"Heroics & Ros 8th Army Figures" Topic

What are the differences between BR07 (WW2 British 8th Army) and BR04 (WW2 8th Army in Desert Dress)?

I think BR04 are the old style figures and BR07 are the new ones. They probably have the old sets still in stock.

thanks. what are the differences in style (e.g. bigger/smaller, chunkier/slimmer, more detailed/less detailed etc.)?

I don't have the 8th army figs, but where I do have the old and the new, the new are a little larger, a little cleaner. Basically, nicer figs.

Look at the pricing, the older sets are a little cheaper than the newer sets.

many thanks both

I can not speak to the specifics of BR07 vs. BR04, as I have neither set.

But I am quite familiar with the "older style" H&R figures.

Most of the figures were modeled/mastered and in production by the mid-1990s. I started buying H&R infantry about that time.

At that time I considered them far superior to any other offering. GHQ was just scaling up their "en bloc" style figures, after giving up on individual figures that were widely criticized by gamers as too fragile. C-in-C stayed on the too-fragile path, with some particularly awkward poses and a selection of poses that just left me scratching my head (maybe I can get by without any identifiable BAR men, but why do I want so many WW2 US Army figures marching with slung rifles?). Scotia was just not consistent enough (some good figures, some that looked like sci-fi space robots). And Skytrex were just not good enough across the board (mercifully they sold off their 6mm line and focused elsewhere).

H&R were (and the old sets still are) consistent, robust enough for gaming use, and in useful combinations of poses. But they were never exceptionally detailed or crisp. No facial features to speak of. Often you can't see the foot for the leg (just a "trunk" to the base). Much of the personal kit (backpacks, canteens, etc.) are just bumps or blobs.

But I always found them good enough. I can visually distinguish the soldier with an LMG or an SMG from a rifleman. I can see the gunner's No. 2 carrying an ammo box. The German helmets are visually different from the Russian helmets. And I can use paints to distinguish the face under the helmet, even if there aren't a lot of facial features, or paint to distinguish the boot or shoe from the trouser, even if it is actually casted more like an elephant's leg/foot.

Since the mid-1990s other vendors have come in with some nicely modelled infantry figures. Baccus comes to mind, but GHQ with their "individual infantry" are the real benchmark for detail and crisp castings. I just love the GHQ figures, wow do they paint up nicely. And they seem to be robust enough (although I have not compiled nearly as many gaming hours with GHQ figures as I have with my H&R WW2 Soviets). But sometimes the better poses of the H&R stuff is still attractive to me. In fact I am just finishing a WW2 US Army infantry force with H&R "old" castings, to replace the C-in-C based units that have been in my "ready forces" box since the late 1980s.

All of that said, the older H&R stuff is … older. They quality of the figures was quite impressive 25 years ago. But now they are showing their age. Not only has the state of the industry moved forward, but old masters degrade in time, and you can see that the castings are just not quite as crisp as they originally were (I still have some unpainted sets bought more than 15 years ago).

Everything I have seen of the newer H&R stuff has impressed me. The new management/ownership, and the new modelling, seem to have retained most of the old positive values, and added crisper details. I don't have much of the newer stuff in my collection yet, but I've gamed with some of the newer pieces from gaming friend's collections. I give very high marks.

All opinion, of course. Take it and use it, or leave it by the dside of the digital road as you see fit.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Normally, if H&R has resculpted a set, they don't give it a new number, but put "M" in front of the code, so I bet there is a uniform distinction, and if you want shorts and short-sleeved shirts, I'd recommend you try BR04. Planning to myself, shortly.

But Mark 1 is right: good enough sculpts overall, and for once in the history of miniature wargaming the improved versions are better detailed without being bigger than the older ones. I can put current H&R production next to H&R 30 years old. The new ones look better, but they don't loom over the older casts. And in horse & musket, I can put 24 on a 1"x2" stand, while 24 Baccus--which are also very nice figures, mind--require a 60mm stand for the same numbers.

I'll be ordering a ton of H&R Romans as soon as the pile of Greeks is visibly diminished.

I own a load of H&R figs. I love em! But wow, I just found out that the price jumped up to 4.50 pounds a pack. That makes them more expensive by a lot than Baccus (6 pounds for 96 figs vs 9 pounds for 100 H&R). I can't justify that price difference going forward. I'll be buying Baccus and Rapier.

Edit. Based on the post above 4.50 pounds may only be for the newly sculpted packs. Older packs may be 3.60 pounds. But that's still more expensive. I was going to order some modern infantry.

Thanks.

John

4 of BR4: 5 rifle high port; 3 Tommy-guns leveled; all standing, short pants.
1 of BR4: 4 Bren gunners; 4 no. 2's; all prone, short pants.
1 of BR4A: Vickers HMG, seated; Loader, prone; RT, kneeling; Standing, looking through binoculars; Standing visored cap (these 2 in trousers?).
1 of BR4B: Mortar (height of kneeling figure); 2 kneeling crew; 1 kneeling, looking through binoculars; 1 standing w/mine sweeper.

This package is not w/original label. But 48 figures is a pack.

Apologies for delay. I don't have anything newer (BR05+).

BR07 & BR08 are the new sculpts of the 8th army, I would say the are a little "chunkier" if that's a word that the original H&R figures but it allow more detail which people seem to want. The other advantage of this figure type is you can buy them by the strip. We were always being asked for more HMG or more mine detectors but the way the mould we made this wasn't possible. No you can buy any weapon by the strip so get what you need with out having to buy packets including this you don't need. If you don't have figures to match already I would use the new ones, the can be mixed with the older ones but as we move through each theatre we are provide all the figure need. If you need more help just email us.