Dixon Miniatures – A Review By TIM

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Tutorials, Uncategorized

In my Miniatures and Musings No: 47 I made reference to doing a mini series of short  “Site Reviews”.  This is the first.  I thought it appropriate to start with Dixon’s as it was this site that really introduced me to the world of 28mm figures.

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Dixon Miniatures is a very small company run by Trevor Dixon which began life in 1976.  I first discovered the site –

https://www.dixon-minis.com/

– back in 2017 when I decided to drop down in scale from 54mm to 28mm.  Still very much hooked on the Old West genre various google searches pointed me in their direction.  At the time I could not find anyone to rival their range of figures and to some extent this still holds true.  Whilst the  Knuckleduster Gunfighters Ball range –

https://knuckleduster.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_70

– make excellent figures, albeit a little larger at 32mm, they have yet to match Dixon’s for accessories such as wagons and stagecoaches.

At this point I should point out that Dixon’s offer so much more than the Old West.  Their range is extensive with well over 20 different categories including Napoleonics, English Civil War, Pirates and Gangsters to name but a few.  Although I have only purchased Old West figures to date I do have my eye on several other figures.  The Gangster range has caught my eye, specifically a very nice bootlegger truck (I’m thinking Lawless starring Tom Hardy) and an SAS Willy’s Jeep desert conversion.  Both are on my buy list.

Like a great many miniature figure companies you can usually find pros and cons.  In the case of Dixon’s I like the fact that their figures are all metal including their range of wagons, trucks and cars.  I’m not a lover of resin and plastic (just a personal old school preference and not an opening for a heated debate) so this suits me just fine.  Figure composition is excellent too in my opinion as evidenced by the American Civil War range which is huge.  I also like the fact that the figures can be purchased individually, are relatively inexpensive and horse and riders can be mixed and matched.  I really have a dislike for companies which group figures together where one or two are great and the rest are rubbish (these figures make up the majority of my unwanted lead pile).  It is also possible to download a PDF of the larger ranges on offer.  When it comes to selecting which figures to buy this I find really useful and wish other sellers would do the same.

On the downside some figures I have bought seem a little out of proportion with heads being bigger than they ought to be.  It certainly isn’t a show stopper and doesn’t apply to every figure by any means.  It is only a guess but having been going since 1976 and with the Old West most likely to be one of the older ranges I do wonder if this might have a bearing with the sculptor naturally improving as time goes by?

If you are looking for 25mm/28mm figures (they do a very limited range of 15mm, 20mm and 54mm figures too) in the categories Dixon’s have to offer then this site is well worth taking a look at.  The figures arrive well packaged and postage costs are reasonable.  At the time of writing they are still operational during the coronavirus lockdown.

I have done several models featuring Dixon’s figures, below are links to two of them.

TIM

 

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/28mm-building-project-no-6-wells-fargo-way-station/

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/off-the-work-bench-american-civil-war-28mm-diorama/

 

 

 

 

18 thoughts on “Dixon Miniatures – A Review By TIM”

      1. The Samurai are still amazing! I was eleven when I bought my first ones at a massive London Modelling show. Your point about the heads is valid but I do think if any sculptor is consistent in style, the range actually gains something from being distinctive!

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  2. nice review mate, i even popped over to look at the Napoleonic stuff which i think is quite nice and will probably be buying a few, just wonder how they will fit in with my Perry/Victrix stuff though. You probably ought to have mentioned it is best to download their PDF first with the pictures of the models you can buy, as there are no pictures on site.

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    1. Good point Steve. They don’t have pdf’s for every range and although you can click on images for some figures you cannot do it for all. Have never bought any Perry figures so can’t offer an opinion on how they would fit in, sorry.

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      1. its mainly 40/50 figures in a box, which if you want just a little diorama with a couple in it, it can work out expensive.

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  3. I think their earlier ranges like the samurai and landsknechts were more chunky with larger heads and somewhat stylised appearances and things became more refined with time! But don’t get me wrong – I have Dixon’s samurai from when they started them and I love ’em, even if mine are now (like meself) somewhat faded with age!

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  7. Thanks for the review. I saw the other ranges they have and I am intrigued. Of course, as a gamer, my projects usually are focused on one era or genre, but I have learned it is really important to know as many companies as possible, so I was happy to learn more from you Dave! Cheers as you say!

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    1. The number of companies out there is huge. Everytime I do a Google search I seem to find a new one. Doesn’t mean I have a personal interest in them like Dixon’s but once I have done reviews on those companies I use I might start putting details out on some I have found. Might be of interest to others. Besides it’s giving me something to do!

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  8. Pingback: TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 54) – The Imperfect Modeller

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