Australian Infantry

(from Eureka)

Well I've been painting up my Eureka Australians...and very interesting it has been too.

I can't decide whether to rave about this range or to slag them off: as the one thing that it isn't is consistent! A few comments by way of explanation:

1) The animation of the poses is absolutely superb: easily equal to Peter Pig's "essence of infantryman" poses and better than Battlefront's shop window dummies. However, the detail and crispness of casting is inferior to both. Reminds me of early Battlefront (little boxes not blisters) efforts, and the faces take a lot of effort to bring out.

2) The bush hats paint up superbly, but the tin hats are obviously bush hats re-sculpted with tin hat-ed heads...but re-sculpted with the wrong head size! All the tin hat heads are way, way too big for the bodies.

3) They paint up exactly the way they look on the Eureka website i.e. they will look excellent on the tabletop, but I can't get the miniature masterpiece look that I can with Battlefront. If you could combine this range's animation and pose with Battlefront casting you would have, to my mind, the perfect range of 15mm soldiers.

I am really glad I bought a platoon of these guys, but will hold off buying any more until I see what Battlefront have to offer. I would however strongly recommend a platoon's worth to anyone investing in a company of bush-hat-ed infantry, if only for the following figures:

a) The bush hat-ed NCO pointing, with his rifle on his hip. Probably the best figure pose I've ever seen. If only the crispness of casting and face were to the same standard.

b) A chap who was extra to what I ordered and seems to be doing nothing more than rolling up his sleeves and stepping forward to punch someone! He carries no weapon, isn't part of a weapon crew, and has been instantly christened "Slugger".

c) Two miscasts that have unintentionally produced character figures: one has a raggedy bush hat that looks as if a crocodile has just chewed it, the other's blanket roll has disintegrated half way along leaving him looking as if he has a horseshoe tied to the back of his pack. If it's actually intentionally a horseshow, then it's a great figure!

d) The SMG armed NCO's (you get a choice of Thompson or Owen).

e) The lying down sniper type, with his rifle resting on a sand-bag.

I would recommend a platoon of them mixed in with something else!

Size Comparison with Battlefront/FOW Figures

(Battlefront left/Eureka right)