalogue Ancients section)
Conversion was something Peter encouraged through his suggestion of Dual Use Items / Suitable Items from other ranges.
As Peter produced an unusually comprehensive WW1 range at a time when few makers (except Airfix) had any WW1 gaming figures, there are perfectly good WW1 Late German infantry and artillery that can be used for WW2 troops.
F743 German Infantry Advancing, Steel Helmet
F745 German Infantry grenade thrower, Steel Helmet
Simple paint detailing of straps on the rear side.
This set of unpainted WW1 German figures came with a few Feldgrau painted figures, some with red insignia and piping etc of a WW1 German soldier or a colourful early pattern camouflage of a Stalheim or Steel helmet.
Peter Laing 15mm field grey WW1 Late War German Infantry F743, also suitable for WW2.
Some of these already painted but second-hand WW1 Peter Laing figures needed a little repaint but arrived with some useful conversion details such as the Plasticard square / rectangle knapsacks. The centre figure has the colourful WW1 stalheim camouflage.
At some point when I have acquired enough Peter Laing British steel helmet figures, picked up online in ones and twos, I shall paint these spare British infantry in desert colours for a small WW2 desert skirmish force. Some of the khaki Indian infantry with Turbans would complement these well.
My 2017 WW1 era desert skirmish with Indian troops and a trial Desert DAK type German figure with WW1 Turks.
I have also experimented with filing down the pointed dome of the pith helmet on some spare WW1 British Infantry Tropical Helmet F748, working on spare figures who have broken bayonets etc, in order to make more of a steel helmet WW2 “desert rat”. They already have the desert shorts. I should be able to make a scratch rifles Platoon / section for small skirmish games in this way.
Peter Laing 15mm WW2 figures
I have posted previously about Peter Laing’s WW2 range and skirmish games
This short evening solo game, played 1 figure = 1 man, was a good chance to explore using a larger gaming space on my larger 192 Hexes of Joy gaming board, featured in previous blogposts.
Recently I have been improvising a WW2 platoon level version of Donald Featherstone’s ‘Close Wars’ rules. These were originally written as an appendix in his book War Games (1962), as suitable rules for 18th Century redcoat versus tribal natives in a cluttered forest or wooded terrain.
I have been looking for very simple platoon level WW2 game rules, suitable for Peter Laing’s limited 15mm WW2 range, which were designed to give “a most satisfactory infantry action game”
Bolt Action they may not be, but it is interesting to look at the background logic, assumptions, simplifications, mechanisms and whys or wherefores involved to make suitable rules and weapons ranges for your style of game.
These simple rules could be used with WW2 infantry action in wooded or cluttered terrain, where vehicles cannot easily follow such as Normandy ’44 bocage hedged terrain (but without armoured vehicles) or early 1939-40 infantry action, the Bicycle Blitzkreig, the withdrawal to Dunkirk etc.
An Operation Sealion invasion of Britain scenario (1939 /1940/ 1941) is also possible with the few WW2 types that Peter Laing made. (I’m source some of them could double up as The Warmington Home Guard as required.)
Once artillery, heavy machine guns, vehicles and other long range weapons are introduced, the distances and ranges become too big for the smaller game boards and tabletops I work with.
Reference to weapons ranges and other scenario rules (buildings, street fighting etc) as situations emerge can be made to the ‘Simple WW2 rules’ that Donald Featherstone includes in his 1962 book War Games; the Close Wars rules are an appendix to this book (shown at end of blogpost).
Using 20mm plastic figures with a wider range of troop types available gives the possibility of an interesting jungle action of cluttered terrain which could be played with a box of Airfix OO/HO Australian / Gurkha infantry or US Marines and a box of Japanese infantry. Get those palm trees out to replace the fir trees.
1 figure = 1 man in skirmish rules.
Small numbers, small tables, short actions or games time = my style of usually solo game.
Aims or Victory Conditions
The aim of each force (as set out in Featherstone’s Close Wars rules) unless otherwise described is:
1. to seek out and destroy their enemy.
2. Alternatively, to get at least 50% of your troops to the opposite enemy baseline
However for each game, you can set your own scenario end or Victory Conditions.
This usually involves fighting to the last man, but occasionally involves rescuing or escorting to safety civilians, stretcher bearers or secret plans.
Infantry on foot move 6 inches per move or 2 hex / squares.
Uphill – moves up (opposed or unopposed) hills count as 1 hex / squares or half rate move e.g. 3 inches.
Peter Laing 15mm WW1 despatch rider.
Motorised vehicle e.g. motorcycle despatch rider moves 12 inches per move or 4 hex squares off-road (Plus 3 inches / 1 hex on road). Bicycle moves 12 inches on road / 4 hexes, 9 inches / 3 hexes offroad.
Stretcher bearers move 1 hex per move. They are not armed.
Difficult Terrain
If deemed passable, fording streams take 3 inches or 1 hex to cross. Fording places or bridges can be marked out.
Bogs and marshes (if deemed passable) at half speed eg 1 hex square per move. Other impassable features you can introduce include marked minefields.
Moves on clear paths or roads (if they exist) have 3 inch extra or 1 hex extra BONUS per move.
Crossing walls, fences etc or other barriers – as required, throw dice 1-3 yes, 4-6 no; takes 1 hex of a move.
Firing (if range of fire clear)
Range of LMG light machine guns (Bren Gun, MG34) – 12 inches or 4 hexes; throw 1 dice for LMG, full score counts as hits.
Rifles have a range of 12 inches or 4 hexes. Throw one d6 dice per firing man: 6 scores a hit. If firer is under cover or in buildings, 5 or 6 scores a hit on enemy. SMG or Submachine Guns (Sten, Tommy, etc) – 6 inches or 2 hexes; SMG – half dice counts as hits.
Pistols have under 6 inches or 1 hex range. Throw one d6 dice per firing man: 6 scores a hit. If firer is under cover or in buildings, 5 or 6 scores a hit on enemy
HMG (e.g. Maxim gun) – 18 inches or 6 hexes; Featherstone has a Mitrailleuse rule for ACW throw dice 1 to 3 entitles one dice for hits. 4 to 6 entitles 2 dice for hits.
WW1 / WW2 Maxim / heavy machine guns had an effective firing range of up to 2000 metres (effectively 48 inches or 16 hexes) which is too much for our space.
Peter Laing 15mm British and German light mortar carriers.
Mortars (2 inch or 50 mm / 60mm) require 2 man crew – target range from 1 hex to 3 hexes. Burst pattern for 50mm mortar is 3 inches or one hex. Roll d6 – if 3,4,5,6 hit target hex; all in nominated hex counted as hit.
Peter Laing German infantry WW1 rifleman, officer, grenade thrower and WW2 machine gunner and light mortar man. (Figures: Man of TIN collection)
Grenades – treat as mortars but with one hex throwing range /burst pattern; all in that square /hex counted as hits. Roll d6 – if 3,4,5,6 – all in nominated hex counted as hit.
Casualty Savings Throws
For each man hit, throw a casualty saving throw.
If fired on, each casualty has a d6 thrown for him. 4,5,6 wounded and carry on. If 123, casualty is dead.
If casualty under cover, 3,4,5,6 wounded and carry on 1,2,3 dead (except for mortar fire where use above as if not under cover)
You can choose to dispense with casualty savings throws if you wish, after firing and /or Melee. This gives a faster game.
This handy light gun with Peter Laing crew was an old board game piece from my childhood.
Light Field Artillery
To check line of sight / range of fire, the Lionel Tarr reversed periscope can be used for fun to get you down to table top toy soldier eye level.
2 pounder anti tank gun with crew of 3 (British QF) using Featherstone rules counts as LMG throw 1 dice, full score counts as hits.
2 pdr gun if hit by mortar: 10-12 knocked out, 9 knocked out for 2 moves, 8 knocked out for 3 moves. Crew? Casualty savings throws.
Taking Turns
Turns consist of four sections:
a) First side moves (possible melee)
b) Other side moves (possible melee)
c) First side fires
d) Other side fires
Throw dice at start of each game turn for each side to see who moves first.
Variations on this include: 1st side Move, 2nd side Fire , 1st side Fire, 2nd side move.
Melee
This is the ‘Bish Bash Am-Bush’ bit! Assume each man has something to fight at close hand with (pistols, clubs, rifles, bayonets, entrenching tools, fists or boots, etc)
Remember – We are playing 1:1 scale, each figure represents one man.
Melee is joined when one group of figures invades or faces the other square / hex.
You can add +1 to d6 throw for attacking side (if you choose / remember / can be bothered.) This is what Featherstone calls impetus bonus.
Choose pairs (of attacker vs. defender) and throw 1 d6 for each man involved.
Attacker can have the + 1 added to their d6 dice throw (if you choose / remember / can be bothered).
Highest score wins, loser can throw casualty saving throw* to see if killed 1-3 or only wounded / unharmed 4-6
Continue until each man has been involved in melee.
“Usual dice saving throws for melee Casualties” – Donald Featherstone.
* Or not if you want to speed things up.
Melee Morale Test(if desired / wanted / can be bothered)
At end of melee session, throw d6 for each side to see who wins melee morale test and who loses and retires 1 hex backwards. Some Featherstone versions times the dice by number of each side to come up with a post Melee Morale score.
Then d6 again for losers to see if routed:
Throw 1-3in rout, unable to fire or move further that round, effectively in modern games terms “pinned”. Roll again next move to see if still routed and retreating. A suitable coloured marker can be added to remember this.
or throw 4-6 in good order, retreat only one pace / hex.
Movement and ranges
The original ‘Close Wars’ appendix rules by Featherstone has a Redcoat Infantry man in the French and Indian Wars travelling at 9 inches in loose formation (under 3 figures) or in formation (over 3 figures) 6 inches in cluttered terrain. Natives carrying less and living off the land etc moved 9 inches.
In cluttered terrain, I assume that a heavily encumbered infantryman in WW2 is still carrying about the same amount of stuff and moving at the same speed as his ancestor in the 18th Century. Hopefully his boots and field rations would have improved though!
I take each 3 inches to be a Heroscape hex square.
Featherstone has a ‘Rifle’ range in his simplified WW2 rules and in Close Wars appendix rules both as 12 inches (which I take to be about 4 hexes) so assuming 500 metres to be 12 inches or 30 centimetres / 300mm, this gives us a rough working scale of a 3 inch hex equals 125 metres.
1 inch equals 42 (41.6) metres
1 centimetre equals 17 metres (or 16.666 metres)
More in our blogpost Researching WW2 equipment ranges, matching the limited weapons ranges shown in the Peter Laing range to the rules.
It is possible to scale this set of rules and ranges up to 54mm skirmish games by simply doubling the ranges etc set out above. This would allow the use of 54mm Airfix, Britain’s Deetail or Pound Store plastic figures; I intend in better weather in future to try these Close Little (World) Wars rules outside as a garden game fought “on the beaches and on the landing grounds …” Sorry, on the flower beds and garden terrain. Could be fun!
The original and best …
(Mostly) Peter Laing WW2 and WW1 figures in my recent WW2 skirmish game.
I only bought these four sample 15mm World War Two figures from Peter Laing back in the 1980s and now wish I had bought more.
Peter’s range was very limited, British and German infantry and some American infantry which I never bought.
Peter Laing WW2 British Infantry Rifleman advancing F2001 and Bren Gunner F2004, German infantry machine gunner F2016 and 50mm light mortar man F2017 (Photo / figures: Man of TIN)
These Peter Laing metal 15mm figures had to compete for my limited pocket money with the burgeoning and cheaper 20mm plastic figure scene (Matchbox, Esci, Atlantic, erratic Airfix) in the 1980s. I wish now that I had chosen differently, although my love of cheap plastic figures still extends to Vintage Airfix, Britain’s Deetail (not so cheap), Atlantic Wild West figures and pirated / pound store plastic warriors.
Luckily I am now collecting and painting my way towards Peter Laing WW2 infantry tiny skirmish games “at platoon level … To give a most satisfactory infantry action game” as Peter Laing describes it in his catalogue.
Peter Laing 15mm WW2 British Infantry Ammo Carrier (F2006)
I have been lucky enough to spot some distinctive Peter Laing WW1 and WW2 figures in job lots of other 15mm figures recently.
Peter Laing WW1 Stretcher bearers (A743)
Peter Laing’s charming and spirited WW1 British Despatch Rider (A742)
Peter Laing WW2 British Infantry Rifleman advancing, painted and unpainted castings (F2001)
Peter Laing WW1 British Infantry sappers and shovels SH (Steel Helmets) digging (A744?)
Bolstering my Peter Laing WW2 German army platoon with WW1 German steel helmet figures: WW1 German Infantry with rifle advancing F743, WW1 German Officer with pistol F744, WW1 German with stick grenade F745.
WW1 British Sapper A744, British kneeling gunner with shell in Steel Helmet A718 , WW2 British infantryman Ammo Carrier. Cheap plastic gun from a job lot bag. Bit big for my platoon level game rules! (Figures / photo: Man of TIN)
Peter Laing WW2 British Infantry Ammo Carrier (F2006) and WW2 British 2 inch mortar man (F2005)
Peter Laing WW2 British Infantryman Ammo Carrier F2006 and WW1 British kneeling gunner with Steel Helmet A718. Simple plastic artillery game piece from long forgotten board game makes good little field gun or anti-tank gun.
As Peter Laing didn’t make vehicles for WW2, I intend using the troops as he intended “at Platoon level” wood field and forest bocage bolt action and bayonet game version on suitably cluttered terrain hex boards of my usual Little Close Wars games.
The bulk of the WW1 Peter Laing Germans in my collection are wearing Steel Helmets and carrying rifles, so will easily suit. A couple of Peter Laing WW1 maxim guns F746 and loader gunners F747 will pass muster for German Machine Gunners with Steel Helmets.
These rules for natives versus troops will require a little alteration to incorporate machine guns, light mortars, small field guns and motor cycles! No natives but plenty of awkward terrain and no vehicles. Still an infantry slog!
The various WW1, native and late Colonial figures I have would also make an interesting African campaign:
” Few collectors seem interested in World War 1 , although there is much of value to be found in the battles of 1914 and 1915, before the war bogged down in a mass of trench warfare – a fascinating little campaign can be made of the German East Africa fighting in which natives can be used.” Donald Featherstone, War Games (1962) , p. 20.
These figures came with a small online job-lot of what may be Peter Pig 15mm WW2 figures, some of which are similar in style and scale to Peter Laing figures. There are a number of peaked cap officers, some French resistance ladies and some paratroops with bikes to add some variety. It may be possible to mix a few of these in as needed with the Peter Laing figures. Peter Laing purists, look away now!
I even have a few surviving unmade card sheets of John Mitchell’s card buildings to make up to match Peter Laing’s catalogue suggestion that “these items can be used in conjunction with John Mitchell’s building sheets … to give a most satisfactory infantry action game.”
A lovely couple of posts on the Tims Tanks blog about meeting with Peter Laing and showing some of his WW1 / WW 2 range. I too found Peter Laing was always very helpful, encouraging and efficient dealing with young gamers with small pocket money orders by post. Often Peter included a free sample figure or two from his new ranges to offset breakages and postage costs – and no doubt to tempt more purchases. Smart marketing!
Note some interesting post blog comments (June 2016) that the elusive Peter Laing moulds may have turned up in the collections of the late John Mitchell with many Peter Laing figure fans interested in re-establishing these ranges. Me too!
Man of Tin blog 