"28mm Range Compatibility (Perry, Calpe, Front Rank, Foundry)" Topic

Apologies if this has been asked before but I've trawled through a few likely threads and googled but can't find what I'm after.

After sometime away from the period I've decided to dive into 28mm Napoleonics. The Prussian Army has always fascinated me so I'm drawn to Calpe for the completness of the range and the variety of poses. For the French I'm tempted by Perry for their metal figures alone again for their variety and sculpting but the upcoming plastics would be a bonus.

The question is I've seen the Calpe figures described as chunky like Front Rank so I'm unsure if Perry and Calpe are compatible? Anyone know?

If they are compatible any suggestions for alternatives to go with EITHER Perry or Calpe (ie Calpe Prussians with Front Rank French, or Perry French with say Foundry Prussians). I'd also like to go for Bavarians and Austrians later so I suppose Front Rank and and or Foundry will probably have to come in sometime.

I've ruled out Old Glory as I've found their figures hit or miss and I don't want to buy bags of figures. I'm not overly concerned by cost (though the Perry plastics are tempting as they seem to combine quality and cheapness) I'm after good ranges that I can enjoy painting.

Thanks

If you are, as you seem ,planning to keep the nationalities specific to individual ranges then Calpe Prussians would work with a range of Perry or Front Rank French.
The imcompatability issue arises mainly when you mix ranges in the same army or are thinking about doing it within the same unit.
I have examples of all of the above in my collection and I have mixed the odd Perry figure in a Front Rank French battalion-it seems ok to me but the Perrys are generally of a slimmer proportion to the Front Rank figures.
Calpe are more of an animated sculpting style-with more creases and folds and more dynamic and varied poses than Front Rank.
Both are excellent figures and Perrys are probably the most anatomically accurate figures of the 3 ranges
At present Perrys dont do any Prussians-the ones they did at Foundry are a tad shorter than Calpe and emphasise the differences in the two ranges accordingly-probably not good in the same unit as Calpe.
Front Rank have both Austrians and Bavarians as you know so that may influence which range to concentrate on for the French.
I can only speak for my own experience of painting figures from these 3 ranges and given my limited painting skills my best results are with Front Rank-clean chunky figures with good well pronounced detail that is quite easy to paint.
My painting style isnt best suited to Calpe or Perrys-but if you can get good results with them they look fantastic.
I struggle with the creases and folds I mentioned on Calpe but for some these features make painting them a doddle.
Perrys are my personal nemesis when it comes to painting.
I love the figures but I just dont seem able to get the best out of them-the faces look best if you can paint eyes in properly(which I cant!!)
I persevere though as the figures are too good to ignore.
Hope that is of some help

To my ind the Calpe miniatures are closer to Front Rank than Foundry, possibly because you are dealing with just the one scupltor in the case of the former.

I had always said to myself that I wouldn't bother with 28mm Prussians, until I saw the Calpe range. Spectacular is the only word to describe them (no connection, I promise) and the variety of poses is simply stunning.

I now have six or seven hundred to work my way through, but have resolved to get back up to speed on a few other armies before I attempt them.

Personally I love creases (which Calpe are full of, as Jacko has correctly stated) because I find with bit of white mixed in with intermediate colour, and spending an exta ten minutes running the point of the brush down the creases, the whole thing just comes to life.

I can't believe I just wrote that as I am totally rubbish at painting.

Foundry really does not mix with Calpe, Calpe are big 28mm, Foundry are small 25mm. However, the Perrys are true 28mm and, while not as chunky as Calpe, do mix with them.
The Perrys, while bigger than Foundrys, have comparable style so they will fit with Foundry also. And while you can mix Front Rank and Perry, I really think the style are quite different, and I would avoid mixing them if possible.

So, if you go the Calpe way, you can pick Front Rank or Perry as compatible range for.

If you go the Perrys way, you can pick Foundry or Calpe as a compatible range imho.

And then there's Sash & Saber; great range, low price, but limited choice. They mix well with Foundry or Perry.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Great thanks for the replys they are much appreciated.

>I love the figures but I just dont seem able to get the best out of them-the faces look best
>if you can paint eyes in properly(which I cant!!)

Don't paint a dot for the pupil. Paint a line from the top of the bottom.

8 years later and this thread perfectly answered my questions. 😃