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Revolutionary War Figures

Living near the Monmouth battlefield, I find frequent reminders of the Revolutionary War.  It is no wonder that I would try my have at painted a few figures.  Castings Inc. has several Revolutionary War molds in its Series I. These are rather crude, and look to be the work of famed miniaturist Holger Eriksson.  He was a prolific sculptor of military miniatures in 54mm, 40mm and 3mm scales.  These figures look like his work: crude, but proportionate and realistically animated.

I had never before painted figures representing the 18th Century.  After seeing last year

After last year's re-enactment of the Battle of Monmouth, I felt suitably inspired.  Below are a few of my earliest attempts both at painting Revolutionary War figures and at reviving my old skill at miniature work. The crudeness of the figures adds a challenge to the work which I enjoy. 

I still have to find three of the Castings Inc Revolutionary War Molds: standing rifleman, British rifleman and Spanish grenadier. I have all of their other Series I molds, but those three have evaded me.

A note about Holger Eriksson: he began sculpting figures prior to World War II. He liked to carve his master figures in wood. Eriksson's work was prolific.  He sculpted for Comet, Authenticast, SAE, Prince August and his own firm.  The Swedish artist made figures stretching from the English Civil War to the 20th Century.  Eriksson's detail may have been toy-like, but his figures had excellent proportion, superb animation and a unique "character" all their own.  I believe that every collection of military miniatures can benefit from having examples of Holger Eriksson's work.

These three soldiers were made with the Castings Inc "Marine" mold.  Floppy brimmed hats were common on the 18th Century, and were issued to many militia units. Here we have the N.C. Loyalist, NY Militia and generic U.S. musketeer.

These were cast from the Castings Inc. "New Jersey Blues" mold. The figure to the left is painted in colors for a N.J,. regiment.  The uniforms to the right was a common styles used by both N.J,. and Pennsylvanian militia units.

Here we have an N.J. militiaman with fixed bayonet, and an American rifleman in hunting shirt.

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