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I went to a Warhammer Ancients Battles tournament in Kansas City years ago and saw a superb game put on by Keith van Pelt and the Lion's Den gaming group in 54mm. I was struck by detail, terrain and just cool scale.
I've finally gotten my fill of 25/28mm figures for a while and decided "what the hay" to go for the gold and start painting 54mm. Picked up some All The King's Men Figures. They look good. I've painted the officer's horse this week. The figures actually work up well using the techniques I've used for years. Am still re-learning how to paint eyes. I quit doing that when all the eyes of a unit I painted for a guy mysteriously were cross-eyed. All in the painter's perspective eh?
Keep checking back as I post "in progress" pictures. I am impressed with the ATKM line so far but have discovered Irregular Miniatures' 54mm line. They're more expensive so my jury's still out. Does Silver Eagle Miniatures still carry Irregular Miniatures here in the US? Don't know.
'Ere we go" down the black hole that is yet another toy soldier collection. I'm an addict...are you?
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I've thought of doing something in either 40mm or 54mm . . . but what period to do?
ReplyDeleteWhat are you choosing, sir?
-- Jeff
Not quite an Lead/plastic soldier addict that way - However - it is nice to 'finally' see a post from you after nearly 8 months of inactivity. i was beginning to think you had vanished into a blackhole of Calcutta or some such nonsense. While I prefer 25/28mm (I am glad to see you re-emerge in the sunlight and your going larger scale rather than shringing to 6mm.
ReplyDeleteStill hope to see a Napoleonic wargame on your site soon.
Personally, I prefer the plastic 54mm figures over Ken's 54mm metals. There's actually more detail on most of the plastics (except for the Armies In Plastic figures - which are low on detail but "big 54's" and good for rank n' file troops.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a plastic manufacturer you prefer? I'll ask the noob questions about cost comparisons, how do you prime them for painting? any special prep that works for you that others may not use? Am quite curious and saving a bit o' moolah is always a good thing when discussing with my long suffering spouse.
ReplyDeleteLate reply - Rustoleum has a Plastic Primer that I like to use. Use several light coats.
ReplyDeleteGuns on plastic figures are usually bent out-of-the-box. I get a pot of boiling water going and have the faucet nearby running cold water into the sink. I dip the offending part (rifle barrel) into the boiling water for a few seconds, grab the barrel with tweezers and pull it straight, then while still holding it straight put it under the cold water coming out of the faucet to "fix" the straight barrel in place. You can also use this technique to bend arms, twist heads, etc..
Getting flash off of soft plastic is a pain. Need a really sharp Xacto knife. Don't "scrape" the flash (or sand) as it leaves plastic "hairs" sticking up.
Other problems with plastic 54's is they're oriented toward toy soldier collectors than wargamers. For example, you cannot get a 54mm AWI figure in a round hat - 99% are in tricornes with an occasional odd figure in light infantry helmet. No Tarlton or Continental AWI cav either - the Armies in Plastic cav are in tricornes. Of course you're doing Naps which I feel has the best selection in plastic.