Latest addition: US Marines Set 2
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Austin Miniatures is a US manufacturer based out of Ohio, which recently joined the toy soldier scene. They only have a couple of sets at the moment. Some Cowboys and a set of Marines. They come in a couple of colors and the sculpting is of good quality. They also have a couple more sets in the pipeline. Japanese infantry, which makes quite a bit of sense, to complement those Marines and a set of 1930s gangsters. In the process of buying my set of Marines, I exchanged emails and calls with the owner and his customer service is also very good. Looking forward to their future sets!
Austin Miniatures Marines Set 1
This is a fairly recent release from a new US firm. They are made in the style and size of CTS and Conte figures. A nice level of detail and good sculpting. The poses also depict a good degree of action and intensity. And they are all good basic fighting poses. They will certainly blend in well with the rest of the unit. And if you want you can probably paint them as regular GIs, and they will fit right in as well.
Austin Miniatures Marines Set 2
It only took me about 10 years to get my hands on Set 2, but I finally did it! This set gives us a few more poses, but I have to say that most of them feel very similar to each other. Maybe it is because of their stance - they are all standing with legs apart and bent knees. Their weaponry is OK. We get one BAR man, one Tommy gun and the rest are rifle men. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this set is the fact that two of the men give us the option to insert either a backpack or a radio set. You get two of each in the bag in case you want to have two radio men or all backpacks. I recommend you glue them so that they stay in place. In terms of detail, that's also OK, although some of the faces and hands could have used a bit more love and care. Overall, this is a set I value more in terms of filling a hole in the collection than because of the figures themselves.
