Options for 25mm (rather than 28mm) medievals - especially knights?

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

Thunderbolt Mountain (through Ral Partha Legacy) Arthurians - not historical knights but  OK for fantasy RPG.  They also have mounted and foot versions of characters.
There is a stockist in UK
https://www.miniature-heroes.co.uk/product_brand/thunderbolt-mountain/

[Hobgoblin]

Have you considered 3D prints? I’ve bought some nice Vae Victis stuff from Etsy printed at 28mm rather than 32mm. I imagine they’d do 25mm for you too.

I hadn't! That's a good suggestion - thanks! I'll have a look and see what's out there. My preference is probably for cheap and cheerful old-school metal miniatures, but I'm keeping an open mind (as with the Caesar 1/72 dwarves mentioned above and the Dark Alliance 1/72 elves, which are the same size as Ral Partha elves).

I was trying to double-check the size of Irregular "28s" and found this blog, which backs up Inkpaduta's point: that left-hand figure is much smaller than I'd imagined. So I think I might get some of their spearmen (as town guards/hirelings) and perhaps some knights and archers (or other bandit types too). But I'm in no rush and will scrutinise the other options first. Some Irregular figures are a bit rough, but others are really quite nice.

[Hobgoblin]

Thunderbolt Mountain (through Ral Partha Legacy) Arthurians - not historical knights but  OK for fantasy RPG.  They also have mounted and foot versions of characters.
There is a stockist in UK
https://www.miniature-heroes.co.uk/product_brand/thunderbolt-mountain/

Ah - thanks! Yes, I'd forgotten that those were available here. They're lovely - though a bit pricey. But I might consider one or two for some important NPCs or villains.

Another thought. It might be worth having a look at the Midlam Miniatures website, if you haven’t done so already, as some of the old Metal Magic figures might work for you.

Another good call - thanks! Yes, I have one 80s survivor in the pile of potential PCs, and a few of the orcs and hobgoblins on the painting desk. I'll give the humans another look. My hunch is that most are more towards the slotta-era Citadel ranges in size, but there might be exceptions, like the one I have earmarked for this project (a cleric, I think).

[Captain Harlock]

Those thunderbolt mountain stuff are really nice 
Not stumpy anatomy AND cool designs, they would be really great Melnibonians

[Orctrader]

If you don't mind hard plastic that you assemble yourself, Zvezda Ring Of Rule Royal Infantry.  OOP, I think - I bought mine 10 - 15 years ago.  Described as 28mm but they look much smaller to me.  (Well, last time I looked.  I have them in a box somewhere.   )

[vodkafan]

I would put in another vote for Irregular Miniatures. Old Glory are also small depending what packs you get. I do remember the Agincourt knights definitely being small, although the Archers are beefier and just about pass muster for 28mm.
So of it is small foot knights you want Old Glory would be a good economical option, you could change weapons around and have 30 different for not much more than a quid each   

[Hobgoblin]

If you don't mind hard plastic that you assemble yourself, Zvezda Ring Of Rule Royal Infantry.  OOP, I think - I bought mine 10 - 15 years ago.  Described as 28mm but they look much smaller to me.  (Well, last time I looked.  I have them in a box somewhere.   )

Thanks - I had a look at some on eBay, and yes, they would certainly work. Out of production as you say, though, and the eBay prices are a little steep.

I would put in another vote for Irregular Miniatures. Old Glory are also small depending what packs you get. I do remember the Agincourt knights definitely being small, although the Archers are beefier and just about pass muster for 28mm.
So of it is small foot knights you want Old Glory would be a good economical option, you could change weapons around and have 30 different for not much more than a quid each   

Yes, I'm increasingly leaning towards Irregular. These guys (from the Irregular website) would make great town guards:

[Thew2]

It's worth noting that Irregular re-sculpted their 25/28mm ranges, I think in the early-mid 2000s.  Their original ranges were definitely 25mm, but the new ranges are more like modern 28s, so may not be what you are after.  I could try and dig out some old and new Irregular figures to give you an idea of size.

[RSDean]

Another good call - thanks! Yes, I have one 80s survivor in the pile of potential PCs, and a few of the orcs and hobgoblins on the painting desk. I'll give the humans another look. My hunch is that most are more towards the slotta-era Citadel ranges in size, but there might be exceptions, like the one I have earmarked for this project (a cleric, I think).

I’m a fan of the old Metal Magic figures dating back to the early ‘90s when they were stocked by my FLGS.  They do run rather larger than classic Ral Partha.  Here are two Midlam/Metal Magic castings in the center flanked by an old Ral Partha elf and a human rogue. You’d have to decided whether that amount of variation is aesthetically acceptable to you:

[Thew2]

To illustrate the size of the new Irregular figures, attached shows, from L to R:
Ral Partha 25mm swiss halberdier, Irregular Viking, Ral Partha 25mm axeman, Irregular Viking, Citadel WOTR (smaller type). Hope this is useful.

[bluewillow]

Foundry would be my suggestion some of the range were the original Bretonians

[italwars]

Very interesting topic ..some small 25mm are still very useful because, like Ral Partha and Naismith , for example, they can acceptably mixed wit todays plastic 1/72 (Strelets) ..you mentioned that the old Citadel sold by Foundry are small 25mm..do you mean like the above mentioned Ral Partha ? That to say so small to be fielded close to 1/72 plastics?

[Thew2]

Hi italwars. I think the only two foundry (old citadel) ranges that might be close to Ral Parth 25s are some of the Wars of the Roses, and possibly the Wars of Religion. Both of these ranges were sculpted as historical ranges in the early 80s when smaller 25mm was the norm. The crossbowman on the RH side of my photo is from the Wars of the Roses range and is noticeably small and slight compared to modern 28s.

I don't have any of the Wars of Religion, so unfortunately can't confirm the size of them. Also, to confuse matters further, some of the foundry Wars of the Roses range is quite a lot larger/chunkier, so there is variety within the range. I think the original smaller citadel figures are listed here:

https://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Historical_-_War_of_the_Roses_(C26)

And here:

https://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Historical_-_Wars_of_Religion

Citadel also did an extensive 25mm Dark Age range. It's a great shame they're not still available, and I'd love to know where that range went.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks very much for these comparisons! That certainly rules out the Irregular Vikings, though those are clearly labelled as 'remodelled' on the site, so the stuff from the later Middle Ages should still work.

The Metal Magic figures look to be just within within my range of tolerance for PCs, albeit at the upper end. Conversely, the very old Ral Partha figures (the ones from the late 70s) are at the lower end. Happily, most of the ones I have are female figures, which works fine: sexual dimorphism tends to be somewhat underplayed by designers, I think, both in height and bulk.

itawars: I had originally planned this as a 1/72 project and will still use some 1/72 creatures in it. Dark Alliance 1/72 elves are really 25mm, for example - or perhaps are Tolkien-style 7' elves in that scale. I made the switch to 25mm because I realised I was never going to use the various 25mm adventurer figures I had amassed otherwise - things like the old Grenadier (Julie Guthrie, especially) and RAFM miniature, which were just too big to work well with 1/72.

I'd say that old Citadel/Foundry 25s are a little too big to work with 1/72. I think the Dark Age range that Thew2 mentions might be closer, though they do have quite large heads.

Foundry would be my suggestion some of the range were the original Bretonians

I think those ones (the 'feudals') are a bit bigger than the WotR stuff - proper 28mm. They certainly used to be when they were slottabased Citadel figures. In particular, they have bigger heads and hands. I think the same's true of the older Foundry Vikings, Saxons and Normans, which are quite chunky 28s; the newer Vikings are even chunkier.

[Thew2]

Thanks very much for these comparisons! That certainly rules out the Irregular Vikings, though those are clearly labelled as 'remodelled' on the site, so the stuff from the later Middle Ages should still work.

Hi Hobgoblin.  I would definitely check with Irregular before buying, or just get a few samples.  I think there is a very good chance the medieval ranges have also been remodelled, possibly so long ago that they took down the notice.  It might also be worth checking with Irregular if they still hold their old moulds for the 25mm stuff, as they might still be available on special order.