Monday, March 20, 2023

MiniFigs 1st Generation Stonewall Brigade

These are another of my eBay rescue efforts. They are 1st Generation Miniature Figurines in 25mm. For you youngsters out there who don't know, Minifigs was once a colossus in 25mm wargaming. Minifigs had lines in just about everything.

I first came across Minifigs way back in the mid-1970s. My first purchases were the British Infantry for the American War of Independence. They were first-generation, and sadly, I no longer have them. 

Being nostalgic for the old metal minis, I began to seek Minifigs and other 25mm figures out on eBay.

I found this lot with a few command figures relatively cheap. They needed a lot of work, and I saved these six out of eight or nine infantry figures.

I chose an early war uniform from the famous Stonewall Brigade for the repaint.

I have them mounted on temporary bases for potential use in a Rebel's and Patriots skirmish game.

Miniature Figurines 2nd Generation are still available today from the UK under Matchlock Miniatures.


The officer needed a lot of work. Keeping the saber on the figure was a challenge, but I didn't want to cut it off and insert a pin. 

The Minifigs ACW line always looked a little Napoleonic to me. Many of the poses featured backpack and blanket roll, and a full dress look to the uniform.

I believe the pose is called high port. A unit of Minifigs all in the same pose is impressive imo.

Today the 28mm manufacturers have all but conquered the market and 25mm figures are rare. I think Minifigs have a classic toy soldier look like most manufacturers from the 1970s and 80s.




2 comments:

Jonathan Freitag said...

Minifig figures do, indeed, have that classic pose and sculpting. I have a number of Minifig 15s in my AWI collection. Classic figures.

Bruce Roeder said...

I dropped out of the hobby for quite a while. One the reasons, not the main reason by any means, was because I did not enjoy painting the smaller 15mm figs that friends were moving to. Having a large collection of 25mm probably had something to do with it. Later, I came to realize that if a person was interested in multiple periods then a smaller scale was almost a necessity. All that to say the 15mm MF are classics, just smaller ;-)