The Last of the Renegades

The last of the Renegade Miniatures' ECW figures, that is.  I even needed to order a few Bicorne Miniatures' command figures to bring the regiment up to its full muster of 27 figures.  This is not quite the last of the Renegade figures in The Lead Pile but there are not enough models at hand to field another regiment of foote. 

Having always been drawn to the blue field with encircling motto of the Charles Fairfax banner, I figured this would be a handsome assignment for the out of production Renegade ECW figures remaining in inventory.  As I put this post together, Ross' post on having the discipline to not bite off more than one can paint (see: Back to the Brushes 307) reminds me that buying more than one really, really needs can pay dividends.  

Several years ago, Renegade Miniatures, originally went out of production temporarily but then returned back into production.  When back in production, stocking up seemed prudent.  It turned out to be a sound decision when figure production again went dormant quickly thereafter and has yet to resurface.  Some times, the "buy everything at once" school of thought is the right one.  There are a few ranges of figures, I sure do miss.

On a less somber note, later today sees a F2F game of Zama using Commands & Colors: Ancients.  I will be fielding my 6mm Punic Wars collection in place of the blocks.  One question is, do I deploy the standard scenario as given in the scenario book,

or the deluxe scenario as provided on the website?

An ECW Artillery Foursome

After nearly a year of inactivity on the 30mm ECW project, the foundry churns out four artillery pieces.  For a project that I consider "done and dusted," ten months between additions is not concerning.  In fact, I considered the existing four guns and one mortar sufficient for most ECW battles.  Rarely have I needed more than two guns per side.

My position on this sufficient gun requirement was nudged in the direction of fielding a few additional pieces when I discovered two packs of Old Glory guns in The Lead Pile.  One pack contained two culverins; the other, two demi-culverins.  The conundrum faced was that there was no crew.  Do I allow these four guns to languish in The Lead Pile or buy crew for these pieces.  Of course, I opted to add sixteen crew to the shopping list.  Hardly a surprise.  

While crew from the existing guns were all sourced from Redoubt (which I love), this time I chose to give Bicorne Miniatures ECW artillerymen a try.  I have always read that Redoubt and Bicorne are a good match size-wise, so I plunged in to verify for myself.  For size with respect to height and heft (remember the Barrett Scale, anyone?), Bicorne figures compare favorably to Redoubt.  I still think I prefer the Redoubt artillery crew. 

Anyway, off the painting desk come four guns and crew. The guns are Old Glory and the crew, Bicorne.  Two culverins and two demi-culverins to add to the artillery arsenal of both sides.  

Enough Renegade Miniatures' foot remain to field one more 27 figure regiment of foote.  One day, I may get around to clearing out that bin and pushing them into the painting queue.  Beyond those figures, only a scattering of casualty figures and some TAG horse remain to paint.  Since the TAG cavalry are of the slightly earlier Thirty Years War period, I have been in not much hurry to paint them, but I will! 

French Dragoons, Dismounted in 28mm

Stepping off the painting desk are French dismounted dragoons for the 28mm Napoleonic project.  These figures were primed back in early 2015 during my Napoleonic painting blitz (see Napoleonic Painting Push) but never made it out of the painting queue until now.

Figures are from Bicorne Miniatures and are the first I have painted from this company.  The dragoons are from the slender school of sculpting but fit in nicely with the other manufacturers of 28mm figures.  I like them.  

Painted as the 18th Dragoons, the dismounted dragoons can be used in tandem with their mounted Front Rank counterparts.

Now, I need to come up with a scenario to best employ these fine dragoons.

Back in January, one of the stretch goals in my 2015 project planning exercise was to complete 200 28mm Napoleonics during the year.  Well, with these figures, my 2015 painting tally stands at 162.  It would not be a stretch goal without a tough reach but adding 38 more figures might be within reach by year end.  Another battalion of Vistula Legion and two squadrons of Polish lancers await in the painting queue but other projects are competing for attention.  Completing one unit in each of the remaining months might just get me there.

Napoleonics- 28mm Figure Comparison +2

Having recently completed a figure comparison of 28mm Napoleonic figures (see earlier review, here), I should not be surprised that that review was quickly made obsolete. Why?  I received a sample Britannia British Napoleonic figure from a fellow I have been buying Elite Miniatures from and a package from Front Rank arrived this past week loaded with new models.

To update the earlier comparison, both Britannia and Front Rank Reinforcement Pack (Front Rank RP) have been added to the line-up.

To my eye, the Britannia figure seems more on the caricature style of sculpting and the anatomy looks odd to me and quite chunky.  Head seems oversized compared to the length of arm and torso.  Also, the legs look too short but that could be an illusion because of the deeply bent knees.  With knees bent that deeply and head and pack so large, the poor chap may not be able to stand under such weight!  He might fit in ok with Front Rank and Elite since they are on the chunky side but might look odd with the others.

The package from Front Rank contained one of the Reinforcement packs of French infantry in bicorne.  Really terrific figures with crisp detail and good anatomical structure.  These are exquisite figures.  The anatomy is better than some earlier Front Rank figures and the sculpting style is very close to Paul Hick's Brigade Games' figures.  I have been eyeing these Reinforcement packs for awhile now and finally decided to give them a try.  I am glad I did!

Napoleonics - Old Glory 2nd Ed. Comparison

Scott dropped by to deliver my portion of an Old Glory order and to get in a couple of games of Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA).  

The box of lead Scott delivered contained several bags for my Spanish-American War project and a few sample packs of Old Glory's 2nd Edition Napoleonics.  I have a number of manufactures in the 28mm Peninsular War project but no Old Glory.  Scott's positive comments about 2nd Edition figures convinced me to give them a try.

As a comparative exercise, I lined up the different unpainted manufacturers used thus far in this project.  Well, all unpainted save for the primered Sash & Saber figure!  I added a AWI Perry figure since I have no Perry Napoleonics and a Fire & Drum (ex-Minden) SYW Prussian. 

25/28mm Napoleonic Figure Comparison

With regards to height, all figures in the comparison photo are similar with Eureka being a little less than half-a-head taller than the others.  If the Bicorne dragoon was standing erect, he would likely be the tallest of all.

Even within manufacturers, size differences exist.  Compare the size differences of the two Brigade Games' French figures on the far right.  Even the Front Rank French legere looks larger than his British comrade.  If one manufacturer is not consistent within its own line, how can we expect different manufacturers to exactly match?  I don't think we can.  Besides, soldiers come in varying heights and weights.  It would be nice if the equipment size was consistent.  

For stockiness, Elite takes top honors with the Front Rank French legere coming in a close second.  The Old Glory Brit is so slender, he probably would not cast a shadow!  Upon close inspection on the gaming table, the Front Rank legere looks noticeably larger than the Sash & Saber figures but the Front Rank Brit does not.  At gaming distances these differences disappear.  I suppose part of that could be an illusion due to the larger shako and massive plume.  The Old Glory Brit standing alongside the Elite Frenchman makes the Brit look puny.  The slender build of the Old Glory figure reminds me of the proportions of the Fife & Drum SYW Prussian.

When I opened the packets, first thing that struck me was how slender the figures are modeled.  Legs and arms are especially scrawny.  To me, the proportion of the arms-to-body seem slightly out of whack.  That is, the arms appear too short.  Otherwise, the detail of the figure is quite nice.  We will see how they look on the gaming table once painted and based.

Old Glory 2nd Edition British

Oh, and I was beaten 2-0 in CCA in two replays of Cannae.  Even switching sides after Game 1, I could not pull out a victory.  I recall losing 7-5 as Varro and then getting beaten 7-4 as Hannibal.  The one victory had I for the evening came with my dinner choice.  That was a success!