Lead Adventure Forum

Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Helen on November 26, 2008, 09:49:46 PM

Title: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Helen on November 26, 2008, 09:49:46 PM
Hi Good People of LAF,

Did you folks see this advert on TMP?
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/823877/

Helen
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Grimm on November 26, 2008, 09:56:01 PM
oh militia !!
did some one know how Big they are ?
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: area23 on November 26, 2008, 10:35:55 PM
On size,the two anarcho guy pack from north star lines up fine with Anglian, they're only slightly chunkier. If that helps.

Tempting....
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: argsilverson on November 26, 2008, 10:39:55 PM
Very nice figures!

I have the earlier anarchists released by Northstar and they are superb. 1mm shorter than the Copplestones but they are mixing well with Copplestones RCW, noone can say that there is any difference.
Sorry, I do not have any Anglian to make any comparison.
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: PeteMurray on November 26, 2008, 11:39:19 PM
We just voted and we collectively like them.

We also voted to condemn recent actions by the Adventuring Forum of Lead for splitting the movement's Solidarity. Also I have been forced out of office.

Sorry folks. See you under a new registration.  :-[
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: argsilverson on November 26, 2008, 11:42:57 PM
I checked the north star website. finally they have 32 figures!!!!

It sounds more interesting than the beginning.

http://www.northstarfigures.com/shop/spanishcivilwar/index.html
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Orctrader on November 27, 2008, 09:09:06 AM
Many, manythanks for briunging this to my attention.

I didn't realize that the two Anarchist figures were limited editions.  So just ordered those along the 12-man squad.  :)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: WillieB on November 27, 2008, 11:52:37 AM
If they mix well with Anglian I'll be a bit poorer in a minute...
These are also 'limited editions' with only 250 made of each, so I better hurry.

BTW The two Anarchists are very compatible with Anglian so there's no reason to suspect these aren't.


Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on November 27, 2008, 03:02:11 PM
They look fine... but I'm always dubious when I see the words 'Limited Edition' on anything.  :?
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Orctrader on November 27, 2008, 03:28:09 PM
...I'm always dubious when I see the words 'Limited Edition' on anything.  :?

I know what you mean.  But in the case of the "Anarchists" they are not Ltd Ed prices.  It was only the comment on TMP - "only 20 left" that forced my hand.  And if they were produced again in the future I don't think it's a problem.

What I find annoying is when you pay well over the odds for a limited edition - or have to spend a small fortune on something else to obtain it - only to find sometime later that due to "popular demand" the figure company has re-released it.   :-[

Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Durutti on November 27, 2008, 03:59:39 PM
I'm interested to see the 32 variations of the figures.

Sadly this release now means I have to put my EPR figures on hold, some advance warning might have helped, I could have got Paul to sculpt the mortars and crews instead of the EPR figures  :(
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: WillieB on November 27, 2008, 09:37:09 PM
Doesn't really matter Nigel.
The Spanish Civil War is one of those wars where you can never have enough different figures for.

These are International Brigade or militia and yours are long awaited 'regular' EPR.
Quite different in fact and very welcome!

Willie




Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Saya on November 27, 2008, 09:50:04 PM


Sadly this release now means I have to put my EPR figures on hold, some advance warning might have helped, I could have got Paul to sculpt the mortars and crews instead of the EPR figures  :(

No man , i´m a big fanboy of Anglian, like many others here , your figures are the best in SCW, and one of the best in the market in general.
Please, no.  :) :) :)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Durutti on November 27, 2008, 10:05:56 PM
I'll chuck the EPR stuff in the next mould anyway, there's space for them, so I might as well use it.

Nick has done the Northstar figures for a big SCW game he;s putting on around a few shows next year, sounds like its going to be a good one too. :D

Saya, are you buying Anglian figures from Spain or the USA?
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Argonor on November 28, 2008, 12:16:17 PM
We just voted and we collectively like them.

We also voted to condemn recent actions by the Adventuring Forum of Lead for splitting the movement's Solidarity. Also I have been forced out of office.

Sorry folks. See you under a new registration.  :-[

What....??
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on November 28, 2008, 01:10:11 PM
I'll chuck the EPR stuff in the next mould anyway, there's space for them, so I might as well use it.

Nick has done the Northstar figures for a big SCW game he;s putting on around a few shows next year, sounds like its going to be a good one too. :D

Saya, are you buying Anglian figures from Spain or the USA?

I'm sure there's room for both ranges. particularly as the Northstar ones won't be around long in any case.

I resisted impulse buying them, I'm sure a few others did too.  ;)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Saya on November 28, 2008, 01:54:48 PM

Saya, are you buying Anglian figures from Spain or the USA?

Always in Bilbao, in Wolf Miniatures. My friend Basque Gaizka Amondarain ( my Euskera language teacher), who usually travels on business the purchase and brings to me. So I avoid the shipping  :D :D :D
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Durutti on November 28, 2008, 06:18:00 PM

Saya, are you buying Anglian figures from Spain or the USA?

Always in Bilbao, in Wolf Miniatures. My friend Basque Gaizka Amondarain ( my Euskera language teacher), who usually travels on business the purchase and brings to me. So I avoid the shipping  :D :D :D


Ah, thats great, Jesus at Wolf is a top bloke.

Learning to speak Basque, thats interesting, I have a colleague at work who is learning Catalan.
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Lt. Hazel on November 28, 2008, 06:25:29 PM
I'm interested to see the 32 variations of the figures.

Sadly this release now means I have to put my EPR figures on hold, some advance warning might have helped, I could have got Paul to sculpt the mortars and crews instead of the EPR figures  :(
Anglian has the better miniatures. There are much more poses available. And with some easy headsweaps you can create more than 32 different figs. I´ll stick to Anglian.
Nigel it´s good to hear you´ll have mortars soon  :D
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Saya on November 28, 2008, 09:57:26 PM

Ah, thats great, Jesus at Wolf is a top bloke.

Learning to speak Basque, thats interesting, I have a colleague at work who is learning Catalan.


My grandfather was Basque. The Basque language is very special to me  :)
Cheers
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: twrchtrwyth on December 02, 2008, 03:07:31 AM

Ah, thats great, Jesus at Wolf is a top bloke.

Learning to speak Basque, thats interesting, I have a colleague at work who is learning Catalan.


My grandfather was Basque. The Basque language is very special to me  :)
Cheers
Saya, are the Basques Celts? They say our languages are related. ???
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Saya on December 02, 2008, 09:35:07 PM
 Hi twrchtrwyth,  as I understand the Basques are not celts, the Euskera language has no link with other languages and  the archaeological record also shows no direct relationship between Basques and Celts or other ethnic affiliations. In any case the Celts and the Basques have a common history, very very hard history. Within the Spanish state Galicians and Asturians are Celts.
Osasuna!!! (Cheers!!!)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Plynkes on December 02, 2008, 09:49:36 PM
Twrchtrwyth, as far as I recall, the Basque language is unrelated to other European languages. It is thought to pre-date them as part of the older culture of Western Europe that existed before the Celtic culture expanded into the west. For some reason when everybody else decided to start being Celts, the people of the Basque region said "No thanks, we're fine as we are."



Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: argsilverson on December 02, 2008, 10:14:23 PM
It is also said that maybe the Basque language might have been the remains of the Atlantean language!

However, Basque language is one of the older languages, like greek, that survives till today.
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on December 02, 2008, 10:57:06 PM
There are however genetic links between the Welsh, some Irish, Cornish (or South West England more correctly) and 'Basques' (more correctly North West Spain in general) that aren't prevalent in other groups.
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Plynkes on December 02, 2008, 11:25:55 PM
Not surprising really. The western fringe of Europe wasn't originally part of the Celtic world, and the Basques are the last remnant of the original culture. People tended to be absorbed into the new cultures as they moved westwards, rather than being massacred by them. Thus even in apparently Germanic England there are many folks descended from the original prehistoric, pre-Celtic inhabitants. Well, that's what I heard, anyway.


Oops, we seem to have got pretty far away from the International Brigades!  :)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Helen on December 02, 2008, 11:53:09 PM
It's all in the spirit 8)

Helen
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on December 03, 2008, 02:17:07 AM
Not surprising really. The western fringe of Europe wasn't originally part of the Celtic world, and the Basques are the last remnant of the original culture. People tended to be absorbed into the new cultures as they moved westwards, rather than being massacred by them. Thus even in apparently Germanic England there are many folks descended from the original prehistoric, pre-Celtic inhabitants. Well, that's what I heard, anyway.


Oops, we seem to have got pretty far away from the International Brigades!  :)

A current view is that it was the 'Celtic' culture that spread rather than the people. In the same way as cola cans and baseball caps will not signify that Americans mass-migrated to Europe to future archaeologists.

However Britain's inhabitants appear to have come from the Northern Spanish and the Black Sea 'refuges' following the last ice age, approaching from the South West and East respectively, as the ice retreated. Britain had no indigenous population as such prior to this.

It sort of quite neatly explains the slight genetic divide between West and East within the UK, supports Irish creation myths like 'the sons of Mil' and muddies the question of the Anglo-Saxon 'migration'... so prepare for it to be disproved shortly.  lol
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Argonor on December 04, 2008, 09:44:00 PM
However Britain's inhabitants appear to have come from the Northern Spanish and the Black Sea 'refuges' following the last ice age, approaching from the South West and East respectively, as the ice retreated. Britain had no indigenous population as such prior to this.

What about the Picts? Weren't they a non-celtic people? I know the Scots immigrated from Northern Ireland...
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on December 04, 2008, 10:36:47 PM
However Britain's inhabitants appear to have come from the Northern Spanish and the Black Sea 'refuges' following the last ice age, approaching from the South West and East respectively, as the ice retreated. Britain had no indigenous population as such prior to this.

What about the Picts? Weren't they a non-celtic people? I know the Scots immigrated from Northern Ireland...

Maybe non-celtic, maybe celtic, the jury's still out on that, but nevertheless, there was no human habitation during the ice-age, only after. Of course this was true for most of Northern Europe.

The problem with the celtic question is that it is difficult to determine whether it was a spread of culture, or a spread of people. The 'beaker culture' was previously thought to be a migration, but it turns out not to have been.

We typify Irish culture as being 'celtic' but there is little similarity genetically between them and other Northern Europeans (other than the common markers we all share), but similarities with common markers in NW Spain, yet there is no shared culture or language. Likewise with the Island and Highland Scots, Welsh and Cornish overall. However there is a shared culture and language (with variations) within the 'celtic fringe' of Britain. The only identifiable interlopers were 'Norse' and contributed a low percentage in all these areas.

Perhaps the Picts chose not to take celtic culture on board, but as there hasn't been any identifiable Pictish genetic sequence identified as yet, they are essentially the same as everyone else. So in essence they weren't a proto-British people forced into a remote wilderness by waves of invaders.

It is much harder to determine the make up of the lowland areas of the UK, as they share much in common with the rest of Northern Europe. This has been taken in the past to signify population replacement by Anglo-Saxon invaders and following that by the Danes etc, but as these areas were populated after the ice-age from mainland Europe anyway, there wouldn't be much difference.

Current research is looking for evidence of divergance within the gene sequence, so hopefully they'll be able to trace when a particular trait became prevalent and where and then work backwards to identify at what time the 'English' (i.e. Lowland and Eastern British - including lowland Scotland) appeared and where they came from. Which is likely to be at all points along the Western coast of Europe, but approximate dates for specific areas and peoples will also probably be identified.

We really have diverged from the International Brigade figures.... Hopefully nobody dropped off to sleep while reading this  lol
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: twrchtrwyth on December 05, 2008, 03:40:56 PM
Yes, sorry for the topic high-jack. Pehaps I should have started a new topic.

I believe there are some tribes that people arn't sure whether they were Celts or Germans, the Cimbri and the Teutones, (from which the word Teutonic comes from) for example. So genetic markers may be of no relevance anyway, which is what I believe. So Teutonic efficency may be a reference to the well organised Welsh,  lol.

Anyway, very nice figures. 8)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: area23 on December 05, 2008, 09:17:22 PM
I'm sure Picts were Basque 'Milesians' from before the celtic invasions.  :D
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Arlequín on December 05, 2008, 11:53:25 PM
I'm sure Picts were Basque 'Milesians' from before the celtic invasions.  :D

I'm not biting that bait.... now staying firmly on topic   ;)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Helen on December 06, 2008, 11:12:23 PM
Lets now keep to the topic in question please.

Has anyone bought the new figures from Northstar? If so, how about a review for you to share here with folks who have an interest.

Thankyou.

Helen
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: the commissar on December 07, 2008, 11:17:43 AM
I have ordered the full set them but I understand there was a casting/molding problem and they have had to redo some of themthem - they are expected at the end of this week (12/12)
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: WillieB on December 07, 2008, 12:29:13 PM
I received my 12 IB's last week Thursday, Well there were only 11, but who's counting.

As Nick said they are all based on four poses, but different enough for variation.
Some simply have different heads, others have rolled up blankets and such added to the 'basic' figure.

It's really a random mix since I got 4 of the same pose variant  and only one and two from another.
The LMG (Chauchat)  man is simply an additional pose of the advacing figure.

Quality is quite good although not in the same league as  Anglian, but then few figures are.
They do match Anglian in size however and the figures can easily be used in the same unit.
Faces are quite nice.

All , except the LMG man of course, are armed with the Moisin Nagant rifle. Looks a bit short IMHO, more like a carbine, but still reasonable.

If you want me to I'll take a picture of the set I received (unpainted still alas) lol


Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: WillieB on December 07, 2008, 04:21:04 PM
Well, here are the pictures.
Did I tell you that I am the world's worst photographer?

(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9671/scwnorths006uh3.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

(http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8980/scwnorths005tb1.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9626/scwnorths004lr6.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2607/scwnorths003mx5.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1043/scwnorths002dv9.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8374/scwnorths001pc1.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07

And a comparision between North Star and Anglian

(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4738/scwnorths007rs6.jpg)
By penmarch (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/penmarch), shot with DiMAGE Z6 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=DiMAGE+Z6&make=KONICA+MINOLTA) at 2008-12-07
Title: Re: International Brigade from Northstar
Post by: Helen on December 07, 2008, 07:18:08 PM
Thanks Willie, Lovely photos and review.  8)

Now get onto Nick an ask for your "Baker's Dozen" considering you are short one miniature that could make all the difference on the gaming table. Heck, he could have been a Belgian and you did'nt know it :D

Thanks again.

Helen