Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: 6mmfan on November 19, 2007, 08:26:35 PM
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Hi all
I'm after some african animals for my East africa games. So far I have found Copplestone, The London warrroom and Ral Partha. Is there anyone else that has a good selection of animals?
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Beware of the Copplestone ones. The elephants and rhinos are beautiful figures, but they are tiny. I bought some and I think they look silly next to his 28mm figures.
Normally I'm the sort that doesn't care too much about size differences, but the African elephant is BIG and should be imposing on the tabletop, so even I draw the line here.
Currently I am painting up some bendy plastic toy shop elephants as replacements and the Copplestones are sitting unpainted on the naughty step.
Edited for slapdash typing that didn't make any sense.
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It is certainly a fact that many of the best animal sculpts arround are not to be found among wargaming miniature manufacturers but with the toy makers. I have bought some beautiful stuff (German company?) for my god-sons in some of the better toy stores in Stockholm (better than Toys-R-Us, that is). I would definitely consider buying them myself a Darkest Africa setting. That they sometimes a little larger than what would be normal since the papers and novels of the time genreally tended to portray the wildlife as roving herds of behemoths.
(see Jules Verne "The Steam Elephant". There is an outrageous chapter on how a herd of lions, tigers and panthers mount a coordianted and agressive attack a stockhouse).
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Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company used to produce quite an extensive range incluidng lions, zebra, buffalo, antelope, hippo, rhino, crocs and elephants.
Like most of their ranges they do not show them on thier website, they may cast them to order as they seem to do this with lots of their stuff. So give them a call. :(
I have all of these animals and they are very,very nice.
Foundry do some lions in thier gladiator range which are very ferocious looking beasties.
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Ral Pertha have quite a few animals, nowe looing at the site they may be small. They did have a guide to size but can`t find it the codes are indicated for scale in bold e.g these are BBB but cant find the bleedin key :D
https://www.connectstores.com/ralpartha/sp_27241.html
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I have the Copplestone rhno pack and foundry lionsn and they are very nice. I also like the range that Ral Partha does but I dont know hown big they are.
London Warrom has a few animals but they dont look as nice as Ral Partha. However they also have some cool guns that i can use my askaris and some for my boxers.
Hammershield were you referring to the Schleich range of animals?
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I'd agree with Hammershield - and some of them are cheaper too.
6mmfan - do you live up to your forum name? I'm into 6mm stuff too - Epic, Dark Realm sci fi and Bacchus historicals. And I'm wondering about a 6mm lead adventure....
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Hammershield were you referring to the Schleich range of animals?
I use Schleich for some of my dinosaur models. They are excellent figures, and good hard plastic so take a repaint really well.
I've not used any of the other animals yet, but I can recommend them for what I have got. Cheaper than lead too. :wink:
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My Mighty Joe Kong was a Schleich gorilla. If the rest are like him, I wholeheartedly recommend them.
He isn't really scaled to be a 28mm gorilla, though he makes a good giant ape.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Mighty%20Joe%20Kong/CopyofScreenTest.jpg)
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Paul was interested in a size comparison pic of the Copplestone elephant. Rather than just PM him I thought I'd post it here, in case it will be helpful to anyone else.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Size%20Comp/Sizecomp1.jpg)
Copplestone elephant with Foundry Darkest Africa tribesman.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Size%20Comp/Sizecomp2.jpg)
Copplestone elephant with Copplestone Ngoni chief.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Size%20Comp/Sizecomp3.jpg)
Copplestone rhino with Foundry tribesman.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Size%20Comp/Sizecomp4.jpg)
Copplestone rhino with Copplestone Ngoni chief.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Size%20Comp/elephant1.jpg)
Real life zookeeper with female African elephant.
I suppose they are not too far out, but on the tabletop they just feel too small to me. I'm sure the toy ones I have are too big, but I'd rather too big than too small, just for the impression they create on the table.
At least now everybody can make their own minds up.
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Thanks Poly. The rhinos look ok and the elephant looks alright from the front but too small from the side. Still, as part of an element base it might be ok.
I think I'll explore other possibilities first though.
I've just found some Reaper lions on Antenociti's site, does anyone know if Reaper do elephants too?
Edit: I just noticed its legs are wrong for an elephant stride pattern so I won't be getting it after all :(
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The Copplestone chief is a fair bit bigger than the Foundry chap (even though they are both sculpted by Mark Copplestone), which is why I did two lots of shots. Should have made that clearer.
That might account for why it looks okay in the head-on shot.. Perhaps I should have done exactly the same shot with both. Never mind, it gives you the basic idea.
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Thanks Poly. The rhinos look ok and the elephant looks alright from the front but too small from the side. Still, as part of an element base it might be ok.
I think I'll explore other possibilities first though.
I've just found some Reaper lions on Antenociti's site, does anyone know if Reaper do elephants too?
Edit: I just noticed its legs are wrong for an elephant stride pattern so I won't be getting it after all :(
Hi paul, try HLBSC, I'll see if I can post a photo of some of their animals at the weekend.
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You could also try to find some elephants in the ancient miniatures range, like Carthaginians and similar ones, take for instance:
http://www.grippingbeast.com/shop.php?CatID=154
I really don't know if the elephant + howdah are the same piece or not .. but maybe "ancient armies" it's also a good topic/place to look for african animals! :)
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Irregular Miniatures have quite a large number of African animals - the usual suspects as well as an ostrich!
I haven't seen them, so don't now what they are like scale-wise, but they are quite cheap, so may be worth a look. The giraffe is listed at 1 GBP, whilst the elephant is 3.75 GBP.
http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/
Here's the only pic I could find of them:
(http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/images/25mm_AN4_AN18_AN15_AN9_1.jpg)
They don't look too bad to me.
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I have two Irregular Indian elephants, they are......interesting. :)
Photos will appear in my Burma collection soon (they're painted but not based) I wouldn't buy an African elephant off them sight unseen because I want it for Tantor. If I was doing a herd they might be alright. Certainly the price is right.
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Thanks for the info so far guys
I think I will pop down to a toy store that stocks Scheich and see what they have.
I'm also keen to see what the HLBSC are like since theres nothing listed on their site anymore.
Vanlak - yes I am a bit of a 6mm fan but now 28mm as well. Maybe I should change my id to 34mm fan! Here's my website although some of the images need updating http://6mm.wargaming.info/ (mainly aircraft and moderns with some fantasy in the mix)
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Thanks 6mm fan - great website, and you have air battles over Malta - that brought tears to my eyes (it's where I'm from, see? I think this is the first battle report featuring Malta - well, anyway, the sea and the sky around it - I'd seen yet).
I'm into a range of stuff too - have the attention span of a cat, speaking of which, f you want a 1:1 scale one, I might be able to help.... sigh!
Hope you find your required zoo :)
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Old Glory has several big cats and an Asian ele in the gladiator range
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Amazon miniatures has a range of animals too
http://www.amazonminiatures.com/catalogue/index5.asp?rName=Wild%20Animals
http://www.amazonminiatures.com/catalogue/index4.asp?rName=Fantasy%20Animals
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Hi Folks, Steve Barber Models do have some African Animals that may suit your collection for Africa.
http://www.sbarber-models.clara.net/main.html
Best Wishes :)
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Thanks Helen, that's the elephant for me :love:
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I have seen the crocs and the vulture, they are beauties :)
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Well folks, I think I can remember in the deepest and darkest corners of my mind that there is a German company called Obelisk Miniatures that does some baboons, hyenas and about 3 weeks ago announced that they have released two packs of giant apes.
Strange that noone mentions them although some of you :oops: should know and remember having bought miniatures from them :? ?!
Josef Ochmann
www.obeliskminiatures.com
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Josef, your apes are already on my list, I'll be getting them very soon. :)
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Well folks, I think I can remember in the deepest and darkest corners of my mind that there is a German company called Obelisk Miniatures that does some baboons, hyenas and about 3 weeks ago announced that they have released two packs of giant apes.
Strange that noone mentions them although some of you :oops: should know and remember having bought miniatures from them :? ?!
Josef Ochmann
www.obeliskminiatures.com
OOps :oops: Yes Josef I have your Baboons and they are very good :D sorry about that
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Pulp Figures produces a nice set of 3 "killer apes."
http://www.pulpfigures.com/catcode.php?range=Lost%20Tribes%20and%20Lost%20Worlds&code=PLT&number=10&custID=64622221195695074
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I remembered Eureka makes some interesting animals including chimpanzees which I have a few (will try and upload pictures later)
Vanvlak - Malta is pretty popular with air gamers as it was pretty close and everyone loves flying stringbags!
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Vanvlak - Malta is pretty popular with air gamers as it was pretty close and everyone loves flying stringbags!
Ah yes, Stringbags 'r' us.... Swordfish, Albacores, Glads, Cr42..... no lack of wings!
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New FOUNDRY range includes Wildebeest, giraffe and some odd looking lionesses
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New FOUNDRY range includes Wildebeest, giraffe and some odd looking lionesses
Pretty cool!
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New FOUNDRY range includes Wildebeest, giraffe and some odd looking lionesses
Funny, that's just what I thought. I have some HLBSC lionesses somewhere, that are much more ... errrm.... feline.
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It ain't a lioness, it's clearly a relative of Erythrosuchus
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I received my Steve Barber animals yesterday. I ordered the lions, the elephant and the large attacking crocodile.
They are all very good and a decent size, much better than the photos make them out to be. I don't think the elephant is any bigger than the Copplestone one but it's animation makes it a perfect choice for me.
The legs are still wrong for an elephant though, I wish sculptors would actually look at some pictures and films of animals moving before they try to make them. Ebob managed it on his Indian elephants :)
(http://www.matakishi.com/Burma%20elephants%203%20600.jpg)
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Crocodile games makes two lions and two lioness that are very nice. Also they do jackels...
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To add my humble opinion about the size of Copplestone's elephants: by a strange coincidence I went to the circus yesterday and had the opportunity to be very close to african elephants. The two specimens I saw weren't very tall. In fact I find Copplestone beasts to have rather good proportion compared to his miniatures.
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Hi
I finally painted up some of my animals and here are the photos. I also ordered a whole bunch of stuff from Ral Partha
Chimpanzees from Eureka
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/chimp.jpg)
Rhinos (Copplestone)
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/rhino.jpg)
Crocodile from the Tamiya Mezoric creatures set
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/croc1.jpg)
Another view of the crocodile. I just glued it to the base so you can see the white glue!
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/croc2.jpg)
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Lovely work on the animals, I especially like the chimps and Croc
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Lovely work on the animals, I especially like the chimps and Croc
Very nice bases as well :)
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I wonder how big the croc is can you post a picture near a 28mm figure ?
And please tell me more aout the plans you use on the bases .
Nice Work
Grimm
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Good stuff :love:
If you're going to take a photo with a figure for grimm can you do one of the rhinos with a man for me please? I'm hoping to get those in the near future if they're a decent size.
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Lovely work on the animals, I especially like the chimps and Croc
My thoughts exactly!
The paintwork on the croc is first-class!
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Hi
Heres some more photos with a Copplestone big game hunter. The angles not the best but you get an idea of the size.
Grimm, the plants are brass etched and from Scalelink. I used the "PLANTS-POND/STREAM (Reference #SLF041)" from this page on my bases.
http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Foliage___Scale_1_60_to_1_100___Feuillage_HO.html
I think these are the same that Hasslefree miniatures sells but they are only quarter sheets. See here
http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/range.php?range_id=48&subcat_id=23
Rhino
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/rhino2.jpg)
Crocodile
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/croc3.jpg)
Boxed set from Tamiya with Crocodile. Its 1/35th but all the dinosaurs are meant to be baby dinos so they seem to work well for 28mm
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/box.jpg)
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Thanks that help me a lot :)
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Thank you :) Very helpful.
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I just received some more animals from Ral Partha today. The detail is very nice the prices pretty good. The Bear and the Hyena looked a bit small bit the rest seem well scaled. I bluetacked them together for the photos so don't worry if you see some gaps between the head and body.
Heres the Gemsbak, Wildebeest and Giraffe. These are very nice and look the right size next to a foundry DA figure.
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/animals1.jpg)
Africa elephant (without the tusks glued on). Well detailed and the size looks pretty good.
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/animals2.jpg)
Bear, Hyena and cougar. These are pretty small and not as nice as the others. I will paint the cougar up as a lepoard or maybe a cheetah depending which it looks closest to.
(http://6mm.wargaming.info/photos/animals3.jpg)
I also have some Ostrichs and vultures which I'm painting and will post soon of anyones interested.
Cheers
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Those are pretty neat, the top ones especially. Are they expensive?
That bear is tiny though.
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Hi
No they were pretty well priced especially the elephant.
Cougar, Bear & Hyena 2 each £3.50
Veldt Animals - Wildebeest x2, Giraffe & Gemsbak £5.50
African Elephant £5.95
The link to them is earlier in this thread
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Go with PLASTICS!
A "Saturday Morning Safari" at the toy and dollar stores in your area can bring great results!
Just don´t forget to bring along some human miniatures for size comparison... and good hunting!
(http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/gifts/friends/elephants/african-elephant-plastic-toy-f1079.jpg)
(http://www.papo-france.com/Data/Medias/50010.jpg)
(PAPO elephant: wrong-legged, but at 16cm long / 10cm high, is suitable for a big bad "indlovu" bull!)
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Amazon minis have a partially submerged croc (they even carry some waterline shark fins :D ), and I have ordered Mega Mini's crocs/alligators, but where do I get some hippos (some standing and some partially submerged)?
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I have Ral Partha hippos and crocs - they came full size and also as a head just appearing out of the water.
http://www.connectstores.com/ralpartha/sp_27241.html - Scroll to 31-033
You could also look for the plastic tubes of small plastic "safari" or "zoo" animals and then "waterline" a croc or hippo.
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I have Ral Partha hippos and crocs - they came full size and also as a head just appearing out of the water.
http://www.connectstores.com/ralpartha/sp_27241.html - Scroll to 31-033
You could also look for the plastic tubes of small plastic "safari" or "zoo" animals and then "waterline" a croc or hippo.
Thanks for that link... now I have even more to spend my yet unearned money on :twisted: :wink:
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I know this is an old thread but I just went to my Reject Shop (actual name) & bought a pack of 14 or 15 Wild Animals as well as one other small one. It had 2 Rhinos of different sizes but compatible, 2 cros (same deal) & various others including a dog & horse, so there is some waste but for $2 who can complain? I have waterlined the open mouthed Rhino & will pick up another tomorrow to do the same as I want a couple of them in my African river. Some of the other animals are more suited to 15 mm but if I can get 4 African animals for $2 that is more that I can spend on the hunters (or victims).
You could also look for the plastic tubes of small plastic "safari" or "zoo" animals and then "waterline" a croc or hippo.