Hello everybody,
I just received a batch of Fantassin minis and I thought I'd contribute to this discussion by providing a short review for the Old Guard Marines of that range. I got 4 packs of line(32 figs) and one of command(6 figs).
The command pack had three variations; an eagle bearer standing(fine mini apart from the eagle which is rather coarsely sculpted), an officer in shako pointing forward and with right leg forward advancing(very good figure) and another officer in bicorn standing(this guy is standing with legs apart in a most unnatural pose; I will still use him though,he is not that bad).
The line come in two poses(with an even breakdown;16 of each). One is fantastic, walking forward while looking slightly to the left. Very restrained motion and natural. In terms of sculpting, two points.First the bayonets are way too thick. Being a stickler when it comes to how my minis look I shaved off quite a bit of the excess metal and they look fine now. On the flip side if one is not too bothered by this, the advantage of stronger minis presents itself; as the bayonets are usually the first place a mini will sustain damage. Second point; the backpack is ever so slightly too small but as many others have pointed out this is something one has to live with when using Fantassin.
The second pose is really weird. One foot way forward and the other exactly behind it and bent severely at the knee. Well nobody walks like that other than the acrobats walking the rope in the circus. Having said that I have painted one of each pose and they do look fine together so I will use these guys as well. Same point about the bayonets.
General points:
Some of the faces have some small pieces of metal attached to them which is very annoying in that you can't remove them without taking the detail along.
A lot has been said about their great height and justifiably so. Happily, I put one of them beside my AB French in greatcoat and they are but imperceptibly taller. Of course they tower over my Spanish militia but these are earlier AB figures(hence smaller) but I am not too fussed about this. I am rather more concerned about how they will look within their brigade. Anyhow they are Old Guard;they should tower over militia
These are NOT up to AB standards by any means but they are a very respectable alternative(in particular when it comes to figures never likely to show up in AB's catalog) and I for one am quite taken with the look of them.
When I get some time I will try to post a few more reviews of the Fantassin ranges.
Have fun,
Theofanis