20mm Britannia vs 1/72 Forces of Valor

THE METAL FIGURES

These particular models come from Britannia’s British World War Two range, but the actual model codes are unclear. 

Height (measured to eyes): 19mm

Height (measured to head): 21mm

THE PLASTIC FIGURES

The FOV figures are included in set 85242 “US Landing Craft LCM 3.”

Height (measured to eyes):  20mm approximately
Height (measured to top of head):  22mm approximately

Britannia 20mm vs 1/76 Matchbox, WWII

THE PLASTIC FIGURES

Matchbox P5006 “British Commandos”

Height (to eyes): 19mm

Height (to top of head): 21mm

Matchbox P5001 “British Infantry”

Height (to eyes): 18mm

THE METAL FIGURES

These particular models come from Britannia’s British World War Two range, but the actual model codes are unclear. 

Height (measured to eyes): 19mm

Height (measured to head): 21mm

Esci 1/72 vs Britannia 20mm, Second World War

THE METAL FIGURES

Manufacturer’s Designation and Number of Poses:

Britannia is well known for its 20mm Second World War range.  The company covers all the major participants in great depth.  Besides figures, Britannia has a range of vehicles and also offers artillery pieces and various other useful items.

These particular models come from Britannia’s British range, but the actual model codes are unclear.  Because Britannia does not publish a complete illustrated catalogue, it is not feasible to determine exactly which models they are.

Figure Characteristics:

Height (measured to eyes): 19mm.

Height (measured to head): 21mm.

Availability and Cost:

The complete Britannia line is available on their website:  

http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/

Foot figures in this range are being sold individually for £0.65.

THE PLASTIC FIGURES

Manufacturers’ designation and Number of Poses:

The plastic figure on the right comes from box 200 “World War Two, British Soldiers.”  The box included 50 figures in 15 poses. The set was later re-released by Italeri as box 6056, “British Infantry: The King’s Regiment.”

The Esci figure on the left is taken from Set 210 “World War Two, British Commandos.” It also contains 50 figures in 15 poses, and was reissued by Italeri.  Italeri numbered it as 6064 and named it “British Commandos: No. 2 Commando.”

Figure Characteristics:

200 Height (measured to eyes):  21mm.

210 Height (measured to eyes):  21mm.

200 Height (measured to top of head):  23mm.

210 Height (measured to top of head):  23mm.

Availability:

Esci no longer exists, however Italeri continues to produce these figures. 

Notes on the Samples:

The commando figure was donated by Liam Sullivan.

Odemars 1/72 vs Britannia 20mm, Second World War

THE METAL FIGURES


Manufacturer’s Designation and Number of Poses:

Britannia is well known for its 20mm Second World War range. The company covers all the major participants in great depth. Besides figures, Britannia has a range of vehicles and also offers artillery pieces and various other useful items.

These particular models come from Britannia’s British range, but the actual model codes are unclear. Because Britannia does not publish a complete illustrated catalogue, it is not feasible to determine exactly which models they are.

Figure Characteristics:

Height (measured to eyes): 19mm.
Height (measured to head): 21mm.

Availability and Cost:

In January 2011, Dave Howitt, the founder of Britannia Miniatures, passed away. Following a period of uncertainty, his complete catalogue was taken over by Andrew Grubb of Grubby Tanks. After a few more months of transition, the complete Britannia line was once again available. The website for this incarnation of Britannia is:

http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/

Foot figures in this range are being sold individually for £0.65.

THE PLASTIC FIGURES

Manufacturer’s Designation and Number of Poses:

The plastic figures come from Odemars set PF17 “The Last Defenders of Berlin.” The set contains 42 figures in 14 poses. Odemars did produce two other World War Two sets, one portraying German commanders in the conflict, and the other covering Bosnian troops.

Figure Characteristics:

Height (measured from sole of foot to eyes): 21mm.
Height (measured from sole of foot to top of head): 23mm.

Availability and Cost:

Odemars shut down production in 2009, but their figures can still be found in some hobby shops and online stores.

Britannia 20mm vs Revell 1/72, Second World War

THE METAL FIGURES

Manufacturer’s Designation and Number of Poses:

Britannia is well known for its 20mm Second World War range. The company covers all the major participants in great depth. Besides figures, Britannia has a range of vehicles and also offers artillery pieces and various other useful items.

These particular models come from Britannia’s British range, but the actual model codes are unclear. Because Britannia does not publish a complete illustrated catalogue, it is not feasible to determine exactly which models they are.

Figure Characteristics:

Height (measured to eyes): 19mm.
Height (measured to head): 21mm.

Availability and Cost:

In January 2011, Dave Howitt, the founder of Britannia Miniatures, passed away. Following a period of uncertainty, his complete catalogue was taken over by Andrew Grubb of Grubby Tanks. After a few more months of transition, the complete Britannia line was once again available. The website for this incarnation of Britannia is:

http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/

Foot figures in this range are being sold individually for £0.65.

THE PLASTIC FIGURES

Manufacturer’s Designation and Number of Poses:

The Revell figure on the left comes from box 02508 “German Engineers,” while the figure on the right can be found in box 02510 “Soviet Infantry.” The German set includes 40 foot figures in 12 poses, along with a few odds and ends. The Soviet set is a bit bigger, and comprises 48 figures in 18 poses.

Revell has produced a number of sets covering this conflict.

Figure Characteristics:

02508 (German) height, measured to eyes: 21mm.
02508 (German) height measured to top of head: 23mm.
02510 (Soviet) height, measured to eyes: 23mm.
02510 (Soviet) height measured to top of head: 25mm.

Availability and Cost:

Both of these sets were first released in the early 1990s. The Soviet set remains in production at Revell, and can be found online and at local hobby shops. The German Engineer set is not being produced at present, but the company has recently reintroduced a number of other sets from this period, so this one may soon be available again.

Metal Manufacturer Website Changes

Carrying on from the previous post on metal manufacturer and dedicated distributor websites - the following three firms have updated their websites to new addresses:

Lancashire Games
http://www.lancashiregames.com/
25mm ranges: (these are actually 28mm figures)
Ancient
Medieval
Renaissance (new in 2011)
Napoleonic
20mm range
World War Two

Sergeants Mess Miniatures
http://www.sgts-mess.com/
20mm ranges:
ACW
World War Two (including civilians)
British Navy, 1919-45
Note: They no longer carry the TQD range.

Britannia Miniatures
http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/catalog/
Following the untimely death of Dave Howitt earlier this year, production of the range has been taken over by Andrew Grubb, the owner of Grubby Tanks.
20mm ranges:
World War Two
Cold War
World War One
Vietnam
Afghanistan (1979 onwards)
25mm ranges:
Ancients and Dark Ages
American West
Crimea
Colonial

Various Moderns Compared on Small Scale Operations

Sgt Scream (also known as Chris M.) runs an excellent blog called Small Scale Operations, which focuses on 20mm gaming in the modern period – especially the Middle East. Lately his blog has become a cornucopia of resource information on the period. He publishes regular round ups of new figure releases, as well as comprehensive reviews of terrain and models to accompany them. He even takes time to provide book reviews and recommendations. However it is the following post which jumps out in the context of this blog:


http://smallscaleoperations.blogspot.com/2011/03/wargaming-moderns-some-scale.html

In this entry, he provides a scale comparison featuring the following metal ranges:

S&S Models
RH Liberation
Britannia Miniatures
Stan Johansen
Stonewall
Elhiem

The comparisons also include one plastic range: Caesar.

The comparison is certainly worth checking out. The full blog can be found here:

http://smallscaleoperations.blogspot.com/

World War Two comparisons at Wargaming.info

The site wargaming.info belongs to an individual who games in a variety of periods. Among the different resources he has posted is a comparison shot of a number of World War Two ranges. The posting can be found here:

http://wargaming.info/2005/20mm-176th-a-172nd-figure-comparison/

Included in his review are the following metal ranges:

Raventhorpe
Hinchliffe
Britannia
Hotspur/Combat Miniatures
AB
SHQ
Liberation

On the plastic side, he includes:
Esci/Italeri
Airfix
Matchbox

Valiant vs various metal makers, WW2 Infantry

This image was posted recently by "Big P at GMG" on TMP. It shows a plastic figure from Valiant, compared to five different 20mm manufacturers. Click on the picture for a larger version.

The Plastic Figure

The Valiant figure comes from set VM003 "American GIs 1942/44." The set includes 64 figures in 16 poses.

The Metal Figures

As indicated in the picture, the metal miniatures come from the manufacturers below.

Britannia Miniatures: Offers a broad range, covering all the major combatants in depth.
Battlefield Miniatures: Offer a small number of American, Japanese, French and Russian figures, as well as more substantial British and German ranges.
SHQ Miniatures: Also provides a very deep range with all major nations covered.
Liberation Miniatures: Currently this maker is only producing post-1945 figures.
Elhiem Figures: Have released WW2 figures in two series. Their newest series covers the Red Army, US troops in winter gear, and a number of German subjects. The older series also covers some other topics.