Trent Miniatures is one of those companies that always seems to me to take “the road less travelled”, producing excellent miniatures for some of the less well-covered wargames periods and these new releases continue this trend.
First up is a pack for their “Vendean” or “Chouannerie” range. This was the peasant uprising against the French Revolution, which hoped to restore the monarchy – or at least escape the worst excesses of the Terror. The pack contains a Priest, many of whom were ring leaders in the uprising, and a female peasant, carrying all her worldly possessions in a bag on a pole over her shoulder. Both miniatures are very well detailed and nicely proportioned and would paint up very nicely. There are some great miniatures in this range that would look well in a French Revolutionary army or in any eighteenth century militia force.
The next two releases are for the North America theatre and consist of two characters, available as individual models. The first is Simon Girty, who famously acted as liaison between the British and their Indian allies during the American War of Independence, and is depicted as a frontier scout in fringed buckskins. The second is Little Turtle, a chieftain of the Miami Native American tribe who is widely regarded as one of the most capable military commanders of his time. I was really impressed with the detail on these miniatures, with clear facial expressions, muscle tone and even the fringing on the buckskin defined and easy to drybrush. Whatever period of North American history you wargame, from the French and Indian War, through AWI to 1812, these miniatures will fit nicely as scouts or commanders and are well worth picking up.
The last miniature is Fr Diavolo a commander from the French Revolutionary War in Italy. Although designed to be a Neapolitan guerrilla leader, he could actually be used to lead any unit during the French Revolutionary period. He wears a feathered bicorne hat with a sash around his waist and has his arm raised to encourage his men. Again, this is a lovely miniature with good facial definition and lots of folds and creases in his coat and sash that will reward the use of washes or contrast paints.
Trent continue to produce some fantastic individual models that are full of character and even if you do not want to collect armies for the periods they cover, you can plunder their range for miniatures to suit the periods you do play. If your not aware of Trent, check out the range and purchase their miniatures via North Stars Military Figures or Arcane Scenery.