Sunday, August 31, 2008

Cold Weather CD Workers

Civil defense is a topic of great importance for the US during the 40's-50's. Mysteriousoozlefinch attempts to decode their uniforms and equipment in this great little set.

1)Accuracy : 5 - Everything is detailed here. The items they used to test out (I am assuming Radiation?) or something of the sort. Uniforms seem to be up to par with other things that he has made in the past also.

2)Design : 3 - As a set this could be vastly expanded. New poses, items and people are on the line for something that could be added. As a set all of the figures are walking around with their hands held out and the variety is simply not there. A good feature in this set is the boots :) I love the boots they are bulky and have a great look towards them.

3)Standard : 5 - Mostly fits the same standard set forth on other sets of this kind. There are not to many other things of this sort so if you needed CD figures you could keep them in a nice style.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Not sure how many others will make a set like this. Its very person specific, someone has to have a love for this information to decide to make the figures. Therefore the future fleshing out will focus on individual personality and not necessarily a vast need for the products.

5)Usability : 4 1/2 - Yes this is ready to be printed out. However the pieces are there to be added and mixed. Meaning that its not completely there, and that in the end there is some assembly required.

Total : 4.5 out of 5 Stars - A decent set with a kind of limited use in the world of wargaming. With a unique design, however, they are ready for almost anything you are ready to throw at them.

Opel Blitz Truck

What happens when you take everything into account and design a new set? It comes out amazing.

1)Accuracy : 5 - There is so much true to life detail on this set. The opels carry boxes with detail, have gears with detail; its just detail all over the place. Amazing.

2)Design : 5 - A very good design. Last time I reviewed some of Jhighs work there were some minor problems with the wheels. This time around they have been improved highly and look awesome.

3)Standard : 4 - Unfortunately there are some qualms with standard. As a set it looks amazing but it may not fit in with other WW2 vehicles on the site. As much as this matters in a wargame situation is not that important. I see these in a support role; and ergo not always next to some of the other designed vehicles on the site.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Looks hand drawn and instead of producing just a couple of the same old infantry troops jhigh has taken to his specialty; aka greatly detailed vechicles and created another great set.

5)Usability : 5 - Ready to go! You have a good set, with a ton of variety. Simply pick what you want and format the paper and go ahead and your ready to play!

Total : 4.8 out of 5 Stars - Great set, maybe not conforming but its not the worse thing in the world. An amazing set that should set the standard for Opels in the future!

F-15I Ra'am IDF

F-15s are some of the most powerful creatures in the sky. 707officer has looked at the pictures and given his depiction some amazing teeth!

1)Accuracy : 5 - A very accurate piece. Colors, markings, and small details. Everything comes in a great little package ready to be used. Down to the small detail on the bombs!

2)Design : 3 - The wing format on this aircraft kind of bugs me. This is a personal thing but it distracts from the design in some ways. As I grew up I drew alot of aircraft like this just for the hell of it. When I saw others draw them with weird wing shapes it kind of 'irked' me. There is a weird design perspective on this aircraft which makes it stand out a little oddly.

3)Standard : 4 - Even with the wierd wing format this set will fit in with your average figures. Since its built to be in the sky the wings give a kind of perspective.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Simply do not have much like this on the site right now, so this is a great job. The detail is beyond what we usually see on the average paper miniature.

5)Usability : 5 - Print and play. Needs a stand but that as always should be left up to the end user to figure out the smaller details.

Total : 4.4 out of 5 stars - A great piece of art that falls short in some key perspective details.

UN Canadian Peacekeeper M113s in Yugoslavia

A mouthful to say not to say write. The long name of this set is made up with extreme amounts of detail and foresight.

1)Accuracy : 5 - UN vehicles are not that hard to design. They tend to just be white with a UN symbol on it. Extra details add an interesting aspect to this, such as flags and extra helmets hanging on it.

2)Design : 5 - A very well designed piece. Mud is everywhere. It represents something that we do not always have on the site, unideal conditions. To even compound this further we see detail all over the place which just makes this ultimately one of the more interesting pieces you'll see.

3)Standard : 3 - As I said earlier... everything is not dirty on the site. And until people being making dirty versions of their vehicles we will not really have anything that fits into the simple amazing look of this design.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Dirty! This M113 could use a good washing, their crew being Canadians are just clearly lazy *sigh*. As said before its so unique it hardly fits in.

5)Usability : 5 - It is based and ready to be printed. You'd have it in your game in a couple minutes.

Overall : 4.6 out of 5 Stars - A great job that is simply to dirty for its own good.

Canadian CH-146 Griffon

Its good to see something that isn't necessarily built upon a military basing for the website. Half-Track has made a great piece which shows off this ability.

1)Accuracy : 4 - This is an accurate set based on what i've seen of pictures of this. The only downside is that some of the interior detail which was clear isn't in this.

2)Design : 4 - All in all this is a wonderful design. The colors are amazing. They draw your eyes to the figure and keep it moving. The downside is there isn't much detail coming from inside the aircraft itself. On pictures i've seen there seems to be a lot of detail when they open the doors also.

3)Standard : 4 - Its a toss up in this situation. On one hand this sets a nice standard for color and for the CH-146. On the other hand the lack of interor details (grayed out windows) removed the almost perfected look of this item.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Very very unique! Its not just another war machine, its built for something completely different. The fact that he has decised to design something like this is admirable.

5)Usability : 5 - Click print and you are ready. Once again you may want a stand but otherwise its very nice and functional.

Total : 4.4 out of 5 stars - A great piece that needs maybe 30-40 minutes of work to be a perfected piece.

Eurocopter Tiger

Complexity is just a part of the modern battlefield. In this case the new Tiger is one aspect that just has to be added into the equation. Half-tracks Tiger does a great job of this.

1)Accuracy : 5 - This baby is accurate. Down to the little panels switches and nobs of the cockpit! It is just fun to look at and explore. But its also extremely functional, and the detail isn't there too take away but simply add to it.

2)Design : 4 - Only one thing is missing from making this the standard for new variants on Tigers. This needs pilots! It desperately needs them in fact because with all the detail in the cockpit the missing factor is disappointing.

3)Standard : 5 - Sets the standard for the Tiger on the site, but it also is a lot like other vechicles of the modern era should it should be easy to fit in.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - We do not have many modern helos on the site so too see it is refreshing. This is a unique piece of work which is unique in its design and usability.

5)Usability : 5 - It *should* be ready for most wargame situations. There may need to be some stands for the character but that is about it.

Total : 4.8 out of 5 - A great piece that is hindered by one simple over sight.

Hong Kong Special Duties Unit

A good portion of modern sets tend to disappoint with their lack of motion, while dazzling with their amount of detail. Micheal Smith has managed to put both ideals in one set.

1)Accuracy : 5 - Using both street, and tactical clothing Micheal has shown how conflict can come at the most inoppurtune times. The detail goes even deeper with the use of front and back designs which just end up giving a good complete feel to the figures.

2)Design : 5 - It has front, backs, and all the inbetween. There is a good variety in the set which keeps your eyes moving and everything extremely interesting. The poses are fun and full of movement while the soldiers look like they are actually performing their actions.

3)Standard : 4 - Its sad to have to say, 'something is too good for its section,' but at this junction it is. These will not fit in very well with the static poses we currently have on the site. If Micheal Smith makes some Hong Kong based criminals then this would be vastly different.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - We haven't really seen anything like this on the site quite yet. At the rate it is going right now I hope we do, but it seems like the modern, cold war designers are falling back into the ease of static poses.

5)Usability : 5 - Click print and you are ready for conflict. This is a nice easy to use set that is already based and understands its period.

Total : 4.8 out of 5 stars - An ideal set which needs some supporting materials to be a little better.

Canadian Infantry 1964-Early 80s

Stagnation can do wonders for individual detail, but on a whole it can demenish the overall quality of figures in the long run.

1)Accuracy : 5 - I have no doubt that this is a wholely acurrate set. It is produced by someone who has taken Canadian equipment and uniforms to an exact science. Therefore pretty much perfect.

2)Design : 5 - The figures are nice clean and they have a good layout. Great detail and attention is given to the set, and there is some variety in the helmet detail.

3)Standard : 5 - Unfourtantly this conforms to what has been released in this type of figure on the site at this point. This said it could be made a little bit better if they just used some dynamic/unique poses in the set!

4)Uniqueness : 2 - We know that the designer of this set can do static standing canadian infantry in a perfect way. I'd love to see a set of motion filled soldiers that go in with this. Even if one or two figures in his next set show some motion or different poses it would be great!

5)Usability : 5 - There are officers, bases, and backsides! This set is ready for the big time. I could print and play these really easily.

Total : 4.6 out of 5 stars. - A good set that just needs some new poses to set it out from the other sets.

Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale

707 has always been a master at making extraordinarily detailed sets but the one thing they tend to miss is the practical use in wargames.

1)Accuracy : 5 - What can I say, this set is detailed. In fact most people seem to think so on Google also :). As you type this in and you tend to get something that looks almost exactly like this. Sometimes you may even find this set right up there!

2)Design : 3 - The set is ok in design. The main downside comes from its inability to include any bases for the soldiers. They just float there, and that is a horrible downside to a set that looks amazing.

3)Standard : 5 - Heavy detail is a requirement for modern figures at this junction. With the amount of people who look into every piece of detail on a kit it takes a keen eye to understand that you need to make sure you keep it realistic! This is no exception.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Only set of its kind on the site. Plus the way they are standing and some other poses are completely unique to this set! The setting mine is one of those areas.

5)Usability : 3 - With bases this would be a 5. As is this set is not ready for printing and still needs some work in order to be used in any type of gaming.

Total : 4.2 out of 5 A great set that just needs maybe 10 minutes of work to be perfect.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Gual Swordsmen

Such a small percent of our site is filled up with the highly gamed porition of the Ancient periods. Private Toasters new set is a welcome filler to the void!

1)Accuracy : 4 - There could be some extra added features to make this more accurate. I.E. detail on the shields which seem to be in other depictions of the Guals.

2)Design : 4 - Beards seem to be a major downside to this set. Each Gual has the same beard in a different color! I would recommend that these get changed just very slightly to give more variety. Otherwise this set is a very nicely designed set.

3)Standard : 5 - As the Ancient sets get replaced by works using Bens poses they get more and more standard. With these guals the standard is kept up and impressively so.

4)Uniqueness : 4 - All in all this is a unique set though it could use some variance in some of the beards and faces. The shields need just a little more detail on them to be better and more unique also.

5)Usability : 5 - An absolute dream to print out. This is ready to be formated and printed for actual wargame use! Variety in the figures styles will give you an amazing look and feel on the battlefield.

4.4 stars out of 5 - Overall a grand set that suffers from just a few set backs that would otherwise make it perfect.

Trebuchet With Crew

Sometimes an experiment doesn't pay off in the end. While not a bad piece Mikes Trebuchet with crew doesn't deliver in a lot of areas.

1)Accuracy : 4 - For the most part this is a reqasonably accurate Trebuchet. I assume it was designed based off almost a direct drawing of a toy or something of the sort. The soldiers that come with it are not as nicely designed and really do not seem to reflect any known time period.

2)Design : 2 - The use of perspective is nice but it doesn't seem to be that well done. Lines are crooked some of the pieces look a little rushed and for the most part it has a poor quality feel to it. The soldiers have differnt colored bases from the Trebuchet also.

3)Standard : 2 - All of the equipment like this on the site right now is strictly side view. This makes this a little wierd when you look at it with the other things on the battlefield. However this is not bad but it simply isn't in the standard set forth by at least 2 years of design in this area.

4)Uniqueness : 3 - It is kind of unique in its design and subject but it isn't nesscarily what it could be. Points are not given simply for designing something completely differnt and because of that it loses a lot of score in this catagory.

5)Usability : 4 - Sure you could go ahead and print this out but there are just a lot of differnt scales and figures being shown on it. The bases are a differnt color and the people should be actaully using the weapon. With this said you could simply print it out in one click which is very very useful!

2.8 out of 5 stars - A set that needs a good amount of work to be up to par with a lot of the newer or other Medieval sets out there. For what it is its ok but at this junction it needs to be fixed.

Friday, August 29, 2008

British CVR(T) Family 5-7

Some of my favorite vehicles in the world are from the British CVR family. The small style of the scorpion always seemed to appeal to me as something of an interesting vehicle. Jeff High has posted a pretty good creation of these figures.

1)Accuracy : 4 - The set seems to be reasonable accurate with a good amount of detail on some of the pieces. The colors seem to be a basic color scheme that could of been enhanced just slightly but otherwise it is up to par.

2)Design : 4 - Unfourtantly there seems to be too little detail on the wheels. Its not that it ruins the feel of the total set but it seems like there is almost too little design versus some other parts on the work. For example a huge amount of detail is given to the Sultans Commander turrent which has lots of very interesting features but little to the wheels.

3)Standard : 4 - Jeffs work fits right into the modern battlefield figures, but it doesn't nesscarily match the others. Mostly again on the wheels and a couple other small detail features. But its not a huge deal in the end.

4)Uniqueness : 4 - There have been a couple of other figures of this type on the site before so its not nesscarily a new figure that has been posted. It is a slight improvement.

5)Usability : 5 - A set like this is absoultly simple to print out. If you need these vechicles for your army then its a very simple and painless process to get these formated and done.

Total : 4.2 out of 5 - A good attention to detail that could use a slight amount of more work to make it a perfect and new standard for varients on the site.

Baily Bridge Construction

Clive is known for his love of the WW2 british. Furthermore he understands that there were a lot more things going on then tanks and machine guns! His Baily Bridge Construction set is an example of the detail and skill that is put into his work.

1)Accuracy : 5 - As an overall group of sets the Baily Bridge Construction is ridiculously accurate. It details every aspect of its construction and goes inch by inch to make sure you get maximum detail.

2)Design : 4 - The design is great albeit limited. There are new poses; some top down to show you were things would go, and also some pieces of equipment. It gives a lot of individual detail and a good complete design.

3)Standard : 5 - The WW2 section is large but mostly very unified. This set is no different as the infantry looks like all the other Clivian infantry. Therefore it will conform with mostly anything else!

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Highly unique; we honestly have nothing like this. Its an attention to detail one gets when they are highly passionate about a subject such as clive is.

5)Usability : 3 - This is a great Diorama piece, but a wargame piece? I think it would be hard pressed to find itself on a wargame table unfourtantly. The detail is there but at which aspect do you print it out? The orginal bridge that Clive uploaded works better for this role. The Diorama aspect of this is amazing.

4.4 out of 5 - An interesting and unique piece that doesn't quite have the range of use that it could.

Arab Warriors

The work put in this set can be seen without analising too much,but there are a few things to discuss. (By Mike)

Accuracy :4 as you can see,the soldiers in this set were made after the modern perception about medieval muslim.We don’t have another perception,so this is a plus.A minus can be this:the soldiers had a primary weapon and a secundary one,this would be a sword,mace ,or axe,or whatever,I don’t see any hand weapons.

Design:4 the detail especially at the shields is superbe but they could use some more face detail.About the helmets,very well designed and in a great variety.

Standard:5 Unequaled because of the number of figures in the set.Alex Kremer made set that can be used from the ancients to late midle ages.

Uniqueness: 5 there have been some sets with saracens but this is the big brother ,considering the points above.

Usability:5 You can get a pretty large group of soldiers by just printing the page on the site.You don’t have to do that copy.paste,booooring stuff.

4.6 out of 5 Stars



Thursday, August 28, 2008

1830 Duelists

Take note. This is how to introduce something. Define ideal set and i'll hand you a page of Duelists. Why? Read on!

1)Accuracy : 5 - Basically when you define a period for gentlemen to fight in you have to research the fashions of the day. This set does exactly that. It has found the period clothing and made enopugh variation on it to be interesting. There are some British and French soldiers but for the most part they seem to be a side note to the main set.

2)Design : 5 - Ungern has a different look at paper miniatures anatomy. The standard of miniatures tends to be one of bulk, people build bulky soldiers and have since the start of what we consider modern design in paper miniatures. The soldiers in this case follow a new design, straight laced gentlemen and matching the time period. A most amazing decision decision on this group was to make them small, but it plays into the feel of the period.

3)Standard : 5 - As a standalone set it is unique and thus would be useless had there only been one or two duelists. However, Ungern has produced a complete set if you print this paper out you are ready to use them, for what? Thats up too you!

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Pretty much a completely unique set of figures. A period and idea that have not been made before.

5)Usability : 5 - Just click print. You are ready with 16 unique figures to use in what ever kind of dueling situation you can find!

Total : 5 out of 5. An amazing set by an amazing designer.

Moldavian Medieval Army

Medieval Armies were as varied as modern special forces soldiers, and its something that we should try to put when we are designing a set that should indicate masses of bulked troops. This set however falls a little short of that goal.

1)Accuracy : 4 - For the most part this set is reasonably accurate based on what we know of medieval sets. The set is kind of generic for any medieval army but it does raise some local flair. For example Chief Baci.

2)Design : 3 - The design of these figures are not the best that they could be. The Palsei warriors could have a slight amount of extra detail, while the coats of the Ciobanial could be better designed using the same method we use to make camo on modern soldiers.

3)Standard : 4 - Our perception of medieval warfare is in large part a view on large and or small battles. This set is currently at the standard of what we have in the medieval section, little variety between bases. It is something that should be fixed up a little better but at this junction it is something that is standing. Most of this is due to a lack of research resources out there for some of these older armies.

4)Uniqueness : 3 - There are very few unique or interesting poses in this set. There are some unique stands; Chief Baci again. But for the most part this is the only unique pose. Also there are very few separate bases. That means when you print them out they will look very alike.

5)Usability : 5 - They are based and ready to go. You have a ton of differnt types that are ready to be printed.

Total : 3.8 out of 5 stars - A great idea for a set to fill out some of the medieval figures that are missing on the site. But it falls short by not having a good variety of figures to use.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

New Orleans Class

Jon Oldham is a genius of the pixel form. His blog, The Shipping Channel, is his latest venture. Some of these styles of ships have been turning up on the site lately so its about time we got a review of them!

1)Accuracy : 5 - Based directly off blueprints these ships are very well put together. There are little details which may be left out on other designers work.

2)Design : 5 - A unique style that allows the ship to both stand out but also have a good enopugh shading to be considered to have 'depth!' The ship has a great feeling to it from top to bottom.

3)Standard : 5 - Since this is Jons style and Jons site it should be considered to be his style! If you look at other figures in this section they pretty much conform to what you see.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Hand made clearly from scratch. This is a very unique figure in all its facites.

5)Usability : 5 - It comes in two forms, ready to be printed, and other uses. You can print this out as quick as possible without much problem.

Overall : 5 out of 5.

Soviet Infantry in Afghanistan Conflict

Afghanistan has been in a level or perpetual state conflict for a couple decades now. Half track has created a very interesting set of Russians to represent this long period of history.

1)Accuracy : 5 - It shouldn't be too hard to put together a set of soldiers based on this conflict. There are tons of images, and videos of it. Therefore the large variety of poses have a wide degree of variability which had to be researched.

2)Design : 4 - Only downside? No Backsides! If there had been any backsides this would be pretty much a perfect set. Otherwise the amount of detail is very well put together!

3)Standard : 5 - They stay within the standard put forth by other figures in this section. The snipers and gunners seem to work very well with other figures.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - This pose uses almost everything available to produce something comprehensive. There are differnt uniforms arm positions, standing, laying down, wounded, or brand new gunner positions. Its a great set that allows for a high amount of variability.

5)Usability : 5 - Very easy to get ready to play, the soldiers are based and ready to go. Just randomly select a bunch of them and put them onto a page!

Total : 4.8 out of 5 Stars. - Add backsides and this is a perfect set ready for any table experience.

Raaaaaawwwwwwrrrrr

Dinos, they didn't exist with humans. But do not tell *everyone* that! This set makes an interesting look into the JG realm sized figures.

1)Accuracy : 5 - A good portion of this is based on depictions of what we think these dinos looked like. Given that the general consistence is a good amount like these figures Michael Krein has done a great job!

2)Design : 5 - Michael Krein has a unique style to his figures and when in a situation like this it makes a very nice set. The figures are tectured very nicely and have a great stance.

3)Standard : 5 - As the only dino designer these set the standard for other dinos. The other use for these are kind of a lost world discovered type game, in which case they do not fit in to well.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - These are hand drawn and thus they are in a set by themselves. However they could do with a slight more variety. This said it is not as easy as something else and therefore no points are subtracted for something like this.

5)Usability : 5 - Very easy PnP. They are ready to be formatted and easily put into action. They could fill a variety of roles and therefore the simplicity of printing is great.

Overall - 5 out of 5 stars - An almost perfect set unique in its color, texture, and feel.

Black and Tans

Come ye Irish Soldiers! JD321 has created an interesting portrayal of something of an infamous Irish militant group.

1)Accuracy : 4 - Seems to be reasonably accurate. Though it seems like this unit may of had more variation in its uniforms, and hats then this already had.

2)Design : 4 - Averagely designed. The naturally dark color kind of makes it a little harder to see any of the details, but they are there. The guns are tethered, and the buttons shine on the soldiers!

3)Standard : 5 - This sets its own standard. As most of the figures are of this type from this designer for this period. Therefore it is a good and reasonably standardized set!

4)Uniqueness : 5 - There are a good amount of unique poses for a set of this size. A couple figures are running, there are some standing figures, and some are firing a gun. The greatest part is that if you are needing some unique poses for a roadblock you have the B-Specials standing at attention.

5)Usability : 5 - For the most part this set is ready to go. There is a reasonable difference between the figures, which makes it a lot easier in order to tell ranks between units on the battlefield.

Overall : 4.6 out of 5 - A great set for a relatively underrepresented period in history.

British-Paras

Why does Half-Tracks figures seem to get 5 stars on my review system? A good attention to detail mixed with a dedication towards a, 'complete' set. This is no exception.

1)Accuracy : 5 - Variance on a basic uniform with attention to the various backpacks and equipment that they would of used. Also understanding that the individuals did not all have the same thing or carry the same equipment.

2)Design : 5 - Overall the set is nicely designed. There is enough detail to keep your eyes going back and forth, and the camo does its job (breaking the pattern up!) Which gives the set an amazing quality towards it.

3)Standard : 5 - Given that most WW2 items are not in the new pose style these figures stay in the style which has been set forth before. The set uses some nice laying down poses, and officer poses.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - Soldiers have differnt ranks, hair styles, hats, guns, backpacks... its all very, 'unique!' In the end the attention to detail goes above and beyond and with a little modifying you could have a huge amount of variation.

5)Usability : 4 - Given the variation you could have a good sized unit without having to look at the same thing twice. With the officers you already have enough for most wargames also! The only addition I would recommed for this set is a bren gun unit standing up in order to have the option.

Overall : 4.8 out of 5 Stars! - A great set which simply needs one more figure to be perfect!

T-72's

Vehicles are a secondary aspect of Juniorgeneral. While we have them on the site they are in lue of the miniatures. Having no exact scale making them can sometimes be a laborious chore of figuring out where something matches based on photos alone. Thankfully we have people with in the site who are ready and willing to take the time and design these. Half-Track has done a great job in designing this series of figures.

1)Accuracy : 5 - This figure is well designed and clearly a good attention to detail. Half-track has looked at what is, and isn't on his sets and given other items in order to add on to them. On this set for example there are more panels which you could possibly add on. Further he has gone to some length to insure that you have the slight variation on hand for seperate nations.

2)Design : 5 - Little details add up. You can see the dent marks on the panels, the detail on the wheels, and other areas. This gives it a finished and well designed feel to it.

3)Standard : 5 - As the center of attention this figure *sets* the standard for this period. The T-72 will be the center of attention on your battlefield, its bigger and just stands out! Therefore things should conform to this, and most things do.

4)Uniqueness : 5 - For the most part we do not have a lot of tanks of this type. Therefore any new ones will be unique.

5)Usability : 5 - Set this page up and get ready to print! It is very easy to print and base being big enough.

Perfect 5 out of 5! - A very nice and easy to use set.

Indian Head Division



The largest chunk of paper soldiers (and vehicles) produced on the junior general site is world war II figures. We get allot of these sets, but every once in a while something comes along and catches my eye and this is one of those sets.

Accuracy: 4.2 - These figures look about right for WWII US infantry, my only complaint (and its a tiny one) is that the helmets look a little funny and not quiet like what I picture a WWII US infantry helmet looking like. Regardless, these seem well researched

Design: 4.3 - These figures look great, there verity of poses and stances reminds me of the plastic toy soldiers I used to have when I was little, very lively!

Standard 4.5 - These figures will fit in with most figures on the site and are based nicely.

Uniqueness 3.5 - While this is a specific division that hasn't had to much of anything done for it before it... This really is just yet another set of WWII U.S infantry

Usability 4.2 - These figures will be easily used and theres enough pose verity that one man could be marked of as the commander or such. My only complain here is that the only real defining characteristic about these guys vs any other US infantry in WWII is the little tiny 4 pixels of Blue and white on there shoulder and a little dab of terracotta on there helmet that will soon melt to nothing once put on the table.

Total: 4.1 - A good, solid set of nice ww2 infantry of the indian head division.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Imperial French light cavalry

Daniel Harper has made a wonderfully detailed Imperial French light cavalry set.

1)Accuracy : 5 - Down to the little detail you can see the attention to detail that Daniel Harper has put into these paper miniatures. This is reflected in the accuracy of the overall soldiers.

2)Design : 5 - The figures in this set are very well designed. With a good flare that represents the styles in the real world. He has captured this with good colors and design choices which help stand out on the battlefield.

3)Standard : 5 - A good porition of this period and soldiers are made by the same individual meaning that the standards that have been set have been set by him. Therefore it for the most part they are almost the same.

4)Uniqueness : 4 - There could be more poses in this set. It is by far the only bad part of the whole set. If there were maybe 5 extra figures it would give even more variety once printed.

5)Usability : 5 - Basicly you have to format them and then print them! It is a nicely designed format that has worked for other cavalry sets and will work very well for this one! The biggest factor for cavalry is, 'how many figures to a base?' and because no one can really figure it out right away its better to have it in this format.

4.8 out of 5 stars. - A very nice set built with wargaming and detail in mind. For the most part an absolute great job from a great designer.

El Salvadorean Infantry

A while ago I would of looked at most small indepdent nations with a sort of contempt. They didn't seem to have much purpose in the page miniatures scene. It wasn't until I started thinking about the options of the conflicts did it occur that it could be indeed an interesting period to simulate! With the outbreak of war in Georgia these types of smaller nations have become more and more important in the world today.

1)Accuracy : 3 - Based on basic research it would seem that this nation uses older or discarded uniforms from 1st world nations. These uniforms look a lot like Vietnam era US soldiers. The major difference is the darker skin color based off the skin color set. (And the use of the various weapons.)

2)Design : 4 - Overall its a very nicely designed set. It is drawn in accordance with other sets and uses a nicely standardized weapon. There are enough details with in the set to make it interesting. A major issue I have with this set is that it is hard to really tell the squad leader from a basic soldier at first glance.

3)Standard : 5 - Chapter Master Pavlov has produced a nicely standardized set which could fit in on any modern era battlefield, maybe even some cold war periods.

4)Uniqueness : 3.5 - The set isn't that unique. There are not that many interesting poses or soldiers. There are two varients on the same soldier, making it hard to tell them apart. A hat is the only real variation.

5)Usability : 4 - What this set does have working for it is that it is clearly formated for printing. I can tell exactly how to build a unit of these soldiers and its all ready to be put on a page and printed.

Total : 3.9 out of 5 - Overall a nice set but nothing that is ground shaking or differnt.

SdKfz 303 Goliath

The Goliath was a ww2 vechicle created by the Germans in order to have a remote controled 'land mine.' Daniel has

1)Accuracy : 5 - For the most part this set is reasonably accurate. The carrier, and vehicle are shown in good detail and there are individuals in period clothing that could 'stand around' while this is being used in a wargame.

2)Design : 4 - The design is very nice, the vehicle looks nice and clearly, 'in scale.' Although this set has a couple flaws in its design. The first being that while the set can 'fit together,' and turn into other things, there is one individual missing from the vehicle, the set shows 3 and there are 2; I am assuming this to be a team of course!

3)Standard : 5 - This set would fit into almost any of the figures on the page for this period. The colors are equal, the size equal, and overall it is in good form.

4)Uniqueness : 4 - If the two 'gun holder' poses had been a little more interesting this set would be a lot better. As is the major downside seems to be the two guys standing around holding guns. It may be more interesting to show them hanging around or something. Otherwise being something of an obscure vehicle the uniqueness is naturally very clear!

5)Usability : 5 - Any wargamer or diaramoa builder would be blessed by this set. Its simply, 'done,' and you can print it out on one page in one of two formats, meaning that you could also switch it on and off the field for the same printing effort as another set!

Total : 4.6 stars out of 10. A very nicely designed set which takes into account a huge amount of practical detail!

Modern Canadian Infantry


While something like 90% of Canadians live within 10 miles of the U.S boarder, Canadians manage to possess an oddly fierce nationalism while not being violent or oppressive about it. Maple-Leaf-Warrior's Modern Canadian infantry are in this vain, as its clearly obvious from many occasions that he is a Canadian, and a proud one at that. This set appears to be a remake/improvement on previous Canadian infantry sets on the Junior General Site made by Maple-Leaf-Warrior

Accuracy: 4.5

From what Ive seen of Canadian soldiers this seems fairly right. My only complaint is that real soldiers "in the field" are not so uniform and I have seen them with many different variations on there gear, but for a textbook example these are excellent.

Design: 3

These figures are not quiet up to scratch in this department and could really pass for something designed a year ago or more. First of all there pose variety is non existent and the people are like cardboard and stiff. Secondly there is a certain "plain" aspect to these figures as the designer seems to assume that every single Canadian soldier is Caucasian male from the age of 18-35. The only redeeming factor here is that backsides were indeed done and boosts it up a little. Frankly, with all the break throughs recently in pose variety and tilted weapons, I expected more.

Standard: 4

These figures are not bad in this area, sadly most moderns on the site appear to be stiff looking and based much like these ones and so they wont stand out to much. My only complaint is that, once again they look "boring" vs other sets and may look a little boring compared to there combatants.

uniqueness: 1.5

There is a Shit load of Canadians in the modern section recently to the point that we get our own header to separate us from the "other" section. A big chunk of these are Canadian infantry they didn't really have anything wrong with them except no backsides, so tough luck there not all that unique even for JG.

usability: 3.9

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with these figures and to a wargamer and they can pretty much use them as is, my only complaint is no figure labeled as a "commander" and so this may need some work if being used in squad type game.

total: 3.4 stars out of ten

This set is OK and will probably do what you want for you, but its no record breaker and not particularly "outside the box"

Rhodesian Selous Scouts

African conflicts while a larger time span of modern warfare have less figures with in the site. Most of this can be attributed to where people live (they draw what they idealize I guess.) One of these brutal little recognized conflicts which took place were the Rhodesian Bush Wars. Tau0011 has drawn a set to simulate the scouts of the period.

1)Accuracy : 4 - From most pictures i've seen of this conflict the soldiers are uniform, but not. More or less what ever they have and then some. This set depicts this by having the soldiers be in various states of dress; or undress in one case! The guns are a good mix of what you may of seen in Africa at this time also; some FN's and AK's.

2)Design : 4 - The set is reasonably designed. I would expected more untucked shirts and less uniformed belts and suspender type things. Most of the white soldiers have a red beard which could be modified a little to make the set look a little more unique.

3)Standard : 4 - Designing a modern set is at this junction almost an exact science. We can pretty easily turn out a new nation or set of figures using a standard and accepted pose. This set does follow it although it deviates in basing methods. Tau0011 uses a much taller grass base simulating the purpose of these scouts. This makes it unique but also changes how they look when printed.

4)Uniqueness : 3 - For the most part the set uses very standard poses. There are some nice ones that are not usally used in a modern set; aka guy talking on the radio. To many soldiers have the same hat; or hair color. Which when printed out has no effect that is to great unless you are playing on a very small scale.

5)Useability : 4 - Tau0011 has pretty much used the same tried and true formula as other modern sets. One soldier to a base. The downside is again the long grass, the upside is also the long grass! So for the most part this is a major trade off which can be viewed as both good and bad :). While the design looks nice the impact on your game table is yet to be seen!

Overall : 3.8 out of 5 stars - A very nice set for a unique conflict.

Gustav Train Gun

To say the least a monster of a paper miniature. This 'set' by ALOTEF is designed around a large Nazi rail cannon. It is a unique st for Juniorgeneral as its a flat 3(6) page figure!

1)Accuracy : 4 - Judging that this is most likely based on blueprints of the vehicle it is more or less an accurate representation of what we know about it. This representation may however be slightly to large compared to an average figure.

2)Design : 3 - Its not that this item is drawn poorly. The main issue I have with it is that it is a 3 page undertaking for a 2D figure. If you factor in that you'll need a backside it will take you 6 pages to print this out! Another problem is that with a figure like this you'll either want to make a background or cut out all the white bits in between the ladders etc!

3)Standard : 5 - Compared to most other items in the WW2 section this would fit right into anything you are trying to play or represent. The set seems to have the same German gray that others use. Therefore its safe to say that this set would look just as, 'drab,' as any others :).

4)Uniqueness : 5 - The points for this are due to the uniqueness of the size. For the most part we do not have anything this large on Juniorgeneral and therefore having a figure like this is pretty amazing. The set suffers in some ways from the size and diffuculty to print but in the end makes up for it in true power.

5)Usability : 2 - And here is the problem. This would be better in a 3D form. If you were playing a wargame you would most likely want to represent not just length and width but also berth of this vechicle! This thing was massive and if you were fielding it you'll need to make a base which represented its frontage also... ergo 3 pages of base with something like half a page of frontage!

Overall : 3.8 stars out of 5 - Overall a nicely drawn figure with the downside being its intented target.

Aztec Warriors

Ancient and pre-columbian sets are extremely rare on the site. There are roughly 3% of the figures that even come close to fitting this category. With in this however there are even fewer that fit the category of, 'Natives.' Which is why MC's set is a welcome relief to this duldrum of design!

1)Accuracy : 3 - Considering the lack of much evidence from what seems like a 'common' soldier this set depicts them in a basic dress. The weapons seem to be what would be imagoned for the time period from the group. While the shields are very close to what was researched by Ben Harvey for his Aztec Jaguar set.

2)Design : 4 - A unified feel comes over the soldiers but they in no means seem to be dressed alike. Some wear differnt kinds of dress and when printed out it will give the illousion of being ununiform! The figures are very well designed using the Ancient pose set. And small features such as the eyes, and coloring around such gives a great individual character to them.

3)Standard : 4 - The downside to this set is the eyes and mouth. At the moment most of the Ancient poses seem to have a basic eye and then like other JG figures no mouth. This doesn't really matter a whole lot when printed however. Being two to a base and ready to be printed out as such gives this set a high Standard rating!

4)Uniqueness : 4 - The set is very unique in its details. While it uses a standard pose all the way through the face details put it apart. Differnt soldiers have arm bands or differnt tunics. This makes them look exceptionaly intresting as a whole! Overall the uniqueness of the set comes from the various soldiers and attention to detail.

5)Usability : 5 - This set would be quickly ready for use in almost any wargame. Two too a base with a good grass texture. It would only take a slight editting to get this set formatted to a page! Further you could most likely use this set as a stand alone to simulate many other tribes of the period and thus one page gives you hundreds of options for scenarios!

Overall : 4 out of 5 stars - A nice set that can be used for a large amount of items and thus increases its usefulness if printed out.

Aztec Jaguar warriors

Mister Ben Harvey has produced a wonderful set of Aztec Jaguar Warriors. This set is inspired by original drawings from the Aztecs themselves; along with some European based sketches.

Accuracy - 4 - The set is wonderful in its portrayal of a unique facet of pre-columbian warfare. The figures carry shields and weapons which are theorized and depicted in other paintings and drawings of the period. The downside to the accuracy of the set is that we can never be 100% sure on this, therefore the set depicts to the best of its ability.

Design - 5 - Ben is the, 'pose master,' and this set is very nice at depicting exactly why he is considered this. The units are in motion, the soldiers are fighting, and also standing. The set has a great color scheme and simulates the ununiform nature of the soldiers in this fighting position. The variety of weapons helps make this set a very nicely designed representation. Further the bright colors and small details add to make this a very excelent set.

Standard - 2 - The main issue with standard in this is that it stands 'above' everything else from this group. Until Ben makes a set of Conquistors or other aztecs these figures are beyond anything else in the catagory. At this moment they stand out as 'too good.'

Uniqueness - 3 - The set is very unique. As we currently only have between 2-4 other figures anything like this figure at the moment. It could do with more colors, shield types and options. The use of the standard ancient poses in the set mean that you do not get any 'gems' but otherwise the uniqueness in this case comes from the design.

Useability - 2 - This is where the set unfourtantly seems to fail. Given that the other aztecs on the site are 2 to a base this set depictes them as 1 to a base. The major problem is that a good portion of the other ancients are also 2 to a base. In order to conform these to your other sets you'd have to work on them for a little and thus it does not make it as easy as it otherwise would be!

Overall : 3.2 stars out of 5. An amazing set that is actually just to good for everything else around it!

About

The Juniorgeneral Review is dedicated to exploring all the various items posted on www.juniorgeneral.org. At the moment there are over 5000 individual sets which can be used for wargaming or other devious schemes. This site is going to look at them from a number of differnt perspectives and attempt to give you a good idea of what kind of things are out there.

The system that will be used is based on a 5 point selection in 5 items.
1)Accuracy : 1-5 (How Accurate an item is based on general research.)
2)Design : 1-5 (How well drawn/designed this item is.)
3)Standard : 1-5 (How well it conforms to other things in this type/section.)
4)Uniqueness : 1-5 (How unique the poses or items with in the set are.)
5)Useability : 1-5 (How easy it would be to print this item out and use it directly in a wargame/diorama.)