"28mm figures -- need info and advice" Topic

So…I'm putting together a Napoleonic skirmish game (Sharpe -- Peninsular War, but I could go later). I don't need tons of figs. Miniature Service Center has a sale on Redoubt, so I buy a bunch of them. Now I need more (of course), but Doug no longer carries them. In the meantime, I order Sharpe Practice and get the two special Sharpe and Harper figs by Alban Miniatures. Very nice figs, but much thinner and physically accurate than my Redoubt. At Historicon I see Front Rank figs. Wow! Very nice. Makes my Redoubt figs look bad (big heads). So now I'm thinking of starting over.

Can the collective mind here group various makes into thin or beefy, and comparable size? I'm leaning toward Front Rank, but maybe there are better choices? (I know -- it's all subjective.)

Redoubt
Front Rank
Elite
Connoisseur
Calpe
Bicorne
Perry
Foundry
Others…

Thanks!

Sash and Saber has French but not sure what years.

VR
James Mattes

Front Rank and Calpe are an almost perfect match. Both are big beefy 28mm.

Foundry and Sash & Saber are very compatible. The Perrys are taller and slimmer than those two but could still be mix.

If I were you, I might wait for the Perrys french and the Victrix victrixlimited.com Brits/french in plastic. You'll get lots of poses and animations for skirmishes for a low cost. And both seem very nice.

I'm in a similar position. For now I'm using various Foundry, Front Rank, and Perry figs but staying clear of rank and file infantry.

Once the Victrix Brits and Perry French plastics become available, I can round the forces out.

Now I need to find dismounted French Hussars…

It sounds like 15mm would be perfect for you. Some detail to set the mood, but not necessarily so much you spend a lifetime painting.

Minifigs are nice, thinner, inexpensive, readily available in the UK, easy to paint and have that "toy soldier" similarity.

The plastics will probably give you all the same problems as 1:72 plastics.

Take a look at my 15mm reviews with side-by-side shots here:

link

Those victrix look fantastic – i was about to get a lot of 28mm Napoleonics for Sharp Practice, but will wait for the victrix release.

I use Front Rank and Foundry but I am considering adding some Rifles and French from either Companion or Alban

Front Rank matches with both Elite and Eagle well – I've bought from all three ranges and they all line up together with the sort of height variance that's normal for humans. The weapons and equipment are a good match in size. You can put them in the same units.

FR are very nice figures, but there's not much variety in the line figures – by the time you've got half a dozen each of line, light (and rifles for the British), you've run out of variations. They paint fantastically.

Eagle are not so well sculpted, but are a lot cheaper for filling out units – they're currently asking just 16 quid for 20 figures.

Elite are good figures, but they just lack something ever so slightly in the posing; they're great for units and they're well sculpted, but if you're skirmishing you might want a bit more motion.

Thanks for the info. I forgot to add to the list the upcoming 2nd edition Napoleonic figs from Old Glory. I'm waiting to see some photos. With the OG Army discount, they could be a choice to consider.

I bought some Eagle Figures dismounted French Dragoons and they are nice figures but only one pose. They do fit in very well with my Foundry figures. It looks like the quality varies from very good to average. Good value though.

Do Foundry and Eagle go together generally?

I'm compiling a list of combinations people have tried, if anyone wants to contribute; if anyone wants to say that they've tried two makes and they combine either in the same unit or they look ok as long as they're in different units, I could add links to the chart…