The quickest way for me to tell which figures are Battle Honors and which are Heritage is to see which ones fall off their horses. Battle Honors cast horses separately while Heritage present a single piece. One thing about miniatures rules is that as time went on, the rules provided roles for every kind of figure. Napoleon’s Battles demanded a command unit in every regiment, a command figure for every battalion, 2 command figures for each corps and 3 for an army.
|
|
|
|
These first were released sometime in the 70s and include hussars, dragoons, and cuirassiers. Based for Napoleon’s Battles which uses a high proportion of men per figure, the number of figures needed for a respectable army is large. The figures are well proportioned though a bit toy-like. Produced after the merger of Heritage and Custom Cast, they continued to be distributed under the Empire label for several years but are now difficult to find.
Smaller in stature than Old Glory, AB Miniatures, Battle Honors and others, the figures do best by themselves. Mores the pity that they are no longer manufactured.
A side by side view of Prussian Landwehr in 15mm by Essex on the right and Battle Honors on the left. The Battle Honors figures appear more delicate, more carefully proportioned while the Essex figures which one reviewer described as ‘gnomish’ are a little more toy soldierish. Figures are primed white, painted with acrylics and metallic enamels.
Old Glory with its rather tall figures and exaggerated poses provide a range of Napoleonics. The Austrians are reputed to be their best. These are primed white, washed black, and then detail picked out. Flags are commercial but I do not recall the maker.
From a huge set of Napoleonic figures, these appear to be Battle Honors figures representing a Hungarian unit in the Austrian army. These were painted with a white base coat, a heavy black wash on top of that, and then, everything else in acrylics except for enamels on the weapons.
The figures are based for Napoleon’s Battles, probably the only attempt by the venerable Avalon Hill company to produce a set of miniature rules. The rules offer a hefty figure scale of 1 infantry figure equals 120 actual men. Even so, most people would find the enormous number of figures required to stage even one of the smaller historical scenarios a bit off putting.