Gripping Beast new plastic Dark Age Archers

[Maxromek]

Captain Blood - yeah, I recently went back to buying metals because after getting some GB plastic vikings and plastic DA warriors, none of the other plastic kits on the market satisfies me in terms of poses. They are either relatively non-customizable (new GBs) or hard to make look good (Conquest, Fireforge). I got some Perry's AO and WotR knights for fun and these are like night and day compared to the rest in terms of anatomy and realistic poses.

The only recent set, were the lack of distinct static poses didn't really bother me was the GB Late Romans, as these should be more of a "regimented" type of troops. And archers in that set still look a bit better than these new ones, at least more dynamic.

One little tidbit, on their fanpage it says that these will be sold in units of 12 with SAGA bases and in units of 30 with Swordpoint bases. The 12 plastics per pack idea may be interesting, but if they gonna charge us the standard 22 quid for 30 models, instead their regular 40-44... I'm gonna flip something.

Hopefully this will become moot and they will release a quality product. Hopefully.

[NurgleHH]

I agree with Captain Blood. I think these figures were made for people playing mass battles, not for skirmish players. They often look for "cheap" figures and accept a mid-quality. GB is for me an example for just low to medium quality.

I also agree with Rui. It would've nice to get more terrain and "exotic" stuff in plastic.

[Maxromek]

Guys, the new plastic Fireforge Scandinavians just got a painted picture as well and compared to archers over there, these look crisp as hell.

[Harry Faversham]

He looks like a refugee from the planet of the apes!!!

 

[rumacara]

 

[Coenus Scaldingus]

Potential lack of options is quite a pity, and the moulded-on left arms/hands won't allow easy conversions either. Should be able to get more variation in by swapping heads with the unarmoured warriors or armoured Saxons/Vikings, but just three poses would be a new low. That said, I may well get a few of them - but not nearly as many as I have of the unarmoured warriors, which could so easily be combined with parts from several other sets to create all manner of generic troops.

[Leigh Metford]

Yes, they all have an undeniably simian quality - but then, most of the heads in the DA Warriors set look like refugees from the retirement home. No doubt they're based on friends of the (veteran) sculptor.

[cram]

Harry don't pick on the ginger fella, it's not his fault how he turned out! 

Their ok but no where near as good as the plastics Perry are knocking out, and the Imperial Romans and Celts of Victrix. That stuff really gets my attention!

Hope the plastic Goths GB have planned turn out to be one of their better sets.

[Cubs]

The paintjob doesn't help them in close-up photography, but I guess if they're cheap and they're meant to bulk out a big force, they'll do the job.

What gets me is how old they look. I mean, they are so similar to the old Perry one-piece plastic GW Bretonnian archers I had to double-check they weren't converted from them! It looks like something from 30-odd years ago - not awful, just very basic, with a very basic style of sculpting, posing and casting. Unless you're buying a lot for quick, cheap unit building, I don't see the appeal.

[westwaller]

They are rather reminiscent of those Bretonnian archers from the 90s aren't they? Except they were better...

Although the one with the kettle hat was the worst of the set.

[Sir_Theo]

In theory headswaps wouldn't be too hard to do. If the twelve man sets are cheap I'd consider doing that I guess. Fugly is the word that comes to mind though.

[Nord]

Maybe they are trying to cash in on the retro love that many gamers have. 

Mediocre is probably too kind a word for these, shame to say. I have pretty much given up looking for decent sculpts of dark ages figures. Drabant Miniatures are okay, I have quite a few of these. V&V look really nice, but more expensive. All the rest are average or worse (to my eye). I have gone back to collecting and painting fantasy and sci-fi, the sculpts available just pee all over this lot. It's a real lost opportunity, Saga and Lion Rampant have been big the past few years and look set to continue being popular.

[Captain Blood]

As it is they look like they've all got a bad case of heart burn.

It looks like something from 30-odd years ago - not awful, just very basic, with a very basic style of sculpting, posing and casting.

Indeed. Feels like quite a step back.
But as you say, as a cheap (or not so cheap) and cheerful unit builder for the not-so-discerning... People that are all about the game and not about the miniatures, terrain etc. Maybe that's the target market.
Judging from the majority of comments here, there must be a market that isn't the likes of us 

The strange thing is, Gripping Beast's race to the bottom with their plastics (how little can we get away with including? And never mind if they're a bit crude and basic), feels so at odds with what Gripping Beast always used to stand for: The most beautiful and wonderfully painted figures on their trade stand, and the loveliest table tops for their big display games at Salute and other shows.
But over the last couple of years they've switched to producing these low grade plastic figure sets, where they seem to be saying 'Don't worry too much about the asthetics - just get numbers of troops quickly onto the table.'

Maybe GB's adventures in rules-led land, first with Saga, now with Swordpoint, have brought about this change of focus as to 'what matters'. They have a business to run after all.

Pity.

[Arlequín]

But as you say, as a cheap (or not so cheap) and cheerful unit builder for the not-so-discerning... People that are all about the game and not about the miniatures, terrain etc. Maybe that's the target market.

I'm not sure they'd be a hit with the 15mm crowd. 

I think that the potential of plastics was and is intended to be cheap and cheerful, the Perrys have spoiled us. A low number of poses, less time spent on 'sculpting' and few additional options, optimises the profit margin too.

[rumacara]

Indeed and like me Nervisfr and Captain Blood just to mention very few, we like to convert figures.
The main advantage appart from the price of course is the extras that come on the plastic boxes that allows us to optimise and personalize our miniatures. The decreasing quality and the reduction of extras on the plastic boxes means the interest in them might decrease a lot by a generic and not so small number of us.
The market is always changing and the manufacturers cannot reach every tastes and opinions but the high quality that plastics bought to us means that a decrease in it is not welcome anymore.
I think that for a new gamer as well as a veteran, existing manufacturers with a diferent degree in quality means people will influence the period/theme of the games and might decrease the popularity in some games/periods/themes as well.
This is something manufacturers should start worring before launching a new box.