Home Forums Alternate History Victorian Sci Fi Victorian civilian sailors?

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  • #74608
    Avatar photoRhoderic
    Member

    Just a stray question to satisfy my curiosity: Among all the 28mm “Victoriana” ranges out there, are there any civilian sailors, whether historical or VSF? I know of plenty of non-military figures to suit an urban milieu, and obviously colonial soldiers, and VSF Royal Navy types from Artizan, but I’m wondering about the possibilities for gaming pulp-style adventures in the Victorian age. The kind of adventures where daring explorers go on maritime expeditions to mysterious islands and suchlike. To put it another way, a Victorian-era counterpart to Captain Haddock and his crew is basically what I’m curious about.

    It’s casual curiosity only, but I figured it might be worth a thread. Victorian maritime adventure is as worthy a topic of discussion as any.

    #74619
    Avatar photoirishserb
    Participant

    Several years back, I ran a series of games originally inspired by the movie “Nate and Hayes”, which included a variety of civilian adventurer crews/factions for use of traders, gun-runners, slave traders, and pirates.  The civilian crews were made up from various civilian and sometimes military figures, painted to fit the various characters needed for the crews.  I can’t remember off the top of my head if any of them were actually marketed as civilian sailors, but figs designed for Darkest Africa, ACW, old West, the Boxer Rebellion, and various other colonial adventures in Africa, India, etc., seemed to lend themselves well.

    My impression was that many of the photos and depictions of sailors from the era didn’t depict anything overtly nautical about them.  Maybe more bare feet than the average group of city slickers, but quite varied otherwise.

    And for whatever it is worth, piracy and adventure in the Victorian era made for some amazingly wonderful games.  Mine were all set in the Pacific, mostly the Caroline Islands, and usually employed historical storylines that spanned from the US Pacific coast to Australia and New Zealand and into east Asia.

    #74621
    Avatar photoNoel
    Participant

    Not sure the time period these are in.

    Blue Moon Manufacturing.

     

     

    #74644
    Avatar photoRhoderic
    Member

    My impression was that many of the photos and depictions of sailors from the era didn’t depict anything overtly nautical about them. Maybe more bare feet than the average group of city slickers, but quite varied otherwise.

    I’ve been thinking along these lines, too. However, I find that many of the street thugs and similar figures I’ve seen in 28mm have something about them that I can’t pinpoint, but makes them look like they’d be more at home in the streets of Whitechapel than some desolate shoreline with a ship’s boat behind them. Maybe I just need to fine-tune my conception of what a Victorian-era seaman looked like.

    Your Nate and Hayes-style games sound like great fun. I’d never heard of that movie before, I’ll have to check it out now. It’s reassuring to know that Victorian-era high seas adventures aren’t completely forgotten, in miniature gaming and in popular culture in general (Jules Verne notwithstanding).

     

    Not sure the time period these are in. Blue Moon Manufacturing.

    The trousers strike me as just right for what I was imagining. The upper bodies less so. Thanks for the suggestion.

    Anyway, I’m probably not taking up a Victoriana project right now. I just think the question and the topic have merit regardless.

    #74918
    Avatar photoGuy Farrish
    Participant

    The real thing

    Sailors

    The one on the right is very jaunty isn’t he?

    Perry ACW rioters with hand weapons

    ACW 1

    Perry ACW Rioters with bricks and stones

    ACW 2

    Perry ACW rioters with firearms

    ACW 3

    I reckon the right paint job  (Something a bit more sober and plain) would work quite well with these lads.

    #89266
    Avatar phototelzy amber
    Participant

    Zombie thread resurrection
    The Blue Moon sailors appear to be Pulp era, I would say 1930s.

    Here are some Old Glory War of 1812 UK and USA sailors and one of the Napoleonic wars period French
    https://www.oldglory25s.com/images/BW407.jpg
    https://www.oldglory25s.com/images/BW408.jpg

    I think either pack would work for the Victorian era.

    If you are interested in Bully Hayes
    https://archive.org/stream/anatomyofparadis012497mbp/anatomyofparadis012497mbp_djvu.txt
    I’d search for Hayes as it’s quite long
    http://www.classicreader.com/book/3797/1/ supposedly by his Supercargo
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully_Hayes wikipedia

    #89272
    Avatar photoHoward Whitehouse
    Participant

    When you say ‘Victorian’ you cover a 64 year period. The early to mid era is Tall, often stovepipe hats and lots of buttons. The later Victorian era looks more like those of the Pulp era. Just lose the tommy guns.

    I do all my own stunts.

    #89277
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    This is even harder to do in 15 mm.

    #89314

    You might find something among the Pulp Figures offerings:

    https://pulpfigures.com/products/category/12

    Though they’d be more for the later part of the era, as Howard says.

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