"Which 28mm Napoleonic figs are the nicest?" Topic

Now that we're establishing relative size, what figs do people like the best in 28mm? Perry's are a favorite, it appears. The new Alban minis are really nice. Someone said Redoubts are "butt ugly." The Front Rank figs I saw in a Historicon game looked fantastic (and not so beefy as some claim).

What figs are gorgeous? What have heads the size of bowling balls? What figs are "nice, but…"

In the eye of the beholder isn't it?

…or 'subjective' if we're using grown up words

I think the Perry ones are the nicest but I like Front Rank too.

Yes, what Connard Sage says…

There are a lot of nice Napoleonic ranges and you will get hundreds of opinions, and nobody will be wrong. Other than the Redboubt range, which is indeed butt ugly, there are things likeable in every range. If you liked what you saw in Front Rank, then go with that. Their range is deep and broad and covers nearly everything after 1808.

To me, the most important factor (after appearance) is "does the range provide all of the basics of infantry, cavalry, artillery and personality/command figures?"

If you like the Grande Armee of the glory years (1805-1807) when it won some of its biggest battles (Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstadt and Friedland) then Elite is a good option as it covers every nation and nearly every troop type within that nation.

I'm looking forward to the development of the Alban line. I may build separate Alban armies for the Peninsula War and use different ranges for the other theatres of war.

I was just looking at these figures:

victrixlimited.com

They look extremely promising to me (I am a big fan of flexible, multi-pose plastic figures, since I mainly play RPGs and skirmish games).

Of the lines mentioned above, I think the Perry Brothers have the nicest looking figures. It would be awesome if the victrix figures and the Perry figures are close in size.

Perry, Front Rank, Foundry, Elite all have nice illustrated website; look at them, and go for the range *you* like. I have a soft spot for Foundry and the Perrys myself, but others hate them and enjoy Front Rank (which I personnaly find too static for me). It's all a question of taste.

One thing though; if you go the Prussian route, then it's Calpe. Any other choice for Prussians would be foolish.

The Assault Group (TAG) also have a very nice looking range of 28mm Austro-Hungarian infantry, sculpted by Richard Ansell.

Don't forget Calpe for Prussians. I heard that someone once asked Front Rank guy at convention why he did not do Prussians and in reply he just said 'have you seen Calpe's Prussians?' – by which he meant that there was already such a high quality product on the market that it would not be worth trying to compete. Also don't forget Elite, nice figs and they do battalion packs. I have not yet been bitten by the Napoleonic bug, well not since I sold my Les Higgins stuff about 35 years ago, but if I was to start again I wouldn't buy anything until the Perry and Victrix plastic figures come out. By the way,what a dope I was to sell those Les Higgins figures. That's the trouble with hindsight, it's never there when you need it.

Got to agree with the royalty and go with Calpe. Best animation, variety, quality of sculpt (non existent flash/mould lines) and accuracy. Research in uniforms is exhaustive. Saxons coming next and hopefully he will return to the idea of French. I wouldn't entertain buying plastic French if Peter did a range of these.

We are just amazingly spoiled for quality. There are as folks mentioned Calpe for the Prussians. I think they set the benchmark for quality figures for Napoleonics. But look at Perry, Front Rank, TAG, etc. The choices are really awesome.

I'd like to hear from someone who has seen the 2nd generation Old Glory Napoleonics. I've seen the ACW figs which look really great. If their Napoleonics are of that quality then there is another great option.

Hadn't seen the Calpe before. They _are_ nice, aren't they?

I like the new Eureka figures

I really like the Perry figs. Their casualty and character packs really are the best out there. The rest of the figures are fantastic as well.

One other I don't think anyone has mentioned is the Trent Miniatures Range for 1796-1800. These are very nice, but the range is still somewhat limited.

For what it's worth, as a a painter I feel challenged by sculpts that--ahh--leave something to be desired. I just picked up some of MSC's Redoubt Naps on sale and they are nasty castings, but the paint job is bringing them to life nicely--at least so far. I also picked up a Hinchcliffe(!) band on Ebay that I'm not so optimistic about. Still, how often do you get to depict a regimental band under fire?
Part of the fun is stepping back when you're finished and savoring the transformation.