Wesfalia Miniatures 1813 Saxon Musketeers
Having reached my dotage, I have decided to jon the common herd, and get some Napoleonic stuff. Now the lads at New Buckenham have a lot of 28mm stuff, British are well covered by our Chris, and he is adding a French force as well, there are various folks also furiously painting up Napoleon's finest, dour Prussians have their fan club, and the Russians are assembling too. So yours truly looks for something that bit different. First off the Spanish were considered, but lets be honest here, nice as they are, the army is shite, and not that useable really. Then we see the lovely new Saxons from Westfalia Miniatures, and the decision is made. I can combine Saxons with some French, add all sorts of other nonsense into the mix, in the shape of Italians, Wurzburgers to name but two!! The 1813 campaign offers a lot of scope, and I can also add a few Prussian units for opposition, they will also serve their usefulness in the 100 days stuff we do.
So, the waffle is over, now onto the review.
I ordered from Westfalia themselves, Calpe and Empress, first to arrive, the last order placed, so thanks Empress, you won the race!!
I only ordered a couple of packs, one of musketeers, and one command.
Musketeer pack, eight different poses, all in covered shakos, in march attack positions. The figures are cleanly cast (Griffin Moulds I do believe) and have the very minimum of mould lines and flash to tidy up. The sword and bayonet scabbards are cast seperately, a neat idea as this improves the way that area looks.
They are beautifully sculpted figures, anatomically, the figures are well proportioned, not chunky lads at all, and I think they would fit in very well with the current Perry Miniatures offerings. The detail is all there, and with a careful paintjob, you will be rewarded with some fine looking units. The faces are just excellent, full of character, and all different.
Command pack
This pack contains six figures, you get two officers, one ensign, one drummer, one NCO and a sapper.
Once again the models are cleanly cast, and require very little clean up. The figures are another set of great sculpts, all full of period character, and combined with the musketeer pack, you can create some very purposeful looking units.
all the required detail is there, my favourite is the sapper, loads of character!!
I should have gone down the Napoleonic route when I ran a figure company, as Paul Hicks has created some of, if not the best, Napoleonic figures currently around, could have made a bloody fortune :-(
Kawe at Westfalia Miniatures has informed me that they intend to do a very complete range of Saxons, and I shall be ordering quite a few more packs if they do.
Go give em a look, as there are a good few other items that may also tempt you folks!!
Once my Calpe, and Perry stuff arrives, I shall post a comparison article.
Very handsome sculpts indeed. That sapper is a gem!
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving them a try Nigel, I am looking forward to the comparison with the more established brands.
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