Figures used for Whites

All codes relate to Peter Pig packs. I frequently used different horses for variety.

Composite Guard Infantry Division

The first unit I painted was the foot guards. I decided to use no figures with greatcoat and give them all caps, to give them a bit of unity, but otherwise mixed up the figures as much as possible.

16–11 British 18pdr gun
16–31 Russian infantry advancing
16–45 Russian higher command
16–48 Russian infantry firing [stationary poses]
16–49 Russian HMGs
16–54 Infantry in peakless caps
16–82 Womens Battalion of Death [stationary poses]
16–97 Russian officer battalion

Packs –31 and –48 are standard WWI infantry, with rolled up greatcoats, from which I cut off the entrenching tools and items on their greatcoat rolls.

Pack –82, which are noticeably shorter, represents both the women and the cadets that fought in the war. I mixed Russian Maxims and British Vickers MGs, for a bit of variety.

The divisional artillery are mainly men in British uniforms, plus a few conversions, and I gave them British guns for good measure.

Markov Infantry Division

For my Markovs I used the same figures as for the guards except generally keeping out men in British uniforms and using rather more of packs –54 and –97.

16–41 Russian gun crew
16–47 Russian 76mm Putilov field gun

I painted only the officer companies and the command bases in the full colourful uniform, and only the hats really distinguish the rank and file from a non-coloured unit. (I know most probably didnt even wear the hats, but there has to be some colour!)

The artillery I did paint all in the formally correct colourful uniform, which was a mistake really, since the white takes more time to get to look right than simple khaki would have.

2nd Guards Composite Cavalry Regiment

For the horse guards I used the standard WWI figures, making half the units lancers and half riflemen or sabres (though less of the second, because they have to be converted).

16–42 Russian cavalry command
16–43 Russian cavalry with carbine
16–44 Russian cavalry lancers
16–72 Tachanka with 4 crew in peaked hats
plus some Red standard bearers, with head conversions

I painted them with coloured caps, though only officers got theirs piped. I use the Markov artillery as the horse artillery for this unit.

2nd Drozdovski Cavalry Regiment

For the Drozdovski cavalry I went for the completely British uniform look.

16–2 British cavalry
16–91 British cavalry lancers
16–92 British cavalry command
16–116 Polish cavalry command

The Poles needed their caps trimmed to look round, but otherwise are close enough. Their artillery are the British artillery pack with some suitable infantry officers thrown in.

2nd Astrakhan Cossack Regiment

The Astrakhan Cossacks, like the Don ones, wore pretty much the basic Imperial cavalry uniform, so I used the same figures as for the Guard cavalry.

The dismounted cavalry figures basically use the same figures as the Guard infantry but with a lot more non-regulation items of uniform painted to make them look less regular. They also double as a plastoon (Cossack infantry) unit.

1st Terek Cossack Regiment

The Terek Cossacks wore the Caucasian cherkeska and did not use the lance, so they required an entirely different approach.

16–74 Tachanka with 4 crew in cossack dress
16–84 Red cavalry with sabre
16–85 Red cavalry command
8–179 Cossack command
8–180 Cossack sabre
8–181 Cossack carbine
Minifigs Caucasian Cossacks

The PP Red cavalry packs are all wearing overcoats, so a simple head conversion to furry hat makes them look the part.

For the dismounted Terek Cossacks (which also double as a plastoon unit) fortunately the greatcoat and fur hat infantry are stationary like the dedicated Cossack unit:

16–75 Dismounted cossacks [stationary poses]
16–96 Russian infantry in greatcoat and furry hat [stationary poses]
16–78 Russian tatty partisans – the two poses in furry hat

The biggest issue was the MGs, which I had to convert, made a lot easier because the "heads" range had just been extended to include fur and Cossack hats. I added greatcoats to ordinary MGs and slapped on a head and I used the loader from the Cossack tachanka.

Artillery

Mostly artillery was painted to go with the respective units: sometimes having shared roles (as the Markov artillery uniform passes muster as Drozdovski horse artillery, for example). I needed drawing power for all those guns though, presented by:

16–131 Russian 4 horse limber

Heavy artillery was provided by the Really Useful Guns range (via Irregular Miniatures in this case). I went for some Type Four A (122mm Schneider howitzers) and some Type Twenty-Nine B (152mm howitzers) taking care to specify spoked wheels for both. PP are quite small for 15mm but the guns look fine beside their crews, at least for the larger calibre ones.

I ordered the Minifigs 3" mountain gun, but discovered to my immense dissatisfaction that they are grossly over scale (they make excellent 20mm pieces!) so I am currently without dedicated horse artillery.

Vehicles

Higher level commanders were given options of having vehicles:

16–73 Officers carriage
16–76 Staff car with crew of 3

Armoured cars are a bit of a problem area. Other than the PP Austin-Putilov, which is representative enough of the double turreted MG cars used at the time, one is forced to resort to scratch-building. There is a real market out there for the first person to make a halfway decent Garford, in particular.

I got my tank models from Minifigs US (not the UK arm), although PP do make some suitable models.

Minifigs also make a Ford truck and a general supply truck. I used WWII motorcycles.

Other units

Mixed in with the units, there were command elements, engineer companies and damage markers:

16–7 British higher command
16–45 Russian higher command
16–46 Russian dead
16–50 Russian infantry/engineers
16–129 RCW standard bearers

Whites in British kit

I would really like to do the 7th Infantry Division in British kit, but the all the PP British infantry come with backpacks and gas-masks and other paraphernalia not carried by Russian infantry of the Civil War (not to mention my dislike of painting packs). Pack 16–38 British Dismounted cavalry is usable but it is in firing position, which I dont really like, has no bayonets and one of the poses is prone, which is worse.