Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I was just made aware of Mantic Games line of products and I am very impressed. I've been checking out their Kings of War line and it first struck me that the quality of the models as far as detailing goes is spectacular then I realised how much cheaper they are and its very tempting to order some just for a new painting challenge. Honestly, the pricing reminds me of when I started and buying cheap metal blister packs to build up an army ten years ago.
Anyway I realise that its going to be a different reaction in each FLGS but does anyone have any experiences trying to play these models in GW games?

For 40k, I know it's often done and accepted (unless you are at a GW store. Yeah then the "75%" rules apply where every model needs to be 75% GW). Not too sure about Fantasy though, although im sure if you got fitting proxies I would take it

I'm not going to say that its the main reason people buy Mantic stuff, but for alot of people it is. I use their orc troops for fantasy and 40k. They are "true" scale instead of "herioc" scale, but they work just fine, just look a little different. I love Mantic, but their miniatures aren't quite GW quality, but they aren't much worse, and for the money they are a GREAT deal.

There isn't a WFB player at my club who doesn't have Mantic models somewhere in their army, and a few have even started playing KoW as a result.

I've certainly never encountered any animosity towards it, and indeed most gamers are decent folk who will probably commend you on finding a bargain. I think as long as you apply the usual respect for your opponent, and use miniatures that are obvious in terms of what they represent.

It won't fly at a GW store of course, but as long as they are WYSIWYG for size, armor and weapons I don't think you'll find many objections anywhere else.

I'm starting a squat army and I've bought some of the mantic forgefather vehicles and some forgefathers.

Before Mantic had a game of their own, this was pretty much the entire point of their range.

I planned to get Mantic models (and did the Kickstarter) to play Warhammer with. Since I got a copy of the KoW rulebook with the Kickstarter, I figured my friends and I would try it. It's a much more solid game than Fantasy, and you'll win based on your skill, not your ability to combine Chaos Chosen with Favor of the Gods, Terror Banner and Warshrines (or 7th edition Blood Knights w/ Regen and Ward Banners). I'm a lot happier with KoW, and I have 4 dwarf box sets (8 cannons, 340 dwarves) plus a couple small boxes and 2 boxes of the characters. All told, it's around 400 models for Dwarves. Rock on the Mantic during GW games, but also try Kings of War. It's worth it.

This seems as good a place as any to ask:

How do Mantic Corps look next to:
1. Old-school metal GW Imperial Guard (Mordians, old Cadians, etc.)?
2. Warhammer Fantasy humans?
3. Other ranges (in particular Perry Historicals)?

Google image searches bring up the Cadian on the Rock picture a lot, but not a whole lot else.

Thank you!

They are definitley smaller than IG. I don't have any fantasy humans or Perry historicals so I couldn't answer that question.

Certainly there would be little point in going to a GW store, but rather than slavishly sticking to WHFB, give KOW a shot.

Reasonably sized forces can be put together for buttons compared to GW prices and the game itself is solid fantasy fare. If not soldon it for friendly games just go back to WHFB, but make sure you make sure your opponent knows what is what.

I think the promising look of the new models from Mantic for KOW following the kickstarter might stick another knife into the failing giant that was WHFB.

Aqvila Invictis wrote:
This seems as good a place as any to ask:

How do Mantic Corps look next to:
1. Old-school metal GW Imperial Guard (Mordians, old Cadians, etc.)?
2. Warhammer Fantasy humans?
3. Other ranges (in particular Perry Historicals)?

Google image searches bring up the Cadian on the Rock picture a lot, but not a whole lot else.

Thank you!

I would say proportion wise the Mantic Corp miniatures are a lot closer to the 2nd edition metal Cadians, or Mordians for that matter. Compare the plastic Cadian miniatures to the metal ones and they have larger heads and hands, so the Mantic ones are definitely closer in proportion in that regard.

It's the same again with the Perry historicals - they have smaller proportioned heads and hands, you can see that in the pic I found below, comparing some of their War of the Roses minis compared to a GW Fantasy Empire miniature:



So in that sense I would probably say you are safe mixing some Perry stuff with Mantic - GW stuff be a lot more careful, especially the newer plastics. It's not so much the size issue (you won't notice a couple of mm in height), more the sense of proportion. I had the same problem trying to mix some of the older GW undead with the Mantic ones in the same unit, the congruence is immediately noticeable.

PS - Don't those Perry War of the Roses miniatures look great

 squall018 wrote:
They are definitley smaller than IG. I don't have any fantasy humans or Perry historicals so I couldn't answer that question.

That's not true



They may be slightly slimmer in proportion, but they're just a bit taller than current plastic IG and notably taller than old style metal IG. There aren't a whole lot of comparison pics with Mantic, so it's best to take the above and then compare other lines to cadians.

As for anycomparison to warhammer fantasy humans, I could only find this.


As for Perry vs Cadian, here's a couple shots that aren't perfect. (note the integral base under the perry fig) but may help.


One thing about perry minis is that their bodies are more realistically sized, so regular GW weapons look rediculously large on them. Victoria Minis lasguns or vintage RT era lasguns are the only ones that look acceptable on those figs.

Here's perry vs Warhammer

IIRC, the current crop of warhammer figs are about the size of old metal IG figs, though it's been a while since I saw them.

Hope that helps a bit.

Heh - my Kingdoms of Men KoW army is almost entirely GW.... The substitution goes both ways!

That said - if I were playing dwarfs, orcs, or undead for Warhammer then I would be using Mantic.

But I mostly play Kings of War for larger games, though I still play and love Mordheim for a skirmish game.

The Auld Grump

Well, i just picked up a Mantic zombie regiment to use as Plague Zombies in my Nurgle force. Got them NIB for $16, which works out at slightly more than 50 cents per model which is less than a fifth of the price I'd be paying for the GW zombies. I'm not anticipating any problems using them at my local store.

All I can say is go for it.

Mantic stuff is 100% suitable for use in GW games, especially for Warhammer Fantasy where you can pretty much make your entire army using nothing other than Mantic if you want to (with the exception of whatever giant monster GW happens to be releasing).

How do Mantic Corps look next to:
1. Old-school metal GW Imperial Guard (Mordians, old Cadians, etc.)?

100% dead-on match, both in terms of size and scale. They're true-scale, like the old Perry-sculpted IG metals, not heroic scale like the new plastic rambo Catachans and Cadians with 4-foot long guns.

Keep an eye out for the Warpath Kickstarter, it is coming in a few months time, and they will be funding a *ton* of stuff. Hard plastic vehicles, the works.

They've had the concepts ready for over a year now, and just need to wrap up their current work on KoW and Dreadball before relaunching the Warpath range in a big way.

Something people might be interested to hear is that Remy Tremblay (the guy who sculpted all the new Corporation) is now employed full-time by Mantic, and is the only person allowed to work on the Warpath range.

The man is a sculpting machine and consistently puts out quality sculpts at the rate of 4 units per month.

There is actually a Vampire Counts army that was on display in the case at the bunker I go too, and the zombie unit it has was mantic zombies. lol

I somehow think they haven't realized it yet.

Eilif wrote:

As for Perry vs Cadian, here's a couple shots that aren't perfect. (note the integral base under the perry fig) but may help.

Haha look at that fatty eldar, in it for the soulstones and the pies.

 scarletsquig wrote:

How do Mantic Corps look next to:
1. Old-school metal GW Imperial Guard (Mordians, old Cadians, etc.)?

100% dead-on match, both in terms of size and scale. They're true-scale, like the old Perry-sculpted IG metals, not heroic scale like the new plastic rambo Catachans and Cadians with 4-foot long guns.

I just wanted to re-address this briefly. The bulk (thickness of limb) of the two lines is fairly similar, but they are NOT the same size in height. The current Mantic Corp troopers are a bit taller than current GW, and the current GW are even taller than the old metal GW. Check the pics above to see what I mean. They'd look good on the same table, and maybe in the same army, but in the same unit, you're going to have a noticeable height difference.

Mantic is making a good product here, but we should be clear and honest about the sizes.

I use the manic undead for my zombies, ghouls, and skeletons in my VC army.

Great way to add bodies to your fantasy army for cheap.

I have not met a player yet who has objected to my useing them to fill my core troops.

However I stick to GW stuff for my specials and rare choices because they look cool.

Would anyone have a problem with me building a Vampire Counts army using Mantic models? Obviously if mantic didnt have something sutible to represent a certain unit then id go GW butother wise the quality of minitures looks brill and the sheer fact of for 50 quid I get more in the undead box than I would the Vampire Counts battalion is startling. Also how long do Mantic tend to arrive if you order from them

Nobody should have any issue with it, outside of a GW store. FLGS's should not, as GW has cut all tournament support, so they can do as they please. If you have questions, check with the TO ahead of time, but for friendly play, anyone who does have a problem with it is somebody you don't want to associate with anyway.