Review: Napoleon at War - French Infantry Brigade

So I picked the Napoleon at War French Infantry Brigade a while ago and have finally gotten around to working on them and I thought you might like some feedback. I will update this post as I work on the models. However, some first impressions: the sculpting is nice, a tad stocky but I like the look of them; the detail is likewise pretty good; the variation in poses is limited but acceptable, for instance there are two officer sculpts, plus the mounted officers, there are four voltigeur sculpts and I think three grenadier sculpts. There is minimal flash, I just clipped some off the bayonets. The metal is fairly soft and pliable, so it bends easily but does not break. Always a compromise I guess.

In my opinion I give them an A-/B+, I really like them actually so far. I will see how they paint up. In comparison I would say they are up there with the AB and CGM, but not quite as good. Still, they look a nice fit if you want to mix and match.

What do you actually get? The box says 4 infantry battalions, 2 mounted officers, unit bases for a total of 114 foot figures, 2 mounted figures. which is incorrect. You actually get 4 battalions of 29 foot each (116) plus the 2 mounted officers. They mix of figures was good and it was obvious they had packed to give the maximum number of variations. The box is really set up as a brigade with two regiments. That is there are only two eagles with the alternate battalions having a standard bearer. Each battalion is made up of 18 line infantry, 4 grenadiers, 4 voltigeurs, officer, drummer, standard bearer (29x4) and one mounted officer for each regiment (1x2) and accompanying horses (1x2).

Some photos out of the box before cleaning them up:

15/18mm Napoleonic basing (rules)

So I am getting back into modelling, I have lots of models to paint, lots of units, but how should I base them? I buy AB, Campaign Game Miniatures, Warmodelling, Eureka and Napoleon at War. All of which are closer to 18mm than the old 15mm standard model. On top of that, even though I live in a regional part of the country of Australia, which is already a regional part of the world, I still hold out hopes of having some wargames. What to do?

So the next question is what set of rules should I base towards? I did a survey of what rule sets are the most popular and came up with some suggestions. Lasalle, Black Powder, Napoleon at War, Field of Glory and General de Brigade are the most obvious rule sets I have found.

So back in the day I started wargaming with my dad. First in 25mm and later in 15mm. he got interested in 6mm but that was too small for me. I like the new 18mm/15mm maxis, I like the combination of quality, price and detail. I have been tempted by the 28mm model available now, there are some very nice models. But for now I am sticking to 15mm/18mm. We also used 12 men to a unit and roughly a 50/1 ratio.

Many systems rely upon the length of a unit along its face for gameplay.

Lasalle
What is nice about Lasalle is that you can buy Lasalle battalions packs from from AB, WarModelling and Campaign Game Miniatures make varied size battalion packs.

Lasalle units are broken into Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. Infantry and Cavalry can be either Small or Large units. Large units have six bases and Small units have four bases. Each of these bases can be of varied size and numbers of figures but there are some recommended base sizes (although not dimensions). These are:

Infantry: 4x2 (40mm x 25mm) (Small unit is 4 bases ~ 24 figures, Large unit is 6 bases ~ 40 figures)
Cavalry: 1x3 (40mm x 25mm) (Small unit is 4 bases ~ 12 figures, Large unit is 6 bases ~ 18 figures)
Artillery: (40mm x c 25mm) (circa 4 figures plus 1 gun)

Figure 1 Lasalle basing guide from Sam Mustafa's rule book (link)

Black Powder (BP)
Reviews
From what I can tell this rule set is very popular, it is also quite flexible when it comes to base sizes. They do have a guide to unit sizes with Standard Size being what most units should be, with Large Small and Tiny being exceptional. Units can also vary slightly from these in number.

Infantry: 24-30 (Standard), 36-40 (large), 12-16 (small), 5-6 (tiny)
Cavalry: 12-16 (standard), 18 (large),  6-8 (small), 3-4 (tiny)
Artillery: 1 gun and crew

There is no set size for bases or even recommended for 15mm figures. The 25mm recommendations are Infantry (2x2, 40mm x 40mm) and Cavalry (2x1, 50mm x 50mm).
http://www.warlordgames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=907

Napoleon at War (NaW)
I like this system because it is all done for you, unit size and bases already sorted out. Also what I don't like, combined with the odd sized bases making it hard to work with other systems. Also, why the four skirmishers separate from the rest of each battalion? Which countries actually had skirmishers that acted like skirmishes and kept them attached to each battalion?

Infantry battalion - approximately 28 figures: 6 infantry stands (2x2, 26mm x 32mm), 2 skirmish stands (2x1, 30mm x 15mm)
Cavalry regiment - approximately 12 figures: 4 cavalry stands (1x3, 45mm x 40mm)
Artillery battery - 4 figures, 1 gun (45mm x 40mm)
Commander - 1 figure (26mm x 32)

Figure 2 Napoleon at War basing guide by FleetfootMike @ troubleatthemill.blogspot.com.au/

Field of Glory (FoG)
Very good review by John de Terre Neuve. They also have a quick start version so you can try before you can buy.  As John points out there is a nice compatibility between Lasalle and Black powder. The major difference in approach is that as opposed to a ratio of 20-25/1 the units represent higher order formations with one base in theory equalling Infantry (300-500 men), Cavalry (125-200 mounts) (that is roughly 40-60/1), Artillery (6-9 guns) and in practice even greater variation.

Infantry: 4x2 (40mm x 30mm)
Cavalry: 3x1 (40mm x 30mm)
Artillery: 4/4 figures, 1 gun (40mm x 30+mm/whatever fits)
Skirmishers & Irregular: less figures per base.

General de Brigade
I don't know much about GdB rules but there are plenty of discussions, reviews and an General de Brigade blogspot to check out. The most obvious place to start is Deep Fried Happy Mice, awesome as is usual. The rules have a 20/1 ratio for figure to troops making it compatible with most of the other rules.

General de Division: 40mm x 40 mm – two to four figures.
General de Brigade: 30mm wide x 35mm deep – one or two figures.
Infantry: 12mm-15mm per figure. Single rank.
Cavalry: 10mm-12mm per figure mounted in pairs, threes or even fours.
Single rank.
Artillery: 30mm-40mm per model gun. One gun per base crewed by
four figures

An example of basing from JCMiniatures Blogspot called The Waterloo Campaign in Miniature has multiple plates suggesting basing for the Battle of Quatre-Bras.

Overview
What is clear from this review is that all basing systems are similar and although the ratio for units varies (20-25/1 for most to FoGs roughly 40-60/1). However, the sizes do vary slightly with 40mm x 30/25mm for FoG and Lasalle. Black Powder is flexible, but is compatible with any of the other systems in base size. NaW is the odd one out and I really dislike the odd size of their infantry bases because they would appear to have done this just to make it harder to use other model brands. Having said that I actually like the larger bases of NaW.

I think the main issue is that basing systems beside NaW are for 15mm models, whereas NaW, AB and Campaign Game Miniatures are all closer to 18mm. I know this is all just rough but that is a 20% increase in size (one of the reasons I love the maxi 15mm models, I wish 20mm were the norm, hence my temptation by 28mm). The 40mm x 25mm bases look far too small and cramped to my eye for 4x2 infantry or 3 cavalry. 40mm x 30mm is little better. 50mm x 30mm, very close to NaW looks much better aesthetically.

There is a further issue and that is what do you use to base your models. In the past I have used think cardboard. It is easy to use and lasts quite well. When I was a kid we used plywood, way too think, but lasts great! Today you can buy plastic, metal, wood, magnetic all pre-cut. But these come in many sizes from what I have been able to find but normally in 10mm increments. You can also buy NaW bases so you can theoretically use them with any models, but again the times I have checked the NaW webstore and a reseller I found on the web from England they have never been in stock.

there is really no way to have your basing all compatible with each system, unless of course everyone simply uses the same basing system. However, it would seem that 40mm x 30mm as a standard basing size for infantry and cavalry with more depth for artillery would give the most versatile system (it is easier to pretend your line is longer, say with a marker, than if it is shorter). The odd sizes of NaW bases are a pain, especially if it becomes popular. I suspect it was a conscious choice to make their system incompatible and force you to buy models and bases. I like to be able to pick and chose my models from different companies based upon what I am looking to put together. 52mm x 32mm (2x 26mm x 32mm) for infantry and 45mm x 40mm for cavalry are just a pain to replicate. I do have a box of NaW, but I think I will base them to match my other models.

Having put this together I am not sure of what to do. I am very tempted to follow the 40mm x 30mm standard to make sure I am the same as most others. But as I said it looks cramped to me with the 15mm maxies on them.

Infantry: 40x30 or 50x30?
Cavalry: 40x30 or 50x40

PS my next post is on Cossacks! Get a peek at the prints I have collected together here :)


Last updated 5/14

Russian Project: 1

It seems modelling the Russian campaign of 1812 is all the rage, as well as having new ranges coming out. Having been focused on the Peninsula for some years and never having done any Russians I thought it was about time! I also thought I would give the Lasalle battalions from Eureka and Warmodelling a go. I also got the 36 figure battalions from Campaign Game Miniatures.

My orders are as follows:

Campaign Game Miniatures

1 x 36RUS002 Musketeers / Jagers Advancing with Command 36 figs

1 x 36RUS004 Musketeers / Jagers NO Backpack Marching with Command 36 figs

1 x 36RUS001 Musketeers / Jagers Marching with Command 36 figs

1 x 36RUS005 Musketeers / Jagers NO Backpack Skirmish / Firing Line 36 figs

1 x 36RUS007 Grenadiers / Guard Advancing with Command 36 figs

1 x 12RUSC001 Hussars Charging with Command x 12 figures

1 x 12RUSC006 Dragoons at Rest with Command x 12 figures

1 x RUSA002         Foot Artillery Crew Loading x 8 figs (4 variants)

1 x RUSG002         12lb Russian Cannon x 2

1 x FOFW001         Napoleon, 4 Marshals & 2 ADCs mounted

20496H Plastic W/Magnetic Bottom (Thick) - 40mm x 30mm- 12 per pack

128.81EUR (there is a standard postage added, I used paypal. Postage is calculated on posting and the difference was refunded to my account), plus local tax in Europe.

Infantry: about AUS$0.57 per man or 0.45EUR

Cavalry: about AUS$1.26 per man and mount or 1EUR

Artillery: about AUS$0.57 per man and AUS$2.27 per gun or 0.45EUR and 1.80EUR respectively.

Generals/mounted officers: about AUS$2.02 per man and mount of 1.60EUR

Eureka Miniatures (AB)

1 x Foot artillery - heavy limber team (AB-RA10) 

4 x Foot artillery, loading (AB-RA02) 

1 x 12pdr gun (AB-RA07) 

1 x Russian Staff Officers mounted (AB-R25)

1 x Russian Generals (AB-R26) 

2 x Infantry Battalion (Empire, Liberation) (AB-LAS-R04) 

1 x Cuirassiers (Empire, Liberation) (AB-LAS-R12)

I also received three sample early Russian artillery in greatcoat. This is not the first time I have received free samples (some long before I started this blog, it is not related, they just do it sometimes I think to advertise new lines). This is much appreciated!

AU$108.18 plus postage (at cost, calculated and charged to my account at posting), plus local tax in Australia.

Infantry: about AUS$0.80 per man

Cavalry: about AUS$1.60 per man and mount

Artillery: about AUS$0.91 per man and AUS$3.64 per gun

Generals/mounted officers: about AUS$1.82 per man and mount

Warmodelling

1 x NG-14 Unicorne (10 Pounds)

1 x RN-60 Mounted Officers

1 x RN-72 Kutuzov & ADC

1 x RNA-01 Foot Artillerymen

1 x RNA-05 Artillery Limber Team & Riders (4 Horses)

1 x xBB-114/32 Jägers Firing / Loading

1 x xBB-130/18 Uhlans

1 x xBB-132/12 Cossacks

1 x xBB-142/32 Paulov Grenadiers

1 x xBB-147/32 Musketeer in Greatcoat

92.70EUR plus 12EUR standard postage, plus I paid local tax it seems. If you look at the price on the warmodelling site the prices are roughly 20% less than above. Not sure why they charged tax. I don't really care as they are still cheap but I will ask them and tell you what they say.

Infantry: about AUS$0.55 per man or 0.34EUR

Cavalry: about AUS$1.27 per man and mount or 1EUR

Artillery: about AUS$0.74 per man and AUS$2.22 per gun or 0.59EUR and 1.75EUR respectively.

Generals/mounted officers: about AUS$2.54 per man and mount or 2EUR

These have not arrived yet as far as I can tell. I will go down to the post office Tuesday to see if they have the package there (Monday is Queen's Birthday holiday here in Ozland).

The Army

8 x infantry battalions

2 x grenadier battalions (1 is Pavlov grenadiers, I know they stopped wearing their banana hats by the 1812 campaign but they look so cool!)

1 x Hussars

1x Dragoons

1 x Cuirassiers

1 x Cossacks

1 x Uhlans

4 x 12lb guns, 2 x Unicorn guns, 4 x men per gun

1 x foot artillery limber. I thought I had grabbed more. I might get one more from Campaign Game Miniatures and Warmodelling.

Plus assorted generals and officers because you can never have enough of these :)

Price Comparison

The price comparison is something that is really only relevant for when I bought the models. And that  was about two weeks ago. The Australian dollar has been strong, being on par with the US$ for some time, but it was not that long ago it was around US$0.70-80 (and a long tome ago it hovered around US$0.50!). We are not quite as strong against the Euro, which is similar to the $US against the Euro.

What also has to be taken into consideration are that I bought Lasalle packs which might have bought down the prices a little. 

So for what it is worth here are the price comparisons. The Campaign Game Miniatures come out on top in Infantry and artillerymen, and roughy equal on cavalry and guns. For generals and mounted officers Eureka comes out as cheapest and Warmodelling as quite expensive. The surprise result are the artillery guns from Eureka (AB) being roughly 160% more than from Warmodelling or Campaign game.

                    Infantry Cavalry Artillerymen Guns Generals/M.officers

Eureka (AB)         $0.80 $1.60 $0.91        $3.64 $1.82

Campaign Game     $0.45 $1.26 $0.57        $2.27 $2.02

Warmodelling         $0.55 $1.27 $0.74        $2.22 $2.54

Coming up next is a comparison of the models, then we move on to painting.

Flags!

I have been looking around at the different flag companies and sources and thought I would put them all here in one place. You could buy the Osprey books, scan, modify and print them. But why when you have so many good options on line. Hope you find it useful and if you have any comments on who to use please feel free to comment.

Warflags

Free flag website, scale to suit. I imagine everyone must know about this website. Like it says on the page if you can't find what you want herre look at Napflags below. There are instructions on how to scale and use the flag images.

France 1794 Pattern, France 1804 Pattern, France 1812 Pattern, French Line Fanions, French Young Guard Fanions, Prussia  (same as Seven Years War), Kleve-Berge, Austria, Denmark,Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Westphalia, Baden, Russia, Switzerland, Nassau, Wurtzburg, Hesse- Darmstadt, 5th Rhine Conf' and early version of Hesse-Darmstadt, Mecklenberg, Wurttemberg,, Brunswick

Napflags

Free, scale flags to suit. A subsite of Warflags. They are more detailed than Warflags. So I guess whatever your taste runs to :)

The Empire of Austria, The Grand Duchy of Kleve Berg, The Grand Duchy of Baden, The Kingdom of Naples, The Kingdom of Bavaria, Netherlands, Batavian Republic, Kingdom of Holland, United Provinces, The Duchy of Brunswick, Poland, The Duchy of Warsaw, The Kingdom of Denmark, The Kingdom of Portugal, The Empire of France, The Kingdom of Prussia, Germany - The smaller states and principalities, The Empire of Russia, The Kingdom of Great Britain, The Kingdom of Saxony, The Electorate of Hannover, The Kingdom of Spain, The Landgraviate of Hesse Kassel, The Kingdom of Sweden, The Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstat, The United States of America, The Kingdom of Italy, The Kingdom of Westfalia, The Kingdom of Wurttemburg

GMB Designs

A UK company with flags for 15mm figures. Online buying, a large selection. These flags look very nice! £3.25 for each pack, £4 for second battalion packs available on request.

French Armies 1804 to 1815
Russian Napoleonic Infantry  1797~1815
Russian Napoleonic Cavalry   1797~1815
British Napoleonic Infantry 1808~1815
British Napoleonic Cavalry
Hanoverian Infantry Regiments.  1813-15
Prussian Infantry & Cavalry  1813~1815
Austrian Napoleonic Infantry and Cavalry 1792 to 181                                                                                                                                                                          
Portuguese Napoleonic Infantry and Cavalry
Spanish Napoleonic Infantry and Cavalry
United Netherlands ( Dutch/Belgian ) 1815                                                                                                                                                                  
German States ( Nassau, Brunswick, Kleve-Berg, Wurttemburg & Hesse-Darmstadt )                                                                                                                                                          
Saxon Infantry 1811-15
Westphalian Napoleonic Infantry
Neapolitan Napoleonic Infantry  1809~1815                                                                                    
Italian Napoleonic Infantry 1808~1813
Bavarian Napoleonic Infantry
Duchy of Warsaw                                                                
Vistula Legion and Polish Napoleonic

Fighting 15s

UK company. These are stated as being specially designed for AB figures which presumably means that they are designed to be used with grand 15mm figures (18mm). Some people swear by them, they look pretty good! 9 flag sheets usually covering two or three regiments are £3.50. I really like the idea of the Orders of Battle pack.

Austria & Hungary
Britain
Brunswick
Confederation of the Rhine: Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, Saxony, Westphalia, Wurttemberg, Wurzburg.
France
Italy
Kingdom of Italy, Kingdom of Naples
Minor Countries: Holland, United Provinces, Hanover, Helvetian Republic, Switzerland.
Nordic Countries: Denmark, Sweden & Finland.
Poland
Portugal & Spain
Russia
Prussia
Orders of Battle: Albuera 1811, Fuentes de Onoro 1811.

Cotton Jim's Flags

US company. The flags are produced in 15mm, 25mm and 40mm scale. There is a huge range with over 700 flag sets, so I wont list all the countries. The flags sell for $3 per pack, they seem to usually have three regiments per pack with first and second battalion flags.

Flag Dude

An Alabama USA company. They have lots of photos to look at the flags in use. Much appreciated. Flags come in 15/20mm, 25mm, 40-54mm. 15/20mm flags are $4 each, plus $4 if you want them on cotton. That seems pretty steep. But they seem very approachable so drop them a line perhaps to ask about costs etc.

As they say on their website, to many countries to list so they broke them into three groups: British and Allies, French and Allies, Germans (Confederation of the Rhein, Swedes, and Russians).

Vaubanner Graphics

A Canadian company. The flags come in 6, 10, 15, 28mm (15 and 25mm by default, you need to ask if you want them smaller). The flags come in sets of 20 or 24 flags. The sets cost $8 each which seems quite cheap. These flags actually look pretty good, you can see some in their gallery.

15mm French Revolutionary Wars Austria
15mm Napoleonic Wars Austria
15mm Napoleonic Wars Great Britain (1801 pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars France (1804 Pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Portugal (1806 pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Prussia
15mm Napoleonic Wars Prussia (pre-1806 pattern)
15mm Prussian Infantry Regiments (1808-15 Pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Russia
15mm Russian Guard & Line Infantry (1797 Pattern)
15mm Russian Guard & Line Infantry (1803 Pattern)
15mm Russian Cavalry Regiments (1803 Pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Spain (1768 Pattern)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Sweden (1765-1815 Patterns)
15mm Napoleonic Wars Duchy of Warsaw

QRF Models
A Dorset, UK company. They have 15mm flags and quite a lot. The menu system is not the easiest to track down what they have under Napoleonics. They all seem to sell in sets of six flags at £2 each.

15/18mm napoleonic modelling companies

Want to know what models to buy? Where to buy them? Well I don't have all the answers. But below you will find links to all the companies that manufacture 15/18mm Napoleonic figures.

The best place to go to see a comparison of many of these brands is Deep Fried Happy Mice. Second, I personally love AB figures and Warmodelling figures for Napoleonics. I throw them into units together to get more variation. Rarely do they clash (no pun intended). I should add Eureka Miniatures Napoleonic figures in to this list as they compliment the AB/Warmodelling figures perfectly.

Campaign Game Miniatures
These are up there with AB as the best you can get, but if you consider price and the service they win hands down. A great range and it keeps growing. They are called 15mm but are really grand 15mm and fit very well with AB and Eureka.

AB
The best you can get. Sold through Eureka Miniatures since 2006. These are generally around the 18mm mark. Anthony Barton still does new lines for Eureka Miniatures when an interesting enough project comes up. So it is still slowly growing.

Eureka Miniatures
Eureka have a range of complimentary figures to the AB figures. These are top notch and compliment the AB models perfectly. They also have the 100/300 club which is fun to get in on. Essentially, it is a wish list club, you wish for it, if they get enough preorders, they will model it.

Warmodelling
A spanish company, with a huge range. I have never bought direct because the postage was exorbitant. But it may be better now. I order through Scale Creep Miniatures in the US. These figures generally mix well with the AB and Eureka figures from above, all being generally around the 18mm mark.

Napoleon at War
Another new company. It has a limited selection of French, British and a few Prussians. They sell their models in brigade size boxes and are designed to be played to their own set of rules. I have some of these models and will paint them up. They are bringing blister packs and you can buy their bases (the rules work of their base sizes). I am tempted to base all my models to this rule system as I get the impression it is popular and you could still use the models in Lasalle and other systems with ease.

Essex
I painted a lot of these when I was younger. They are alright but don't compare to the AB, Eureka and Warmodelling figures.

Minifigs
Minifigs have been around a long time and there have been multiple generations of sculptings. I remember sitting down with the Minifigs catalog as a child, going over each page again and again. It was fun dreaming about putting an order together.

Old Glory
Big bags, cheap price. French, Austrian, British, Prussian, Russian. Thats as much as she wrote.

Vexillia Miniatures
Vexillia bought the quite lovely looking One Tree Miniatures Ottoman range. I have a post on the Ottomans and I might get some and paint them up! Fight the Russians :)

Chariot
Now trading under the company Magister Militum.

MJ Figures
Deep Fried Happy Mice reviews some MJ french but looking at the MJ website I see no Napoleonics. Hmm, maybe discontinued?

Museum Miniatures
British, French, Prussians. Limited lines.

Naismith

Tabletop
Not sure where you can get these.

Warrior Miniatures

Wildly Inspired Miniatures
Now owned by Battleline Miniatures.

Black Hat Miniatures
French and Prussians.

Falcon Figures
They have Napoleonics, no webstore.

UK Frontier
War of 1812. They look a bit varied and blocky, touch of the gnome. Very limited.


Battle Honours
These were once my favourite models. Many were sculpted by Anthony Barton of AB, so that explains their quality. They are usually a little smaller than the AB lines however.

Purchashing

I did buy mainly Warmodelling, AB and Eureka but discovered Campaign Game Miniatures. I purchase my models through Eureka Miniatures (Australia) and Scale Creep (US) as well as Campaign Game Miniatures. I have always gotten great service at all these sites. I also get my Vallejo paints from Eureka. I plan to have a look at buying straight from Warmodelling (Spain) again for my next order and see what the postage will be [ed. I bought direct and the postage was very reasonable, the formula they use has changed].


Last updated 1/2013