As suggested by Hordini. Note, it says miniatures not rules/paints/anything else!

I really like the FW Elysains the best. IMHO they just look the part. I have a 2000pt Army of them.

FW and Privateer Press, some awseome models there! Not too keen on the GW ones, can think of ways to make them much cooler but some of the Fw stuff is amazing, as is PP

Ral Partha.

GW, FW, PP and another company known as Mantic Games.

Games Workshop does a nice job on their minis for sure. It's just the cost, rules and mentality that causes so much contention. Forgeworld releases a great product, but on a basis of disliking resin for converting and painting, and the unholy cost after conversion to USD is factored, GW wins my vote.

I am surprised there is no spot for Reaper up there. Theyre my favorite because they have high quality figs and very low prices compared to other manufacturers.

I'll second Scotty's vote for Reaper, they're my favorites as well

I do like the DP9 minis, but I do some work for them, so I admit a bias...

Others for me include - Crusader, Gripping Beast, Bolt Action, Artizan.

The first miniatures I bought about 20 years ago were Grenadier and Ral Partha after a friend gave me a set of Grenadier Knights as a gift. When I discovered GW shortly thereafter at what was their only store in the US at the time I was immediately struck by the difference in style and totally hooked. Within a couple years I stopped buying Grenadier and Ral Partha and went pretty much exclusively GW. I guess a lot of others did too because Ral Partha and Grenadier got crushed by GW. Most miniatures buyers today have never even heard of those companies and Ral Partha had the contract to do D&D minis with TSR all those years ago. Clearly, GW had the superior marketing model as well as great models to sell.

Over the past few years a lot of competition for GW has sprung up and some of it has already gone. Confrontation, War Machine, etc. have or have had their audience, but none of the miniatures for those have ever caught my eye like GW models. I just never cared for them. I rarely see minis by other companies that have even close to the same visual appeal for me and GW remains my favorite miniatures company.

The results of this poll are somewhat unsurprising.

I would say reaper beats GW on any thing they have direct comparisons to. Price and style of fantasy style minis are much better with them. I sort of wish that reaper went ahead and made a game system that could actually compete with the big boys. As it is I'll just use it for D&D uses.

notabot187 wrote:I would say reaper beats GW on any thing they have direct comparisons to. Price and style of fantasy style minis are much better with them. I sort of wish that reaper went ahead and made a game system that could actually compete with the big boys. As it is I'll just use it for D&D uses.

Warlord is actually a lot of fun. I dont think it will ever be big enough to compete with the big ones but its definitely worth a try.

GW is really the only one I have had much experience with. I have seen a few Forgeworld models and didn't really like them. I also don't like Forgeworld because of the delicacy of resin.

Reaper, followed by GW.

GW, Gamezone and the former Rackham metal models.

Forge World. It's an addiction that despite price I can't help but keep coming back too. Plus I love their Leman Russ turrets, beat the GW ones hands down.

Another +1 from reaper. I live close enough to actually visit their Texas location and their models are very nice and definitely very reasonably priced.

Reaper for cool and cheap characters, I´m using mummies from Warlord rather than GW´s ones.

Infinity for their anime yet realistic looking figures. GW could take a couple pointers here and if we are talking about Striking Scorpions and only that GW for the Predator 4th Edition ones.

M.

Grenadier Productions and Campaign Game Miniatures are a couple of my favorites.

and Victrix too!

Otto
noizehive.blogspot.com

I think that my very favorite might be Avatars of War, but Avatars isn't terribly big yet.

They make absolutely brilliant sculpts that work great as heroes for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

Hasslefree, for just minis. GW for gaming minis.

I haven't seen much by some of the companies listed, so my votes, while somewhat typical, are not fully informed.

I really love Forge World stuff. One of these days, my income will allow me to add some of it to my armies. I'm also a fan of Privateer Press's stuff. The paint scheme they chose for the Retribution was off, but the models are interesting.

GW and FW, probably due primarily to my exclusive (albeit limited) experience with 40K. While not every single GW model is a winner, there's so much good stuff which FW can augment wonderfully, if you have money on top of money (which I, sadly, do not). I've seen great minis from tons of different companies of various sizes and popularity (I've seen a number of Warjacks that I thought looked fantastic), but for every awesome pose and clean, detailed sculpt, there's a dozen misshapen blobs of mystery material that are supposed to resemble... something which they do not. Whether due to genuine preference, ignorance, or a mix of the two, I vote GW and FW.

1. GW: Plastic regiment boxes are made of win.
2. Reaper: My favorite source of affordable yet attractive character figs.

mithril minitures there not around anymore but there stuff is fantastic especially the lotr range they did

Cipher!

I vote for Reaper as well. I also like the Helldorado line.

I'd vote for REAPER too, the female figs I bought from them is of very good quality compared to the female figs of GW.

I voted FW, they offer high quality and very detailed products in my honest opinion. GW is tided due to the extent of there ranges, no other company offers as many armies and races and with there extensive plastics conversions are easy making custom looking armies easy to make.

GW, as I haven't heard of most of them before.

@ Salted Diamond
2000pt Army of Elysians?
Wow! So what's your secret for winning the Lottery?


I've got to admit though, the FW stuff is incredible, easily my favourite!
Had a bit of a crush on the Elysians since they came out, but way over priced for me, and I can see the appeal of the Death Korps, even if they're not really to my taste.

Shocking, and disturbing at the same time.....well, at least within the confines of this forum, it seems GW is king of the hill.....that either says alot for their PR engine, or very little for the tastes of most gamers who voted.

I was surprised that a couple of people hadn't even heard of most of the companies, and yet seem to vote GW anyway.....wouldn't it have made sense to investigate the others and THEN vote?

Still to each his own......

They aren't on the list, but Wargames Foundry has a massive range of nicely sculpted stuff. The Perry twins do/have done work for them. I believe the owner was one of the founders of Citadel minis way back when. Their fantasy range is a bit...meh...but the historicals are amazing.

I could never vote for Old n'Gory. Too many horrid Gorilla arm ACW figures out there with the head of Shaggy from Scooby-doo. Their old command decision range had nice vehicles, but the minis all had Brazil Nut shaped heads and impossible flash lines.

Shocking, and disturbing at the same time.....well, at least within the confines of this forum, it seems GW is king of the hill.....

I don't find the poll results or comments here shocking or disturbing at all.

First of all, this forum is primarily devoted to GW products, so there's no surprise or shock in finding that the devoted fans that frequent this forum are extremely fond of GW miniatures.

Second, as I pointed out in an earlier post, GW crushed their original main competition years ago. It's only over the past few years that newer companies with similar marketing strategies (i.e., using a battle game system to sell their miniatures lines) have made significant gains against GW in the marketplace. However, since GW is older, has more experience and a longer-term existing customer base, again it's no surprise that they still lead their competition in most sales areas.

Reaper

Marauder

GW has really nice minis...

And why isn't Reaper on the list? Reaper Miniatures is an amazing miniature company!

lol

scotty kahn wrote:I am surprised there is no spot for Reaper up there. Theyre my favorite because they have high quality figs and very low prices compared to other manufacturers.

I concur...

...my vote was other for this reason.

I agree with oden...avatars have some pretty nice stuff, just not a lot and not mainstream...

Voted FW. Wish I could afford more stuff.

fw iz me fav mini maker they 'ave great large scale models

Yeah I though for sure Reaper would be on the main list

Hasslefree.

They do a lovely range of character figures and they put penny chews in the box.

Ral Partha.
HassleFree
Heresy
The old SpyGlass.

I've gotta go with GW and FW. Forge World would have won it, but i cant stand resin

Games Workshop, Privateer Press, and Battlefront.

Games Workshop still has some of the best looking models in the industry, and has provided me with untold hours of fun; Privateer Press got me interested in wargaming outside of the GW universe; and Battlefront did the same thing as Privateer but with historical wargaming.

I'd also vote for Reaper were it up there, because it's often the sole manufacturer I use for RPGs, and I always base my RPG characters off of figs.

I voted other and GW (as I think their minis are really characterful, and have timeless designs especially some of Jes Goodwin's scults - 1st ed 40k figures that still hold their own today).

The other is Ground Zero Games, who make loads of Space Ships for their Full Thrust game, which is pretty cool.

Also, they made Bubblegum Crisis minis, though I don't know it they're still available. :p

I like good ol' GW. Tamiya provides my tanks.

Heresy and Copplestone both beat GW in my opinion.

GW come in third, FW don't even make my top 5.

Write In: Reaper makes some kick ass minis!

My choice is - http://shadowforge.com.au/

Hasslefree miniatures.

For fantasy figures, Reaper.

For historicals, Gripping Beast or Foundry, though Foundry prices seem to creep up every time I visit their site. Actually been down to their store in Nottingham, it was worth the drive

I like some GW mini's but the more recent stuff doesn't appeal to me so much, so they don't get my vote. 5 years ago they might have done though.

I'd add +1 vote for hasslefree as well. For awesomeness it's still FW,then REAPER!

I have no knowledge of anything other than GW and no real interest at all.

Im sure theyre good like, I just havent got in to them or heard about them much.

Newt-Of-Death wrote:I have no knowledge of anything other than GW and no real interest at all.

Im sure theyre good like, I just havent got in to them or heard about them much.

yeh, this.

Could care less about other minatures, except maybe for conversions. I used a lightsaber on my daemon prince, so yeah. Conversions are fun.

Iron Wind Metals. I love Battletech.

Wizkids ftw.

Games Workshop, Forge World, Black Tree Design (cos of Doctor Who Stuff) and Mantic Games

Reaper for the variety as well as the quality.

I really dig Privateer Press. Some of their stuff can be a real pain to put together but it always looks amazing assembled and painted.

wargames factory! waaay cheaper than GW, and the quality isn't bad. only minor conversions to make them 40k as well.

Voted Rackham and other for Reaper. Both have/had great sculpts and fair prices. Price prevents me from voting GW or FW

GW yes their rules are loose, their minis are overpriced but they paved the way for many others to slip in. They are the Catholic Church of minis. You might not agree with it (heretic) and might follow something different (protestant) but there is no denying they've paved a large part of the way.

Ground Zero Games. Yes, it seams like every other post I make is about them.but, their ranges are great for the price.

I used to love mage knights..
But then they went down..

There was something on a news page a few weeks ago about Mage Knight coming back... as a board game

Bar the first 2 i haven't heard of the rest

Front Rank makes by far some of the most stunning miniatures. Granted they are all historical models but they simply cannot be beat.

Pig Iron makes some sweet stuff

Ooooo tough call. I love GW plastics, and they tend towards a fairly considtent level of quality with their stuff.
PP have some amazing, dynamic minis (earthborn dire troll ftw) but then an awful lot of badly posed turds, and they are overwhelmingly metal, which makes me a sad panda.

Mantic are doing quality work in a style I like, and at a price I like even more, but the range is pretty limited when you compare it to GW's. So I guess I gotta go with GW- their minis are the main reason I'm still playing their games, and I reckon the reason most of us are!

Artizan 28mm WWII - great models. A little hard to find.

Grenadier is still my favorite miniature company, even after all these years. But GW is my 2nd.

I love forgeworld. Hands down best for the only tabletop game that matters to me. other than that I wish GW stopped pandering to children, and put boobs back on the relevant models. They lose a lot of money from me (and presumably every other gamer) to other companies who can get women's faces right!!! For that i love reaper and hasslefree. not afraid to put some tits on 'dem figs!

1. GW 2. FW

--others are irrelevant

I chose GW. I like their style and the fact that most of their range is in plastic. ForgeWorld has a bunch of reeeally nice models but I'm assuming that resin models aren't as easy to work with. As I'm a relatively slow modeller I feel I have to take that into account. I also have a soft spot for a few of those steampunk'esque Warjacks from Privateer Press, especially the Mercenary Mariner. May have to buy one of those just for fun.

Reaper and Hasslefree get orders from me on occasion, more than GW tends to get.

Wayland Games are awesome

Rackham was once great but I no longer love what they do for several years.

GW and Forgeworld are expensive but... well I grew up with their miniatures !

Reaper

At the moment - Soda Pop !

I do really like a lot of Warlord Miniatures stuff and I am very interested in Historic Gaming.

Forge World and (some) Privateers Press come a very close second mind.

Privateer Press makes some awesome minis.

I definitely prefer Warmachine's look.

Reaper Miniatures, by long shot. Love Games Workshop, but the detail and unique minis from Reaper are hard to beat.

arnt FW and GW the same thing?

When i first started in mini painting it was with Ral Partha and Reaper, i just found their models cool and fun to paint. And later branched into Games Work Shop.

Corvus Belli is my favorite company overall in both artistic design and quality in detail.

As for "Other", I have a special fondness for Wyrd in artistic design and Studio McVey in quality in detail.

Oddly enough, my favorite miniature I've ever owned is Enigma Miniatures's "The Old Death".

Other:

Baccus 6mm! Producer of fantastic 6mm minis, perfect for large scale games.

Other: Mantic Games.

They're like the company that GW used to be, with affordable minis, specialist games and a fun attitude to the hobby rather than the corporate sales outfit that GW has become.

I wouldn't mind seeing the results of this poll posted now as opposed to before the recent idiocy we've been subjected to by Mr 50% Clear Winner.....

I love the CoC and sci-fi mini range of RAFM minis.

Elhiem Figures

Bicorne Miniatures

Foundry/Perry

Britannia Miniatures

Kellys Heroes

Other: Mantic for me

As far as miniatures companies go, I think Wyrd is spot on. Great models, and a company that cares about its players.

Forgeworld. Dunno why, but I only like their models.

I didn't vote in this poll because i only play GW games, but that doesn't mean i support them. Just because they are the only company i play games fom doesn't mean they are my favorite.

Forgeworld because they rock.

Wyrd Miniatures.

GW for general models, FW for amazing detailed centerpiece models.

Forgeworld for me

Kromlech they do some awesomely orky stuff I just wish they'd do more and quicker. also they have always had excelent customer service whenever I have dealt with them

Plastic Soldier Company, Mantic Games, Battlefront

Hasslefree, Reaper and Heresy.

I don't buy nearly enough from Hasslefree.

Other: Plastic Soldier Company - cheap but extremely sweet 15mm Plastics, beets battlefront and its rival's pants down

I only play GW games so guess what I voted for??

GW and FW make some pretty stunning models.

By the Emperor, I LOVE Forge World stuff, it is absolutely beautiful! Too bad I don't have the money for it most of the time.

Privateer press. Their prices are balanced, and their games are just awesome! GW is okay but those damn price hikes and OP rules, make me feel sick.

I voted GW no matter what you say they do something that most other companies dont they get young gamers into wargameing.

Acegermanshepard wrote:I voted GW no matter what you say they do something that most other companies dont they get young gamers into wargameing.

Agreed, but most of the time they almost force you to start wargaming

Good point they're always like BUY SOME SPEC MARINES

Acegermanshepard wrote:Good point they're always like BUY SOME SPEC MARINES

Indeed. One time when my friend went to an local GW shop, they immedialety tryed to sell the AoBR set to him. He just wanted to buy an IG heavy weapons team and when the GW staff heard about this, they immedialety tryed to sell him the IG battleforce (You get 3 heavy weapons teams in there, only for 80€ ).
And GW love SPESHH MAHREENS, and always make the cheesiest codex's for them

"Favorite" is a bit tainted... but I did answer GW. I think they produce, in general, the best minies and game systems.

I do not agree with all of their policies though, therefore I might have mis-voted a bit.

Wyrd Miniatures, followed by Reaper.

Perry Miniatures, better quality than games workshop. extensive range, ture to scale and instead of paying £15 for 10 models, i only need to pay £18 and get 40/36 models, bonus!

I love the Perry Plastics, but I am also a big fan of the awesome fantasy truescale that is Mantic.

Avatars of War for amasing minis

I currently only play GW, but the Infinity models are pretty slick. Add to that the sheer volume of quality new releases they put out like every month and that makes for something very impressive indeed. Once GW gets to be to much for me to deal with anymore Infinity is probably where I'm headed.

I'll just say this. I choose Games Workshop purely on the fact I love the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K, the awesome models, and when they had a store in Charlotte it was like my second home, with friendly and helpful staff.

Yes in recent years they have had some inane dexs, 4,5,and 6th editions have been progressively worse core rules wise. Doing away with Troll magazine, a true bitz ordering service, price hikes, doing away with metal minis, and finecast, have all been sins, but they are the hobby for ME.

Forge World is great but while I'd LOVE to get ANYTHING from them, they are way to far out of the ballpark on price, and that speaks volumes when you look at just GW's prices alone.

While I've heard of Warmachine and Flames of War to me Warmachine just 'feels' like 40k knock off (It might not be don't flame me I'm going on MY opinion of the models I've seen.) and FoW to me is just WW2 which has been done to death already.

The rest I know nothing about, and really haven't seen the minis, rules, or any fluff about them in any hobby store, or games shop I've been to, so even if I WANTED to try them, I know I couldn't find anyone to play against regularly.

I was tempted to write in Wizkids, but I'm assuming this is for non pre-painted minis. If not I like Wizkids. I like thier mechwarrior figs, even if I don't know the rules, nor can I find anybody that plays it. Thier D&D figures have always rocked, and thier Pathfinder figs look great so far.

So yeah Games Workshop and Wizkids are my favs.


Oh and Ral PArtha and Chainmail.

Reaper and GW

Forgeworld, for me. Horrendously expensive, but if you've got the money, it's so worth it. Their miniatures look just amazing, so good infact that they make me wanna start collecting armies that I otherwise don't care about.

In many ways, my love for Forgeword's miniatures can be expressed in three simple words: Chaos Warhound Titan. 'nuff said.

I went with GW and Forgeworld, as a tie. While I love Forgeworld models, I'm not willing to pay their hideously expensive prices. And truth be told, there are very few models in GW's collection that I dislike.

i love the reaper range and warlord minis too

I like Scribor Miniatures. some great variations on historical themes with power armour!

+1 for Reaper

Id vote reaper or black scorpian

Ridiculous prices that make you turn to go straight to resellers, but alas, GW's quality is yet to be reached. Stuff like Mantic does not even come CLOSE to what GW minis are like.

I love GW's quality (not price though. Oh god.). I also love PSC, they make some of my favorite looking 15mm models.

Reaper i probably my favorite all around (they have a very wide range of fine figures for reasonable prices).

GW would definitely rate in the lower tiers. Exorbitant prices, mediocre quality of materials, and a tendency towards horrific anatomy and scale issues. While they have some nice pieces, I definitely would not say that their overall quality is beyond anybody else. They have made great progress in multipart plastics, which is a good thing.

Forge World is another mixed bag. Some great sculpts, but a lot of quality control issues and certainly premium priced. At least they avoid the hands/head gigantism that is so common in GW's base lines.

PP is comparable to GW in terms of cost and quality, though they do markedly better with female sculpts. Still do the way oversized weapon and often goofy proportions thing, though.

Corvus Belli are an example of what premium price sculpts *should* look like.

Gw, Warlord Hail Ceaser and FW in that order

I would have voted for Reaper. Most of their minis are pretty solid (maybe a few scant duds here and there), and cover a great range of stuff for all gaming. Cipher Studios (makers of Anima Tactics) is fast climbing my Likes column, and whoever is behind Dust Tactics (forgetting at the moment) deserves kudos for their vehicles and some of their infantry models (the upcoming British Commando Kill Squad/Foreign Legion unit is soooo boss!).

GW is the only one I know

I went Privateer Press.

And GW because I absolutely LOVE some of the older metal Fantasy/Mordheim stuff.

Privateer Press, the model scuplts are beautiful and they work out the gaming and rule systems really well

Other: Red Box Games

Reaper. I like GW too, but Reaper is the best.

Wyrd (write in) and Forge World (despite their ridiculous cost)