I recently placed an order with the guys at Westfalia Miniatures. I ordered some Rude Highlanders, (a pair of miniature), a set of eight Hanovarian Kiemannsegges Jaegers, a set of three French Engineers in body armour and a set of four Prussian Medical staff.
Lets have a look at the Highlanders first I think:
They are called 'Rude' Highlanders and they certainly are that. Both miniatures are sculpted in the act of taunting their French enemies with uplifted kilts. The miniatures are excellent sculptures. There is plenty of detail and the posing is excellent. They really appear to taunting their opponents in the time honoured fashion we have come to expect from the Scots. The uniforms are historically accurate and if something is not how is should be I'm not aware of what could be missing. I'm really impressed with the detail in the faces of these lads. They are clearly having fun. If I had one criticism it's that the Scot on the left hasn't got a musket. A loose musket that could be placed at his feet or resting against a fence post or wall would have been a nice touch but I'm really just being picky now. Overall these two lads a a must for any serious (or not so serious) collector of a Napoleonic war British army. There was no flash on the miniatures at all. What you see here is exactly as I received them out of the pack. For 3 GBP I think they are very good value for money, (after all, it's not like you will need an entire battalion of these guys).
They are certainly compatible with Perry Miniatures (my prefered manufacturer of Napoleonic Brits).
How you pose / base them is umm up to you.
Let's now look at the Hanovarians.
There are eight miniatures in this set, consisting of an Officer, Hornist, one Sharpshooter, (the chap with the fancy epaulette on the right shoulder) and five Jaegers either shooting, dashing forward or loading.
Sculpting and posing is first class. All thedetail is there, and these chaps, like the others, look as if they will paint up a treat.
The subjects are a rather obscure unit, and I'm not sure if any other manufacturer is producing them. 12 GBP for these eigth miniature is I think good value. You'll only need one packet of these lads, and eight is a good number for a skirmish unit. Again, I'm think of SHARP PRACTICE for these guys.
Again, as you can see no flash to speak of.
The Officer (Captain) is a very serious and grim faced chap. He means business.
You can find details on this unit during the '100 Days' HERE
Now for the Prussian Medical Staff Set.
You get four miniatures. A Battalion Surgeon, two Company Surgeons and (I think) a 'Squadron' Surgeon.
Again, sculpting, posing and detail is excellent. The uses for these miniatures is limited only by your imagination, but casualty markers immediately springs to my mind. I particularly like the kneeling chap. He has a sword at his feet, (just the thing for defending himself and his patient). The Surgeon with the apron and saw in hand would look nice in a little diorama at the rear of your army.
Priced at 6 GBP they a good value for money in my humble opinion.
I suspect the Doctor with the Bicorn hat on the right here could be painted as a British Surgeon.
All these miniature are very robust. The French Sapper with the pick was of concern, as the pick handle is rather thin, but I was able to bend the pick without fear of it snapping.
All these miniature have real character. They are amoungst some of the best sculpted miniatures I've seen.
Finally I was also sent a French Ammunition wagon \ Cassion. You can see an assembled version at the Westfalian Miniatures website HERE
Assembly is very straight forward and all the parts fit together without any dramas.
This will look the biz indeed as part of my Gun Park directly behind a batter of cannon.
PRICE at time of this review: 8 GBP.
In Summary I would HIGHLY recommend Westfalia Miniatures to you for excellent quality miniatures.
They are certainly a producer of quality miniatures offering those 'unique' miniatures you probably will struggle to find anywhere else, but will add that vital bit of 'character' to your army.
Comments welcomed.
Cheers