Napoleon at War: AB French Light Infantry

Some AB Miniatures French Light Infantry based for Napoleon at War.

Which brings me to a rant...AB is supposedly the "cream of the crop" for 15/18mm Napoleonics, and their price tag certainly reflects that, but they just don't really seem much better than the Man at War figures. The only real improvement in my opinion is the bayonets. So...why do historical miniatures settle for what is really pretty crappy quality. If a new sci-fi or fantasy line launched with this quality of figures, they'd be laughed off the market, but for some reason, historical gamers seem to settle for subpar quality. Is it just people being nostalgic for miniatures of the 80's and early 90s, or what?

Anyway, here's a shot of a squad of the AB lights next to a squad of Man at War Line infantry. They match up pretty well, although the cavalry models I have don't match nearly as well.