I would think that the majority of you by now will have seen or heard the announcement of Warlord Games new ‘Epic’ scale ACW their journey into plastic small scale figures to provide a variant for playing Black Powder games.
Two things seem to have upset a number of gamers. The first is the size of the figures 13.5mm from top of base to eye ( 15mm to top of head) the second is the size of the bases 60mmx20mm on top of that there are then the moaners who want more variety of position, uniform etc etc.
To be honest I’ve grown quite tired of the moaners and skip over, my usual thinking is if you don’t like it move on, why they need to go on a rant and try and drive their negativity home because it’s not what they want defeats me.
I’m not a fan of Warlord Games but some of their stuff is good and they have brought people into historical gaming. This foray into small scale gaming in plastic I feel should be applauded.
John Stallard does a Q and A on you tube about this and I guess the bottom line is it’s his project and he can do what he wants and if it doesn’t sell there will be no more and if it does there are hints about Napoleonic and Ancients! Bearing in mind the Warlord shopping cart ‘broke’ due to demand on day 1then initial demand seems high.
Anyway you get a free sprue with Wargmes Illustrated and of course the butterfly in me couldn’t resist
There are 10 strips of infantry ( 100 figures) a mounted Officer and an artillery piece with crew on each frame- it’s taken me around 9 hours to paint this little lot, they’re more detailed than I anticipated and I think I could knock quite a bit of time off if I wasn’t so finicky on painting all the detail and if I used more washes ( contrast paints possibly) overall I’m quite pleased.
The cost works out somewhere between 3p-4p per figure. In many ways 15mm figure manufacturers should be quite pleased they're not more compatible otherwise I think these chaps would pose a serious threat. Something I think the moaners overlook.
My local store is selling the starter sets for £72 that’s 2400 infantry, 24 artillery pieces and 24 officers and for those that don’t want to paint then they come in blue and grey plastic ( sacrilege ) Personally I hope this system works for Warlord. The units look impressive and if it was Napoleonic it would be awesome.
Finally I mentioned gamers moaning about bases sizes, most of the rules I play use bases, I would just count one of these as two that way ground scale isn’t affected but of course some people don’t want to do that!
Have a Happy New Year, keep safe and hopefully see/hear from most of you in 2021.
15 comments:
60x20 would be a nice size base for Altar of Freedom and if I didn't already have a load of 6mm stuff I would be sorely tempted by these
They look the part Graham...
Very nice indeed....
I remember the gripes about Alan and Michaels TravelBattle... apparently the figures were the wrong scale as well...
Yes the uniforms have been simplified so they can be produced using the same frame for each side.... tooling plastics isn’t cheap.
Oh! And damn near a whole army in one box with available relatively simple rules... how dare they.... I would rather try and scrape everything together from a dozen or so manufacturers....
They actually remind me of the good old Airfix ACW figures so I quite like them... and they have got me thinking about ACW so no bad thing really...
All the best. Aly
Graham, fully agree. I see this as being the biggest innovation in wargaming since 2008, when the Perry’s brought plastics to historical gaming and it has been transformational. Now we see Warlord Games, Victrix and Plastic Soldier Company each getting involved with plastic manufacture in the smaller scales.
If nothing else, I hope this venture makes our wargame mags and wargame shows a bit less 28mm centric, bringing a bit of scale diversity that better represent the overall community.
Best wushes for the New Year.
Bill,
Haven’t tried Altar of Freedom but I’m more than happy to tweak rules etc to give me what I want.
Aly,
You know better than me re the costs involved for tooling etc and most gamers are oblivious and just want everything. I fully agree re Airfix when painting these it was like getting all the best bits out of the Airfix box and sometimes simplicity has its own attractions- I’m more than happy with what they’ve done and can see me dabbling.
Norm
Fully agree with everything you’ve said- I like the spectacle of my 28’s but the smaller scales offer a lot more potential for battles looking like battles, And yes now one of the big boys is getting behind small scale historical ( other than WWII) then I think we will start to see some diversity in the magazines and the shows.
They look pretty darn good to my eyes! Not my period, of course, but I might get very excited if Napoleonics make an appearance.
Best Regards,
Stokes
The figures look nice to me. It looks like you get lots of figures for the money.
I think the key thing here Graham is the incredibly low cost per figure and the mass effect of the units, yours look excellent of course :) Some will always moan but what a great way to get into a new period and the ACW has always been right up there a popular starter periods. It's a game changer for anyone looking to get into the hobby and I think that's where warlord are pitching in here, the US market for ACW figures is huge.
I'll be grabbing the free sprue over the weekend to see what I can do with it too :)
Lee.
Jim,
A Brigade box is 3 spruces so 300 infantry 3 Officers and 3 guns for less than £20 - my local store is offering the box at £16 so around 5p a figure, cheaper if you buy the starter box 2400 infantry ,24 guns, 24 Officers and terrain for £72 at my store that’s less than 3p a figure!
Lee,
Fully agree with your comments and I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do. I think the mag is due in Smiths on the 4th? Just started on the next sprue ( I managed to get a second) as the Rebs
I really hope this works for WLG not so much because it’s ACW but what it will bring in the future
They are nice figures and if I didn't have ACW in 20mm I might be tempted , but I think my days of painting -15mm figures are over so I'll pass.
Agree wholeheartedly with your comments Graham. People are very quick to have a crack at anything different yet often are the same individuals who bring very little to the table literally in Wargames terms.
I like them and the remind me of The Battle of the Five Armies plastic figures. As a concept test they are perfect, two sides so closely similarly attired that in 15mm or smaller it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE 😆
Shoulder to shoulder means they can be manufactured (or printed.....?? Now there's an idea Mr C!) as a single piece and the denseness of the formation represented. I hope they do well. Look forward to seeing some games when you're ready.
Not a fan. Of no interest. Not my period. Still they are quite nicely modelled and I can see the commercial ity in doing it. If you want my sprue pm me your address.
Yup, works well for big games , non of this skirmish malarkey .Good on then trying it. As you say the market will decide . I am already too invested in 10mm ACW . let’s see how this goes .
HNY!
I agree with you Graham and was sorely tempted to delve further than the sprue but common sense prevailed as I still have mountains of 18th century to paint and did the ACW to death in 6mm already. What a wonderful time to enter the hobby with these available though. Naps will be difficult to resist!!!!!!!
Chris
Look Good, Ive got a load of old AB (battle hons) 15mm ACW that need bulking out but not at AB costs!(as lovely as the figures are) Have you a sense of how they compare to 15mm (True 15mm) Thanks Rupert
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