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All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)
| Date Released |
1986 |
| Contents |
50 figures |
| Poses |
15 poses |
| Material |
Plastic (Medium Consistency) |
| Colours |
Light Pink, Brown |
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Average Height
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24 mm (= 1.73 m)
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What were they thinking when they created this set? To mix troop types in one set is bad enough, but to mix nationalities, and ones that didn't fight side by side during the period, is quite unforgivable.
The box labels them as 'Waterloo.', which is nonsense as the Austrians were never anywhere near Waterloo and the Prussians certainly did not look like the figures in this set. Come to that, the box art shows these (very Latin looking!) troops mixing randomly in a manner that would never happen.
What we actually get is nine Prussian poses and six Austrian. The Prussians in fact depict Jägers of the Jena period (up to 1806), and the box artwork confirms this by showing the green uniform rather than the blue of the regular infantry. The poses are quite good, although some are a little stiff and awkward. The horn player is a particularly unusual touch, and while there is no marching pose, still what we do get is useful. Some of the men are wearing backpacks, when in fact these should be haversacks, and the hat should have the front forward a little to resemble a tricorn.
For many years these were the only Prussians available, so why choose light infantry rather than regular infantry? By themselves, their usefulness was limited and it is only with the recent HäT Prussian releases and the Italeri Cuirassiers that a Jena-type Prussian army could be constructed.
The Austrians were also the first on the market by a very long way, and all we get is 6 poses. Two of those are singles (the officer and the man biting the cartridge), so we are left building an army with just four poses. The uniform is of the same period as the Prussians, and was still seen up to about 1809, but only producing six poses to represent one of the major players in the Napoleonic Wars does seem wholly inadequate. These figures are 'German' fusiliers, but three of the poses have been given a sabre, which was only worn by grenadiers (although it seems there were some grenadiers who wore the ordinary infantry helmet as depicted here, so these could be used for them). More importantly no one has a scabbard for their bayonet, despite all having the cross belt to carry it. In fact, if the fixed bayonet is removed from the muskets then those figures with sabres would make passable Jägers, in which case they would need to be painted pike grey.
While both types of figures are from the same period, Prussia and Austria never mounted a joint operation until well after these uniforms disappeared, so why a combined set rather than two sets? Leaving that aside, the detail is up to the usual Esci high standard, though there is a problem with what is missing rather than what has been included, but the look of the figures is fair with minimal flash. Now that other manufacturers make matching sets, these figures are much more useful, and at least Esci acknowledged these countries at a time when everyone else concentrated on the French and British, but a full set of each would have been so much better.
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Historical Accuracy
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 8
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Pose Quality
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 6
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Pose Number
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 5
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Sculpting
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8
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Mould
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 9
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