Reviews a'plenty: PART TWO

Hi Team
Yet more reviews
Yesterday I was out at EUREKA MINIATURES and as usual I was treated to a sneak peek at some of the upcoming releases and some of the currently available but not well known products
Firstly a look at some cute 'Pulp' characters.
I really like the female sculpts that EUREKA produce. The always look so 'Girly' rather than simply male figures with longer hair and breasts.
These US G.I Janes' are excellent examples:
The ladies can be purchased with backpacks and Garrison Caps / bareheaded or if you're so inclined with Rocket Packs and 'Futuristic' helmets.

BELOW: The MG Team is my favourite.
I can just see this young lady lying prone behind this MMG with her feet casually swaying to and fro as she sends some tracers down range,...

BELOW: Seems Rosie the Riveter is not content on the production line anymore,...
She means to do some harm to the vile Nazis with her spanner!

Now Last time I posted I mentioned that GUNNER DUNBAR (GD) was now taking commissions to paint miniatures.
I recently sent him some EMPRESS MINIATURES 28mm Modern Australians.
The EMPRESS MINIATURES are very nice sculpts and the fit in very well with my predominantly EUREKA MINIATURES Afghanistan Campaign collection.
Firstly to the actually painting that Dan did.
I'm simply blown away at how well GD captured the Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform  (DPCU) 'Oz Cam' pattern.
Not only are the colours and pattern spot on, but they subtle shading and subdued style works perfectly in this scale
He also added Goggles to the Helmets (with Green stuff I suspect) free of charge and without my prompting!!!!
How cool is that?! I mean, it hadn't even crossed my mine to request the modification but it's an obvious one really as ALL Australian Troops are issue Eye Protection as standard and no Digger would leave his FOB without them on him.
(Mods were done AFTER these photos were taken)
I could have had them painted in DigiCam, DPDU (the 2nd 'D' is for Desert) or DPCU.
I chose DPCU as it was the most common pattern used throughout Australia's commitment to OP SLIPPER (2001-14)
The photos speak for themselves.
Again, I cant recommend GD highly enough.

 BELOW: DPCU (left) DPDU (right)

Now as for the actual miniatures.

They are excellent.

As far as I know no one else does Aussie Diggers in 28mm apart from some SASR types that EUREKA do on Motorcycles and Quad Bikes

The sculpting is crisp with little flash to speak off. The range is comprehensive and there are no 'silly' poses.

One criticism,...

No self respecting Digger would EVER use his master hand to make a hand signal.

This chap below would get his arse so kicked by the Platoon Sergeant to using his master hand and taking his eyes away from where his muzzle is pointing whilst on patrol!!!

I purchased these Diggers from ELITE MINIATURES AUSTRALIA whom I HIGHLY recommend to anyone in Australia or New Zealand!
Service is OUTSTANDING and the owner Nathan is a top bloke and Ex Australian Soldier so he knows his stuff.
Anyway.
That's all for now.
More reviews shortly including a look at Chain Of Command V Bolt Action.

Reviews a'plenty PART ONE

Hi Team
I've a couple of reviews I need to share.
First I need to tell you about a FANTASTIC Painting service now available here in Australia.
My good mate 'Gunner Dunbar is now taking Commissions to paint your miniatures.
I've been having miniatures painted by Dan for some time now and I can tell you that he's the most talented artist I know who is currently 'painting for profit' at a price that wont cause your Minister For War and Finances to have a meltdown.
He is talented, quick, outstanding value and his communication with you the customer is beyond anything I've experienced with other painting services.
Not only will he paint your miniatures but he will modify them and or build them.
you can see Gunner Dunbar's rates and examples of his work here:
GUNNER DUNBAR PAINTING SERVICE
http://gunnerswargamming.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/now-taking-commissions-gunners-painting.html
 Here are some photos of just some of his outstanding work:

ABOVE: AB Miniatures 18mm Wurttemburg Light Infantry
BELOW: Converted AB Miniatures 18mm Bavarians. Heads swapped to create Bavarian Guard Grenadiers

ABOVE AND BELOW: Tartan!!!!

ABOVE AND BELOW: Converted PERRY MINIATURES rifles to represent Richard Sharpe's men. 

I can't recommend Gunner Dunbar more highly.
I rate his standard as 'SHOWCASE'.
There is a LABLE below (Dan Dunbar) where you can see more examples of his work!
5 out of 5!

Next I'd like to make mention of a new TERRAIN supplier.
Let's face it, most of us neglect that aspect of wargaming.
For the most part we insist on having at least half decent miniatures on our tables but then we drop the ball an use shoddy terrain.
Either we cant afford the good stuff, or we lack the time and or effort / skill required to make affordable stuff.
Good news.
Now you can purchase ready made, 'Good to Go' wargames quality terrain from STANLEY'S TERRAIN
No need to assemble or paint it. Just take it out of the box it comes in and place it on the table.
No, its not a 'Museum Quality' stuff,.. but its serviceable and value for money.
Here's some samples:

I myself have purchased a Minefield and a walled field / enclosure and I'm very happy.
Highly recommended.

OLD GLORY 2nd Edition Pre-Painted and VICTRIX Metal 28mm

Hi All
It's been a long time since my last entry on the Blog; (work keeps getting in the way of my social life). Anyhooo, I thought I'd share with you some pictures of some OLD GLORY 2ND EDITION (OG 2nd Ed) Pre-painted miniatures I recently aquired a few months back, (before my car blew up)!
Well, they aren't ALL OG, the two mounted officers are the very nice VICTRIX French Mounted Colonels. I painted the two mounted Colonels myself.
Now Old Glory (OG) have a reputation of producing figures that are either very good, or very bad. Their 2nd Edition figures though are, in my opinion very nice. I don't think they are as good as PERRY's, but for the price they are pretty good at "bulking" out your line.
I think they were sculpted by the same chap who does the very nice SASH AND SABER 28mm figures.
The Pre-painted figures also are rather good value for money, with 20 painted "center" company figures setting you back $70.00 USD, or 8 "flank" company or "Command" figures costing $33.50 USD. Now they are not painted to what I'd call SHOWCASE or MUSEUM standard, but certainly a good to very good WARGAMER's standard. Bottom line was I happy for what I paid? YES.
Will I buy more? Hmmmm,... well I hear REINFORCEMENTS BY POST may well be doing a similar deal with the OG 2nd Ed figs, so when I see what they look like I'll spend my hard earned on what ones take my fancy,...
BELOW: French 36th Line Regt with a Mounted VICTRIX Colonel.
Notice the beautiful VICTRIX Colour (flag). It's as good as any flag you'll pay a couple of dollars for and you get about 8 of them FREE with a box of VICTRIX Plastic 28mm French infantry!!!

BELOW: The Eagle bearer, drummer and Officer of the 36th Line Regt. A much better look at the VICTRIX flag in this picture.


BELOW: The Grenadier Company of the 36th Line. I did repaint the Pom Poms and wings on the Grenadiers, (as the red was to subdued for my liking).

BELOW: a closer look at the Mounted Colonel of the 36th. The photo has made the horse look a lot "whiter" than it is, and has blured / blended the shading. This miniature looks a bit nicer in the flesh than this photo actually shows, (honestly).

BELOW: The Mounted Colonel and his charges of the 27th Line! The VICTRIX metals are beautiful miniatures. I'd rate them the equal of the PERRY's, (and that's saying something)!

BELOW: the 27th and 36th Line Regiments advance!

(BELOW) Old Glory 2ndEd Pre-painted figures as viewed from behind:

I based the figures on VICTRIX 40mm square bases.

Feel free to leave a comment!

Cheers

Trailape

The Results are in!

Hi All
I've already made comment on the service provided by Reinforcements By Post's (RBP), (see my comments dated 15 Sept), but since the actual figures have now arrived, I thought I'd finalize my review of their work.
I sent of several units to be painted, (mainly OLD GLORY miniatues). One unit I was keen to have was A Young Guard Battalion. (seen here on the left). The Young Guard miniatures were actually AB Miniatures with a Old Glory Miniatures mounted officer.
You can see more pictures of the work done by RBP by looking up my 15 Sept comments.
I was very pleased with the results. Very subtle highlighting and washes were applied, and and the units had a level of character about them that the other service providers didn't seem to provide in my humble opinion. I also had the figures based, and am pleased to say that aspect was also done to a very high standard. The OG miniatures, (that really require a good artist to get the most out of them), were very pleasing.
Packaging:
GOOD. I'd have to give them a 7.5/10.
The figures were packed by units in small boxes with foam "peanuts", and then sealed within by tape. Given the figures were based, it would not have been possible to wrap them as MCM or FE had, but I did think that DPS packaging system was superior. All the same, I think only two bayonets were "lost" in shipment.
Accessing the figures from the packaging was hassel free,
PAINTING:
As for the figures themselves; they were painted to a very high standard; 8.5 out of 10.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
These guys were the "mid-range priced" figures to get painted, (MCM the most expensive, and DPS probaby fractionally cheaper given the miniature was included). I won't include FE here, as they painted my figures to "COLLECTOR" standard, (a level below that of the other painting service providers).
Score? I'd say 8.5 out of 10 .
Finally, a customer service score is now required.
Communication was great! Neil kept me informed every step of the way, asked for clarification where needed, and provided exaclty what was asked for. Banter was polite and friendly, and he offered suggestions that ultimately resulted in a happier customer.
Like FE, the figures also took quite a while to get to me, but there were some issues at the "customs" end of the line that was beyond RBP's influence.
Lets give RBP a 8 out of 10.
That gives RBP a total of 32.5 / 40.
In summary; fantastic customer service, and beautifully painted minatures at a reasonable price.
Now lets look at all the service providers SIDE BY SIDE!
The Infantry First:

Here we have (L-R) MCM,RBP,FE and DPS


MCM French Light Infantry, (based by me), and RBP French YOUNG GUARD, (based by RBP).
Next we have FE French Line Infantry (based by me), and DPS OLD GUARD, (based by DPS).
Now for the Cavalry:
Here we have them in the following order, again L-R)
MCM Saxons, RBP French Chasseurs, FE Italian Chasseurs and DPS Bavarians. As with the infantry, I'll let the figures speak for themselves. The final results are as follows:
FE- 31
MCM- 32.5
RBP - 32.5
DPS - 33

If you discount FE, (as they were requested to paint to a standard below the other three), you'll see that only half a point separates them.
Personally I like MCM's work the most, but RBP is a very very close second. So much for the scoring system.
I'd recommend buying DPS via EBAY. You can get some real bargains going that way. For me subsequent communication issues with orders I've since placed with them, (DPS) has turned me off. I'd also recommend FE, but make sure you're very descriptive in EXACTLY what you want.


Bye for now!

Fernando's Troops Are Ready For Inspection; SIR!

BELOW: two views of Napoleon and his Household at Boridino 1812.
Painted by Model Citizen Miniatures, based by Trailape. Napoleon broods as Berthier dictates orders! In the background the Old Guard waits, (and grumbles).

Hi All
I've finally got all my figures back from the various Painting Service providers.
You might remember I sent a swag of miniatures off to the following Painting Service providers:
1. Fernando Enterprise (FE),
2. Reinforcements By Post (RBP),
3. Model Citizen Miniatures, (MCM); and
4. Dragon Painting Service
I've already commented on DPS, and MCM. That leaves RBP and FE.

Let's now review the offerings from Fernando Enterprise:
They were the last to arrive. They took about 5 months or so to return to me from time of dispatch at my end to their eventual return.
I asked for about 10 different units to be painted to "COLLECTOR" standard. This is one level down from what I've asked the other painting services to do. The only reason for this was that to have them painted to "SHOWCASE" standard was going to take a rather long time. As it turned out they still took a month or so longer than expected.
I did send about 300 figures!
Packaging:
VERY GOOD. I'd have to give them a 8.5/10.
Most of the figures were packed and wrapped in foam, (but some were simply placed in individual zip-lock bags and the placed in larger plastic bags. The lot was then packed buy Order Lots (regiments) in boxes lined with tissue and bubble wrap. I dropped the boxes a couple of time and no harm was done. These could easily take the normal Postal Service poundings. All the same, a couple of Bayonets did snap off.

Accessing the figures from the packaging was easy, with little chance of the customer damaging the figs in the process of un-packing!
(Trust me, it happens)!
PAINTING:
As for the figures themselves; they were painted to a rather high standard.
They were painted with some shading and highlights. We did have some issues with the occasional unit; (I thought for a while there we'd never get my Provisional Croation Regiment painted ); but other than that the uniforms were on the whole historically correct as far as I could tell.
The only other issue is that one regiment has the Fusiliers (center Company's) with red cord on their Shakos, (should be white). A minor pain, (and all the other units have the correct white cords on the Fusiliers.
As I did ask for a "Collector standard" I'll give FE a 7 out of 10.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
These guys were the cheapest figures to get painted, (obviously as they were painted to a "lower" standard in comparison to the other painting services).
Having said that, they were not that much off the mark in comparison with the other painters.
So on the Value For Money scale let's hand FE a 9 out of 10
Finally, a customer service score is now required. Communication was a slight issue. The saga of getting the Croats painted is a good example of what I'm talking about. The figures also took quite a while to get to me
Lets give FE a 6.5 out of 10.
That gives FE a total of 31 / 40.
In summary; I'll be sending more figures FE's way.
I must stress though it's VERY IMPORTANT that you provide as much detail in your painting instructions as humanly possible. Don't assume the artists can tell the difference between a greatcoat and a jacket. The best option is to send a painted sample of what you want done, and/or as many detailed pictures as possible.
I recommend using pictures available from the Histofig site:
http://empire.histofig.com/-Armees-et-Uniformes-.html?lang=en
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the work done by FE:
Italian Royal Guard (top) and Velites of The Guard (below).

Above is the Guard Conscripts of the Italian Royal Guard behind a battery of French Foot Artillery and below is a French Line Regiment. All painted by FE. Based by me.
I'll soon provide a review of our last Service Provider, Reinforcements By Post (RBP); and a final SIDE BY SIDE look at the work done.
Cheers