Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Sir Rodney Ffing on October 14, 2016, 03:10:09 PM
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I have some very helpful pointers already in getting started in this period and am now considering what figure range(s) to buy.
I am aware that Artizan and Ironclad make figures specifically for the 2nd Afghan War and assume there must be others. What are you chaps on the NWF using please?
And I have just seen there is a thread started by another poster asking for a comparison between Ironclad and Foundry Pathans. Hopefully someone can answer that one too as he is evidently feeling neglected!
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My Pathans are almost exclusively Old Glory, cos they are cheap as chips!! :D
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My Pathans are almost exclusively Old Glory, cos they are cheap as chips!! Cheesy
Interesting! Are they any good, and would you have still chosen them if they were the same price as the others?
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They are honestly some of the best minis OG do. Of course, had Foundry, Artizan etc, been as cheap, I'd probably have chosen differently, but it was a no-brainer for the money. They also take a 'dipping' paint technique very well.
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Perry miniatures and Studio miniatures are two good choices beside Foundry and Artizan. I agree though that OG is a real value option. Even if they do not advertise it they will give you "6 packs for 5" if you ask OG UK.
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Like Traveller says the new Perry and Studio are close size-wise and indeed they are close to Foundry also. Old Glory a little smaller, Artizan larger and Ironclad quite a bit larger. But with all these choices you can have 100 tribesmen with every figure different! ;D
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Two more companies are Australia's EUREKA MINIATURES and CASTAWAY ARTS.
Eureka are on the small side of 28mm (they may actually call them 25mm) and Castaway are a bit larger than old Wargames Foundry 28mm NWF. I use units of both in my own armies, which include just about all the other sources mentioned above: Perry, Wargames Foundry, Empress, and Old Glory, as well as the new Artizan figures.
Eureka makes Sikh and Punjabi Pioneers w/picks and shovels as well as rifles, and Castaway Arts has a decent sized range of British, Indian, and Pathan troops, including Gurkhas and cavalry. I used to recommend the Castaway Arts British artillery crew, as they are wearing short Royal Artillery tunics, like those worn by the RHA at Maiwand, but now Perry has released their own artillery crew dressed the same way, so it comes down to which scultping style and price you prefer.
Eureka also makes a range of Indian and Arab civilians which can be very useful if you like having some non-combatants on your tabletop. In a similar vein, Perry has a civilan pack in their Crusades Muslim range which are very nice.
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I'm with guitarheroandy on the OLD GLORY Pathans, they're full of character! The command bag is amazing! They include musicians, standard bearers and leaders that excel anything I've seen from the other companies mentioned!
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I'm with guitarheroandy on the OLD GLORY Pathans, they're full of character!
Not only are you with GH Andy, but you look like him too. In fact, I can't tell you apart! :o
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Thanks for all the suggestions chaps. Some hard thinking needed now, as I don't want to take a false step I will regret later!
I would like to be able to mix and match between manufacturers if possible to give a more varied look, particularly to the irregulars.
From what I have read on the thread about Ironclad compatibility (specifically do they go well with Foundry - apparently not), Perry figures seem to be a good match for the Foundry range (both Perry sculpted ranges?). Assuming I want my British infantry in metal (multi part plastic is not for me), would I be right in assuming that Perry's British foot in Indian service dress from the Sudan range fit the bill?
Also, the variety of Old Glory's tribesmen is appealing. Would they look out of proportion with Perry/Foundry?
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Also, the variety of Old Glory's tribesmen is appealing. Would they look out of proportion with Perry/Foundry?
in all my show demos of TMWWBK, we had Foundry, OG, Empress, Castaway Arts and Perry models on the table and everyone seemed to think it all looked great, so no issues mixing and matching. Just one word of warning - Artizan models are a bit on the large side - I have a unit of Brits but not painted them yet and they are fabulous but chunky fellows... I do have an Artizan officer with my Foundry Guides, which works well though....
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My Pathans are almost exclusively Old Glory, cos they are cheap as chips!! :D
I can't argue with that but are they not closer to true 25mm that current 28mm standards?
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The Perry-sculpted Wargames Foundry NWF Pathans and the Old Glory Pathan Tribesmen are exactly the same scale. I guess that is "old" 28mm, which is not as big as newer ranges like those by Perry and Empress. I have Pathan tribal units that include equal numbers of both. Also, in my humble opinion, Old Glory's Pathans are one of the best sculpted ranges they have. In full disclosure, I like the Wargames Foundry Pathans best of all, but the Old Glory range is quite good.
One last thing: I don't think anyone has mentioned the relatively new packs of Afghan Tribesmen in Perry Miniatures' "Victoria's Little Wars" range, which are also very nice.
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I have figures from Old Glory, Foundry, Artizan, Castaway Arts, and a few figures from some fantasy lines. The all seem to mix together well. The more you mix the less the size differences stand out.
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Yet more helpful suggestions, thanks again.
And now what is probably a stupid question.
Having checked Foundry's site, there are no specific Pathan figures shown in the NWF collection.
For those who have recommended them, are you referring to the Hill Tribes packs in the Indian range? Specifically, these:
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/our-ranges/colonial/indians-zanzibaris-turks-moghuls-sikhs-afghans-arabs-corsair/indian-hill-tribesmen-collection-bcind005/ (http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/our-ranges/colonial/indians-zanzibaris-turks-moghuls-sikhs-afghans-arabs-corsair/indian-hill-tribesmen-collection-bcind005/)
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Those are indeed the ones! 'Hill tribesmen' is a good catch-all to include all Afghan/Pathans, after all...
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Thanks Andy, that's what I thought. Some of the packs look good, but I see what you mean about the price: £12 for six figures, with only three different poses in some packs? Wow. Probably worth some getting for the variety, but I wouldn't want to be building a whole force out of them at £2 a pop :o
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hi
dear Colonial gamers friends ..me too i love NWF scenarios...
don't forget to consider also Britannia miniatures...their apparently cartoon style pathans give quie a lot variety at your units..especially the charging ones armed with tulwar....i have some 20 of them perfectly, once painted (very easy to do) mixed with OG and Founry ones
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I'd like to second ITALWARS vote for Britannia Miniatures Pathans from their Pathan Revolt range! Well sculpted and full of character! They also mix well with Artizan
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Comparison if it's helpful
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r195/webdeak/NWF/WP_20161017_001_zpsfyahuyrx.jpg)
L>R Artizan, OG, Tiger
I don't rate the Tiger models at all, but all three are close enough size and build wise for me to mix them.
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I love the expression on the Artizan design guys face! lol
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Comparison if it's helpful
That is helpful thank you.
Now if only someone could post comparison figures of OG, Perry and WF I could probably make up my mind o_o
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Sir Rodney,
Maybe this will help somewhat...
Perry Bengal/Bombay Inf -- Wargames Foundry Sikh NCO -- Old Glory Indian Mt Gunner -- Eureka Punjab Pioneer -- Castaway Arts Sikh
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qc25Opx-VEI/WAb-TfKpEPI/AAAAAAAAQPw/jYNAakHlo9Y6T9QlE77k2ny97MLINKBfACLcB/s1600/Indian%2Bfigure%2Bcomparisons2JPG.JPG)
...and a pic showing one Wargames Foundry kneeling Pathan rifleman and one Old Glory kneeling Pathan rifleman:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkvGWzVYlyc/WAb-X4MG9AI/AAAAAAAAQP0/9dVf12PH0wcx3Hv1A7894v7Evqf1ysT8QCLcB/s1600/Pathan%2Bkneeling%2Brifles.JPG)
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Mr Guru - thank you very much for that. As you say, the OG and WF are very close in scale and I don't think I can have any concerns about using them together :)
What is surprising is how much bigger the Perry figures are from WF. My thoughts had been to use the British infantry in Indian service dress from the Perry Sudan range, but that is a non-starter based on the size comparison.
Thanks for helping me avoid a choice I would have regretted, nice figures though they are!
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Very useful indeed Mad Guru.
I want to love Castaway Arts, but look at the Sikh's right arm - it looks like he could easily touch his knee with a straight arm!! :o
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I generally agree with both of you -- Perry figures are noticeably bigger than old Wargames Foundry figures, but I do use both in their own separate units within the same army. Re: Castaway Arts, some of their figures are better proportioned than others. As I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm a big fan of their British Colonial Artillery Crew figures, which are sculpted wearing short tunics, like those worn by the RHA at the battle of Maiwand. They are very well proportioned and my favorite Castaway Arts figures.
Perry figures are big, but the Perry Sudan British Infantry in Indian service dress are some my all-time favorite colonial figures, and they fit very well with the Empress British from their excellent Zulu War range.
As others have also said above, Artizan are nice as well, but a bit bigger than even Perry or Empress, let alone the Foundry, Old Glory, and other older, smaller 28mm/25mm figures.
One last thing: while the Perry sculpted Wargames Foundry NWF range is noticeably smaller than the newer Perry colonials, the Foundry Darkest Africa range figures sculpted by Mark Copplestone are much less so. The DA figures are bigger than the NWF figures.
Here's one last pic showing a Perry British officer / Foundry Darkest Africa British officer / and Empress British Officer:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vp5-wR9ltD8/WAcm-UNgO_I/AAAAAAAAQQE/JixRmjO67zwAHTZ0pewkWFfyoJ-M0r59QCLcB/s1600/British%2Bofficer%2Bfig%2Bcomparison.JPG)
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Here's one last pic showing a Perry British officer / Foundry Darkest Africa British officer / and Empress British Officer:
Aha! This raises the interesting possibility of my Darkest Africa Sikhs doing double duty on the NWF. Assuming for the sake of argument that uniform accuracy might be an issue for me (!), do you see any with problems with these being suitable for 1880 - 1890?
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/files/cache/5191462816e1e319c57b6404a933ebd4_f7344.jpg (http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/files/cache/5191462816e1e319c57b6404a933ebd4_f7344.jpg)
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I want to love Castaway Arts, but look at the Sikh's right arm - it looks like he could easily touch his knee with a straight arm!! :o
But just imagine what a great slip fielder he'd make.
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Sir Rodney,
I love those DA Sikhs and have them painted up as the 23rd Sikh Pioneers for Charasiab (1879). They do however have one imperfection for use before say 1890, which I just decided to live with: they're armed with Martini-Henrys, not Snider-Enfields. Indian infantry didn't receive Martini-Henrys until the British army got the Lee-Metford. So it depends on how extreme of a "grognard button-counter" type you are! I'm generally pretty extreme, but I let this one go.
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I want to love Castaway Arts, but look at the Sikh's right arm - it looks like he could easily touch his knee with a straight arm!! Shocked
But just imagine what a great slip fielder he'd make.
Stand him at 2nd and he could cover 1st and 3rd slip at the same time. Very efficient use of fielding resources I'd say.
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Mr Guru
Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge. Provided it is not a Lee-Enfield, I am a bit more relaxed about weapons than uniforms so will be able to live with that!