Swashbuckling with an Eldorado slant

[Rhoderic]

With my latest purchase of Foundry Elizabethans, I feel an urge coming on for gaming the exploration of South America and the search for Eldorado in Gloire*. Which begs the question: Who makes good Incas and Amazonian Indians? I know Foundry does the former and Copplestone the latter, but both are rather pricey. I've seen other figures around; I just can't remember from which companies. Stand-ins will also do, like Aztecs in place of Incas and Caribbean natives in place of Amazonian ones.

Also, any suggestions for commercially available scenery? Monolith apparently does some Inca buildings, but I don't know what they look like and anyway, I like to have options.

*Yeah, I know I should be doing pirates like everyone else right now, as Under the Black Flag is on it's way, but I've never been good at doing what everyone else does. I'd like to put off buying or scratchbuilding ships for now, anyway. The pirates will get their day of glory later.

[Lowtardog]

Hoho Rhoderic now you are talking

Copplestone figures certainly are the best for the Brazilian rain forest though Eureka also make Tupi, thogh you have to e-mail Nic and he will sell some. Theya re not really any cheaper and not sure how the exchange rate or postage would be.

here are links to pics on Chronofus`s forum, if you search the main page you will find all the Eureka Aztecs, Conquistadors etc http://www.chronofus.net/php/viewtopic.php?t=191

many are acvailable from Fighting 15s the UK distirbutor.
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=184

http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=185

also Powhatan indians
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=1675

also dont forget other warrior types such as Hawaiians
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=135

or Dyaks from Borneo
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=452
and
http://www.scheltrum.co.uk/dyaks.html

thats was scheltrum who also have a Mayan range, no pictures though but they are very cheap and their dyaks are quite nice if anything is to go by
http://www.scheltrum.co.uk/eldorado.html

Back to Mesoamerica
Outpost produce the largest range

Aztecs
http://www.outpostwargameservices.co.uk/

Aztec Enemies
http://www.outpostwargameservices.co.uk/

Mayans
http://www.outpostwargameservices.co.uk/

There are some other such as Tupi and early apaches form London war room, you may get some of the old Naismith ranges of figures from e-bay
Bears Den miniatures produce a small range of Aztecs as do Monday Knight productions and then there is TAG

They produce a large range of Aztecs and Tlaxcalans, the Hobby Box is the best buy if you are wanting to build a horde as they sell the figures in blisters of 8 and have good postage deals The pictures on their site are better too

http://www.thehobbybox.biz/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=486&strPageHistory=cat
http://www.thehobbybox.biz/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=409&strPageHistory=cat

thats all I can think of but there are bound to be more...not sure about cheap though? dont think there are any "cheap" figures around

[Rhoderic]

Shows me right for not actually checking the prices on the Copplestone indians before talking  :oops: . They weren't quite as expensive as I had thought, I guess I just have a perception of Copplestone figures as expensive because, well, some of them are (but not all - I wonder what makes, for instance, the Gangsters range pricier than the High Adventure range).

Those are some great other alternatives, thanks! I'm a little unsure about Outpost's sculpting style but overall they seem like the best choice for pseudo-Incas. I'm not looking to build any hordes so Scheltrum has the size of the packs going against it. In all, I think I want some 10 each of Amazonian Indians and Incas with various weapons, plus some civilians.

[Rhoderic]

Oh right! Now I remember where I've seen some more Indians: The Caribbean Empires range from Brigade Games. They're also somewhat expensive, so it's a bit of a dilemma. I'm equally fond of the Brigade and the Copplestone ones. The Brigade ones include blowpipes which is nice, and their sculpting style would probably blend with Outpost's Meso-Americans slightly better, but the Copplestone ones are still very, very nice (they have cooler bows, too). Damn. What to do, what to do...?

On the plus side, I'm regaining my enthusiasm for painting. I feel like I've been running on fumes lately, and I think it's largely because my swashbucklers project has been pretty directionless to date. "Eldorado Adventures" will be a nice sub-project within the project that I can keep relatively self-contained for now (helps me avoid feeling overcome by the scope of it all) and will let me paint something a bit different.

[warrenpeace]

If you are only using small groups of figures for Gloire, just buy quality, in spite of the higher prices.  You'll enjoy painting them and owning them more.  I'm going to buy a couple of packs of the Copplestone Botacudo.  If you space out your purchases, you'll feel less of the financial pain.

Did you buy the El Dorado collection from Foundry?  I have that, but I'm not sure how many years it will be before I paint it.  Too bad about the Foundry price increase :cry: I was just about to send in an order for the last Foundry packs that I though I would ever want before the price increase came, but I couldn't because I'm forced to take a trip to England this summer :cry:

What movies or books are you using for inspiration?  One of the most horrible movies that I have ever watched was about a quest for El Dorado.  The horrible movie was named "Aguirre: Wrath of God" and was directed by Fasbinder.

[PeteMurray]

I've got some Eureka Aztec suit warriors that I'm going to use for a convention game this summer, as well as the Conquistador command. My GW Empire militia thugs will be filling in as the Spanish rank-and-file. I've got nothing but nice things to say about Eurkea's stuff, except that in transportation two of the machuligilipilitigihi club-thingys are breaking and will have to be pinned. No biggie otherwise.

The Brigade Carib Indians are very, very nice. The pictures on the site are old and don't quite do them justice.

[Rhoderic]

I'm leaning towards Brigade on account of the blowpipes. Blowpipes are cool  

As for Foundry, I just ordered a few packs of "Sea Dogs and Swashucklers" (and some pirates, but that's another matter) and I kind of intend for it to be my final purchase from them. I'm not "boycotting" them, I'm just choosing to consider that bridge burnt, to save myself the financial ruin that continuing to be their customer would entail. If they really want to be more "upmarket" than I can afford, then fine, I'll let them.

I haven't really begun looking for sources of inspiration in movies and books yet, so I'll gladly take suggestions on that. There are, however, two things from my childhood that have made me love the notion of Inca-themed adventure ever since. One is a book by German author Karl May, that to the best of my Googling skills seems to be called "Legacy of the Incas" in English ("Das Vermächtnis des Inka", I didn't read it in German though). It's not set in the swashbuckling era, but nevermind that. The other is a French-Japanese saturday morning cartoon called The Mysterious Cities of Gold. I tried ordering the remastered version of it from Japan a couple of years ago so I could relive the magic, but things fouled up, so this expense is on ice for now.

[PeteMurray]

I will come out and confess that I have something of a vested interest in the success of Brigade. Brigade has been endlessly helpful in putting Gloire out, and in taking the risk of launching the Swashbuckler line.

I'm in the same boat as you regarding Foundry and their pricing. If I'm going to pay that kind of price for a miniature, I'd rather give the money to a company that I think respects my business. Plus at this point all the sculptors I like have left Foundry and are running their own shops or work for nice new companies.

I took a anthropology course on native South Americans at one point in school that actually made me less interested in the subject! Fortunately there are always miniatures.

[Plynkes]

Pete should use all his industry clout to get a figure made for us of my former TMP icon and NGSM playing piece, the mummified remains of Rascar Capac:






In repose he'd make a nice terrain piece for a spooky Inca temple, and the animated "dream" version would make a great foe for a more modern Pulp-style game.

As for inspiration, I really enjoyed Peter Shaffer's play "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" when I studied it for English at college. I understand there is a film of it, but haven't seen it so cannot vouch for its "anygoodness." The play is a good read for Inca inspiration, though.

[warrenpeace]

What was that Pixar cartoon movie about a quest for El Dorado?  Can't remember it very well, but perhaps it could provide some inspiration, at least in the humor department.  Have not yet seen that recent movie directed by Mel Gibson.  Will definately have to see it if its out on video.

Those Brigade blowpipe guys would probably make a good group with the Copplestone Amazonian archers, the ones with long hair and loincloths.

I've been satisfied with Foundry.  I once had an AWI pack that my brother had bought for me years ago that was missing General Washington (or was it Greene? ...anyway, a glaring omission).  And there was also a missing figure out of one of the British command packs.  I only noticed this more than two years after my brother bought me two AWI collections for Christmas.  I mentioned it to Foundry, and two full packs arrived promptly at no charge to make up for only two missing figures, in spite of the fact that the collections were purchased years before.  The Foundry guys are also nice on the phone.

On the other hand, I can't really afford to add to my unpainted mountain of Foundry figures at the moment, and I have even sold off a few.  Most of what I have was purchased during various "Special" deals where the per figure price was between $1.50 and $2.00.  I'm going to scour the racks of vendors at conventions to try and acquire the last few packs that I want.

Brigade is good, and the people there are very nice.  However, if I ever order from them again I will first make sure that Brigade actually has in stock the advertised items that I want.  I don't like ordering from Brigade, finding out that the item isn't in stock, and then waiting for months with no idea whether Brigade is ever going to stock those items and send them along, in spite of subsequent unanswered email enquiries.

[Rhoderic]

Found another source of (real) Incas. They're old Ral Partha Historicals from IWM. They also have Aztecs and Conquistadors, but mostly I'm happy to see that Foundry aren't the only makers of Incas out there (that severe an underrepresentation of such a cool people would have been downright criminal).

I've seen that Pixar movie a couple of times. It's the one that ripped off the storyline from The Man Who Would Be King, right? As I recall, it was a fairly nice flick.

I will agree that Foundry's service is quite good. I once got a pack of Valkyries that had duplicates of one figure and none of another, and when I e-mailed them about it, they dug up the matching mispack (the one that had duplicates of the one I was missing) and sent it to me. But the prices and the shipping for small orders are back-breakers. I might buy from them again if they do another free shipping deal like they had sometime last year.

[PeteMurray]

The Ral Partha/Ironwind stuff is a little smaller than present day designs, but they're very pretty and you can't go wrong.

Brigade has had issues with some of their imported lines, because in some cases the company set up a US operation and didn't let Brigade know. I'm sorry you've had issues with them...

[Hammers]

Pete should use all his industry clout to get a figure made for us of my former TMP icon and NGSM playing piece, the mummified remains of Rascar Capac:

You just *had* to include that picture, didn't you? I've been doing OK for the last 25 years and now the nightmares will come again!