Perry Miniatures 40mm's first impressions.

Yes, you read that right, the Perry Miniatures finally arrived on day 28 from posting! I must admit I was getting a little concerned as the average wait here for standard post from the Uk is about 10 to 12 days but at least I have them now. As usual I took my card down to the Correos in Ador which is only open for collection Monday to Friday 1.30pm to 2pm. Typical of Spain it's an open office, no security screens, cigarettes and ashtray on the desk along with a muddle of papers, labels, packages etc. You are supposed to show ID so I always take my passport, but the woman behind the desk just waves it away with a smile. It can be a culture shock here to walk into a post office or bank, the first thing one notices is that there are no screens to be seen at all, business is conducted across open desks, cash passes back and forth within grabbing distance, there are no security guards and the employees wear their own smart clothes - no corporate uniforms here thank you very much. I'm not sure what that says about Spanish culture or possibly UK culture?

Anyway once I had returned home and given the dog her second walk of the day I set to opening the box, everything securely packaged in typical Perry fashion. The first thing that struck me was that each individual figure is in it's own little black cardboard box. I'm really not keen on the packing material within the boxes, it's the stuff gamers use to mark smoke as it can be pulled apart. I find the casting gets annoyingly caught up in it and removing them the stuff gets snagged in bayonets and other pointy bits. Once extricated from the material the next thing you spot are the numerous little casting 'worms', again this is something that you come to expect from Perry metals, they just need a careful check over and most will fall away with a scrape of a fingernail, a few will need a scalpel to remove.

These figures cost £4.50 each, more expensive than Sash & Sabre castings, and are of course excellent in detail, very slightly slimmer than S&S but a good match overall. The British Light Infantry figures require right arms to be glued on or muskets glued into the sockets, they fit reasonably well and allow for a slight variation on the musket position. The right arm on the sergeant holding his musket to his side troubled me a little in getting the fit right, he still does not appear totally natural in his pose somehow. Overall though they are lovely figures and will paint up well, I'll make a start today I think. As said previously my light infantry bases are of 7 figures on a 120mm x 70mm (deeper than line infantry). I find this looks just about right. They will be painted as the 43rd Monmouthshire Regiment with white facings and a second base will be added later complete with distinctive pelisse wearing officer. Meantime I intend to return to Sash & sabre for a stock up.

Note the officer in his special little case, I like the boxes, takes me back to Hinchliffe days!

A rough idea of base composition.

Note the sergeants arm position, I guess it will grow on me.

RHA officer update.
We are about there now as you can see below, ready for a first test print. The crossbelt has been removed and the sword hilt enlarged to match the scale size of the hands. I have noticed the thickness of the end of the cuffs, but lets see how he looks when printed as I'm looking at the image about 120mm scale. The face is brilliant and if he retains that detail in the print he will be amazing.