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2018/05/06 18:32:20
Subject: Re:[Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
I'm assuming all the little bits littering the fields are painted Terrain Crate items though. Looking forward to getting all that clutter and my Vanguard figures- they're looking good!
Tabletop world with Terrain crate scatter - the horse and cart is terraincrate as well
Theophony wrote: The painting and colors on the Basileans really make me feel like I’m looking at a Saturday morning cartoon. The dragon doesn’t help.
Wow... until you said that....
Now I can't unsee it.
Maybe this will take my mind off it....
The Auld Grump - nope, still seeing it with crappy 1980s animation....
Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.
The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
2018/05/06 19:42:45
Subject: [Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
Pretty much like everything, though yes, the Basileans could use a bit of grit, even if that probably goes against whatever their fluff is
Digging the Abyssal heroes, lots of character in there, and I do like where they're taking the official Night-Stalkers. Suitably gribbly
But gotta say, I feel like the ice elemental could be scaled up a bit, compared to all of those other monsters around it (and trying to ignore the truly towering giant behind it). Assuming it's a greater elemental, not a biggish lesser (ala obsidian golems) ...
But gotta say, I feel like the ice elemental could be scaled up a bit, compared to all of those other monsters around it (and trying to ignore the truly towering giant behind it). Assuming it's a greater elemental, not a biggish lesser (ala obsidian golems) ...
The Ice Elemental is a lesser rather than greater they are meant to be fielded in units in KoW so the size is correct
2018/05/07 13:55:25
Subject: [Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
This week we’re delving into the Mantic archives to re-release some miniatures that have been lost over the 9 years Mantic has been running. This blog will go over the returning fantasy miniatures
DaveC wrote: May Metal Madness starts today with fantasy.
This week we’re delving into the Mantic archives to re-release some miniatures that have been lost over the 9 years Mantic has been running. This blog will go over the returning fantasy miniatures
I literally just gave 30pts worth of Mantic points away to a friend who I had gotten enamored with Walking Dead (so he could get the pt Exclusives)... :-( I really want to snag those Dwarf items though...
11527pts Total (7400pts painted)
4980pts Total (4980pts painted)
3730 Total (210pts painted)
2018/05/15 14:12:00
Subject: Re:[Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
It's the CGI final form of the viallain played by a slight British actor that ruins the third act. "I will destroy you! For ultimate power! Wait...what are you--Noooooo!"
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/05/15 16:42:30
FWIW I think this mini (on the left) is the best Chroneas counts as I know of:
(As painted by Direct Misfire / SpOOn - still looking for the original mini, I've come across it before I'm sure. Not a conversion either, you can buy this shadow demon thing.)
I dig the Mantic one, looks suitably towering and laser-y. Unlike most Chroneas, having feet helps remind that the unit isn't flying, which I never remember.
- Salvage
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/05/15 17:44:26
Abyssal Chroneas and Orc Krudger on Winged Slasher are very cool looking.
But the Basilean High Paladin on Dragon is just horrible, specially the dragon. It looks like a cheap 5€ toy. Maybe the paladin is better than the mount.
Dakka does have White Knights and is also rather infamous for it's Black Knights. A new edition brings out the passionate and not all of them are good at expressing themselves in written form. There have been plenty of hysterical responses from both sides so far. So we descend into pointless bickering with neither side listening to each other. So posting here becomes more masturbation than conversation.
ERJAK wrote: Forcing a 40k player to keep playing 7th is basically a hate crime.
2018/05/16 00:21:25
Subject: [Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
Galas wrote: Abyssal Chroneas and Orc Krudger on Winged Slasher are very cool looking.
But the Basilean High Paladin on Dragon is just horrible, specially the dragon. It looks like a cheap 5€ toy. Maybe the paladin is better than the mount.
I have the Paladin from the KoW 2.0 KS. Paladin is good, Dragon is... the Dungeon Saga Dragon...
"The Omnissiah is my Moderati"
2018/05/18 13:47:16
Subject: Re:[Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Pretty sure that demon is from Blood Keep Miniatures, who I think were out of Malta or somewhere small.
Bingo!
And yep, not really available any longer, at least not from their shop (which has nothing in it)
RE: The KOW dragon, I can't argue, it's not a showcase sculpt. Better IMO than the copy-pasta Citadel S-dragon from back whenever, but obviously could use an update with the new generation of Mantic minis.
- Salvage
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/05/18 15:45:48
The KoW Dragon was designed first and foremost as a boss mini for a boardgame, meaning a vertical orientation made to fit on a card tile grid and let the heroes stand next to it without bumping, with the swappable head ability for KoW armies a secondary 'hey let's make the most of this' consideration. It is what it is.
Mine is the basic DS one without a rider; I'm only an average painter and I thought it turned out just fine detail wise.
edit: Interestingly, something about imgur has muted the colours, the jpg opened in windows photo viewer has much more vibrant colours. Wonder why that is?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/05/18 17:13:02
kodos wrote: I have the Dragon here and I like it
Not the best in material but a better design than all those Large Snakes with wings stuff GW has made
It is clearly made for gaming and not for Showcase
My thoughts exactly!
2018/05/19 04:43:34
Subject: [Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
kodos wrote: I have the Dragon here and I like it
Not the best in material but a better design than all those Large Snakes with wings stuff GW has made
It is clearly made for gaming and not for Showcase
My thoughts exactly!
Aesthetics are personal. I think it looks like a cheap toy for the kind of gaming that a child does when playing with their toy soldiers (I have one or two from DS backing) and much prefer the GW "snake" style dragons over the DS one, though they're not my favourite type either. Made for gaming but not to look good might be another way to put it.
Mantic certainly have proved that they can produce better than that, so I'll chalk it down to a "growing pains" model for the time.
If you like it though - knock yourself out. All good. If you can't like it without stopping to insult other models though, then expect the same quality of opinion in reply.
I generally like Mantic models, but the Dragon (along with the Soul Reavers) are models I can't stand. They just look like cheap kids toys.
I can see the reason why the dragon was designed like this - keeping it to fit over a particular base size for use in a boardgame. This also fits with the KoW base sizes.
NTRabbit's done a good job of painting it - far better than Mantic did, but the model is poor.
Here's hoping they redesign the dragon in hard plastic to the same quality as their vehicles. After all, with head swaps and rider swaps, it gets a use in a lot of armies.
Currently most played: Silent Death, Mars Code Aurora, Battletech, Warcrow and Infinity.
2018/05/19 08:52:17
Subject: [Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
Can someone tell me where they are buying cheap plastic 'toy' dragons from that look as good as that?
The closest 'toy' dragons I have been able to find with decent quality are the pre-painted Heroscape dragons which are great value for D&D/RPG and wargaming on a budget.
They might just not be available in Australia but I go shopping for toys regularly at a wide variety of stores and Im not seeing dragons anywhere.
2018/05/19 10:05:20
Subject: Re:[Kings of War] Mantic Fantasy News & Rumors- Vanguard (Skirmish)
As far as available at this very moment in toy stores, I don't know what's out there at present. As you know, that gak cycles through.
but assuming you're serious and not just arguing the point for poor old Mantic, I'll take you seriously and help out.
Ok, so first there's Bones, but we're not talking about those. I'll show you some toys that are cheaper and far better than the Mantic ones. Yes, even for us Aussies. As I said, I think the Mantic dragon looks like a cheap toy (NT's paint job is quite good - and frankly - better than that model deserves!). I'm going to direct you to some toys that are better than Mantic's dragon. They're not cheap toys that look the same (because why would you want that) but they are cheaper and better looking. I'll give you a variety because as we all know - personal aesthetics are important.
For anytime draconic goodness:
Go to eBay. In your case, ebay.com.au.
Type in "Mcfarlane dragon".
Filter "price + postage: lowest first"
Choose from various dragons that are cheaper. The Mantic dragon is £29.99, (AU$54 before post) the undead one is £39.99 (AU$72 before post)
This one is AU$30 with free postage.
Spoiler:
Found one of these for AU$20 + $10 postage (this is a clearer picture - different seller)
Spoiler:
Do a GIS to see what's out there.
Minizoo is a local retailer that has a large variety of Schleich, Papo, etc animals, which includes tons of very good quality Dinosaurs (I've bought a fair few from them) as well as more explicit dragons.
https://www.minizoo.com.au/search.php?search_query=dragon
Some of these are getting towards the price of (but are still cheaper than) the basic Mantic dragon, but on the other hand, they gak all over the Mantic one. You can putty the joints and repaint, or just stick on a base and away you go. You may or may not need to supply your own rider if you want a rider as opposed to a "free" dragon. (I've got some McFarlane ones that have riders on them - need to find those models now that I've safely moved in here, actually!)
Remember, these photos are of the prepaints, not resin masters professionally painted by Angel Giraldez. They can easily be sprayed and repainted (I recommend any of Tamiya/Gunze/Mr Surfacer's fine primers as opposed to cheap crap from Bunnings).
MangoMadness wrote: Can someone tell me where they are buying cheap plastic 'toy' dragons from that look as good as that?
The closest 'toy' dragons I have been able to find with decent quality are the pre-painted Heroscape dragons which are great value for D&D/RPG and wargaming on a budget.
They might just not be available in Australia but I go shopping for toys regularly at a wide variety of stores and Im not seeing dragons anywhere.
See pic
Spoiler:
No worse, although slightly smaller.
This was the first link on a google search for me. I would imagine with some time spent, there's much better out there.
I know Toys R Us used to have an awesome display of prepainted fantasy figures, dragons and dinosaurs in a variety of scales. I even went so far as taking a mounted lizard man figure to check sizes for the dinos. They looked better than I could paint. In the end, I didn't get it as it was £25 and the wife was with me with that 'more toy soldiers' face on.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/05/19 10:11:26
Currently most played: Silent Death, Mars Code Aurora, Battletech, Warcrow and Infinity.
If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay 
11527pts Total (7400pts painted)
4980pts Total (4980pts painted)
3730 Total (210pts painted) 
