Why, oh why did Foundry lower prices on [these](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/xmaswinter/BIGBATBAV/1/index.asp) to something only a bear's whisker north of 1€ per figure?
OK, I already own one of these armies (and one unit is [already painted](http://www.nirya.be/snv/ttm/archives/000335.html) ), but with a second one I'll have just about the entire Bavarian army of the period at a 1:30 scale.
Tempting, very tempting...
Showing posts with label Feeding the habit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feeding the habit. Show all posts
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Damn, I cracked
As the title says, I cracked. I bought myself a [Foundry Napoleonic Bavarian Army](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/BIGBATBAV/1/index.asp). The straw that broke the camel's back (and not, I hope, the bank) was the 20% off of all web sales promotion they have running currently. I had looked at the army before, but for 410€, I could pretty much construct the same army cheaper from [Front Rank Miniatures](http://www.frontrank.com), postage included (the Foundry army is post free). However, with 20% off, that is no longer the case.
So, I cracked. The specific enthusiasm for 28mm Napoleonics has been brought up by the Foundry's [Napoleon rules](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/books/MATTNAP.asp). While I did not really like them on first reading, I am now rereading them (with the eye of doing a review on them) and find that many (though not, by far, all) of the negative points they had seem to be somewhat mollified by the second reading. I'm not entirely convinced yet that the set of rules is playable as is from the book, and there is one horrendous _faux pas_ in them (to do with the pictures of painted units in there), but as said, that's for the review. However, there's more than one way of skinning a cat, and that goes specifically for Napoleonic wargame rules, of which there are legion, so the figures will probably see _some_ use (the lack of opposition is a ticklish point. Although, for Bavarians under my generalship, that might just mean they can actually win a game).
As an aside, although the army deal has 4 36-man battalions, they all (from the photos at least) contain double command figures (officer, drummer, ensign), so I'm thinking of splitting them into 6 24-man battalions. With some judicious use of knife and green stuff for the flank companies' plumes, that should be doable. The 36-man units in the army are funny, BTW, as the Napoleon rules have the Bavarians as 24-man units (6 companies, with one stand of 4 figures representing a company).
This project will play second fiddle to the Great Northern Wars project, of course. Current status there is still as before: three battalions painted up, with two more on order from [Musketeer](http://www.musketeer-miniatures.com/) (who, as always, seem to take their time to process the order -- the order was sent out over a month ago and has not been despatched yet). The idea is to have a playable force (around 5 infantry battalions, 2 guns and 3 cavalry squadrons) by January and the full monty Poltava by late next year.
Which brings me to painting - I completed 16 Roman legionaries yesterday, bringing the Roman armylet up to 3 16-man legionary units. Auxilia have been pre-ordered and should be on their way next month. That also brings my painting points this month to 70. That seems to be a number I can comfortably do each month, so as of now that's my monthly target. Next up in the painting queue is some more modern British 1:285 stuff. Why no Swedes, the main project focus? See the paragraph above. As long as the newly ordered Swedes don't arrive, it's smorgasbörd painting for me.
So, I cracked. The specific enthusiasm for 28mm Napoleonics has been brought up by the Foundry's [Napoleon rules](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/books/MATTNAP.asp). While I did not really like them on first reading, I am now rereading them (with the eye of doing a review on them) and find that many (though not, by far, all) of the negative points they had seem to be somewhat mollified by the second reading. I'm not entirely convinced yet that the set of rules is playable as is from the book, and there is one horrendous _faux pas_ in them (to do with the pictures of painted units in there), but as said, that's for the review. However, there's more than one way of skinning a cat, and that goes specifically for Napoleonic wargame rules, of which there are legion, so the figures will probably see _some_ use (the lack of opposition is a ticklish point. Although, for Bavarians under my generalship, that might just mean they can actually win a game).
As an aside, although the army deal has 4 36-man battalions, they all (from the photos at least) contain double command figures (officer, drummer, ensign), so I'm thinking of splitting them into 6 24-man battalions. With some judicious use of knife and green stuff for the flank companies' plumes, that should be doable. The 36-man units in the army are funny, BTW, as the Napoleon rules have the Bavarians as 24-man units (6 companies, with one stand of 4 figures representing a company).
This project will play second fiddle to the Great Northern Wars project, of course. Current status there is still as before: three battalions painted up, with two more on order from [Musketeer](http://www.musketeer-miniatures.com/) (who, as always, seem to take their time to process the order -- the order was sent out over a month ago and has not been despatched yet). The idea is to have a playable force (around 5 infantry battalions, 2 guns and 3 cavalry squadrons) by January and the full monty Poltava by late next year.
Which brings me to painting - I completed 16 Roman legionaries yesterday, bringing the Roman armylet up to 3 16-man legionary units. Auxilia have been pre-ordered and should be on their way next month. That also brings my painting points this month to 70. That seems to be a number I can comfortably do each month, so as of now that's my monthly target. Next up in the painting queue is some more modern British 1:285 stuff. Why no Swedes, the main project focus? See the paragraph above. As long as the newly ordered Swedes don't arrive, it's smorgasbörd painting for me.
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
A new project dawns
Occasionally in the life of a wargamer -- or quite often in some cases --
one gets the idea to start a new period. Today is such a time for me.
I have grown a bit weary of painting what are basically ununiformed more or
less hairy more or less barbarians. The few Copplestone Chinese infantrymen
I painted for our Tintin game gave me a taste for painting uniformed
figures, with all the advantages those have for batch, or dare I say
assembly line, style painting.
So, I was half unconsciously looking to get into a period featuring nice
uniforms. The nicest uniforms around are of course those of the horse and
musket period, so my thoughts quickly settled on that. But what to choose?
Napoleonics and Seven Years War are the main contenders in Europe (ACW and
AWI feature more prominently in the US), but they did not immediately
appeal, possibly because of the popularity. After a while, however, I
stumbled upon a period that has just the right mix of quirkiness and
popularity: the Great Northern War.
For those of you now going _'huh?'_, the Great Northern War took place over
the first two decades of the 18th century in the Baltic area, contemporary
with the War of Spanish Succession (better known as the Marlburian wars) in
Western Europe. It featured Sweden under King Charles XII, then a major
world power, against just about everyone else running around in that area,
most notably the emerging Russians under Peter The Great. At the end of the
war, Sweden was eclipsed and its leading position in the area taken over by
Russia, which became a world power in its own right.
The Great Northern War features Swedes and Russians of course, but also
Poles, Saxons, Danes, Norwegians, and what not. Enough variety to scare a
flock of flamingoes with. Now, being a somewhat less popular period, I'm
having some trouble finding good figures for them in the One True Scale
(28mm). So far, I've found Wargames Foundry, which have some Swedes and
Russians in their Marlburian range, and a manufacturer in the US who is
only
listed with a phone number and might not even be in business any more, but whose figures are nice enough, judging from a review on Magweb. I
haven't looked at Old Glory yet, but they will most probably have at least
a
few suitable bags. Does anyone know of any other suitable figure ranges?
And finally, what about rules? I have really no idea as to what rules to
use, so I 'm throwing that one out to you readers as well - what rules are
good for the early 18th Century Horse & Musket period?
one gets the idea to start a new period. Today is such a time for me.
I have grown a bit weary of painting what are basically ununiformed more or
less hairy more or less barbarians. The few Copplestone Chinese infantrymen
I painted for our Tintin game gave me a taste for painting uniformed
figures, with all the advantages those have for batch, or dare I say
assembly line, style painting.
So, I was half unconsciously looking to get into a period featuring nice
uniforms. The nicest uniforms around are of course those of the horse and
musket period, so my thoughts quickly settled on that. But what to choose?
Napoleonics and Seven Years War are the main contenders in Europe (ACW and
AWI feature more prominently in the US), but they did not immediately
appeal, possibly because of the popularity. After a while, however, I
stumbled upon a period that has just the right mix of quirkiness and
popularity: the Great Northern War.
For those of you now going _'huh?'_, the Great Northern War took place over
the first two decades of the 18th century in the Baltic area, contemporary
with the War of Spanish Succession (better known as the Marlburian wars) in
Western Europe. It featured Sweden under King Charles XII, then a major
world power, against just about everyone else running around in that area,
most notably the emerging Russians under Peter The Great. At the end of the
war, Sweden was eclipsed and its leading position in the area taken over by
Russia, which became a world power in its own right.
The Great Northern War features Swedes and Russians of course, but also
Poles, Saxons, Danes, Norwegians, and what not. Enough variety to scare a
flock of flamingoes with. Now, being a somewhat less popular period, I'm
having some trouble finding good figures for them in the One True Scale
(28mm). So far, I've found Wargames Foundry, which have some Swedes and
Russians in their Marlburian range, and a manufacturer in the US who is
only
listed with a phone number and might not even be in business any more, but whose figures are nice enough, judging from a review on Magweb. I
haven't looked at Old Glory yet, but they will most probably have at least
a
few suitable bags. Does anyone know of any other suitable figure ranges?
And finally, what about rules? I have really no idea as to what rules to
use, so I 'm throwing that one out to you readers as well - what rules are
good for the early 18th Century Horse & Musket period?
Thursday, 7 December 2006
Celtic figures
The other day, a gaming friend interested in getting some Celtic figures asked me about what manufacturer my Celts are from. Here's my answer:
As a bit of gratuitous self promotion (hey, it's my blog after all), you can ogle my Celts [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/robartes/sets/72057594075245680/).
TT tags: miniatures wargaming
Well, for Celtic figures, you're spoilt for choice if nothing else.
Because Celts are the figures featured in the WAB book, just about
everyone and his dog do a Celtic range.As to my Celts - they're mostly Foundry, with a few Renegade and Old
Glory chariots and Old Glory infantry. The vast majority is Foundry
however, bought way back when they were just putting their stock into
packs and selling off the non-pack-packaged stock at ridicilously low
prices. They're good figures, and I would recommend them, except for the
price of course. However, it is rare you can not get any sort of
discount on Foundry stuff, and I believe they're doing their usual horde
deals for Christmas again, although that would mean buying *a lot* of
figures to get a good price per figure.The Old Glory figures I have for infantry are the older Caesar's War in
Gaul (CGW or CWG) range, not the newer Celtic range (Update: it turns out these figures are now the PPC range). The figures are on
the good side of the Old Glory spectrum, but still suffer from the
typical Old Glory 'awkwardness'.The Renegade stuff is truly chunky: they outmass just about any other
figure on the table, and the swords are indeed as massive as they look
on the website. I've only got a few of their chariots, so that doesn't
matter that much, but I would not combine Renegade infantry in a unit
with another manufacturer's figures. They're good figures though, on a
par or even better as Foundry's, except for the chunkiness.All that aside, would I want to start over, I'd have a good look at
Gripping Beast. They suffer from a few flaws (typical poses, impossible
poses to stick spears on with a few of the spearmen), but they look
gorgeous on the website.
As a bit of gratuitous self promotion (hey, it's my blog after all), you can ogle my Celts [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/robartes/sets/72057594075245680/).
TT tags: miniatures wargaming
Saturday, 29 April 2006
Rambling on
Hi everyone, it has pretty quiet around here since Bart decided to have a second little horror (actually number one is very sweet, and I have not yet met number two, though I can guess that he is small, incoherent and rather boring to all except immediate family - no offence, Bart, it's just one of those facts of life).
So why don't I bore everyone with a brief account of my recent gaming? Great idea, I think, so working backwards, here goes. Today, I visited our local games shop in Brussels L'Antre Jeux which has a pretty good selection of all types of games. I bought a Flames of War source book, planning to build a Soviet force, some quite nice trees for 14 euro, which I will have to base and flock but I think will be quite effective plus 'Commands and Colours Ancients' from GMT. A sort of thinking gamer's Memoir 44, for those who know the series. Quite a good series of games based on the Punic Wars.
In the week, I played DBM (this is a dangerous admission on this site and in my gaming group, who are largely anti-DBM, thinking rightly it is largely for rules lawyers and frustrated chess players). I played with my Normans against Jacques (a local Police Commissioner) who brought out his brand new Nikephorian Byzantines. Alas, I rudely and luckily dispatched them with the cream of Normandy's finest knights. we will try again next week.
I have done some painting as well. Over easter, I took advantage of the cold and grey hangover from winter to paint up some ACW troops and scenery. This was to add to the very nice painted armies that I bought recently from local NATO supremo, JP and Bart D. (the latter bought them from the former and then sold them on again). I now have enough to field two corps per side for Principles of War and have some nice woods and a homestead ready. I also painted up some 15mm Carthaginian types and some 28mm Saxons - both these armies are now very close to completion, at last.
There's not a great deal of action around here, or at least not that I'm aware of, so for the next few weeks it will be a bit more DBM (such a great game), painting and boardgames. 1st may I will try Paths of Glory again, the GMT world War One game. If I don't get too badly hammered, I may even tell you all about it!
Alan
So why don't I bore everyone with a brief account of my recent gaming? Great idea, I think, so working backwards, here goes. Today, I visited our local games shop in Brussels L'Antre Jeux which has a pretty good selection of all types of games. I bought a Flames of War source book, planning to build a Soviet force, some quite nice trees for 14 euro, which I will have to base and flock but I think will be quite effective plus 'Commands and Colours Ancients' from GMT. A sort of thinking gamer's Memoir 44, for those who know the series. Quite a good series of games based on the Punic Wars.
In the week, I played DBM (this is a dangerous admission on this site and in my gaming group, who are largely anti-DBM, thinking rightly it is largely for rules lawyers and frustrated chess players). I played with my Normans against Jacques (a local Police Commissioner) who brought out his brand new Nikephorian Byzantines. Alas, I rudely and luckily dispatched them with the cream of Normandy's finest knights. we will try again next week.
I have done some painting as well. Over easter, I took advantage of the cold and grey hangover from winter to paint up some ACW troops and scenery. This was to add to the very nice painted armies that I bought recently from local NATO supremo, JP and Bart D. (the latter bought them from the former and then sold them on again). I now have enough to field two corps per side for Principles of War and have some nice woods and a homestead ready. I also painted up some 15mm Carthaginian types and some 28mm Saxons - both these armies are now very close to completion, at last.
There's not a great deal of action around here, or at least not that I'm aware of, so for the next few weeks it will be a bit more DBM (such a great game), painting and boardgames. 1st may I will try Paths of Glory again, the GMT world War One game. If I don't get too badly hammered, I may even tell you all about it!
Alan
Thursday, 19 January 2006
Why buy new figures? Use what you have available!
One of the public secrets of the "wargaming industry" (at least in my opinion) is that gamers buy stuff they'll never use. Wargaming manufacturers sell their products, which 2 years later end up in the Bring-and-Buy section (unused), are being bought by another gamer , who still doesn't use them, until they get bought by a 2nd hand store that sells it on eBay as a highly priced collectible, is then bought by a collector who still is not using the items, until after several iterations the items end up on an attic to be forgotten. Now, this is all understandable, because wargaming is also partly about "dreams that never come through". Just as you are dreaming about that Ferrrari you'll never have, or in my case, a big private library stocked with 16th century books, including one of the only three surviving copies of the Necronomicon... hmmm, the tapping of long-forgotten dark knowledge ... Anyway, back to reality ...
A typical scenario goes like this:
- Gamer goes to convention or website or browses through magazine
- Gamer sees a very cool figure or item and wants to buy it
- Vision about grand game or campaign starts to form based on this single cool figure
- Gamer (now completely in an unrational mode) decides that the entire range of figures is needed, just in case the range is not available anymore within 6 months. Anof course, this is EXACTLY the range, scale, and type of figures I've been waiting for.
- The big game never materialises (surprise), the several hundred unpainted figures end up in storage.
- Next year: repeat!
Well, no more! It has been a few years since I bought huge amounts of wargaming figures, I've resisted the urge of falling in the trap of buying things for games that never materialise. Instead, my new approach is to design games around the stuff I already have. It sounds logical and non-revolutionary, but in my mind, it is truly a revolutionary idea.
Let me give an example: I'm currently designing a multiplayer game around a siege of city set in medieval/fantasy setting. I need different factions of troops, representing various armed forces that are present in the city. I went through my quite large figure collection (I count my figures not in the hundreds, but in the thousands), and decided that I needed more figures! I didn't have the figures needed for this game! So I started looking around for extra figures. At that point I suddenly realized I was crazy. I have plenty of painted figures! I have plenty of unpainted figures, some of them became collectibles in their own right by just sitting in my attic, unused! Why am I shopping for more stuff?
So I took a step back and rethought the game I originally had in mind. Instead of using all human/medieval types, and since this is fantasy, can't I make the forces a bit more exotic? I have quite a number of Boxer Rebellion Chinese warriors armed with swords. Why not use them as a Foreign Bodyguard present in the city? Maybe some Redoubt Musketeers as well? Wouldn't that fit in with a renaissance-fantasy-style seen in some French comics, rather than the GW-monotone-fantasy-view we've all come to accept? I had them painted by a world-class painter, so why not put them on the table and use them? So I started to rethink the scenario, I also went creative with my quite huge collection of scenery, and after some experiments (visual appeal on the gaming table is big thing for me), I arrived at a quite satisfactory result. I won't tell you anything more about the game, because it still has to be played, and some players are listening in ...
Anyway, to make a long story short: design your games around your large collection of figures and scenery, not the other way around. The extent of my colelction is such that I can probably organize a dozen games without having to re-use a single item once (and that goes for the dice and lichen too!). So why buy more stuff? Resist the urge! It saves money! Money I can spend on extending my book collection. Wait, there's a problem with that too ....
A typical scenario goes like this:
- Gamer goes to convention or website or browses through magazine
- Gamer sees a very cool figure or item and wants to buy it
- Vision about grand game or campaign starts to form based on this single cool figure
- Gamer (now completely in an unrational mode) decides that the entire range of figures is needed, just in case the range is not available anymore within 6 months. Anof course, this is EXACTLY the range, scale, and type of figures I've been waiting for.
- The big game never materialises (surprise), the several hundred unpainted figures end up in storage.
- Next year: repeat!
Well, no more! It has been a few years since I bought huge amounts of wargaming figures, I've resisted the urge of falling in the trap of buying things for games that never materialise. Instead, my new approach is to design games around the stuff I already have. It sounds logical and non-revolutionary, but in my mind, it is truly a revolutionary idea.
Let me give an example: I'm currently designing a multiplayer game around a siege of city set in medieval/fantasy setting. I need different factions of troops, representing various armed forces that are present in the city. I went through my quite large figure collection (I count my figures not in the hundreds, but in the thousands), and decided that I needed more figures! I didn't have the figures needed for this game! So I started looking around for extra figures. At that point I suddenly realized I was crazy. I have plenty of painted figures! I have plenty of unpainted figures, some of them became collectibles in their own right by just sitting in my attic, unused! Why am I shopping for more stuff?
So I took a step back and rethought the game I originally had in mind. Instead of using all human/medieval types, and since this is fantasy, can't I make the forces a bit more exotic? I have quite a number of Boxer Rebellion Chinese warriors armed with swords. Why not use them as a Foreign Bodyguard present in the city? Maybe some Redoubt Musketeers as well? Wouldn't that fit in with a renaissance-fantasy-style seen in some French comics, rather than the GW-monotone-fantasy-view we've all come to accept? I had them painted by a world-class painter, so why not put them on the table and use them? So I started to rethink the scenario, I also went creative with my quite huge collection of scenery, and after some experiments (visual appeal on the gaming table is big thing for me), I arrived at a quite satisfactory result. I won't tell you anything more about the game, because it still has to be played, and some players are listening in ...
Anyway, to make a long story short: design your games around your large collection of figures and scenery, not the other way around. The extent of my colelction is such that I can probably organize a dozen games without having to re-use a single item once (and that goes for the dice and lichen too!). So why buy more stuff? Resist the urge! It saves money! Money I can spend on extending my book collection. Wait, there's a problem with that too ....
Friday, 13 January 2006
I'm on Ebay!
Those of you who don't like commercials, please duck now.
In a meagre effort to supplement my hobby budget, I've decided to sell the occasional painted figure on Ebay. I've got tons of lead lying around from my wild student days, most of which I'll never use in a game, so that stock will be the source of these occasional offers.
Anyway, I've currently got an auction up for two Old West figures: [General Custer and his standard bearer](http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8751379268&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT) :
I've put the figures up on Ebay UK, as most of the figure buying public is located over there and Ebay Belgium doesn't even have a wargames category, but that does not preclude Belgian bidders of course.
So, [make me rich](http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8751379268&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT). You know you want to.
In a meagre effort to supplement my hobby budget, I've decided to sell the occasional painted figure on Ebay. I've got tons of lead lying around from my wild student days, most of which I'll never use in a game, so that stock will be the source of these occasional offers.
Anyway, I've currently got an auction up for two Old West figures: [General Custer and his standard bearer](http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8751379268&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT) :
I've put the figures up on Ebay UK, as most of the figure buying public is located over there and Ebay Belgium doesn't even have a wargames category, but that does not preclude Belgian bidders of course.
So, [make me rich](http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8751379268&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT). You know you want to.
Monday, 26 September 2005
Looking for Carolingian Frankish figures
Not one to be deterred by the fact that our current participation game is still in the construction phase ([6 weeks to go](http://www.tsoa.be/html/crisis05_titelblad.htm) ), I've come up with a vague plan to do the Battle of [Leuven](http://www.leuven.be) as a demo / participation game next year. This was a little affair back in [891](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/891), the tail end of the Carolingian period, where the Frankish (then) king [Arnulf of Carinthia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulf_of_Carinthia) came all the way over to [Leuven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leuven) to beat up a part of the Viking Great Army that had decided to winter there. The resulting battle was a resounding Frankish victory and is said to have coloured the banks of the Dijle red with the blood of the Vikings. Good stuff, in other words.
As to figures for this battle, the Vikings are easy -- after Romans and Celts they must be the most popular subject for miniature manufacturers to tackle, so pretty much everyone and his dog does them. Carolingian Franks (let alone later Carolingian Franks) are a different matter, however. So far, I have found (in the One True Scale of 25-28mm of course):
* [Old Glory](http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com) - [PLC range](http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=100&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&iLevel=1)
* [Essex Miniatures](http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk) - Ancients range
* [Chiltern Miniatures](http://www.chilternminiatures.co.uk/) - [Frankish range](http://www.chilternminiatures.co.uk/html/carolingian_frank__8th_-_10th_.html) - ex-Whitecross, apparently
For the Old Glory and Essex, I have a fairly good idea of what to expect (filler and static poses, respectively), but I have not seen the Chiltern figures up close. On the pictures (well, picture) on the site, they look a tad goofily posed, so an in the flesh inspection is called for. Luckily, Chiltern is coming to [Crisis](http://www.tsoa.be/html/crisis05_titelblad.htm), so I'll have a chance to look at them there.
Are there any readers out there who have experience with any of these ranges, or that know of other manufacturers that do suitable figures? And while I'm at it, are the silly helmets (the inverted boat shape thingies) based on solid evidence or is that just one of those memes that is based on a single source and has been propagated throughout miniature wargamehood?
Technorati tags: miniatures Carolingian
As to figures for this battle, the Vikings are easy -- after Romans and Celts they must be the most popular subject for miniature manufacturers to tackle, so pretty much everyone and his dog does them. Carolingian Franks (let alone later Carolingian Franks) are a different matter, however. So far, I have found (in the One True Scale of 25-28mm of course):
* [Old Glory](http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com) - [PLC range](http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=100&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&iLevel=1)
* [Essex Miniatures](http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk) - Ancients range
* [Chiltern Miniatures](http://www.chilternminiatures.co.uk/) - [Frankish range](http://www.chilternminiatures.co.uk/html/carolingian_frank__8th_-_10th_.html) - ex-Whitecross, apparently
For the Old Glory and Essex, I have a fairly good idea of what to expect (filler and static poses, respectively), but I have not seen the Chiltern figures up close. On the pictures (well, picture) on the site, they look a tad goofily posed, so an in the flesh inspection is called for. Luckily, Chiltern is coming to [Crisis](http://www.tsoa.be/html/crisis05_titelblad.htm), so I'll have a chance to look at them there.
Are there any readers out there who have experience with any of these ranges, or that know of other manufacturers that do suitable figures? And while I'm at it, are the silly helmets (the inverted boat shape thingies) based on solid evidence or is that just one of those memes that is based on a single source and has been propagated throughout miniature wargamehood?
Technorati tags: miniatures Carolingian
Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Good thread on WWII miniature scales
I'm just back from the Black Forest, a land of no connectivity and no miniatures (unless you count our daughter and my brother in law's two children), so TTM kicks into life again.
Just a quickie now: there's a [great discussion thread](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1060) on WWII scales over at the [Blitzkrieg Commander](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/default.asp) [forum](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/forum/) (free registration required). The initial author is new to WWII miniature wargaming and has taken the rich pragmatist approach to selecting a scale to play in: he has bought samples in various scales (6, 10/12 and 15mm) and is regularly reporting on his progress and findings.
Dynamite stuff!
Technorati tag: miniatures
Just a quickie now: there's a [great discussion thread](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1060) on WWII scales over at the [Blitzkrieg Commander](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/default.asp) [forum](http://www.wargamesdirectory.com/html/bkc/forum/) (free registration required). The initial author is new to WWII miniature wargaming and has taken the rich pragmatist approach to selecting a scale to play in: he has bought samples in various scales (6, 10/12 and 15mm) and is regularly reporting on his progress and findings.
Dynamite stuff!
Technorati tag: miniatures
Tuesday, 1 February 2005
Starting the 1:300 collection
Regular readers will already be bored by our new found enthusiasm for Blitzkrieg Commander (see the 100 other pieces on this subject). I've started to acquire some figures and have noticed a strange phenomenon.
Some companies that sell the figures are very impolite. I have tried Navwar and Scotia Grendel. Navwar sent me only half my order, claiming I had tried to order obsolete figures discontinued in 2002 (this was underlined in the unsigned compliments slip, just to show ahat a fool I am I suppose). But I obtained the codes from their web site. It seemed reasonable to me. Scotia Grendel absolutely refused to confirm the total cost of their order to me so that I could send the right amount by paypal. Their emails consisted of 2 word grunts, very unhelpful.
I'm sure Irregular will be ultra helpful, and I will try them out.
Anyway, I bought some Belgians ( as a little encouragement for Bart) from Scotia, and these make up a fine force.
I am now painting up a 1940 German army, which can serve to wipe out Bart's brave Belgians and also fight on the Russian Front (a future project). I will have two armoured regiments, one with Czech Pz 35 and 38s (to give Bart's guys a chance) and a nasty one with Pz III and IVs.
Watch out for photos, as I'm on the verge of buying a camera.
Some companies that sell the figures are very impolite. I have tried Navwar and Scotia Grendel. Navwar sent me only half my order, claiming I had tried to order obsolete figures discontinued in 2002 (this was underlined in the unsigned compliments slip, just to show ahat a fool I am I suppose). But I obtained the codes from their web site. It seemed reasonable to me. Scotia Grendel absolutely refused to confirm the total cost of their order to me so that I could send the right amount by paypal. Their emails consisted of 2 word grunts, very unhelpful.
I'm sure Irregular will be ultra helpful, and I will try them out.
Anyway, I bought some Belgians ( as a little encouragement for Bart) from Scotia, and these make up a fine force.
I am now painting up a 1940 German army, which can serve to wipe out Bart's brave Belgians and also fight on the Russian Front (a future project). I will have two armoured regiments, one with Czech Pz 35 and 38s (to give Bart's guys a chance) and a nasty one with Pz III and IVs.
Watch out for photos, as I'm on the verge of buying a camera.
Sunday, 9 January 2005
WW2 Choices
Readers will know that we Bart and I are very keen on Blitzkrieg Commander, after two successful games. Both were tactically interesting, fast to play and with some funny moments. What more do you want?
The problem is that it seems to work best in a small scale. This is not a problem, actually, but good sense. For the price of one tank in 15mm (5 pounds or 8 euros) you can buy about 15 little 1:300 beasts. I'm quite fond of my 15mm 1940 material, so I'll hang onto them and play PBI 2 or something with them.
I will sell my 1944 British (anyone interested? 40 or so infantry, 6 Cromwells, 2 Challengers, 2 Stuarts, 1 17iber with tow, 2 6lbers, 1 Daimler a/c). Nicely painted and based (of course ;)
So for 6mm or 1:300. Kurt has gone berserk and ordered some GHQ Yanks. A slightly eccentric choice (sorry, Dave). But interesting. He will have, of course, to be encouraged to get some 1944 Boche as well as an opponent.
Bart has reclaimed his desert stuff and is desperate to do 1940.
I am torn between all these things and also Russia 1941-43...
So, thoughts?
- It seems a bit daft to do 1940 in both 6mm and 15mm.
- The desert war is an interesting theatre, could maybe do O'Connor and the Italians, ie the fun before the beastly Rommel came along and spoiled things
- If I sell my 15mm 1944, then that might also be an option, as the Brit stuff is quite fun at this stage and there are plenty of interesting actions. And in 6mm we can play in a big scale
Comments? Inspiration?
The problem is that it seems to work best in a small scale. This is not a problem, actually, but good sense. For the price of one tank in 15mm (5 pounds or 8 euros) you can buy about 15 little 1:300 beasts. I'm quite fond of my 15mm 1940 material, so I'll hang onto them and play PBI 2 or something with them.
I will sell my 1944 British (anyone interested? 40 or so infantry, 6 Cromwells, 2 Challengers, 2 Stuarts, 1 17iber with tow, 2 6lbers, 1 Daimler a/c). Nicely painted and based (of course ;)
So for 6mm or 1:300. Kurt has gone berserk and ordered some GHQ Yanks. A slightly eccentric choice (sorry, Dave). But interesting. He will have, of course, to be encouraged to get some 1944 Boche as well as an opponent.
Bart has reclaimed his desert stuff and is desperate to do 1940.
I am torn between all these things and also Russia 1941-43...
So, thoughts?
- It seems a bit daft to do 1940 in both 6mm and 15mm.
- The desert war is an interesting theatre, could maybe do O'Connor and the Italians, ie the fun before the beastly Rommel came along and spoiled things
- If I sell my 15mm 1944, then that might also be an option, as the Brit stuff is quite fun at this stage and there are plenty of interesting actions. And in 6mm we can play in a big scale
Comments? Inspiration?
Monday, 25 October 2004
Figure piracy
The [Miniatures Page](http://theminiaturespage.com/news/523986/) had a news item up some time ago that [AB Figures](http://www.ab-figures.demon.co.uk/) discovered some of their 15m Napoleonics that were clearly not cast by them sold as AB Figures. The trader they were bought from is now [revealed](http://theminiaturespage.com/news/523378/) as being [Stonewall Figures](http://www.stonewallfigures.co.uk/).
These are the facts as reported: Stonewall Figures sold someone figures that were probably pirated from existing AB Figures. Whether it was Stonewall themselves that did this copying, or whether they were sold AB figures that they themselves thought to be genuine by an unscrupulous third party is not clear, and is apparently under investigation (if that is what is meant by the phrasing _the Office of Fair Trading in the U.K. has taken appropriate action_).
It is a mystery to me why, in the low profile and low -- if any -- profit margin venture that is the wargame figure business for most traders out there, somebody would not only copy another person's work, but also try to make some money out of it. This seems entire counter productive; for the meager pennies you are making out of the selling of pirated figures, you might well run a legitimate trader out of business. This is not [Games Workshop](http://uk.games-workshop.com) we're talking about, but one of the many historical figure manufacturers whose business is basically an outgrown hobby, and is just barely profitable at best, or operating at a significant loss at worst. It just makes no sense trying to pirate their figures: there's no money in it, and you are actually hurting the hobby. (Please note that you should not read the above statement as an encouragement to copy GW figures. Do not copy material you are not allowed to copy.)
I have bought some stuff off of Stonewall Figures before (one of their Rapid Fire Battalion packs and some Old Glory 25mm Ancients which they occasionally carry to shows), but I think I shall refrain from buying from them until this particular bit of unpleasantness has been cleared up.
__UPDATE__ 26/10/2004: It seems that [FAA USA](http://www.figuresarmourartilleryusa.com/) [has dropped Stonewall as their European distributor](http://theminiaturespage.com/news/792701/). The story is convoluted, but there is the implication that Stonewall (or someone selling through Stonewall) has been recasting FAA figures in quite a shoddy way. The plot thickens...
These are the facts as reported: Stonewall Figures sold someone figures that were probably pirated from existing AB Figures. Whether it was Stonewall themselves that did this copying, or whether they were sold AB figures that they themselves thought to be genuine by an unscrupulous third party is not clear, and is apparently under investigation (if that is what is meant by the phrasing _the Office of Fair Trading in the U.K. has taken appropriate action_).
It is a mystery to me why, in the low profile and low -- if any -- profit margin venture that is the wargame figure business for most traders out there, somebody would not only copy another person's work, but also try to make some money out of it. This seems entire counter productive; for the meager pennies you are making out of the selling of pirated figures, you might well run a legitimate trader out of business. This is not [Games Workshop](http://uk.games-workshop.com) we're talking about, but one of the many historical figure manufacturers whose business is basically an outgrown hobby, and is just barely profitable at best, or operating at a significant loss at worst. It just makes no sense trying to pirate their figures: there's no money in it, and you are actually hurting the hobby. (Please note that you should not read the above statement as an encouragement to copy GW figures. Do not copy material you are not allowed to copy.)
I have bought some stuff off of Stonewall Figures before (one of their Rapid Fire Battalion packs and some Old Glory 25mm Ancients which they occasionally carry to shows), but I think I shall refrain from buying from them until this particular bit of unpleasantness has been cleared up.
__UPDATE__ 26/10/2004: It seems that [FAA USA](http://www.figuresarmourartilleryusa.com/) [has dropped Stonewall as their European distributor](http://theminiaturespage.com/news/792701/). The story is convoluted, but there is the implication that Stonewall (or someone selling through Stonewall) has been recasting FAA figures in quite a shoddy way. The plot thickens...
Tuesday, 5 October 2004
Renegade free postage
Just a quicky this time - [Renegade Miniatures](http://www.renegademiniatures.com/) is extending their [free postage weekend](http://www.nirya.be/snv/ttm/archives/000013.html) to a full week. Any orders placed between Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 are post free, to anywhere in the world. Tempting, indeed.
Saturday, 18 September 2004
Renegade Celtic chariots
Last weekend, a news entry on [The Miniatures Page](http://theminiaturespage.com) caught my attention: [Renegade Miniatures](http://www.renegademiniatures.com) was waiving P&P on any orders made during the weekend.
I knew that Alan had some WWI figures from them and was very enthusiastic about the quality of the figures, so I decided to have a look at them. It turned out that they have a range of Celts available, and I'm planning on building Celts for a [WAB](http://www.warhammer-historical.com/) escalation campaign / league we're setting up (I already have a DBA army of them, which, when I add a general and standard bearer model, will already meet the first goal of 500 points).
Back when [The Foundry](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com) was repackaging and remolding its ranges into their current pack format, they had a few sales where they sold off big bags of leftover figures that were still cast from the old (non-pack) molds. I bought the Celtic bag (and the Northern European Bronze Age one), which basically included one each of their Celtic ranges of figures (there were two), so I already have all the infantry and cavalry I will need. However, chariots are something I can still use (I have two Foundry ones painted, plus another three Old Glory ones awaiting paint), so I ordered the [boxed set](http://www.renegademiniatures.com/box.htm) of [Celtic chariots](http://www.renegademiniatures.com/303t.htm), which includes three chariots with two crew (warrior & driver) each for �20.
The new toys arrived yesterday. One thing I noticed is that the boxed set is very well produced, at least when compared to some other 'boxed sets' from other manufacturers which turn out to be simply a number of ziplock bags when you order them by mail. The Renegade boxed set features an attractively colourful box cover, which includes a painting example and a short historical blurb on the troops inside the box. The miniatures themselves are sealed in a plastic bag, which is wrapped in bubble wrap inside the box.
On first look, the miniatures look very nice (although the sword on one of them seems a bit too caricatural), and are very well produced (no immediately visible flash lines, mold half dislocations or any other miscasts) and clean. I think I'll be assembling one of the chariots _real soon now_ to see how they paint up.
I knew that Alan had some WWI figures from them and was very enthusiastic about the quality of the figures, so I decided to have a look at them. It turned out that they have a range of Celts available, and I'm planning on building Celts for a [WAB](http://www.warhammer-historical.com/) escalation campaign / league we're setting up (I already have a DBA army of them, which, when I add a general and standard bearer model, will already meet the first goal of 500 points).
Back when [The Foundry](http://www.wargamesfoundry.com) was repackaging and remolding its ranges into their current pack format, they had a few sales where they sold off big bags of leftover figures that were still cast from the old (non-pack) molds. I bought the Celtic bag (and the Northern European Bronze Age one), which basically included one each of their Celtic ranges of figures (there were two), so I already have all the infantry and cavalry I will need. However, chariots are something I can still use (I have two Foundry ones painted, plus another three Old Glory ones awaiting paint), so I ordered the [boxed set](http://www.renegademiniatures.com/box.htm) of [Celtic chariots](http://www.renegademiniatures.com/303t.htm), which includes three chariots with two crew (warrior & driver) each for �20.
The new toys arrived yesterday. One thing I noticed is that the boxed set is very well produced, at least when compared to some other 'boxed sets' from other manufacturers which turn out to be simply a number of ziplock bags when you order them by mail. The Renegade boxed set features an attractively colourful box cover, which includes a painting example and a short historical blurb on the troops inside the box. The miniatures themselves are sealed in a plastic bag, which is wrapped in bubble wrap inside the box.
On first look, the miniatures look very nice (although the sword on one of them seems a bit too caricatural), and are very well produced (no immediately visible flash lines, mold half dislocations or any other miscasts) and clean. I think I'll be assembling one of the chariots _real soon now_ to see how they paint up.
Wednesday, 18 August 2004
Full Thrust Miniatures
I got an email in my guise as [Schild en Vriend](http://www.nirya.be/snv) webmaster, asking about which models we used for our [Full Thrust](http://www.nirya.be/snv/FT/ft.html) games. As this might be useful for more people, here's what I answered:
>> However, I was wondering if you please could tell me what models you've
>> been using, and where you got them?
>
>We've been using a number of manufacturer's models. GZG is one (e.g. the
>Tolstoy, mentioned in the campaign, is the big ESU dreadnought by GZG), but
>there are a lot of others:
>
>AOG's Babylon Five miniatures: AOG (Agents of Gaming) seem to have gone
>bust, but this site claims to have found a source:
>
>[AOG Babylon 5 minis](http://www.uncomyngifts.com/Main/Recreation_Room/Babylon-5/Game_Supplies/Babylon5Wars/Miniatures/)
>
>ICE Silent Death figures: there are many stores that sell these, but
>here's the manufacturers site:
>
>[ICE Silent Death](http://store.ironcrown.com/category.jsp?category=2043)
>
>Be sure to order the metal ones, the resin ones are huge (3 times the
>size of the metal ones, or around 10 inches)
>
>Irregular Miniatures: this is a miniature manufacturer in the UK doing
>all kinds of figures and scales, including spaceships (though they're
>basic - to get an idea: the Morgenes and most of Fleet Section 408 as
>pictured on our web page are Irregulars):
>
>[Irregular Miniatures](http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk)
>
>The spaceships are listed in the 6mm section of the catalog.
BTW, that's [GZG'z online store](http://www.gtns.net/gzg/) mentioned in the first paragraph.
>> However, I was wondering if you please could tell me what models you've
>> been using, and where you got them?
>
>We've been using a number of manufacturer's models. GZG is one (e.g. the
>Tolstoy, mentioned in the campaign, is the big ESU dreadnought by GZG), but
>there are a lot of others:
>
>AOG's Babylon Five miniatures: AOG (Agents of Gaming) seem to have gone
>bust, but this site claims to have found a source:
>
>[AOG Babylon 5 minis](http://www.uncomyngifts.com/Main/Recreation_Room/Babylon-5/Game_Supplies/Babylon5Wars/Miniatures/)
>
>ICE Silent Death figures: there are many stores that sell these, but
>here's the manufacturers site:
>
>[ICE Silent Death](http://store.ironcrown.com/category.jsp?category=2043)
>
>Be sure to order the metal ones, the resin ones are huge (3 times the
>size of the metal ones, or around 10 inches)
>
>Irregular Miniatures: this is a miniature manufacturer in the UK doing
>all kinds of figures and scales, including spaceships (though they're
>basic - to get an idea: the Morgenes and most of Fleet Section 408 as
>pictured on our web page are Irregulars):
>
>[Irregular Miniatures](http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk)
>
>The spaceships are listed in the 6mm section of the catalog.
BTW, that's [GZG'z online store](http://www.gtns.net/gzg/) mentioned in the first paragraph.
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