Thomas Hawk's frontier skirmishers

My Sharp Practice 2 French and Indian Wars British force is more or less complete at a half company of Inniskillings plus some Indian scouts. However, almost enjoying painting 15mm again, I decided I wanted to add a touch more colonial flavour to Hotspur's expedition. I decided that a group of frontiersmen would fit with my theme, but I was going to be damned before I'd buy 30 Blue Moon colonials to field a single unit of six skirmishers so I cast my eye around for a cheaper and more sensible alternative. 

Enter the Freicorp range from QRF/Total System Scenics. They sell their infantry in the customary bag of eight for a pittance (if not a pittance, at £2.70, they are only a fraction of the £13 Blue Moon bags). I ordered one pack not knowing what to expect really. At worst, I'd lost a fiver (including post). At best, I'd have a new flavour-filled unit. I hope you'll agree from the top photo, the sculpts are actually quite nice and paint up to a suitable standard.

You get eight frontiersmen/women. The woman loading a musket/rifle I based as a civilian and she will join my others. Then there is one chap wearing a sash and firing a pistol - obviously the level II leader, Thomas Hawk, and six other gents (the SP2 skirmisher group) in a mix of clothes - I painted two up in provincial uniforms for a spot of colour. One of them - my favourite sculpt in the pack, is protecting a young girl.

In this shot, the Freicorp frontiersman (avec wee girl) is flanked by a Blue Moon British officer and Blue Moon Indian. You can see that the Freicorp sculpts are a bit smaller in features - probably close to true 15mm. I'm not sure I would field regular infantry from the two ranges in the same units, but I wouldn't have a problem doing so with irregulars. Nor do I have a problem fielding groups from the different ranges side-by-side.

Now, on to Quebec!