Friday 16 April 2010

Update From Wargames Factory

Tony Reidy has brought to my attention that I misunderstood the exact breakdown of poses on each sprue in my last post, for which I humbly apologise. here is Tony's "official" description of the 3 figures on each sprue:

"One quick correction - 2 figures on the sprue will be 1-piece (one with one leg forward, other with the opposite) in "march attack" walk. One-piece except separate heads/sword hanger.

Third figure will have - one set legs (moving forward) - 4 torsos (one to make one more "regular" troop, one to make a drummer, two with officer sashes - one around waist, one over shoulder.

With 12 sprues in the box - 12 figures per set (1/3) are up for grabs as officers, grenadiers, sergeants, standard bearers, drummers, etc. H*ll, you could make 12 drummers if you REALLY wanted! ;-)"

WF's designer/virtual sculptor, Tim Barry, was occupied with other matters for a while, but is now back at work on this range and making some of the corrections/changes that have been pointed out (where they could be documented) to WF. As to the "style" of the figures, I've offered my comments and critique (I prefer the anatomically-correct Minden/Stadden/Huzzah style) to Tony and Tim, and passed on yours as well, and here is Tony's reply:

"I know of the Minden range - and this is all just personal preference -
but I really dislike them. I feel they are just too stiff and reedy -
but I can see why some people like them.

I REALLY like the Perry figures - and these would match up perfectly
with their proportions."

So, if we can assume that the Perry figures also might include Foundry's Marlburian and LoA ranges as well, then this should allow gamers and collectors to field some very diverse armies. If the Wargames Factory figures are in line with their other 12-sprue sets, then these should price out at around $20-25 (USD) per box of 36 figures, certainly a reasonable amount for battalions. Then, using the Foundry (or similar) figures, one could add "special" command vignettes and dioramas, and possibly some specialist troops. Even with Foundry's higher pricing, the net effect will be a fairly affordable army. This will be especially true when WF produces the matching "generic" cavalry. As I told Tony, some will like them, some will not, some will buy some of everything and mix them regardless of style differences; you can't please everyone. As they say, "Different horses for different courses."

As for me, I will still assist Tony and Tim in any way that I can and await the finished product before I get too worked up one way or the other. As I primarily game in 15/18mm, If I decide to go this route, then this will be a new venture for me with no existing collection to try and match. Therefore I will be able to make a reasonably unbiased decision with my dollars as to which I prefer to paint. But, these Wargames Factory figures will certainly get my attention and I'll be doing some samples before I decide.

Bill

4 comments:

Motorway said...

I am very sorry to say, but comparing these renders with Foundry figs is a bit too arrogant for my taste.

clibinarium said...

Bill can you email me; I can't find your address!

Clib

Galpy said...

Nice looking figure. Do you know of anyone making 28mm hard plastic russians Napoleonic figures

Sir William the Aged said...

Galpy,

Napoleonics aren't really my area, but as far as I know, only the Perry's and Victrix have developed fairly deep ranges of hard plastics in 28mm. Unfortunately for your wishes, so far they only do French and British.

If I were you, and you really want the figures, I would go to Wargames Factory's Liberty & Union League (similar to Eureka's 300 Club) and start a request for them. You can also contact the Perry's and Victrix via their respective web sites and express a request.

However, there may be an alternative coming. Hat (the people in Australia who do 1/72nd soft plastics) are now doing some 28mm hard styrene and they do have Russians scheduled. These will be one-piece castings as they use the same large-scale masters and scale them down when they engrave their molds. You can see the Russian masters here:

http://www.hat.com/Prev/Russian/Russian.html

They are also doing French, Bavarians, Prussians, etc.

Bill