When you go to purchase 25mm figures, what do you look for? Are the castings good, with little to no flashing to clean up? Is there a wide range of poses available? Do you find well represented armies for the time period that you're interested in? How accurately are the figures sculpted and are there weapons options to pick from? Do the figures look like some thought was put into producing a quality piece or more like a reject from a bad science project?

Well, if you enjoy the processes that go into building a miniature army and take pride in one that looks extremely good, then buddy, have we got some goods for you! The place is Guernsey Foundry of Great Britain.

These guys have been kind enough to send us some samples that they put together. In fact, this is really a review on two sets we received. One being a mixed bag of Cossacks, ACW and Age of Iron figures, the other, a Biblical range.

The first thing I have to say about these figure is the fact that they are not figures. Now that may sound a little strange, but let me continue. All the pieces that I have either painted or just looked at have a look of a character piece. The guys who sculpt the pieces (Mark Copplestone, Michael Perry and Alan Perry, sorry if I don't know the names of the other guys) do a wonderful job.

There is hardly any trace of mold lines which makes clean up a joy. The features of the face are pronounced enough that each figure could be used for single figure games. They look fantastic on a large scale!

An example of the range you can find is presented with the list of Cossack and Russians. The Cossacks have 17 variants (with some very appropriate character names, "One-eyed Oleg" is a hoot) that can be bought either as a foot or mounted troop. Russian Musketeers and Grenadiers come in variants of march order, plus standard bearer, drummer, officers and mounted officers. Each figure is $1.20 or you can get 10 each of the same figure for $10.80. Also, there's sets that you can buy such as the complete Russian deal which includes 46 figures (Russian and Cossack) and 19 horses for $73.00.

If you're into 25mm miniature gaming and you want some quality stuff that will look great and turn heads, then contact Guemsey Foundry and drop a note to Brian Ansell or Neville Carre. They are more than happy to help you in any way they can to make your wishes come true.

The address is:

GUERNSEY FOUNDRY LTD.
Huberts Lane, Off Doyle Rd.
St. Peters Port, Guernsey GY1 1RG
Channel Islands, Great Britain
Phone 01481 714241
Fax 01480 714905

Oops, got to run! One-eyed Oleg just got into the vodka and he's waving his pistol around again. The last time he did that he ended up wearing a patch over his eye. And Mad Mikhail is shouting something like "smelinski" at Fyodor the Fragrant. These guys sure can be a handful!!