Wednesday, January 7, 2009

15mm Revolutionary War British Grenadiers

I purchased a copy of British Grenadier! as soon as it came out.  I had bought a couple other sets of Revolutionary War rules, but neither really tempted me to start painting an army.  I had been playing General de Brigade, which I think is an excellent system, and I thought it would translate well to the wilds of North America.

This was my second period in 15mm.  I already had large ACW armies for Fire and Fury.  I bought a bag of Old Glory Hessians at my local hobby shop, and I did not like what I found.  That must be Old Glory's "scurryingest" range.

At the time, Musket Miniatures had one of the few complete (with pictures!) manufacturer's web stores.  Hard as it is to believe, just six years ago it was tough to buy figures direct from the manufacturer, and most web stores had almost no pictures.  Most of my 15mm Civil War troops were from MM, and I had enjoyed their clean sculpts.  I bought one pack of their figures to see how I liked their AWI range.


Musket Miniatures British Grenadiers

They were not at all what I was looking for.  These elite grenadiers had spindly legs, strangely pinched faces, and rather anemic bearskins.  Clearly I wouldn't be happy with a Musket Miniatures British army.

I asked some gamers more experienced in the period, and they suggested I try Minifigs.



Minifigs British Grenadiers

These figures had exactly the look I wanted: solid, elite infantry.  The faces have good proportions, the bearskins are suitable impressive, and pose itself communicates a certain swagger.  These guys are marching tall.  I was sold, and I still love Minifigs to this day.
Minifigs Casualty Marker

I did buy a few more Musket Miniatures figures, and I found that most of their AWI line is passibly good.  My American militia have a few MM figures, and I do like MM's casualty figures.

This is one of my older armies, but it's one I'm especially proud of.  I won "Best in Show" for my Freeman's Farm setup ay my local IPMS show back in 2004.  My painting has certainly improved since 2003, but I still think this is a great looking army.  I'm thinking about posting more pictures of my Brits, but they really don't compare with some of the lovely 28s you see online.  If you would like to see more of this army, leave a comment and let me know.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Scott,

    Considering the scale, they are really nice. More pics are available ?
    A little question however : The red is really nice and bright. Did you use a white undercoat for those miniatures ?

    Cheers,

    Bruno.

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  2. The Minifigs are definitely better than the M&M's. More pics? Always !

    Being a WWII fan, do you have any plans to paint more 15mm WWII stuff?

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  3. Nice looking Minifig grenadiers. When will we see them in action on the tabletop?
    Jon

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  4. Bruno, I used two different shades of red over black primer. The MM figures are the old Delta Ceramcoat "Red," which was a translucent color. I might have used two coats. The Minifigs are Delta's "Tompte Red."

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  5. Scott, I don't have any WWII figures on my painting desk at the moment, but I have a complete USMC amphibious assault force ready to be primed. I'd like to see how Battlefront: WWII handles a beach landing.

    Your WWII stuff has left me painfully aware of my own shortcomings. :-)

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  6. I've got everything we need for Freeman's Farm, Jon. Maybe we should play it the next time I host a game.

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  8. Scott, I'd enjoy a refight of Freeman's Farm.

    Jon

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  9. Fantastic figs! I'd love to see more as I'm working up to the entire OOB in 6mm. I'm pretty close and am blogging army build up.

    Let's see the write up on the battle and lots more pictures!

    I love your work.

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  10. By all means, show us more!!

    Great looking units!

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