"Essex miniatures-any good?" Topic

Please forgive me if this has already been discussed. but I'm thinking of going up in scale from 6mm Adler. I was thinking of 10mm miniatures but have not found any that attract me (spoilt by Adler), so I am considering 15mm Essex miniatures. Mainly because they have a large range and are good, price wise. I'd love to collect AB miniatures but the price and the fact I'd prefer to support a UK manufacturer, puts me off them. My question is, are the Essex miniatures okay? Some reviews and side by side views seem to suggest they are short in the legs and not very detailed? Some look odd on the Essex website but most look fine, so I'm totally confused! I will appreciate any views on this. Based on your postings I will consider ordering some further samples to help make my mind up. Again, apologies if it is a thread done before.

EC's site is an utterly superb resource for 15mm Napoleonic reviews; should be everything you need:

link

Detail seems good, legs definitely deficient, though – a browse through the reviews should find something that suits you though.

I quite like Essex but some are a bit strange i.e. short in the leg. I say trust your judgement and buy the ones you like the look of in the photos and leave the odd looking ones alone. Having said that if you are prepared to wait until the New Year Pendraken are bringing out a 10mm 1809 range which I would be buying if I did not have so much 15mm kit already. Have a look on the Pendraken forum for pictures of the masters/greens.

for me Essex are in the top third of choices for anything Older than 1900 in 15mm.

A lot of their stuff is elderly, and poses can be limited. Some figures have been dealt with harshly by the passage of time, and research. But if you pick carefully there is a lot of lovely stuff on the site.

Pat

My favorite range of figures. As mentioned before, they are a bit short in the legs but the detail is at the right level (not too much, not too little). They mix pretty well with other ranges (OG15s for instance). The price makes them a good value. The website has a good many pics of there figures both painted and unpainted.

Hope that helps,

John – A big Essex Miniatures fan

I avoid Essex. I like their older ranges that had properly proportioned figures, as they will fit in with modern figure quality from other ranges. The current Essex lines look like gnomes, as the comparison review from Deepfriedhappymice shows. Easy to paint, but hard to love.

If you're in America and ordering from Essex, good luck getting your order in either a reasonable amount of time or even correct.

Super smooth sculpts, there's no coarseness to them at all if you know what I mean … I've never had excessive flash or mold line issues either over the course of the last 25 odd years ..

Go with Essex if you are "Painter". Superbly sculpted from the painting point of view with few well raised belts and other details. As Flashman14 mentioned, very smooth and easy to paint, very well cast. I paint a lot of 15's, Essex are my favorite.

My complements to all. Opinions offered. Disagreement expressed, but total civility. My last posting on TMP was not so pleasant. This is the tone this site should always reflect. Gentlemen all, thank you for your thoughtful discourse. By the way, I like Essex. It's generally not the figure I use as the core of my collection for a period, but I always look at it for additional figures. My Sudan gallery is the exception; it is primarily Essex with Old Glory in support. Richard
warin15mm.com

Some Essex ranges are better than others. AWI and the late 17th Century range are very good imho. I looked at their Napoleonics but decided not to buy them. As Flashman says no flash, no miscasts and in my experience a very good service within the UK.

If you like Adler you will probably like Essex: Adler look like little gnomes; Essex look like big gnomes.

(Sorry War in 15mm but these are the Napoleonic Boards and we do have a reputation to keep up)

Regarding slow orders to the USA, I've had good luck in that department, to the East coast. I allow two weeks for UK orders. I usually receive my order from Essex in under a week. Best time was as little as 4 days. I think the longest I waited was 10 days. Even if Essex is not for you, the service they provide is still top notch.

Acrarhj,

Then you're more fortunate than many others. The consumer affairs board can attest to that. I waited about 30 days and still had items missing. In the past, orders were fast and clean transactions.

As for the painting and quality of Essex, for that, I will support that opinion. Never found any miscast or flash filled figures. Even if I don't like the sculpts, I know I'll never get junk.

Might I mention Peter Pig (another British manufacturer)? They offer some excellent 15mm figures that are a nice match for Essex in size and general design features.

Unfortunately, they do not have Napoleonics (I'm assuming that is what you are seeking), but if you are considering AWI or ACW, they are an excellent match. I'm presently building up AWI armies and drawing heavily from both of these makers. A real joy to paint and they look great.

peterpig.co.uk

I like most of the Essex ranges but have no experience of their Napleonics. You might also consider Fantassing, Minifigs and Old Glory plus another nice AB style range, I forget the name, but you can find them if you log-on to the Vexllia site. I know OG are US make but they are available from a UK supplier. They may not look like much in a catalogue photo but once they are painted they look fine – IMHO.

CGM and yes they are very good.

I went from 6mm.Adler to 15mm. I chose Essex and am more than happy with them. The people who criticise Essex for their legs are probably the same people who criticise Adler for their heads. Matt.

"Might I mention Peter Pig (another British manufacturer)? They offer some excellent 15mm figures that are a nice match for Essex in size and general design features. "

The Peter Pig figures I have are significantly smaller than Essex.

vive lempereur,

Are you getting confused with Wargames LLC in the states? They are the US distributer of Essex. To be fair, I do deal with Wargames LLC at hobby shows. I go directly to Essex because Wargames, LLC seems to be having some issues right now. Consumer boards have good things to say about Essex and mixed to bad things to say about Wargames.

John

I too had a large part of my Napoleonics in 15mm from Essex. I enjoy the cavalry the most. I find the Ancients lines the best from them by far.
VR
James Mattes

Thanks for the great response. I was hoping to be persuaded one way or the other, but I think, going by your postings, I will have to bite the bullet and buy some Essex samples.Seeing them in the flesh and painting them up, should help my ancient brain make up its mind, either way. Thanks again for all your help. Much appreciated.

Ah, the gnomes of war question again. You really have to try some and see what you think. They might be just what you're after. I have some that I consider my 3rd string after my AB figures and then OG but this is a very individual thing. Wonderfully, you have lots of choices.

Unpopular as it may be, I love them.

I suppose I have to, as I am nearing my one thousandth Spanish 1808 piece.

As James says, the horses are great.

Although, if you are looking for GMB flags, be prepared for some trimming.

I can't speak for 15MM, but I own several units of 28MM British light cavalry and a few French mounted officers. Very pleased. Had them for years now.

Most of my 15mm Napoleonics are by Essex and they are good. Like Igwarg said, they are definately good minis to paint. Lots of detail, very very little flash and non existent mold lines. Great minis!

I have have thousands of Essex figures and have painting then for 20 years. I think they are a good up scale match for Adler. I now prefer AB myself but still like the Essex's.
Max

I am also a big fan of Essex 15mm figures. I collect 28mm now but when I started my blog back in 2007 I posted lots of images of painted/semi painted Essex 15mm Napoleonics. If you care to take a look at the link it should give you a good idea of the quality of the castings. I did subsequently switch to the 28mm's and the 15's were sold, but if I was starting in 15mm now I would go for Essex anytime. I used to visit the factory/shop to buy my figures in person, and every single figure from all of the ranges is on display there and they are consistently good. Nice friendly people too! mail order service is fast.

Hope this helps.

'Napoleonic Wargames Project' – 2007 15mm posts British and French Essex Miniatures.

link

Hi Lee

Thanks for link. Yes, most of the Essex images I've seen, on various sites, so far, look okay. I think it will depend on how they look in the flesh. Everyone has their own tastes. And, although there has been some negative remarks concerning Adler miniatures, I've been collecting them for years and they are brilliant. The best for that scale, in my opinion. And they look good in mass formations. I was seriously thinking of ordering some Essex samples, but I painted up some more 10mm and 15mm samples, plus more Adler miniatures last night, which has thrown me completely. I found I enjoyed painting the Adler figures the most, despite my sore eyes, and they looked the best! Selling them would mean all those hours (and eye strain) wasted, plus I would need new buildings, trees and hills etc. Plus, I imagine prices will be increasing due to the mess of a world the greedy and useless banks have created for us. But I think, just for clearance, I will have to obtain some Essex miniatures, to see for myself. Thanks again for the link and to everyone else for the information and views put forward. It really has been a great help, despite my problem with decision making (sell or not to sell). Happy painting and wargaming to everyone.

Good number of painted Essex Napoleonics to be seen here

link

Hi NigelM

Thanks for that. Yes, I think the Essex miniatures look fine. Some look a bit dodgy on the Essex website, so if I do go up a scale and pick Essex, it would be a case of picking those that do attract me and ignoring the others. But I think I've been spoilt by Adler miniatures. I finished painting up another battalion last night and I enjoyed doing it. And I believe they have some new Cossacks available….So, head in confusion at the moment.

The Essex miniatures arrived today and I really like the look of them, so I am tempted to go up to the 15mm scale, although rather sad to have to sell my Adler collection. As it turned out, they arrived with some samples from America, which also look great. I will be painting both lots up, to see which I enjoyed painting the most and which look the best. Both are fine, price wise, although one has a very limited range, at the moment. Decisions, decisions.

Dont't Discount 10mm Gazzola! , Pendraken are on the verge of releasing a brand new Napoleonic's range early next year. There are some pictures of green's on the forum. I think the initial release is the 1809 Austrian French war. Work a butcher's hook anyway.

Dear dopplebockdunkel

Thanks for info. I suppose I could wait until next year. I'm not in any hurry. But I will certainly keep my eyes out for Pendraken's new range, although, at the moment, Essex are surging ahead.

"Essex miniatures-any good?"

Absoultely yes. My figures of choice. I keep looking around at tothers, and keep coming back to Essex – lovely clean sculpts/castings, easy to paint, well detailed but not too fussy in design – and lots of presence on the tabletop.

Considerably cheaper than Minifigs, sold in packs of 8, not 60, particularly excellent cannon and cavalry.

I came to Essex from 25mm, and their 15mm are little diddy versions of their 25mm! 25mm quality in them at a 15mm scale.

dont hesitate.

I started with essex prussian and french15mm great cast and detail but do look gnomes switched to battle honors they look human and cheap

Re a point made above, some of the images on the Essex website really do not reflect the quality of the figures, they look so much better 'in the flesh'. Anyone within reach of the Essex factory (Canvey Island, Essex)its well worth visiting. There is a small shop area with every figure on display, mostly painted and a huge range of terrain, books, paints etc. You are left in peace to browse at leisure. Some of the display figures should be on the website as those web images really are quite poor. I used to drive from London down to Canvey Island once a month to buy my figures.

One of my old British Line battalions and the Scots Greys – Essex of course.
picture

And French
picture

Personally I don't think you can beat Essex, most of my 15mm collections are made up of them. They do a fantastic range of periods and as others have said are a very easy paintjob. You don't have to dig any detail out like you would have to with other manufactures. Give them a call, they're always helpfull, ask for a couple of samples and paint them to see if you like them.

Just an update to say that, although I really liked the Essex Napoleonic cavalry miniatures, I was not that impressed with the infantry figures. With this in mind, I am holding on to my Adler collection for now and stay in the 6mm scale, but plan to see some AB miniatures and have a look at Pendraken's new forthcoming 10mm Napoleonics. But I'd like to say thanks again for the help and advice offered by everyone. Much appreciated.

Final update.

AB were the best 15mm scale miniatures I viewed and
Inkbiz's new range were the best 10mm miniatures.

Have not yet seen the new 10mm range from Pendraken, but the images I've seen online did not really impress me that much. However, they might look better in the flesh, but as already mentioned in another posting, about 28-40mm miniatures, none of the numerous samples I painted up gave me the 'wow' factor, and I decided to stick with Adler, the best 6mm as far as I'm concerned. The 'wow' factor is, of course, different for everyone, and Adler was mine. But, again as mentioned in another posting, I am considering 28-40mm miniatures for smaller skirmishing games.

Thanks again for help and advice from everyone. I'm pleased to say that I have found that Wargamers are always helpful, so may your games never end and the paint never fade.

We've just seen some of the new Pendraken 10mm miniatures. They are good but sadly, they didn't persuade us to want to play skirmishing or smaller action games with them. However, they would have been considered had we not decided to continue wargaming larger battles in 6mm, so still worth a view to those who have not seen them yet. But, for us, it will definitely be 28 or 40mm miniatures for skirmishing. Although I'm the main painter and owner, the scale we decide to use still has to be agreed by everyone. No good playing with other wargamers who might not like what they're playing with, is it? Anyway, it is now down to two manufacturers, one 28mm and one 40mm.

When seen from above, peoples legs tend to foreshorten. Some wargame figures have this built in.