Thursday 12 April 2012

Valiant Minatures 1/72 American GIs

I've just finished off four more of the freebie Valiant WW2 GIs I got hold of on a distant (pre-FOW) Wargames Illustrated. I really like these figures as they offer great value for money, with over 60 figures in a box, including HMGs, mortars and anti-tank weapons.



There is also a selection of additional heads, personal weapons and equipment, with a number of figures having separate arms to allow a lot of customisation. 



The figures are well made in hard plastic with crisp detail and very little flash throughout.






Here they are in front one of the Dave Graffam's excellent card buildings, whose range I'm increasingly using in games.


There is one fairly major downside to Valiant's range however, regarding their scale. While they are marketed as 1/72 scale, they are in reality quite bulky and closer to 28mm as seen below when compared to Plastic Soldier Company . This inevitably causes problems with scale compatibility and  limits you to using them solely in infantry-only encounters against other Valiant counterparts.


If this isn't a problem to you though, I would say the Valiant troops are among the best hard plastic troops currently available and would recommend them to anyone looking to field a cost-effective and well-equipped force,

That's it for now,

Monty



13 comments:

  1. What colours did you use for the uniforms Monty?
    I have seen so many different variations for GI uniforms, particularly the jacket, that my Valiant GI's remain in the box as I don't know where to start with them but I do like the colour scheme you have gone for.

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    1. Must admit was the same regarding their colour scheme and wasn't really happy until I reached their final stage. I use Vallego Khaki Grey for their jackets, washed with GW Devlan Mud and dry-brushed with dark sand to lighten it up. Their trousers are Vallejo USA Olive Drab. The webbing Vallejo Olive Green mixed with US Field Drab, again all washed and dry-brushed. Hope this helps ;) Regards Monty

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  2. You've done a great paintjob but as you said the scale was a big issue and I never used them even when they were given free with a magazine!

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  3. I'm a big Valiant's fan and plan on using them for my WWII skirmish games. As said excellent figures for this type of gaming. BTW, nice paint job too!

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  4. They look great and nicely detailed mini's

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  5. Excellent work on these the colours, the basing; it all looks spot on!

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  6. Lovely job Monty, but as you say limited for actual use. The chunky look does make for well fed yanks.

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  7. Nice work Monty. Consider them "Heroic 20s"!

    Nick

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  8. Thanks for your kind comments chaps; I must admit, I've never bought any myself yet, but whenever I see them, I spend ages debating whether to buy them... ;)

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  9. I really like how they have come up. Lovely paint job on those. Mine are still waiting for priming :)

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  10. Really nice work on these Monty. I painted up some Brits earlier this year and agree that the scale is a bit limiting. Nice figs though.

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  11. Well done, they look suberb!

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