Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Second World War => Topic started by: FramFramson on December 30, 2014, 09:16:08 AM
-
Just wondering what the opinions here are as to who makes the very best sculpted Wehrmacht figures in 28mm.
-
For me the old Bolt Action range (NOT the current one) when they were not Warlord.
(http://www.adpublishing.de/assets/images/Scale_comp_2.jpg)
Artizan comes 2nd, but they are getting bit dated...
-
I was looking to buy some Early War Germans from Artizan the other day, but they seem to have disappeared from their website. They still look the best to me, Crusader probably comes second.
-
The Assault Group WW2 German range by Richard Ansell is recommended. The other packs in the range are from a different sculptor and to my mind not my cup of tea.
I've the latest releases from the above featuring command etc. from Richard Ansell and they are a real treat.
I believe the Assault Group is revisiting the WW2 range and adding command etc. to make the range more complete.
-
I agree with Agis: the old BAM range is a beauty. Artizan and Crusader are a close second to me and maybe even a tad better to paint (and the old BAM already paint up nicely).
It's really a pity that warlord doesn't produce a Wehrmacht range that matches the quality of their US airborne.
-
Damn, I didn't even know Artizan used to make early war Germans! That would have been right up my alley, as I've got loads of Artizan stuff. :'(
Just my luck that the #1 and #2 agreed-on favourites are OOP ::) I've been putting a small force together and the quality of available figures has really been putting me off.
-
To be honest, I have actually found that the BODIES of the newer Bolt Action Germans, specifically the Blitzkrieg early war figures, are not bad at all. Maybe they'll do with some West Wind stahlhelm heads. I've got some Russian West Wind heads and they're not spectacular but alright.
Anybody else make standalone head sprues? I know Kromlech/MaxMini do, but they're ridiculously cartoony and misproportioned. Maybe with good heads, what I can do is take the best sculpts from the various makes I've got and make them look a little more consistent and serviceable.
-
Yeah, it's pulp, but I need the non-gasmask ones (There are far more gas mask ones than non-gasmask ones, presumably because people love making Death Korps of Krieg conversions).
-
West Wind make German heads
I have always thought Victory Force have some very nice figures but they are a big 28mm , I don't own a lot as I had already bought a lot of regular 28mm figures buy the time I found them. But if I were to start over I would go with VF and 1/48 scale vehicles
-
To my mind the best,by far, are the Foundry Wehrmacht scuplted by Michael Perry. They are the same size or slightly bigger than the OOP Paul Hicks Bolt Action Germans (which I would say are second best) and are in early war style though can be painted to look late war quite convincingly as Kevin Dallimore has done in one of his books.
The TAG late war Germans do look pretty good though and I may get a few.
-
I'm always surprised to hear people praise Victory Force. The photos on the website look bad and show a limited array of poses (many awkward - VF minis don't seem to stand right!).
To my mind the best,by far, are the Foundry Wehrmacht scuplted by Michael Perry. They are the same size or slightly bigger than the OOP Paul Hicks Bolt Action Germans (which I would say are second best) and are in early war style though can be painted to look late war quite convincingly as Kevin Dallimore has done in one of his books.
The TAG late war Germans do look pretty good though and I may get a few.
These fellows?
(http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/files/4613/9154/8474/WW2027.png)
Well, at least they're in-print and look alright. I thought they were quite small though? They look small in that image.
Could someone do me a big favour and take photo of a couple next to a Copplestone castings sculpt (Copplestone stuff is my baseline for size)? Preferably a Copplestone character with a rifle so I can see how different they are. Different sized figures is alright, but the variation in weapon sizes can be a big problem. Well, I guess you could just describe the differences/similarities, but that seems like more effort!
Just don't use Copplestone WWI British desert infantry, because those ones are abnormally large for some reason. ::)
-
Just a little bump, with a title change, to maybe see if I can get some new eyes on this. Very interested to see how they compare.
-
I will have a look in the morning (if I remember ::) ) and see what I've got & take a photo for you. I only have the falschirmjager from foundry (or home guard & commandos) though, not sure what I've got from coplestone though.
I would say that the foundry stuff is the best though even if it is 10 plus years old
-
I will have a look in the morning (if I remember ::) ) and see what I've got & take a photo for you. I only have the falschirmjager from foundry (or home guard & commandos) though, not sure what I've got from coplestone though.
I would say that the foundry stuff is the best though even if it is 10 plus years old
As long as the falschirmjager are to the same scale as the other Foundry stuff, that's fine. The main thing is to see if they're comparable to the Copplestone, since Copplestone stuff is the lion's share of figures I'm using.
-
Here are some comparative pics.
Hope they are usefull.
From left to right:
Pulp Figures, Black Tree Design russian partizan, Copplestone castings, Artizan, Wargames foundry.
And some close ups.
-
Thanks! Shame about how short the Foundry ones are. Even Black Tree is most of a head shorter.
That Artizan figure is really tall for Artizan. I wonder if it's just that one fellow or if the other early war WWII Artizan figures were comparable? I have some nazi officers from Artizan and they are quite short - not that I mind one-off short fellows, so long as MOST of the infantry is a match (and the kit and rifles need to match close enough). Just means the colonel happens to be a shortarse lol
I have a couple of alternate ideas to get a better fit, but it'll be a big fat pain in the bunghole doing the conversions either way.
Does anyone know if there are any manufacturers who make a standalone stahlhelm? Just the loose helmet?
-
The only one standalone helmet i can remember is in 1 or 2 verlinden 1/48 resin kits, plastic sets in 1/48 or Wargames Factory plastic germans.
I have 2 or 3 BTD german heads i´ve cutted to do conversions so if they suit you just pm me and i will send them as well as 3 or 4 BTD complete figures.
-
Don't know if there are companies offering a single (or set of ) helmet for sale. But the Blitzkrieg Germans set from Warlord Games has some loose helmets so maybe someone has some to sell?
-
I have a couple of the Blitzkreig sprues, but those helmets are far too small (otherwise I'd just use the BA heads from the sprue!) and anyway I need more. 1:48 sounds absolutely perfect, but I don't see anything on the Verlinden site at all. Neither the German stowage kits nor the figures have helmets. Doesn't look like Tamiya or other model manufacturers have anything either (Tamiya does have a 1:35 kit with five helmets... dammit!). I might wind up just having to press-mold some if I can find a single one that's the right size and isn't awful.
Sorry Rumcara, I replied to your earlier PM before I saw your post here. PM sent!
Basically, I am going to use a mishmash of figures (Renegade, BA, 1-48 Combat, Artizan) and I should be fine as OVERALL I will get the size I need, but I need to make sure the heads and weapons are all the same size and look good. MOST of the weapons are already the right size, so that fine and it's a fairly easy conversion where they're not. I have lots of good bare heads to use with lots of personality (some GW, some Paul Hicks, etc.), so I'm 90% there... but I need helmets which will fit those heads! Molding my own might be the only way.
The Renegade figures, which will be the lion's share of figures I'm using, are decent and are just fine for size. They need to be converted to early war (not much trouble other than the boots) and have heads which are the right size but which are a disaster for casting a sculpting quality. I think whoever made these was finishing dollies started by someone else and it shows brutally in the heads. The helmets are especially coarse and jagged. I might be able to save some by switching a couple around, but I'd love to just do swaps with better stuff.
-
Fram, here is my surplus of BTD germans plus 4 figures that might be usefull for pulp.
If they do just choose what is usefull for you.
-
Check out TAG they have helmets & all sorts of kit
http://www.theassaultgroup.co.uk/index.php?p=58
-
Yes! Perfect! Hurray!
Thanks Aircav!
-
I have a few 1/48th you can have from the Tamiya Afrika Korp set, not sure how many but can check in the morning, if you are still after them.
-
I have a few 1/48th you can have from the Tamiya Afrika Korp set, not sure how many but can check in the morning, if you are still after them.
Free (or whatever you're asking) sure beats £7, so yes please!
-
Are you still after the photo of a copplestone against an early war german from foundry?
I have some I could take a photo of.
-
Naw, it's okay now. Thanks though!
-
One or two observations/suggestions. Early War Germans were Crusader not Artizan. Easy to confuse as they are complementary ranges both marketed by Northstar.
Actually, I think Foundry are a lot closer than that shot above suggests. I mixed some of their WW2 partisans in with Copplestone's BoB range a few years ago and they seemed to work. If you are really finicky then different basing heights will address any minor difference. Copplestone's near future stuff always seems taller than his other ranges, the Near Future troopers are giants.
Helmeted heads? Try the Wargames Factory late war Germans. Might be more than you want to pay for a few minis but the sculpting is good and the helmets are the right shape. I've used WF plastic heads to convert a number of Eureka miniatures.
-
Ah! Hm.. well maybe GamerMac can take a picture after all then. I'll send him a PM.
-
Sorry having problems with connecting my camera at the moment.
-
No problem, no hurry!
-
Sorry for the delay, my daughter had stole my cable to connect my phone.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/20/1912_12_01_15_12_39_42.jpg)
Foundry MG gunner is a bit smaller but I think is still OK
-
Yeah, that's not too bad. Looks about the same as the better-quality plastic Bolt Action figures. Thanks!
Funny enough, I painted that fellow on the left in my most recent batch. I like yours though - the eyebrows and five o'clock shadow are great.
-
The size match looks good to me, and as said I am a big fan of the Foundry Wehrmacht! I look forward to seeing where your project eventually ends up.
-
Bumping this for a very similar request - Victory Force vs Copplestone. Can anyone help? Thanks!
-
Actually, I might even just ask, "Who owns some Victory Force Wehrmacht?" and we can see what other figures you have to compare them with.
I'm asking because I'm really not sure what the size is from googling! In some cases they look bigger, GW or Copplestone sized (which is what I want), in others they look small like Bolt Action or Foundry.
-
Matthew, check this range from Gothicline.
He is a portuguese LAF fellow that makes WW2 miniatures and the size is a bit bigger than Artizan.
http://www.gothicline.webs.com/
Ask him for comparative shots with copplestone for he also has some figures.
-
Good idea.
By the way, I'm still using the ones you sent me. ;) I'm just continuing the eternal struggle for the regular troops. I was going to do surgery to get what I wanted using the stodgy Renegade bodies I already have (and will be doing at least some anyway, because I have all these great GW & Copplestone heads to use instead of the generic growly-faced or shouting nazis), but I'm sure there's got to be an easier way. I even picked up a pack of Scarab 1/48 just to see if they would work (DUST tactics are supposedly 1:48 and fit in with my stuff, albeit they're "larger" people), but they're monstrous, almost 50mm (might still use a single one eventually as a hilariously tall fellow).
Too bad the best-quality troops are all tiny ones, like BA, Perry, or the old Foundry sets. But I'll sort it in the end and paint and nice heads can hide a lot of ills.
EDIT: Wait... Gothic Line doesn't seem to have any German infantry apart from late-war Panzergrenadiers. I think that option's sunk.
-
Maybe so but ask him for separated heads.
They might be usefull for your conversions. ;)
-
Unlike most mad scientists, I have plenty of heads... it's the bodies I need! lol
-
I don't own any but I did handle some VF minis a few years back. I'm going solely on memory but IIRC they were significantly taller and heftier tan anything else I had at the time ( principally BTD). That's what put me off buying any, nothing else seemed to match and I'm pretty relaxed about mixing figures. I think they were more in the 32mm mould of things than true 28.
You're right about the smaller figures being the nicer ones, most of the Foundry figures, are very nice and the Perry sculpted British paras are outstanding. Interestingly they mix well, with the early Hicks sculpted Bolt Action figures. Pity Warlord had to go down the gargoyles r us route, the early BA ranges had some nice figures in them.
-
Yeah, the Renegade ones are bizarrely stocky trolls. They manage to be bigger overall, but with stumpy legs, so they're like bizarre cranky beardless dwarf-soldaten. I was going to use them anyway by replacing the legs (the legs also have the wrong boots for early war/prewar anyway) and heads, but really there's got to be a better way.
For just about every other nation, either Copplestone or Renegade works fine for interwar troops, with only minor conversion or in some cases no conversion at all. It's only been German stuff that's been trouble. I've assembled a few characters from what you sent, from Artizan, 1:48 COMBAT, DUST Tactics, and will have a variety of sizes (I certainly don't insist that everyone be the exact same height), but I still need some average-sized (for my table), normal-looking infantry to tie the whole mess together.