Historical Products Company

20mm Italian Bersaglieri

review by Bill Rutherford

(ex-Hotspur) Received were three packs of Bersaglieri - a 20-pack of dismounted troops, a six-pack of motorcycles, each with two crew, these packs each selling for $10, and a two-pack of Breda LMG Motorcycles, each with two crew, selling for $5, all from the former Hotspur line of Spanish Civil War figures. These figures generally measure 20M/H Barrett from the shoe sole to the eyeball - some are a bit heftier than others and none are skinny. The figures are all wearing Italian European uniforms and helmets with the distinctive feather tufts on the right side. I had to look at these figures a few times before arriving at a conclusion regarding detailing. It’s good. The web gear, packs, etc., are all well detailed, as are the weapons (a mix of rifles and SMGs). Helmets are well-shaped and are about the right size. Poses for the dismounted figures are good - restrained and, in my bag, there were five poses, including a pointing officer.

The LMG motorcycle has the distinctive Breda light machinegun mounted over the handlebars (which are a separate piece) and two separate crew figures. They’re both considerably chunkier than the dismounted troops; the passenger has decent proportions but the rider lost a couple of inches of height around the belly button, i.e., he’s squat! Mounted on the cycle, though, they don’t look bad. The six-pack of motorcycles is identical, except that the motorcycles don’t have machine guns on them. These figures should paint up well - they’re not at all like the metal 20mm horrors the various manufacturers produced only a few years ago! On the other hand, they are somewhat heftier than most of the plastic 20mm troops available and would likely look somewhat odd alongside them… Oh - There’s some flash on all of these figures, so plan to spend a bit of time cleaning them up. They’re reasonably priced and the range includes a wide variety of figures and equipment.

They may be available from your local game shop. If not, ask for a price list directly from the manufacturer, Historical Products Company c/o Pat Condray, 2225 S. Gulfwater Pt., Crystal River, FL 34429-5159, (352) 795-1317, or visit their website at “http://www.garrison-clubs.org/hpc.htm#Historical” http://www.garrison-clubs.org/hpc.htm#Historical. It includes a full price list as well as good color photos of many of the figures in the SCW range. If you game this period in this scale, check these out!

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