20mm French Napoleonic 8/9 pdr Field Gun - Comparisons of different manufacturer's model

Without doubt my first choice for artillery for this period would always be the Hinchcliffe 20mm products - clean good looking - scale correct and a good range of different pieces. Alas they are no more and trying to find any nowadays is almost impossible. So I sorted out all the different samples I had - bought some I didn't have - and compared the French 8/9 pdr offerings from all the manufacturers I managed to collect/obtain.

The images shows on the top row - from left to right:-

RSM - Currently available but a little too small in my opinion given that Hinton Hunt are the figures I need the artillery to match.

Hinton Hunt - No longer obtainable - untidy casting - always seemed too small to me - Even if it was obtainable I wouldn't use it!

Alberken - Oversize wheels and barrel - shows its vintage and of course no longer available.

Minifig S Range - Quite a good casting - a little coarse by today's standards and again no longer available.

Hinchliffe - The ideal product in my opinion - all others have to be compared to this standard - Sadly no longer available.

Bottom row left to right:-

Lamming - No Longer available - nice clean square casting - a little thick in the wheel but if it were available it might be a contender - because of its clean square and neat casting - although some of the others are better scale and more accurate.

Rose - Available again from Greenwood and Ball - Really nice clean square casting - Scale feels right - proportions look right - except wheel hubs which are too small and no outward cant to spokes.

NapoleoN - Currently available - also a nice clean casting - probably the best wheels of all the models - a very accurate representation of the field gun - I am not sure I like the one piece casting of the barrel and the carriage - it just doesn't feel right - Nevertheless it is a model that is well worth using.

Kennington(SHQ) - Currently available - it also is a good clean casting if a little unsquare and slightly misformed - at least the ones I got were - but again it looks reasonably accurate but the trail side view doesn't ring true to the scale drawings. Wheels and axles are a very sloppy fit - I would certainly use in the absence of a couple others here.

Les Higgins(Phoenix) - Not sure if NapoleoN will re-issure these guns - I didn't have a French one so I had to resort to the British one that I had to show the scale and quality. Clean casting little plain - If NapoleoN reissue it then I need to get a French gun for better comparison. Though I cannot see why they would reissue it given the quality of their own gun.

So who wins? - For my money in the absence of Hinchliffe - I will use the Rose and/or The NapoleoN. I love the clean square uniform castings of the Rose product - but I also really like the wheels on the NapoleoN gun. If it's barrel was not cast to the carriage then I would use that model solely

Now I want them both to make the howitzer and the 12pdr and also the limbers!!

I used the drawings in Osprey's New Vanguard - Napoleons Guns 1792-1815 as a guide when looking for scale and accuracy.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN40 Line Horse Artilleryman Firing Gun

Same as FN37 Guard Horse Figure with plume cut off.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN39 Line Horse Artilleryman Holding Rammer

Same as FN36 Guard Horse Figure with plume cut off.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN38 Line Horse Artilleryman Carrying Canister

Same as FN35 Guard Horse Figure with plume cut off.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN37 Old Guard Horse Artilleryman Firing Gun

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN36 Old Guard Horse Artilleryman Holding Rammer

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN35 Old Guard Horse Artilleryman Carrying Canister

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN34 Old Guard Foot Artilleryman Holding Rammer

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN33 Old Guard Foot Artilleryman Carrying Ball

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN32 Old Guard Foot Artilleryman Firing Gun

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN31 Old Guard Foot Artilleryman Holding Trail Spike

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN13 - Line Foot Artilleryman Holding Rammer

Another prepainted figure bought all those years ago from John Tunstill's shop.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN12 - Line Foot Artilleryman Holding Bucket

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN11 - Line Foot Artilleryman Firing Gun

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm FN10 - Line Foot Artilleryman Holding Trail Spike

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm NFA06 - French Gun Limber

Sample not currently available. but the casting was almost identical to the corresponding Hinton casting.

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm NFA03 - French 24 pdr Seige Howitzer

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm NFA02 - French 5.5" Howitzer

Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm NFA01 - French 9pdr Field Gun

From my Sample Box (3) Alberken(Early Minifig) 20mm French Napoleonic Artillery

This is how you bought the Alberken(Early Minifig) Artillery. On the left is NFA 2 - 5.5" Howitzer, Top is NFA 1 - 9pdr Field Gun , On the right is NFA 3 - 24pdr Siege Howitzer. Not Showm is NFA 6 - French Limber which I am trying to find among my various storage places!.
They were typical 20mm artillery pieces and overscale in the barrels but definitely usable. It wasn't until much later that we saw better scale pieces such as the superb Hinchliffe products.
These were pirated by the hundreds - one mould made all the parts - and often could not be distinguished from the originals! They also bore a great similarity to the Hinton Hunt pieces!