Les Higgins English Civil War Infantry

The pictures above show most of the regular foot figures from the Les Higgins ECW range. In the top image, the figures from left to right are: EP2D, EP2B, EP2A, EP1C, EP1D, EP1B. In the lower picture, they are: EP4, EP8, EP7, EP3, EP6 and EP5 (the first, third and fourth figures should be holding pikes). Click on the images for larger versions.

The English Civil War range was the first release from Les Higgins, and established the firm as a maker of high quality 20mm figures. Released in the late 1960s, they still stand up today. Like many of the pioneer figure ranges in our hobby, the Les Higgins business was sold, merged and bought over the years. Eventually the ECW range went out of production, and stayed that way for more than a decade.

A couple of years ago, the range was revived by a group of enthusiasts. They are also associated with the Vintage 20mil site, which can be found on my list of links in the sidebar.

Figures can now be purchased from John Cunningham. He can be reached at cunnjoh@aol.com

The foot figures are being sold for 40p, which is equivalent to 57 cents US, or 73 cents Canadian at today’s rates.

The range also includes cavalry, mounted commanders, and artillery. Photos of those sculpts will appear in a later posting, as will some comparisons to plastic ranges.

Douglas vs Esci / Italeri, Crimean foot

The photo above compares Esci Russian Crimean figures (infantry and artillery) with Crimean British artillery and infantry from Douglas Miniatures. From left to right the models are: Esci Russian gunner; Douglas British gunner (partly painted); Douglas regular infantry; Esci Russian infantry; Douglas British officer (painted as an infantry officer in this case). Click on the images for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Esci models are from box 221 “Crimean War Russian Infantry and Artillery.” They were also reissued by Italeri in box 6053, "Russian Artillery."

The Douglas infantry and gunner are from their Crimean War range, but I don’t have the set information.

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Esci / Italeri figures – 23mm.
Douglas models – 23mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Esci / Italeri – C (Average)
Tumbling Dice – B (Slender)

Overall conclusions:

This comparison shows the danger of relying just on height as a way of determining compatibility. Both of these ranges measure 23mm, foot to eye, yet in the picture the Esci / Italeri figures simply look smaller. It is probably something like an optical illusion. Due to the slender nature of the Douglas figures, as well as the larger head size, longer arms and higher waists, they somehow seem bigger than they really are, an effect exaggerated by the taller headgear.

Of course this phenomenon is not going to have much impact on fielding these figures in large wargaming armies. When kept in separate units, the two manufacturers work together well.

Jacklex vs Waterloo 1815, British Colonial Infantry

The photo above shows a pair of Jacklex Highland colonial infantry (one painted and one partly painted) alongside three figures from Waterloo 1815 (unpainted plastic). Click on the image for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Waterloo 1815 figures are from box AP 013 “Anglo-Egyptian Army.”

The two Jacklex figures come from their Colonial Range, and are designated B16, “Highland Infantry Marching.”

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Waterloo 1815 – 22mm.
Jacklex Highlanders – 23mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Waterloo 1815 – B (Slender)
Jacklex – C (Average)

Overall conclusions: The Waterloo 1815 figures are somewhat flat, which is why they are rated as “slender” on the body build compatibility item above. Depending on which angle they are viewed from, they can also appear “average.” This partial two-dimensional aspect, plus the slight difference in height, make them an awkward match with the Jacklex figures. However they are not so different that they could not appear on the same table together.

Strelets vs Douglas, Crimean British foot

The photo above compares Strelets British Crimean infantry figures (regulars and Highlanders) with Crimean British artillery and infantry from Douglas Miniatures. From left to right the models are: Douglas gunner (partly painted), Strelets Highland infantry (unpainted), Douglas regular infantry, Strelets regular infantry, Douglas officer, another Strelets regular. Click on the images for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Strelets figures come from set 0028 “Crimean War British Line Infantry” and set 0029 “Crimean War British Highlanders.”

The Douglas infantry and gunner are from their Crimean War range (set numbering to be provided).

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Strelets Regular Infantry – 22mm.
Strelets Highlanders – 24mm.
Douglas models – 23mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Strelets Regulars – C (Average)
Strelets Highlanders – D (Somewhat heavy)
Douglas – B (Slender)

Overall conclusions:

As mentioned in earlier postings, Strelets is the only maker currently producing a substantial range of plastic figures for the Crimean War (with more on the way). The disparity in height and style between Strelet’s regular troops, and the Highlanders has also been noted previously. Once again, this means that the Douglas troops shown here can be nicely matched with the Strelets regulars, but do not mesh well with their Scottish brethren.

Tumbling Dice vs Airfix, British Crimean Infantry

The photo above compares several Airfix figures with Crimean British Guard infantry from Tumbling Dice. From left to right the models are: Airfix Highland Infantry (unpainted plastic), Tumbling Dice British Guardsman (unpainted metal), Airfix Guardsman, another Tumbling Dice Guardsman, Airfix Highlander. Click on the image for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Airfix Highland figures come from box 01735 “Waterloo Highland Infantry” while the Guard model is from box 01702 “Guards Colour Party.”

The metal guardsmen come from Tumbling Dice set C1854 BR 1: “British Guards in Bearskin.”

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Airfix Guard – 21 mm.
Airfix Highland infantry – 21mm.
Tumbling Dice models – 21mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Airfix – C (Average)
Tumbling Dice – D (Somewhat heavy)

Overall conclusions: Granted, Airfix did not actually make any Crimean infantry. But when Esci released their plastic Russians, some gamers looked to the two sets above as makeshift opponents. Of course the Highlanders wear their Napoleonic uniform, and the Guardsman is dressed for duty in 1960. In case anyone is still fielding these troops, the image does show that the Tumbling Dice soldiers make a pretty good match.

Jacklex Colonials

Jacklex is another older British range, which was explicitly intended as a way to supplement Airfix plastics. First offered in 1968, today the range is sold by Spencer Smith miniatures.

Jacklex covers four periods. There are large lists for the American Civil war and the colonial period which include various pieces of ordnance and equipment, with smaller ranges for the Russo-Japanese War and World War One.

The image above features a few models from the Colonial range. This range is primarily comprised of British troops and their enemies, but does have a small component of French Foreign Legion.

The troops in this picture, and the manufacturers’ codes, are (from left to right)

• Esci British Regular infantry (it appeared in both set 212 and 232)


• Jacklex British Artillery gunner (C8)


• Ral Partha British regular (88-002)


• Jacklex Colonial Highlander (B16)


• Jacklex Indian regular officer (B18, undercoated in black)


• Esci Indian infantry (from set 232, painted by C Turnitsa)


• Jacklex Indian gunner (C9)


• Esci Indian infantry (from set 232)

Click on the image for a larger version. More detailed comparisons will follow.

The Jacklex page on the Spencer Smith site is here:

http://www.spencersmithminiatures.co.uk/jacklex/jacklex.html

The Jacklex figures are sold individually, for 45p each or 85p mounted (equivalent to 64 cents/$1.21 USD or 80 cents/$1.51 CDN at current exchange rates).

Douglas vs Emhar, Crimean foot

The photo above shows British Crimean foot figures from Douglas (the painted ones) alongside unpainted samples of Emhar’s French figures. From left to right the Douglas models are: an artilleryman (partly painted) an infantry ranker, and an officer. The officer figure came with both the artillery set and the infantry, but here is painted as an infantry officer. Click on the images for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The plastic Emhar models are from box EM 7211 “French Infantry, Crimean War & Franco-Prussian War.”

I don’t have the listing for the metal Douglas figures, but I expect to have it soon.

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Emhar French figures – 21mm.
Douglas British models – 23mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Emhar – C (Average)
Douglas – B (Slender)

Overall conclusions: A 2mm difference in height does not sound like much, but the image shows that it is in fact easy to spot. Perhaps it is exaggerated in this case by the taller headgear on the British figures. These two groups of figures are not going to be fighting in the same unit, but even as separate battalions, the height discrepancy will still be noticeable to some gamers.

An Illustrated List of Napoleonic figures (plastic and metal)

Fans of 1/72 scale Napoleonic battles may already be familiar with the “Soldats du Premier Empire” site. If not, it is definitely worth a visit. Although the text is in French, familiarity with the language is not required for navigation. If you persevere, you will be rewarded with galleries of eye candy among other treats. (Check out the “contributions” page to start.)

The home page is here:

Soldats du Premier Empire

The reason for mentioning the site on this blog though, is that it also hosts an impressive listing of figures available for the various combatants. The list is organized by country, and then by arm. It includes both plastic and metal manufacturers in this scale, and many of the entries are illustrated with images (both painted and unpainted).

The top page of the figure listing is found here:

Figure List National Index

A few navigation hints:

“Accueil” takes you to the home/index page
“Liste des Figurines” is the top page of the figure listing
“Nouveautes” leads to news and updates
“Precendente” = previous
“Suivante” = next
“Remonter” = up one level

Esci / Italeri vs Tumbling Dice, Crimean foot

The photo above compares Esci’s Russian figures (infantry and artillery) with British Horse Artillery and British Guard infantry from Tumbling Dice. From left to right the models are: Esci artilleryman, Tumbling Dice horse artillery, Esci Russian officer (unpainted plastic), Tumbling Dice British Guardsman (unpainted metal), Esci Infantryman, another Tumbling Dice Guardsman. Click on the images for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Esci models are from box 221 “Crimean War Russian Infantry and Artillery.” They were reissued by Italeri as set 6053 "Russian Artillery."

The metal gunner is from Tumbling Dice set C1854 BR 13: British Horse Artillery Gun Crew. The other Tumbling Dice figures come from set C1854 BR 1: British Guards in Bearskin

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Esci / Italeri figures – 23mm.
Tumbling Dice models – 21mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Esci / Italeri – C (Average)
Tumbling Dice – D (Somewhat heavy)

Overall conclusions: Esci only made this one set of Crimean foot figures, and they do match up reasonably with the Tumbling Dice models. The fact that the plastic figures are a bit bigger tends to mask the fact that the metal models have a heavier build. Again, the slight difference could be eliminated by a thicker base.

News: Sepoys, Sikhs and Rifs coming in 20mm

John Cunningham, owner of the old Les Higgens, Douglas and Wodensfeld lines, has shared his immediate plans with the Plastic Pelisse. Due this month will be two sets of new releases, while a third is on the way.

The first release will be sepoys for “Wellington in India.” Arthur Wellesley served in India from 1797 to 1805, fighting in the fourth Anglo-Mysore War and Second Anglo-Maratha War. These figures will provide a start on refighting those campaigns. John will have six figures in this set.

A second release will come out at the same time as the first. This release will cover Akalis (religious warriors) for the first and second Anglo-Sikh wars (1845-49). This release includes 7 figures, some with separate muskets. For a description of one battle involving the Askali, plus a nice picture of a few Akali warriors, see this page:

http://www.britishbattles.com/first-sikh-war/ferozeshah.htm

Finally, John has a range of Rif warriors under development.

For now, John has not settled on a name for his new range. However these figures are not expected to be marketed under the existing brands.

Tumbling Dice vs Strelets, British Crimean Foot

The photo above compares Strelets British Crimean infantry figures (regulars and highlanders) with Crimean British Horse Artillery and British Guard infantry from Tumbling Dice. From left to right the models are: Tumbling Dice Horse Artillery, Strelets British regular, Tumbling Dice British Guardsman, Strelets Highlander, Tumbling Dice British Guardsman, Strelets British Regular. Click on the images for a larger version.

Manufacturers’ designations:

The Strelets figures come from set 0028 “Crimean War British Line Infantry” and set 0029 “Crimean War British Highlanders.”

The metal gunner is from Tumbling Dice set C1854 BR 13: British Horse Artillery Gun Crew. The other Tumbling Dice figures come from set C1854 BR 1: British Guards in Bearskin

Height compatibility (measured from sole of foot to eyes):
Strelets Regular Infantry – 22mm.
Strelets Highlanders – 24mm.
Tumbling Dice models – 21mm.

Body Build compatibility (from 5 categories):
Strelets Regulars – C (Average)
Strelets Highlanders – D (Somewhat heavy)
Tumbling Dice – D (Somewhat heavy)

Overall conclusions: Strelets is the only maker currently producing a substantial range of plastic figures for the Crimean War, and the only maker to have British troops in their inventory. In general, the Tumbling Dice troops match up nicely with Strelets regulars. There is a slight height difference, but it could be all but eliminated by a thicker base. With the Highlanders though, there is a clear height difference. (Indeed, the Strelets Highlanders are not a very close match to the Strelets regulars.)

There is another obvious issue – the Tumbling Dice figures are dressed for a winter battle, while the Strelets figures shown above are not. I believe that this applies to all the TD foot Crimean figures, but not the cavalry. Of course, if you are looking for a winter battle, Strelets does produce Russian infantry in greatcoats, some of whom look quite wintry, as seen in the image below. In addition, they have announced plans to release a future set of British guards in winter dress.

Newline ACW Zouave Command

This is the final look at the Newline Zouaves (at least for now).

The picture illustrates the different poses included when purchasing a command pack from Newline. The company sells all their ACW infantry in packs of 4. In the case of these items (ACW 75 and ACW 79), the packs included: a drummer, a flagbearer, and an officer, plus a repeat of one of the figures.

Pricing for infantry from their website works out to 44p per figure (64 cents US, or 79 cents Canadian at current exchange rates).

The three figures wearing a fez come from ACW 79, while those in kepi are included in ACW 75. Click on the image for a larger version

News: Douglas Miniatures return to production

In a testament to bad timing, I recently claimed in this blog that Douglas Miniatures are no longer in production. In fact, the long period of dormancy is ending for this range. John Cunningham, who already owns moulds of some other vintage 20mm ranges, has purchased the known Douglas moulds, and is busy bringing them back to market.

John currently offers figures from these makers:

Les Higgins: Marlburians and English Civil War (including more than a dozen new figures)
Douglas: Marlburian (they have been remoulded)

He is clearly a very busy fellow, as his current projects include the following:

• Getting the Douglas Crimean range back in production (going through remastering and moulding now)
• Ditto for the Douglas Napoleonics
• Releasing a limited run of Wodensfeld 7 Years War French (expected release at the end of February)
• Working on a few other ranges (details to come)
  

In addition to that, he will be getting around to formalizing a trading name for his company, and perhaps putting up a website.

Until then, you can contact John by email for his lists, and to place orders. He can be reached at: CunnJoh@aol.com. His current prices are:

Les Higgins Marlburians
foot/rider 35p each,
horse 45p each
guns £2

Les Higgins ECW
Foot/rider 40p each,
horse 45p each
guns £2

Douglas Marlburians
40p foot/rider/horse

Price on Wodensfeld TBD (it will be a 36-piece set)

Douglas Miniatures, Crimean British Foot

Douglas Miniatures was a British company active in the late 1960s and 1970s. They manufactured 20mm figures in three ranges: Crimean War, Napoleonic and Seven Years War/Malburian. The business is no longer active; additional information can be found on the Vintage 20mil site:

http://www.intonet.co.uk/~rblack/

(EDIT: the Douglas range is actually being put into production; more details in a future post)

The photo above shows a couple of figures from Douglas’ Crimean war range, along with a variety of figures from other makers. (Click on the picture for a larger version.)

The actual figures are from the following sets (left to right):

• Tumbling Dice set C1854 BR 13 - British Horse Artillery Gun Crew
• Esci set 221 – Crimean War Russian Infantry and Artillery
• Douglas Miniatures Crimean War British Foot Artillery
• Emhar box EM 7211 – French Infantry, Crimean War & Franco-Prussian War
• Douglas Miniatures Crimean War British Infantry
• Strelets set 0028 – Crimean War British Line Infantry
  

More detailed comparisons will follow.