15mm Reinforcements and Review - Museum Miniatures

My Museum Miniatures order turned up the other day, so I thought I'd put up some pics and thoughts on what I'd bought.
 

First up are some Landsknecht Arquebusiers, three poses in total, two firing and and one loading.  All the MM sculpts seem to the the "new" style 15mm i.e. about 17-18mm to the eyes and up to 20mm at the top of the hat.  Proportionally, I'd say the sculpts are a bit off, the leg are a little scrawny and the heads, especially the hats and beards, are just a bit too big.  These are supplied in packs of eights, all of the same sculpt.
 

Here are the three sculpts next to a Venexia Landsknecht.  Compatable in terms of height, but the proportions are just a bit too different to include both ranges in the same unit.  On the same table, however, there won't be any problem.  I'm planning using these MM Landsknechts as an individual Medium Infantry unit (three to a base in Field of Glory: Renaissance,) while the Venexia will be based as Light Infantry (two to a base.)
 

Next we have the two types of cannon I've ordered.  As there isn't a picture of the large cannon on the MM site (seriously, no pic?) I only bought one of these - and I'm glad I did.  My knowledge of this period of history isn't encyclopedic, but I had expected a different design of cannon (and the picture of the light gun is quite misleading.)
 

Still, all three should look fine on the tabletop, same comments as before apply to the crew models.  I'll need to order at least one more large cannon for an Italian/German army list, as they usually come in units of two, three or four models.

Lastly, here's a bit of an indulgent purchase, three packs of eight Ashigaru.  One is armed with the Naginata, another the Yari and the last with Katana.  Towards the end of 2011 I toyed with the idea of collecting a Sengoku Period Samurai army, but, for a few reasons, decided to opt for the Great Italian Wars instead.  That doesn't mean, however, that I've lost all interest in the period and at 23p each, I can afford not to feel too guilty about these guys.

These are sculpted in a completely different style to the Landsknechts, with the head, torso and legs all in much more realistic proportion to one another.  Detail on the face is a bit on the light side, but is mostly obscured by the Jingasa/Dou style hats.

One thing I was particularly impressed by was the weight and rigidity of the metal used on the Ashigaru.  Out of eight figures in the Yari pack, seven didn't need any work straightening out the weapon shaft. Unlike many manufacturers, these guys shouldn't suffer from wobbly spear syndrome.

Overall, some great purchases (especially with the 25% sale that seems to be still running) and two ranges I'd heartilly recommend.  Just remember, as you're paying a lot less per figure than some manufacturers (Xyston, Venexia etc) don't expect that quality.