"Old Glory FPW" Topic

I am looking at starting the FPW in 18mm. Can anybody recommend a range to use? I am initially thinking the Old Glory figures but don't know how good the sculpts are. Are they on a par with the Blue Moon ACW? (I have some of these and like them). Opinions/reviews or general advice would be much appreciated.

The Old Glory 15mm range is good. I've painted thousands of them at this point. Another range to look at is Essex. They have quite good figures that mix well with the OG ones.

Neither one of them are the size of the blue moon figures but on the same table they probably wouldn't look bad together.

Also if you are looking for a painting guide, try the ones by the Outpost Wargame Services. They are very useful. I got mine from On Military Matters, I think a long time ago.

I can vouch for Essex – very nice FPW minis.

Many thanks for your replies. I will have another look at the Essex range as well as Old Glory, especially if they seem to go together quite well.
I also have the three volume series of books by Outpost and agree that they are very useful.
As an aside what does anyone think to the quality / compatibility of the Outpost figures with Essex / Old Glory?

The Outpost figures are reasonably compatible with OG – I wouldn't mix them in units but on the same table should be fine.

I am very familiar with Blue Moon 18mm's, and have also painted well over a thousand FPW figures. This include all 3 of the companies you mention.

Regarding FPW, the smallest of the three are definitely the Old Glory 15s. While the Essex are close, they are slightly larger and heavier bodied. The Outpost figures are far larger in height and thus compatible with the "18mm" Blue Moon figures in size.

My own personal preference has been to build my infantry battalions and artillery batteries from Old Glory 15s. They offer some nice pose variations (especially the French and Prussian infantry sets ), and are much cheaper in price – at least here in the USA. The figures are a little fragile, so you might have to put up with a few broken bayonets. This range also does not offer any artillery limber sets.

In contrast, I have built up my cavalry squadrons using Essex. While there is little-to-no variation in poses for the cavalry, the figures are thicker and more durable, and in my opinion, a bit more impressive to the eye. They also have some great artillery limber sets, although these are rather pricey.