About a week or two ago I received a sampler of Outlands Games' figures for review. In the box was a selection of their Ostafrika line – Colonial World War I – and a Seven Years' War gun crew in 20mm, a couple of Vikings, peasants and a medieval knight in 25mm, and also in 25mm, some 1798-1805 French line infantry and grenadiers, and 1806 Prussian line infantry. My initial reaction on pulling them from the box was "very nice", especially for the 25mm Napoleonics, and that reaction has not changed substantially over the course of the week.
The vast majority of my own figures are 15mm – Dark Ages, medieval and World War II, although I have painted Napoleonics, both for myself and professionally – but I do have some 25mm Perry Samurai and Dixon Old West. I say that so that you know where I am coming from and can judge for yourself if my praise and criticism is founded or not. I will start this review with the 25mm figures since I suspect that those will be of the greatest interest to the audience as World War I East Africa is, well, a niche market.
The Napoleonics are on the large side, being 28mm in actuality from foot to eye. What caught my attention first was the distinct lack of mold lines and a minimum of flash on the Napoleonics, although there is some, particularly where there is an interior space inside the crook of the elbow, such as the front arm holding a raised musket. Perhaps this impressed me because of the 15s I am more used to working with as on reflection I have had little trouble with any of my 25s. In addition to being well-cast, the Napoleonics were finely sculpted with crisp, clean lines on ALL of the equipment and uniforms.
The poses are natural, but the Prussian infantry has an odd angle to their legs that gives them pigeon toes and makes them look a little cartoony, an impression that is enhanced by their faces which are dominated by wide cheeks and large, wide lips. The faces are somewhat reminiscent of fat Easter Island statues. The French faces are better sculpted to some degree, but in a way suffer from the opposite effect, being long and narrow and coming to a pointed chin. At arm's length, both set of figures look good, and if care is taken in painting the distortion should be minimal. The wrinkling of the fabric on the arms is weakly depicted on the French, but more care was taken with the fold of the pants. Perhaps I am being too picky here! The figures are well-proportioned, however, and do not have the ‘heroic' look, appearing fairly natural and realistic in that regard. (PLEASE NOTE: In discussion with Chris, the owner of Outland Games, he assured me that he is aware of this look to the figs and that as he updates the line, fills it out and begins replacing the old figs, he will make sure that new figs are better sculpted. If I understand correctly, Outland purchased molds and rights from another company in order to start up business.)
The uniforms are accurate to the best of my knowledge and, as noted, are cleanly cut. The French are depicted both with and without gaiters, while the Prussians are universally without, except for the officer who is wearing boots. The French carry sword and bayonet frog on their left, fur pack on the back, and cartridge box on their right. Their bicorns are depicted fore-and-aft and, although appearing odd this way, follow period illustrations. The Prussians carry (from left side to right side) sword, bread bag, haversack, water bottle, and cartridge box, with bicorns worn side-to-side. The muskets are shown with mounted bayonet, although there is no bayonet frog on the figures. This, too, follows the period illustrations I was able to find. I think the epaulette on the left side is placed a little too far back on the shoulder. My understanding is that the epaulette did not sit squarely on top of the shoulder anyway so the effect does not unduly mar the figures, especially since they are depicted with that arm raised, which would tend to make it appear to fall farther back.
The Dark Ages/medievals run between 25mm and 27mm. The Dark Ages figures were not as cleanly cast, mainly showing some mold lines and little or no flash, but have pretty crisp detail like the Napoleonics. The medieval knight, however, appears to be an older figure, and is a little rougher in casting. The Dark Ages figures are all well-proportioned with a natural appearance. Along with the Viking range, Outland has a line of peasants. These would work well in fantasy games with figures like a thief and a stone cutter, holding a hammer and chisel. The faces on these figures are much nicer and more natural than the Napoleonics. They are shown wearing tunic, trousers and shoes, along with accoutrements to fill out their outfit – archers have a quiver, the thief wears a cloak and the stone cutter has an apron. The medieval knight is well-proportioned, though small, but has a thickly cast cloak and ‘heroic' appearing forearms, due to his gauntlets. Armor on his knees is exaggerated as well, which may have been intentional in order to make them stand out more, as it were. Despite some detail on the figure and a generally nice appearance, the face is very roughly done and very plain.
The Seven Years' War range comes in at just under 20mm (19.5) at the eye. These figures are well sculpted and have fairly clear detail for their size. There is not a lot of mold line on them, but there is some flash, particularly in the crotch and on the shoulder. The poses are a bit exaggerated, especially in the legs, which gives them an odd appearance, but it is not as noticeable at a distance. The ammo bearer, for instance, looks like he has to go to the bathroom when viewed square on from the front. These are nice figures. The uniforms are nicely done, and accurate to the best of my knowledge. These figures have the look and feel of well-done 15s in a larger size.
The Ostafrika line are 22mm to the eye. These figures appear to be older sculpts from older molds. Just the look and feel of them reminds me of the old Airfix and similar 1/72 plastics from the ‘70s. This is quite possible as I believe this is a line that Outland Games purchased from another manufacturer. They are nice figures, though, and fill a niche market. They do not have mold lines or flash, but are not as cleanly carved as some of the others. Equipment does not have an undercut to lift and separate it from the uniform, for example. These figures, despite their size, are more reminiscent of typical 15s than the 25mm size they are closer to, but are very nice looking.
Overall, I like the figures that I have seen. If I or someone that I knew was looking for these ranges, I would not hesitate to seriously consider or recommend these lines – and I am considering the Viking line for skirmish gaming. I especially like the Napoleonics, Dark Ages and Ostafrika lines. The Napoleonics have technically not been released yet so no price is listed on the website, but I would bet that they will be reasonably economical. The figures are very well done and look very nice in painted units on the table. Pictures are available on the Outland Games website (www.outlandgames.net) and some of the lines are currently available from GFI/Minifigs, with whom Outland has a contract to cast and sell the figures for them. Have a look and judge for yourself.
gets started with Flintloque.
