I present to you some photos of a newly painted battalion of Sardinian/Italian Bersaglieri from QRF's Frei Korps 15 (15mm) range. These are designed to represent the famed soldiers from the Italian Wars of Independence (1848-1866).
I have been building most of my 1859 2nd Italian Independence War primarily utilizing Old Glory 15's extensive range. Since this manufacturer does not offer any Bersaglieri, I purchased these to complete my Italian brigade. I have included a comparison photo of QRF and Old Glory 15s in the last photo below. While QRFs are slightly smaller and a bit more round, they make a pretty good fit on the table, especially since I will not be mixing these figures into the same units.
The QRF figures are limited by offering only two poses (firing and advancing) per pack, plus a command pack that includes officer, bugler, and standard bearer. This makes them quite a bit less animated than the OG15s. Having painted quite a few Essex miniatures, I found these QRF's to be identical (I'm guessing the same sculptor). So, as with all Essex figures, you can expect slightly over-sized heads, sparse equipment, and limited poses. That said, I'm pleased with the way they turned out.
I love variety in the ranks. So, I attempted to move a few heads, converted one standard bearer into a loading position with a spare rifle, and also attached backpacks to several of these figures. These detachable packs were borrowed from "French Casualty" (FPW) figures produced by Outpost. They match closely the actual design of Sardinian packs, and fit perfectly. I only wish I had more to spare! Might be worth the effort to contact Outpost and see if I can order a few dozen.
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The OG15 figures (Italian Infantry) are on the left, QRF figures are on the right
finds bridges to match the river sets.
