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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Pattus Magnus on April 14, 2025, 06:40:47 PM
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I just looked at RAFM’s website and was surprised and saddened to find out that they have closed their doors. There isn’t any explanation on the website, but it seems like they may be a victim of the shift toward 3D printing, higher material costs and (possibly) tariff costs (they had a “beat the tariffs” sale on in late February).
Their giant wolves are some of my favorites for remounting Oathmark goblins and they had some other cool figures. I’ll have to find other sources now and I am sad to see them close. :(
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Bummer.
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Never nice to see one of the "older" game companies going under, or any for that matter :'(
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Wow, that’s an OLD company to have closed. Like I bought their stuff in the early 1980s.
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And there it is: a 'stalwart' gone.
A word to the wise, if you see something you want and have the funds, buy it now while you still can. I fear this is one of many. Hopefully, the newer and younger companies will fill in as many of the 'blanks to be' as possible. Just be wise and don't spend money you cannot afford.
I really need to make that last order I have planned (3D) - and maybe one more that came up recently, from one of those rather 'old' stalwart companies (metal). Soon, very soon.
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And there it is: a 'stalwart' gone.
A word to the wise, if you see something you want and have the funds, buy it now while you still can.
This goes for all companies. Most of us are small and whilst it's lovely that people put things on their wishlist for the future, we do also need customers in order to keep afloat. Often when a miniature producer closes their doors the comments are full of people lamenting the £100 order they had been meaning to place for the last 4 years.
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Often when a miniature producer closes their doors the comments are full of people lamenting the £100 order they had been meaning to place for the last 4 years.
Sage words. My heart goes out to all those "in the business" trying to figure out which way to paddle and stay afloat in the chaos of our world, now... :'(
Mike Demana
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My heart also goes out to all the customers who need to stay afloat in order to have enough disposable income to indulge in the hobby.
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I backed some of their KS way back when, and they bolloxed up the shipping and sent me the wrong items. Then they tried launching a new miniatures army game system on KS and it Didn't Work Out. Even back then, I was under the impression it was one guy holding the place together, so I think closing is long overdue. Plastics, both boardgame and hobby, have become *much* better and cheaper over the last ten years or so (eg. Reaper Bones, Archon, FFG, CMON) so metal lost its advantage for detail. 3D printing killed off any advantage metal had with its low initial costs -- and was less dangerous (though not entirely so). Metal's also harder to convert (eg. cut, drill, glue) than plastic.
Even before KS (?) metal prices were going up. Some of us grognards remember when miniature metal went from lead to pewter:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=201028
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So many companies are closing. It is not so much the greying
of the gamers but the wargaming company owners.
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Bugger.
Compiled a list last week of Lovecraft models with the intention of placing an order this week.
Best nightgaunts I've seen.
And again........
Bugger.
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And another one bites the dust... :(
Oddest thing is that it happened without any warning. Makes me wonder if something untowards has happened to the owner.
But perhaps somebody will step in and adopt the catalogue?
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That's a real shame. I have to admit that I didn't know them, but it's always sad to read that a company making things people liked is gone.
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First set of Vietnam War rules I ever purchased was from RAFM. Charlie Company. Vale RAFM.
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I've used a number of their figures over the years, including a few rounds of relatively recent purchases from the Shadowrun range which were superb conversion fodder for street gangs.
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There used to be a RAFM Canada; they produced GHQ Micro Armour here. Sentry Box in Calgary here still has some RAFM GHQ casts. Real vintage stuff.
They also have a lot of the RAFM Canada range still, lots of interesting models. I think one of the few places to get Riel Rebellion range miniatures.
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Vale RAFM. I sent legions of their Call of Cthulhu investigators to death and madness (and both) as a teenager.
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Sorry to see them go. However, I'll reflect on the comments from Mammoth Miniatures and Mike Demana and admit that I've not bought anything from them in a long time, and neither has anyone I know.
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And another one bites the dust... :(
Oddest thing is that it happened without any warning. Makes me wonder if something untowards has happened to the owner.
But perhaps somebody will step in and adopt the catalogue?
It is very strange the way this closure was handled. Usually when a caster shuts down they at least make an effort to find purchasers for their molds and masters, but I haven't heard a thing along those lines in this case.
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Well, the apparent absence of people indicating recent purchases, probably renders the selling on of moulds, masters and toolings somewhat moot.
It's a bit like those announcements of older celebrities' deaths, where you think to yourself 'Really? I thought he/she had died years ago'.
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The 15mm ex-Citadel Traveller figs are the only ones I’ll lament. Bought a bunch, but not the entirety of their offerings, so missing some packs. A shame, but inevitable I suppose.
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The owner of "rpgelements" (who already keeps a few old ranges alive) has posted in a couple of Facebook groups asking advice on buying the (whole?) range.
There's perhaps some hope! I only have a handful of rafm fantasy mixed in my armies, but are all lovely.
I'll admit, I have idled on their page many times over the years without ordering. Postage to Australia can be a nightmare, and usually Ral Partha or someone more local wins out.
I was going to reply that I'd place an order one day, but good intentions don't keep a business running. I'd love to support everyone who keeps old figures in production, but I know I can't.
(I know I've seen a few companies get flooded with "I was just going to order" or "shame, I bought some 15 years ago" messages on going out of business statements, it must suck)
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Well, the apparent absence of people indicating recent purchases, probably renders the selling on of moulds, masters and toolings somewhat moot.
It's a bit like those announcements of older celebrities' deaths, where you think to yourself 'Really? I thought he/she had died years ago'.
I literally forget that Tom Petty died YEARS ago! He seemed timeless. Apparently, he was not.
RAFM should continue. They have some classics.
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I literally forget that Tom Petty died YEARS ago! He seemed timeless. Apparently, he was not.
Heartbreaking as that discovery must have been, you've made up your mind and I suggest that you don't back down. :D
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Never tease a man dealing with grief. Herbert is doubtless still Free Falling in his sadness... :D
Mike Demana
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Heartbreaking as that discovery must have been, you've made up your mind and I suggest that you don't back down. :D
lol
It’s like you’re running down my dream… o_o
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Yeah. Don't Do Herbert Like That.
I was a bit surprised they didn't hit a few of the boards with the news. FB is remarkably poor about notifying you of posts even of people you follow. I bought from them up to 2020 but only a few miniatures at a time for pulp or COC gaming.
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I was also surprised there was not more coverage of this news. RAFM were one of the cornerstone suppliers in the hobby for decades.
Which ultimately may have contributed to their difficulties, like other people who have been in this hobby a long time I had already purchased pretty much everything in their fantasy RPG ranges that I wanted.
RAFM, TSR, Pre-slotta Citadel and Ral Partha make up the bulk of my FRPG figure collection.
Of the pieces I would still be buying from them the Mekton licence (and game) ceased a long time ago so those figures were no longer available and likewise they could not cast pieces from the Fantastique Noir or Vampyre ranges when I enquired a couple of years ago.
While it is a shame to see an eminent supplier fail I think the market has moved on from such businesses, in the grand scheme of things I am not sure many people will notice they have gone :(
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Yep, it's been sad to see how little mention it has gotten.
One thing I find with older companies is how little noise they make themselves to show they are still around. Alternative Armies are one of the better ones, posting re-releases on multiple channels. I get that it's probably the age of the owners, but I really wish a company like RAFM would post well painted examples and good quality bare metal photos to remind us that yes, you can buy some early fantasy models new!
(Look how awkward it is to navigate Miniature figurines site to confirm that you can still buy the Aureola Rococo range. That's history!)
I'm one of the people who always, always replies with a link to Ral Partha Europe or whoever when saying "it's still available new" when people ask for model IDs or ask for value online.
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FB is remarkably poor about notifying you of posts even of people you follow.
But great at telling you it was someone's birthday a week ago.
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As a younger-ish hobbyist I have to say rafm really weren't on my radar. They seem to have fallen into the trap quite a few of the older companies have, and simply decided to ignore social media and promotion, instead pinning all their hopes on an ever dwindling and largely already well supplied existing customer base.
They were one I knew of but I wouldn't think to look at their range simply because their name never crossed in front of me so they weren't in my mental checklist of "does x company make y" for a given project.
There are lots of stalwarts that are the same - posting on Facebook and getting lost in the algorithm whilst completely ignoring the feast of potential customers that Instagram/bluesky/YouTube can bring in.
People seem to lament the closing of these old companies as indicative of the death of the hobby, but really we're in an absolute renaissance of new miniature producers - they just aren't promoting themselves via an overpriced quarter page advert in wargames illustrated.
And sadly if you don't make yourself visible then there's going to be no one to notice when you disappear.
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Unless this counts as social media, it's not something I do and yet I am constantly finding new sources of figures and terrain either through this forum or the simple act of typing a query into a search engine.
I'm not so sure that a social media presence is vital, although it can't hurt to have one but some form of web visibility absolutely is critical. Even folk of my generation who can remember such practices are unlikley to want to go down the old route of send a self-addressed, postage paid envelope to receive a typed list of goods, typically without pictures and only occasionally with hand written strike outs of unavailable stock.
Still, some small manufacturers don't do this a business but more as a pastime. So taking along a selection of their stock to the occasional show meets their needs, even if it's never going to make them rich.
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Rafm is the 3rd by maybe 4th mini supplyer to stop tradeing inside a year. (Denizen minis, Wargames Design Workshop, paypall has stop takeing black tree design, an now Rafm.)
if people say "you don't need thouse minis you have load already" remmber they may not be there next month.
In the past year or so i've gotten in to minitures mostly by way of wantingmodels for DnD, RAFM where on the list of "i don't need that now" and "but for shipping", usa to uk shipping adds $20-30 to the order, so even with a good exchange rate thats still needing a weightly order an a few month's hobby budget to make sence.
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In the past year or so i've gotten in to minitures mostly by way of wantingmodels for DnD, RAFM where on the list of "i don't need that now" and "but for shipping", usa to uk shipping adds $20-30 to the order, so even with a good exchange rate thats still needing a weightly order an a few month's hobby budget to make sence.
They shipped from both Canada and the US by request, so a little better there.
My usual way of dealing with UK to US orders (mostly GZG and and Brigade) was to get some locals who also wanted stuff and do a group order, dividing the shipping as fairly as we could work out. IIRC we hit the $500 mark at least once, and $300 or so was commonplace, which really kept relative shipping costs down - plus we always did the big orders when there were discount vouchers or a sale (which ironically makes the shipping feel worse, but you get more stuff). Worked great for a decade or so, but two of the other people who were involved have died in the last few years, and I'm hardly painting since I lost an eye.
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In related shopping, Fighting 15s retired and stopped casting last year, but is still selling remaining stock while it lasts. Poked at the website this week and got lucky — they had just enough packs to put together a Mixtec army for DBA, plus a few other packs for others.
I hope that lovely Gladiator range of Aztecs & Enemies finds another good home in the future!
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For me, Magister Militum closing was a bit wake up call.
I remembered Essex Miniatures had an Australian branch of some sort. An incredibly dated website and not even a real Webstore with photos, so I had never ordered, but I thought I better give it a go finally!
Sure enough, they wrapped up not that long ago! My own fault for waiting so long.
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I think that some of the political situations of the last few years have had enough of a knock-on effect that it has brought matters to a head for many wargames businesses. Many of whom might have carried on for a few more years are now deciding to close the doors and call it a day as its become quite bothersome dealing with all the red tape.
We can only hope that some ranges will carry on with other suppliers in the future.
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For me, Magister Militum closing was a bit wake up call.
I remembered Essex Miniatures had an Australian branch of some sort. An incredibly dated website and not even a real Webstore with photos, so I had never ordered, but I thought I better give it a go finally!
Sure enough, they wrapped up not that long ago! My own fault for waiting so long.
Good God! He's finally gone? I can remember ordering from him pre-internet. Essex Australia is yet another of those companies that when you hear of their demise, you think 'you mean to say they were still going?'
I shared a house for a while with a bloke who had an enormous collection of Essex 15mm figures. This was when painting in enamels was still the norm and my housemate switched me on to acrylics (Gunge Sangyo, all that was really available back then). Don't recall purchasing anything from them in 30 years or more. What a blast from the past this thread is.
At one stage we had a distributor for Minifigs and a host of other ranges, who had a shop not far from where I am now. Michael, AKA 'The Mad Irishman', obtained considerable notoriety for shooting an intruder in his shop with a .22 rifle. He moved and ran his business out of his garage for a while. I suspect he disappeared at least a decade or more back.
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I was reading this thread and immediately put in an order to Dixon for some more Monks!
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With several old-time miniatures companies closing, it is making me look at my collection to work out what I still need so as to fill in gaps. I think I better do some of those 'One Day' orders soon.
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Was poking about last night for information on Lurkio — they are still in suspended animation since last summer and an aborted attempt to move their operations to Spain.
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Unless this counts as social media
Definitely does.
For forums, find your target audience. Search for your company name and discussion of your product. Learn the etiquette. LA has [Commercial] threads, and Dakka has a News and Rumors forum. Announce your product this way, including unpainted miniatures, professional paint jobs, and YouTube videos?. If you paint and play with your miniatures, post pics and brief session summaries in "Post a pic of your recent game" threads. Include an unobtrusive link to your website in your signature. Establish a relationship with a painter and have them post painted miniature threads of your product. Dunno about YT, Twitter, and Discord, tho.
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But great at telling you it was someone's birthday a week ago.
Truth.
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Was poking about last night for information on Lurkio — they are still in suspended animation since last summer and an aborted attempt to move their operations to Spain.
The clue is in the name. lol
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The clue is in the name. lol
Indeed. With Lurkio pulling a Gummo Marx, I went digging a little deeper. Poking through Irregular's website, their relatively recently updated Inca range has some nice figure options to build a Chanca (Chinchaysuya) army for DBA.
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Aren't Irregular set to close? I thought I read about that on LAF.
Fun fact. Nic of Eureka miniatures got his start in the business working at Irregular, way back when.
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Irregular is still going. They stopped casting the 2mm and 6mm not too long ago, but then a former employee picked up those ranges. But it is an incentiviser to order while the ordering is good....
https://irregular2mm6mm.onlineweb.shop/
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Didn't I read somewhere that Gripping Beast might be taking over the Lurkio miniatures at some point?
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Didn't I read somewhere that Gripping Beast might be taking over the Lurkio miniatures at some point?
Gripping Beast are producing some of the Lurkio ranges, with more coming soon according to their website.
https://www.grippingbeast.co.uk/Lurkio--category--1181.html
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Ah, good to know on the Gripping Beast. I think I'll still go with Irregular for the Chanca though.
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As a younger-ish hobbyist I have to say rafm really weren't on my radar. They seem to have fallen into the trap quite a few of the older companies have, and simply decided to ignore social media and promotion, instead pinning all their hopes on an ever dwindling and largely already well supplied existing customer base.
I'm almost sixty, so I guess that makes me a younger-ish hobbyist, too. :D And maybe I take forums for granted, but is it really that hard to spend a month lurking to know the etiquette, then posting at least a "[COMMERCIAL]" thread on LA? Don't you play with your own miniatures? Okay, then post a session report on the "Post your game pics" thread, with a mention that this was a game at the office. If one of your staff, friends, or contacts paints mini's, have them start a painting thread, mentioning they received mini's from you. And put a link to your company in your signature, though don't make it a banner. Dunno about Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, but those are other ways to show off pics of your products.
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I can remember (way back when) ordering some RAFM product from a wrinkly old paper catalogue...then waiting forever to get them from their Canadian base of operations.
Still, when they arrived I was in geek heaven, I mean who'd be so audacious as to produce 20mm tanks AND Cthulhu miniatures?!?
RIP RAFM, you hold a memorable place in my lead-laden heart.
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SHQ appear to have stopped as well. I saw they were under new management a few years ago and some ranges had been sold off but it looks like the website is permanently down now.
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Maybe there should be a sticky thread. List of the Fallen.
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Maybe there should be a sticky thread. List of the Fallen.
Yes please!
With a follow up post in the thread if the range resurfaces under a new owner.
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Only if the thread title is 'Them wots gone tits up'.
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Irregular is still going. They stopped casting the 2mm and 6mm not too long ago, but then a former employee picked up those ranges. But it is an incentiviser to order while the ordering is good....
https://irregular2mm6mm.onlineweb.shop/
I'm thrilled that they are still available (plus they're adding more photos than irregular had!)
That's the thing though, I used to buy them locally from Eureka. Of course I put off placing "one last order" and then they stopped making them.
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Only if the thread title is 'Them wots gone tits up'.
If it's also to have announcements on where some of the ranges have gone to then perhaps it should be: 'Them wots gone tits up and them as wots still perky?'
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It might be easier to have a sticky thread, listing known owners of old ranges, or information about such as/if/when any members here about such things.
that way interested parties have somewhere to start looking for such.
Especially if the new owners rebrand or change the name of the ranges to better fit their own existing stuff.
As sad as it is for older companies to disappear for any reason, Its also good to know if they managed to transfer any of their ranges to new owners.
Especially as it seems learning of any such transfers of ownership are rarely well advertised in the hobby beyond word of mouth in small circles.
But such is a big ask really, to managed
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Fogou models are shutting shop and Charlie foxtrot is retiring next year too
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Think Grubby (Redoubt/Brittania/Grubby Tanks/etc) has said he's retiring in 2026
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Think Grubby (Redoubt/Brittania/Grubby Tanks/etc) has said he's retiring in 2026
Yes seen that
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With Grubby's track record of filling orders and level of communication, it would be many months to a year or more before anyone notices he's closed shop...
8)
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Resurrecting this. I hadn't realised that Antenociti's workshop had closed in the last few years. I think some of their STL's were sold and, I believe, Heresy picked up some of their figures, but it's still sad to see them go - I picked up a few bits here and there from them (but not enough, obviously) over the years. Another one down.
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With Grubby's track record of filling orders and level of communication, it would be many months to a year or more before anyone notices he's closed shop...
8)
lol lol
I know just what you mean. One of the executive team members at my work recently announced his resignation. Stupid bastard, if he had stayed shtum nobody would have noticed and he probably could have kept drawing a pay packet for years to come. I doubt anyone would have minded either, it's not as if there would have been any discernible drop in productivity.
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“Due to an accounting error, Milton was let go … almost 2 years ago! He’s still getting paid. We’ve fixed that”.
“That’s my red stapler … that’s the last straw … I’m going to … light the building on fire … “
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Checking in, has there been any further word on the RAFM ranges getting picked up by anyone? Someone was asking about where to get reptiliad figs from on a roleplaying forum the other day and it got me to wondering.
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Checking in, has there been any further word on the RAFM ranges getting picked up by anyone? Someone was asking about where to get reptiliad figs from on a roleplaying forum the other day and it got me to wondering.
I'm not sure that ANY of the RAFM ranges have been offered for sale, as yet. Whilst RAFM have ceased selling the physical, cast, figures they are still selling the stl files for many of their ranges. It's an interesting development.
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Think Grubby (Redoubt/Brittania/Grubby Tanks/etc) has said he's retiring in 2026
I think he bought SHQ recently too
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Grubby could be the fifth or sixth owner for some of those ex-SHQ ranges...
We could definitely do with a way to track acquisitions.
Not least to help the new owners of ranges sell the figures; I'm wondering how many people fail to find the new manufacturers when they go back a few years later for another order.
Lost Minis does a good job for fantasy/scifi ranges, but historicals doesn't seem to have such an equivalent.