Dixon Miniatures
Focused primarily on 25mm and 28mm historical ranges, Dixon is another really old manufacturer and the samurai figures above are likely some of their earliest work. The two figures seem a bit crude but as with so many older companies, the newest figures are considerably nicer and deserve a look.
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Irregular Miniatures
Irregular Miniatures
Assorted scales of miniatures, I first became acquainted with them through their 6mm range, some of which are shown above. They certainly provided a lot of miniatures in a bag though some of the spears, pikes, and lances broke off in the sea of lead. The figures I purchased sometime ago were cast with bases though the base is small enough that it could be mounted on a larger base if needed.
Valiant Enterprises
Valiant Enterprises Ltd.
Valiant specializes in ships be it spaceships, triremes, or Spanish galleys but appear also to be expanding their range of wargame figures. They put out a fine product and have been around forever. Scales vary. The ship shown above is 1/1200 scale, large enough to demand some rigging from the lazy modeler who put the ship together. The spaceships are an odd lot, cobbled together from what appear to be parts from car and train models.
Note: The website for Valiant is down as of September 16, 2015
K&L Thomas
At one time, one of the most widely advertised sets of miniatures, they still surface occasionally on E-bay. The scale is sometimes listed as 20mm, sometimes as 22mm. They matched the plastic Airfix figures well and allowed one to fill in the gaps in the rather limited Airfix sets. The figures I have are all from the American Civil War but they may have had additional ranges.
Battle Honors
Battle Honors
Finely sculpted figures in 15mm, 25mm, and 40mm sculpted by Anthony Barton who now produces figures under the AB Miniatures banner. The figures appear to still be readily available sold through Old Glory. The Napoleonic range is one I wish I had started with. The figures are a pleasure to paint and very well detailed.
Grenadier Models
Grenadier Models
For a while, this was the company that produced D&D figures. Their willingness to branch out lost them the license. But they put out a lot of figures including a wonderful range for Call of Cthulhu and a 25mm Traveller run. Like so many companies they started with several historical ranges in 25mm. These were initially not favorites of mine. The figures seemed fat and the details poorly executed. But as the years passed and RPGs took over, quality improved significantly. This seems to be the case with many manufacturers, either developing their own abilities or hiring on quality sculptors.
Superior Models
Superior Models Superior began by producing tanks, planes, and ships eventually adding a range of space craft and some highly detailed fantasy figures in both 28mm and 54mm scales. Alnavco now owns and produces the ships (they were a major distributor of the line for many years) while the fantasy line now appears to be produced by Perth Pewter. The fantasy figures have a peculiar decorative quality which RPG fans seem to like. I suspect that the figures are displayed more than played with. The spaceships no longer appear to be produced.
Ral Partha
Ral Partha The number of figures produced by Ral Partha is enormous. The company started in the 70s and seemed to jump from crafting one range to another but in retrospect, their most memorable ranges were fantasy and the Battletech series of anime-type robots.
The history of the company is complex though seems to have been built around the work of Tom Meier who had begun creating figures using 2-part epoxy, at that time, a unique approach. Meier continued to produce numerous figures for the company but quite quickly, the number of sculptors working for the company increased. Eventually, Ral Partha was purchased by FASA, a company produced various licensed board games and RPGs. A couple of years later, FASA was acquired by Whiz Kids.
Some of the line is still sold through Iron Wind Metals. Recently, the number of figures they offer has expanded to include many older ranges not available for mnay years. Prices are high but for those of us waiting for enough goblins for an effective army, the price might be worth it.
A line of colonial era figures produced by Ral Partha was offered by Great Endeavors though their website is currently down and it may be that they are no longer producing figures. As it was, they were gradually expanding the range of colonial figures while also offering some of the hard to find Condottieri line.
A lengthy history of Ral Partha production and ownership is here the convoluted story of iron wind metals ral partha and battletech miniatures
The move back to Tampa revealed some surprises. Here is a small box of Sudanese and Egyptian infantry, unpainted at their most charming.
Wargames Foundry
Wargames Foundry or The Foundry for short are major exporters of 28mm historical figures. They offer an extensive range of excellent figures. They are expensive but very attractive. Yes, they are my current favorite figures. The figures have character and humor and at the same time look pretty good.
Hinchliffe
At the time I started buying figures in earnest (1975 or thereabouts), Hinchliffe seemed to me the best, well detailed and well sculpted covering an interesting range. There was a serious quality about the figures as if meant for display in a museum set piece. I was surprised to discover they are still available in England.
Hinchliffe as a company began in 1967 producing larger scale artillery and equipment. These were often monstrous heavy cast metal kits that required a fair amount of assembly. At some point, figure sculptor Peter Gilder recently of Miniature Figurines came on board and began the range of historical figures in 25mm apparently meant to look imposing against the then current HO/OO scale figures put out by Airfix which are about 22mm.
The company expanded, became involved with Heritage Models down in Texas, and was eventually sold and sold again. They used to be the quality standard but tastes and standard scales seem to always be changing.