28mm AWI Miniatures Review

There are many miniature manufacturers for 28mm figures, and today we'll compare four major ranges for the American War of Independence era. Join us for a side-by-side study of Perry Miniatures, Front Rank, Old Glory, and Fife & Drum. We'll evaluate availability, sculpting quality, compatibility with other ranges, and cost.
PERRY MINIATURES
www.perry-miniatures.com
FRONT RANK
www.frontrank.com
OLD GLORY MINIATURES
www.oldgloryminiatures.com
FIFE & DRUM
fifeanddrum-minis.com
While guys in our club do own and play with figures from all four of these manufacturers, Fife & Drum is a sponsor of Little Wars TV and we appreciate them supporting our second season. We've had a large collection of their figures for years and were excited when Fife & Drum reached out to us!

[@BoneIdolUK]

Would love to see reviews on some of the 6mm ranges you guys have used

[@amaelrodrigues4076]

love it, do more mini reviews, you guys have sooo many types of armies, you could do so many great reviews.

[@martinradcliffe4798]

Cool. You should do more of this kind of video- as in on every period and scale ever!

[@carabus0354]

Cool review. I did the all the photos of the Front Rank Miniatures and built the website and maintained it for many years :) The current site uses the same style and and my file structure.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Well kudos to YOU sir! Front Rank's website and photography is top notch. If only all wargaming websites were so clear and well presented. It makes shopping with them easy.

[@captainnolan5062]

Useful comparison of Fife and Drum and Perry figures. Thank you.

[@christophernelson4624]

Another company that does the AWI is Brigade Games. Triangle Miniatures of North Carolina is a dealer for Perry Miniatures

[@mrb7261]

I love this! As someone who's wanting to get into Historical Wargaming, but doesn't know where to start, I'd love to see you guys turn this into its own miniseries, going through the different historical periods and such

[@ninjamania]

Old Glory for the win! Fun, lively, sculpts. This is not downing the others, as they’re all excellent.

[@story1951]

Old Glory all the way. Love their action poses.

[@Pengi_SMILES]

Galloping Major also have an AWI range I believe. Their FIW range are great, and I always find them very easy to paint. A little on the larger side so may be more like Front Rnak than Perry's etc.

[@c.w.beardsley9599]

THANK YOU so much for this video!!! I've been watching your KZbin Channel for about 7 months now and I'm finally ready to make the Leap from Games Workshop Fantasy and Sci-Fi to Historical Gaming, but I wasn't sure what Range to start Collecting. Since I live in Murrells Inlet, SC and the closest Historical Club is a 2 hour drive to Charleston, SC, I haven't been able to go down yet and do any Research on the Local Meta. I greatly appreciate your comparisons of the different Ranges and you've given me a Great Starting-off-Point for an Entry Level Enthusiast!

[@LittleWarsTV]

Wonderful to hear! Welcome to the historical side!

[@johnmitchell9000]

Old Glory!!! You really cant beat OG's value. Yes, there are other companies that also have really nice sculpting, but with 40% off with an OG card. Put that with some of the nicest people in the business who work there. Its always my first choice. And no over seas ( I'm in NJ) shipping charges. I just started painting a AWI Old Glory Army. I will get more figures from them at Cold Wars. Thanks for the review. Its nice to know that Perry metal would fit in with them if needed.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Can't beat the value, agreed. Should be noted that over the years we've had excellent customer service from all four of these companies, Old Glory included!

[@stevetjames7922]

Great job guys, succinct and helpful with nice close ups of the models. Esp nice to see different manufacturers directly compared.

[@theenigmaticgamer]

Nice review, looking forward to seeing more. It's a great help to gamers when they are able to see a video of this kind, rather than having to trust to luck and ordering samples before deciding which way to go. The comparison of manufacturers and compatibility aspect is particularly good. Well done guys.

[@rodneip7077]

Thanks for the initiative, really helps not only due to your opinion but for beginners specially its awesome.

[@tabletopgeneralsde310]

Great review, thanks for this one.

[@johnwayneeverett6263]

sweet naps next please, so many..

[@bobbycvsixfour5258]

This is such a great channel (Little Wars TV). GOOD STUFF :-)

[@gcbisset]

For solo gamers on a budget, consider paper soldiers. Its possible to scale them to any size, and you can laminate them and give them a more 3d look by putting in a straw and gluing on extra equipment. See Peter Dennis's paperboys.

[@calerdonian]

Awesome stuff, favourite period! Perry's and drum and Fife for me..tend to use perry's for foot and F&D for mounted. Look forward to the next vid chaps

[@scarfacejosh123]

Please do more of these reviews- especially for Napoleonics!

[@sagebrother]

Really helpful...thanks!!

[@joecolflesh7700]

I just started with 28mm AWI. This info was very helpful!

[@stephenbarrett2963]

I’m surprised you didn’t include Old Glory 2nd edition figures. They are quite nice and compare favorably with Perry miniatures. In the boxed sets you get 38 figures for $43. If you have the OG army card your cost is less than $28 for the box sets , or less than 70 cents per figure.

[@SwordlordRoy]

Discovered my Copy of Osprey's "Rebels and Patriots" rules a few weeks back and have been looking at AWI and ACW miniatures (along with contemplating on trying to modify your modification for the related "The Men who Would be Kings"). Think I'd probably go Perry Miniatures. My problem though is deciding on a paint scheme.

[@tswims92]

Have y’all looked at 1898 Miniaturas? They are out of Spain and initially focused on the Spanish American War but have expanded from there. All 28mm and metal.

[@radred609]

Awesome review. would love to see a similar video about 15mm

[@wicNKWD37]

You guys should check out Brigade Games AWI and war of 1812 ranges!

[@redmist1122]

Great review guys! Too bad this wasn't available when you did you AWI game several months ago. Your AWI game sparked my interests for AWI period, and could have used such a review back then. I since then jumped head first with Perry stuff, both plastic and lead. Really like the format for the figure review, and I would recommend a video like this to accompany the game so to speak. You may not know it, but your channel has a lot of influence. BTW, typically OG25s has 30 infantry and 10 mounted in a bag. There used to be a distributer for Front Rank in the U.S. a few years ago, not sure if he's still active. Take care.

[@LittleWarsTV]

We hadn't even thought about doing miniature reviews back during our first season, but we really SHOULD have! You're in good hands with Perry Miniatures. Their stuff is very nice and they have the best plastics on the market today. We happen to think the leanness of the Perry plastics look very good with our Fife & Drum stuff. They are the leanest of the two options, while OG and Front Rank are thicker.

[@redmist1122]

True. I've bought OG25s to fill the rank and file as you guys mentioned. Great value for the price and membership. BTW, this is a good way to add variety to the channel. Thanks again.

[@XcessPain]

As someone completely new to historicals These types of reviews are invaluable.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Then we'll have to do more of them! Thanks for letting us know!

[@oblomovbruce9979]

Thank you for the review. I really like my DPC (Dayton Painting Consortium - formerly or still (?) Rusty Scabbard Miniatures) figures for SYW. You cannot beat 36 inf for $29. They have a range of AWI that meshes with the SYW. They have 'realistic' proportions too like Fife and Drum but are really 25mm figs. The Minden and Fife and Drum are probably the nicest figures out there though!

[@jabber51]

Very helpful review! Maybe a review of age of sail minis/brands is on the horizon? Looking forward to seeing more

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thanks! We had a lot of fun doing this first miniatures review. If people seem to find them useful, we may have to do more!

[@colinplatt1963]

Thanks for this! Front Rank are a preferred figure of mine, and I'll usually go to them first. But it was interesting to see the comparison the Perry, as I tend to buy plastic figures for armies that I'm going to take on the road.

[@jadegreen438]

I used Perry miniature plastic line for my boar war era game table. I found that with kit bashing British soldiers with Civil war soldiers you can get a lot of interesting custom results that Perry miniatures doesn't make. As well as I custom sculpt and mold my own figures and weapons that perry miniatures don't have. Anyway, I love the show. Little wars TV is what got me into war gaming. Keep up the good work.

[@seanhillman1016]

Great video. Would love to see one on Thirty Years War / Pike n Shot miniatures.

[@h.j.d.2624]

Good job fellas.

[@davefranklin7305]

My experience with Front Rank is primarily with SYW. One knock on them is the uniformity of their figures, even between nationalities; however, I was OK with that for SYW. Their "beefyness" has one advantage - they are tough. I have had far less issues with, say, broken bayonets or swords, than with others. My AWI collection is a combo of Perry (metal) and Old Glory (LOVE the 40% discount). Most of the Old Glory I used is their Second Edition, which are cleaner castings than their older stuff. My two complaints for Old Glory are 1) I didn't catch that their cavalry had separate arms that had to be glued on (which I dislike intensely, and is also a reason I eschew plastics), and 2) it can be a pain getting info on the precise contents of their packs - in particular their command packs, e.g. exactly how many officers, drummers, standard bearers, etc., so you can get exactly the number you want for the number of units you are doing, without omissions/extras. To reiterate, can't beat the cost though.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Indeed, that 40% army card discount is unbeatable for cost and value! We have plenty of Old Glory stuff in the club in a variety of eras, generally mixed in with other manufacturers.

[@pjlights164]

more of these!!

[@fatdelinquent85]

well...you get all of them and have nice variety in your force obviously.

[@izrador2264]

I am so pleased to see you expanding into other areas. Rules reviews are great but I love your attention to other parts of the hobby as well. My only critique remains that you don't use enough of the 1-10 scale. Far too many reviews score all areas between 6-9. Your average should be 5.

[@jbusniewski]

This is a great video and super useful. I would have loved to get the Warlord minis in there, especially since they do Black Powder. I'm pretty new to miniatures, but Warlord and Perry plastics seem to go together incredibly well.

[@Lukas0frederiksen]

Really love your review style. Would like to see more. Hundred years war figure review maybe? If so: Remember Claymore Casting

[@ARIES5342]

Yes, more figure reviews. You guys have a wider selection of all types. So, if someone wanted to start a new scale this would be a great place to start.

[@bradleydunlap5451]

Actually decided to make a small purchase of Fife and Drum to get a start into the period. I must say they are some of the cleanest castings I have ever seen. I too was a bit intimidated when it came to painting them, however I have figured it out and they paint up pretty easily. Really enjoyed the video.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thanks, Bradley! You are absolutely right about the flash on the Fife and Drum stuff--there really isn't any! Very clean.

[@epone3488]

Tom, they looked really fantastic on the table! I loved your paint job too. Id definitely get "Fife and Drum" but it's a little harder here Downunder; both because of its an under-represented period here and the yes the freight. Yet with all that AND being in the middle of my Tueton/Pagan Rus project I feel a hole burning in my wallet!!! I loved the idea of buying minis "by the foot" LOL. I find that the better the sculpt the more detail, the better they look on painting, so not the issue Kieth put forward as an opinion (I found this with Infinity miniatures too the detail actually helps sell the whole finished job).

[@thattassiewargamer]

Great review. I’d like to see comparisons for some late war US and German paratroopers.

[@HethwillWargames]

Oh this is excellent as a new thematic episodes for the reviews. Extremely useful because that's it... new project and sometimes there's a ton to chose from, depending on the historial period. 6/10 mm and 15mm next ? :)

[@reglavcor]

Great review. Hopefully, we will see you guys review miniatures from other historical periods. It might be tough to review 6mm figures, considering that most of your videos are seen with you guys using 6mm figures.

[@thingsstuff4620]

I would also like a review of also some of the prepainted historical miniatures games out there like Wings of Glory and other examples as well and area that seems to be over looked?

[@frankfreyiii]

Great review! Can I a've some more please?

[@hilariousstuntsinc8827]

Do this for ACW!

[@sirus976]

Very good guys you are awesome also I do warlord

[@BootsontheTable]

I never understand why people get bothered about high variations in figures.... after all people are different heights and shapes!

[@valaudae1809]

Boots on the Table with GamerDom Very true, but a Brown Bess is the same size no matter who is carrying it.

[@rickhudson7929]

I found this very useful although I am not an AWI player, I do play French & Indian War on a skirmish level and I rather cheekily include AWI miniatures for these games. I wasn't aware of Fife & Drum prior to watching this video (I'm UK based), so thanks for bringing them to my attention. I'd love to see you guys do a review of 6mm ancients, it's not a scale I've done before, but I'm toying with the idea of getting a copy of Age of Hannibal :-)

[@LittleWarsTV]

There aren't as many good options for 6mm ancients as there are in 28mm AWI, that's for sure! But we do have miniatures from a few sources.

[@brent1975]

Enjoy the video. Would like to see the ships from the Trafalgar game

[@gromuk]

sure would love to get a 6mm napoleonics review

[@DSmini]

Little late to the game, but you can order Perry metals from triangle miniatures here in the U.S.

[@reecedignan8365]

Nice mini review. I’m a Perry man myself but that’s cause I’ve grew up using plastics and metals together thanks to GW. But in truth the question in my mind is if their looking at 28mm AWI miniatures, are we looking at our next Mini War Battle taking place in the AWI, and not just that what rules will they be using? Maybe TooFatLardies Sharp Practice 2 for its ability to allow for smaller battle but add more story to your battles.

[@RockinL7BuckingBulls]

Recommendation when you are doing a close-up of your figures before you found them check to make sure the rifles aren’t bad in the band that’s aren’t then that’s very distracting but other than that very good tutorial. Now let’s do one on Civil War American Civil War.

[@soliisoul3172]

Thanks for the helpful insight. I'm in the market for some Ancient Egyptian miniatures and would appreciate any feedback from your channel or community at large in finding some. Thanks again.

[@estevepower]

Hi, Great review!. I need ask about warlord metal of French and Indian War. Size, details, etc compare with Perry plastic AWI also that i know. Thanks again.

[@e-4airman124]

thank you talk more about how many figures per base and bases

[@thomasrichardson9581]

Great reviews. Why didn't do Warlord games? What was the cost per model for plastic Perry? I really don't see size as a factor since we humans come in all shapes a sizes. Again great review more like it please.

[@IronIvanKeith]

Unfortunately, we didn't have any Warlord minis on hand to review. While I agree people are different sizes, weapons and equipment are not. The musket sizes between manufacturers in particular stand out.

[@TheCombatartist]

In your opinion, what is the most DETAILED, well sculpted figure? I do not want to war-game, only paint for display. Nice review.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Mmmmm this is a hard one. Fife & Drum is probably the most accurately proportioned and realistic figure. Most of the others are very..."well fed" troops! The Perry figures would be a very, very close second in my book. Some might rank them just above Fife & Drum depending on how much you care about the physical proportions of the men.

[@story1951]

If you want your figures to look more animated, as in more action poses, would go with Old Glory.

[@aricliljegren890]

Curious why you didn't include the Warlord minis in your review. Seems like they are everywhere I look as I try to decide on manufacturers for my forces and it would have been nice to see how they stack up (particularly with Perry and F&D which are the two I have been leaning towards.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Only because we didn't have any on hand at the time we filmed! I've seen the Warlord plastic kits for other periods of history and think they are very good.

[@oliverizzard8751]

From the pictures you show the Perry minis seem to have better looking faces for painting or is it just an impression?

[@nickpodehl6364]

Any chance you guys have any 10mm collections? Would love to get your thoughts on ranges for 10mm. Great video!

[@LittleWarsTV]

We have 10mm in Old Glory, Pendraken, and Magister Militum. They are each very distinct from each other and would not necessarily mix well....

[@deathguarddavegoogley2022]

What about 6mm? I like adler’s little range.

[@jeremybain3830]

I 'am currently looking to dip my feet in tabletop wargaming, historical of course, but I 'am wondering if there are any retailers that offer pre painted minis like Fife & Drum. I don't have the steadiest hands to paint the fife & drum ones like they deserve.

[@leonleese4919]

Are they, Fife & Drum a harder metal than some others?

[@charlesrichardson6027]

Always a tough review. Everyone has their own preferences and dislikes and you'll never please everyone. I like the idea of just showing all (many?) of the lines and ranges side by each along with their cost. I really like the Fife and Drum line but wish they had more ranges.

[@paulhess5743]

? What is a good set of rules for AWI?

[@MrLecourbe]

You should go for Perry plastic, for everything, for every period xDDD

[@Dadarian1]

If you ever have a chance is it possible to do a review of Pendraken miniatures? They're very cool but I'm cautious on the quality.

[@LittleWarsTV]

We have some of their 10mm medieval and AWI figures. The miniatures we have from Pendraken are very high quality--excellent level of sculpting detail and a little on the thinner/leaner side when compared to other 10mm ranges we own.

[@Dadarian1]

@@LittleWarsTV that's really good to hear! I will most certainly pick some up, they have some excellent shipping deals to Canada at current conversion rates. Thank you for your quick answer!

[@ninjamania]

You might have wanted to mention Old Glory 2nd edition miniatures....

[@tyrian_baal]

Any Victrix?

[@leonleese4919]

What rules do you use?

[@robertroberts5090]

I'm absolutely new to miniatures war gaming, I was wondering if you knew of any dirt cheap, perhaps children's toy miniatures I could buy to practice up my basic painting skills on before I try with a playable set?

[@LittleWarsTV]

My #1 suggestion would be to scoop up some cheap metal miniatures on eBay and try practicing on them. They will give you a much better representation and let you practice the same style techniques you'd otherwise want to do on "real" miniatures you want to game with. Also, when you're done practicing on metal figures, you can strip the paint from them. I use a product called "Simple Green" that you can buy in the cleaning aisle. Soak the painted mini in SImple Green for a couple of hours and use a toothbrush to knock off any remaining old paint. Works great! Then you can paint it for real after practicing!

[@GuyInnagorillasuit]

If you want to start with "dirt cheap", Airfix and Zvezda 1/72 miniatures are hard to beat. It's a little tricky to get the plastic primed for paint, but a Google search will find you plenty of solutions.

[@gcbisset]

Also consider paper soldiers as I mention above.

[@Pengi_SMILES]

Em4 miniatures sell old plastic Orc and Dwarf models really cheaply. Otherwise scour ebay.

[@WithTheGrain]

Don’t skip fantasy minis for painting practice, move to what you want to play once your confident

[@dariusmotmavilin3666]

Hi, i need some help. I am looking at indian warriors mounted and standing high quality metal finishes weighing atleast 50gm for museum. Require about 25 pcs each. Pls put the contacts info below. Thanks

[@johnyannelli2480]

Have u done civil war review?

[@bearmare9710]

Just getting into AWI myself. Going with Warlord and Perry's plastic figures. It would be great to cover other plastic offerings, such as those from Victrix. Another option, though limited to Napoleonics, is that offered by Avanpost. They are a Russian (Ukrainian) designer and manufacturer and they produce metal and plastic versions of their figures. Good value as well, as discounts are available for bulk orders. 28mm and 75mm available. facebook.com/groups/avanpost.miniatures/

[@thomasuhl1263]

No love for Brigade Games fine AWI figures sculpted by Paul Hicks?

[@LittleWarsTV]

We don't own any of them! But guys here in the club have other Paul Hicks ranges and he's fabulous as a sculptor.

[@paintinghistory1475]

No warlord games

[@andybrace9225]

Warlord AWI are terrible former Wargames Factory figures

[@nickkobe9729]

You've got to be kidding! These are suppose to be war game figures not display pieces. Okay, lets look at "value". Foot $1.50 * 200 foot = $300; Horse $4.00 * 30 Horse = $120. So, we have a total of $420.00 plus the cost of artillery (silence on pricing!), historical officer, pack animal, and perhaps a wagon. Now, we have to add the cost of one of those great war game rule books, what another $25.00+ and battlefield sculptures. Guys, I watch everyone of your episodes, but I think you think that there is a sizable number of war gamers with out there with financial planners and war game trust funds. The quality of everything you do is exceptional! Clearly, the standard by which work is beyond challenge. However, I'm not going to follow your advise on buying figures. Also, have you considered why it is that Age of Empires III/Darthmod back in 2007 sold over 310,000 units. By no means is Empire the only musket period PC game for single or multiplier user. Before I end I want to assure you that I like tabletop war gaming. However, unless the cost of tabletop war gaming returns to the cost of the Jack Scruby and tops out at the cost of the Hinchliffe figures war gaming is going to pass away of the field of battle to the computer.

[@LittleWarsTV]

The cost of large 28mm armies is why many wargamers (including us) play in smaller scales. As you move down to 15mm, 10mm, and 6mm figures the cost drops significantly. 15mm, for example, is about 40 cents a figure, while 6mm is about 10 cents. These smaller scales are extremely popular and a better entry point if you want a large force.

[@nickkobe9729]

@@LittleWarsTV Agree! I use 18mm figures My comments were only in reference to the review of 28/30mm figures As a suggestion I would start with the lower cost 18 and 6mm figures and terrain for them. I would ramp up to the larger scale and higher quality. Thanks again for the great tabletop games. Great to watch with a large Coke.

[@DH.2016]

When I got back into the hobby some 15+ years ago, cost was a factor and I, too, baulked at the cost of 28mm and, with house space also an issue, the smaller scales with their lower cost, easier storage and playability on a smaller tabletop area, settled the argument. However, whilst I've no regrets about my choice of 10mm and later, 15mm, in hindsight if I had re-started with 28mm, I would have had a sizeable collection in 28mm by now and I would have 'fitted in' better with one of the local wargaming clubs where the guys are great fans of that larger scale. I still think the smaller scales are great, by the way, enabling you to dip into a new period with greater rapidity and at much lower cost. With the smaller scales you are only paying about 55 cents for 15mm and less than half that for 10mm. 6mm is even cheaper. I also agree that the cost of many rules sets can be eye-watering. Lately, I've been purchasing rules from Osprey - Honours of War and The Pikeman's Lament - great rules in my opinion and no more than $15-$16. For the period under review (American Revolution), Osprey have recently released another set of reasonably priced rules, Rebels & Patriots (there is also an adaption of the Honours of War rules for this period - see that forum for these rules). Rebels & Patriots and The pikeman's Lament are skirmish level rules. Incidentally, I've only recently become a fan of skirmish rules - quick, entertaining games with few figures required to play a game. This, together with the plastic figures mentioned in the above review, should greatly reduce the costs for anyone wishing to venture into this era in 28mm. To any newcomers reading this, you may therefore wish to try to contact your local war gaming club to see what figure scales and eras they habitually war game before making your decision regarding what figure scale to choose.

[@WithTheGrain]

Keep in mind that the modeling and painting is a part of a hobby for many people. The price is a bit chunky, but for $ for the time spent on the modeling and painting compared to other forms of entertainment it really isn’t that unreasonable. Well, unless you have no interest in doing that part of the hobby, in which case it’s just a bill tacked onto your gaming expense.

[@blecao]

Me not on the uk or the usa Well this isnt great

[@PaulJohn01]

Me who's no longer in either country and knowing what you're going through 😁

[@pieceofschmidtgames6389]

Whats with all the faces looking like they are having aneurisms.

[@IronIvanKeith]

Us or the figures?