I had never heard of Russian Company EK Castings (Russian language only) until the guys at Siberia Miniatures posted about them at pF. I took a quick glimpse at their offerings and decided to order three figures from them. They are:

Spanish grenadier of Princesa Regiment





Hesse Darmstadt Guard Chevau Leger




And my favourite od the trio, a Baden Hussar




The figures came in a card box (that of a chinese-made power adaptor!) and wrapped in newspaper sheets. No instructions included, not even a pic of the painted figure, so all research is up to the buyer.

As you can see in the pics, all three figures are single castings, base included, which means the protuding objects may be a little bent when they get to you, nothing that cannot be easily bent back into position. There are very few seam lines, at some parts they seem to have been removed by the manufacturer.

Those were the cons, let's go with the pros now:
The figures are terrific! Excellent sculpting, casting, anatomy, details, etc. and the best part is they are $5.30 apiece! I paid for that trio less than I would pay for one single figure from the main manufacturers and their overall quality is top notch.

Highly recommended, if you can live without painting instructions and fancy packaging. EK Castings have an extensive range of figures from many different eras, so you'll probably find one that suits your taste. They are a good solution for those who have to check their wallet before buying a new figure.

NB: My only relation with EK Castings and Siberia Miniatures is that of a satisfied costumer

Absolutely true! Beautiful figurines in unpretentious package, but at a good price. Here's a link to their site, but new items may not yet announced- http://www.ekcastings.com/rus/index.php Here are the latest figures.

Hi Luis,

These are amazing value for money. I bought 11 just before Xmas and they are great castings. Most of the figures are superb just one or two are a bit dodgy with the anatomy.

As regards box art if you look on the website and click on the product there is a box called product picture. In most cases if you click on the box front and rear pictures appear which you are able to download.

Hope that helps.....Claude.

Luis

Thank you A LOT for the review, very useful, I was always curious about these figures.

Anyone knows if they ship to Brazil?

Filipe,

Drop them a line, I'm sure they will be happy to send to you............Claude

Hi to all. Me too, I placed my order to Siberia miniatures. As Luis said the ratio quality/price is the best. But caution, they charge an overrun for using PayPal, and must add the shipping cost, it depends into the weight.

There are many sellers on Ebay and Russia who sells and ships worldwide. I am buying this figures since a year to different sellers, even in Germany, Ukraine...
Some examples of Ek and St. Georges Cross, SP miniatures etc. that I painted recently. All of them Russian brands, or producers. White metal 54mm.

Military miniatures painted by Eduardo Garcia

Hola Edu,

I paid €27,52 for those three figures, paypal charge and p&p included.

Excellent paintjob on those figures, by the way! I especially like the drummer and the tambour-majeur in red coat

Thank you Luis for the additional information about the final price. Anyway as I said before, they have good price and high quality.
Most of the uniforms can be found in Osprey and other publications.
I hope to see soon those figures painted by you.

Military miniatures painted by Eduardo Garcia

Thanks for bringing this company to my attention Louis . I've checked out their web site and there's a few figures I might give a try but what really blew me away was the range of old artillery pieces they offer . I must give some of those a go .
chippy

I bought the Spanish grenadier on ebay right before christmas, i think have paid $17 including shipping, a great deal and beautiful detail.

And they are close to 60mm rather than 54mm.

Hello, gentlemen.
Must report another important information for an artist who would paint these figures. Some figures can be taken apart, dropping on pair hours in acetone. The glue that glued together figures lose its properties. But it's a bit "smelly" procedure.

I have ordered about a dozen figures from Siberia Miniatures since Jan 2015 and I still haven't received them.
I have contacted the proprietor who is aware of this lack of delivery but asks me to be patient.
Strange sort of business policy.

Rgds Victor

Yes it is.
I have applied for search of the parcel. According to postal identification number parcel left the territory Russia.
If you have not received the parcel - I will refund your money or send new figures. But I need to wait for a response from the postal service with a clarification the fate of the parcel.

Hello Michael,

I didn't realise it was you. As you can see, I am anxiously awaiting the figures.

Rgds Victor

Thanks for all those infos

Great figs! Daniel said they are closer to 60mm than 54mm... so they would be comparable to Historex or Airfix figures size wise?

Colin

Necessary to focus on the serial number of figures in the catalog (Marking - such as A100). Up number 100 - the figures have a height of classic 54 mm. Then gradually the figures become higher.

Hi All,

I have finally received my figures from Siberia Miniatures. I echo the sentiments shared on this thread. These figures are very good value and are sculpted to a high standard. The figures are generally large, even taller than Historex. Not all are single castings but they are fully assembled. As they are coated with a blackish soot which probably brings out the detail in an unpainted state, I would recommend to wash them in detergent first if you intend to paint the figures.

Rgds Victor

Sorry to revive the old thread but I wanted to chime in with my experience with Siberia miniatures.
I have ordered 8 figurines and received them in just over a month. Michael provided me with a tracking number so I could check on them up to the point when they left Russia. It took 2 weeks for them to leave the country. Then they were handled by Australia Post (which is pretty slow these days as well).
I find Siberia miniatures a pretty good source of these figurines. The extra couple of bucks per figurine that you pay are worth it for the convenience and reliability. The postage and handling costs from Russia are pretty high, so its worth ordering a few of them. The Siberia miniatures site actually lists the weight of the minis, so you can work out how many you can get that would fit within the Russian postage cost for a particular parcel size. That way you minimise the cost of individual mini.
The figurines were wrapped in newspapers (pretty tight) and were in boxes from candies or some other products. I think bubble wrap could be more effective and safe, but the newspapers in my case worked ok as well.
The size 54mm is actually measured from the eye level to the base of the figurine. Some may have high head gear with feathers and crests, etc, but would still count as 54mm.