This range will essentially cover native Chinese in Shanghai. There were millions of these folks - ordinary citizens, for the most part - who populated every one of the three "chunks" of Greater Shanghai. They were frequently the victims of the criminals and rampant corruption that made the city so colorful, but every now and again they were the beneficiaries of the genuine heroism that took place within the city as well.
There seems to be a genuine lack of civilians in most ranges. There will be some of those in this range, along with various denziens of the city who have their own reasons and motivations for trying to make it in the big city. European and Western civilians will also be covered, but likely in their own respective ranges.
Finally, the range will include native Chinese soldiers - Nationalist troops, for the most part. Though they were not entirely innocent of their own corruption, at times, the Nationalist soldiers could be incredibly heroic, as they were in the frequent attempts to defend the city from foreign (read: Japanese) invasion.
Fair enough, Starkadder. I'm looking forward to them, myself, particularly so that I can do some scenarios for the Battle of Shanghai (in 1932, if memory serves, or was it 33? It's late, that's my excuse!;) )
It's very important to me that the Chinese are covered well, with their own characters and troop types, and they are high on my priority list. There will possibly be some changes to the SMP side of things before or after that happens, but the "good guys" are going to be well covered before this is all over.
The general plan for the next few months is to release in sets of four to eight. Those will -probably involve releasing four new sculpts for a portion of the range that hasn't been covered, and then four new special characters (usually one or two of whom will be related to the newest troops covered).
The Chinese and/or French Concession Gendermes are very likely to be next.
We have photos of French Concession Gendermes from very odd angles unfortunately, well, we have a photo. One. I'm hoping to find more.
The Chinese issue is somewhat complicated by the fact that Nationalist equipment could vary region by region, and at any rate, Nationalist equipment of the period is not particularly well covered, in general. However, if you (or anyone else) would happen to have some information about this, that would be gratefully appreciated, and it would help speed the process along. Photos, in particular, would be a huge help.
As for special characters... Well, obviously the French need pock-marked Huang, and will probably get a female scientist type. But we need some for the Chinese, as well, and I'm still trying to work those out. Suggestions welcome, of course.
