Baraka Miniatures figure review

Baraka Miniatures

Baraka are a new company based in Madrid, Spain. They have recently began to produce a range of 28mm miniatures for the Rif War, Spanish Morocco in the 1920s. Some of you may remember I have an interest in this somewhat obscure conflict and have written about it in the SOTCW Journal and Miniature Wargames, I also have a pdf "Wargamers Guide" to the conflict which is still available through the Toofatlardies website:  https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product-category/the-riff-war

At this point I should say I have had contact with the company`s owner Borja Pérez de Lema and have shared research, etc with him; other than this I have no financial link to the company.

After several months of discussions on Facebook, where Senor Perez showed the CAD designs for his figures they finally opened a website and released their first figures. As I`ve been following the discussions and already have some 28mm figures for the period – a few more couldn`t hurt could they? So I bought a selection of packs to add to what I already had, there was also an offer if you bought four packs you got a free bonus figure, so that is what I did. 

Here is a brief review:

I bought four packs all of Spanish Foreign Legionnaires:

Each figure wears the classic legion shirt open to the waist, British “Mills” type webbing and “granadero” breeches buttoned from knee to ankle. The standing figuresmeasure 28mm foot-to-eye and are of realistic proportions and are not of the more heroic style of 28mm. These figures show all the advantages of the new technology and use of CAD design, then traditional spin casting. The figures have amazing faces and a level of movement in the poses which is just excellent. There was no flash on any of the figures, some had separate arms which needed assembly and gluing prior to painting.

Legionnaires in Chapiri (side-cap) skirmishing in shirt

Six poses: Kneeling reach for ammunition from his pouch; kneeling in the process of giving a command, rifle held across his body; Kneeling firing; standing at the ready, standing reloading and standing firing (this figure has one leg braced on a pile of stones)

Legionnaires in Chambergo (sun hat) skirmishing in shirt

As above except they wear the floppy sun hat (think US Vietnam era boonie hat) instead of the side cap

Legionnaires in Chambergo advancing in shirt

Six poses all figures have fixed bayonets, five of the poses are different running ones and the last has the soldado posed as if clambering over rocks, his left hand braced on rocks with his rifle in his right. All the poses are dynamic and different.

Legionnaires with LMG

Four figures making two LMG teams with Hotchkiss 1914 models, all wear Chapiri side-caps. Team 1 is prone, both wear uniform jackets, the loader has the large metal storage case for the strip magazines. Team 2 is kneeling, both men wear the legions open shirt, the bipod of the gun rests on a broken wall, the No2 holds a strip of ammunition at the ready.

I also got a free figure representing the first commander of La Legion - Milan Astray “the old scarred one”, with his empty sleeve and scarred face, a nice personality figure.

I was very happy with the figures and the service from this company.

https://barakagm.com

L to R: 1898 Miniaturas; Baraka, Askari, unknown Scottish brand

L to R: Blaze Away Miniatures, Baraka, North Star, Copplestone, Rif Raf