Upon return from family vacation and an extended business trip I found a selection of 15s from Falcon Miniatures in Massachusetts waiting for my inspection and review.
I have recently taken a long cold look at my own prejudices against this scale and have thought that I have been in error as there are many really lovely figures in this scale. Unfortunately the new releases from Falcon are not at the head of that list. The anatomy is distorted with huge heads dominating square bodies. They give the visual impression of slightly overweight dwarves. They also have a slightly stamped or two-dimensional look. That is, the casting is not fully rounded but rather flattened so that it looks much better from some views than from others. The troops are armed with cap and ball bazookas with a machette attached to the barrel.
Let me not go too far however. These are not bad figures. The disproportions are no worse than most 15mm figures and do make for ease of painting. Also the pose selection of these new figures is quite good and at times, excellent. There is a flagbearer waving his hat that is just as cute as the dickens. There is another figure running with rifle at "Pas de Charge" that looks as if it would paint up very nicely.
All in all the infantry is quite good enough if you can forgive the distortions, and the posing goes a long way helping to do just that. The only thing I really cannot recommend are the guns. The artillery is poorly cast and far too small. They resemble screw guns of the wog bashing campaigns of the 1880s. Otherwise here is another American company making a nice if not super range of figures for your armies. If you game ACW in 15s enjoy this golden age of figures; who knows how long it will last?
More Reviews
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Thistle and The Rose 15mm Dark Ages and Medieval
Connoisseur 25mm Early Renaissance/Late Middle Ages
Falcon Miniatures Russo-Japanese War
Falcon Miniatures 15mm ACW Additions
Roundway Figures 15mm Marlborough Period 1700-1720
Alliance Miniatures 15mm Ottoman Turks
Napoleonic Uniform Plates
Swedish Colors and Standards of the Great Northern War
The Army of James II: Uniforms and Organization
Corps Commander/OMG
Raider Games 15mm Seven Years War Flagsheets
Knighthood and the Middle Ages Medieval Rules
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