Mixing the plastic companies - Any experience?

[NurgleHH]

Now there are several sets of plastic. Has anyone here experience with mixing them? Which fit and which not?

[Engel]

I do this all the time. Its highly recomended.
You can create some truly uniqie miniatures, greater variations and adds flavour.

What you need to look out for is how they have solved the head and arm attachments.

Some companies have the neck on the head piece and some have it on the torso piece. It can be solved with some extra plastic pieces and greenstuff.

I finally found a way of using all those horrid arms from Wargames Factory you get, cut down to be used as necks...  


Anything is possiple but some solutions takes more times.

Please look at my Medieval Scandinavian or Crusade projects threads here on LAF for further inspirations.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=58771.0

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=59977.0

[myincubliss]

I've happily mixed Gripping Beast, Perry and Fireforge with no trouble in my Song Of Ice and Fire conversions, with only a little shaving or gap filling here and there!

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I have put Fireforge Crusader arms on Perry WOTR bodies and vice versa.

There are some examples here - half way down - 130601 and 130526

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31905569@N05/

[Captain Blood]

Dirk, I would say they all the main manufacturers are broadly compatible in size, as you can see from my Game of Thrones thread, where I've intermixed parts from Perry, Fireforge, Warlord and Gripping Beast. The original Perry Wars of the Roses figures are a very tiny bit smaller in stature than the others, but the more recent sets (Foot Knights) are taller, and the Agincourt to Orleans set is taller again. But all the parts can be intermixed perfectly well. You wouldn't really notice any difference in sizes.

What is different, is the style of the figures. For my money:

The Perry medievals are far out in front for quality, number and variety of components per box, and 'naturalness' of poses and anatomy. They are just a superior product to all the rest.
Fireforge - I don't dislike the figures. The infantry bodies are pretty good and very versatile for generic medieval types. The shields and assorted great helms are all very nice, as are the crossbows and most of the cloaks. What I don't like about Fireforge medievals are the cartoony faces under the kettle hats and open faced helmets, the GW-style ludicrously outsized hand weapons, and the horses heads which look like skulls.
Gripping Beast (Vikings, Saxons, etc) - I don't dislike these figures either, although they again tend towards the cartoony in the heads department. And I'm not keen on how they've done some of the mail - the sleeves in particular can look a bit odd. Overall though, pretty good.
Warlord - to be fair I've only got the Celts set. Again, slightly cartoony, and the arms come joined to the torsos, so a bit less flexibility. What I notice though, is that wherever I've used components from this set - they actually look really good on the finished product, which I think tells you something.

But they're all pretty easily interchangeable.

[HerbyF]

I put the arms from a Warlord ECW figure on a Perry Madist figure. Matched up nicely. 

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

As far as my experience goes, the only ones that will take a bit of work when kit-bashing are the Wargames Factory and Conquest figures.

Most manufacturers integrate the neck onto the top of the torso, and heads are separate, making them interchangeable.  WGF's heads have a neck ending in a ball, and a socket on the torso, so if putting WGF heads on most bodies, you'll need to trim the neck off, and if putting other heads on WGF bodies you'll need to build a neck up from plastic bits and/or greenstuff.

Conquest's Normans have necks attached to the heads, as well, but rather than a ball-and-socket they opted for a flat join, probably especially due to the nature of the figures' attire, many of whom are wearing hoods or mail hoods under their helmets.  Again, if putting another manufacturer's head on a Conquest body, you'll just need to build the neck up.  If putting a Conquest head on a pother manufacturer's body, I might suggest cutting or shaving the neck away from the body rare than from the neck, though.

I've found that Warlord and GB are the most easily interchangeable, but with relatively minimal effort, any of them can work together.

[Captain Blood]

I put the arms from a Warlord ECW figure on a Perry Madist figure. Matched up nicely. 

Good point. The figures I've converted amongst the ones I like the best, are where I've added Perry Ansar and Zouave heads onto medieval bodies.
So it's very much worth scavenging for parts outside the Dark Age / Medieval sets.

[rumacara]

In my opinion, basically its a matter of finding the ideal combinations or what suits our goal and some cutting.
If you add some green stuff to disguise some gaps so much the better but sometimes its not needed.

Viking converted from a GB head and sword arm, rest is a Warlord celt. No green stuff added.
2 man at arms both with Conquest norman heads and one is a GB dark ages warrior and the other is a Fireforge sergeant.

[EndTransmission]

Agreed on the recommendation to go outside the period you are looking at. I've been using hands and heads from the Warlord British Commandos set on Perry WotR to great effect. They add a bit more variety to things.