28mm Prussians - Comparison Pics?

[Littlearmies]

Hello Chaps,
I'm moving to Spain in a few weeks and there are a couple of clubs local to my new abode. Unfortunately they seem to be mostly 28mm players rather than 15mm (the one true Napoleonic scale). So, while I have no plans to abandon my 'core business' of 15/18mm ABs for GdeB, I was thinking of preparing a small force of 28mm troops. Prussians seem to have fairly simple uniforms (and are one of the few armies Mr Barton has sculpted that I don't have unpainted lead for).

So I was thinking of mostly plastics for the infantry. Perry for the infantry / fusiliers and Warlord for the Landwher. Looking at the Warlord Landwher figures they appear to do the job but aren't too inspiring - three poses of rankers plus metal officer, drummer and standard bearer. I've seen Perry metals mixed in to add some variety and they look fine, if a bit smaller than the Warlord plastic figures. Does have anyone have the Front Rank reinforcement figures for the Landwher and would they look the part?

I'm presuming the different Calpe style somewhat precludes them from inclusion?

Thanks for any help.

Malc

[Stavka]

Well, first of all if 15mm is indeed God's Own, True Scale for Napoleonics, then The Almighty has a lot better eyesight than he gave me.

I have Prussians in 28mm from all the manufacturers you mentioned, and they go well enough together, especially on the tabletop.  I'm not at home so no comparison pictures I'm afraid.  But for what it's worth:

Warlord Landwehr are okay if you want to build the units cheaply and quickly- but they won't satisfy the purist, with a number of accuracy issues.  Look well enough en masse, though.

Calpe are the "go to" range for many.  It's a labour of love for the designer, and it shows in the breadth and accuracy of the range and in the quality of sculpting and casting.  Lovely figures.

Front Rank is a recent entry in the Prussian field.  I recently bought a unit of fusiliers, and I love 'em- clean castings, great detail and very easy to paint.  

They match up with Calpe very well.  Excellent and reliable service, too. Most of the rest of my Napoleonic collection is from Front Rank.

The Perry offerings (metal) match in height, but are more slender.  I personally found the castings a bit rough, with a fair bit of flash to have to clean up.

For me, the plastic Perry Prussians were a bit of a pig to assemble, in particular trying to get the blanket roll halves to line up; I'll be going with Front Rank for my line infantry.

[Littlearmies]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. My plan was to 'pimp' the rather vanilla Warlord Landwher figures by mixing in metals from other makers with the plastics and vice versa. I'm aware of the 'soft' detailing at the sides of the Warlord figures (so I'm planning to put them in the middle of ranks where the issue will be concealed) but not aware of any fashion faux pas on the part of the designer. The 1813/15 period isn't really my thing so I admit I'm rather ignorant about the details.

I was rather thinking a couple of boxes of the Warlord figures and a Front Rank reinforcement pack plus 16 figures from elsewhere (or some more Front Rank or Perry figures) and that would give me 3x32 figure battalions of Landwher. Would the Calpe figures work or is the sculpting style too distinctive?

[Stavka]

Although the sculpting style is a little different, after looking at the pictures I would think that both Calpe and Front Rank's Landwehr would mix together okay.  

However, Warlord's do have a pretty distinct style- and being plastic, the bayonets would look a lot thinner alongside their metal brethren.

To be honest Calpe would have all the variety you would need, followed closely by FR.  Check out the photos on their websites (although Front Rank's is a lot easier to navigate).

Regarding the accuracy of the Warlord Landwehr, one irritant is too many swords, the blanket roll over the knapsacks, and of course the soft details on the sides (setting aside or now the fact that they all seem to be wearing boxing gloves) .  

Now all that said, I always find that regardless of different styles and sizes of miniatures, a unifying paint job and basing can really make the whole look better than the sum of it's parts.   And on the table top, a lot of any inaccuracies tend to be overlooked anyway, especially once the dice start rolling.  

Despite everything, and even with me being a stubborn grognard at heart, I use the Warlord Landwehr; but mostly as is, with only the occasional Calpe officer thrown in for variety.  

My next Landwehr purchase will probably be from Front Rank, and I will keep the figures in separate batallions.

[Littlearmies]

Thanks Stavka - another question? When I was looking at the Perry website they had Landwher command packs with standard bearers and without. Did only the first battalion of a regiment carry a flag?

[Stavka]

My understanding is that for Landwehr, any flags that may have been carried were unofficial- I don't believe there was any kind of regulation issue- certainly not until the wars were almost over, if at all- and that probably most battalions never carried any.

Mine, of course, all do.

[Siaba]

There were no regulation flag but only the first bataillon of the regiment had a flag.

[Warboss Nick]

Mixing manufacturers offen comes down to personal preference to a good extent IMHO. Perry are a bit more slender than the others but still work well with warlord and calpe infantry for me. Bayonnets are always a tad thicker on metals, even if you mix Perry plastics and metals, but that's something I accept for varieties sake.

[wrgmr1]

I am almost finished painting up just under 1000 Calpe Prussians.
Here is a link to my Photobucket.

http://s219.photobucket.com/user/tjm3/library/Calpe%20Prussians?sort=2&page=1

I have a few Warlord Landwehr and they are thinner than the Calpe. The caps, backpacks, bedrolls, muskets are all smaller. Height wise they are the same with Calpe maybe tad shorter. I can take a pic if you wish? Looking from above it is noticable that the caps are different sizes.
My Vote: Calpe and Front Rank.

Also flags: Only the first regular line battalions were issued with flags, however the reserve and Landwehr supposedly carried their own. Just for fun, I gave all line battalions of reserve and Landwehr flags, not the Fusiliers,

[wrgmr1]

I am almost finished painting up just under 1000 Calpe Prussians.
Here is a link to my Photobucket.

http://s219.photobucket.com/user/tjm3/library/Calpe%20Prussians?sort=2&page=1

I have a few Warlord Landwehr and they are thinner than the Calpe. The caps, backpacks, bedrolls, muskets are all smaller. Height wise they are the same with Calpe maybe tad shorter. I can take a pic if you wish? Looking from above it is noticable that the caps are different sizes.
My Vote: Calpe and Front Rank.

Also flags: Only the first regular line battalions were issued with flags, however the reserve and Landwehr supposedly carried their own. Just for fun, I gave all line battalions of reserve and Landwehr flags, not the Fusiliers,

[Littlearmies]

Thanks everyone for your help. I've ordered some Calpe figures along with a box of Warlord Landwher and I'll see how I go. I've a suspicion the FR reinforcement figures might be a slightly better match but I've admired the Calpe figures for years.

[PAULSPENCE]

Not sure that it's right that only the first battalion of line regiments carried a standard.

As I understand it both Musketeer battalions carried one.

Since double-checked and you're correct in that post from 1813 only the first battalion carried colours.

Gonna, like you, stick to all Musketeer battalions having flags.

No Line Fusilier battalions did.

Agree that Landwehr did there own thing so I even give my third battalion Landwehr "Fusiliers" flags  too!

Cheers,

Paul

[Littlearmies]

I received some Front Rank Reinforcement Landwehr packs this morning and they are simply gorgeous figures. Beautifully sculpted and very cleanly cast. They are clearly stockier than the Warlord plastics but match in height perfectly. Their caps are bigger and the bayonets are obviously much thicker (having received my Warlord Landwehr now I can understand the comments about their bayonets!). They work very well with the Warlord metal command figures. I suspect that if you are looking for a better match with the rank and file then the Perry metals might be better (but then they are shorter so you would need to add a millimetre or two to their base).

I'm still waiting on Calpe to come back to me - this business of having two websites is a pain in the bum.

[PAULSPENCE]

Re: "I'm still waiting on Calpe to come back to me - this business of having two websites is a pain in the bum."

Couldn't agree more that Calpe can be a challenge to deal with but just wait until you see their figures!

They're fabulous!

Persevere!

Cheers,

Paul

[Littlearmies]

Re: "I'm still waiting on Calpe to come back to me - this business of having two websites is a pain in the bum."

Couldn't agree more that Calpe can be a challenge to deal with but just wait until you see their figures!

They're fabulous!

The figures arrived this morning (both before Peter had billed me and before I'd paid for them which was very trusting of Peter) and they are indeed fabulous. I'm struggling to see any flash, or indeed mould lines. Better casting than even Front Rank which is generally trouble free in my experience. The Calpe figures look very chunky at first sight but I think this is because they are mostly festooned with gear - they seem to match well with the Front Rank reinforcement figures that are a tad shorter (mostly due to thicker Calpe bases) but nothing a thin shim wouldn't fix.

I've got enough of the two makes to produce a 32 figure battalion (and have some figures left over). As for the Warlord plastics they look rather pedestrian in comparison.