"Minden figures-compatibility?" Topic

I have been thinking about getting some Minden minis and was wondering if any other ranges are compatible with them or at least close from 3 feet! My main reason for asking is fro generals etc.

cheers

FM

Everthing is compatible at 3 feet!!! much as I would like togive you a detailed appraisal it is one of the few things beyond me…try trailape and his blog he is one of the few australians who seems to have any..If Frank consults his tea leaves and determines that you know me you probably won't get any..

I wouldn't worry about them – Frank would not sell to me for some strange reason. He informed me by email that he was not taking new customers. Turned out he thought I would on sell them to someone else he didn't want to sell to, or pirate them or some stupid reason. There is a thread on TMP elsewhere about this.

Good luck.

A bitter and twisted Demaratos

Eureka Saxons and RSM 28mm are close.

Lovely figures … I'm really enjoying painting my first battalion of them at the moment.

But I have to say they will be the basis of a complete new army for me, as there is no way they will match with my mainly Front Rank SYW army. But, nevertheless, an absolutely exquisite range that (I think) captures the 18th-century look perfectly.

RSM 95 should work well with Minden – they're similarly slender by today's supersized standards.

Although the Minden figures will mix on the tabletop with other styles and statures I have found that I had to change my painting style a fair bit to cope with the finely modelled detail (which is lovely – the detail not my painting!) Your safest option if you want to mix a load of different manufacturers without concern is to stick to "standard" sized 25/28s – ie Foundry, Front Rank etc.

Maybe this picture of Minden and Front Rank figures will assist you to decide on their compatibility:

picture

My opinion, as stated above, is that they will not mix … though others here have different opinions.

I love both the ranges in my photo. The characterful 'chunkiness' of the Front Ranks is what drew me back into the hobby, and the willowy Minden's have captured the essence of 18th century for me. But, despite loving both ranges, for me their statures are way too different to have them in the same army.

I really dont think he will sell to new customers. Ive sent a few emails and not had a reply.

Its a shame but there you go.

This Minden thing is a bit of a puzzle to me. Some get all they want , some get snubbed (they say), some in general easy contact, others can't get thru for any reason!!
It seems that the guy is either trying to make his stuff seem very special (and they are excellent) so buyers will consider them a prize, or maybe he just wants to avoid some of the pitfalls and hassles that the business end brings! Both answers have merit and are totally valid personal business descisions. It is a small mystery though!

Thanks for the link Arteis…..on reflection I think i might have to have a good think about what i want to do in the period.
Not sure if my painting skills are up to the job of those Mindens! I might buy a small sample and have a go and see what happens. I ahve already contacted Frank and there is no problem getting them. So my experience is all positive with him.

cheers

FM

Minden is indeed a mystery wrapped up in a riddle..Minden isn't a business in the normal sense..it seems to have an operating plan written by Dan Brown

I painted up my first unit of Mindon's over Christmas. I'm not an expert painter, though I can achieve pleasing results, but these figures really do reward that bit of extra care. If you enjoy painting and are prepared to put in that bit of extra care then I highly recommend them. You will not be disappointed. If you prefer a quicker paint job then I'd go with another range.

Minden are actually surprisingly easy to paint despite their delicate willowyness!

The casting is very crisp, and detail is well defined. I was a bit scared of them initially, but was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it was to pick out detail. I found them as much fun to paint (though different) as Front Rank.

I say this having experienced several other 28mm ranges that I found harder and more of a chore to paint.

Field Marshal,

Would you get some for the Cardinal and me?

Field Marshal: i would recommend you buy a battalion of Mindens and paint them. I agree with Arteis that they are actually easier to paint than might first appear. Of course, they reward the expert painter even more.

Where can i find RSM 95 figures? I have ordered a small battalions of French and a Colonel and I will paint them up and see how they are!

Take a look at Der Alte Fritz's site not only can you see RSM and Mindens side by side, he also has links to RSM and Stadden in his favourate links to the side of the page

altefritz.blogspot.com

(Look for the Berlin Zinnfiguren Store link too. They have the best artillery pieces on the market)

How well would mindens fit with Perry figures e.g. their AWI German troops?

The Perry AWI are bigger and have a very different style of hat – a detail maybe, but the one that's closest to the observer's eye hovering over the tabletop…

Its kind of weird thread in a way.

Am I right in saying you havnt contacted the owner yet? If you havnt then be aware that you might not get a reply.

Fair enough this is a private venture and hes only selling to help him pay for it. Its a free country and he can do that if he wants.

Its fustrating though to see minis you want and not be able to buy them. Its even worse when you hear people say things like 'i would recommend you buy a battalion of Mindens and paint them' :) I wish i could!

Just to be clear though I havnt been "refused" as such. I just didnt get a reply from him. I was open in that I wanted under 200 figures. Now, if he didnt want to sell such numbers I would have said fair enough.

Not getting a reply though is a little fustrating when his blog encourages you to do so (unless I missing something)

Of course perhaps my email addresses both bounced or it got lost some how. Not uncommon. Who knows.

Just dissapointing.

Did you leave a note on his blog to ask him to check his spam folder just in case?

I am already in contact with Frank and have placed my frist order. I am not going to worry too much about compatibility now as this is going to be a slow project anyway.

Frank does have a policy of not selling individual figures, but rather enough figures to do whole battalions. But, Blucher, I would've thought that your request for 200 figures would easily meet that criteria, and even if it didn't, I'm sure Frank would've replied to tell you that. I had no trouble emailing him from scratch, so maybe there is something amiss with your emails?

Frank also wanted at one stage to keep his customer-base (is that the right word for a private project?) down to an easily managable number … but I'm not sure if that is still the case, or, if so, how rigidly he applies that.

FM , ignore Demaratos, he is a troublemaker..unlike me..

It's unfortunate Frank can't respond directly really.

As I understand it:
Frank is selling minden figures purely to offset the cost of having them commissioned.
I think the not accepting new customers thing was because he doesn't want to make a net profit.
It's not a business at all.

Anyhow on the painting thing.
I've had no problems painting them.
I find the details are high enough relief that I can paint them easier than 20mm plastics.

Should've read the thread fully before posting to encourage FM to try again… Glad you've made contact, hope you like the figures as much as I do. I'm ordering some RSM samples from the Dayton Painting Consortium
dpcltdcom.org/rsm95_007.htm
Will try and post comparative pictures at some point – but given my pace, don't hold your breath!

If someone could foward my request to frank i would very much appricate it.

jon

Blucher,

Maybe your email is being blocked. Frank has posted on his blog that he always responds to order requests even if he does not ant to sell to a particular requester. Personally, I have always had prompt, courteous service from Frank, as many others have.

FYI, my latest progress shot of painting a Minden battalion:

picture

Beautiful work Arteis, they look great…….i will post up the French when i get them and paint them!

I speak on Frank's behalf when I say that he has already responded to both emails from blucher (Jon) but it appears Jon is not receiving the replies. I have now contacted Jon trying to help each other establish a connection…

Also, and again, Frank has asked me to say this, he is happy to sell as many or as few figures required to build up units, being battalions or companies or sections, etc. He only refused once when someone asked for ONE figure each of all his ranges. I am sure we would all be suspicious of such request regardless of how innocent it might have proven to be.

I have no other interest in Minden apart from the fact that I like the figures and I am building a collection out of them. I have helped Frank with uniform information, only because I wanted them done correctly (for once!) and only because Frank was kind enough to accept my offer.

Whoa Rolly, GREAT STUFF!!!

I see lots of FR figures on sale in your future…

Nope, Ioannis … I still reallly love Front Rank, so my SYW French army is definitely not going for sale, even though I have now also found a new love in Minden figures! I love FR's chunkiness just as much as I love Minden's willowyness. They are just two different approaches.

The only thing, however, is that I don't intend to field them together in a game (in any case, the scale of my basing and organisation plan for my Mindens is going to be entirely different from my FRs anyway – I've still got another 36 rank and file figures to paint to finish that one Minden British regiment!).

Ioannis,

That is just not correct – I asked to buy about 80 figures and Frank refused. I know one other person he refused to sell to.

thank you for doing this on my behalf.

and the Minden story continues------ really good stuff with possible logistic problems (or not)------ us really old guys remember the really old days when long delays and "lost" orders and out of stock importers were the norm! A two month wait from Scruby (back in the day) was not impossible. It was put in an order, forget about it, and then , much later, there it was in the mailbox almost a complete suprise, and sometimes when you opened it , it WAS a suprise as to what you had ordered and what you recieved!

"Those were the days"

I love FR's chunkiness just as much as I love Minden's willowyness.

While compatibility with existing collections and extent of the range are of course necessary considerations, I agree completely with Arteis here in that I happen to like both ranges for different reasons.

Both appeal in their own way, and while people have their own individual preferences it is not a given that one has to admire one design approach while necessarily "pooh-pooing" the other.

I could not agree more with Stavka and Arteis!!!

I am keeping most of my Foundry Collection and I am now creating a new Minden Collection…

While I have one Minden battalion of 60 figures in both my Prussian and Austrian BAR armies (and the size of all the other nearby units tricks the eye so that you don't realize that they are different in size), I decided to start a new pair of Austrian and Prussian armies using Minden figures exclusively. They are too good to not have in one's collection if you are a SYW fan.

So I use 1:10 (60 figures) for BAR rules. 1:20 (30 Mindens) for either Black Powder or my own rules. And finally 1:30 (RSM) for Rusty's Rules.

I'm a bit of a newbie as far as 7YW is concerned and its something I've earmarked as a "future" project (got plenty on my plate at the moment) for a couple of years down the line. I've kept up a casual interest in the various ranges available and had sort of decided that Minden were the way to go- For me they maintain the heritage of Charles Grant/Stadden etc that we all remember so fondly from first starting in Wargaming. I had no idea you had to be "in the club" in to purchase them! I hope that when I get round to purchasing that I'll be accepted!

I notice that Willie do a personality figure of Cumberland….how owuld they go next to MInden?

Here's the blog archive with size comparisons
link

Well it looks like the RSM 95s are pretty close to a match if not the closest of any of the samples, maybe Surens next! Are Sash and Saber compatable, I didn't see them in the line up??

You might want to take a look at these:-
link

Far more historically accurate and anatomically correct than the other figures and the range promises to be the most comprehensive.

goodness and I thought it up..though I only have an observation relationship now..when they sort a few things out it will be quite a wonderful range..

Well done! Your range is far superior to Minden and Front Rank!

Very promising indeed. The details can be fixed surely – the anatomy and style are there!

With the Cardinal at the helm, how can the range go wrong?

Minden just announced that the Prussian Dragoons and British Horse (heavy cavalry) are now available. I just ordered 36 Prussian dragoons a little while ago.

mindenminis.blogspot.com