Lots of boxes in the mail this week after I returned from almost 2 weeks of steady travel for my job. I have boxes from several new mini model shops for me as I start my new French and Indian War painting and wargaming efforts. The work bench pic above is a rough comparison -- the right two figures are Conquest Miniatures' Indians, the middle two are North Star Figures' Indians and the left two are Rogers' Rangers from Galloping Major (GM). I think the North Star and GM minis match up well and the moldings are well done.
Box break down day is a big deal for me...as its always a question mark here in the US for inbound Royal Mail from the United Kingdom. I've had at least one Foundry box lost and several others delayed for almost a month, meanwhile some packages from the UK arrive in less than a week. Crazy mail! When I order my first Perry figures I may try
Triangle Miniatures as they are based in North Carolina and remove the import time hassle. However, they have limited product lines and don't carry many of the model makers I like.
My
Galloping Major Wargames Rogers' Rangers unit minis arrived! They are really well done minis. By purchasing the large Ranger unit package they added a few free minis in the box which is always nice. I really like these as my first French and Indian War figures, I did a lot of research before ordering for this era as my next theme. They are on the 28mm bulkier size and are well "animated" (which I like both of these factors), so I will have to be careful moving forward with additional purchases to match up with these.
North Star Muskets and Tomahawks figures also arrived. I like these Indians and they match the size of the Galloping Major Rangers very well. I have just ordered
North Star's Highland Scots unit and some additional Indians based on this un-boxing and match up. I think Redoubt's miniatures would work, but pics of them available online via a Google search don't impress me very much, they just look "fat" and uneven with poor face and hand casting. Perhaps I need to order a few and see up close.
Conquest Miniatures purchased from eBay of French Regular infantry and
Compagnies Franches de la Marine arrived as well -- these are nicely cast 28mm, however in comparison to North Star and Galloping Major they are on the smaller size for sure. I won't buy anymore of these figures, and stick to mostly Galloping Major minis with North Star thrown in. Like I said already, I do want to purchase a few Perry, AW, and Redoubt minis for comparison. I also ordered a handful of nice 100mm wire for flag & guidon poles from North Star.
Conquest Miniatures Indians are also on the smallish side of 28mm. I bought a box of the Woodland Indian Party on eBay and the special edition mini of "Magua" (directly from Conquest which is really a part of Warlord Games apparently) from the excellent 1992 movie remake with Daniel Day-Lewis of
The Last of the Mohicans. These are Huron and Ottawa Indians that fought for the French side during the FIW along side General Montcalm's forces and the Canadian milice (militia) irregulars.
Lastly, the re-do of my missing Wargames Foundry (WGF) box arrived with my order of 300 EIR shields and several Pila. This is a mound of shields and will allow me to outfit my entire EIR Cohort with all of the same shields -- which I prefer over Aventine, Gripping Beast and Warlord Games (WLG) shields. I use a little dish soap and hot water with a toothbrush to remove any left over casting related residue prior to priming all my minis.
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