Just to let everyone know (or at least those that have an interest), I have now received all of my "sample" product and will soon be posting some comparitive pictures along with an overview of the project. Then I'll begin the review by maker with painted samples and evaluations.
I have added one more player to the mix, I had completely forgotten about Jim Brokaw's range of figures marketed by Pat Condray as Editions Brokaw. Now this is an older range than any of the others, and the sculpting style is much more "abstract" than some of today's offerings, but the fact is that these are still very effective little figures when painted well and used en masse, and the range is more complete than any of the others with just about every possible figure you could need.
So, our "contenders" are Hallmark, Editions Brokaw, Essex, Irregular, Donnington, Venexia and Lancashire Games. Look for the first installment shortly.
Bill
Any reason you've not included Minifigs in your survey? I appreciate it may be difficult once you've started :). I use a few of their AWI figs in my collection and really like some of the figures.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Andy,
ReplyDeleteMy apologies for not responding to this sooner, I was not yet setup for admin rights and couldn't "follow" up on my posts and comments.
Yes, there is a very good reason that I did not include Minifigs. Like you, I have used and painted many of them over the years. However, they do not offer a dedicated LoA or late 17th Century range. Their "From Pike to Shot" range includes ECW and TYW and then skips to Marlborough and the WSS. There are a very few figures in the TYW range that can be used into the 1670's (mainly cavalry), and there are Prussian Guardsmen in round hats in the WSS range that would work for the late 1680's, but no single, complete range dedicated to this period.
If these other ranges were not available, I could probably assemble and paint a Minifigs army that I would be pleased with, but I would have to be able to see all of the figures and pick and choose which ones could be mixed, and even then possibly do some conversion and creative painting to make them work.
Put simply, they do not meet the criteria for the review, which is a shame, as they would probably do an excellent range.
Bill