Anyone who visits this blog knows I am obsessed with the American Revolution. Gaming the period, with both board games and miniatures has been a part of my life for too many years. And during that time I have had three large miniature armies. My present army has seen me used a number of miniatures. Not all the figures ranges that are out there but a number of them. So I thought it might be of interest to show a picture comparison of those figures I use. Perhaps to help other gamers out there decided which miniatures they will use for their collections. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and I would never tell anyone what they have to buy. Only what I have bought and what I like or do not care for. I will also show each figure next to each other so gamers may decide what works best for their army.
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| Left to right by base RSM, Eureka, Brigade, Fife & Drum, Old Glory And Perry Miniatures. |
Fife and Drum Miniatures.
My favorite line of miniatures out there. I have lots of these and the company continues to grow and add new figures. Again, this is a true labor of love. Jim is into the period. If you are familiar with Minden miniatures these are by the same sculpture. He has also done the figures for Crann Tara miniatures. These are slim figures with realistic proportions. Again, the equipment and weapons are in scale. Jim also is very open to customer suggestions and you just might get that one of a kind figure you wanted. He does British in campaign kit, and has one of the only correct Brigade of Guard's figures out there. Outstanding Native American Indians. And the line is still growing! Super customer service and highly recommended.
Kings Mountain Miniatures.
King's Mountain Miniatures is a sadly underappreciated and and should be better known. It is a brilliant line of figures, and extremely flexible. Most figures have separate heads; and the owner provides a wide variety of heads and head gear to match. You want Philadelphia Associators? You can do it with this range. Cocked hats, round hats, cousins caps and helmets all available. The figures are slim and fit in very well with Fife and Drum miniatures. Best of all these are a true labor of love for the owner. Bill is a true Rev War enthusiast who commissioned the range to make sure he could the figures he needed. He is great to do business with and a wonderful individual. When he found out I was looking for a certain flag he sent me reams of files of flags he had collected over the years to help. Please take a look at these figures, you will be glad you did! When I restarted my American Revolution armies these were some of the very first figures I brought.
http://www.kingsmtminis.com/catalog/
RSM Ltd.
Most 18th century gamers know this company for their Seven Years War range. Not as well know is their American Revolution line. Not as extensive as the SYW line the Rev War line has the basics of any army; infantry, cavalry and artillery. These are slim figures with realistic proportions. They look like soldiers should look. Muskets look like the musket I carried in reenactments for years and not oversized clubs. PLus, they are extremely cost effective. A bag of 36 infantry cost $29 dollars. You get a lot of figures for a small amount of money. For those collecting while on a budget consider this line. My only negative is that she is starting to show with the molds and sometimes figures are not as detailed as they should be. Otherwise I highly recommend this line of figures.
http://www.dpcltdcom.org/rsm95_012.htm
Old Glory (second editions).
These are the second edition figures from Old Glory. Far superior to the original line of figures done years ago. These are also sold in very economical battalion packs. Add a sold glory discount card and it's hard not but these figures. A little taller and more robust then Fife and Drum they are a little smaller then Perry miniatures size wise. Standards are cast into the figure which is a drawback to me.
Eureka Miniatures.
Another not familiar range of miniatures which deserves better publicity. Eureka make some great fugures, and figures you cannot find anywhere else. I bought the figure range they did for the 14th Continental Regiment (Glover's Marblehead regiment). A brilliant range with plenty of personality. There is also a line of "Ragged Continental " who look, well ragged. Great and useful fugures. These created a different regiment then we usually see on the table too. Certainly not neat parade ground soldiers but hardened men.
Order within the United States:
https://eurekaminusa.com
Home of Eureka miniatures:
http://eurekamin.com.au
Brigade Games.
A very new line of figures. I picked them up because they are the only figure line out there with figures wearing the correct 1775 Bounty Coat. I felt a couple regiments with mixed bounty coats and regimental coats would look great. These are a very nice group of figures which adds to any army. The variety of clothing and uniforms adds to any regiments appearance.
I have not bought any of the British (they wear the regulation uniform ) and the Hessians have not been released yet. Some of the figures in civilian clothing look a little pirate like, to me as earlier period clothing rather then 1770's. And unlike many of the other figure lines you need to spend some time cleaning up each figure before painting.
Perry Miniatures and Wargames Foundry.
Possibly the most widely used figure for this time period. They are available in both plastic and metal castings. They have almost every type of uniform or clothing and also make unusual uniforms like the Volunteers of Ireland. All are done by the talented Perry Brothers who also did the line for Wargames Foundry. Because of this and because the two lines compliment each other I have included them together. Again a little taller and better fed them many of the other ranges. But on the table top they all work together and your eye makes adjustments. I would not mix these with other figures in the same regiment.
