The Joy of Paper Soldiers

 “A toy is seen both as a bauble and as an intellectual machine.”

— Brian Sutton-Smith

Ranks of paper minis march across
the Great Bridge to disperse rebels.

The yuletide holidays infuse the darkest time of the year with wonder and whimsy. Twinkling lights. Savory feasts and fantastic sweets. Solemn carols and joyous hymns lifting our hearts. The mystery of gifts adorned with brightly patterned wrapping paper and shiny ribbon curls...and the exhilaration at their ultimate revelation. I’ve written before about the yuletide season filled with fantasy, especially from a bookish, geeky gaming perspective. Toys, and particularly those tied to my interests like fantasy roleplaying games, board games, and yes, even wargames bring added joy and playfulness to the season. Among my recent favorites are Peter Dennis’ fantastic paper soldiers. Peter’s Paperboys have brought great joy to my gaming recently. Since first discovering them during the pandemic, they’ve enabled me to quickly explore new periods in history wargaming, provided an alternative to purchasing and painting metal and plastic figures, and helped me prepare visually appealing public history game demonstrations to educate the public and engage people in wargames, history, and learning. They serve as innovative and versatile alternatives to more expensive, more labor-intensive options fielding armies for miniature wargames.

I first discovered Dennis’ paper figures through the Kickstarter campaign for Daniel Mersy’s Battle Ravens: The Shieldwall Board Game, which I featured back in 2018. More of a battle game than a miniature wargame, it featured cardboard stands of figures depicting Vikings, Normans, Saxons, and other period warriors, each group propped up on a plastic stand. Researching that game revealed to me resources filled with Dennis’ figures: Helion & Company’s paper soldiers line of books. Wargame the American Revolutionary War and Wargame the American Civil War were among my first purchases, but Wargame the Roman Invasion 43 AD, Wargame 1066 Saxons Vikings Normans, and Wargame the War of the Roses 1455-1487 eventually followed. Some of these exist on the periphery of historical periods I wargame, eras in which I dabble, for which these kinds of relatively inexpensive, easy-to-construct miniatures seem ideal.

Paper Germanic warriors prepare
to engage Rome's finest.

The first period I really dove into with paper miniatures was the early Roman Empire. While I had some interest in Roman-era Britain, my main focus was Germania; but the Helion book did not include any Germanic tribesmen units. Then I discovered the Peter’s Paperboys website, where the artist releases way more paper soldiers, terrain, and other gaming goodies in downloadable PDF files to purchase and print as needed. Here I found my Germanic tribesmen, which I purchased, constructed, and fielded against my early Imperial Romans...a journey I outlined in several blog posts here, an essential diversion during my pandemic experience.

Peter’s Paperboys covers various historical periods (and a few non-historical ones) in a variety of sizes, from 28mm all the way down to 10mm to accommodate a range of gaming styles. Dennis’ coverage of troop types across each period remains impressive...no doubt drawing on his vast experience illustrating Osprey military history books. The Helioin titles and his offerings at Peter’s Paperboys also includes terrain as well as buildings and fortifications. I’ve supplemented my Helion books with downloads covering the British colonial period, a few bits of World War II (including Pegasus Bridge), and a host of free resources, from sample troops, terrain, and game markers to “have-a-go” freebies to tempt me even further.

Most of the Helion books come with short but involved miniature wargames rules to play with the paper soldiers; but I’ve come to rely on Bob Cordery’s Portable Wargame rules, which offer a more streamlined, intuitive approach. One could use almost any rules relying on stands of soldiers to portray units on the battlefield.

Building Paper Soldiers

Making ranks of paper soldiers might seem cheaper and easier than metal or plastic miniatures, but they still require effort, patience, and persistence. The Helion paper soldier books are not cut-out-and-assemble activities, but volumes of references to copy and print. One can purchase them as books or PDF files for immediate download; all the offerings on Dennis’ Peter’s Paperboys site are PDF. Using them requires some crafting infrastructure: a good color copier or printer; cardstock; glue; scissors or craft knives; and basing material. With these supplies and tools, Dennis’ paper soldiers become amazing resources for fielding armies from across history.

First I select a page to copy or a PDF page to print. Most figures come at 28mm size, but I’ve downsized them proportionately for 15mm (I tried 10mm once and it’s way too small). Once I even enlarged them to 54mm scale, just to see how it would look; it worked, but consumes a lot of cardstock. I print on cardstock using an inkjet printer; I tried a color laser printer at first, but the fused pigments tended to flake when I manipulated the page for cutting.

After printing I trim the ranks apart, score the folds, and glue the front/back sections together. I quickly discovered gluing them with PVA or white glue tended to warp the ranks. Dennis recommends a contact cement like Uhu which, since it isn’t water-based, avoids warping. Once everything dries I start trimming each rank along the lines, following the edges of uniforms, weapons, flags, hats, and heads. A good pair of scissors usually works adequately at the 28mm scale, but a sharp craft knife and good cutting board seemed best for 15mm.

Before basing my soldiers I go over the edges with a felt-tipped pen to darken the paper-white edges. I’ve found this focuses the eye more on the colors of the soldiers than the paper. A Micron brush-tip pen, black or sepia, works particularly well, especially when getting the tip in those narrow gaps between soldiers.

Like any wargamer I base my ranks depending on the game. At the 28mm size I put one stand of figures onto a strip of magnetic tape, then trip the paper base to fit. This allows me to store them on galvanized metal straps from the hardware store I glue into plastic scrapbooking boxes. Sometimes I use business card magnets, especially when assembling several ranks into a unit (such as artillery) or at smaller scales (such as 15mm). This provides an added level of protection and helps in organization; I couldn’t stand to simply toss paper soldier ranks into a box, all jumbled, then have to find and carefully untangle individual units.

As a final measure of protection for my hard work folding and cutting apart the ranks, I paint on a coat of Mod Podge, essentially giving them a plastic layer that keeps them rigid and protects the delicate fiddly bits like extended weapons and gun barrels.

Over time Dennis has refined his process and presentation. The Helion paper soldiers come in a “concertina” format, though some might call it an accordion type of construction; ranks of soldiers fold up like an accordion, with spacers of base between them. Later miniatures simply provide ranks one can bend a little to better stand up when glued directly to the base on the bottom edge (a process I personally find a bit more fiddly). Single figures or pairs also rely on this method for basing. No matter how you assemble and trim the, these paper soldiers offer versatility in creating visually attractive units.

As an example: for my Battle of Great Bridge history game demonstration I reworked my units, going for ranks of 15mm soldiers rather than the 28mm units from my existing stock of American War of Independence troops. The British marched across the bridge six abreast.., so I managed to cut and mount the usually four-abreast ranks into ones with six soldiers. As for the unruly American militia units, I staggered the ranks on my stands, giving them a deceptively amateurish look compared to the tidy rank-and-file British.

A Reasonable Alternative

I’ll admit paper soldiers aren’t for every wargamer. Grognards who grip about unpainted miniatures on the game table and other forgivable faux pas may not care for them. Depending on the angle they seem flat despite dense ranks on a stand.

WoFun Games, a company in Romania, has worked with Dennis and their own artists to produce ranks of soldiers printed on plexiglass, made to slot into stands, at both the 28mm and 18mm scales. They’re a more durable, if expensive, form of Dennis’ paper soldiers; but they’re not as versatile as a “pattern book” of period soldiers one can print and assemble — at whatever scale and any number — for one’s personal collection or a particular project. (I will, however, freely admit I’ve considered acquiring some sets over the years....)

For me Peter’s Paperboys represent a reasonable and versatile alternative to pouring money into metal and plastic minis and spending time and effort painting them. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy those miniatures; but in a pinch, or for a large project on deadlines (like my Great Bridge work), they’re an acceptable form to field on the game table. Running history games at public events proved to me how they can impress and engage non-gamers (and even a few experienced gamers).

Peter’s Paperboys are also an excellent introduction to the crafting and play aspects of miniature wargaming. Combined with beginner-friendly rules (including those found in the Helion volumes), or even for experimenting with one’s own wargame rules, they provide a lower-cost option from diving into the adventure gaming hobby...and a good entry point if people want to expand their gaming into more three-dimensional metal or plastic.

“People who play are happier people.”

— Brian Sutton-Smith