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Hello

As i said, i'm returning to the 40k after leaving it in 5th edition. I always have liked the idea, background and gameplay of the imperial guard (or whatever nonsense TM name they have now...), but i simply cannot stands the minis, the oversized heads and hamfists and general clone-looking of the cadians, nor the ugly tanks... so i really cannot start an army without nice minis.

Now that the imperial guard codex is starting to be previewed, that long-abandoned idea is itching me again, but the models are stil the same fugly hydrocephalus clones...

However, maybe in these years have appeared some companies out there that make nice models as stand-ins. I don't like the heroic-scale or "GW compatible" bits or minis, they are as ugly as the GW ones. I would like miniatures more decently proportioned and with nice appeareance and variety.

Maybe anyone can point me some names so i can search more?


Thanks!

Well I dont know what you like but variety is defiantley achieved with these two.

https://madrobotminiatures.com/

http://anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Regiments-Custom-Squad-Builder/regiments-custom-infantry-squad

Also there is a kickstarter that looks promising regarding its looks (includes tanks aswell) but the company is a 50/50.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/740348.page

Victoria Miniatures.

Sells a range of Guard stand-ins that work for Mordians, Praetorians, Catachans, Chem Dogs etc. Worth a look - they're really, really good. Although some of them proportionally look a bit better than Cadians, they're still mostly Heroic-scale though... most wargaming stuff will be though so I'm not sure what you're looking for here.

If you've got the wallet for it, there's always Death Korps of Krieg or Elysian Drop Troopers both from Forge World who are less Heroic and far more realistically-proportioned. Take that from someone who owns DKoK, Elysians and Cadians.

If you don't like the chunkier look you're mostly outta luck, not to mention that, with the exception of Anvil, companies like mad Robot are actually considerably more expensive than GW, with less options. Some of Anvil's 'Afterlife' troops are slightly less chunky but Anvil are deliberately aiming for 'Heroic' proportions.

The only 'realistically' proportioned minis (aside from Corvus Belli's 'Inifinity' line) i can think of are those Dreamforge games Eisenstein (or whatever) guys. They're pretty cool looking (if a little 'Nazi' and robotic for me) but suffer badly from ugly weapon syndrome, so you'd need to find them some new guns. Infinity minis also suffer from ugly weapon syndrome but would be MUCH harder to convert.

Please note i have no information regarding their availability.

These make an amazing alternate to imperial guard. Tons of them, less than 10 cents a model. Would definitely recommend


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Banelord300 wrote:


http://anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Regiments-Custom-Squad-Builder/regiments-custom-infantry-squad

Those are actually really nice.

The Dreamforge Eisenkern are more realistically proportioned.

https://dreamforge-games.com/collections/infantry/products/eisenkern-stormtroopers-20-man-set



I also plan to use their 15mm Leviathans as Leman Russ tanks.

Many thanks for your replies.

 Albino Squirrel wrote:
The Dreamforge Eisenkern are more realistically proportioned.

https://dreamforge-games.com/collections/infantry/products/eisenkern-stormtroopers-20-man-set

Yes, these are actually what i meant. Other brands have sticked to the "heroic" nonsense because thats what GW were doing, but nowadays i have seen models from GW much more proportioned (genestealers cult, celestine, etc.), and as you have said there are manufacturers that are not aiming for "heroic" scale, so i think its not so crazy trying to look for and then use those models.

The kickstarter seems promising, but i don't participate in those crowdfunding, i will wait until the actual product will be in an actual store so i can be sure of what i will receive and when i will receive it.

About the other brands you have mentioned, in my opinion those are actually the same as the GW guards with other "skins", i think that some of them are actually worse, like the old 2nd edition metals. Except the Anvil industry 'AFTERLIFE' line, as Perkustin said, these i think are nice and seem better figures than their 'Regiments' line.

Eisenkern being plastic are really nice, i will search if these are available from some place i have access to.

Thanks again

It's worth mentioning that heroic scale/built things are also pretty intentional from a gaming perspective. There is a reason we never see properly proportioned guns or fingers - they break in an instant. It's why axes and swords and spears are comically thick when compared to real versions - and why so many miniatures have beefy hands and impossibly large necks

There is a method to the madness normally. It's odd you find the old 2nd ed. metals worse than current plastics, because many of them were much better sculpts/miniatures than the current crop of Cadian greys.

Head and weapon swaps go a long way to sorting most of your problems.

I used cadian's, pig iron heads and Hassle free CAD guns.

If there are alternative models that i think are nicer, maybe i should try them instead of buying miniatures i dislike and then trying to 'fix' them. My opinion, of course.

Speaking of that, does anyone know if DreamForge Games are still in business and producing minis?

Dreamforge seem to have a functioning website/marketplace, indeed after some of my own research i see that they own the distribution rights to the (apparently defunct) Wargames Factory lines. Albino Squirrel has linked it in his post. Unfortunately unlike most other websites (like Anvil) they are pretty vague about shipping costs/logistics, unknown if they're EU friendly for example.

I seem to recall a bit of trouble in their early days, honouring kickstarter backers in a timely fashion and such but i think they're more established now. You could have a look for the Dreamforge thread in Dakka's 'News and Rumours' for more info.

To go back on something i said the 'Rifle' troops have decent looking guns; 'MG42' style things, it's just those little SMGs and panzerfausts i really don't care for. The 'Heavy' troops also have some nice looking Bolter looking guns.

While they're not quite out yet, I recommend taking a look at the Mantic GCPS Marines, they're pretty realisticly proportioned and are somewhat cheaper than the other options.