Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: RAD on 18 June 2017, 07:48:14 PM
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Absolutely ace imho. Aglians with a vendel touch. Outstanding again from Collin Paten here: http://saxonminiatures.com/product/royal-anglians-early-saxon-huscarls/
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Couldn't agree more.
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I just received all of their Romano British, they are lovely miniatures, crisp and have captured the period perfectly. Saxon minis are Colin Patten the original owner and sculptor of the Gripping Beast ranges, he has stormed through the ranges providing some lovely minis so far. In the order he put in some early Saxons which are excellent too :-*
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Really nice.
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Yes, they really are superb. I've been SORELY tempted by the Arthurians, and now by these early Saxons... If only I hadn't just spent three years completing Footsore armies for both sides... :'(
When I look at the speed and quality of Colin Patten's output for his new brand, I can't help but wonder if there is a little bit of an implied rebuke for his brother and the rest of the inheritors of Gripping Beast. Because it looks a lot like he is remaking the entire original catalogue of GB ranges which fired the early rampant success of that manufacturer - most of which they subsequently appear to have retired or over-written with (to my eye) manifestly inferior sculpts from different hands...
So Colin comes back and makes them all over again - only even better than they were to start with, more dynamic, and with many more variants.
Or maybe, as he says on his Facebook page, it's just because he loves sculpting Dark Age miniatures ;)
Worth remembering Colin does have a slightly spotty track record with his miniatures businesses. Having parted ways with Gripping Beast after a few years, he started Vendel Miniatures, churned out a huge number of very appealing (if slightly squat) Elizabethan / Border Reiver and fantasy figures - and then sold the whole lot on after a couple of years to Sergeant Major Miniatures in the USA.
I get the impression he may be someone who loves to sculpt when he's on a roll and the muse takes him, but perhaps he isn't so keen on the other aspects of running a wargames business.
Well, that's the artistic temperament for you... :)
Maybe the advice is - if you like these figures, get 'em while they're hot, because previous experience might suggest he could run out of enthusiasm as the business side of things takes off...
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Hmmm that is a relevant point of view. I guess i will have some heavy lead investments to make here, even the minis will probably hibernate in a box for some years considering my output...:-)
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I bought some of his vikings and they are fantastic figures!
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Interesting comments from Captain Blood. I have quite a large Dark Ages collection, assembled from various manufacturers including Foundry, Citadel, GB, Artizan, Crusader, Black Tree and Musketeer. About 8 years ago I started collecting AWI figures and then TYW figures and I stopped buying Dark Ages stuff - the last figures I bought were some of the first Musketeer Early Saxons. I've recently resumed my Dark Ages figure buying and one thing surprised me - how few GB figures produced (for the armies I'm interested in) in the last 8 years or so there were which I actually wanted to buy. Footsore have the lovely Late Romans with Vikings in the pipeline while Saxon have about 4 really tempting ranges but I'm quite disappointed with what GB has been up to while I've been 'away'.
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Just when I was starting to build a Crusader army for the Saga tournament, Saxon come out with these grrrr!!!
Why, oh why, do manufacturers post such mouth-watering and tempting products just at the wrong time. There really should be some sort of warning along the lines of "Do not view unless you are prepared to start collecting a new army".
Superb figures.
Stephen
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I love this stuff--although having seen the figures next to the old Gripping Beast figres they are patently from the same hand and in the same style. I suppose they are a little bit more dynamic, but otherwise they are about the same in my opinion. I saw an odd thread a while back where someone was praising the new Saxon Normans but claiming how they didn't like the GB Normans (the larger ones not the tiny ones) which I thought was a classic example of gamers preferring the new shiny over the old even though the figures are so very similar face to face. In any case I wish him much luck! More El Cid stuff please...
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axabrax said
I love this stuff--although having seen the figures next to the old Gripping Beast figres they are patently from the same hand and in the same style.
Agreed, except that they are more like the later stuff than their early Vikings and Saxons.
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Is there anyway to persuade him to do some Carolingians?
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You could just ask him? I think the Saxon Miniatures page asks for suggestions.
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I'm also tempted by these wonderful sculpts ( and LBMS transfers to-boot) - I think his FB page has mentioned moving to El Cid range (a reprise of the old Gripping Beast ones perhaps?).
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Is there anyway to persuade him to do some Carolingians?
I'd buy those without even thinking about it.
Then again, I'll buy anything from Colin. The figures are superb one and all, mix perfectly with the equally good Footsore ones, Gripping Beast, Black Tree and recently Curteys.
For Dark Ages lovers it's truly a golden age.
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This! Carolingians or for the age of Arthur, merovingian franks. There are few ranges of good quality around I know of. Artizan makes a wonderful Carolingian range but they're about the only one and the poses are few for rank and file (4 poses per 8 figures blister). As far as Merovingian Franks are concerned, they are usually sold undistinctively in saxon/franks blisters lacking the specific looks that gives them a distinctive look: throwing axes, angorn, shaven back head and... moustaches...! Great faction for scenarios in continental Britanny !
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Damn, RAD, now I want some Merovingians, too...
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I've sent Colin a message about the Merovingians, hopefully I'll get a positive response from him soon. Thinking of trying out a Kingdom of Soissons Dux Brit campaign.
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I've sent Colin a message about the Merovingians, hopefully I'll get a positive response from him soon. Thinking of trying out a Kingdom of Soissons Dux Brit campaign.
I'm fairly sure that completing the "El Cid" line is next on his list - but you never know, if enough folks ask he might.....
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I went and asked him on Facebook, no plans currently was the reply. Like you said though, maybe if enough people ask. I've also asked Bill T from footsore and he said it's a possibility, but no current plans as he's trying to wrap up the Irish and Picts.
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And.... Saxon Miniatures is for sale...
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SAXON MINIATURES FOR SALE
Offers are invited for the purchase of
‘Saxon Miniatures’
Here’s the background, I started Saxon minis back in 2015, the growth of the company and with it the workload, has steadily increased to the point that I feel I cannot continue to run it on my own, from home with just the assistance of my wife. In fact I am currently spending as much time casting as I am sculpting, so in order to concentrate my energies totally on what I do best, I have decided to invite interest in the outright purchase and ownership of Saxon Miniatures, with me continuing as the in house sculptor. So in effect, you buy the company, you get me as the sculptor!
Saxon Miniatures has been underdeveloped for too long existing as purely a paypal only online presence, with no telephone contact number, show circuit trade stands, advertising (one WI half page in 3 years!!) or stockists and yet despite this, has seen sales grow and grow each year. However it now needs to be taken to the next level ,so if you are an existing miniature company with the infrastructure already in place or someone who has always wanted to be their own boss and wanted to get into the business end of the miniature wargames hobby then this might be for you. I am totally confident that Saxon Miniatures is well positioned to make it to the very top levels of the industry.
For more details genuinely interested parties please get in contact via this email address saxonminiatures@gmail.com and tell us a bit about yourself.
No time wasters please.
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Hilarious.
I don't want to say 'I told you so' but...
Worth remembering Colin does have a slightly spotty track record with his miniatures businesses. Having parted ways with Gripping Beast after a few years, he started Vendel Miniatures, churned out a huge number of very appealing (if slightly squat) Elizabethan / Border Reiver and fantasy figures - and then sold the whole lot on after a couple of years to Sergeant Major Miniatures in the USA.
I get the impression he may be someone who loves to sculpt when he's on a roll and the muse takes him, but perhaps he isn't so keen on the other aspects of running a wargames business.
Well, that's the artistic temperament for you... :)
Maybe the advice is - if you like these figures, get 'em while they're hot, because previous experience might suggest he could run out of enthusiasm as the business side of things takes off...
I absolutely love his work, but wouldn't go into business on the premise he's offering. His track record does not speak of reliability alas... :(
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Hilarious.
I don't want to say 'I told you so' but...
I absolutely love his work, but wouldn't go into business on the premise he's offering. His track record does not speak of reliability alas... :(
I thought that last night when I aw it....now about getting advice from you on my stocks and shares portfolio ;D
Hope someone picks them up
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Captain Blood said:
"I get the impression he may be someone who loves to sculpt .... but perhaps he isn't so keen on the other aspects of running a wargames business. ... "
I think that's the point Colin is trying to make. Sculpting AND running the business is just about possible for a one-man band if retired and/or with no dependents. Colin is not in either of those positions. Every hour spent casting, organising a show, updating the website, dealing with e-mails/facebook posts etc. is an hour less sculpting.
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If somebody takes over to ensure Colin can sculpt full-time that would probably the best for him and the best for us.
Having said that, now I feel it's a good time to order that 1066 warband deal of his, it's been on my list far too long now ;-).
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I'm not blaming him at all :)
Clearly he loves to sculpt - but not the rest of it. Fair enough.
The question a prospective purchaser of the line needs to ask is simply: 'how do I make sure he doesn't lose interest and disappear off onto something else once his current hyper-productive period runs out of steam?'
Some kind of contract, I suppose...
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Hmm that's a bit worrying...
I'm worried that a certain Nottingham based company with a track record of buying up other companies might buy it and the we would have to wait years to see a truncated version of Saxon Miniatures!
Might have to order some more stuff!
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... a certain Nottingham based company with a track record of buying up other companies ...
My thoughts exactly ;).
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One of the attractions of buying from Saxon for me is that it is a pretty small operation, with reasonable prices including P&P. If Warlord owned it, I could see that going out of the window...
I hope it gets picked up by someone that keeps it as an independent.
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Just ordered some Saxons and Vikings just in case.
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I picked up some stuff out of fear as well. I'm sure that someone will buy it, I know that I would if I had the funds.
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I really like his stuff, very characterful indeed.
But I know how he feels I hate running steel fist miniatures and often think of selling it... I like sculpting the minis but emailing customers posting miniatures and advertising plus sorting stock is not my thing at all. I don't even do the casting like he does... and the problem with a small business is there is not enough profit normally to employ people to do these things.
I hope it works out for him and he find the right buyer.
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I really like his stuff, very characterful indeed.
But I know how he feels I hate running steel fist miniatures and often think of selling it... I like sculpting the minis but emailing customers posting miniatures and advertising plus sorting stock is not my thing at all. I don't even do the casting like he does... and the problem with a small business is there is not enough profit normally to employ people to do these things.
I hope it works out for him and he find the right buyer.
It really take two partners that are invested in the outfit to same degree, both financially and emotionally (for lack of a better term).
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I've got a bit of tittle tattle about this.
I can't really say in public, however much I really want to (and believe me - I REALLY want to) - but I daren't for fear of being identified.
It's not really juicy, nor salacious, just the sort of thing that will leave you face-palming and shaking your head like mad.
Maybe if someone bribes me with a bag of chips, a battered sausage, and a can of Coke...
Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on as Mrs Doyle would say.
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From what you have said, I would guess that someone has made an offer that has been turned down, or that you think the asking price is too high.
With all due respect, I think that a lot of this is nobodies business apart from the interested or involved parties, and I think it worth considering whether rumour and gossip could damage the business, after all it does that to other businesses.
Remember we are talking about people lives and livelihoods here and just because X doesn't believe Y is right about something it doesn't necessarily mean that X is right.
I have no interest in stirring the pot or inciting a spat, IMHO Colin sculpts lovely, reasonably priced miniatures that show his passion for the subject, which I have purchased and will purchase again and would like to be able to buy in the future. Apart from voicing a hope that Warlord don't buy on the grounds on their previous conduct regarding small businesses, what Colin does or doesn't do or say, is none of my or anyone's business.
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Yes indeed. Fair point Westwaller. Having started the speculation with my uncanny prescience ( :D ) I now have to don my moderator's hat and kindly request that we wait until there is firm news before indulging in speculation that might have an impact on someone's livelihood. Thanks folks.
I have just ordered a batch, mind you. If Colin hates casting, his announcement may well have had the opposite effect to what he intended!
And now friends, let us wait for the swirling Dark Age mists to clear, and enlightenment to occur :)
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I ordered a pack of Royal Anglians before I went away on holiday and they were waiting for me when I got back. I must say that they are extremely nice - the nicest Saxon Miniatures I've seen, not that I've seen that many. I'm very impressed.
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How accurate are they?
It's those short sleeved jackets that worry me....
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Bindonblood, do you mean the mail? I think the sleeves on mail coats tended to fall above the elbow until they got longer towards the end of the 11th century.
The short sleeve tunics over long sleeves on the unarmoured figures seem pretty common among early medieval miniatures and Osprey-style 'art for wargamers', but the only evidence for it that I'm aware of is a late Roman mosaic of a Vandal, and even that may just represent an embroidered design on a long sleeved tunic.
(http://i.imgur.com/fGRbZfK.jpg?1)
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Hi Byrthnoth,
No, the tunics on these guys as an example...
https://i0.wp.com/saxonminiatures.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/arts01.jpg?zoom=2&fit=3011%2C1208
http://saxonminiatures.com/product/arthurian-british-unarmoured-saxon-infantry/
I see a lot of Saxon miniatures wearing them but have never found a source for them and these seem an extreme example.
As far as I can work out,a single long sleeved tunic seems to be (probably) the correct dress for Saxons. That said, the more I have looked into it,the more it amazes me little we actually know about how they looked.
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The Norman Knight 950-1204 AD Osprey mentions that the Normans sometimes wore short sleeved 'super tunics' over their long sleeved tunics, although I don't know what source that comes from. If accurate, it could be the case that later Anglo-Saxons did the same, but that doesn't have much bearing on what their ancestors were wearing in the 4th-6th centuries.
It seems like something where there was a lack of firm evidence either way, so someone (probably Angus McBride) drew what he though looked right/cool, and figure designers used those illustrations as a reference, and now it's a piece of wargamers' received wisdom on How Saxons Looked.
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Just received a big order from Saxon, including the Anglians. I'm very impressed, great figures, I've just put another order straight in for Normans and the Arthurian knights. Now I just need about 5 years un disturbed time to paint them.
As with the Saxon dress code we will never find out exactly what they wore, unless somebody finds a preserved bog man somewhere.
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It might be a seasonal/temperature thingie? As in, too hot for a cloak and too cold for a single tunic? Bodywarmers Dark Age style ftw lol.
I think people are focussing too much on the few sources ( carvings, Bayeux ) that survived instead of using common sense. There wasn't a H&M around at the time and especially the common people used whatever they've got their hands on, and re-used that too, as far as it would go. And D.A. Britain wasn't that isolated, there were many contacts and there was a lively trade between the Anglo-Saxons/Anglo-Danes, the Franks and the Scandinavian peoples. And those latter people did have trade going eastwards too, there were mercenaries, the church etc. etc. so people came in contact with different people, different styles of clothing, armour and weapons.
Personally I have more trouble accepting wide-edged trousers with Dark Age professional warriors as seen on some GB/Saxon models. In battle you want cumberfree movement, especially in those days when the countries weren't that cultivated and nature went wherever it wished, so you wanted to be able to move freely instead of having your clothes teard out bij everything mama nature could throw at them. So I'd definately would use leg bindings in those days, if only to avoid Mrs. Dane having to mend my torn shorts every other day.
But feel free to contradict me; either way the Saxon miniatures are brill lol.
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Saxon miniatures has found a new owner, as was announced on his Facebook page today, no news on who but I am hopeful the sculpts stay available
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I saw that too... Lets hope its a seamless transition and things for the customer stay pretty much the same... :)
...and the reworked Saxons are available soon.
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I heard warlord games have bought them
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And I read Warlord Games have bought them ;): http://www.warlordgames.com/warlord-games-purchase-saxon-miniatures/?utm_source=Warlord+Games+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b987fb3777-Warlord_Games_Friday_New_Releases_18_August_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b7e928b4ed-b987fb3777-121422874&mc_cid=b987fb3777&mc_eid=22e2484050
No major shock. Glad to have a range that continues with the same sculptor. Hopefully it won't take too long to put them on the website this time...
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Oh... I look forward to Colins new dark age ranges with gurning faces then... (not)
I would have preferred someone like Northstar to take it to be honest...
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As long as they use good castors. I've had bad castings from Warlord and especially Northstar.
If Warlord has them let's hope they treat Colin well and he keeps producing great figures.
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The Northstar metal ( Frostgrave ) castings are nicely put not the best ( double mould-lines on flat 28mm figs, low or no quality control, as seen in a pretty high % of miscasts and rockhard metal ) so I'm happy they didn't go to Nick. Sorry.
Warlord will see a major price rice I'm afraid but at least they can cast and my FLGS carries the line, so that's a pre.
Hope they will re-release them soon.
#NeedMoreToys :D
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I'm glad I got about £250 worth just before they went to Warlord, as the Saxon shop seems to be closed now.
Hope Warlord don't take ages to release them, but I've got loads to keep me going lol
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It will be a price rise, plus high postage costs plus highly 'variable' quality casting if my own personal experience of Warlord is anything to go by....
Oh well, at least they won't be OOP although it does rather seem like they might not be available until Warlord release their Dark Ages Hail Caesar rules ::)
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I think it is good news, Warlord will ensure they continue and can blossom, I have seen a good few smaller operations move to others and they disappear . Also they are in safe hands with Andy Hobday who also is involved with Footsore so great stuff all round
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It will be a price rise, plus high postage costs plus highly 'variable' quality casting if my own personal experience of Warlord is anything to go by....
Oh well, at least they won't be OOP although it does rather seem like they might not be available until Warlord release their Dark Ages Hail Caesar rules ::)
I won't argue with the casting (or some of the sculpting for that matter) but postage and prices do not seem out of line with what everybody else is charging. In any event though you are right: the line will be continue to be available... sometime (thank God they aren't plastic...).
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I won't argue with the casting (or some of the sculpting for that matter) but postage and prices do not seem out of line with what everybody else is charging. In any event though you are right: the line will be continue to be available... sometime (thank God they aren't plastic...).
. Hear, hear agree HATE Plastic figures.
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Bunch of 'em have been made available already, not sure what they used to cost, but 6 quid for 4 seems a normal enough price for metal figures (larger pack of archers a bit cheaper). Good to see them released so soon.
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That's a good thing then, and actually the hearthguard are slightly cheaper than Colin had them for (although there's the Warlord postage to add)
Hopefully they will quickly add both early and later Saxons, Normans and the Arthurians in the very near future- Hoping to be proved wrong regarding my previous comments on Warlord!
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Damn! Warlord... Of all potential buyers it had to be Warlord. :'( :'(
This is a sad, sad piece of news.
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Well, they seem to have kept the prices as they were - for now.
But yes, you do have to bear in mind Warlord's £5.00 minimum postage charge...