@All, sorry as I said in the previous thread, from stage 5 to stage 10, there usually aren't a lot of updates as it's just mold work. The test shot stage is usually when we do our next update, and we've already presented the test shots for the next 1-2 releases.
The 7YW Prussian sets are the ones I'm most interested in as those are the first of the 7YW. Note that on the front page of hat.com only the 28mm sets are listed. I'd like to see if we can push all 3 of the 7YW sets out plus the rest of the command sets. I think it's the Bavarian, Russian and Landwehr command sets which are left. But that means it will be a huge release of 6 sets and I don't know how many wallets can sustain such a huge release.
Some of you might have seen the new AWI work ups on the open HaT forum, but they're just planned as 1/72 right now. These figures are planned as a large playset, with both British and American figures. It'll run 20+ poses a side with maybe a couple of hundred figures. I'm sure that the playset in it's entirety will not see the light of day in 1/32 as it will just be too expensive. There are playsets currently that run a couple of hundred bucks but I'm not sure they're selling too well, you guys can correct me if I'm wrong.
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Thanks for the info. The news on the AWI is great. I love the idea of a 'playset'. As you may or may not know, Ron Barzso is doing a 1/32 AWI playset this year. Toy Soldiers of San Diego also had one planned, but is stepping back and will probably do other Rev War figures.
May I suggest, and I know it's months in the making, that if you are going to do a playset you give some consideration to doing a Marx style box? I think it would be a nice piece of nostalgia. Thanks, Jay.
@Jay, thanks for the info. The fact that others are making 1/32 AWI playsets will further pretty much ensure that a 1/32 AWI playset will not happen.
Shame about not doing AWI in 1/32.
My wallet is ok wth a 6 set release,
bring it on! FYI i very rarely ever see a playset in Australia.It is only bagged figures.
How is the cavarly going and are they planned foe 7yr war as well?
@Anth, no sense in killing each other by releasing the same stuff.
Looks like we'll be starting with some Nap. Cav to try out the new system.
Hatblogger..Collectors are screaming for 1/32 RevWar Cav and i cant se Barzso doing them?
anyway just a thought but Naps come 1st,
Rob C,
It seems that we can look forward to seeing the Landwehr and Russian test shots soon.
Last quarter there were two sets instead of four and that will also be the case this quarter. People were getting used to four sets a quarter so releasing six would just be catching up a bit. In total you would not be releasing more than expected.
As for AWI, if I am reading the post correctly, what Hat is rejecting is the big playset idea and making 1/32 at the same time as 1/72. Once the masters are made and it is clearer what the competition is doing (or has left undone) Hat can revisit the idea of standard six pose sets in the future.
In the meantime there is enough in the Napoleonic and SYW pipelines to keep the release schedule full for the next few quarters - Napoleonic Austrian, Spanish, Marching French, SYW Austrians, and all the Napoleonic and SYW cavalry and artillery.
And there are still the Napoleonic British, Portuguese, Americans and Brunswickers and the choice of the next SYW nation to consider.
I think it's a good idea to steer clear of what some of the other mfgs are covering, so there isn't overlap. I believe this was mentioned in earlier posts, but if you're looking at periods to cover down the road, WW1 and the Roman era under Julius Ceasar are not well represented in 1/32 scale. The AIP WW1 figures are awful and I don't beleive there are any Romans made for the Ceasar period. Just a suggestion.
@Rob C, I have never seen any screaming for Rev War cav, not even here!
@Chad, what 1/32 collectors can look for are sets we've already made in 1/72, or are going to make in 1/72. You guys can take your pick.
@HaT: you should check the other forums. Perhaps a 1/32 playset is out of the question, but perhaps releasing the figures in figure sets might be more cost-effective and practical. I know even if I have a playset I'm always on the prowl for more poses and figures to expand my armies. Just an idea.
Rob is correct. AWI cavalry has been a much lamented gap in 1/32.
@Wayne, which other forums?
@Rahway, OK that's 2 screamers!
Well, I don't know if there is screaming or not, but there is that one line of mounted Revy war figures based on old Britains painted plastic figures that sell for about $25 a pop. I don't know the name off hand but I'm sure someone does. They seem to sell out at shows I've been to.
Jay
I think HAT is right by not doing AWI in 54mm There are a lot of figures out there for this range. For US wargamers, there are four major periods in no particular order - Napoleonics, Civil War (also known as the War Between the States), WWII and ancient. In 54mm, there is a lot of ACW and WWII stuff out there, and it makes sense that HAT does not try to duplicate existing ranges. That is not to say there is no interest in Crimean War, colonials, Cossacks, the Franco-Prussian War or the Great Northern War, but the wargaming historical market generally focuses on the big four. Napoleonics is generally dominated by French and British, with some Russians, Prussians, and then only followed by Austrians and everything else coming in last. Given the large sales of 28mm Napoleonic plastics over the last ttwo years, 54mm Napoleonics should sell well IF HAT give gamers what they are looking for - ie well detailed figures in a harder plastic.
Wargamers, who usually raise between 10 to 20 units for a game, will probably buy more figures/boxes than your toy soldier collector who just wants one of each figure type but they do require the figures done at a certain standard. Wargaming figures have gotten a lot more detailed over the last few decades and are looking for the same quality they can get in a 28mm Foundry/Front Rank/Perry miniature. This includes correct numbers of fingers to detailed gun locks. In 15mm you generally find cannon barrels with cast on dolphines (the small pieces of cast brass/iron used to raise a gun off of its carraige) but these are rare in 54mm. If they can be done in the smaller scales, then there should be a way of doing it in the bigger scale.
Secondly, gamers will want a figure that is a bit on the harder side. Conte, for example, makes a great FFL figure but the gummy plastic is too weak to support paint and thus gamers will stay away from their figures. Italeri has made detailed figures and most are made of harder plastic, but the last few releases have left large amounts of plastic blobs on the figures which require much time spent on cleaning. As a result, the figures have not sold as well. The Armies in Plastic Fuzzy-Wuzzy figures sell well because they are in a harder plastic while the arabs, which are in a softer plastic, rarely do.
As to looking which figures are currently in production, it may be a false line of reasoning. Gamers who have had ranges discontinued, such as by Foundry, have gotten use to the idea of searching for the rarer figures they need to complete their armies. So it would make sense that HAT release things that are needed in larger number and which have proven to sell well. French line troops and British line have rarely been done in 54mm and should sell well. Same with British highlanders in kilts and French Old Guard. British and French artillery have been done and you can find a large variety of stuff out there. Austrian line may not sell that well because of 2 sets made by Italeri, but Austrian Grenzers and Hungarians, which have never been made before, may do better than Austrian line. Austrian guns will sell because they have never been done.
Adrian
PS Armies in Plastic has a generic AWI cav set out. Figures are wearing tricorns, but head swaps will give you an OK dragoon.
Pardon me for asking, but how do you know which sets sell well and which don't?
If you talk with dealers, most will give you a good indication of what sells for them. If you work in the retail end at a small shop, you generally see what moved quickly out the door and what things people order. If you have various customers ordering 15 boxes of Perry plastic Napoleonic figures at your shop and then see the larger dealers selling out of the same plastic napoleonic figures at one of the major conventions (and they had a large pile at the start of the show), then you get an indication that the figures are popular and the items sells. On the other side of the coin, if you see the same figures at various hobby shops with dust on them, then you can say the stuff does not sell or perhaps it has past its prime. There are other marketing tools you can use to track sales, but the information is easier to find than most people think.
I realy dont se the harm in doing a few Rev War sets even if its just infantry.
Yes Barzso has some planned but his sets are hard to get outside of the USA and not cheap
plus they are resine not that nice soft plastic {like the hat figures}
Accurate did a great British set plus Milita {but how many of them can you double up on!
but no real good American troops..
and before you guys jump in i know about the AIP sets which are not that good.
Im pretty sure that RevWar would out sell 7yw.
anyway thats just my 2 cents worth
Rob C,
E20
2 sets ,4sets or 6 sets yes for 6
Hat number 1 for 1/32 napoleonnic
Regards John
Barzso has done some plastic figures before, not just resin, and he may well do them again in plastic the future.
Jay
I think Barzso's foray into plastic for the Robin Hood set was an experiment; his last playset, "The Battle of Bushy Run" was done in resin, I suspect that is where he'll stay.
@Hatblogger: There are two I go to one is the Hobbybunker forum, I visit that one almost daily, there was a recent discussion/debate over ARW and the lack of good ARW cavalry was brought up. I discussed with a fellow member how the AIP sets were inadequate as they had their troopers wearing tricornes whereas the majority of ARW cavalry wore helmets.
Having visited other forums such as TreeFrogs (don't go there often, though) I recall the topic rearing its head more than once though cannot recall exactly when or where, I can say that within the last month this was discussed at Hobbybunker. Sorry I took so long to get back to you on this, I missed your question.
Hi, imperial romans is a good idea, but i would like to know if napoleonic french will release in 2011.
Many thanks
Fabrizio
Nap cavalry - hurrah!
AWI - meh!
Hope you will consider some Napoleonic Polish infantry in the future. Infantry wearing the Polish Czapka headgear are rare and would complete many collections.
And useful for cavalry headswaps if necessary.
There are a lot of posters on this blog.
Which means around 3x more readers. But not much in the way of constant updates.
Though do check out the box art for the Prussian Landwer
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