By Hal Thinglum - IMPERIALIST ENTERPRISES 25MM GREAT NORTHERN WAR - Bob Hagerty of Imperialist Enterprises, 229 N. 2"d St., Apt. C., Elkhart, IN 46516-3024 (Phone: 574-293-4398 after 4PM) has released more 25mm Great Northern War figures. Samples are from the Swedish Dragoons or Horse; GS-11 Officer, GS-12A Flagbearer, GS-13A Drummer, and GS-14A Trooper. The foot are sculpted by Hermann Grassnick and the dragoons are done by Bob Lippman, both of whom are very good and I really like their work! I don't think there is an overwhelming amount of interest in this conflict, but if you are into this period in 25mm or have been thinking of it, these are excellent figures! There are four differently posed horses (two medium and two heavy) and they are very good; I like it when you get a variety of horse poses. The riders are also very nice; no flash, good detail; I like these figures a lot! Thus far, in this line, the figures are limited to Swedes: seven foot (officer, flag bearer, drummer, pikeman, musketeer, and two grenadiers with different headgear) and the cavalry listed above. Bob also has a set of GNW rules ($21.00). Foot are .85 with officers at $1.00 while horse/riders are at $2.00 with officers at $2.50. Bob reports he will have variants of foot in Korpus hat available in October, 2003. Highly recommended; great job, Bob!
By Hal Thinglum - BACCUS 6MM LATE ACHAEMENID PERSIANS Peter Berry, BACCUS 6mm Ltd., 29 Highcliffe Drive, Sheffield, S11 7LT, UK (Phone: 0114 2302761; baccus6@aol.com) has added to his line of Late Achaemenid Persians with APE15 Great King in Chariot (1 pd), Persian Infantry: APE16 Hoplite shield, APE17 Peltast shield, APE18 archers (each 3.50 pds), slingers (3.65 pds), and cavalry (4.70). There is a pack of colonist cavalry (APE21), Armored cavalry, Arachosian light cavalry, and Scythed chariots (2 for 2.00 pds). Casting and detail, per usual, is outstanding. There are usually twenty bases of figures (4 figures/base) for foot packs and fifteen bases (three figures/base) of cavalry. The infantry are in line while the cavalry are in column. The chariots require assembly and come with four horses. Peter announces he is working on the Indian army of Porus and will follow up with the Successors. Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinqlum - BATTLE WORKS STUDIOS 28mm HG WALLS BUILDINGS - Jeff Nall of Battle Works Studios, 156 Forts Ferry Road, Latham, NY 12110 (www.battleworksstudios.com), has released some outstanding 28mm polyurethane buildings sculpted by Herb Gundt and they are outstanding. Received were two buildings which were not identified by code/type and I check the website and couldn't find them so they must be brand new. One is a very large two and a half story building with thatched roof in an English Tudor-style ($31.00) and the other is a smaller type ($25.00) with tile roofing with sort of a "plaster" first floor with wooden planks and a wooden attic. Detail is very good and Jeffs list of buildings is at 12 thus far including houses, barns, and a church. I am going to use them for my 28mm Seven Years War project but they could be used for any period from medieval to 19th century, I am sure. Herb's work is legendary and Jeffs casting techniques do them justice. Great work, Herb and Jeff! Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - 25MM FRONT RANK SEVEN YEARS WAR AUSTRIAN CAVALRY FROM RLBPS - Bob Bowling of RLBPS, 4827 Treeview Terrace, Rockford, IL 61109 (Phone: 815-874-5351; www.rlbps.com) can obtain the excellent FRONT RANK lines and I wanted to pick up some Austrian cavalry. Of all the wargaming periods I have, my SYW Project is my oldest and the only one that I am responsible for the majority of the painting so it is a favorite to me! This was a very exciting project which I started sometime in the early 1990's and I can remember the excitement in ordering my first batch of Prussian and Russian FRONT RANK figures from the UK and having them arrive! I recently obtained twenty-four figure units of Austrian Cuirassiers, Dragoons, and Hussars complete with officers, standard bearers, and trumpeters (or drummer for the Dragoons). Standard bearers come with open hand and a wire to be used as the flag pole. I like this approach rather than cast-on flag poles unless they are very durable. I can not praise Front Rank figures enough; they are detailed, usually have two poses of troopers (in this case, with sabre up or outstretched), there is a dragoon trooper casualty falling (I like to insert one of these in a unit), very well cast, and very "stately" which is what I strive for regarding this period of history. Excellent figures.
The horses are amongst the best in the hobby; Front Rank has a wide variety of both "heavies" and "lights," they are always anatomically correct (at least in my eyes) and posed, and in general, just excellently done! The saddle is attached to the rider, which makes them easier to paint as far as I am concerned. Bob is always a pleasure to deal with and makes every effort to obtain what you need! My SYW horse units are all twenty-figure regiments divided into two 12-figure units. I have an officer and musician in each "unit" and the first "unit" has a standard bearer. The Front Rank cavalry units "look good" because of the two-trooper variants; in addition, they must use a very durable metal as I have had very, very few broken swords/bayonets over the years. Their SYW range has an "even" quality through-out all of their offerings and I'd be hard pressed to find another manufacturer of this fascinating period that can offer the variety of combatants (Prussia, Austria, France, Russia, Hanover, England, and Sweden) and troop types. Their equipment range is simply outstanding; I especially like the guns and limbers. They also have ammo wagons; I started out this project doing one ammo wagon for each battery (two guns) but this got a little crowded on the tabletop though it sure looked good. They also offer an extensive line of personality and mounted officer figures. Highly recommended! I am looking forward to having the time to try to paint these beauties!
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© Copyright 2004 Hal Thinglum
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