15mm is the size of choice for Fire and Fury players around here (in Northern Virginia). The scale allows battles to be fought on a generally) 6 X 7 foot table. The size allows for some detail painting if you wish, or, by applying the two foot rule, minimal painting. There have been many comments about the price of figures in this thread, and there seems to be a preference for Battle Honors. BH and MM prices are nearly identical (100 figs for $20 at BH, 105 figs for $21 at MM) with OG pulling up next, followed by Stone Mountain and then Essex. Besides price, I think you should also consider the durability factor and the flash factor.

Durability is obviously a trade-off because a highly durable musket/bayonet or running pose can require thicker than normal castings. Seeing the fondness for BH expressed here, last Friday I bought a pack. I find Battle Honors to have very detailed skulls, but their muskets, bayonets, and flagstaffs are very thin and unlikely to last long. Old Glory muskets, IMO, are also quite thin (from an overhead perspective) and the bayonets way too long (I trim them by 1/3rd). Essex, Stone Mountain and Musket Miniatures all make durable figures (I don't know Frei Korps except from what I've seen in their packs). I think that Jim McCarron of Musket Miniatures makes the best musket, using a more cylindrical musket than OG or SM (BH's is just too thin) and a durable bayonet (as does SM). I found Essex too expensive and 'heavy' for my liking so I bought a couple of bulk packs from Musket Miniatures and some command packs, Texans, Bucktails and other elite troops from Stone Mountain. These troops filled out my armies from the first investment in Old Glory.

Flash is Old Glory's downfall in my book. I'm sure that Tom Dye will produce a high quality Minifig product sometime during 1999, but the (pre-Tom) Minifigs now on the market are poorly cast. Stone Mountain, BH and Musket Miniatures are cast much cleaner than, generally, Old Glory. You can have a command completed or half completed using these figures in the time it takes to clean OG figures (including the mold seams) and other castings that have lots of flash.

Now, I'm not trying to 'dis any manufacturer, so let me say something positive about OG as well. They have a wonderful mix of poses. I have their casualties, energetic, skirmishing and attacking infantry and some command figures as well. If you are going to build corps size armies, I think the OG command packs provide an interesting mix of m usicians, generals and flagbearers. But if you want to get a brigade or two ready in a week, get cleaner figures than OG.

I would like to echo the gentleman recommending a mixture of figures. This produces a most pleasing mixture. Here's what I would recommend: bulk infantry packs from MM, command packs from SM, casualties from OG ($12 for a variety of falling poses that you can use on both sides. Pick up a pack of 24 BH figures. Once you have a feel for the OG and BH frailness, you can make an educated purchase.

As to figures not being available, Stone Mountain (can't remember the URL), Musket Miniatures (musketminiatures.com), OG and BH (Grandiosity) all have website stores where you can order with assurance. I'll post an image I made the other day of some BH lead, and painted OG, MM and SM figs. Go to my personal web site: http://www.erols.com/tfaul and look for the Casting Comparison link. After running through this ng, I'll upload it this evening.