First Impressions: I always find Essex is a love ‘em or hate ‘em brand. They are always very nicely cast - crisp, clean, requiring little or no clean up. The details are always carefully chosen for maximum effect, and are most often overstated to be visible on the gaming table (and correspondingly, easy to paint). But they are severely gnomish figures - short, squat and generally rotund. But they are amazingly consistent. If you like one, you’ll like ‘em all. If you hate one...

Dem Bones - The Anatomy: I must say I think the horse anatomy much better than the human. It’s a husky, well fed animal to be sure, but pleasingly so, to my eye. The legs are well proportioned, the joints are in the right places, and the head is the right size for the body. The trooper suffers from the usual Essex foibles - legs far too short, a very rotund torso. I think the feet a bit small on this one, but that may be more my taste than the figure itself.

Everybody Vogue: It has to be a challenge to render an interesting figure of a soldier sitting around waiting for something to so. Nobody wants a regiment that looks like it’s about to fall asleep. This pose strikes a nice balance. The shotgun resting on the thigh looks at once ready, and relaxed. The lifted horse’s leg adds a bit of motion.

Each of these four figures features an identical Union figure on four different mounts. Other than a change from slouch hat to kepi, the figures are very nearly identical. I like how all the horses seem oblivious to the rider and battle. Munch, munch, munch.

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