Carlist Wars

What a Difference a Sculptor Can Make!

It's amazing to me the widely varying quality a company can have in its figures. Take, for example, Freikorps' 28mm line. Some may remember my less than flattering review of their Skraelings figures (Herald #60). So, when I wanted to buy a few of their British Auxiliary Legion from the Carlist Wars range I was more than skeptical. My plan was simply to buy one of each pose just to see what they looked like. I'm looking for figures to recreate the 1838 Battle of the Windmill (bonus points if you know what that is!).

The good news? These three figures are obviously not sculpted by the same person who made the Skraelings. I would say the sculptor might be the same person who did the 1st Corps Mexican-American War line, as the style is very similar to them (and that's a good thing!). Very cleanly done -- very little mold lines and no flash -- with good animation and detail, and a hefty girth. We'll call them "28H" on the Barrett Scale. The Brits are in "full kit," consisting of backpack, wooden canteen, and haversack, all with the appropriate belts. Smartly dressed in a short coatee, trousers over shoes, and a round cap (think U.S. round cap worn during the Mexican-American War), all three poses are in an advancing mode. As a matter of fact, one could probably use them for Texas War of Independence figures, or mix them in with U.S. Regulars during the Mexican-American War. The kit might be a bit off, but it certainly wouldn't be noticeable to the uneducated.

The three codes are CA51 - Standard bearer, CA52 - Advancing, and CA53 - Advancing high porte. Oh, the bad news? The fact that there are only three poses of British Auxiliary Legion in this range! I hope that Freikorps will make more (perhaps an officer or NCO and additional infantry poses) because these are such nice figures. They cost 70 pence each (which is currently $1.29) or £2.00 for three of the same pose. Not bad at all for a quality 28mm figure.

Because of a billing issue I am currently having with LKM (the online source for Freikorps figures), I did not order from them. Instead, I picked the figures up from East Riding Miniatures (ERM has a line of 15mm British figures for 1820-40 I wanted to see, as well). Ordering from ERM was a snap. They accept PayPal, and if you e-mail them what you want, they will send you a PayPal invoice for the total. Send your online payment from that invoice, and that's that! ERM responded to my initial e-mail within 48 hours, and had my order on the way. I received it in the States (ERM is located in the United Kingdom) in just seven days from the day I sent them the Paypal payment. Shipping to the States was 20% of the order, which is a pretty decent deal. ERM also carries QRF, Platoon 20, the full Friekorps line, Bloodaxe Miniatures, Grumpy's Miniatures, and their own range of figures.

I have not seen the rest of the Freikorps Carlist War line (which currently has 62 codes listed, with more on the way), but if the rest of the range has the same quality as the British Auxiliary Legion figures, Freikorps has a hit (albeit an obscure one) on their hands!

Details: East Riding Miniatures, 1 The Woodlands, Goddard Avenue, Hull, HU5 2BW, England. Website: www.eastridingminiatures.co.uk.

Reviews: Armorer's Forge

1st Corps 25mm Cape War Range Figure Review.
Freicorps 28mm British Legion Figure Review.
Kingsford Miniatures 28mm Woodland Indians Figure Review.
East Riding Miniatures 15mm British Colonials Figure Review.