Mike's Models

15mm Seven Years' War

review by Mitch Allen

Mike's Models is an English miniatures company whose 15mm Seven Years' War range is being handled by Wargames, Inc., Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, West Virginia 26059-0278 (304-547-0000).

Mike's Models habitually produces lines that are very complete, and do not generally need to be supplemented with figures from other companies t-o Wl out the corners. For this reason, if for no other, a beginning Seven Years' War gamer should consider their new 15mm range which to date consists of Austrians, Prussians, and French.

Submitted for review were samples from the Prussian portion, including a musketeer, a fusilier, a grenadier, and three artillerymen. Taken as a whole, the SYW range includes characteristics common to other Mike's Models ranges. As a rule, they are somewhat shorter than most 15mm types, and rather heavy in construction. Nevertheless the sculpting is executed with flair, and the resulting figures are quite detailed.

Taken individually, the musketeer is shown walking with the musket resting over his right shoulder - a pose common to all three infantry. As mentioned previously, the detail work is quite nice and generally easy to paint, although the positioning of the figure itself hinders some of this. For a Prussian, the coat is rather heavy, as are the cuffs and the hat. However, this perhaps renders the figure into a general purpose one. This may be intentional, as the catalogue suggests a certain amount of interchangeability.

The fusilier and grenadier figures share the same general comments, except of course about the headgear. The artillerymen are quite well done and very animated. The sponger is in his shirtsleeves, swabbing his forehead, while his hat lay at his feet. The matchholder seems to be holding the match at extreme arms-length to avoid powder burns.

All things considered, Mike's Models 15mm Seven Years'War range is a good one, but it has its limitations. Their relative shortness and stockiness stands out next to other figures, thus reducing their compatibility. However, the usual completeness of the full range, if it conforms to usual Mike's Models standards, largely balances this out. The sculpting is detailed and on the whole accurate, if somewhat awkward. I have not seen any cavalry, which makes a complete evaluation difficult, but from what is before me the range has a lot to offer.

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