goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
Les Higgins/PMD Napoleonics - the 2008 Relaunch
As most older wargamers and military collectors are well aware, the 20mm and 25mm figures of Les Higgins, produced almost 40 years ago, still represent an absolute peak for the hobbyist. Out of production since 1977, they were unobtainable until the advent of eBay allowed a limited second-hand market, and they are still rare and highly prized.
Les Higgins Miniatures, of Northamptonshire, England, was founded in the late 1960s, and their beautiful 20mm English Civil War and Marlburian ranges quickly established a new standard for military miniatures. The figures were elegant, beautifully detailed and appreciably superior to anything else on the market at the time. One distinctive aspect of the company was that Higgins himself was a sculptor who produced military figures, as opposed to most of the competition of the day, who were mainly enthusiasts who tried their hand at master-making, and you can tell the difference.
In 1971, a 25mm Napoleonic range was added - the figures were approximately 1/72 scale - a man is about 23mm tall. British and French troops, mainly of Waterloo vintage, though the range also included some earlier types, notably French foot dragoons. Again, the new range was greeted with undiluted enthusiasm by reviewers.
The company was renamed Phoenix Model Developments following Higgins' early death in 1972, and Tim Richards became principal designer. Additions to the Napoleonic range appeared, and it is greatly to Richards' credit that these later figures are in every way up to Higgins' benchmark quality. In particular, the British infantry command group and the artillery crews are still treasured and desired by collectors and gamers the world over. Alas, there had been a big market shift toward larger figures, and eventually the struggle to compete with Minifigs and Hinchliffe's 25/28 products caused PMD to cease manufacture of wargames figures in 1977. Eventually all the moulds, masters and rights were sold to Rose Miniatures.
A few years ago, a syndicate of enthusiasts - including the authors of the superb VINTAGE20MIL website - bought the masters to the ECW and Marlburian ranges, and (the stuff of dreams) put them back into production. Meanwhile, the Napoleonics had been bought by Bill Ray, who spent some time trying to find a feasible means of getting a commercial casting firm to manufacture the figures. After much frustration, Bill eventually became disillusioned with the project and sold the masters and moulds early in 2008 to NapoleoN Miniatures, of Murcia, Spain. The choice was a fortunate one: in addition to producing their own very fine wargames ranges (and their 20mm Napoleonics are an excellent size match for Higgins 25s), Angel and his colleagues at NapoleoN are also very much committed to the traditions and the lore of the vintage ranges.
After much work to produce new moulds capable of supporting commercial-scale production, the time has come - these wonderful figures are about to re-emerge, shiny and perfect and cast in top-grade pewter. As an old collector and a disciple, I couldn't be more excited - so come on, guys - join me - offer up thanks and join the queue...