"Best 28mm Wars of the Roses Figures" Topic

Hi all,

I have a lot of 15mm ancients armies for the new FoG. Am considering doing a 28mm army. I have a moderate number of old front rank (i think?) Wars of the Roses figures I could use as a start.

Who makes good 28mm WOTR? Wargames foundry? Front Rank?

Anyone make any descent 28mm Plastics for this period?

Ta

Andy Watkins

Any sort of 28mm historical plastics are rare as hen's teeth – the closest you get are some fantasy kits that might work passably. Zvezda's Royal Guard infantry and cavalry (from their Ring of Rule fantasy line) could be useable for this period.

If you already have Front Rank models, then you might consider getting more of those – that way you won't need to consider about size-wise compatibility issues. Plus you can order them individually instead of in pre-selected packs.

Others that come to my mind for late 15th century:
- Wargames Foundry: their line for this period is starting to show its age, and the prices are high, so value for money questionable (especially since they seem to no longer do the multiple horde discount campaigns).
- Crusader miniatures: nice models, relatively realistically proportioned which can lead to compatibility problems with bulkier models. Lack of billmen and dismounted men-at-arms could be a problem.
- Perry miniatures (Agincourt to Orleans range): superbly sculpted, but the style of armour for men-at-arms would be quite outdated by WotR. However, the less heavily armoured infantry might provide useful models.
- Mirliton (old Grenadier Fantasy Warriors range, sculpted by Mark Copplestone): very nice models, though you might want more variety of archers and billmen.
- Old Glory: never seen them up close, and the pictures on website are not very sharp. Can be cheap if you are in US.
- Essex: no idea.

Griefbringer

I have Essex. State of the art for 1986, but I think they still hold up well. That is one thing the OFM and I agree on. Some do not like the horses, but I do.
Like all 1986 ranges, there is no variety within a catlog number. However, that is not a handicap with massed archers.
I painted up some Old Glory WOR figures for a friend, and they follow the usual OG bell curve, with the best being very good, a good solid middle, and some real dogs. At the price, throw away the dogs, and you are still ahead of the game.

OG and Essex mix well, even within units.

Thanks for the speedy response, I will check them out

I have a few of the Crusader ones made by Corvus Belli and they're VERY nice. I love the proportions, too bad it's a small range.

Had a quick look.

Crusader and Perry look pretty darned good.
Old glory look ok for the price
Not so keen on Essex, used to be a big fan but they are dated now

Funnily enough I reckon the front rank figures looked the best and with their special pack prices looks like I can get inf for £1.00 GBP each and cav for just over £2.00 GBP each which is really not too bad at all, particularly as I will tend to put less 28mm figures on a base than the equiv 15mm.

Andy

I love the Perry vignette sets, such as the archers setting stakes or the knights advancing through a hail of arrows.

Even though the Crusader range is marketed as a WotR range (probably sells better in UK than just saying "late medieval") it seems to be more orientated to the continental armies of the period – though the pikemen, handgunners and crossbows could be used for continental mercenaries. Pity that there are not yet any foot command models in the range, either.

If you like the look of the Front Rank models, then they would surely be a very fine choice – the price is reasonable, the range is quite large, and you can order the models individually or in bigger packs for a small discount. I think the only drawback is that there are only a couple of basic poses for the archers and billmen (though plenty of variants of each pose when it comes to equipment) which is fine if you like to have certain uniformity of poses, but can be a problem for those who want more variety of poses.

Griefbringer

A friend of mine has an old glory WotR army that is the best looking ancients army I've ever seen.

What's wrong with Front Rank? The best wotR figures on the market IMO. Check their website.

Old Glory WotR range is not that good. They look good when painted though. Their Italian wars figures are better than WotR figures. Will not mix very well with Front Rank as they are smaller, especially horses.

Ex Grenadier, sold by Mirliton and some other companies are some of the best on the market. Infantry will mix with Front Rank, not sure about cavalry as Front Rank horses are pretty large. Figures are possibly even better sculpted than Front Rank, but much less variety.

Foundry WotR range is still very good. Smaller than Front Rank, but will mix perfectly with Old Glory. Still very good sculpts, despite their age. Huge variety, almost 300 different poses.

Crusader, ex Corvus Belli, are slim figures. I personally didn't like the figures because of too much detail, tiny belts, etc. They are tall, but because of their slim proportions I am not sure if they'll mix with Front Rank or Grenadier. They are way taller than Old Glory or Foundry. Not sure about their horses as I never painted those.

My advise would be to stay with Front Rank if you already have some and get some ex Grenadier if you want even more variety. Grenadier have really nice hobilars that ride small horses that are more historical than giant Front Rank.

The Front Rank range looks very nice, from what I've seen in pictures in the various wargame magazines. That is probably where I will start when I get around to WotR.

I am actually undecided between Wars of the Roses and the Burgundian army of Charles the Bold. I am making an inspired guess that the troops would be very similar in both forces as they are both from the 1470's and are both western European forces.

Guess the mix of troops would be different, more cavalry and crossbow and pike? for Charles whilst more billmen and longbow for wars of the roses.

I am going to get the army list book and see which one I like the look of the most

Igwarg1 pretty much summed it up. Another point: the Essex figures others referred to, are indeed somewhat dated, albeit still nice. HOWEVER, the Burgundian figures are a DIFFERENT range, done by a different designer and stands head and shoulders above the rest of the usual Essex figures.

One of my students bought some Old Glory WotR figures, and they looked very sharp. He had some mounted knights, dismounted knights, and longbowmen.

As to the pictures on the oldgloryminiatures.com website, they're good enough to get at least a rough idea of the figures. But I can't believe the site's owner paid someone to take those pictures, and I can't believe the photographer pasted his company's name on each shot. Who would want to take credit for those?

I mix Front Rank with some GW Brettonians and Foundry

One more thing about Crusader: their cavalry is quite big. The horses are large, and the riders are significantly larger than the infantrymen in the same range.

As for the Burgundian ordonnance, it has a bit more variety than the English armies of the period, due to the inclusion of handgunners, crossbowmen and pikemen as integral elements. Add in the household troops, artillery and various mercenaries for more variety. But the appearance would be in general similar (indeed, there were great numbers of English longbowmen in service in Burgundy as times) though Italian style armour would probably be more common in Burgundy than in England.

Griefbringer

Old Glory and Foundry mix very well. I use both. I also have Front Rank but they have to be in their own units as they are larger. They do mix well on the table unit next to unit.

T

Stick with FR- best compromise on looks, cost, and completeness of range.
In fact, there isn't a compromise- they're very nice figures. I do use the Crusader/Corvus Belli archers though- and the crossbows. They're a bit smaller but lovely figures.
On separate, and slightly thicker bases, you can get away with it.
The Crusader horses are nice too- and a bit more compatible size-wise.
The Grenadier/Mirliton stuff is fantasy but you could use some of the range quite easily- again though, generally slightly smaller than FR but nicely sculpted.
Old Glory are not great sculpts but, as Stalin once remarked, quantity has a quality all its own. They go 'cheap cheap' and look ok when painted up- handy for bulking out your forces without having to shell out.
Foundry's WOTR range is one of the worst they ever did- still probably better than OG, but expensive in comparison. Stick with FR. Just gone up in price but still good value, especially if you use the 'special deals'.

And I wouldn't worry about 'variety of poses' either- how many different bills does one want for god's sake?
The variety in bills and MAA's is one of FR's attractions.

Every billman must be different! I have Grenadier, Foundry, Essex, Dixon (Flodden), Mirliton, GW, Crusader, Old Glory (artillery), and Redoubt figures in my late Medieval army.

Thanks guys!