Hah! The artillery question may be worked out. I posed a question about size and compatibility of the old Garrison SYW Prussian range over at the Old School Wargaming Yahoo group this afternoon, which yielded quickly the answer I sought. Seems there is life in the old girl yet.
John Preece and Doug Crowther indicated that the Garrison figures are indeed 25mm and comparable in height to MiniFigs, but much slimmer and with better proportions. An added advantage is that they are also cheaper than MiniFigs at this point. So, without seeing any photos of the SYW miniatures by Garrison, my impression is that they will be reasonably compatible with my RSMs, Spencer Smiths, Revells, and scattering of MiniFigs already in the collection.
It would appear that these might, therefore, be just the figures I require to finish up Stollen's artillery contingent. But I must be strong and wait for a definite response from Rob, the man behind Garrison Miniatures, before I dash off an order via PayPal! Ok, try to think about something else, Stokes! A cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder. . .
Now, what makes these particular figures so attractive is not just their height, correct proportions, and lack of overemphasized detail, but the fact that the Garrison name can trace its origins to 1966, when the first figures were, I believe, sculpted by one John Braithwaite. A name that will need no introduction to old school wargaming afficienados. So, they certainly are in keeping with the old school ethos, a way of thinking that lurks behind much of the Grand Duchy of Stollen project and the associated blog.
How strange then that one rarely encounters enthusiastic remarks about Garrison Miniatures these days, at least as far as I have noticed. They seem to have been overshadowed by the likes of Suren, Spencer Smith, Holger Eriksson, and Stadden figures. Well, just one more of those strange anomalies of the old school wargaming world I suspect. ;-)
John Preece and Doug Crowther indicated that the Garrison figures are indeed 25mm and comparable in height to MiniFigs, but much slimmer and with better proportions. An added advantage is that they are also cheaper than MiniFigs at this point. So, without seeing any photos of the SYW miniatures by Garrison, my impression is that they will be reasonably compatible with my RSMs, Spencer Smiths, Revells, and scattering of MiniFigs already in the collection.
It would appear that these might, therefore, be just the figures I require to finish up Stollen's artillery contingent. But I must be strong and wait for a definite response from Rob, the man behind Garrison Miniatures, before I dash off an order via PayPal! Ok, try to think about something else, Stokes! A cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder, a cup of cold clam chowder. . .
Now, what makes these particular figures so attractive is not just their height, correct proportions, and lack of overemphasized detail, but the fact that the Garrison name can trace its origins to 1966, when the first figures were, I believe, sculpted by one John Braithwaite. A name that will need no introduction to old school wargaming afficienados. So, they certainly are in keeping with the old school ethos, a way of thinking that lurks behind much of the Grand Duchy of Stollen project and the associated blog.
How strange then that one rarely encounters enthusiastic remarks about Garrison Miniatures these days, at least as far as I have noticed. They seem to have been overshadowed by the likes of Suren, Spencer Smith, Holger Eriksson, and Stadden figures. Well, just one more of those strange anomalies of the old school wargaming world I suspect. ;-)
Comments
I notice that Historifigs have 3 AWI artillerymen from the original Scruby range of 30mm. These are described as 'tricorne'.
Hinchliffe have 25mm crews for Austrian and Prussian which might be slightly taller than Garrison, though probably bulkier. It is hard to find dlim figures these days.
And Rob is among the best to deal with, he's cast me many OS Vikings, Saxons and Fantasy "Northmen" for my OS Anglo-Danish Horde.
Bill
What about the RSM artillery crews?
Well, I hadn't really thought about that. The RSM Prussian artillery crew are few in number, and I like five figures plus and officer/NCO with each gun. I suppose that I could use the French crew though. A slightly different coat, but greater variety in poses, including a simple "standing" figure which would enable me to do something like Brigadier Young's batteries in Charge, but without the Tarleton helmets! Hmmm. Well, I see what the Garrison figures look like in person.
Best Regards,
Stokes
http://tinyurl.com/pp6dmd
(Towards the page bottom.)
You could still use them with "big" 28mm or 30mm figures as one weight class lower (e.g. treating the 8-pdrs as 6-pdrs etc.) if you thought they were too small to match a suitable gun size to go with the gunners.
[BTW, I've got no financial interest in the company, I just want to promote a local manufacturer.]
The newer Mindens would be even better.