I am told these were sculpted by Anthony Barton, when he worked for Battle Honours. (He now works for his own company, AB). They show his skills as anyone familiar with his previous sculpts would expect. This advancing Union infantry figure is 16 mm from the sole of the foot to the eye. As with all of Barton’s work, the proportions, detail, and pose are excellent.
Dem Bones - The Anatomy: The face under the kepi is clear and distinct, and the mustache is not too large. The entire figure shows good anatomical proportion, and is none too well fed, as befits a hard campaigning Yank. The hands and feet are in proportion to the rest of the body.
Everybody Vogue: I’m a real snob when it comes to poses. I’ve always liked Battle Honors for that reason. Their poses look realistic (i.e. that’s what people look like when they run, walk, etc.) without approaching the cartoonish look of some figures. This is a good example. Billy Yank here is moving forward, and to my eye looks like a determined soldier. There’s absolutely no urge to add one of those old TV Batman style “Biff!” captions. This is a snapshot, not a caricature.
Do Those Buttons Read USA or USB? I once saw a 25 mm soldier from, I think, the British colonial period. He had yellow buttons with dark details that looked just like the “Have A Nice Day” smiley. Turns out the buttons had some sculpted details that just happened to kinda’ look that way when painted. So there can be such a thing as too much detail. I generally find BH gets the balance I think right. The workings of the musket are clear and distinct. The haversack is nicely rendered. There are no overly exaggerated details added just for the sake of being easier to see/paint. But like most of Barton’s work, his bayonet looks much too large (though I must admit I have not measured).
The Reserves: Other Figures
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