I managed to sneak in an order to H&R before their temporary closure. I just received the order yesterday.
I have posted several times in other threads about H&R infantry. I have used H&R figures for several of my active army forces since the early 1990s. My review of various vendors is further down, but I want to mention up front that I bought some of the newer H&R infantry figures (and vehicles) in my most recent order.
I will try to get some pics up in a few days, but I want to quickly suggest that when we speak of H&R infantry we need to distinguish between their older stuff and their new stuff. The new figures are substantially more detailed than their older figures. I have not looked under a magnifier to do a detailed comparison to other vendors, but having just opened the order and taken a quick inventory of the contents I will say that the newer H&R figures are much closer to GHQ in terms of casting quality and detailing. They do appear to be a bit more robust than GHQ, but this is just an impression (I haven't done any work with them yet).
With the new figures I can see more details on the uniforms (actual boots / shoes / leggings -- not just legs going down to the ground), and there is even a bit of facial detail visible (on the older figures you were lucky if the helmet edge was distinct, never mind what was under the helmet edge). The equipment (weapons, tools, etc.) carried by the figures is also more distinctive. They are a bit larger than the older figures -- can't say yet but I am guessing I'll find them to be somewhere between the size of older H&R and current GHQ. I will not find the size difference to be great enough to prevent me from mixing the new figures with old.
I am also impressed by the level of details on some of the vehicles I received. Impressed relative to prior H&R vehicles (of which I have many). Again, I will not claim they reach the level of details of GHQ, but I haven't put any side-by-side yet to make closer observations.
So all of that said, my take on the vendors:
GHQ: 1/285. Best quality, usually head-and-shoulders above the rest. But sometimes a bit outsized according to many. I have not yet had a GHQ item I found to be too large for my purposes. Infantry: Go with the "individual infantry" and "individual heavy weapons" packs. They have older en bloc style (8 or 10 figures molded together) infantry sold as "company packs" or some such that are best avoided in my opinion. My only disappointment with GHQ individual infantry is the combination of poses. It is really hard to make up appropriate TOEs at anything like one-to-one unit scales with the figures you get in the GHQ packs. Far too many support weapons and officers, etc. for the number of squaddies. And never enough LMGs. For vehicles I use GHQ as my first choice if they have what I'm looking for. As their range is quite large, this means I have a LOT of GHQ stuff.
C-in-C (now offered by Legions IV Hire): Casting quality has been historically as crisp as GHQ. But the models have substantially less detail. No extra tools, tarps, external fuel tanks or other fittings on most vehicles. Always a confident go-to for vehicles I can't get from GHQ. I don't like the C-in-C infantry. Bought a fair bunch, and used 'em for years. They're too fragile -- figures broken off at the ankles every time I ever take them out of the box. Also very low choice of national armies available, few figure poses, and few support weapons. Typically less costly than GHQ. But that hardly matters to me, as I just don't buy that much stuff.
H&R: My third go-to. Here specifically referring to their older infantry -- throughout the 1990s my preferred choice for infantry. I have probably 8 companies of various H&R infantry at 1 stand = 1 squad basing. They've been core workhorses for me, and have seen many battles (including most of my Con battles). They are quite robust. A bit smaller than GHQ. Substantially less detail. But still attractively modeled and good looking when painted up well. Great variety of poses and weapons. Good combination packs, and also easy to buy one sprue at a time. Vehicles are a mixed bunch -- almost always adequate, occasionally better than adequate, very rarely sub-adequate. I have some vehicles that I have mixed with GHQ in the same unit with no obvious ill affects. But mostly I use H&R to fill in the gaps of vehicles I can't find from GHQ or C-in-C, or to bulk up on things like trucks or artillery (off-board so not core, but I may still want to have models lined up on the baseboard or in a box somewhere). Substantially more economical than either GHQ or C-in-C. Note my comments above about the quality improvements in the newer stuff.
Scotia-Grendall: Another choice for vehicles that are not available from other vendors. Less consistent quality vs. the top 3 above. Some of their vehicles have been quite good -- I am quite pleased with my Scotia early WW2 Red Army T-38s and T-40s. Others not so much -- I replaced my Scotia modern French LeClerc MBTs as soon as GHQ made their version. My experience with Scotia infantry has not been very good. The figures were substantially larger than H&R, and even larger than GHQ. Detail was present but not particularly well proportioned. Some of my WW2 French infantry figures quite frankly looked like sci-fi space robots or something. And the choices of weapons left me wondering -- still haven't figured out why French infantry would have a water-cooled MMG.
Adler: Infantry: like the work Adler does. I like the choice of figures and poses. But alas, the big-head (and general chunkiness) issue is too much for me to put Adler on my preferred list. I do have a few Adler figures in my collection for poses I can't get elsewhere (Russian tank riders, for instance). And I have gamed with several guys who use a lot of Adler infantry. So I do put the name out as a recommendation if you like them, but alas, not to my tastes. Vehicle: I don't think Adler does any WW2 stuff other than infantry and gun crews.
Baccus: Infantry: Been watching. Positive impression of what I've seen. With such a span of historical kit (medievals, ancients, etc.) I have been considering Baccus as a vendor of civilians / livestock / battlefield detritus, etc. But haven't bought any.
Mainforce: Infantry: Not as positive in my impression. Mostly prone positions, as I understand. But the pics I've seen haven't revved my engine, and I've never seen them in person on a gaming table. Vehicles: The pics I've seen steered me away. Again, never seen them in person on a game table.
Long ago I also bought 1/300 stuff from Skytrex. They left the scale, and sold off their molds mostly to H&R. I avoid purchases of the Skytrex stuff if I haven't seen it first hand -- I had too many that I found sub-adequate when finally received.
Hope that helps.
-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)
