Ral Partha and RAFM

25mm Gangsters and Gun Molls

By Ken Bunger

Just when you thought you had seen just about everything, along comes not one but two lines of 25mm figures representing the hoods and heroes of the 1920s and 30s. And what makes this whole concept more fascinating is that the companies releasing these figures are two of the biggest and best... Grenadier and Ral Partha. And as you might expect from the reputation of these fine companies the quality of the product is outstanding.

Ral Partha's "Twentieth Century Plus" line is sculpted by Bob Charrette and consists of twelve figure types ranging from your standard "Indiana Jones" adventurer to detectives and G-Men. Grenadier's offerings are hidden in their Call of Cthulhu line. The figures in question are found in the Adventurers box and the first six blisters in the same series.

Of the 12 blisters offered by Ral Partha 10 are individual figures sold separately while the last two packs (Gangsters and Police) come three to a blister with all figures being different. The Grenadier line offers a box of 12 assorted figures and each blister containing three different figures each. Overall, the Grenadier figures are less expensive with the figures averaging 83¢ apiece, while the Ral Partha figures sell for 83C in multipacks but $1.10 for individual figures.

Although the lines are similar there is enough definition of character in each figure to purchase the same type of figure from each company. There are two points that the potential buyer should know. First, the Grenadier figures tend to be somewhat smaller than the Ral Partha pieces and somewhat more elegant in sculpting technique. Second, both companies provide plenty of character figures but come up short on the more mundane figure types. In fact, if you are interested in a small skirmish scenario (Bonnie and Clyde rob a bank) you will have to hustle to get enough civilians together to make it work.

As to the quality of the figures themselves, I like the P.I. (20-104) and the Detective (20-105) in the Ral Partha line. They both exhibit a lot of character. Many of the other figures are O.K. and they do have a wealth of detail, but some of them tend to be a bit bulky (G-Man 20-106 is a good example), and the heads of the gangsters tend to be a bit large.

The Grenadier figures are really very nice and as was mentioned earlier somewhat smaller than the Ral Partha pieces. The detailing is very good with their Sinister Gentleman (204) being the best of the group. Although one would be hard pressed to find a historical scenario where he could be used, the Grenadier rendition of Fu Manchu is one of the nicest figures you will see out this year. Also, do not pass up their Adventurers box (6501) which contains some good pieces (the policeman and the flapper are two good examples).

Both lines have some outstanding figures to choose from, but remember both lines are far from complete for historical games and you will have to provide vehicles and non-character figures.

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