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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: ulverston on December 10, 2023, 05:14:03 PM

Title: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: ulverston on December 10, 2023, 05:14:03 PM
Hi,
I watched an interview with Mr Stollard of Warlord Games and it was mentioned that a Hail Caesar version of epic may be on the cards... has anyone else read or heard about this? I am considering the 28mm set but having just painted a sprue of the epic Napoleonic Brits I am starting to think that the smaller guys would make more sense.
Any news would be appreciated as I am using all my willpower to hold off buying the 28mm box and as I play solo the smaller guys would be so much quicker...
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: fred on December 10, 2023, 06:56:39 PM
No idea on what Warlord is planning

But there are loads of small scale options in metal, today, for these eras. I’d suggest starting with Pendraken’s 10mm.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: ulverston on December 10, 2023, 08:17:11 PM
I may take a look at Pendraken if no news comes out soon but then if I spend £60 or so on two of their armies I may as well go for the 28mm plastics... its a bit of a strange position to be in.

Come on Sir Stallard give us a release date.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: fred on December 10, 2023, 08:51:00 PM
I’m not sure I get the comparison - £60 will get 2-3 boxes of plastics - which will be just a few units for HC. Whereas two Pendraken army packs will give you a lot more units
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: TheBlackCrane on December 10, 2023, 11:33:14 PM
I am sure I read something somewhere - may well have been on here - suggesting there was a plan for Ancients, mentioning Carthaginians. But I can't remember whether that was a planned release or people saying what they'd like to see....

Must admit, if Carthaginians were released I'd probably buy into them.

Metal options like Pendraken look lovely painted up, but every time I have tried to paint Pendraken figures they are just so small (yes, I appreciate that is kind of the point!). The Epic scale ECW just seem that bit larger. Anyway, that is me going off at a tangent to the OP.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: SJWi on December 11, 2023, 03:27:56 PM
Warlord's Epic are I believe 12-13mm so designed not to fit with much else. If you want this size I suggest you look at Kallistra's ranges which I think are also 12mm
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Elbows on December 12, 2023, 01:19:05 AM
While they are a 'weird' scale, I've also heard that the lines (despite being 12mm) work well with certain 10mm lines anyway...so there's some hope there.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: FierceKitty on December 12, 2023, 01:26:23 AM
I am sure I read something somewhere - may well have been on here - suggesting there was a plan for Ancients, mentioning Carthaginians. But I can't remember whether that was a planned release or people saying what they'd like to see....

Must admit, if Carthaginians were released I'd probably buy into them.

Metal options like Pendraken look lovely painted up, but every time I have tried to paint Pendraken figures they are just so small (yes, I appreciate that is kind of the point!). The Epic scale ECW just seem that bit larger. Anyway, that is me going off at a tangent to the OP.

If I can paint them, Helen Keller could probably paint them!
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Easy E on December 13, 2023, 09:06:40 PM
10-13mm..... poof.... go all out with 6mm!   :-* :o lol

(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AL52teI_8Kw/YJRXcQ44bDI/AAAAAAAAOIQ/Jcvj3_Qvk7sXcgFn1_zsZIbg1VgnTcLxQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_0028.HEIC)

There are some people that even do 2-3mm! 

Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Norm on December 13, 2023, 11:38:45 PM
There have been two Ancients match ups rumoured over the past couple of years. One is Rome / carthage and the  other is Rome / barbarian.

Jon Stallard did mention something a couple of years ago about elephants looking great in Epic, so perhaps Carthage will be the one they go for, but it is just guessing and that is the problem with hanging onto every word that falls from the lips of of the Warlord hierarchy.

What we do know is that Epic ancients is coming and that it will likely have a roman army in it …. Which one is the question.

that aside, I think it is more important that you settle the dispute that you are having with yourself as to whether to go  Epic or 28mm - I am not being flippant, I see that as being your critical dilemma and I say this having recently  travelled the same route.

I was happily collecting 28’s, which I like and I diverted to Epic, thinking they would be easier to collect / store etc, but I found that there is so much detail on the figure, that I was painting it all and the investment time in painting was not hugely different to my 28’s when you factor in that you will almost certainly paint more figures / bases / units etc with the Epic.

Part of that is my own fault as I just never seemed to develop or master the technique that is needed to churn the Epic figures out. So since you have been practicing on a sprue, you will have an idea which you prefer painting and since painting is such a big part of what we do - I would let that sway you.

Good luck, don’t do what I did, by buying both, because painting wise it becomes impossible to service both and I just ended up totally unfocused and doing very little painting as I got torn between the two scales.

I am now back in my stride, having sold the Epic and now solely collecting 28’s. That doesn’t mean it is the right or best choice, it was just the right choice for me and my productivity and enthusiasm to paint has returned..
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Ninefingers on December 14, 2023, 07:18:59 AM
Knowing Warlord, I'm pretty sure they'd go Early Imperial Romans/Barbarians.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: TheBlackCrane on December 14, 2023, 07:22:30 PM
Knowing Warlord, I'm pretty sure they'd go Early Imperial Romans/Barbarians.

I've never really understood the attraction of Rome vs "Barbarians" (for which generally it seems to be Celts, Gauls, occasionally Dacians or generic Germans).

I guess it is a question if what is commercially most viable, but the Roman Republic had a huge variety of opponents who make attractive opposition armies - Carthage, Hellenistic (especially Pyrrhus), other Italian States, Pontus, etc. etc. To my mind Republican Rome gives much more gaming opportunity. Another tangent. But I suspect an Epic 'Rome vs Barbarians' wouldn't get my money.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Ray Rivers on December 14, 2023, 07:40:14 PM
I've never really understood the attraction of Rome vs "Barbarians" (for which generally it seems to be Celts, Gauls, occasionally Dacians or generic Germans).

I guess it is a question if what is commercially most viable, but the Roman Republic had a huge variety of opponents who make attractive opposition armies - Carthage, Hellenistic (especially Pyrrhus), other Italian States, Pontus, etc. etc. To my mind Republican Rome gives much more gaming opportunity. Another tangent. But I suspect an Epic 'Rome vs Barbarians' wouldn't get my money.

Agreed.

Another option would be Greeks vs Greeks.

Republic Rome also makes a lot of sense because it would be easier to make, create or paint generic designs on the shields.

Barbarians would be far more difficult.  o_o

Having said that, Kallistra does Imperial Romans and Barbarians and also Shield Decals.

https://www.kallistra.co.uk/index.php?page=150
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Pattus Magnus on December 14, 2023, 07:47:03 PM
I agree that the whole Romans vs barbarians thing is a little stale. The range of opponents during the republic is wider (and can include hairy barbarians, if that’s your thing). Republic vs successors would be most like to get my money, but the diverse unit types in a successor army is probably a key reason why it wouldn’t be in a paired armies box release.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: FierceKitty on December 15, 2023, 01:39:57 AM
It's a combination of those wretched Asterix comics, which don't come within a mile of getting anything right, and Trajan's column. Perhaps if we all sponsored a long-overdue Scipio Africanus' column?
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: SJWi on December 15, 2023, 09:29:23 AM
By the way if you want to "go small" as an alternative to 28mm I would look at 6mm. I steered clear of this scale for many years but last month succumbed to peer pressure and me and my mates are now doing Napoleonics. I have been amazed at how quickly I can paint these. A different style is needed than with my 28s and for me the secret is a basic paint job picking out detail in brighter colors and then a light coloured flock on the base. I'm now considering 6mm ancients using the simple "Age of Hannibal" rules.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Emir of Askaristan on December 15, 2023, 09:56:35 AM
I like the shoulder to shoulder strips of the epic figs and if I was to down scale my Macedonians, Greeks, Successors, Persians and Indians Id like to go with that style, but just running through those names you can see the differences in troops types, formations, equipment, etc. required.

That's a lot of tooling in plastic.
 
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: YPU on December 15, 2023, 10:02:42 AM
.
That's a lot of tooling in plastic.

This makes me wonder if something like war of the roses isn't more likely, where the same sprue painted the same ish with a different decal on the banners works just fine.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: Norm on December 15, 2023, 11:09:39 AM
They did make a huge investment in tooling for Napoleonics, something like 13+ frames, so I suppose it depends how well that did for them.

Of course, because of lead in and manufacture times,  the likelihood is that the project is already live and that Warlord are actively sculpting - so what ever is next is already in motion.
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: ithoriel on December 15, 2023, 02:06:11 PM
It's a combination of those wretched Asterix comics, which don't come within a mile of getting anything right, and Trajan's column. Perhaps if we all sponsored a long-overdue Scipio Africanus' column?
When I was at university the Asterix series was part of my Archaeology reading list. Among other things, best portrayal of Druids out there according to the professor!
Title: Re: Epic Scale Medievals or Ancients to be released?
Post by: FierceKitty on December 16, 2023, 01:29:45 AM
Minnesota Bible Studies College? Oxford? One of those places, obviously.