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.
Empchild wrote:So I was rather excited for these, but the end product is just disapointing. Wargames Factory needs to concentrate on finishing their lines they have now and not extending new ones. So many company do this and their products flop because of it.
Gotta disagree, mostly because Vikings, Ancient Germans, Romans, Celts etc don't interest me at all.
Empchild wrote:So I was rather excited for these, but the end product is just disapointing. Wargames Factory needs to concentrate on finishing their lines they have now and not extending new ones. So many company do this and their products flop because of it.
Gotta disagree, mostly because Vikings, Ancient Germans, Romans, Celts etc don't interest me at all.
Its not the theme that disapoints me but rather the quality. A shame really. I look a these heads and dont like even just one of those... the regular weapons design is errr ugly and the coats are not that great.
Empchild wrote:So I was rather excited for these, but the end product is just disapointing. Wargames Factory needs to concentrate on finishing their lines they have now and not extending new ones. So many company do this and their products flop because of it.
Gotta disagree, mostly because Vikings, Ancient Germans, Romans, Celts etc don't interest me at all.
Its not the theme that disapoints me but rather the quality. A shame really. I look a these heads and dont like even just one of those... the regular weapons design is errr ugly and the coats are not that great.
I concur with you on that one navarro.
@kid_kyoto: I understand they don't intrest you and thats fine and all, but when you create a line you kinda have to work on it till completion. It would be like GW just creating a box of space marines and stopping their. Not to mention the sculptor is rather bad that they use. He uses that machine instead of by hand, and the hands and faces are horrendous when painted. Lacking true definition.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/04/17 19:02:04
Listen, my children, as I pass onto you the truth behind Willy Wonka and his factory. For every wonka bar ever created in existance, Mr. Wonka sacraficed a single Oompa Loompa to the god of chocolate, Hearshys. Then, he drank the blood of the fallen orange men because he fed them a constant supply of sugary chocolate so they all became diabetic and had creamy, sweet-tasting blood that willy could put into each and every Wonka bar. That is the REAL story behind willy wonka's Slaughter House!
After seeing some of the initial previews I was kind of underwhelmed. I figured I would just pick up a few for bits and what not but that would be it. I just finished watching the BOW video review and now think that they look much better when assembled. Size wise thay match up to the cadians pretty closely which is a definant plus. I can see lots of possibilites from them modelling side now and the price is right. This will make it much easier on the converting side. After seeing the finished product and some assembled models in the video Ill more than likely end up getting enough to do a platoon or so. Id get more but nowadys I usually only play smaller skirmish games.
I think the most conclusive part of the Beasts of War review was "for the price of 20 DKoK, you can get 120 of these guys".
It means I can buy an entire army at a single sitting. The detail is good enough. With a reasonably simple painting scheme, these will look good.
I like the basic weapon, I like the standard helm and the bare head with gasmask, the 'welding mask' will make a good alternative for the flamer dudes. The pistol is a fail but incredibly easy to replace.
With the money I save on buying these guys, I may treat myself to some forgeworld tanks.
You're comparing McDo to Haute Cuisine francaise.
I'd much rather get some really nice detailed forge world miniatures than some heaps of cheap looking wargames factory miniatures, the only thing I like about them is the coat. Might end up getting some just for those because they are cheap and put some forge world renegade arms on them and some head bits from maxmini. But I can see why people would buy them, but I expect them to be seen with pig iron heads a lot due to the ugly heads that you get with them.
In the end, you get what you pay for but I still think they are subpar, just look at what Mantic Games does and their prices...
And if my point ever was to make an army on the cheap that would be one of the companies i'd look at.
Couldn't watch it till the end, these guys really annoy me (especially the one on the left, always hesitating).
They always say good things about the products they review, never stating any cons. I think they are bit too excited about almost everything they review.
Back on topic, the cthulhu head is the only one I like on the sprue, shame there is only one per sprue.
poipo32 wrote:Couldn't watch it till the end, these guys really annoy me (especially the one on the left, always hesitating).
They always say good things about the products they review, never stating any cons. I think they are bit too excited about almost everything they review.
Back on topic, the cthulhu head is the only one I like on the sprue, shame there is only one per sprue.
Aww cut them some slacks xD
I have a theory to why they are hesitating , They of course are been filmed by a camera , i suspect their view screen is on the left ( where the guy on the left cannot see ,
but the guy on the right can )
So im suspecting he is hesitating because he needs to confirm the way he place the minis , show the mini is in the correct spot and angle.
The camera man is probably telling him , and he adjust accordingly.
Now that I see the actual sprue pics, I am still disappointed. The armor still doesn't make sense, the shoulder pads still don't mesh well, the heads are still sub par, and the special guns all look awful. I like the basic gun though. The coats are pretty okay but the physics of them is bad.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/04/18 02:30:19
ph34r's Forgeworld Phobos blog, current WIP: Iron Warriors and Skaven Tau +From Iron Cometh Strength+ +From Strength Cometh Will+ +From Will Cometh Faith+ +From Faith Cometh Honor+ +From Honor Cometh Iron+
The Polito form is dead, insect. Are you afraid? What is it you fear? The end of your trivial existence?
When the history of my glory is written, your species shall only be a footnote to my magnificence.
ph34r wrote:The coats are pretty okay but the physics of them is bad.
You mean the way they "poof" is as if they are made out of plastic bags? xD
That, and the fact that when they are running and the coat is flowing back, the bottom hem of the coat is parallel to the ground somehow instead of curving.
ph34r's Forgeworld Phobos blog, current WIP: Iron Warriors and Skaven Tau +From Iron Cometh Strength+ +From Strength Cometh Will+ +From Will Cometh Faith+ +From Faith Cometh Honor+ +From Honor Cometh Iron+
The Polito form is dead, insect. Are you afraid? What is it you fear? The end of your trivial existence?
When the history of my glory is written, your species shall only be a footnote to my magnificence.
poipo32 wrote:Couldn't watch it till the end, these guys really annoy me (especially the one on the left, always hesitating).
They always say good things about the products they review, never stating any cons. I think they are bit too excited about almost everything they review.
Back on topic, the cthulhu head is the only one I like on the sprue, shame there is only one per sprue.
Aww cut them some slacks xD
I have a theory to why they are hesitating , They of course are been filmed by a camera , i suspect their view screen is on the left ( where the guy on the left cannot see ,
but the guy on the right can )
So im suspecting he is hesitating because he needs to confirm the way he place the minis , show the mini is in the correct spot and angle.
The camera man is probably telling him , and he adjust accordingly.
He seems to say "hum" a bit (a lot).
That's what annoys me the most, if you're not good for live or one shot recording, learn a text.
I'm inclined to agree with the majority. These are not good enough, and it'd take a lot of work to make them display-quality. Also, it appears that the parts don't go together that well (in the video, observe the left arm placement with the grenade launcher, the parts simply cannot fit in any reasonable arrangement).
Empchild wrote:@kid_kyoto: I understand they don't intrest you and thats fine and all, but when you create a line you kinda have to work on it till completion.
I don't think brand loyalty and complete product lines are nearly as important for historical wargames than they are for us. Since WGF does not have an inhouse rules system for their Vikings or Romans, there's no need to try to establish a cohesive WGF Historicals brand. I mean, by the nature of their hobby, historicals players are far more at home with the idea of shopping around for miniatures that fit a particular scenario and rules system.
I personally like them, I think they will make great kilzone proxies. If they are not you thing thats fair enough dont buy them, im sure plenty of people will.
poipo32 wrote:You're comparing McDo to Haute Cuisine francaise.
I'd much rather get some really nice detailed forge world miniatures than some heaps of cheap looking wargames factory miniatures, the only thing I like about them is the coat. Might end up getting some just for those because they are cheap and put some forge world renegade arms on them and some head bits from maxmini. But I can see why people would buy them, but I expect them to be seen with pig iron heads a lot due to the ugly heads that you get with them.
In the end, you get what you pay for but I still think they are subpar, just look at what Mantic Games does and their prices...
And if my point ever was to make an army on the cheap that would be one of the companies i'd look at.
Firstly, depends on your income. The price of the greatcoats means I can build an army of them on the 'luxuries' budget of my salary without breaking a sweat, for 1 month. Done. That's fairly impressive IMO.
Second, the level of detail some of the people here are discussing, in regards the masks and coat physics etc are certainly valid points but hardly fair. GW doesn't even apply that level of detail to their highly expensive models. Please go take a look at Vulcan H'Estan (sp) to see half the fabrics travelling in one direction and half in the other. Please also go check on the physical design of the rank and file catachans, grotesquely out of proportion. The greatcoat guards we see here could have more detail, but frankly they are 'middle of the line' on the GW detailing 'swingometer'. In comparison, given GWs technical and experience advantages, I consider these minis a success and the beginning of other ranges and choices. The competition will also answer this and the market will prosper and the customer benefit. The more competition GW gets, the happier I'll be. GW claim to make the best toy soldiers in the world, let the market decide if it agrees, once we have solid competition across the price and detail spectrum.
Thirdly, good luck to mantic, I like what they are selling and as detailed above, it's healthy for the market. But... Mantic's minis are smaller than GW ones and single pose cast in many cases. So the degree of individuality is greatly reduced. They are also, more importantly, not making greatcoat sci-fi minis, only WF have had the balls to try it. They are still in the fantasy market, and I wish them every success in that market.
I think however, that any 'brand loyalty' posting aside in this thread (along with dakkadakka's own Eeyore, Agamemnon2 - meant fondly mate), that WF are onto a winner here. Because between price and a reasonable paint job, these are an army waiting to happen.
They're not that bad, really. By some of the comments you guys make it sound as if they promised you the world's greatest miniatures. They're functional, and they're inexpensive.
Do I like them? Not really. I'd like to live in a world were Sci-Fi Greatcoat didn't just automatically equal Space Nazi. I'd prefer they didn't have techno-WWII German Helmets. I'd prefer the guns to look a little more... gun-like. I'd prefer it if the pistol looked more natural.
So they're fine for what they are, especially given that this is a garage company doing multi-part plastic sprues, and painted they can look pretty good (the 3D print Beasts of War did looked good, and that had less detail). I won't be getting any, but to lambast people because they like it? C'mon folks.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/04/18 10:44:02
Hi Everyone - thanks so much for the feedback on the models and this lively discussion! I love reading what people have to say and we actually listen as a company and strive to incorporate feedback into what we do...that's a big part of our process.
I think most people here know our story - but for those who don't - I'll give a brief recap. When I first started planning Wargames Factory, my goal was to utilize the same technology that Games Workshop was to do plastics. At the time (2007) I thought GW was “all-in” on the digital workflow and had left pantography behind. Little did I know that although they were using SensAble Technologies Freeform digital sculpting software – in many cases they were 3D printing 3-up sized masters and going the traditional route from there (and/or doing additional sculpting directly to the 3-ups). Much to my surprise, we didn’t start off by following along on a previously beaten trail, but had to hack our own way through the digital jungle! We tried working with literally dozens of tooling operations and finally developed a partnership with an incredible Canadian-run company in China. Together, we forged ahead in developing the all-digital process starting with Freeform sculpture and going ianto mold design and then tooling – all digital from the first cut of digital “clay” to the time when the teeny-tiny drill bit starts cutting into the metal of the injection tool insert. To say it’s been a learning process is an understatement! But I think the progress of what we’ve done in plastic from the Republican Romans and Zulu War British to our most recent sets – Vikings and Saxons – speaks for itself. We're continuing to push on the sculpting and technology side - but at this point I would put our latest sprues up against anyone's for crispness of detail and the lack of flash and moldlines.
Now our focus is to just continue to get better with each sprue we do - the molding is no problem - the focus is being incredibly creative with what we pack onto the sprues and continuing to push the envelope on the sculpting side. Sculpting, at the end of the day, is a matter of taste and up to the sculptor's individual style - but we do listen and we do try to incorporate those suggestions as best we can.
The Liberty and Union League process allows regular wargamers to contribute their creativity to the project so that the final product is something they can be happy with. It's not really "design by committee" though because in the end it's the WF team that decides which way to go with things and the sculptor who is really putting his heart and soul into the design.
The response to these Shock Troops has been unbelievable and we're excited to explore more on the SF front. The most logical first step is to do a Shock Troops heavy weapons sprue with some built in command options to flesh out this army a bit more.
To that end, I've started a new thread on our forums to discuss the wishlist/options for the next sprue - you can check it out here:
Thats actually a pretty kicking look. Unfortunately, I won't be looking into these mini's until they either release a head pack with better heads, (Some more non helmet/mask please) and a heavy weapons and command sprue. If they get that I would probably buy a companies worth of guys to use as Guardsmen.
Comparisons between GW's stuff and these are rather unfair imo, GW has been making plastic models for around 20 years (possibly more) and they've been doing multipart plastic figures since at least the 3rd edition of 40k, which is when I believe the first mp space marines came out.
Wargames Factory have been at it for one year and they've achieved a great deal in that time, the BoW showed the leap in quality from their first sprue to the newest.
They've done what they set out to do, namely to allow people the opportunity to create a large army at a low cost. No they're not as detailed, big surprise, there always has to be a compromise somewhere.
Speaking of compromises... sure thing, they can compromise prices, material etc as long as there are no quality compromises... because to me personally its the only major thing that stops me from getting miniatures... Thats why everyone's diferent.
far too many points and still painting...
