"15mm Napoleonics, Battle Honors or Blue Moon?" Topic

After a long time away, I am looking to get back into 15mm Napoleonics. When I first dabbled in 15mm Napoleonics I primarily painted Old Glory with a few ABs and Minifigs thrown in. But I have to admit, I am not a particularly big fan of Old Glory's infantry. I no longer like the posses and I am finding them difficult to paint. I love ABs but they are too detailed for me, especially at 15mm. My OCD says if a figure has it sculpted on it, I have to paint it. And I want spend more time gaming and less time painting. Minifigs I also like, they are easy to paint and there is something about figures in units have all the same pose I like. But yo get them I have to order overseas so I am at the mercy of the exchange rate. Not bad now, but who knows what the future holds.

What do people who have experience painting BH and BM say?

BH look very clean, the range seems complete, at least for the major powers. Have they held up over time? Are the molds still producing crisp castings, or will I be disappointed?

Blue Moon also looks interesting. The (relatively) uniform poses and raised details look like they would be way to paint. What do fellow TMPers say?

Thank you in advance for responding!

BH are much slimmer, fine castings. They're also closer to 15mm.

BM are larger ( closer to 18mm) and more robust. Their anatomy is exaggerated,I presume for ease of painting.

They're both nice. Comes down to taste.

Also, what country or countries are you looking at collecting? That might make a difference depending on what company is offering what figures. I am liking most of the Blue Moon figures I have. I do not have any BH.

Have them all I think but lately getting Blue Moon, easy to paint.

The problem with both lines are lack of completion for any of the powers. We were promised more of the troops from BM but haven't had any in a while. The swords on most of the cavalry are poorly cast/sculpted so they flop or are easily broken. However their equipment stacks up very well.

BH are truer 15mm and again lack completeness but also suffer from older molds.

I am planning on buying samples of the BM marching Grenz and compare with ones from BH.

I still feel the OG lines contain some real gems notably the Russians and Prussian infantry line.

Also check out Campaign Game Miniatures. I like their mounted much better than BH and BM.

I would like to buy more French BH.
Can't find them in the UK.

Anyone help?
Cheers.

Desert Fox, I live in Arizona and order MiniFigs from the UK. I just prefer 15mm Minifigs to all others. Only one pose I don't like and that is the most exaggerated leaning forward advancing pose. Unfortunately, the French center infantry figs are in that exaggerated leaning pose. The Russian, British, Austrian, and Prussian infantry poses are nice. However, I do buy my generals from Blue Moon and AB. Much better general figures than MiniFigs.

Here are 15mm MiniFig French grenadiers with an AB general.
(Other figures in background are the no longer available MiniFig 2nd generation figures.)

I would suggest you look at Lancashire Games. Fairly comprehensive range and a good quality gaming figure.

I stick with 15mm, don't like supporting the scale creep of 18mm. Agree that the Minifigs Naps are very nice.

Another appreciation of the older Minifigs, alas it seems too late. Their aspect seems to me comparable with, say, Baron Lejeune's paintings of the period. The newer, sprinting figures seem far too stylised, even balletic. Again, for command figures, AB or BH, though with some of the personality figures the size means I've had difficulties finding horses which look anything near the correct size. Old Glory 15s are variable in quality, though with a good variety of postures. Horses in this range, similarly, are very variable in quality, though these may have been revised in recent years. It does indeed all depend on personal taste (and manufacturers' pricing).

I like my older Minifigs but they are sooo small now when up against an AB figure, so I imagine they will be swamped by Blue Moon.

And range completion is a curse of our hobby – the lesser parts of the range just don't sell as well, so there is less desire to make them I appreciate

Packing up the board yesterday looked close to a Minifig musketeer with a Blue Moon officer. He is a bit taller but acceptable that he is not armed the same so no difference except height.

Desert Fox,

I have literally hundred, probably well over a thousand Old Glory Napoleonics.

Several hundred are painted, the entire Baden contribution to the Hreane Armee and at least a brigade of Westphalians plus many more painted and unpainted that I wish to sell. pm me if interested

I just held an Old Glory and Blue Moon figure side by side. The Blue Moon base is slightly thicker but otherwise they seem to look fine together. BM detail is a little sharper.

I have some BH in my collection, and they tend to be 'thinner' than the Old Glory (which is roughly 90% of the collection). I prefer OG, BH and BM over Minifig, but I have hundreds of those too.

Of the two, I prefer BM, even though they are a whisker larger and a bit thicker, more like 18mm, as others have stated. BH are smaller and I find more vulnerable to breakage (plumes, bayonets, muskets). Both are very nice, but they are also not easily inter-mixed, unless a bit cleverly – e.g., a small drummer from a small line on a command stand, or grenadiers from a larger line alongside fusilier companies from a smaller one.

The bulk of my collection is OG, with generous smatterings of others, but my new go-to is Campaign Game Miniatures out of Barcelona. Dermot is excellent to deal with, the figures are terrific, communications are fast and courteous, and the line is growing all the time.

Aren't Campaign Game Miniatures the old Fantassin line? They were supposed to be close to AB in quality but less in price, and more importantly compatible in size and poses.

I had always heard that the top of the heap was AB, with Fantassin just below; Old Glory had a complete line though variable a bit in quality and scale creep; Minifigs was in its own group because of style but was also a relatively complete range; Essex similar to Minifigs in how I would describe their uniqueness but complete.

What DO people think of Essex's Napoleonic range? I am very familiar with Essex generally, but had not heard anyone discuss it in a long while.

No, CGM is separate.And they're terrific, IMHO.

Though it has been difficult to keep track (and I gather there have been some legal issues), I think Fantassin/Warmodelling is now being produced by Stonewall Miniatures? There have been TMP threads on this, and I am sure someone else knows the business history better than me.

RE Essex, I like them just fine, but they are all a bit well fed and short. Very easy to paint, however, and look great once done. (I like their ACW figures more than the Nappy ones.) A key difference tends to be bayonets, which are far shorter than the pike-like behemoths that grace many modern miniatures' muskets. Also, many of them are deeply bent at the knees, reinforcing the sense of shortness.

The other question of course in this sort of situation is how the horses and guns (particularly the horses) compare.

What armies are you planning to paint? I may be able to help you with 2nd & 3rd Gen Minifigs if you like, at a much better price than ordering from the UK.

Cheers
Dean
Ontario Canada

Although I now only collect and paint AB I have about 300 Minifigs current generation French infantry in my collection. They are all in the march attack pose.

They are really easy figures and relatively fast to paint and for many they have enough detail for gaming.

I'd say they were 17mm. A bit smaller than AB march attack French but what's more noticeable than their height is the different style and I am slowly painting more AB infantry to eventually replace them.

As you find AB too detailed for what you require I'd definitely recommend Minifigs as an option but as always I suggest buying some samples to see which make you like painting the most before committing to buying a whole army.

No point buying 400 figures then finding out you hate painting them, that's enough to entirely put you off a period altogether.

Anyone know how the Minifigs from the 1980s compare with the current Minifigs in terms of size?

Peachey at the Pass, I hope this helps.

Here are some comparison photos of my 15mm Minifigs 2nd and 3rd generation. The 2nd generation figs are from the 1980s. Although the 3rd gen figs are larger than the 2nd gen figs, I believe both generation blend well on the wargaming table.

In all the photos below, the 2nd Gen figs on left, the 3rd Gen figs on the right.

French Old Guard Grenadiers

Russian Grenadiers

Russian Musketeers

British Line Infantry

Austrian Infantry

French Dragoons

British Dragoons

For gaming purposes (and in the interests of discussion):
1. I prefer the 2nd generation figures.
2. Was there actually any need for more detail?

Allan, having both 2nd and 3rd generation 15mm Minifigs, I personally prefer the 3rd generation figures. I especially prefer the 3rd gen cavalry figures. There is a little more detail with the 3rd gen figures, but for me they are just as easy or easier to paint than the 2nd gen figures.

Thank you. That was really useful. I certainly wouldn't mix them in a unit. The cavalry, obviously is very different, and the horses MUCH larger.

Thanks for everyone's response. Most helpful. Most of my armies are old Empire Napoleonettes and Minifig 2nd gen. It appears I can add 3rd gen Minifigs without too much distraction. Sr. Tyson, lovely painting. My hands are no longer so steady!