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I'm a bit of a history buff and I'm really interested in WWII so I thought I'd take a look at some of the Flames of War miniatures, now I don't mean to piss anyone off, but are they meant to look kind of weird?
The bodies seem misshapen and out of proportion to me which seems really strange in a game that obviously is bothered about historical accuracy, I guess they just arn't bothered about anatomy.
The bodies and what not are not to scale... I believe the main reason is that at 15mm infantry can be "brittle" by over exageratting the gun barrels, heads etc.... it makes them more durable.....
There are more "accurate" figures available from other companies if the FoW models bother you.
ReturningPlayer wrote:I'm a bit of a history buff and I'm really interested in WWII so I thought I'd take a look at some of the Flames of War miniatures, now I don't mean to piss anyone off, but are they meant to look kind of weird?
The bodies seem misshapen and out of proportion to me which seems really strange in a game that obviously is bothered about historical accuracy, I guess they just arn't bothered about anatomy.
How do you compare FOW miniatures ( the size of a whole FOW = size of Warhammer GW head )
when GW with the size still cant get the proportions right?
It is really just to make them more durable, and be happy for that. FoW would rather you spend your money once and not have to buy another model (or call them for a replacement). It really hasn't bothered me much however though.
@returningplayer, I absolutely agree with you. I use the Plastic Soldier Company infantry because I find the cartoony style a bit odd. That said until the range expands I have had to buy BF or FiB stuff to round out my force.
Collecting Forge World 30k????? If you prefix any Thread Subject line on 30k or Pre-heresy or Horus Heresy with [30K] we can convince LEGO and the Admin team to create a 30K mini board if we can show there is enough interest!
ReturningPlayer wrote:I'm a bit of a history buff and I'm really interested in WWII so I thought I'd take a look at some of the Flames of War miniatures, now I don't mean to piss anyone off, but are they meant to look kind of weird?
The bodies seem misshapen and out of proportion to me which seems really strange in a game that obviously is bothered about historical accuracy, I guess they just arn't bothered about anatomy.
Just a question, but you've seen FOW minis in real life right, and not just photos on the internet? I only ask because I think some people who aren't experienced with 15mm miniatures and are used to 28mm minis see pictures of FOW minis online and don't realize how very small they actually are. The proportions look weird when the photos are blown up bigger than the size of the actual miniature, but when taken at normal gaming distance, the effect works, I think.
And I'm not just talking about Battlefront miniatures here. While some manufacturers are have beefier looking miniatures than others (and Battlefront definitely do tend to be on the beefier side, although there is a significant difference depending on who sculpted the line in question - compare Evan's work to Seth's for a good example of what I'm talking about), I don't think there's any 15mm range that is completely accurately scaled. When you get something as small as a 15mm mini, completely accurate scaling just doesn't work, especially for miniatures that get bumped and moved around as much as gaming pieces.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/01/23 18:45:25
The FOW infantry is more "beefy" than something like the PSC Infantry. The PSC infantry IMO are more realistic in their proportions. I honestly like the "beefier" FOW infantry like the GW Space Marines as the PSC look more like GW Imperial Guard.
BF figures are bobbleheads with perverse proportions. Its not your eyes playing tricks. Other ranges manage to create durable minis without sculpting them from play-dough, so its not that. Some proportions are liable to adjustment for scale, but BF minis..dear god.
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all" Mario Savio
Out of interest, as a Serving Military Officer, most troops in the field have oversized torso's anyway. This isn't muscle or being buff, it's the Body-armour + Webbing + Camel back + extra pouches etc plus Helmets make your head the size of a basket ball. So actually half the time you look like a bowling ball anyway!
I have to agree with Big P, if we were looking at realism Artillery would be firing from 19 feet away e.g 4 tables away minimum! It's a wargame in a historical setting rather than a historical wargame.
Yes, before you ask I am Navy, but believe it or not in Iraq and Afghan we were sent out to do some wierd and wonderful jobs..... How about mounting an Anti-Ship missile defence system on a flat bed truck to shoot down mortars... This is what I was responsible for....
Terrifying and amazing, good bit of kit. Very good against the 200mm dumb rockets they used to fire at the base, it was a job where I sat around waiting to be shot at and then spent most of my time changing my underwear afterwards, at least everyone else got into a shelter! It was surreal, the Artillery boys would start banging away at the launch position with counter battery fire as we put up an umbrella of 20mm to protect them. The capacity of modern military systems is truly terrifying to behold.
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2012/01/24 12:30:30
Collecting Forge World 30k????? If you prefix any Thread Subject line on 30k or Pre-heresy or Horus Heresy with [30K] we can convince LEGO and the Admin team to create a 30K mini board if we can show there is enough interest!
Nah, thats the Sergeant major of the 155mm Battery. I am actually over at the CIWS battery Control, this was filmed by an AS90 crewman, the Sgt Major is shouting at the lads to get HE ready as we were pushing out the position to counter battery fire at. (Simple triangulation of the 3 Radar positions).
Collecting Forge World 30k????? If you prefix any Thread Subject line on 30k or Pre-heresy or Horus Heresy with [30K] we can convince LEGO and the Admin team to create a 30K mini board if we can show there is enough interest!
For instance, I was forced to make my EW French infantry force out of Forged in Battle and Peter Pig figures (even going so far as swapping out all the gun crew on my BF 75mms for Peter Pig) because the BF French infantry are clearly 20mm scale. Don't believe me? Flip through the Blitzkrieg book and notice that none of the French infantry stands are placed next to vehicles...because they dwarf most of it!
However, I also have BF Finnish infantry and they are VERY nice.
Yes BF can be quite hit or miss. Fortunately it doesn't matter as savvy gamers can simply shop around different manufacturers for the prices and sculpts they like best.
ancientsociety wrote:Yep, some of the BF infantry are REALLY bad.
For instance, I was forced to make my EW French infantry force out of Forged in Battle and Peter Pig figures (even going so far as swapping out all the gun crew on my BF 75mms for Peter Pig) because the BF French infantry are clearly 20mm scale. Don't believe me? Flip through the Blitzkrieg book and notice that none of the French infantry stands are placed next to vehicles...because they dwarf most of it!
The French infantry released for Blitzkrieg are known to be particularly bad. Dunno what happened, but they've been mocked on the official BF forums. The Tirailleurs desert infantry are supposed to be much better, though. And the uniforms are just as appropriate for Battle of France as they are for the desert.
I must see these out of place French. One of my buddies was looking at building a French EW force (Armd Coy + Inf. supp.), so I'll pass this info onto him.
Despite what everyone's saying. None of these look that bad when on the table. It's only when you get way up close and make exacting comparisons to vehicles that their defects come to light.
I've got gargantuan Polish supermen in the Piechoty miniatures, but on the table they look fine, even when next to the properly scaled Polish Kawalerii miniatures.
Also, all the scale compression that BF does is fine by me. I like the look and it can make it easier to identify stuff on the battlefield.
Vertrucio wrote:Despite what everyone's saying. None of these look that bad when on the table. It's only when you get way up close and make exacting comparisons to vehicles that their defects come to light.
.
The figs even look giant in pictures, just flip open the Blitzkrieg book and look at the splash page before the French lists. Those French figs dwarf most every tank they stand next to, even a tall tank like the Somua. There's a rifleman standing fully erect who's head is level with the top of the turret, which would make him 8 feet tall! I don't care how much great French food they ate, no French infantryman was that big.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/01/29 16:51:13
ancientsociety wrote:
The figs even look giant in pictures, just flip open the Blitzkrieg book and look at the splash page before the French lists. Those French figs dwarf most every tank they stand next to, even a tall tank like the Somua. There's a rifleman standing fully erect who's head is level with the top of the turret, which would make him 8 feet tall! I don't care how much great French food they ate, no French infantryman was that big.
I don't have Blitzkrieg, but is any of this because of base thickness? Every millimeter counts at that scale... a few millimeters of basing could be the equivalent of a couple scale feet.
Working on someting you'll either love or hate. Hopefully to be revealed by November.
Play the games that make you happy.
Vertrucio wrote:Despite what everyone's saying. None of these look that bad when on the table. It's only when you get way up close and make exacting comparisons to vehicles that their defects come to light.
.
The figs even look giant in pictures, just flip open the Blitzkrieg book and look at the splash page before the French lists. Those French figs dwarf most every tank they stand next to, even a tall tank like the Somua. There's a rifleman standing fully erect who's head is level with the top of the turret, which would make him 8 feet tall! I don't care how much great French food they ate, no French infantryman was that big.
I think this is partly a matter of the angle of the shot, and the extra height that they pick up due to the base. I see French riflemen whose helmets appear to be even with the top of the S-35 hull, but to me they don't appear to be as tall as the turret on the S-35s. The Hotchkiss tanks are another matter, but those are smaller than the Somuas.
On that same page, you can see that while based the figures are taller than the Char B-1bis hull, but shorter than the turret. The same applies to the Panhard AMD-35, which is slightly shorter than the S-35 (I'm comparing the size of the AMD-35 and the S-35 via the two vehicles currently sitting next to my monitor, and not a picture in the Blitkrieg book; sadly, I don't have any French riflemen to use as a comparison).
As I stated above, I had to change out entire BF French platoons for other manufacturers due to their incorrect scale, so I don't have any to show. I was lucky enough to win Best Painted Allied army at Adepticon last year which, because of the meticulous judging, I doubt I would have been able to receive with the BF infantry.
Balance wrote:
ancientsociety wrote:
The figs even look giant in pictures, just flip open the Blitzkrieg book and look at the splash page before the French lists. Those French figs dwarf most every tank they stand next to, even a tall tank like the Somua. There's a rifleman standing fully erect who's head is level with the top of the turret, which would make him 8 feet tall! I don't care how much great French food they ate, no French infantryman was that big.
I don't have Blitzkrieg, but is any of this because of base thickness? Every millimeter counts at that scale... a few millimeters of basing could be the equivalent of a couple scale feet.
Yes and no. Certainly, putting already integrally-based figures on bases doesn't help but the French infantry were still huge.
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That video is amazing! Is that your voice at the end too?
