As a few of you out there know. in April 1998, we will begin the centennial celebration of the great confrontation with Spain over her Colonial Empire. Richard Houston of Lizards Grin fame has released a new range of l5mm figures for this period. They are beautiful little gems, easy to paint, and very comparable to the Frontier 15mm, line from this same period. The following is a run down of what you can expect when you purchase the boxed set, which costs $85.00 (eighty-five dollars), post paid.

Spanish Range of figures:

S/AA l0 - Spanish 7.5cm Mountain Gun with crew of four Gun has Krupp breach and wide wheels. Nice piece. Gunners are in Colonial style uniform (Ticking). One is kneeling, two standing with hand extended, and one is holding hands together as though carrying a shell. Nice figures. Simple in detail, very compatible with Frontier.

S/AA 11 - Spanish 80cm Mountain gun with crew of four Gun appears to be a 15mm version of the French 75 without gun shield. Very nice piece when painted. Gunners arc the same crew as in S/AA 10.

S/Al 13 - Talavera Regiment - Three officers, twelve enlisted men. These are Spanish figures in the European uniform which did not see service in the colonies. The officers are varied in pose slightly and the enlisted men are advancing and firing. These are very nice looking castings, again very comparable with Frontier. The only problem would be in using this uniform for someone who is a purist... like me.

S/Al 14 - Talavera Regiment Reserve - Three officers, twelve enlisted men. These castings are in the Colonial uniform. Again the officers are in slightly varied pose while the enlisted men are four advancing with bayonet, four advancing without bayonet, and four firing. The enlisted men figures have a blanket roll over the left shoulder. Again very comparable with Frontier and easy to paint.

S/Al 15 - Puerto Rico Regiment - One officer, four enlisted men All of these figures are in the Colonial uniform with sun helmet. They are posed with rifle at quarter arms and have blanket roll over left shoulder. I have a number of period photos in my collection showing the Spanish in sun helmet, so this would be a very useable figure. Bayonets are not on rifle.

S/AC 16 - Mounted Guerrilla Company (dismounted) - One officer, four enlisted men Colonial uniform similar to S/Al 14 with blanket roll over left shoulder. No bayonet but bayonet frog is empty.

S/Al 17 - One Company of Volunteers - Two enlisted men Again similar to S/Al 14 with different headgear.

S/Al 18 - One company of Sailors - Two enlisted men Traditional sailor uniform with very interesting cap. These have nice short sword instead of bayonet. I like this figure.

S/AO 19 - General Linares - Dismounted officer Officer is holding pistol and pointing with left hand.

American Range of Figures:

The Americans are packaged in two brigade packs. Pack one has nine sub packages as follows:

S/A l 01 - Two Battalions of the 6th. U. S. Infantry - Two officers, fourteen enlisted men The officers have one hand raised in a "follow me" attitude while the enlisted men are posed with rifles leveled, almost lunging position. I really like this pose. Their rifles have bayonets attached and the men are carrying a haversack and canteen. No blanket roll on this figure. The men are in jackets.

S/Al 02 - Two Battalions of the 16th U. S. Infantry - Two officers, twenty-two enlisted men One officer is advancing with his hands by his side while the other one is holding a rifle in his left hand with his right hand raised in a "follow me" pose. The enlisted men have blanket rolls and rifles & are in firing pose without bayonets. The men are in shirtsleeves.

S/Al 03 - Three Battalions of the 71st New York - Three officers, thirty enlisted men The officers are as previously listed. The enlisted men are in advancing pose with blanket toll over the left shoulder. The rifle has no bayonet. The men are in shirtsleeves.

S/Al 04 - Two Battalions of the 9th U. S. Infantry - Two officers, fourteen enlisted men The officers are variants as listed above. The enlisted men are posed advancing with leveled rifle. They have blanket roll over the left shoulder. No bayonet.

S/Al 05 - Two Battalions of the 13th U. S. Infantry - Two officers, fourteen enlisted men One officer is walking with saber and the other one with a rifle in the left hand and the right hand raised in a "follow me" pose. (I think this figure would make a great NCO on a command stand.) The enlisted men are standing in firing pose. No bayonet and no blanket roll.

S/Al 06 - Two Battalions of the 24th U. S. Infantry - Two officers, eighteen enlisted men The officers are variants of previous listings. The enlisted men are similar in pose and equipment to S/Al 04 with slight variance (hat, face, etc.)

S/Al 07 - Two Battalions of the 3rd U. S. Cavalry - Two officers, twelve enlisted men The officers are as before. The enlisted men are in "standing firing" pose with shorter rifle (carbine) and less equipment. They carry a canteen, webbed rifle belt and that's about it. This is a fun figure to paint.

S/AGO 24 - Division and Brigade Commanders - Three mounted Generals, three standard bears, one officer on foot. (Two packages)

The mounted officers are the same as are the three standard bearers (No flags. I use preprinted U. S. and regimental colors from Civil War range by REVO and Signifer) The officer on foot has a great headgear that simulates a Montana four dent or "Smokey the Bear" hat. This figure would be great for painting up Bucky ONeill of the Rough Riders.

Brigade Package Number two contains thirteen sub-packages as follows:

S/AA 01 - U. S. 2# Hotchkiss Cavalry Mountain Gun with four crew

The gun is a small breech loader with tapered barrel. The gun carriage is excellent, typical of Richard Houston pristine lines with just enough detail. - The crewmen are one kneeling, one holding both hands in front as though carrying a shell, one with the left hand/arm extended and right arm by his side, while number four is right arm extended with left arm down. Two are in jackets and two in shirtsleeves.

S/AA 03 - U. S. Gatling Gun with crew of four The gun is the post Civil War Gatling with "stick ammo feed. The carriage is pristine and looks great painted up. Crewmen are the same.

S/AA 04 - U. S. Colt Machine Gun with Loader The gun has the gunner seated behind and they are attached. The loader is the kneeling figure from the artillery pack. This is an excellent piece. Two of these were attached to the Rough Riders.

S/AA 05 - U. S. Dynamite Gun with crew of two This is the prettiest piece in the entire range. This gun is beautiful when painted. The crew are from the previous artillery crew, both standing.

S/AC 08 - Two Battalions of the 6th U. S Cavalry - Two officers, twelve enlisted men The officers variants of the same while the enlisted men have carbines and are in advancing pose with haversacks on left hip and canteen on right. No bayonets.

S/AC 09 - One Battalion of the 9th U. S. Cavalry - One officer, six enlisted men The officers are as previous, while the enlisted men have blanket roll over left shoulder, and a canteen on the left hip. Pose is as in C 08.

S/AC 10 - Two Battalions of the 1st U. S. Cavalry - Two officers, sixteen enlisted men The officers are as previous, while the enlisted men are in "standing firing" pose, Half have blanket rolls and half have haversacks. Nice mix.

S/AC 11 - Two Battalions of the 10th U. S. Cavalry - Two officers, fourteen enlisted men All are same as in C 09.

S/AGO 23 - U. S. Command Personalities - Shafter mounted on a mule, Wheeler mounted, Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt both mounted and dismounted. The Shafter figure is wearing the famous Sun Helmet and is rotund but is much to small. Shafter was a huge man almost 6' 5" tall and weighing in around 380 lbs. The Wheeler figure has a nice full beard and looks great painted up. The mounted Teddy figure is excellent and looks great painted. The dismounted Teddy does not have glasses however. I tried painting glasses on but it did not work very well.

So there you have it, the complete listing and description of Richard Houston's new San Juan Hill and Glory 15mm Spanish-American War range. On a scale of ten, I would rate this range a nine for looks, coverage, and compatibility to other ranges, namely Frontier and FreiKorps. I do not know if Mr. Houston plans to sell figures individually or any of the poses in separate lots. If he does. this will make a plus for compatibility to other rules sets. Should you be planning to enter this period give this range consideration. I do not think you will be disappointed. Thanks for listening.