*Update 8: painted continentals* WGF AWI range!

[General Lee]

WGF have just announced that the first of six boxes in their new range will be AWI British infantry. huzzah!

[jazbo]

Why on earth have they done those?

Going up against the Perries who already produce beautiful metals and plastics for this period.

A war they simply can't ever win in the long run.  Which is ironic considering the conflict they are for.

[General Lee]

Why on earth have they done those?

Going up against the Perries who already produce beautiful metals and plastics for this period.

A war they simply can't ever win in the long run.  Which is ironic considering the conflict they are for.

because it's a free world?  and the quality of their recent output is very very good

[Captain Blood]

Why on earth have they done those?

Going up against the Perries who already produce beautiful metals and plastics for this period.

True.

because it's a free world? 

Also true 

My money however, is on the Perrys.
Not only will the Perry figures probably be better (let's face it, however much WF have improved, Perrys are the best), but the Perrys product is already out there, so surely most people who would be tempted by AWI in plastic would already have bought in?

Of course, there's nothing wrong with some extra choice though 

[General Lee]

I say mix them up, if that's possible. I have used heads from WF plastics on Perry Plastics. and yes, the Perry's are the best in the business, but WF have ten times as many followers on Facebook than the Perry brothers have. I think they this range can be quite succesful. The figures are produced by the same company as the Dreamforge plastics

[Captain Blood]

yes, the Perry's are the best in the business, but WF have ten times as many followers on Facebook than the Perry brothers have.

Well I'm not sure that's any real measure of popularity...
The Perrys hardly engage at all with social media, forums and so on. The occasional announcement on TMP, and that's about it. They're relative newcomers to FB.
WF seem an altogether more commercially orientated outfit, and have probably been boosting their business via social media for a lot longer.
Also worth pointing out, that WF is an American company and - for understandable reasons - American wargames companies tend to have large and loyal followings in the USA - whatever the product is like (see Old Glory).
(Sorry, I know that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation, but broadly true I think )

Anyway, as you say, mix and match is a model I definitely subscribe to.
Interested to see what these are like, since I'm certainly tempted by the new Perry continentals.

[juergen c. olk]

I have noticed a lot of chatter about this on other sited also. Personaly I like choice,I don't do plastics due to time constraints w/ my job,but the flip side would be people complaining why there isn't a choice. I am just glad the company is still doing well. I don't know how many times I have bought figures just to hedge my bet in case they go out of business. Anyway the more the merrier.

[General Lee]

Also worth pointing out, that WF is an American company and - for understandable reasons - American wargames companies tend to have large and loyal followings in the USA - whatever the product is like (see Old Glory).
(Sorry, I know that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation, but broadly true I think 

That was my idea as well, but on the WGF forum, the people behind the screens said they were more or less Chinese as well (the figures are produced by a Chinese company that is)

[westphalia]

Please God, no bug eyes.  Please.

I tried to follow the thread on the WF forum announcing the new range, but got thoroughly irritated with the whole "build-a-puzzle/I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-what-the-other-five-boxes-are" nonsense.  Life's too short.

I almost ordered three boxes of Perry Brits last week, but held back, so I'm glad WF is going this direction.  Why it's not SYW is beyond me entirely, but WF's cheap prices will certainly encourage me to take the plunge.  I was using their WSS for my Imagi-nation project, but this might prove a better route.  I tend to like latter-18th century uniforms better than earlier ones, and if WF really is planning to use some of those six boxes for cavalry (I'd offer one, at most), then we're set.

We're in a Golden Age for modellers and those given to conversions.  Delightful. 

[Elbows]

I say good for them.  While they may not be the "best" of most genres/eras...WF is what we should all look for in a company (well, the current iteration).  Quality modular kits at a very reasonable cost.  If these are like other ranges you'll be getting heaps of parts, plenty of figures for dirt cheap monies.  They easily put out a better product than say Warlord who everyone seems to like.

Their Samurai range is quite good, Hoplites are very nice, WSS are great (excluding the infantry which are boring but have some beautiful parts on the sprues for kit bashing), WW2 are very reasonable, Zombie survivors are cool, Dreamforge kits are really great, etc.  If it's the usual WF scale/value you'll probably get 30 multi-pose figures for 10 pounds...that's good news in my book, and I don't even game the era.

[carlos marighela]

I think it's welcome news on a number of fronts.

1) WF have improved leaps and bounds. Dare I say it but their recent WW2 stuff is pretty much on par with Perry.

2) Based on past practice, the figures will be cheaper than Perry.

3) Wider distribution means more readily accessoble in hobby shops. At least that appears to be true in Australia.

4) Judging by the box art, these are aimed at early war, with long coat tails. This will be useful not only for people wanting to game Lexington, Bunker Hill etc but also those whose interests run to out of theater scenarios like Gibraltar. The Perry plastics and metals are all in cut down campaign coats. In one sense these aren't competing with Perry but complementing them, at least if my interpretation of the picture is correct.

5) With a little conversion these will make Portuguese for the period a viable and relatively cheap proposition.

6) The continued success of WF must be giving Tony Reidy an ulcer. Given his business history, that should be reason enough to buy a couple of packs.  

[Romark]

Six boxes ! Any speculation on what they will be, Hessians as well perhaps ?

[carlos marighela]

Minutemen/ militia would make sense. They are bounfpd to make Continental Regulars and aerillery for both.

[robh]

... and yes, the Perry's are the best in the business...

Depends if you like their big head and hand style (even if less extremely so than Artizan and such).  Matter of personal choice.

The WF figures will be anatomically more accurate as all their decent (..post Reidy) figures have been which IMHO is a very good thing. Also these are likely to be poses that are more dynamic and open to conversion.
I am not an AWI gamer currently having sold my 15mm's some years ago, but these are more likely to make me consider doing something in the era than the Perry offerings.

[tomek917]

...their big head and hand style...

Really? Are we talking about the same miniatures here?

I have not been impressed by any WF sets so far and will not get my hopes up for this one either. But would like to be proven wrong though!