Who does the best horses (1 Viewer)

VIRIATO

VIRIATO

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Who does the best miniature horses? Although I am not a specialist (there is at least one in this forum;)) I would say the following, at the obvious risk of forgetting may companies:

A-Aeroart-stunning horses, great sculpts and of course marvellous painting, a differente league really;
B-First Legion-the closest behind Aeroart;
C-K&C-excellent too, I would rate them 3rd;
D-Britains-not good when done in matt (sorry, IMHO there is something wrong with these matt horses, even with the so called Connoisseur line, those heads look too large, etc.) I am sure matt horses will be much improved. But excellent when done in gloss.
E-Imperial,Alexanders Toy Soldiers, Fusilier, Little Legion-the best glossy horses: great sculpts and poses, elite painting for Imperial, good for the others.
F-Tradition, Trophy: Trophy has excellent painting but the sculpts are not as good as the above, Tradition factory painting is so so (but some of our forum friends can take care of that big time:D) and the sculpts are nice but not as good as in E.
All this IMHO and with all due respect for all the talented people involved.
Any thoughts?

Paulo
 
I'm sure Andy will kill me :eek: but I think First Legion are tops. I think they're superb.
 
VIRIATO said:
Who does the best miniature horses? Although I am not a specialist (there is at least one in this forum;)) I would say the following, at the obvious risk of forgetting may companies:

A-Aeroart-stunning horses, great sculpts and of course marvellous painting, a differente league really;
B-First Legion-the closest behind Aeroart;
C-K&C-excellent too, I would rate them 3rd;
D-Britains-not good when done in matt (sorry, IMHO there is something wrong with these matt horses, even with the so called Connoisseur line, those heads look too large, etc.) I am sure matt horses will be much improved. But excellent when done in gloss.
E-Imperial,Alexanders Toy Soldiers, Fusilier, Little Legion-the best glossy horses: great sculpts and poses, elite painting for Imperial, good for the others.
F-Tradition, Trophy: Trophy has excellent painting but the sculpts are not as good as the above, Tradition factory painting is so so (but some of our forum friends can take care of that big time:D) and the sculpts are nice but not as good as in E.
All this IMHO and with all due respect for all the talented people involved.
Any thoughts?

Paulo
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I would have to agree with you for the most part regarding the sculpts. However in regards to the painting I would switch K&C and Britains.
 
I have to be honest, I dont think there are better horses for your money then K&C UK's Light Brigade. My second place would go to K&C's FOB French officer and soldier on horse. Just my take on it.

Keep it silly
 
Agree with Chris here,the Charge of the Light Brigade Horses are superb,easily my favourites.

Rob
 
VIRIATO said:
Who does the best miniature horses? Although I am not a specialist (there is at least one in this forum;)) I would say the following, at the obvious risk of forgetting may companies:

A-Aeroart-stunning horses, great sculpts and of course marvellous painting, a different league really;
B-First Legion-the closest behind Aeroart;
C-K&C-excellent too, I would rate them 3rd;
D-Britains-not good when done in matt (sorry, IMHO there is something wrong with these matt horses, even with the so called Connoisseur line, those heads look too large, etc.) I am sure matt horses will be much improved. But excellent when done in gloss.
E-Imperial,Alexanders Toy Soldiers, Fusilier, Little Legion-the best glossy horses: great sculpts and poses, elite painting for Imperial, good for the others.
F-Tradition, Trophy: Trophy has excellent painting but the sculpts are not as good as the above, Tradition factory painting is so so (but some of our forum friends can take care of that big time:D) and the sculpts are nice but not as good as in E.
All this IMHO and with all due respect for all the talented people involved.
Any thoughts?

Paulo
Click to expand...
Interesting question Paulo and it certainly elicited some interesting answers. It seems pretty clear that some carefully considered the question in an unbiased manner and some simply chose to select their favorite manufacturers. Well such is life and with all respect to personal choice there is significant difference between what is the best miniature painted sculpture of a real object or living thing and what is one's favorite unless your taste happens to place an emphasis on the same factors a truly independent party would use to define best, such as accuracy of the representation of the qualities of the real item, quality of the materials used, accuracy of the motion represented, consistency of the examples, quality of the painting and finish and detail of the sculpting. If the issue is value, then true equivalents need to be compared to arrive at a reasonable result.

I am not sure if I qualify as a specialist on horses but I have spent the majority of my life with them so I think I do know something about how they look and move. I also have sampled and certainly spent some time examining several of the choices you mention and formed some opinion of their relative merits, at least with respect to the major mat producers. With that in mind and doing my best to be independent of my personal preferences, I would offer the following suggested rankings

A: AeroArt and First Legion. The both have excellent examples of very horses with correct and detailed treatment of conformation, expression, color and movements. The AeroArt painting is stunning and a bit better than First Legion but only slightly so for most equine examples. The sculpting detail between the two is almost too close for me to call. The representation of correct coloring is more consistent with First Legion since a number of AeroArt horses have colorations that do not show up in real life. The same can be said for movement. While many AeroArt equine poses are dramatic, they are also too frequently unlikely at best. One need only peruse the recent AeroArt at the Westcoaster for some examples such as the movements of the blue and yellow knights horse in posts 10 & 11 and the Japanese horse in post 12. The facial characteristics on the last one are also a bit off. I have not found these mistakes with First Legion horses.

B: K&C and Collectors Showcase. I find the horses from these two makers rather close as well. I think the CS horses have a bit more detail and the K&C horses have more consistent proper movement. The facial expressions and accuracy of detail in equine anatomy, especially the heads, and general level of painting and overall detail in tails, ears, nostrils and manes is not nearly to the level above but they provide a nice rougher approximation of horses that is pleasing to the eye. There is a significant variability in this across releases.

C: Britains and Conte: I would rate the WB horses somewhat below the level above primarily due to the proportions of heads. I am not as familiar with the Conte horses but I have seen some that are on a par with the WB and others that may be as good or better than the level above. Otherwise, I think the observations for the other two apply here as well.

As to value, I would have to say First Legion wins that one running away. With quality close to AeroArt, not infrequently better accuracy, more consistency and pricing closer to the major producers, how can it not. That said, there is certainly a place for the lower tier equines and and if you desire to produce a large herd, they are certainly a reasonable choice. I have many for that purpose myself.;)
 
This is how I would rate "matte" model horses in the hobby:

1) Aeroart / Russian-made horses
2) First Legion
3) K&C / Conte
4) Collectors Showcase
5) Britains - recently getting better, but still needs improvement
 
Here's my opinion.

1. First Legion/Aeroart or similiar Russian Studios
2. King & Country
3. Collector's Showcase
4. Britains/Conte

I split up the 1st place between FL and Aeroart, because I don't see a difference in the quality of sculpting. If it comes to painting, then on various horses of the Russian Studios you will find that the fur structure is actually visible which makes for a very impressive look.
But for those figures, the price tag is easily triple or quadruple of the most expensive figures from my list above, which would be FL with asking $159.00 so far as the top price for some of their mounted figures.

No comment on the Britains "Connaisseur Series" where they are asking north of $200.00 for their first two releases.
 
Mine would be
A) K+C the lighthorse are brilliant-seen in person
B)Aeroart-Going on pics
C)First legion (But there only as big as Shetland ponies.............:D)-Going on pics and comments.
D)Britains-Seen in person
E)Collectors showcase/Conte-seen both.

Just MO....................;)
 
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Wayne,you didn't have to explain your 'Joke'.Last time I checked this is a free forum and we are allowed to post anything we like as long as it is not going to cause offence.There are some with their own agendas and perhaps jealousies that would wish to deny us our right to do this or otherwise feel they have to scrutinize posts and then make a sweeping judgements on them.

Rob
 
Rob said:
Wayne,you didn't have to explain your 'Joke'.Last time I checked this is a free forum and we are allowed to post anything we like as long as it is not going to cause offence.There are some with their own agendas and perhaps jealousies that would wish to deny us our right to do this or otherwise feel they have to scrutinize posts and then make a sweeping judgements on them.

Rob
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Now now Rob this is just a Gee Gee question :D-real horse power if you like not just mechanised ;).

I'll always bow to Bill's superior equine knowledge but I think his comments are fair and well balanced. I have cavalry pieces from all the aforementioned manufacturers except FL (thank the lord they have not yet dipped their toes into the ACW-repeat Yet!:D) and imo all of my nag pieces have certain qualities that I like and dare I add errors that are really no more than annoying rather than glaring.

Recently what has certainly impressed me and I know a large number of collectors do not like to see injured horses displayed but K&C's latest ALH, ACW & Real West examples are superbly posed as downed horses.

Reb
 
UKReb said:
Now now Rob this is just a Gee Gee question :D-real horse power if you like not just mechanised ;).

I'll always bow to Bill's superior equine knowledge but I think his comments are fair and well balanced. I have cavalry pieces from all the aforementioned manufacturers except FL (thank the lord they have not yet dipped their toes into the ACW-repeat Yet!:D) and imo all of my nag pieces have certain qualities that I like and dare I add errors that are really no more than annoying rather than glaring.

Recently what has certainly impressed me and I know a large number of collectors do not like to see injured horses displayed but K&C's latest ALH, ACW & Real West examples are superbly posed as downed horses.

Reb
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Bob,my remarks were not aimed at Bill.More at those who have brought Wayne to the point where he thinks he has to point out a joke for fear of being shouted down,its happened with fans of several different producers and its just a shame is all.

But as you say back to the Horses:cool:

Rob
 
I tend to agree with Bob on this one. Perhaps we need to pinch ourselves to remind ourselves of the tremendous choices we have, even in the equine area, something we didn't have until recently, where every manufacturer has stepped up its game. It's a treat for me to have to choose between a horse made by K & C and other manufacturers.

Although this is a free forum, sometimes when it comes to humor, discretion is the better part of valor.
 
Rob said:
Bill,there are certainly some fans of several companies this could apply to!;)

Rob
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No doubt, cognitive dissonance is a power force. Of course here the point was specific to the comment to which it was addressed.;)
 
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