"Best figures to complement Northstar 28mm FIW figures?" Topic

I have some Northstar 28mm British Rangers and French marines. I like their proportions. Does anyone know which line's figures would work best with them for British and French Regulars for skirmish gaming?

Any figures you like. I once did a FIW skirmish game with no less than 24 manufacturers represented on the table. The thing is that they were ALL good sculpts and castings.
Why should I deprive myself of using RAFM figures, merely because I have Redoubt on the table?

So, if I were to do an FIW game, my figures would be Brigade Games, Old Glory, Hinchliffe, Conquest, Wall, RSM, Front Rank, Dixon, Redoubt, RAFM, Firing Line, Fife and Drum, Foundry, Perry…

My buddy Eric will be bringing me some King's Mountain.

I never heard of Northstar. Maybe I need to get some.

I use Redoubt and Galloping Major with my Northstar figures. They all tend to be large and similarly bulky, but mix almost perfectly. I recently played against my friend who used his own yet-to-be released French regulars and Conquest Indians which look a lot smaller than my figs. However, on the table, they all looked great and I really couldn't see any difference in height and proportion. Therefore, I agree with the OFM!

Northstar's Indians are very nice as are their non-uniformed British. The Highlanders look great, though I haven't seen them in the flesh. Why not just stick with Northstar?

I agree that Northstar are very nice, but the range is limited: no civilians, no provincials, no French regulars. Galloping Major has a lot of variety and Redoubt has some really unusual models: fleeing civilians, Indian villagers, Indians with firebrands (torches) and scalping vignettes, (including a ranger scalping an Indian.)

John,
In principle I agree as reflected by my 15mm armies that include tiny minifigs and large Blue Moon, but what finally got me into 28mm skirmish wargaming was the beauty and detail of the larger scale figures.

I stepped in blindly and naively assuming incorrectly that FIW skirmish figures must be about the same scale because there are so few complete lines. My Foundry militia look like little dwarves compared to my Northstar Rangers. That hasn't prevented me from playing with them and having fun, but with the skirmish games having such low numbers, I am tempted to focus on size compatability more than with my "battle scale" gaming.

Hydra,
I do like the look of Galloping Major and Redoubt, but aren't they a bit more chunky than Northstar?

The AW figures look like they might work well as well as possibly BlueMoon. Does anyone know?

John;
I am avidly awaiting the arrival of The Postman…

Eric

AW are huge but very nice Blue Moon are tall but slim. Galloping Major are rather stocky also
best match I have found for my Northstar are Redoubt or Front Rank.
Northstar Indians are smaller than Northstar French Marines – slightly.

Redcoat:

The Northstar are slightly thinner than Redoubt and Galloping Major. However, when I was basing GM rangers and Northstar rangers, they were difficult to distinguish from each other. I'm a miniature sculptor myself, so I'm very picky about choosing figures that really go together (I sold my Foundry WW1 since they were so much smaller than my primarily Great War/Renegade collection)

"I never heard of Northstar."
John, they were the figures that were produced in conjunction with the ruleset Muskets and Tomahawks.

That hasn't prevented me from playing with them and having fun, but with the skirmish games having such low numbers, I am tempted to focus on size compatability more than with my "battle scale" gaming.

strange… I would have thought that having regments standing side by side would be more objectionable to those who worry about compatibility, than would skitrmish forces scattered all over the table.

Thank you for the input again.

Truscott,
So AW and Blue Moon are both taller than Northstar?

Hydra,
Who do you use for British regulars?

John,
Because 28mm is a larger scale, everything on my table looks more realistic than my 15mm collection from the figures to the terrain. Musket & Tomahawk with all it's side plots and random events has almost a story telling feel about it. Also figures are often in hand to hand combat and units become almost intermixed sometimes so size differences stand out more to me than my 15mm battles. I like my M & T games to look almost like a diorama and I tend to photograph them move by move. It all really comes down to personal choice, but these are my reasons for me wanting my 28mm troops painted to a high standard and not have 5mm height differences between one unit and another.

I have FIW figures from Northstar, Galloping Major, Redoubt, Front Rank, Old Glory and Minifigs.

The first three are all much the same size and mix well.
Front Rank are slightly shorter, but of quite chunky build, so also mix ok.
Old Glory and Minifigs are noticeably smaller (25mm rather than 28mm). They are OK on the same table, but not in the same unit.

I'm started with all Conquest, but I just ordered some Perry civilians to expand my options there, hoping that they mix OK. I love the Conquest poses, detail and characterizations.

Wolvenwood,
I have Perry and Conquest Indians and they work pretty well together.

Redcoat:

I'm using Redoubt for my British regulars. I selected firing and loading poses to make the unit look like a firing line. They are chunky and a little misproportioned, but they'll do until my friend Scott sculpts his British. His French are looking great and we hope to have them for sale in the Hydra Miniatures store by mid-year.

Hydra,
Very interested in your friends figures.Do you know if they will be like Conquest/Perry or Redoubt/GM?I would personally like someone to do 1/48 as so I would have some figures to go with my precious 8 from Tom Meier.I also think by being a little bigger they could be proportioned better even though the figures being done now are much better sculpted than years ago IMO.Getting back to the thread I have Conquest/Perry/OG/F&D and now King's Mtn.Over the Mountain Men in one grouping and Blue Moon/Northstar in another.
Mark

Having jumped in again (did have french but sold them off) I am building up a British force.

North star Rangers and Injuns

I have added;

a couple of packs of Perry indians (smaller but not so as it would bother you to much and could also be younger braves)

Provincials – Galloping major, more chunky but similar size and lovely models

Redoubt Scots, perfect match (I prefer these to the North Star ones)

Fro the remainder I went with Foudnry SYW, they fit very well, I dont mind the cartoony square jaws as the minis are rather tasty and give a good Hatman feel to the advamcing line :)

I have a fairly large FIW skirmish force for both the French and British. I use a range of Northstar, AW, Redoubt, Galloping and Perry thought, like John says, I would use others though tend to keep them in the same unit. I rate all of them highly (currently painting the NS Highlanders, which is a challenge).

However I would say that the service was great from AW and my lads arrived super fast!

Hi Redcoat, No Galloping Major and AW are not taller than Northstar or Redoubt just chunkier

I wouldn't say that AW are that much chunkier either really.
:)

Thank you for all the comments.

Hydra,What happened to the figures you friend was sculpting?
Mark

Hydra,still nothing?
Mark