Perry British Colonial Plastics

[Phyllion]

For those that weren't at Salute and haven't heard already, there was a (not entirely unexpected) reveal of new colonial sets by the Perrys:


 

[Dewbakuk]

Two in fact as they're different uniforms

[RedRowan]

They look very nice, I wonder if we will see plastic Afghan's or Zulu's at some point? Plastic Afghan tribesmen would be awesome but I'd be just as happy to see Zulu's I think.

Steve

[Kommando_J]

True, which somewhat confuses me, warlord already do a plastic kit for the anglo-zulu war/1st Boer war. I can see the new kit becoming very popular once tmhwbk's and the black powder afghan war supplement are out.

Also redrowan, plastic zulu's already exist, wargames factory do a set and warlord do a better set.

[RedRowan]

Also redrowan, plastic zulu's already exist, wargames factory do a set and warlord do a better set.

Not a fan of either of those, would much prefer to see something from the twins. 

Steve

[Sparrow]

Interesting and I hope they do well for the twins. One thing puzzles me though. The key with plastics is to sell in bulk.

The design of the sprue and the cost of bringng to the market is normally very high. It is therefore very important that the figures sell in bulk. In Colonial wargaming the one thing you don't need huge numbers of is regular European infantry? I can see the logic for Napoleonic or ACW infantry and cavalry in plastic given the large numbers needed. I can see the need for Romans and Celts etc in plastic. But colonial infantry? Perhaps I'm missing the point (very likely   ) but I don't see it myself? Would they not be better off looking at other areas in plastic (Seven Years War, Marlborough, Peninsular War Portuguese and Spanish, pre 1812 French etc?).

Still, good luck Perry Twins with this. I hope it works.

[Kommando_J]

Interesting and I hope they do well for the twins. One thing puzzles me though. The key with plastics is to sell in bulk.

The design of the sprue and the cost of bringng to the market is normally very high. It is therefore very important that the figures sell in bulk. In Colonial wargaming the one thing you don't need huge numbers of is regular European infantry? I can see the logic for Napoleonic or ACW infantry and cavalry in plastic given the large numbers needed. I can see the need for Romans and Celts etc in plastic. But colonial infantry? Perhaps I'm missing the point (very likely  ) but I don't see it myself? Would they not be better off looking at other ares in plastic (Seven Years War, Marlborough, Peninsular War Portuguese and Spanish, pre 1812 French etc?).

Still, good luck Perry Twins with this. I hope it works.

All very true points, if you look at the sudan wars (which seem to be rising in prominence these days) you'll see plenty of British regulars of different stripe, personally if they come in a box of say 40 i'll use half for one thing and say half for the men who would be kings.

[RedRowan]

They have some better preview images up on the workbench page now.





Really do like the first figure. Wondering if a 2nd Afghan War range is a possibility now.

Steve

[guitarheroandy]

Love 'em!! Colonial gamers are gonna have so much more choice now with these added to an increasingly varied mix and GREAT to see more for the Afghan War/NW Frontier. We now need plastic Pathans... 

[sjwalker51]

Yes, another vote for plastic Pathans please.

[Leigh Metford]

All your points are valid, Sparrow. I strongly suspect that this wouldn't be happening were it not for the impending release of TMWWBK and the sales figures for anything bearing the name Dan Mersey that Osprey publishes.

[Admiral Alder]

Sparrow-

True, the key to plastics is to sell in bulk, but it doesn't have to all be to the same person. British colonials are probably one of the most versatile forces, and can be used against such a range of opposition, that they can guarantee that people will find a use for 1 box, whereas Afghans or Zulus are only useful for well, either Afghanistan or Zululand.

[Dr Mathias]

I thought that a plastic opposing force for the Sudan Ansar would show up eventually, Anglo-Zulu is a bit of a surprise. That's pretty well accounted for although I'm sure Perry plastic Brits and Zulus would beat the competitors. There's some things I like about WGF's and Warlord's kits but each one has its flaws.

[HerbyF]

I would really like to see the Perry twin do some Afgans. I have their plastic Mahdist Ansar - Sudanese Tribesmen. I have also used half a box of their American Civil War Zouaves to make my  Tirailleurs Algerien unit.

[guitarheroandy]

All your points are valid, Sparrow. I strongly suspect that this wouldn't be happening were it not for the impending release of TMWWBK and the sales figures for anything bearing the name Dan Mersey that Osprey publishes.

While I'm sure that Dan will be cock-a-hoop about your kind observation about the (IMHO well-deserved) selling power of his rules, I think it goes a bit beyond just that.

There are a number of new Colonial rulesets out there or pending at the moment - TMWWBK, Victorian Steel, the new Black Powder Sudan supplement, that new Congo thingy, for example (ok, perhaps not all of those are to everyone's taste). Manufacturers are therefore producing superb new metal ranges (Artizan NWF; Iron Diuke Indian Mutiny, etc)... The period is undergoing a bit of a renaissance at the moment, which is just great.

Why wouldn't the Perrys, widely regarded as one of the best manufacturers out there, maximise their sales by releasing a new high quality plastic set to tempt us with? From what I can see of these new WIPs, they are absolutely superb. I wish they'd been out a year or so ago when I started buying other models to 'sub in' for 1880s NWF, which, at the time, was very limited as a period catered for in 28mm models...