"40mm AWI" Topic

I am thinking of getting some 40mm Am Rev figures. However, I don't like putting figures together (ie heads, arms ect.) I know that with Front Rank you have to do this. Can anyone tell me if that is the case with Trident Designs or Sash and Saber or do they come put together?

Thanks

Most of the Trident pieces require attaching a head. I'm Doug will be here to respond as well. Sash and Saber are generally the same, though the Indians are multi-part.

Some of the Trident figures also require gluing hands (holding muskets) to arms, for certain poses. I've never had any trouble, they fit well.

Many of the early Trident figures such as the Militia, Americans in Tricorns and floppy hats, most of the British except Cav. and Highlanders, Indians, even the later Hessians have fixed heads. But most do have plug in hands unless they are in firing poses.

Some of the early code bags of Sash and Saber Continentals have heads molded onto the body…nothing to put together but the result is a limit to the variations.

Anywhere you look you going to have to attach arms and heads, so there is no avoiding it.

Stick with Trident. Half the price of Front Rank and the quality of the castings and poses is spectacular.
You also have an excellent selection as far as different uniforms go. The figures are a snap to assemble, as all of the pins and holes line up and are cast cleanly. A drop of super glue and you're finished.

Front Rank are beautiful figures, but they are just way too expensive. At 7 bucks a figure, who can afford these?
In my opinion, they need to come back to earth regarding pricing. If you buy Army Packs or Battle Packs from MSC you end up paying under 3 dollars a figure.
That's a game changer for me.

Sash and Sabre are a bit smaller than either FR or Trident
and they have a very limited selection of figures. They also have lots of different parts to put together. Especially Indians, who have pouches, powder horns and knives that need attaching, in addition to arms and heads. Some have separate torsos and legs. I doubt from you post that you would wish to deal with that. These are cheaper than both FR and Trident and, in my opinion, it shows. However, I do have plenty of their Indians and some of their F&I line is good for Militia and Riflemen/Frontiersmen. Good fill in troops, if you're willing to spend the time to put them together.

Doug at MSC is a sweetheart to deal with and deserves to be supported. I put my $ where my mouth is and just dropped north of 2 grand on his Trident figures. Money well spent in my book.
I really like the look of the 40 mm stuff and plan to set up Saratoga in the North and some of the smaller skirmish battles in the South where I can use the cavalry. Beautiful sculpts.

Thanks Nevinsrip for the great review. Doug has contacted me and will be sending me a couple of figures so I can take a look. Really nice of him to do that. By my research I would agree with you Trident Designs does look like the way to go.
Thanks everyone.

Let me just say I like Trident, I have several Trident units and I think Doug is doing a great job expanding his line to include a wider and wider selection. I recommend them highly.

Alternatively, I also recommend the Sash and Saber figures for a couple of reasons. First, while the number of different units types is more limited, the variation within that range is much greater. If you want your units to have variation the Sash and Saber gives you those options, albeit within a narrow range.

As far as the size issue, I have units with a Sash and Saber and Trident mix and the difference is negligible.

I also have Sash & Saber and Front Rank Figures as well as Trident in my personal Wargame Army. But of course, 90% of my army is Trident.

I have Sash and Saber and Trident. I like both, for different reasons. I do not have any Front Rank. I do not agree with "Sash and Sabre are a bit smaller than either FR or Trident", as far as Sash and Saber are concerned. I have never come across any Sash and Saber that I thought were smaller than Trident. I like the fact that most Sash and Saber and Trident come without heads. It allows you to make more unique figures. The S&S Indians do come with separate torsos and equipment as mentioned.

As do I and I sell Trident on my site as well. I am about to post a 40mm slide show regarding my new rules "Light Bobs" to be released at Cold Wars.

Chris P.

I have mixed up which of my British light infantry are S&S and which are Trident. They match perfectly in my opinion.

Based on my experience, both Trident and Frontrank are great figures.
Also, Alec from FR is a great professionnal, and Doug a nice and reliable person to deal with.
Considering the difference in price, IMHO, FR may claim for a better casting and an harder alloy. Bayonets, for exemple, will bend easily on Trident, when this is not the case with FR.
They mix well and, IMO again, on a small scale army of less than an hundred figures, collected with patience, year after year, the price is not that an issue …
Have fun!

Interestingly enough the Trident British LI have bastion loop lace molded into the appropriate places. Sash and Saber have plain lace. Ditto grenadiers. Easy enough to paint over but they are there.
Depending on the pose both require a little assembly. Some do not.

They both have nice action poses which are sometimes difficult to balance. That's why I base them on inch diameter washers.

Trident has a HUGE line. Doug even has very early war American grenadiers with the cloth mitre!
I have never seen that in 25/28mm.

I have a dozen British in slouch hats that are to be painted as New Jersey Volunteers, along with a dozen American militia, all of these are 40mm Trident figures to be used with Day of Battle Games "Light Bobs" rules.

Trident continues to come out with more and more figures for their line. I like the sculpts, and they seem relatively easy to paint, too.

I went with the Trident figures. They are really nice. I am pleased with them. Also got two figures from HLBC and they also are very good.

Trident are great but don't rule out Sash and Saber figures. Poses are limited but they have different heads so you can make variations. Both lines mix well in the same unit.

I have decided to base all my 40mm figures on 1" adhesive backed magnets (I sell on my site) and I am having custom bases made that are 120mm wide by 60mm deep for foot and 70mm deep for horse. I will have 8 x 1" holes in them for foot and 3 x 30mm x 60mm slots for horse. I will have these on my site as well. this way I use the figures individually in my Light Bobs AWI games and in mass when I play Command & Colors Napoleon modified for the AWI.

I swear by S&S! Amazing figures.

Bob

DO Trident and Front Rank 40mm AWI match up for mixing in the same unit?

I see some say otherwise about Sash and Saber and Trident 40mm AWI but I find those two makes are too different size/bulk-wise to mix in the same unit.

Everyone you see is slightly different in height. Why not figures?
I have Trident and S&S Militia. No reason to NOT mix them, even in the same unit.

As I commented above, a few years ago , the Warrant uniform British have discernible different lace. One is bastion loop (38th Foot etc) while the other is plain lace. Don't mix British in the same Unit for that technical detail, but there's no reason why both can't be in the same army.

Thank you for your opinion. It's a difficult fence to straddle, the one between acceptable variety in human shapes and where a given look or make are incompatible.

Real people are real people with real physical variations but all are members of the same species. By contrast, Wargaming figure sculpts are shadows of the real thing and merely constructs of the vision of the artist which often takes into account (or does not take into account) real hobby issues that miniatures present such as ease of painting or a lack of fragility. This need to provide serviceability for wargaming is why miniatures in 28mm or 40mm are often more robust than a true scaled down human would be. After all, real humans aren't glued to bases and handled by giant hands all evening long.

Thus, we are discussing differences in art rather than variations in human size. And, sometimes, one mans art doesnt jive with another's art and creates a disruption in the overall art. I would venture it's also about expectations and wargamers as a group prefer a certain harmony in relative size/scale from their horse and musket units.

Having said that, I wonder if anyone has pictures of 40mm units composed of blends of Trident, Sash and Saber and even Front Rank figures?