Well, since you ask...
It’s probably unfair but I can’t really avoid comparing the two sets. The Perry box is cheaper by the way, but I can't really see any dimension on which the Fireforge product compares favourably.
They’re not bad – certainly no worse than many metal figures out there. They're just slightly clunky-looking. But I'm guessing they'll take paint very well, which is a positive.
Also on the plus side...
Quality of casting is mostly good. There’s not too much in the way of mould lines, although quite a lot on the lances for some reason. But easily scraped away with a sharp blade.
The unbarded horse bodies are well done. Good musculature and great attention to the detail of the tack. I like the separate tails too – although not the weirdly jagged-looking fronds on the barded horses frame. The tails on the new un-barded horses frame are much better.
There’s a generous choice of shield shapes. Some have the arms moulded on, and then there are some separate shield arms, which makes for a bit more flexibility. I like several of the heads, although for Templars, I was hoping for a few great helms. Still, I suppose they did those with the Teutonic Knights...
On the minus side...
Because the riders are designed to wear cloaks, the separate heads have a very obvious join onto the neck. I don’t like the cloaks because they look implausibly rigid. But if I don’t use the cloak, the back of the head and neck looks weird. It's supposed to be a mail coif and look like one piece. It doesn't. I suppose I could fill it and remodel it, but given that the cloaks are optional, I shouldn't have to fill it. It's a design flaw.
There’s a wide choice of weapons arms in different poses. Unfortunately none of them look natural, and several look oddly stiff. Many of the weapons are outsized - GW fantasy style. They just don’t look real or proportionate. The morning star in particular is ludicrously huge – as big as the man wielding it. About the size of The Witch-King of Angmar's.
The horses are let down by the way the head sits on the shoulder. Either the shoulders are too wide, or the neck is too narrow (I think the barded horses are indeed too wide and barrel-like in the chest) – but there’s a very definite and peculiar-looking ‘step’ around the base of the neck when you sit it on the shoulders. Looks wrong.
The horses’ heads and necks look very 'sculpted' - reminiscent of a knight chess piece. The musculature on the horse bodies is very natural and well done. The musculature on the neck looks fake. Pity.
Overall, a lot of the sculpted detail looks 'soft'. Where the detail on the Perry WOTR sets is sharp and well defined (perhaps slightly less so on the Mercenaries set), here there are areas which I can only describe as 'mushy'. There are also a few rogue 'undercuts' here and there (is that the right word?) where there is no moulding at all. Just a blank wall of plastic. Particularly noticeable on the caparisoned horses.
I really want to like these, and I waited for this set because I thought Fireforge would have learned from the Teutonic knights set, and come up with a refined product second time round. But my sense is they like the slightly cartoony, Warhammer look and they aren’t going to change it. The figures aren’t bad at all, and I will reserve final judgement until I’ve painted a couple. But where the Perry figures look like real little people, the Fireforge figures are caricatures.
I’ve looked to see what I can do creatively with them, and the answer is – not much. The components only really fit together in one way. It’s difficult to put my finger on it, but where the Perry set(s) offer almost endless potential for customisation, these Fireforge knights don’t. Fair enough I guess, because most people probably just want to build them as the makers intended. But to me, they great pleasure and opportunity of the new wave of 28mm plastic figure modelling is the chance to make up endlessly unique figures. And I'm struggling to see how you would do that with these.
Bear in mind though, that I'm probably an unusually tough critic. I'm sure many people will take these at face value and be very happy with them.
01 June 2012, 02:52:46 PM
