Tiger Miniatures (c/o Simply Scenics, PO Box 10975, Bromsgrove, Worcs., B61 7ZU, UK)is producing a line of Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurgency (Moro) figures in 28mm that are very nice. See the ad for a full listing. Their web site is at and you can contact them at dutyofficer@hotmail.com Peter aka ‘duty officer’ is very nice to work with and when I requested a few sample figures to go with a free ad he sent three packs worth and I received them in record international mail time. They accept PayPal, but check with them first on shipping cost to the US and Australia. One pack contains US personalities, that includes: Generals Shafter, Miles and Adna Chafee, very good likenesses. The range is quite complete for the American side and the best I can tell for the Spanish side, the Cuban rebels only has two packs of ten figures which may actually be enough variety, but I’d like to see more. A really great bonus is a Hispania/South American Mule team (a driver with two mules).

All packs are £4 except for some mounted figures and guns; most packs contain 5 figures.

The three packs (see the scans) I received were:

SAW2 Rough Riders, The pointing figure appears to be Captain ‘Bucky’ Jones 30mm, advancing 28mm, loading 28mm, shooting 26mm, and with the shotgun 25mm. They are wearing leggings that could be brown leather or a greenish canvas.

SAW13 US Marines, I love the uniforms with the caps, they all carry the Krag/Jorgensen rifle and the haversack. The advancing figure is 29mm, shooting 26.5mm, pointing 28mm, and marching 29mm. I think the pointing figure with a shotgun is an NCO.

SAW32 Spanish Command in Sun Helmets, well not all of them, the figure firing the mauser pistol is BG Joaquin Vera del Rey (27.5mm) the commanding officer at El Caney, the other figure in a cap is G Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau (30mm) (“Butcher Weyler”), the Governor General of Cuba before the war. The remaining figures in sun helmet and correct uniforms include an officer with gorget (29mm), a junior officer that carries a flag (28.5mm), and bugler (29mm) with a Spanish Mauser slung over his shoulder.

Overall, the sculpting is every bit as good as Castaway Arts or Copplestone’s work. Crisp detail will make these easy to paint; there is some flash to be cleaned off. The facial detail and diversity of both faces and poses is outstanding. The only complaint I have is the, apparently, oversized canvas haversacks. Most photos do not show the men carrying these in combat. I know that the haversacks that were carried were large and looked like these, from the photos, but they look so large, anyway they are correctly sized.

Figure size-wise these troops will work well with Redoubt and Connoisseur, Historifigs 30mm and the new Copplestone. They could work with other 28mm figs but not in the same unit.

I am so impressed with these figures that I immediately sent off an order for another pack of Rough Riders (SAW1) to finish a small ten-man unit. All three packs (SAW6, 7, and 8) of the 9th/10th dismounted cav. Two more packs of Marines (SAW12 & 14); the US pack mules and the mountain gun. I will probably order a few more packs to bring these units up to TSATF size. I’m not really that interested in the SAW. But I will be adding the Cuban Rebels and Spanish Civil Guard so I can game in Latin America preserving US BIG Banana BUSINESS interests. Then we’ll add loads of Moros to the mix. I am very pleased with these figures and the service provided by Tiger Miniatures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Scan:
Row 1 SAW32
Row 2 SAW2
Row 3 SAW13