Nathan of Elite, soul of generosity that he is, has sent down a veritable truckload of Napoleonic lead for us to review. So many great figures in fact that we will have to reserve the French portion until next issue; for your delectation this issue we have Exhibit (1): Poles and Exhibit (2): British. Lets begin with the Poles. DESIGN/QUALITY: The photo shows the range of samples provided at about actual size. As you can see they are slightly larger than the standard 25mm and, like most of Elite's range, come in at about 28mm. I would venture that the Poles are a tad larger still - closer to 30mm than 28mm - then again, maybe its just their funny 'ats! Whatever the size, these are truly magnificent figures. The detail is crisp and copious with great definition and uniforms with every little fold in the fabric depicted. The faces too are finely detailed and full of expression - these are characters in the true Foundry tradition not just yer average infantry! Supplied for review are three infantry of elite company, one drummer and one standard bearer, all in 'tenue de marche'. Unfortunately (and a shocking oversight Nathan!) there was no distinctly Polish officer in the samples - so I don't know what one in the distinctive Polish czapka headdress would look like (hint, hint!) but some of the French officers he sent came in bicorne and could also be used for Poles as some did wear it and the uniform is of course basically French anyway. Again, with Elite there are plenty of variations within each pose - the three marching infantry are all posed slightly differently. This is particularly good when presenting figures en masse as with all the variations in pose they really gain a better visual effect when painted up and based together. Another interesting innovation that can be seen in the photo above is the separate standard eagle of the Polish variety, with the wings pointed skyward. I think this is a great idea as you can now simply attach it to the right length of wire. So many flag poles that come attached to the bearer figure get a severe attack of the 'bends' and have been know to 'bend' right off - now you can glue the eagle to a nice sturdy piece of florists wire or something similar - in my books a good idea. Next cab off the rank are the British. Here I have to plead a certain amount of ignorance with the uniforms which makes it difficult to identify exactly what types the figures represent. So if I've got it wrong I apologise and ask you to bear with me. The figures provided include a standard bearer, drummer and four fusiliers in marching pose. Again, like the other Elites, there is a nice variety of marching poses so that no two are exactly alike. I think that the tassles and plumes on the shakos and the epaulets on one of the figures mark them out to be of the light company and a grenadier respectively. DESIGN/QUALITY: Again, as with the other figures supplied, they are well cast and sturdy figures with solid muskets and bayonets that can survive attacks of the 'bends'. There is little or no flash on any of the figures and only some mould plugs on the bottom of the bases that need to be snipped off or filed before mounting. The metal used is a little softer than ranges such as 1st Corps or Essex but not enough to be a problem and combined with the quality of the casting and figure modelling, its not an issue with these figures. While the faces aren't as detailed or as animated as the Poles or some of the French figures, they are still nicely defined with plenty of raised detail that helps make for a quality paint job. The uniform details are nicely etched - not too deep and not too light - just about right! Again, this makes the task of preparing and painting them a lot simpler and also easier to obtain really good results. COST/AVAILABILITY: All Elite infantry figures are $1.40 each which makes them one of the cheapest 25mm figures on the market. When combined with the quality of most of their range (as can be readily seen with those reviewed above), they represent great value for money and must be one of the most competitive Napoleonic figure ranges available in Australia. For other figures in the range and costs, ordering etc, please refer to advertisement in this issue. Available from: Elite Miniatures Australia, Nathan Vinson, 15 Madden Parade, Singelton Heights, Singelton N.S.W. 2330, Phone: (02) 6573 1955 Back to Table of Contents -- Kriegspieler #7 To Kriegspieler List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Kriegspieler Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com