"Best SYW range 28mm" Topic

quick question. looking to increase my C18th collection to include the SYW….I am a complete figure snob preferring Perry miniatures to most other ranges but do like foundry too…can anyone please recommend a range to me that would fit in with these manufacturers. I intend to collect Prussians, Austrians and Russians for my first project if this helps…

Check out Eureka Miniatures:
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I second Eureka. Beautiful figures.

They are nice but the range is too limited for me…does anyone know of a complete range for SYW or is FOundry basically it?

Eureka are very nice but they don't do much for Seven Years War. The Crusader Figures link are probably the best and cover the Austrians and Prussians fairly comprehensively. The sculptor did the original parts of the Foundry range (the Prussians and some of the Russians.)Front Rank frontrank.com also have large ranges for all three nations you mention. Chunkier figures and excellent detail, I mix the two without qualms.

As a complete contrast Minden Miniatures mindenminis.blogspot.com are slim , proportional figures with lovely subtle detail. They might mix on a table with Perry figures but are a very different style to most standard sized 25/28s. Also you need to be aware they are not sold by a regular company, so whizzy websites and 24 hour turnaround of orders are not a high priority.

I mix Front Rank, Foundry and Crusader without any problems and like the variety these three companies give. But Foundry had two designers at work at different times and their early Prussians are great whereas their later Russians, Brits and French are only good in parts. I don't think Mark Sims was involved in the SYW for Foundry but I could be wrong.

There's also a new range that was originally initiated by Cardinal Hawkwood, one of the leading experts on this forum.
These promise to be one of the most well researched ranges available for the SYW and are designed to be compatible with Minden. Hopefully this range will cover Prussians and Austrians in time.

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In my opinion, the most modern range today is Minden Miniatures. It is not complete yet, but it will be…and the figures are just stunning.

Our group has a mix of Foundry and Crusader mainly Prussians and Austrians. I have some of the Foundry Russians. All of these are great. I would like the Crusader Austrian cav better if there were a little more variety. After having all these figs which really do look great (we have more than a couple thousand) if I were starting from scratch, I'd choose Front Rank.

For me (thought only doing French and Indian wars) if bulking out I would go for Crusader and/or Eureka. If starting form scratch I would certianly go for Minden minis very very nice

Minden Miniatures, hands down. I don't think there is a more elegant, brilliantly sculpted line in production.

I've been painting a lot of the Crusader figs over the last couple of years and I really like them.

I was not familiar with Minden and I quite like them.

Yep, another vote for Minden:

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I have Foundry (Prussian and Russian), Front Rank (Prussian, Russian, and Highlanders), Crusader (Prussian), Sash and Saber (Prussian and Russian), Eureka (Saxon), Dixon (British), RSM95 (British), and Old Glory (Prussian, Croat, and and French) in my SYW armies. I've been satisfied with all of them and have found that the individual sculpting differences tend to disappear once the action starts. Posts over the past several years on my blog show all of them.

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Jim

They are beauties Arteis

Minden.

Despite the other responses, I don't think Minden would fit in well with Perry or Foundry. Nice figs but they are significantly taller.

My favorites are Minden and Eureka. I hope I can get my work bonus sooner rather than later…

I agree, Thehawk … Minden do not fit well with most other ranges. But if the question is "What is the best SYW range in 28mm?", I will still go for Minden.

By the way, one of the articles on my brand new blog 'Dressing the Lines' might be of interest here: arteis.wordpress.com

Minden are the best available.
Easily the best.

Those ozwargaming hannoverians look promising.

Seems to me that two matching ranges would be a significant plus.

A range of good accurate guns that fitted the scale properly would be a plus.
Russians and falling casualties would be great.

Minden is the best of the "human sculpture" style!

Crusader is the best of the "Toy Soldier" style!

All the rest have good qualities too,but IMHO these two are the top of their classes!

When I had them,Foundry were my favorites…but they were bought in the "before" times…..

But if the question is "What is the best SYW range in 28mm?"

Well, it wasn't.

And I'd argue that Minden isn't even 28mm.

But Minden miniature buyers club is sadly closed now I assume.

What about Blue Moon miniatures? Drums in the Ohio Valley?

I'm not sure that Frank has stopped selling to new buyers entirely.

"And I'd argue that Minden isn't even 28mm."

theHawk, you are right. Mindens are 1/56 scale. But few if any "28mm" figures are actually 28mm. As one can see from comparisons, Mindens are right there with the others height-wise, although some are shorter and some taller. It is the proportions that make them different.

The Eureka Saxons are very nice and I have a brigade of Saxon chevauxleger allied with my Minden Austrians. The Eureka WAS Dutch are also great, but they are for the WAS, not the SYW. The OZ Hanoverian line looks like it will be great too, but it only covers one army (hopefully, completely). I signed up for a bunch of them too. However, if you want to get started on the main armies, I would recommend Minden.

Renaud S. I don't believe the Minden's "club" is closed. To begin with AFAIK there is no club. Second the owner thought of limiting the number of buyers a while back, but ultimately did not.

Minden without question.

TheHawk said: But if the question is "What is the best SYW range in 28mm?" Well, it wasn't.

My mistake. I took the heading of this thread ("Best SYW range 28mm") but missed the small print in the OP about them having to fit in with Foundry and Perry.

I would therefore agree with you that Minden in this particular case will not meet the OP's criteria. Even though they still are (in my opinion) the best 28mm (oh, OK, then, 1/56) SYW figures overall.

But which Perry figures was the OP referring to – they don't even do SYW, do they?

Foudnry have a new British and French range out whihc are rather large, they do however do Prussians and Russians whihc are very nice

The Mindens are so good that I am starting new Austrian and Prussian armies, all over again, with the Minden figures exclusively. And wait until you see the hussars that are design que.

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Follow the link to my Der Alte Fritz Journal blog for pictures of my Minden Prussians.

An interesting range of opinions and here's mine. There is no single range that will provide all the figures you need for the armies you mention if you want to include all troop types. Minden does not currently include Russians and they have not yet been mentioned as an intention. RSM95, which fit very well with Mindens, do but there are gaps in the range. My impression is that the Minden range has set a new standard that others will seek to emulate, so starting with a basic Minden Prussian and Austrian setup is a good bet, then you can fill in with others as needed.

Foundry? Complete? Hardly! Don't forget RAFM's two Ranges, Flint & Feather and ALl the King's Men.

Did Frank ever give a rationale for not including Russians in his Minden line? Not criticizing, just curious…