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Miniatures Adventure => Age of Myths, Gods and Empires => Topic started by: Col.Stone on January 30, 2008, 02:44:38 PM

Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Col.Stone on January 30, 2008, 02:44:38 PM
From wargames factory, coming soon
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/81964/

I'm thrilled, been wanting to do ancients for a long time but the amount of figures needed was getting in the way, now i could get nice metals for front rank, leaders, characters and fill up with cheap plastics :)
Title: Re: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Hammers on January 30, 2008, 02:48:04 PM
Quote from: "Col.Stone"
From wargames factory, coming soon
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/81964/

I'm thrilled, been wanting to do ancients for a long time but the amount of figures needed was getting in the way, now i could get nice metals for front rank, leaders, characters and fill up with cheap plastics :)


Great news. They even look Perry sculpted.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: PeteMurray on January 30, 2008, 02:53:33 PM
Those have to be Perry sculpts.

An investor-backed plastics wargaming company. Interesting...
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Lowtardog on January 30, 2008, 02:55:50 PM
If you google the investor he is one big honcho :o this is probably pocket money for him
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on January 30, 2008, 02:56:47 PM
no Perry...

"Sculpted by Tim Barry, Art Director and Chief Sculptor"

more here:

http://wargamesfactory.com/workbench.htm
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Ironworker on January 30, 2008, 03:12:15 PM
Wow a U.S. company even.  Too bad it's unlikely they will ever do anything related to U.S. history.  Still cool though.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Torradas on January 30, 2008, 03:22:29 PM
I hope they'll have an European distributor... About 20€ for 48 minis? They've got my full atention :)

PS.: Oh no... Yet another period in yet another scale... Piggy Bank is crying... :D
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Col.Stone on January 30, 2008, 03:26:45 PM
Fifty4 said they'd be available in europe too, although at that price, i could probably  live with being hit by customs ;)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Hammers on January 30, 2008, 03:47:27 PM
Quote from: "Ironworker"
Wow a U.S. company even.  Too bad it's unlikely they will ever do anything related to U.S. history.  Still cool though.


Well, you are in luck there since the Perry brothers are. They are coming out with a range of plastic ACW miniatures.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Captain Blood on January 30, 2008, 07:45:10 PM
Hmmm... Interesting trend emerging here... Plastic ACWs from Perry, plastic ancients from this mob, plastic WWII from Valiant Miniatures - and all sculpted in the distinctive style of wargames figures...

Did people suddenly realise how GW must be making a fortune selling boxes of a few plastic figures for Ģ15 GBP each... ?   :wink:
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Lowtardog on January 30, 2008, 08:01:29 PM
Certainly worth investing in a box or two
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Col.Stone on January 30, 2008, 09:44:34 PM
absolutely, worst case scenario, they'll join the ranks of my undead army as zombies..
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Rhoderic on January 30, 2008, 09:55:50 PM
Now... how to get them to paint themselves?
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: pierrebi on January 31, 2008, 09:05:50 AM
(http://wargamesfactory.com/Images/Centurion.jpg)
I was told that the crest shoul be rotated of 45° ... infact it was sculped in this way in ancient "Bas-relief " but in the real it was like this
(http://www.immergas.com/media/caius_alloro.jpg)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: pierrebi on January 31, 2008, 09:06:26 AM
(http://wargamesfactory.com/Images/Centurion.jpg)
I was told that the crest shoul be rotated of 45° ... infact it was sculped in this way in ancient "Bas-relief " but in the real it was like this
(http://www.immergas.com/media/caius_alloro.jpg)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Westfalia Chris on January 31, 2008, 09:08:38 AM
Quote from: "pierrebi"

I was told that the crest shoul be rotated of 45° ... infact it was sculped in this way in ancient "Bas-relief " but in the real it was like this


Thatīs not exactly correct. Centurions did, indeed, wear a 90°-rotated crest, called a "crista transversa", to differenciate themselves from regular legionaries who, when on parade, would wear a plume or crest which ran from front to rear.

Intriguing venture. Oh damn, here I go again into ancients.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: revford on January 31, 2008, 11:32:52 AM
I sent an email for a bit more info to Wargames Factory.

They tell me North Star will stock them in the UK.  Which will make things easier shipping wise for Europe.

Also they are scaled to fit in with Artizan, Crusader and Foundry.  So that's great news.  I guess they are talking about the Newer Foundry rather than the older ones.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: MaxxVane on January 31, 2008, 12:56:02 PM
Said I would never do 25/28mm ancients again......... guess I might have to withdraw that statement  :?

Very nice figs, they will workout less than most 15/18mm figures
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Rhoderic on January 31, 2008, 01:01:14 PM
I think I'll buy one of each inexpensive set of plastics that any of these companies produce. I don't game any of these settings in this scale, but they're worth it just for the bitz I can scavenge off the sprues. While I doubt they'll come with a lot of extra gear like the GW plastics do, the heads, weapons etc will still be very useful.

Also, another thought just struck me: Being lightweight, they might be cheaper to ship to and from those Southeast Asian painting services with the dirt-cheap rates.

(Please don't burn me at the stake for mentioning painting services in this forum!)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: pierrebi on January 31, 2008, 02:05:19 PM
Quote from: "Westfalia Chris"
Quote from: "pierrebi"

I was told that the crest shoul be rotated of 45° ... infact it was sculped in this way in ancient "Bas-relief " but in the real it was like this


Thatīs not exactly correct. Centurions did, indeed, wear a 90°-rotated crest, called a "crista transversa", to differenciate themselves from regular legionaries who, when on parade, would wear a plume or crest which ran from front to rear.

Intriguing venture. Oh damn, here I go again into ancients.


Vegezio Epitoma rei militaris Libti II Prologvs
Cap XVI vapoverso 3
" Centuriones vero habebant catafractas et scuta et galeas ferreas, sed transversis et argentatis cristis..."

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/1825288462_750791ee8b_o.jpg)
1) there are no 3D image with a "crista transversa", jut bidimensional images, you have to design from left to wright in a bidimensional picture because if you design from front to rear you cannot differenciate from a regular legionaire crest ...
2) Any way this kind of crest was not used in battle.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Captain Blood on January 31, 2008, 02:16:06 PM
Oh but they're plastic, for goodness sake!  :wink:

I put plastic behind with Airfix aged about 13 when I walked out of the wargames shop with my first 5 Hinchliffe figures clutched in my hot little hand - the proceeds of my entire week's pocket money. Yes, I could have bought yet another box of Airfix soldiers instead, but the pennies had fallen from my eyes, I had seen the light, the gleam of lead, and I knew the real deal when I saw it...

Here was weight, here was quality, here was substance and gravitas and craftsmanship and a serious hobby worthy of dedicating part of my life to...

Plastic figures - even beautifully crafted plastic figures - meh. Lightweight, emphemeral, flimsy, insubstantial, squashable, flaky, bendy, intrinsically breakable - all the things that metal figures are not (unless you really put your mind to it).

And nobody say 'cheap' because I'm in marketing and I know precisely what happens with new product categories like this...

However the pricing starts out (substantially less than metal, I'm sure), the prices of these 'superior' hard plastic 'wargames style' figures will steadily creep up to a more profitable 'nearly as much as metal figures, but not quite' price point. This will then allow metal figures to become a 'premium' category, in turn priced much more expensively.
Pretty much what GW has cunningly done over the years, in fact.

So, my prediction - if the dash to plastic becomes a real industry trend, which looks distinctly possible, then within a couple of years, we will be paying almost as much for plastic figures per head, as we currently pay for metal figures. We will all be paying a lot more for metal figures - partly as a result of the pricing of plastics. In short, the entire hobby will become a whole lot more expensive, with GW type prices across the board.

ANYWAY...

That's not my real point.

My point is that - personally - plastic is plastic and it ain't lead!
So call me a stick in the mud...  :wink:
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on January 31, 2008, 02:39:15 PM
Quote from: "Captain Blood"
Oh but they're plastic, for goodness sake!  :wink:

....

My point is that - personally - plastic is plastic and it ain't lead!


finally the kind of man I like, that's exactly what I've been saying all along  :)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Argonor on January 31, 2008, 08:03:58 PM
Howard Whitehouse was actually working on a ruleset called 'Clash of Iron' that was going to go with those minis - apparently the Wargames Factory suddenly got the possibility of attaching their product to the Field of Glory-line.

Howard's rules are interesting, though, and may still find their way into printing at some future point.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: wolfgangbrooks on January 31, 2008, 09:17:30 PM
"intrinsically breakable - all the things that metal figures are not (unless you really put your mind to it)."

Que? Metals aren't easily breakable? I think you have never actually handled metal figures, sir. And that you are, in fact, a charlatan! :)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Captain Blood on January 31, 2008, 10:02:19 PM
Quote from: "wolfgangbrooks"
"intrinsically breakable - all the things that metal figures are not (unless you really put your mind to it)."

Que? Metals aren't easily breakable? I think you have never actually handled metal figures, sir. And that you are, in fact, a charlatan! :)


Gosh, well, I can only say that in my humble experience, metal is quite hard to break, brittle plastic is very easy to break. It's basically to do with metal being hard and plastic being soft.
Could it be that the properties of the materials are the other way round where you are..?  :wink:

I'll tell you something else quite interesting - my kids have loads of GW stuff, 40K and LOTR mainly. I notice that their relatively few metal figures, they look after very well. Their hundreds of GW plastic figures on the other hand, lie in piles of half-painted and broken bits on the floor and regularly get trodden on by all and sundry.

This tells me:
1. My children have no appreciation of the value of money, I shall have to talk quite seriously to them...  8)  
2. My children seem to have an innate respect for the value and quality of metal figures, which doesn't extend to (also rather costly) plastic models.
In essence, the plastics appear to be regarded as disposable, the metal figures appear to be valued.

Says it all really.  :wink:
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: fastolfrus on February 01, 2008, 12:10:30 AM
It's because to smaller eyes plastic figures are just toys.
The metal ones are made of shiney silver. (Or platinum if they come from GW   :)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Howard Whitehouse on February 01, 2008, 01:51:51 AM
I haven't commented on this thread so far because I am sort-of an insider of the project.

I think people will like these figures a great deal. They have been deliberately sculpted to match the Foundry/Crusader style, so they are chunky; this should also avoid breakages in most cases.

There will be a lot more figures, from different eras, as time goes on.

I had originally designed 'Clash of Iron' as a free set to go with these figures, but when the chance to connect with Field of Glory came up - and the distribution for FOG will be very extensive indeed - it seemed obviously crazy not to take that opportunity. So Clash of iron will emerge later on, but not as a short freebie set.

I have another design project for Wargames Factory in development right now, and I'll be asking for volunteers shortly here at Lead Adventure  :wink:   H
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: redzed on February 01, 2008, 02:11:19 AM
Plastic 'figures' give you cancer.

This is the 'LEAD' Adventure Forum. :x
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Helen on February 01, 2008, 03:38:00 AM
All I can say is they would melt Downunder 8)
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Ironworker on February 01, 2008, 04:42:48 AM
Metal if fine for really high quality smaller projects but it's just no longer practical for big projects.  I'd rather have nice unpainted plastic kits that are easy to convert than a bunch of cruddy pre-paints with perpetually bent swords and spears.  

Both materials have their place and they are both vastly better than the bendy pre-paints.  Talk about toys.....
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: archangel1 on February 01, 2008, 06:57:29 AM
Children, play nice or I'll hide all your brushes!
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Poliorketes on February 01, 2008, 06:57:45 AM
If the pics show the right anatomy, these will be orc (or dwarf) romans. Even compared to Crusader they look to broad.

Apart from this, why not plastic? Especially for large units you can convert the minis much more easily than with metal. Most metal rank&file look similar, just other heads or belt attachments. With plastic you can easily change poses. Just don't open your window in weather conditions like today (in germany), or you can sing 'blowing in the wind' :D

This doesn't mean that I don't prefer lead. Plastic does break more easily, but on the other hand, once broken you can fix it as easily, with tin it's more difficult, and don't tell me your Perry sabres or GWM bajonetts don't break.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Prof.Witchheimer on February 01, 2008, 07:14:21 AM
Quote from: "Poliorketes"


Apart from this, why not plastic? Especially for large units you can convert the minis much more easily than with metal. .


That's the practical aspect of plastic, I think for the "follower of Lead" it's more a matter of belief  :D
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: wolfgangbrooks on February 01, 2008, 08:02:40 AM
"my kids have loads of GW stuff, 40K and LOTR mainly."

How chunky are the designs they have? Chunky lead holds up pretty well to abuse, but as soon as it gets thin it bends and breaks so much easier than plastic.  Give your kids anything metal with a thin sword, rifle barrel, or bayonet and see what happens. Heaven forbid they get their hands on a lead/pewter spear.  :)

And if they're just leaving their stuff around to be stepped on, ya need to teach 'em to respect all their toys. You never know when one of 'em will save your life. That tiny plastic sword you could poke an attacker with might not be there when you need it. And trust me, the plastic ones are way sharper than the metal ones. :)

"Both materials have their place and they are both vastly better than the bendy pre-paints. Talk about toys....."

And don't make me start on you. I should post the pics to prove you wrong.

Edit: Here  (http://forum.backofbeyond.de/viewtopic.php?p=44881#44881) you go, and they're tougher than any metal. CMG Avenger away!
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Argonor on February 01, 2008, 03:56:04 PM
Quote from: "redzed"
Plastic 'figures' give you cancer.

This is the 'LEAD' Adventure Forum. :x


Maybe so, but as most countries have banned the use of lead anyway because of the health risk it imposes (ever heard of lead poisoning?), this is hardly an argument  :lol:

I think we'll see an ever-growing number of plastic wargaming minis, as it seems that the initial cost of producing molds have been reduced by some new techniques.

And especially for 'battle' games, I think it's no bad thing to be able to get lots of cheap rank-and-file, whereas 'skirmish' players will still be able to get those characterful single minis made of metal.

That's just my opinion.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: PeteMurray on February 01, 2008, 03:58:52 PM
Quote from: "Howard Whitehouse"
I haven't commented on this thread so far because I am sort-of an insider of the project.

I have another design project for Wargames Factory in development right now, and I'll be asking for volunteers shortly here at Lead Adventure  :wink:   H


Congratulations, Howard! They chose well.
Title: 28mm plastic ancients
Post by: Argonor on February 01, 2008, 08:00:17 PM
Quote from: "Howard Whitehouse"

I have another design project for Wargames Factory in development right now, and I'll be asking for volunteers shortly here at Lead Adventure  :wink:   H


I'll be volunteering - and this time I'll have better time to actually work on the project  :wink: