I recently received a package of a variety of figures from Rob Miller, who carries the Hallmark lines of 1/6000 WWI & WWII naval, 1/2400 Fighting Sail, 1/2400 Renaissance naval, and 1/1200 WWII aircraft. He also stocks Heroics & Ros 5mm figures. When I asked Rob to send me a few samples for review in The Herald, I was expecting to receive a couple of unpainted ships. However, Rob sent me instead a sampling of painted figures -- quite unexpectedly I might add. Not only will I review the castings, but the paint work as well. Let's jump right in!

Hallmark 1/6000 WWI & WWII Naval

Rob sent four ships, two from each era. From WWI, I received the British cruiser Monmouth (1B54) and the German battlecruiser Moltke (1G31C). From WWII, Rob sent a U.S. Farragut destroyer (2U71) and the IJN aircraft carrier Chitose (2J44). These ships are small (at least compared to what I am used to gaming with), but I can see the usefulness in this scale. A gamer could represent a more accurate sea scale on the tabletop.

One note: All ships come molded onto their own textured stand. Waves are already cast on, so with a base color and some highlighting you will have a very nice stand already. This saves buying any mounting material. Secondly, 1/6000 IS small, but it does not take away from the overall effect. The Moltke looks like the Moltke, the Chitose looks like the Chitose. The stands range in size from 3/16" x 13/16" (Farragut) to 1/4" x 1 3/4" (Moltke).

Also, Rob's painting on each ship is very good. The decks are painted their appropriate wood tones, the turret tops, stacks, and away boats are also painted. The Chitose has a big red "meatball" on her deck, a perfect target for U.S. dive bombers! Rob's painting enhances the cleanly-cast ships. The price for the Chitose (painted) is $2.40 and the Farragut (painted) sells for $1.05. The Moltke and Monmouth were not priced, but should be comparable. For $10-$20, you could have a rather nice task force, already painted.

Hallmark 1/1200 WWII Aircraft

Included were two torpedo bombers from the Pacific theater -- the TBD Devastator and the Kate. The gang I game with uses 1/2400 ships with 1/700 aircraft, but I think these 1/1200 aircraft are much better. Maybe it's the paint job that Rob did on these "little beauts," but I REALLY like these planes. They would be a much better fit for 1/2400 than the 1/700 models we are currently using.

Again, I can tell what model these aircraft represent. Rob did a great job, considering the size of these castings. Both aircraft have their cockpit glass painted and have their respective national insignia painted on their wings. I don't have any pricing on the aircraft line, maybe Rob can send something in to the newsletter and let us know. If you are looking for some small scale aircraft to add flavor to your naval gaming, this is the way to go!

Robin L. Miller Miniatures, 3670 North U.S. 23, Black River, MI 48721. (517) 724-5697 or e-mail: itybtyrob@arrownet.com

Reviews

Imperialist Enterprises 25mm War of the Spanish Succession review
Robin L. Miller Miniatures Hallmark 1/6000 WWII Ships and 1/1200 WWII Aircraft
Robin L. Miller Miniatures Heroics & Ros 5mm
Guns of Liberty Wargame Rules for the American Revolution