Second Edition Old Glory Napoleonic Austrian Infantry

Last July Old Glory Miniatures announced their new "second edition" figures.  They planned to rework some of their older ranges to appeal more to modern tastes.  That meant (presumably) more natural anatomy, more subdued poses, and better casting.

I've always enjoyed the original Old Glory sculpts, appreciating the character the sculptor put into the faces and poses.  I also find that the exaggerated detail suits my painting style.  So while I was interested in the second edition figures, I wasn't as excited as some.

The new packs come in Foundry style blisters, with eight infantry or 8-10 command per blister.  An eight figure pack runs $12, or $7.20 with an Old Glory Army card, so the cost to me (an army member) is $.90 a foot figure.  You can get the price down to $.60 a figure by buying boxed sets of 38 figures for $22.80.

I bought a pack of second edition ACW infantry when the range first launched, but I never got around to painting them.  With my last order I snuck in a single pack of Austrians in helemts to see how I like the new Napoleonics.  With some free time last night, I sat down and painted the eight figures.

In bare metal, I had thought the infantry's legs looked too long, but once painted the proportions look fine to me.  The figures are reminiscent of Sash and Saber's Napoleonics line, and rumor is that Chris Hughes of S&S sculpted the new Old Glory lines.  I'm not too sure about that; the faces are completely dissimilar, and Chris already has a substantial Napoleonics catalog of his own.

The casting was superb, with very little cleanup required.  The figures are slimmer than their older brothers and move more naturally.  With their subdued poses, the figures look very nice when ranked together on a base.  I would say Old Glory has met all of their objectives with this set.

I already have a pretty large (240 infantrymen) Napoleonic Austrian army, so I was interested to see how the second edition figures looked next to the original sculpts.  I took some comparison shots.

Although the men themselves are the almost same height, the exaggerated helmet crest on the older figure makes him look much taller.  The different size of helmets and muskets will keep me from mixing these figures in the same units, but they're close enough that I'll have no problem fielding them on the same table.

All in all, then, I'm pleased with the second edition figures.  They're some of the best Napoleonics I've seen, and they're certainly worth the cost, even at $.90 a figure (and even at $1.50 for non-Old Glory Army members).  I'll probably be buying more Autrians, especially once Old Glory releases their box set of grenadiers.