1st Corps recently sent us an interesting selection of figure samples together with their latest catalogue for review. The 1st Corps catalogue is worth getting as it is well produced with some nice front piece illustrations relating to each of their main figure lines, well set out and easy to reference in a neat plastic binder. The various poses are also illustrated with simple line drawings to give you an idea. Its a pity there is not more photographic content such as the figure scans we've included in this review as just line drawings cannot do justice to the real look and quality of the figures. For a full description of the ranges 1st Corps carry and contact details please refer to their advertisement in this issue. The figures sent for review include an ACW Confederate infantryman, a Napoleonic British Fusilier, a British Cape Wars infantryman [see scan #1 - figs (a), (b) & (c).] A Roman Hastatii (?) with detachable pilum & shield, Greek Hoplite with separate shield [see scan #2 - figs (a) & (b).] Finally there are two WWII figures: a Russian infantryman in greatcoat & British infantryman carrying a Bren [see scan #3 - figs (a) & (b).] RANGE : 1st Corps cover a wide range of figures from diverse historical periods including 25mm Ancients, SYW, Napoleonics, American-Mexican War, ACW, Cape Wars and WWII figures. I was interested to see a sample British infantryman figure from the Cape Wars series that would compliment CFM's Cape Wars Xhosa very nicely (reviewed in the last issue). As you can see from the diversity of the figures in this review it is well worth contacting the principle behind 1st Corps in Australia, Leroy Simpson, and obtaining one of their handsome catalogues. Other ranges also carried by 1st Corps include "The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company", "Battle Honours" & "Frog" 1/48 tanks and AV's. QUALITY/DESIGN: The overall standard of figure is very good with excellent casting and little or no flash to deal with. Some of the samples received were of better quality than others. For instance the Confederate figure could be best described as a reasonable 25mm figure but its certainly nothing to write home about. Particularly when compared with the two British soldiers and the Roman & Greek figures - the facial detail is simply lacking. Of the figures received for review, the Greek Hoplite and the Cape Wars British stand out as nicely animated, well proportioned and beautifully detailed. All of the figures are more or less in the Foundry 'tubby' mould (with apologies to those of you who think of Foundry as the 'nadir' of figure modelling!), especially with the WWII figures and the Russian in particular - being one of your more potato-shaped Russkies, even with the greatcoat! The metal is good quality and the 'skinny bits' like muskets and bayonets don't suffer from an attack of the bends which is a pleasant change. The trouble with just getting a mixed bag of 'one-ofs' to review is that you cannot say whether or not the other figures in the range are of the same quality - who knows whether or not the other WWII Russians have been to Jenny Craig's or the other Confederates are also a bunch of rough-nuts? However, I have seen a selection of figures a college recently purchased that I was impressed with that (although it wouldn't be appropriate to include them in this review) is part of a recent range of SYW French which are beautifully animated and detailed figures. Having examined this selection, I think its reasonable to assume that other samples in their various ranges are also of the same good quality! COST/AVAILABILITY: At $2.20 a figure they are in the upper range in pricing - certainly not the most expensive but not exactly cheap either. You can obtain them in packs of six for $12.00 or better yet in bags of 30 for $56.00 - if mail ordering remember to also add 10% for postage. I believe you may order by the figure and put together what you want for an order - give Leroy a ring - he'll be only too happy to help you get what you're after. Contact: Leroy Simpson Phone (ah): (07) 4723 1402 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