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For all of my issues with Felix, the quality of his sculpting isn't one of them. I'll get these once they hit retail.

I was just coming to post those. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... tempting...

Someone will be getting my money for a dwarf army in the future, just not sure who yet...

I like the Iron shields (the ones just pictured) more than the Bronze shields shown previously...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Isn't the chainmail still a bit off on these, though? You can see a 360 view on the website here:

http://www.avatars-of-war.com/eng/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&prodcode=pl05&prodname=Dwarf+Ironshields&id=118&Itemid=114

On the Indiegogo page, he says they're only up for backers, not regular purchase yet (listed as out of stock). I don't see the Bronze Shields up at all.

Pictures don't do the models any justice. The details are super crisp (like for real, not this finecast crap) and I couldn't find any missing pieces. There are obviously loads of bubbles, but those are meant to be there ^^







Units consists of a 3-men command group and two of each of 7 variants (thus 14 rank'n'file models)

Thanks for the pics!

So sweet to Finally start to have unit options from companies other than GW. And with more character, too! (Although not more possibility in this case)

Well have to say they look like beautiful sculpts.. anyone know what kind of mm size they are from end to end?

Here's that 360 view of the Ironshields, what do you guys think?

If AoW release all they said they would from the Indiegogo campaign (which had listed January as the release timeframe, although I'm sure many of the units are going to release beyond that) they will likely get my money. I am looking for an army's worth of dwarfs with a consistent look, probably to pick up in the spring.

Still, that said I think these could have been a bit better. Their backs, and their chainmail skirts both stick out as having had room for improvement. But overall, I do like them more than others that are available.

I agree, don't like their backs. Chainmail/Armour seems fine though.

I already ordered a box of the Ironshields, so my view might be blurred ^^

Regarding the Corrupters. I can understand the irritation that the heads are fixed to the torsos, as this lessens one of the key means of individualising the models.

But it doesn't look like the torso has to go with the corresponding legs. So with 7 of each, you can have up to 49 different miniature combinations. If you make sure that each head has a very different weapon to its twin, you should get a fairly high degree of differentiation. A slightly different paint scheme for each will help as well.

It's not as good as having seperate heads maybe, but I don't think that the Legions of Pestilence are going to look like the Coldstream Guards on parade.

EDIT: I bought the AOW Bezerkers/Slayers, and the models are fantastic. They're also a mongrel to put together, with 7 components each, more if you put the great weapon on. You can pose them in a million different ways, but the size of the models in relation to their bases means that most of them have to have their weapons waving in the air above their heads in order to rank up; so about half the regiment is in the same pose. Fine if you're a painter, but gamers will find that the poseability can be a pain in the buttox.

 RiTides wrote:
So sweet to Finally start to have unit options from companies other than GW. And with more character, too! (Although not more possibility in this case)

Now someone just needs to do Zombies.

Yes, I'm bringing it up again. We need better zombies.

Better GW zombies perhaps, although I can't remember the last time I saw a VC army without the Mantic ones - think they have been pretty popular (although admittedly that is probably a lot to do with the price).

 Pacific wrote:
Better GW zombies perhaps, although I can't remember the last time I saw a VC army without the Mantic ones - think they have been pretty popular (although admittedly that is probably a lot to do with the price).

They're still not better. As RiTides said, "And with more character, too!". The GW zombies have character, in that schlock zombie sense, but are technically terrible sculpts. Mantic zombies are technically better sculpts, but are so completely generically boring that it hurts just as much to look at them. Mantic zombies are like a sideways move in terms of quality. You sacrifice character for a better sculpt, or sacrifice the better sculpt for more character. And honestly, every time I hear someone recommend Mantic zombies, they always have the qualifier 'and they're cheap'.

I don't want cheap zombies. I want good zombies. We need someone like Avatars of War to get a good multipart plastic zombie kit out there with loads of character and options.

 -Loki- wrote:

 RiTides wrote:
So sweet to Finally start to have unit options from companies other than GW. And with more character, too! (Although not more possibility in this case)

Now someone just needs to do Zombies.
Yes, I'm bringing it up again. We need better zombies.

AoW asked several times what people wanted next and always got the answer Witch Elves. He then decided to make Dwarfs and Chaos Warriors.

Both of which likely have army books coming this year... So not a bad move in the end!

 Kroothawk wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:

 RiTides wrote:
So sweet to Finally start to have unit options from companies other than GW. And with more character, too! (Although not more possibility in this case)

Now someone just needs to do Zombies.
Yes, I'm bringing it up again. We need better zombies.

AoW asked several times what people wanted next and always got the answer Witch Elves. He then decided to make Dwarfs and Chaos Warriors.

To be fair, with Raging Heroes Witch Elves coming out about the same time theirs would have, it wasn't a bad move.

 -Loki- wrote:
To be fair, with Raging Heroes Witch Elves coming out about the same time theirs would have, it wasn't a bad move.

To be fair, he first asked when the trollslayers were released. Yep, that long ago. And Raging Heroes is metal and on the small side.

I don't really see size as an issue. Actually, it works better when they're supposed to be lithe females.

 -Loki- wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Better GW zombies perhaps, although I can't remember the last time I saw a VC army without the Mantic ones - think they have been pretty popular (although admittedly that is probably a lot to do with the price).

They're still not better. As RiTides said, "And with more character, too!". The GW zombies have character, in that schlock zombie sense, but are technically terrible sculpts. Mantic zombies are technically better sculpts, but are so completely generically boring that it hurts just as much to look at them. Mantic zombies are like a sideways move in terms of quality. You sacrifice character for a better sculpt, or sacrifice the better sculpt for more character. And honestly, every time I hear someone recommend Mantic zombies, they always have the qualifier 'and they're cheap'.

I don't want cheap zombies. I want good zombies. We need someone like Avatars of War to get a good multipart plastic zombie kit out there with loads of character and options.

that *completely* depends. After mixing with some ghoul sprues and doing a hand swap here and there, I vastly prefer mantic zombies to anything I could have done with the GW zombies in the same time.
I don't even mind a "bad" sculpt with character; it's just that I can't stand most of GW's undead stylistically.
...Which is entirely subjective and totally not meant as a criticism to you; I'd just like to point out that to me (and quite a few others I know) things 'look' a bit differently, perhaps.

(one last thing I'd also like to note is that mantic zombies are significantly easier to paint to a decent standard at breakneck speeds. Something which matters when painting 80+ of them, as I'm just this week finishing up )

No offense taken - I'm not really a fan of GW's style of zombies either (though I take issue if you mean their Skeletons, which are far and away some of the best plastic skeletons on the market minus the bat wings). It's just that Mantics are just as bad, in a different way. I just use GW's because I keep getting them in package deals.

I'll just keep on hoping someone decides to do some decent plastic fantasy zombies that don't look completely generic or be terrible sculpts.

 -Loki- wrote:
(though I take issue if you mean their Skeletons, which are far and away some of the best plastic skeletons on the market minus the bat wings).

Alas, I believe 'tis the start of a great vendetta here and now; I hate those (...but fully acknowledge it's a toss-up between GW's and Mantic's completely depending on taste).

...so, how long will it take before we get that limited edition AoW dwarf army standard bearer shipped? I paid $15 US for that specifically to bitch and moan with the rest of you about AoW's epic knack for delay, and now it seems it's actually being worked on

Bolognesus wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
(though I take issue if you mean their Skeletons, which are far and away some of the best plastic skeletons on the market minus the bat wings).

Alas, I believe 'tis the start of a great vendetta here and now; I hate those (...but fully acknowledge it's a toss-up between GW's and Mantic's completely depending on taste).

My issue with Mantics is proportion. They're too 'thick'. They look like someone wearing a skeleton costume. GW's are actually some of the best proportioned skeletons in plastic you can get.

...**blinks**...
I think you mean GW's skellies are so 'heroically' scaled that relatively thick bones (an issue with pretty much all practical skeleton models) are less of an issue.
I compared both several times; the GW model *is*, in the end, cartoonier in proportions. whether it looks like that to you is, in my experience (hearing a bunch of opinions on both, mostly ) a matter of how much you like the rest of the style more than anything.
to call the GW skellies well-proportioned actually had me lost for words a while here.

still, let's either take this to PM's or dakka Discussions; I can imagine certain people, let's say uhh, mods?, not liking this in an AoW topic all that much

Bolognesus wrote:
...**blinks**...
I think you mean GW's skellies are so 'heroically' scaled that relatively thick bones (an issue with pretty much all practical skeleton models) are less of an issue.
I compared both several times; the GW model *is*, in the end, cartoonier in proportions. whether it looks like that to you is, in my experience (hearing a bunch of opinions on both, mostly ) a matter of how much you like the rest of the style more than anything.
to call the GW skellies well-proportioned actually had me lost for words a while here.

Are you looking at the Tomb Kings skeletons? Because the VC sksletons are actually different, and small enough to look like they actually fit in a 28mm models body as its skeleton.

edit - you know what, I'm doing the whole agree to disagree thing, because this really isn't the thread for it.

Yes, please- Mantic vs GW scale that doesn't involve AoW is OT here.

Have they said if they have any plans on moving any of their metal models to Warcast? Because I'd rebuy the Vampiress in an intant if I could do away with the metal fig.

 -Loki- wrote:
No offense taken - I'm not really a fan of GW's style of zombies either (though I take issue if you mean their Skeletons, which are far and away some of the best plastic skeletons on the market minus the bat wings). It's just that Mantics are just as bad, in a different way. I just use GW's because I keep getting them in package deals.

I'll just keep on hoping someone decides to do some decent plastic fantasy zombies that don't look completely generic or be terrible sculpts.

I'm not sure if it fulfills your criteria of being not "generic", but Tre Manor's (Red Box Games) kickstarter transferred his rather excellent zombies into... something like plastic.


From his forums, it looks like he will be making these models available for general purchase after he fulfills the pledges, so... end of November I am hearing.

While they're great, 3 models in a regiment of over 50 kind of gets repetitive.

It's 9, not 3... Now back on topic

Heads and arms already attached= Dealbreaker

 -Loki- wrote:
Have they said if they have any plans on moving any of their metal models to Warcast? Because I'd rebuy the Vampiress in an intant if I could do away with the metal fig.

I think only new sculpts are being done in Warcast...

The new released characters (dwarf and corrupter) are metal. Which is kind of strange... the corrupter character coosts 11€ and looks almost exactly like a rank'n'file trooper for ~2€ ;(