Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => VSF Adventures => Topic started by: Thunderchicken on December 08, 2009, 08:18:32 PM
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Has anyone heard anything about this new range by Black Pyramid Gaming?
http://www.blackpyramid.co.uk/teawars/
I like the figures and some of the weapons work for me. The only drawback for me is the price but it looks like there's the potential for quite a variety of poses and weapons so might be worth an investment. According to the site the inspiration is steampunk but I think they'll do nicely for VSF.
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Good find TC - never heard of them myself but know of Aarons work.
Could develop into something very interesting
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Aaron Brown is a cracking sculptor (of Quar Fame) so looks like a great range in the making
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I met the guys from Black Pyramid on the Canterbury Wargods of Aegyptus tournement in Canterbury a few weeks ago. Very nice guys to talk to and play against, and great to do business with.
DJ
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Sounds interesting indeed.
Will have to keep a keen eye on these folks.
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Is this plastic or metal?!
I didn't see any prices either???
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I saw these at a show a while back and had a chat with the owners. Nice figures but just that touch too expensive for my taste. I took a card but didn't buy, which is a telling point considering it's me :)
They looked like they'd fit well with GW Praetorians.
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The faces are done really nice and the weapons are very interesting as well. No word on pricing yet?
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I don't get it. These are multi-pose British of the Zulu Wars era, with advanced guns. Except for the guns, how are they different from the Wargames Factory plastics? I guess they have slightly better faces, but that doesn't impress me too much.
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The faces are done really nice and the weapons are very interesting as well. No word on pricing yet?
Can't find any info on prices on the site but they were £10 for 4 at the show.
I don't get it. These are multi-pose British of the Zulu Wars era, with advanced guns. Except for the guns, how are they different from the Wargames Factory plastics? I guess they have slightly better faces, but that doesn't impress me too much.
Because the Wargames Factory ones are terrible sculpts all over, not just the faces, plus they're quite small. Wargames Factory have improved enormously with their more recent releases. If they were to go back and resculpt the British I'd buy them with no hesitation (as long as they were also a touch taller).
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It does not say but are these going to be plastic?
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Nope metal. At £10 for 4 I can see people exploding at the idea they're plastic :)
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Nope metal. At £10 for 4 I can see people exploding at the idea they're plastic :)
* £8.00
* Stock code: TW-03
* This product is not yet rated…
Product description
Pack of 3 British Infantrymen in multi part kit form. Included are 6 different heads and 2 sprues of the different special weapons. Each sprue contains one each of the three different weapons
So they're actually a bit more than 10/4th ... 8/3th instead.
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That's even worse.
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£8 for 3 figures ain't that bad against some companies that charge £8 for a single miniature.
I will be keeping an eye on these.
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£8 for 3 figures ain't that bad against some companies that charge £8 for a single miniature.
I will be keeping an eye on these.
See, I don't buy that as an argument (pun not intended). The figures I can think of that are around £8 a figure, I'll only ever buy one of, if I even buy it in the first place. For example I bought a hunter figure from Freebooter at Salute for £9, it hurt to pay that much for a single figure but it was to be a merc character fig in a couple of different games and it's a lovely sculpt. I'd never buy another one though.
With the Tea Wars infantry I'd probably need to buy about 30 of them (if I wanted to be able to use every figure then I'd definately need to) which is £80. When I can get more figures from Empress for £40 which are also better sculpts, why would I spend that? Multi-pose isn't worth that much and is often a detraction when working on lots of them, the weapons are interesting but weapon swaps/conversions aren't difficult to do. Neither is worth doubling the price of the figure.
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I totally understand you points and agree with most of them.
I was just trying to point out that I didn't think they were overly expensive which seemed to be a major point people were putting across.
Also I am not as flashly as you with the cash and would probably only want 10 ;)
I will wait to see what they are like when they come out. Maybe if they fit in with other ranges you could use them as special weapon sort of figures?
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I totally understand you points and agree with most of them.
I was just trying to point out that I didn't think they were overly expensive which seemed to be a major point people were putting across.
Also I am not as flashly as you with the cash and would probably only want 10 ;)
I will wait to see what they are like when they come out. Maybe if they fit in with other ranges you could use them as special weapon sort of figures?
I would happily buy the units with VSF-feel at that price. Firstly they'd be special unit in our games and wouldn't require more than 10 a unit (gaslight here).
I think it would be a mistake of Blackpyramid to assume that people would go for their regular British infantry at that price. After all the market is LOADED with Praetorians.
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multi-part kits is a nice Idea, but what's the point of it if there are hundreds of british colonials available from other companies.
Plastic would be something different.
OK, one can argument that You always get 3 spare heads and also some spare weapons for conversions, but I guess if they start offering these without the soldiers, it would be the better bargain.
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I totally understand you points and agree with most of them.
Sorry if it came across as an attack, it's just an argument I hear fairly often that I honestly don't believe stands up in most cases.
Also I am not as flashly as you with the cash and would probably only want 10 ;)
The only problem with that comment is we know it's a lie lol
If you liked the figures that'd be it.
Maybe if they fit in with other ranges you could use them as special weapon sort of figures?
That was my original hope, having seen the figures though they came across as pretty big. Admittedly I didn't have any figures in my pocket to do a comparison with so impressions could be wrong.
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Saw them at Derby, and although the figures looked nice enough...they seemed just a touch too expensive for what are basically Zulu War British with space guns.
Slightly tempered by Glynis having bought about 100 Zulu War British off the bring & buy for a considerably lower price, but the designs just weren't special enough to get any money off me. I would prefer to spend the cash with Ironclad, which reminds me I really must get a unit of Guards.....
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It's a shame these figures are not 15mm. I could do with some Tea Wars figures to expand our Space 1889 games. I rather hope that they call the rules Time4TK.
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They appear to have the chunkiness that Wargames Factory is lacking. However, I do have a box of Zulu Wars British already :( Still, these look very cool. Depending on what comes out later I wouldn't mind grabbing a few of these... the guns look great!
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These chaps are going to be at WMMS next month which is my local show. I'll get hold of some of the figs and post some comparison pics.
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These chaps are going to be at WMMS next month which is my local show. I'll get hold of some of the figs and post some comparison pics.
Fantastic!
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Looks excellent. If they are metal then definately.
Especially if they are multiposable.
I'd like to see some other things than just infantry, you can get them anywhere now!
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These chaps are going to be at WMMS next month which is my local show. I'll get hold of some of the figs and post some comparison pics.
It's next month already! Dash it, man, where are they???
;)
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Patience my young Jedi. WMMS is on the 21st so I'll update you then.
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Ooh, thanks for letting me know :) Now, was that in the Sir Alec Guiness voice or the Ewan McGregor voice?
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Picked up a pack on e-bay and due to a mis-listing stating 4 figures instead of 3 the seller honoured this by sending out two packs (six figures in all) with my choice of weapons (choose the "Aether" type) and got an e-mail asking for my choice of base's (got the 20p sized round resin") the figures are of the large size in fact will size up with GW quite well at a glance -the heads are aso seperate and I got 12 heads for 6 figures.
avialable on e-bay under seller blackpyramidgaming0771
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They are on ebay now, have just "won" 2 sets of the aether weapons chaps, quite expensive at £17.75 for six figures and 12 weapons etc, but should make a useful addtion to my chaps.
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Ooh, thanks for letting me know :) Now, was that in the Sir Alec Guiness voice or the Ewan McGregor voice?
Sounded like the much older Sir Alec voice to me..... ;)
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To me, they actually look more like they are trying to be GW Praetorian guard...
I'd happily get the Ironclad brits and convert them. I'd also use Wessex Games and Empress miniatures.
Strange... ???
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To me, they actually look more like they are trying to be GW Praetorian guard...
I spoke to the guy at a show, they are. He was saying that his VSF brits are Praetorian Guard and loads of other people also use them so...
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So...
May as well buy the Pratetorians for the same price!
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More weapon options through these though.
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Hmm... Yes.
Still can't understand the pricing. Does it cost him anymore to make these than one part minis?
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I'm thinking buy these figures but use West Wing or Ramshackle gasmask heads on them. I like the weapons and the figures have still got the Victorian look.
If I could just buy those weapons I'd do my own conversions - would probably end up looking crap though.
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You can buy the weapons seperately.
Even those are a bit pricey. But I might get the bigger weapons.
Stick them onto the Warlord games plastics, same result I reckon. Then add the ramshacle heads and you have some passable VSF Colonial Brit infantry.
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As promised here's a comparison pic. I bought a pack of infantry with assault rifles at WMMS on Sunday. I had a chat with the chaps who run Black Pyramid, nice guys with a fair amount of ideas up their sleeves. Brits in home service helmets and gasmasks is on the list ;D. Naturally I commented on the steep prices but I dont think they'll be coming down.
Anyway, here's the pic. From left to right: Ironclad, Black Pyramid (held together with Blu-Tak), Redoubt then Perry's. As you can see they're pretty compatible.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/700/policestation002.jpg)
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I saw them at WMMS. I felt like commenting on the prices, but I wouldn't have bought any.
Something along the lines of: I could buy 24 Germans for £12 or one pack of these 4 Brits for £10!
May as well get Praetorians from GW, sorry. :?
I like the aether weapons, I might order some seperately though! :)
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Agreed, too pricey for me unless the Lottery comes up trumps. Like you I'll be interested in the accessories.
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All four companies seem very close in size and build, which is nice. Thanks for posting the pic!
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Do they come with bases or tabs Neil?
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They come with resin bases I believe.
Which I guess adds to the price, but I'd chuck them aside and base them as normal... :(
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The figure above does look nicer in the bare metal than the painted versions in their ebay listing.
Might pick up a pack to see for myself.
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They come with resin bases I believe.
Which I guess adds to the price, but I'd chuck them aside and base them as normal... :(
As Rob said, they come with 20mm resin bases, either square or round.
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Gentlemen
Firstly, may I say "thank you" for opening this topic of conversation relating to The Tea Wars range of figures. I apologise that it has taken some not-inconsiderable time to discover this.......I believe you term it a "thread".......but I hope that my lateness will not count against my standing in this community to too great a degree.
Secondly, I should like to introduce myself, if that is not tiresome of me; I am Antony Lane, the founder and partner, with three other gentlemanly types, in Black Pyramid Gaming LLP.
We established ourselves during 2009 as stockists of several companies in the fantasy gaming ethos but soon realised that the production of our own 28/25mm figures would provide us both with an outlet for our personal ideas and hopefully provide the gaming fraternity with some more figures they may like. I thank you all for your praise and your grumbles.....we are taking everything on board and I would urge you all to continue with said endeavours, either here or directly via our contact email service at: hello@blackpyramid.co.uk
Our Tea Wars packs were originally priced at £10.00 apiece; this was quickly dropped to £8.00 on all three packs and has been our standard price since late 2009. It seems that some people are willing to pay this and others are not; at the moment we feel justified with this amount, since it includes good quality sculpting, a possible 144 different variations, and your choice of resin bases (from three sizes available). This price may be somewhat more expensive than other manufacturers and we will monitor feedback on this subject in the hopes of getting a more general feeling from you, the buying public (or not-buying public, as the case may be). Please remember that there are more factors involved in calculating prices than simply what the next guy is selling his for.
We have used the multi-part method purely as it gives so much scope for variety - many customers have commented on the wonderful heads/faces that Aaron has managed to produce and we can only agree - but then, we are slightly biased!
We do have plans to continue the range and we will post WIPs' and more info on our website when we can, but safe to say that we are looking into Trench Armour, Flamethrowers and Steam Lancers! Oh my!
I'm afraid that 15mm is not on our radar - terribly sorry, old bean. However, we are working on a game mechanic (oo-er!) and hope to see it bear fruit in a few months time.
Well, that should suffice for now, so I shall say "toodle-pip" and "until next time!"
www.blackpyramid.co.uk
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Hi Antony, welcome to the forum! We all share the "madness" in this particular section, the others tut and shake their heads at us, while secretly peeking through the curtains to look at our toys. (yes Captain Blood, I can see you).
We do have plans to continue the range and we will post WIPs' and more info on our website when we can, but safe to say that we are looking into Trench Armour, Flamethrowers and Steam Lancers! Oh my!
As one of the naysayers about the price point I should point out that I'm also a proponent of 'paying for what you get'. I am happy to pay a little more for figures that are well sculpted and fill a role. My issue with the current figures is that they are 'basic' infantry which are easily available from others for less and on a par with sculpting. That said, the above figures are not available from anyone else and as more of a niche figure type I'd be less critical of the price and more likely to buy.
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Hi Antony, I am also one of the naysayers.
I agree with Dewbakuk's sentiments. 144 poses, that's great, Praetorian Guardsmen, but multiposable. However, the sculpting quality may be good, but it is not to the standard of Copplestone or Paul Hicks. I mean no offense because I sculpt minis myself and mine aren't at the Tea Wars standard by far! My only problem is that these are the most expensive on the market and most people who use multiparts want LOTS of them, to get their full use and at £8 a pop, I don't feel like I could do this!
Another problem, yeah, they are the bog standard infantry! When something more specilist comes out, you can fully colour me interested! But even then, I will look at the prices and see how easily I could convert the models.
I must say though, the Aether weapons look lovely and I was planning on buying them at WMMS but totally forgot! I will put an order in soon rather than later! :)
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Went quiet all of a sudden... Just as I was getting interested (well I still am, but hey!). :'(
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Story seems very similar to the Space Captain Smith novels - although that whilst having a semi-victorian British Empire feel to it, is not I would say pure VSF. Worth a read though :D
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Yeah, I've been meaning to get them.
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The Space Captain Smith Novels are superb. Very light hearted, easy reading and full of toilet humour. There are two Christmas stories on the website too, however they are set between the books so not a great introduction.
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Ahh, easy reading, good for simple minds like mine!
Might pick them up off Amazon, along with a plethora of other books suggested on Wessex Games' website. :)
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The Space Captain Smith Novels are superb. Very light hearted, easy reading and full of toilet humour. There are two Christmas stories on the website too, however they are set between the books so not a great introduction.
Toilet humour, eh?
Sounds like they are a must-read lol
Never heard of them before, but definitely something to put on my book list.
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Oh they are good. Never win any literary prizes, but if you want a spoof of Biggles in space with sex and jokes (and what's not love about that set up?) then they're for you.
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Toilet humour, eh?
Sounds like they are a must-read lol
Never heard of them before, but definitely something to put on my book list.
Very quick to read and very enjoyable. Plenty of parodies from other films and books thrown in for 'plot' :)
As a quick introduction, the crew of the British Space Empire ship 'John Pym' consist of:
Isambard Smith - Jolly good sort, accomplished swordsman and devout believer in everything to do with the Empire.
Suruk the Slayer - Alien Savage who's people have become part of the Empire. Essentially a Predator. Bloodbrother to Isambard.
Polly Carveth - Ships pilot due to being the only one with any knowledge of the controls. Also ships engineer as she owns the correct Haynes Manual. She is an escaped 'pleasurebot' and some of her programming re-aserts itself no matter what she does. She is reponsible for the vast majority of double entendres throughout the three books, often at the worst possible moment.
Rhianna Mitchell - Hippy with dangerously subversive ideas about 'harmony' with other species. Also in charge of the ships herb garden. Cooks surprisingly moorish food considering it's mostly synthetic, apparently it's all in the seasoning.
The number one enemy is a commander of the ghast species. The ghast are essentially nazi red ants and many jokes are made due to the size of their enourmous rears.
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Very quick to read and very enjoyable. Plenty of parodies from other films and books thrown in for 'plot' :)
As a quick introduction, the crew of the British Space Empire ship 'John Pym' consist of:
Isambard Smith - Jolly good sort, accomplished swordsman and devout believer in everything to do with the Empire.
Suruk the Slayer - Alien Savage who's people have become part of the Empire. Essentially a Predator. Bloodbrother to Isambard.
Polly Carveth - Ships pilot due to being the only one with any knowledge of the controls. Also ships engineer as she owns the correct Haynes Manual. She is an escaped 'pleasurebot' and some of her programming re-aserts itself no matter what she does. She is reponsible for the vast majority of double entendres throughout the three books, often at the worst possible moment.
Rhianna Mitchell - Hippy with dangerously subversive ideas about 'harmony' with other species. Also in charge of the ships herb garden. Cooks surprisingly moorish food considering it's mostly synthetic, apparently it's all in the seasoning.
The number one enemy is a commander of the ghast species. The ghast are essentially nazi red ants and many jokes are made due to the size of their enourmous rears.
lol Right up my street! I've just ordered one from play.com :D
Thanks for the info!
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The order of the books, just in case it's not apparent;
Space Captain Smith
God-Emperor of Didcot
Wrath of the Lemming Men
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God Emperor of Didcot? Why would you want to build an empire in Didcot? It's full of chavs and council estates!
I'd love if the reference was ACTUALLY to Didcot, in Oxfordshire. lol
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At least one member of the LAF is from Didcot, so I'd watch the insults Rob!
But sadly, it's not actually set in Oxfordshire, it is in fact the planet of Didcot, famed throughout the British Space Empire as the Galaxy's main producer of Tea (or 'Moral Fibre' as the British call it).
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Haha, brilliant. I MUST buy these, but first the Steel Tsar and dancers at the end of time. Oh, and the complete HG Wells. And Edison's invasion of Mars... :)
I'll point out now, that I am actually from Abingdon, just up the road from Didcot, I just live in Kenilworth. So I was only jesting. :)