15/18mm French Revolutionary Infantry Comparison - Part 2

I posted a few comparisons on my blog in the past and they have all been very popular, so after doing one of Revolutionary and early Napoleonic era French, I thought I'd give you an other quick side-by-side comparison of some command bases.

This image consists of, from left to right...

1. AB French Line in greatcoats with Blue Moon also in greatcoats. These mix reasonably well. I would have used Blue Moon command figures but they came with an eagle whereas the AB had a standard flag pole. Blue Moon are nice models but the have very short bayonets compared to other brands.

2. French Legere in Egypt from Fighting 15s, previously Black Hat.

3. Demi-brigade using Warmodelling, previously Fantassin and now Capitan or Battle Models. Its hard to keep up with what this range is called. These are nice and mix really well with AB, but they are suffering from some poor casting. This is supposed to be getting sorted but I'd check before ordering.

4. These are the newest entry for this period and are from Campaign Games Miniatures in Spain. These are lovely figures and paint up really nice. There is a choice of two command sets and you can have the grenadiers in bicorne or bearskin. The standard bearer comes with separate flag pole or eagle, so you can use these as later as well.

Hopefully this will be as useful as the previous comparison posts.

15/18mm French Revolutionary Infantry Comparison

Its been ages since I had time and motivation to get any painting done. I keep trying to get back into the mood, but I just haven't been able to. I suppose a promotion to a management position, mixed with a hectic and very stressful family situation has to take its toll somewhere, but I annoyed that it has been my hobby that has suffered - and therefor the blog has slowed as well.

But then it only takes a couple of things to get you back in the mood - for example a new release of figures. And that's whats happened. Campaign Game Miniatures in Spain have just released early French infantry, and they looked great. I had to get myself some, even though I have about 6 or 7 unpainted demi-brigades already.

An order was placed for a 32 man battalion, and while I was at it I thought I would add in another Austrian set, as I've never used CGMs infantry before. The Austrians were just as nice as the French turned out to be. I'm a little annoyed that I hadn't got these earlier, but I'll do another comparison with the Austrians very soon.

So what do you get in a 32 man battalion pack? CGM have packs available with varying amounts of figures, as well as the separate packs, so that you can choose exactly what you want. This pack was perfect for my needs, and its great to get all the figures you need without wasting money on spares.

As you can see, you get a variety of poses. For the bulk of the infantry there are 20 figures in four poses, with five of each pose. For the elite/Grenadier/light companies you get another four poses, two of each, plus the four figures in the command set. You get separate standards, one flag pole for early battalions, and an eagle for later.

The figures look really well cast, with sharp details, and no flash or visible mold lines - so these can go straight into the painting stage without lengthy a clean up first.

The important question when buying a new range is always, will these mix with what I have already? I think they will, especially with AB or Warmodelling (or Battlemodels as these are now called).

In this picture I've shown them alongside (from left to right) 2x Warmodelling, 2x AB, 2x Old Glory (Saxons as I don't have French), and finally 2x CGM. As you can see the size and proportions are very close to AB. The equipment looks the same, whereas I found that figures from Blue Moon for example, the muskets look totally different from other companies.

All in I would highly recommend these figures from CGM. They mix well with others, they look great, they are top quality, and the service from the company is excellent.

Marks out of ten, I'd say a high 9. And if they paint as well as the other figures I have from CGM that may go up to a full 10/10!

LD3 Erzherzog Johann Light Dragoons - AB and Boki Miniatures

The 3rd Light Dragoon Regiment FM Erzherzog Johann Baptist is the first unit of my light dragoons that I've finished. I've used the brand new Austrian cavalry from Boki Miniatures for the troopers, AB Miniatures for the command, with horses from Campaign Games Miniatures (Boki supply the figures without horses).

I'm quite happy how these turned out, though to be honest I struggled with a lot of the detail. Sho Boki had some excellent detail that I couldn't paint with these old eyes and fingers, especially on the saddle cloth. I wasn't sure if they should have had white or green jackets as there is conflicting information as to when, or even if, the coats of every unit were changed to white, but my plan is to create 4 units, two with bicorne and two with kasket, with one of each in white and one in green. Here's the plan to ease confusion (it may not be 100% correct, but I'm hoping to show the variety that may have been seen in these units).

So here are the figures...

These are great figures and fit in really well with my collection. I've ordered more horses and Boki is planning to release new figures really soon, including line infantry officers, so there will be loads more mounted miniatures coming to my collection soon.

15/18mm Austrian Cavalry Comparison

Whilst I've managed to build a large contingent of Austrian infantry and artillery for my Marengo campaign, and have a few French infantry and cavalry units ready, I had been neglecting my Austrian cavalry.

With a few new releases becoming available it was the right time to sort this out, and a few orders were placed.

All the suppliers I received figures from provided a great service and everything arrived safely and on time.

The first order to arrive was from Fighting 15s who as the supplier of AB miniatures here in the UK. I ordered some Revolutionary period Austrian infantry, and more importantly for this post, their Dragoon command set. There are two figures in this set, an officer and a bugler, and these are as good as you would expect from AB.

The next order was from Campaign Games Miniatures in Barcelona, and was of a set of 12 Austrian Chevauxlegers / Dragoons in charging poses that had just been released. I think I may have been one of the first to order these. You can see these already painted in an earlier post with a full review.

Last to arrive was an order of Revolutionary period Dragoons in bicornes from Sho Boki Miniatures in Estonia. Supplied without horses, these mounted figures are designed to compliment the AB range. And they certainly do that, and the command set that I'd ordered from AB fit really well. They're on the painting table at this very moment, and will be mounted on horses from Campaign Games Miniatures (these aren't quite as good as AB but the cost is a lot lower, and you can order individually posed horses). The detail on these is great and the faces paint really nicely - those are done already. The moustaches are great! I also received a couple of free figures from Sho Boki as I'd won the "guess the figure" competition on TMP.

One of the freebies was a Chevauxleger with a peaked casket hat, which is as nice as the dragoon figures, though the head, or maybe neck, looks a little strange. It's maybe too narrow. I'll paint this one up and see how it looks.

So here are the unpainted figures for you to compare.

These are, from left to right, AB officer, Boki dragoon, AB bugle, Boki Chevauxleger, then 2x CGM Chevauxleger/Dragoons. As you can see they all mix very well in size and could easily compliment each other in the same army.

AB are available here.... LINK
Boki Miniatures here.... LINK
CG Miniatures here.... LINK

Jager-Regiment zu Pferde Graf Bussy

In the campaign of 1800, and especially at Marengo, Johann Maria Philipp Frimont, Count of Palota, Prince of Antrodoco, distinguished himself greatly as a cavalry leader, and in the next year became major-general.

As part of Frimont's brigade the Bussy Light Horse, or Jager-Regiment zu Pferde Bussy, played an important part in the battle. Consisting of 186 men in 2 squadrons, the Bussy Horse Jager regiment included many French emigres. During the battle, according to Stutterheim, the "Bussy Jager Regiment (émigré French) came on, galloped from the main road and fell into the rear of the Guard. This attack decided and ended all fighting. Many of the Guard were sobered down, the bigger part and four guns surrendered".

I was able to find very useful reference images for this unit, including Mollo and Knotel, plus Osprey.

 

For the figures I had a lot of choice, with most companies supplying suitable miniatures. As luck had it though, just as I was about to go looking, I got an email announcing Campaign Games Miniatures had just that day released their Austrian cavalry. They had a 12 figure unit available, so an order was placed and arrived a day or two later... not bad for coming from Barcelona.

These new figures are nicely cast, with no flash and minimal mold lines. The poses are reasonable animated, with my only issue with them being that the uniform under the raised arms looks a bit strange. Otherwise they are great, and a joy to paint. The set I bought included a standard, which probably is totally wrong for this unit, but I included it anyway. I'm really happy how these came out.

New stuff on the way!!

This week has been quite good for Austrian cavalry releases.

Sho Boki released his first pre-1798 Austrian cavalry, with Dragoons and Cuirassieurs in Bicorne. The cuirassieurs fill a gap missed in the excellent AB range.

You can see the development of these here... LINK

I ordered enough for the troopers of one squadron each of DR.3 Ersatz Johan and DR.9 Lichenstein. Command figures are still to be released from Sho but there are suitable Dragoons available from AB (I ordered a couple of these as well so I can do a comparison).

Next up Sho will be releasing Chevauleger, and I'll be needing a pile of these as well.

You can order Sho's figures here... LINK

The other release this week was from Campaign Games Miniatures who have given us Austrian Cavalry in helmets, Chevauleger and Cuirassiers, along with Uhlan and Hussars. These all come in "at rest" or "charging" poses.

These can be seen here... LINK

I've ordered a set of these as well today.

So, three orders. AB, Sho Boki, and CGM. Lets see who gets through the letterbox first!

Consular Guard and Dragoons, and some comparisons.

I was having a look for specific figures for Napoleon's Consular Guard and for the French Dragoon regiments at Marengo, but there seem to be few 15/18mm figures to choose from. From what I can see the main differences in the uniforms from 1800 and the later styles are slight, with the main difference being the length of the coats.

As I had a set of Old Guard Grenadiers and a later French Dragoon regiment sitting doing nothing I've had a go at painting these for Marengo and hoping they work well enough until the correct miniatures become available - I know AB do Dragoons for this period but the cost for two 12 man and an 18 man regiment would be a little too much just now.

Consular Guard Grenadiers - Using Warmodelling Old Guard Grenadiers
For the list I am working to for Marengo I have to build a 40 figure Consular Guard Grenadier battalion. The figures I have are a mix of Warmodelling's Old Guard plus other line Grenadiers, some with green-stuff added plumes and cords. I would have preferred to get AB figures for this set, but the AB figures are standing ready whereas these figures are marching.

I've had a look at as many reference pictures as I can find and I think that apart from the shorter tails, the main difference between the Consular and Imperial uniforms is in the colour of the turnbacks, collar, and cords.

I've painted a base as a test and think they look fine.

French 9e Dragoon Regiment - Using Campaign Games Miniatures Dragoons
Again, as with the Consular Guard, the main difference I could see between the 1800 Dragoons and the later uniform is the length of the coat tails, so already having a set of Campaign Games Miniatures (CGM) Dragoons sitting unfinished I thought I could use these for the 9e Dragoons at Marengo. I've painted up a command base of three figures to see how they look, and the main change I made was to trim the eagle down to as close to the proper shape (it still needs filed down a bit as the metal is quite hard and getting it smoother without the proper tools didn't work - I need to straighten the standard as well)

 

COMPARISON PICTURES
I've been posting on this blog for over a year now and some of the most popular posts are the comparison pictures between different companies, so here are some more. I hope these are helpful...
 Cavalry Comparison - Blue Moon, Warmodelling, Campaign Games
The first picture is of three command bases, the first one from the left is Austrian Hussars from Blue Moon, next is Warmodelling Spanish Cavalry painted to represent French Heavy Cavalry, and the last is CMG's French Dragoons.
My opinion had been that the Blue Moon figures were my preferred figures, but after painting the Warmodelling figures and seeing them side by side I find the BM figures to be far too small. The CMG figures' poses are a little rigid, and a little lacking in animation, but they are solid looking figures.

Grenadier Comparison - Warmodelling, Old Glory, Blue Moon
This picture is a selection of French "grenadier" figures from various companies, and different periods, again just to show scale. The figure bases from left to right are French Old Guard (painted as Consular Guard) from Warmodelling, Old Glory's Polish Line Infantry Grenadiers in Czapka, Warmodelling Line Grenadiers, Warmodelling Line Grenadiers for 1806-15, and lastly a Blue Moon Line Grenadier company.

Austrian Ammunition Carts and Artillery

After a busy week or two preparing for a job interview, its back to some painting. I've been working on a few bits and pieces rather than trying to finish another Austrian battalion, just to break the monotony of the constant white uniforms, and first up is another little ammunition cart from Hallmark/Magister Militum. This one is again being pulled by a Warmodelling horse and the figure leading the horse in from Blue Moon. I have a feeling that maybe the uniforms should have been blue, so maybe some can shed some light.

Here is the two completed carts together. I'm not sure whether these will be used "in game" for anything other than window dressing but the General de Brigade rules to give you the option of using rules for ammunition shortages and replenishing units.

Next up is another 3pdr regimental artillery piece. This one, another Warmodelling gun, is crewed by a Campaign Game Miniatures artillery team. These are really easy little figures to paint, slightly more chunky than my others, but for size they fit really well and can easily mix on the same base with what I already have. 

Here is all my artillery together in one large battery. The Austrians rarely seemed to have combined batteries like this, but its nice to see them all together and to see how well the different ranges mix.

Campaign Game Miniatures Austrian Artillery Crew Out-the-bag Review

One of the things on my other blog that seemed very popular, was my comparison shots of various manufacturers figures. Collectors and gamers always appreciated seeing how different miniatures looked beside other ranges, so after my last post I decided to start doing Out-the-bag reviews of the various figures as I receive them. I'll try and do further reviews after painting as sometimes a figure will look amazing or terrible before painting and then its the other way about when they're painted.

So, today I received two packs of Campaign Game Miniatures (CGM) Austrian Artillery Crew.

The packs consist of 8 figures each, with two each of four different poses. They also come as two different packs; AUSA001 Austrian Artillerymen Firing and AUSA002 Austrian Artillerymen Loading. These retail at £3.60 a pack, so 0.45p per figure.

I'd ordered these just before Christmas from the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) website, but due to the holiday break they took a while to arrive - which isn't a problem as I had a pile of other miniatures to work through anyway.

First Impressions: These are nice. They are clean, flash free, with no bending or damage. The faces and hands look good and should paint up fine. Three poses out of each set have plumes on their bicorne, with the fourth in each set having an unadorned hat. The uniform looks as correct as it need to be for this scale, but the bicorne is missing the small pompoms that should appear at each peak, a minor issue as I forgot to paint these on my completed artillery. The figures also do not have the rope hanging at their belts that you see on the figures from Blue Moon, a nice detail that makes the BM miniatures my favourite so far out of those I have.

Here are the CGM figures straight out the pack showing the figures with cleaning or flash removal. Top set of eight is AUSA001, and the bottom set AUSA002...

And here is a comparison of the CGM with other ranges. From left to right these are: Blue Moon x2, CGM x2, Warmodelling x2, Blue Moon x2, and CGM x2.

To sum up, I would recommend these if you want to add a bit of variety to your artillery teams, but for quality Blue Moon is still the best. I'll get some AB next time I'm buying artillery and will review those here, but I think we all know that AB set the standard for Napoleonics.

These figures are available from Quick Reaction Force here, or direct from Campaign Games Miniatures here.