Warlord Games: British Line Infantry

Hi, it's time for another review, this time we will take a look at the Warlord Games British Line Infantry plastic boxed set. This excellent boxed set was actually made in cooperation with Empress Miniatures as they provide the metal officers and buglers while warlord Games provides the common soldier. This release was part of a larger release which includes both married and unmarried zulu warriors but also native auxiliaries! But enough talking up to the actual review of one of my most favorite plastic boxed kits and I have seen quite a bit of them while reviewing!

Introduction

A casual look at Tommy Atkins of the Victorian period gave little away about his fighting abilities. Standing 5′ 5″ on average, and often shorter. He may or may not be able to read or write. This appearance was deceptive, however. The average British redcoat was the most dangerous animal in Africa, equipped as he was with the Martini-Henry breech-loading rifle capable of being fired 15 times a minute out to 1200 yards range in volley fire if needs be. His discipline was legendary, his marching ability, enough to traverse all manner of terrain and his determination to fight his Queen’s enemies, which were legion, made him an implacable foe. Well led, well-equipped and thoroughly trained in his abilities, he blazed a trail for Empire all over the world. Cheerful, confident the redcoats of the County Regiments served their sovereign well, smashing their enemy by concentrated rifle fire and if necessary, selling their lives dearly with the use of their wicked long bayonets.

Box

First of all we take a look at the box as this will probably lure new wargamers to the hobby as it will shine from the shelves of our highstreet shops. As with all the Warlord Games releases the box is decorated with the excellent artwork of an unnamed talented artist but I would guess Peter Dennis! The box also comes with some extra information such as the box content and more. Inside the box you can aslo find a useful leaflet with a historical background and the troop statistics for the ruleset "Black Powder".



The content

This particular set comes in both metal and plastic components. The box contains five identical sprues which each allow you to build four stout British soldiers. Each of these sprues contains enough parts for two standing and two kneeling miniatures. These miniatures can be assembled in a variety of poses such as firing, loading, ready to fire and at ease. As you can see some of the miniatures such as the kneeling miniatures come in multiple parts such as a seperate legs. The detail of these miniatures is really great and is among one of the best historical sets I have seen.



Each of the sprues also contain six heads of which you can see a picture below. The heads come in a large variety such as heads with pith helmets of which there are four, a head with a Glenngarry cap and a bearded head with a civilian hat. As you can see you have a width variety options allowing you to build lots of unique miniatures without looking as an army of clones.



The boxed set also contains four metal miniatures which are made by Empress Miniatures. These miniatures represent the officer corps of the regiment along with the buglers. As you can see I haven't cleaned the miniatures so you can see how they come in the boxed set. The details on these miniatures is very good and they will be a joy to paint!




Scale comparison

As always I have included a useful scale comparison with some miniatures out of my personal collection. From the left to right we have the Empress Miniatures officer which was supplied as part of the boxed set, a Wargames Factory British soldier, an Ironclad Miniatures miniature, the Warlord Games British soldier and a Foundry Darkest Africa explorer. As you can see the British soldier fits in well with the other manufacturers so using them in the same unit would not be a problem.

Conclusion

This boxed set is a must have for every wargamer who wants to refight the many battles the British Empire fought in his foreign colonies. The cooperation between Empress Miniatures and Warlord Games has made it possible to add the bulk of the troops at very competitive prices while still adding some metal characters miniatures. These miniatures retail around £20 at the source while they are a bit cheaper at Wayland Games. I hope you have found this review useful and will soon buy some of these fine plastic miniatures.

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