Here's a Survey of 28mm WW II miniatures (that I own), and problems I've encountered with them:

Foundry. Some of my Germans are Foundry -- notably three Cavalry figures and various odds and ends. -- Problems: None, just hard to get. Their line is about the same as Black Tree Designs (below), but much fewer choices. Some very nice poses.

First Corps. I have a LMG team, some infantry with panzerfaust, and Corporal Steiner and his men. -- Problems: First Corps are somewhat thicker then the others, but are nice. I like the rifleman (from the Steiner set) with the grenade in the boot and the Walther wedged into his belt behind his back.

Black Tree Design. Most of my German Infantry is from them, some SS, most of my German Paras, most of my U.S. Infantry and Paras. -- Problems: BTD have some unusual and awkward poses, with figures holding their rifles in an obvious uncomfortable position. Aside from that, most of these figures are very good. I do wonder why one of my weapon crews (mortar, I think) is carrying a 75mm shell and why the Pak 37 gun crews have shells obviously too large.

Artisan. I have Late War British/Canadian painted as Canadians. -- Problems: None, these are good figures all around.

Bolt-Action. I have some of everything here, in small numbers: German HQ troops; Soviet tank riders; PIAT teams; 2" mortar teams (Canadians). -- Problems: Some of these look a bit wrong, unpainted, but once done, the figures are very nice. They are doing some stuff not available elsewhere.

West Wind. Some of my U.S. figures, some of my German figures and a LOT of vehicle/jeep/KW crews are from West Wind. Somewhere I picked up two USMC figures, too. -- Problems: I like the jeep and KW crews, but most of the figures -- although the poses are good -- seem to have shrunk their equipment.

Victory Figures. I have German and U.S. riflemen with rifle grenade launchers and U.S. engineers. -- Problems: Very good. I use these for specialty figures like the engineers. Isn't Victory the company making the U.S. Para 60mm mortar crew and the ground mounted .50 cal M2 HMG on tripod? That 60mm is the ONLY one out, right now. U.S. Companies used the 60mm mortar -- the 81mm was a battalion weapon. Their HMG is very good, as well. Not like the Easy Eight 20mm version. They also do U.S. Paras with the M1919A6 LMG with stock.

Battle Honors. I have early war French 75mm Field Guns and French 40 with SMG. Some of my German SS are from Battle Honors -- enough to use my SS platoon as being from 12th SS HJ to account for the smaller size. One squad of the new SS which are the same size as the Black Treee Designs. I also have some mounted vehicle commanders (half figures). -- Problems: Good French, dood redone SS. Some good choices in figures not available from other manufacturers, like Finns and Indian troops. Figures vary in quality and size, but are all usable.

Easy Eight. I have one squad of U.S. infantry and one squad of German infantry with SG-44, also the "tank hunter" set. -- Problems: MG size and weapons almost all too large. Large figures who are in pain. They do have personality, and they do have a large number of "Hero" figures available.

Bandai. I have 1/48th scale figures used as gun and vehicle crews. -- Problems: Little selection and now very hard to get. They are 36mm and very skinny. Of course, if used on 1/48th scale vehicles they work great as crews and also as gun crews. I got my hands on two of the German weapon sets.

Crusader. Most of my early war French are from Crusader. -- Problems: Very good French. The Battle Honors French 75mm and figures are exactly the same size and blend in well with these. The French 75mm is also one of their better guns.

Now, a survey of the vehicles and guns I own:

Bandai (kits). Excellent. I leave all of the inside junk out. They are much quicker to assemble without the interiors.

Academy (kits). There are only four available: Tiger II; Jagdtiger; Panther; Jagdpanther. I like them -- they look good, but are really very simple kits. I did replace all of the track, as the rubber track is junk. They are motorized. Wire from the motors makes good barbed wire.

Wespe (kits). Not cheap. Nicely molded, but they are easy to break since they are made of resin. I have a couple of these. The guns I mount on a base, gluing the gun on to make a sturdy model.

Gasoline (kits complete and conversion). Again, these are resin. Good selection of stuff here and most are reasonably priced if purchased as KITS -- if purchased assembled and painted, you had better be a collector! I have added Sherman 3" turrets, made a Brummbar, a Westwind, and a 251/9 from the kits. Plus, I have a quad and single 20mm AA guns. Some complete kits are the Char B1(bis), Pak 38, French 25mm ATG, Panhard 78 armored car, Alligator amphibious tractor, and the Kangaroo conversion kit. These kits are not for the inexperienced. Some oddities, too, like the 76mm Sherman turrets have the maker's fingerprints built into the mold, and hence the turret. Sandpapering is required, but watch the dust.

Tamiya (kits). This company is coming out with 1/48 models. A nice KW and an even nicer Kettenkrad with trailer, and a Goliath remote controlled bomb are out. More are coming out. I took a 1/35 Pak 40 and converted it to a Pak 43/41.

Battle Honors. These are usable, but generally not good quality. It appears the molds sold to the U.S. Company were pretty used up. Even so, some of the models are very good with some effort put into them. I like the SGIII, Panzerjager IV, and the U.S. jeeps. I have the T34 and KV models, which with the holes patched up do look "Russian." Same for the IS-2 and the T34/76 1941.

Verem. Nicely redone Solido. Some of these are expensive, some not. All are the standard Solido models with parts added and a good paint job. An example is the M3A1, which is a Solido M3 half-track with the "pulpit" added.

Solido. Nice hefty models, but the decals are horrible. The Panther model has Tiger I road wheels (13 WERE built with them, though) as does the Jagdpanther (none produced with Tiger wheels). However, the selection is pretty broad and the models fit well with the Bandai and Tamiya kits. Fairly easy to repaint and put on new decals. Look for bargains.

Sun Star. Mostly, I have jeeps, KW, and Opel Blitz trucks from this company. All very well made and the best decal application I have seen on a die cast model. No combat vehicles. Some modern HUMVEE.

Corgi. Expensive, although some of the Normandy HISTORY CHANNEL models are quite reasonable. Cost less assembled, painted, with decals all done very well then an unassembled Battle Honors or Gasoline kit. Cromwell and the Churchill Mk IV are nice.

Black Tree Design. These are expensive vehicles. Some, like the German half-tracks, are a bear to put together. On the other hand, their ATG are the best made. Note that the 37mm Soviet ATG is actually the 37mm German ATG with the wrong wheels. However, if you change the barrel by making it longer you do have a correct 45mm Soviet ATG. Gun crews again have shells of a size to make the gunner's girlfriends proud.

All Fronts Armor Depot. I have quite a few of these. Quality is much better now than two years ago. I still prefer getting them in parts, not assembled, as the parts need some work to get a fit. A Dremel tool will be your friend (as will the face mask - ALL RESIN DUST is potentially harmful if breathed). As for the muck in the road wheels and suspension, I just paint it "mud" and then repaint afterwards with gloss clear coat to make the muck into mud. Order by credit card and order in SMALL (half dozen or less) quantities. AFAD is NOT a big operation and cannot handle a large order.

Easy Eight. They made a jeep with trailer, M8 and M20 armored cars without fenders. All of these vehicles are actually pretty good. Throw the M2 HMG away. It is way too big.

Monogram. They used to make a 1/48th scale Centurion, IS-III, Panther and Royal Tiger plus a M46 Patton. I have found some of the Pattons, which by the way, are actually M26 Pershings. I also found a Panther labeled as a G model. It is their old model upgraded with Zimmerit and is a Panther A, but with a late model G turret.