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Wow, normally I'm a huge fanatic about most things Mantic, especially their prices...but that Bombard is fething expensive!! GW expensive. Ronnie, fix this! It's gotta be a mistake.

Updated for sure in some way - there's at least new units. I hope they fiddle around with the balance of units, but here's what was said in a blog:

"New Abyssal Dwarf and Dwarf Units

The new book adds new units and heroes to the ranks of the Abyssal Dwarfs and the Dwarfs, including Arhak Soulbinder, Slave Orc Gore Riders, Sveri Egilax and the Dwarf Bombard, and has all their stats and background."

http://manticblog.com/2014/04/14/through-hellfire-and-stone/

Thanks. I saw the stuff about characters, but missed the unit mention.

timetowaste85 wrote:Wow, normally I'm a huge fanatic about most things Mantic, especially their prices...but that Bombard is fething expensive!! GW expensive. Ronnie, fix this! It's gotta be a mistake.

Huh? That's kinda middle of the pack in terms of price for war machines. Dwarfs already have the flame belcher which is more expensive than the bombard. Metal + plastic kits will obviously be more expensive than plastic kits.

A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Out of those new ones the golems are the only ones I really like. I don't hate the others but I wouldn't buy them.

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Most of their sculpts are sub-par to be frank. They can do things well (Undead, Ogres, DZ Rebs are nice just a shame they are restic, Enforcers should be good based in renders). Everything else they release you can get much higher quality sculpts elsewhere usually fit the same price - Mantic aren't even that cheap anymore.

Only thing I dislike is that only some new Abyssal Dwarfs are plastic, while like the core units (Decimators and the other guys, I forget the name) are still plastic with metal bits.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Wow, normally I'm a huge fanatic about most things Mantic, especially their prices...but that Bombard is fething expensive!! GW expensive. Ronnie, fix this! It's gotta be a mistake.

Yeah it's what 2.50 cheaper than the GW equivalent.

willb2064 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Most of their sculpts are sub-par to be frank. They can do things well (Undead, Ogres, DZ Rebs are nice just a shame they are restic, Enforcers should be good based in renders). Everything else they release you can get much higher quality sculpts elsewhere usually fit the same price - Mantic aren't even that cheap anymore.

I really like their metal minis, no matter what range they come from. The dwarves they released from the KS appeal to me as well. I only wish the plastic dwarves matched the aesthetic.

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

These miniatures are mostly from the KoW kickstarter, and each kickstarter seems to have gotten better and better in terms of consistent execution.

That said, the new additions which weren't from the kickstarter don't seem too great here. Don't like the spider guy or the immortal command.

I'll just use old-GW and Forgeworld Chaos Dwarves for the most part. I've got a few ADs that came with the KS, so I can probably slot them in somewhere. Towards the back. With a front rank of Forgeworld ones in front of them.

 carlos13th wrote:

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Wow, normally I'm a huge fanatic about most things Mantic, especially their prices...but that Bombard is fething expensive!! GW expensive. Ronnie, fix this! It's gotta be a mistake.

Yeah it's what 2.50 cheaper than the GW equivalent.

The bombard is a bigger cannon - the Mantic cannon/organ gun is all plastic, and costs half of what the GW one does:

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/dwarfs/product/dwarf-ironbelcher.html

I've always liked the Chaos Dwarf aesthetic, but don't think I'd bite unless I can actually get some plastic ones. They always struck me as being really fiddly.

Really hoping the Deadzone sprues turn out well so Mantic can see there's a serious demand out there for plastic alternatives, especially in under represented armies and races.

decker_cky wrote:

 carlos13th wrote:

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Wow, normally I'm a huge fanatic about most things Mantic, especially their prices...but that Bombard is fething expensive!! GW expensive. Ronnie, fix this! It's gotta be a mistake.

Yeah it's what 2.50 cheaper than the GW equivalent.

The bombard is a bigger cannon - the Mantic cannon/organ gun is all plastic, and costs half of what the GW one does:

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/dwarfs/product/dwarf-ironbelcher.html

I was comparing it to this, which seems roughly equivalent

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Dwarf-Cannon

The plastic cannon is a bit smaller than the GW cannon, but I'm pretty sure the bombard is bigger. But it's never going to be much cheaper since it's a metal + plastic kit.

Still, £3 cheaper for the metal + plastic kit is 20% cheaper. I wouldn't hold your breath for it to have a lower RRP (though there's lots of reliable mantic discounters).

willb2064 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Most of their sculpts are sub-par to be frank. They can do things well (Undead, Ogres, DZ Rebs are nice just a shame they are restic, Enforcers should be good based in renders). Everything else they release you can get much higher quality sculpts elsewhere usually fit the same price - Mantic aren't even that cheap anymore.

That's odd, I thought their prices have actually gone DOWN recently (like when they dropped the MSRP of the Orcs infantry box sets)

That new dwarf army set seems to be an even better deal than the old one.

New one
20 plastic Ironclad
20 plastic Ironwatch
20 plastic Shieldbreakers
10 premium plastic Brock Riders
2 Ironbelchers
contains $140 worth of stuff for $79.99

Old one
40 Dwarf Ironclad Warriors
30 Dwarf Ironwatch Riflemen
15 Dwarf Shieldbreakers
2 Dwarf Ironbelcher Cannons/Organ Guns
contains $136.25 worth of stuff for $74.99 (discontinued)

That new set is definitely a much better composition (you have a legal unit of Shieldbreakers). And honestly if you grab that box and the Dwarf command set of characters, you have a pretty solid starting force for Kings of War.

So I like Abyssal Golems alot. Really like that paint scheme. I think they suffer from Mantic's tiny leg syndrome, but the armor plates at their knees and sides help with that some. I know the legs are still small, but it gives the appearance of more bulk.

That scorpion / dwarf thing is just bad. That's all I will say about that.

My favorite is the Haryps, though I have no use for them. I think they did great with these. My only worry, is they look very fiddly, and therefor fragile, but I would have to see how they go together before I would worry too much about that.

Really liking the gargoyles.
That bombard is a bit pricey as folks have pointed out.
If I want a bombard, I'll be likely reworking some styrene and possibly small PVC fittings for a couple bucks.

Regarding the bombard, I'd definitely like to get one but it's MSRP really should be $25-$30. You're basically paying $20 more than the plastic cannon (msrp $15) for a metal dude and a solid tube of pewter that is the bombard itself. If you put it in a sock, you could murder someone, so perhaps that's the added value. If it was $25 I'd grab one without hesitation for my Dwarf army that I am about 90% finished painting.

^ The US pricing for the bombard on the mantic store is buggered, I think.

It lists it as £12.49 GBP and $35 USD

 scarletsquig wrote:
^ The US pricing for the bombard on the mantic store is buggered, I think.

It lists it as £12.49 GBP and $35 USD

Good catch. Yup, and E15.99, so it's gotta be like $19.99 - $24.99, in which case, I'll get one!

Ahh, that's the issue. They set the bombard's US price at the £19.99 unit level. It should be $19.99 or so, like the mounted berzerker lord.

This release is actually a significant price drop for all the mixed units down to the same price as restic units (about 50% less for some units). I think mantic is just accepting slightly lower margins in order to keep consistent pricing, with basic units (£14.99 for 20 infantry) and premium units (£19.99 for 20 infantry or 10 cavary. Shieldbreakers dropped at some point to that price too, since I think they used to cost a bit more than ironclad.

I imagine as other armies are updated, they'll follow this pricing.

I actually noticed that price discrepancy last night as well, before seeing you guys post it here. Good catch. Looks like I'll be picking one or two up in the near future after all. I'm sure they'll get it sorted out soon enough, and I'll pick one up when they do.

willb2064 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Most of their sculpts are sub-par to be frank. They can do things well (Undead, Ogres, DZ Rebs are nice just a shame they are restic, Enforcers should be good based in renders). Everything else they release you can get much higher quality sculpts elsewhere usually fit the same price - Mantic aren't even that cheap anymore.

The Goblins are incredibly good-looking and insanely cheap too.

 Sigvatr wrote:

willb2064 wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
A lot of these new minis aren't looking so good.

Is Mantic just better at the SF stuff?

Most of their sculpts are sub-par to be frank. They can do things well (Undead, Ogres, DZ Rebs are nice just a shame they are restic, Enforcers should be good based in renders). Everything else they release you can get much higher quality sculpts elsewhere usually fit the same price - Mantic aren't even that cheap anymore.

The Goblins are incredibly good-looking and insanely cheap too.

Their goblins are an incredible concept with horrible execution. If they resculpted the same thing with a few extra options and command bits, and had a better cast made, then the goblins would be incredibly popular.

Incredible concept? They're just GW-style goblins with slightly different hats. Not that it's a bad thing or anything, but hardly "incredible".

 Azazelx wrote:
Incredible concept? They're just GW-style goblins with slightly different hats. Not that it's a bad thing or anything, but hardly "incredible".

They're goblins, but no more similar to any generation of GW's goblins than most any other goblins out there. I suppose pointy noses? Regardless - they look great but weren't executed well.

Meh, GW goblins are goofy, Mantic goblins look nasty. They're about as different as goblins can be while still being goblins. I suppose they have similar faces to the Night Goblins, which are far superior to GW's regular goblins as well.

Really?

Because goblins have been around for a lot longer than the GW/Kev Adams interpretation (which also got co-opted by World of Warcraft, Mantic and others)



Note, I've only displayed "published" images of Goblins, since that makes them "official" in someone's canon, as opposed to the fact that you or I or anyone on DeviantArt, etc could draw anything and call it a "goblin". I also skipped finding pictures of models from Hobbit, LotR, D&D Minis, Descent, Myth, etc etc. But yeah - my point is that things get a lot more different to Mantic's goblins from the GW ones "while still being goblins" - and inarguably so, unless you think TSR/WotC or FFG or WETA, etc don't have "valid" interpretations of Goblins and that the GW design is the one true goblin type.

Mantic's goblins aren't really very different at all from GW's ones. They're pretty much the same thing, but with a different hat. Not that this is a bad thing, and I also think they look good (better in pics than most of the models) but conceptually they're no different. Hell, even WoW's version is more distinct, with all of the Steampunk crap they bolt onto them.