Have seen recently multipose figures in hard plastic of Vitrix.
Something for Hät to do also in 54mm or other ranges?
45 comments:
Anonymous
said...
No. Not unless you plan to cast in hard-plastic so as to facilitate gluing. Or unless you plan to have them cast with male/female connections since polyethylene does not take most glue types readily.
But before you wildly run off into multi-pose miniaturs, flesh-out the Napoleonic and Ancient 1/32 ranges with coveted items like French Chasseur `a Cheval, Old Guard Grenadiers and Chasseurs `a Pied and cavalries; Line in and out of overcoat, ELites not in overcoat (all pre 1812), proper Russian and Austrian artillery, Cavalry for both. As for Ancients: Triarii appropriate for holding long spears, Princepes in chainmail, and command figures.
Would be happy if hat carries on with the 1/32nd standard sets if only 2 sets per year are issued for a while until the market place improves. Dont give up on 1/32nd - maybe just keep ticking along until better times. 9thHussar
Stick with 1/32 soft plastic figures and maybe deversify the range and yes even 2 sets a year is better then nothing. Not trying to compare Hat & Aip's buisness modal but AIP continue to chug along simply buy slowly topping up a vast range of periods WW1,SUDAN,NAPS,ect, And they have NO 1/72 sales to fall back on! Wish Hat 1/32 the best for the new year! Rob C,
I'm happy with how HaT do there stuff.Yes agreed 1 or 2 set per year is better that not been a producer of 1/32's. Wish Vitrix was 2-3mm smaller.Would be easier to mix and match with the others.
I agree Victrix missed the boat there . Great figures Lots of character and more sets to come. They even have some metals to compliment them . But thay dont fit in with anything else out there . Hat is my fist choice for Napoleonics. Always need more though {you can never have enough of something you didnt need in the first place}.Bardin uniforms would be great . Many conversion possibilities there . Artillery and cavalry are very much wanted . All the best for the new year to everyone. Cheers Martin
I,m not looking for multipose kits, just separate arms so that there would be more conversion possibilities and no ugly blocking under the figures arms. I hate blocking, it makes the figures look like cheap crap to me and if you try and convert the figures it hard as hell to remove the arms and there is no detail left on the figures after it is removed.
Separate arms also frees up the sculptor to be much more creative and to offer poses that could not be offered in a one piece figure because the pose could not fit into a 2 piece mold.
Other great option in separate arms is that now you can have a second set of arms for that same figure and have more poses per six figure set!
Separate heads would also be great but I,ll settle for just a few extra heads for the guys all ready crying about gluing a couple of pieces together for a better set of figures??? Extra heads with different faces ,bare heads, bandaged heads, bald heads, fatigue caps ect. these would make 6 figures look like many and with the separate arms together with extra heads a six figure set would be an 18 figure set, maybe even more if you buy a few boxes!!!
All i can say to you guys who don,t want to have to glue a couple of pieces for a much better BIGGER set of figures is to enjoy your ATTACK OF THE CLONES because that what it looks like when you mass these figures up together in my opinion, just a big mass of clones. A whole army of robots, all that missing is the bolts on there necks.
Unless the heads have a plug-in feature, forget separate heads. Remember this Fish, When everyones figures are special, no-ones figures are special. Your's are very special. I have your Prussins as my wallpaper. While I agree with you on blocking and can tolerate seperate arms for officers, I do not want multi-piece figures. I recently bought one of every set of current HaT napoleonics. I was a little dissapointed. I also bought the BUM russians painted red and green. The poses were better, more unique and with no blocking. Unfortunately they are in 60 mm.
Blackcat does multi-pose figs and assembles them for you. I think that would be a way for HaT to go. The arms are not molded to the body and no blocking would allow the buyer to dissaemble the figure without destroying it and leave all the detail. Then the figure could be reassembled with any other arms to any torso and come up with new poses. Again, unfortunately blackcat only does russians in 1/32 in plastic as far as I know. What I'm getting at here with mention of other makers is that you could mix and match arms and heads and torsos from multiple makers for even more variety. As long as the scale matches up.
Hi -for really unique figures utilizing hat Napoleonics you can do simple head swaps - screw-hook and nail/pinning procedure is the best - doesnt even require glue. I convert many figures using heads from Helmet spares -I also use these on old Airfix French Imperial Guards I will send Mr H some photos when hat conversions done 9th
Perhaps, Timothty, a better moniker for you might be "Troll"?
That aside, Timothy, perhaps when you stop whinning and crying about people likes and dislikes, you could learn to do what many of us have done for decades: convert! (Yes, I have seen your atttempts - hence my suggestion.)
In case you weren't aware, there are numerous manufacturers that sell seperate head, arms, legs, guns, packs, swords, bayonets and hands: All the Kings Men Toy Soldiers, Alexanders Toy Soldiers, Dorset Soldiers, Helmet Soldiers, Rose Miniatures and Historex! That way you can glue and pin and drill to your heart's content, and buy all the head you want!
You guys just don,t get it or care and I give up! keep pushing your carts with squares tires, your not ready yet for the wheel. I,m no troll, I just wanted every one to have special figurs and have always been willig to share in any info on how to convert figures and have posted how to threads on a few forums.
If every one had the same exact figures as mine, my figures would still be special to ME.
So troll??? NO! Guy looking to get us better figurs??? YES!
Figures that no one seams to want???
I guess its a good thing that I know how to use a knife because its not looking good for separate arms.
By the way Those Prussians had a couple of separate arms and figures with no blocking and take a look at what I was(and you guys could do) with just a few figures without blocking. Now imagne what could be done with whole sets like that.
My question is whats so hard about gluing in a couple of arms that will have sockets when you allready have to have the glue out to glue on the back pack????
I myself would rather have the separate arms over the separate back packs if it came down to a parts issue.
I think the guys that are against this idea are the 1/72 scale guys that want to see every figure made into 1/72 and I can see how separate arms would be tough in the tiny scale to be gluing and they also get twice as many figure per box. They also have every set of napoleonic figures under the sun already, I wish we had half of what they have available in 1/32 scale. And now the 1/32 scale line hat started to give us has dried up and is in question of being stopped altogether???
I wish I could sculpt and mold my own then you guys wouldn,t have listening to me rant any more on deaf ears. I give up! I guess I,ll try and take up sculpting? FISH!
P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR GEORGE! Please disreguard the whinning above, I thought this tread was put up to give our veiws on multipart figures? Sorry you don,t like my veiws on the subject or my "ATTEMPTS" at conversions. TIMOTHY!
Figures in pieces which have to be assembled - sockets or no - does not necessarily make them "better" per se. IF you think it does, then by all means, buy Victrix's figures and assemble them to your heart's content. Better still, if you really want to make custom miniatures and converting is too passe for you, then try your hand at Historex! They make beautiful models with infinite customization options with enough body parts, buckles, shako plates, equipment and weapons to keep you occupied indefinitely. (Should you pursue that course, you might like a book by Bill Ottinger entitled Napoleonic Plastic Figure Modeling.) Though this may be a bit advanced for someone of your obvious expertise.
It would appear that those posting here are referring to 1/32 scale and clearly not 1/72, hence it being called "1/32 HAT Blog". Since I just bought 30+ boxes of their 1/32 scale Napoleonic figures, this seemed to be the place to be.
With regards to the 1/32 range drying up: it only dries up if HaT continues to produce minor states with such gusto and not THE major participant: FRANCE. (In fact, someone made a very good point about this in the first post under this topic .)
Finally, with regards to trolling; You should not continue to whine & cry - now rant and rave - about those (majority) that like clones, as you put it, but be happy about them, instead of trying to run them down and insult them! Because THEY are the ones that make the 1/32 scale market a possibility. (See reference to "30+ boxes".)
George I don,t want to get into a pissing contest with you on this subject. I read back my first post and I see why you were offended by it, it did come off a bit harsh. That was my second post, the first long winded more civil one I tried to post vanished when I tried to enter it and that set me off into a bad mood and I almost didn,t repost at all and shouldn,t have I made my point the last time this subject was brought up and shot down. The second post was just me responding to being attacked by you, I apologize to anyone I offended by it, even you George.
As far as all these kits you talk about and companies that you listed??? I think I,ll pass on $15 plus dollar single figure Historex kits and over seas figure parts that will cost me an arm and a leg for an arm and a leg and head or two. Over seas shipping is killer!
I like to bash on plastic figures and like you said I,m sure those kits are way over my skill level anyway.
Sorry to have offended on such a level George.
I,m sure you buy many boxes of figures George but what makes you think that I don,t also? I have every napoleonic set released so far and multiples sets of each. Again I,m sorry to any one I may have offended and George I think we got off on the wrong foot, there is no need for personal attacks. FISH!
Having read all of the remarks here, it would seem the majority are in favor of what HaT is currently producing. Though I must comment about their heads: Last month I purchased 22 boxes of their Elites in Greatcoat (9311 & 9310) The detailing on the heads was very nice, though they were quite small. In fact the look somewhat disproportionate to the rather long-limbed "skinnies" wearing the overcoats. They reminded me of the "Marie Louises" of the 1814 campaign.
Once again, they are very nice just the actual head seems small under the shako. Best described as a 1/35 scale head on a 1/32 body, under a 1/32 scale shako, wearing a 1/24 scale overcoat!
As result of this, I decided to replace the heads with the Chasseur 'a Pied metal heads produced by Ken Cliffe of www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com They are very slighty large, but that's okay since the rest of the army thought the Imperial Guard had big heads anyway!
The most disappointing thing I have come across so far is how the muskets in 9311 seem to be miscast on some of the figures, i.e. lacking detail that should be there and could have been cast.
In closing, it is my opinion that multi-pose/part miniatures like those from Victrix are more a luxury than a necessity. I, for one, would - as others have already said - prefer a continuation of the current trends, with far more attention paid to the French. They DO NEED both Line Chasseurs, Chevauleger Lancers, Line infantry, et cetera. Russian and Prussian Dragoons would be nice as well! (Though please try to keep proper conformation, uniformity and consistency amongst troopers and horses.)
The Vitrix set was nice but the figures were to large and with just one set of British figures that don,t fit with anything else what do you do??? Had they been in 1/32 scale they would have been great and the parts could have been used to convert on other 1/32scale figures. They were supposed to release a french set also in 1/32, what ever happened to that?
Contrary to what you may think, the postage on the parts I've been referring to is really quite reasonable. Of all the orders I have made with Historex Agents, for example, the amount has never exceeded about $5.00 - even for $85.00 worth of parts! The guys there are very fair about that. Aside form Helmet, the most expensive postage I have encountered is actually here in the States with All The Kings Men Toy Soldiers, $8.00 no matter how small (or large) the order size.
The "attacks" you refer to were not "attacks" as such. But were meant to make you stop and take note of what you had said - or self destruct. In other words, an indirect way of saying, "Hey kid! Mind your manners!" Remember: when you type online in a situation without just provocation, think if you'd say that to someone's face (or a not so understanding crowd), especially if your Grandmother were listening in. :-)
Having said that, I commend you for your attempts to mend fences, though somewhat left-handed. So, apology accepted.
As to "bought boxes": that was referenced more for the benefit of HaT, as a reminder where and what type of buyer is their mainstay and not to be distracted by a meltdown. (NB: In case they are wondering, yes, I do drop that (and more) on this hobby monthly.)
George apology accepted also. I just get frustrated by the lack of whats available in 1/32 scale and I got carried away so here is a right sided apology.
And if your a fellow figure converter you should share some of your work with others. I have tried many times on a few other forums to get fellow figure converters together to share ideas and learn from each other because there is not a lot out there on how to convert plastic figures.
I really wish more guys would get into this end of the hobby and see how much fun and rewarding it is and what can be done bashing away at figures.
We have nothing when compared to whats available in 1/72 and 28mm, they have tons of sets and more poses per set. We get 4-8 figures per set if were lucky and the sets are few and far between. I was very excited when Hat began doing 1/32 scale again and in my favorite range Napoleonics! And they did them very well and the MAC format gave us extra poses and lots of conversion possibilities so I,m very greatful for what they have done but very sorry to see that it has not done well and to see half the planed sets like the Spanish and others now not going to see the light of day??? Like others have stated i hope we at least see a set or 2 a year still being made?
And as far as Victrix goes they only have the one set in 1/32 scale and they are on the large size. I still hope to see more of those sets though I like the idea I just think they missed the ball with the size of the figures, The parts would have been great to mix with other figures. They also have a 28mm-ish look to them with there over sized features but I still liked the set.
Hi Fish/George etc... - Victrix are unique to their own scale - I think that they are releasing a set of French Infantry to compliment the British set. I dont like these Victrix sets as they are too large but I do like the 28mm sets which go well with the Perry miniature sets. 1/32nd scale is a frustrating scale - so much interest but not enough people buying for all the reasons given on here previously. I figure paint as a part time business and would be very happy to go full time but it doesnt pay. My favourite scale is 1/32nd but the sales have fell away this last 12 months. I now paint 1/72nd, 28mm soldiers and have now attempted civilian fgures for model railways and slot racing car backdrops. I may even try some metal figures. Diversification may be the answer? A real shame after all those years with no 1/32nd plastics available. Fish - your coversions are great and inspiring. We all have our own style and techniques. I carry out loads of simple conversions but I dont get the time to post them on here which I will try to remedy this year. My current conversions are so simple, but completely change the donor figures. You should subscribe to Plastic Warrior magazine which has a large readership and its all about 1/32nd plastics. I was contacted recently and asked to contribute figures/photos for articles on converting. The reader who ased me feels that there are not enough contributors about converting. So Fish here is your chance to show what great figures you have converted. The magazine is alsoa perect platform topromote hat figures. Just my 10 pennyworth of opinion 9thHussar
Sorry -bad keyboard skills - I tried to say that..... Plastic Warrior Magazine is a perfect platform to promote hat 1/32nd figures. Happy converting 9thHussar
yes but the victrix figures ie 54mm and the hat prussians russians and bavarians is only 45 mm, way to small. if is in the real world they would only be 144 cm.
Yes, HaT has sufferd form reverse "scale creep". This shows a clear flaw (or lack of concern for customers?!) in thier design and quality control process.
whilst not wanting to disagreee with any of the above, you cannot mix Victrix with Hat figures, they are apples and pears and the scales are different.
The only company that is making an effort to provide us collectors and wargamers with Napoleonic figures is Hat. They are doing this at considerable cost to themselves and producing excellent figures(in my opinion).
Lets applaud them for their efforts and stop biting the ONLY hand that is feeding us.
I know this is a hat blog but boy i wish Italeri would get back to making 1/32 naps or anything else. Its rather sad if hat is the only game in town and going by what i read here hat 1/32 is on life support? who else is there? ACTA they are done and dusted. CTS they are to busy making ACW and WW2. TSSD forget it they are to busy making 70mm Romans and Barbs. The only hope for 1/32 Naps is that hat can add a set or 2 each year and maybe the odd set from AIP {russian or prussian artilery from AIP would be nice} I do have a fondness for 1/32 cos i played with them as a kid but in the last year i relizied i could never build my dream Waterloo in 1/32 it just will not happen with the current output{and i dont want wait 50yrs either} so im building up a 28mm collection. But i will still buy the odd 1/32 set from various makers cos i still get the erge to paint them now and then. Rob C,
HaT is NOT the "only game in town". In fact, there is Armies in Plastic (they already have plans to release sets of Napoleonic Austrian Artillery (they have the masters for Austrian, Russian and Prussian plus various cavalry, from Tony said); some sets still from Italeri (Revolution, Austrians, and British Light Dragoons which are great for conversions) and A Call To Arms (ACTA) - they are NOT on their "last leg" and are re-releasing their Waterloo Brit and French infantry in early 2012.
So even if HaT stops releasing new sets, there is plenty to work with and convert! So stock-up on your Brit LD's and draw from the sources for parts listed above and you're good to go!
Armies in plastic russians and prussians are not the same figuires. they are very similure in their poses but are very different in equipmeant,shakos etc. apart from the odd scaling in some of their sets HATs offerings are the best available on the market. good news about AIPs cavalry and artillery. CHEERS MARTIN :)
Apologies for my previous post . I was dictating to my son (he is 11)and is as bad as me for spelling and grammar . You get the point though. Cheers Martin
On a few sites they have noted that ACTA brits are never to be remade? the french line set has been sold out for years why dont they do another production run? Yes there small but better then nothing. ok this news about AIP has got me excited again about 1/32 Naps :) Rob C
The armes in plastic russian Milita and Prussian landwear militia are the same men in different color. They do one set many colors. See their new camels sets. Made in China quality is poor through out except for a few sets. Pascual
Their Napoleonic artillery, French Line infantry and Russian Line/Grenadiers/Jagers infantry are not poor with the exception of a few figures have "undercuts" - the chunks of "plastic between body and arm to allow for that pose to be cast" to quote Tony, the owner.
I like the plastic they use on the infantry and artillery. It lends itself well to being carved and converted. Though I do wish ther sold individual guns sans the carriage, for the artillery pieces.
With regards to the aforementioned gun tubes; my preference would be for them to have the handles cast seperately so you can attach them. I am tired of having to make and add them!
George it sounds like you should get the Italeri gun set instead, its a better cannon and the gun handles are separate and have slots to be glues in. They have 3 sets with the gun. They are all guard horse artillery sets, one set is the artillery crew and the other 2 are limber sets which are really nice sets but the limbers are on the pricey side, they get around $40 bucks for the limber sets these days!
The figures are very easy to convert and they also have a nice wagon set also. I was able to make a whole 12 plus artillery battery with these sets and almost no 2 figures are alike.
They were going to be doing an Austrian artillery set and limber set to go with it but they have been canceled also do to poor 1/32scale sales? Sound familiar?
Here is a link to my Italeri artillery conversions! http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?18654-French-Guard-horse-artillery-Pt2 These are nice sets and paint up great. Now to get Hat to make some great artillery sets to fire back at these guys??? Those Austrian sets would have been great, maybe hat could pick up the ball Italeri dropped???
Thanks for the link. Seeing the Volante' en masse warms the heart!
With regards to the Italeri sets: I have and have gone through 18 sets of the French Artillery (Guard Horse Artillery with two guns); 10 of the Guard Artillery (limber set); several Gribeauval Howitzer sets (like the mounted officer and the train drivers in bicorne - lots of uses for both!) and four of the wagons!
Love the Italeri stuff! Though the numerous slick areas on the Revolutionary French and Austrian infantry is rather disappointing.
With regards to conversions: the Guard artillery crews worked great for early Line HA. Replaced the busby with the Historex's shakos. The train drivers in bicorne convert effortlessly into Gendarme.
Of all the current Napoleonic miniatures available (whether in production or not) I have found the Italeri ranges to generally the widest/greatest range of customizability, due to variety, detail and the qualityand type of plastic used.
Thanks George, that was a fun project chopping up on those guys, that was one of those sets that just had a lot of conversion possibilities. I was tempted to go even further with it and do a battery with shakos like you suggested and had plans on doing more mounted guys using the hussar set figures and do horse holders dead, wounded, a crew under attack from cavalry and had tons more ideas but I just got side tracked to the next project. I hope some one will come out with more artillery sets so maybe I can do some of my other ideas with some different artillery units. I,ve done some prussian and russian crews I need to do some french foot and line and british and austrian crews. I could do Austrian crews by converting them from sets available already but It would be nice to have a set to work with for parts to speed up the process. I know there are are all kinds of metal parts and plastic kits for conversion parts but these can get expensive real quick so cheaper plastic parts are what I look for.
I,m more of a plastic figure converter, not a kit basher. Although that can be fun also but thats a lot of money for the amount of figures that I like to do. Thanks again George! Here is a link to those artillery figures I did with more close ups and a couple of batches of then still in the rough stages so you can see what was done to some of the figures.
45 comments:
No. Not unless you plan to cast in hard-plastic so as to facilitate gluing. Or unless you plan to have them cast with male/female connections since polyethylene does not take most glue types readily.
But before you wildly run off into multi-pose miniaturs, flesh-out the Napoleonic and Ancient 1/32 ranges with coveted items like French Chasseur `a Cheval, Old Guard Grenadiers and Chasseurs `a Pied and cavalries; Line in and out of overcoat, ELites not in overcoat (all pre 1812), proper Russian and Austrian artillery,
Cavalry for both. As for Ancients: Triarii appropriate for holding long spears, Princepes in chainmail, and command figures.
Would be happy if hat carries on with the 1/32nd standard sets if only 2 sets per year are issued for a while until the market place improves. Dont give up on 1/32nd - maybe just keep ticking along until better times.
9thHussar
Stick with 1/32 soft plastic figures and maybe deversify the range and yes even 2 sets a year is better then nothing.
Not trying to compare Hat & Aip's buisness modal but AIP continue to chug along simply buy slowly topping up a vast range of periods WW1,SUDAN,NAPS,ect,
And they have NO 1/72 sales to fall back on!
Wish Hat 1/32 the best for the new year!
Rob C,
I'm happy with how HaT do there stuff.Yes agreed 1 or 2 set per year is better that not been a producer of 1/32's.
Wish Vitrix was 2-3mm smaller.Would be easier to mix and match with the others.
I dont need multipose from HaT. Victrix would have been awesome but bombed with their ridiculous scale creep.
If multi pose rises the cost then I am not interested. I don't like the idea of having to build the figures.
I agree Victrix missed the boat there . Great figures Lots of character and more sets to come. They even have some metals to compliment them . But thay dont fit in with anything else out there . Hat is my fist choice for Napoleonics. Always need more though {you can never have enough of something you didnt need in the first place}.Bardin uniforms would be great . Many conversion possibilities there . Artillery and cavalry are very much wanted . All the best for the new year to everyone. Cheers Martin
I,m not looking for multipose kits, just separate arms so that there would be more conversion possibilities and no ugly blocking under the figures arms.
I hate blocking, it makes the figures look like cheap crap to me and if you try and convert the figures it hard as hell to remove the arms and there is no detail left on the figures after it is removed.
Separate arms also frees up the sculptor to be much more creative and to offer poses that could not be offered in a one piece figure because the pose could not fit into a 2 piece mold.
Other great option in separate arms is that now you can have a second set of arms for that same figure and have more poses per six figure set!
Separate heads would also be great but I,ll settle for just a few extra heads for the guys all ready crying about gluing a couple of pieces together for a better set of figures???
Extra heads with different faces ,bare heads, bandaged heads, bald heads, fatigue caps ect. these would make 6 figures look like many and with the separate arms together with extra heads a six figure set would be an 18 figure set, maybe even more if you buy a few boxes!!!
All i can say to you guys who don,t want to have to glue a couple of pieces for a much better BIGGER set of figures is to enjoy your ATTACK OF THE CLONES because that what it looks like when you mass these figures up together in my opinion, just a big mass of clones. A whole army of robots, all that missing is the bolts on there necks.
Just my 2 cents on the subject.
FISH! <"))))><
Unless the heads have a plug-in feature, forget separate heads. Remember this Fish, When everyones figures are special, no-ones figures are special. Your's are very special. I have your Prussins as my wallpaper. While I agree with you on blocking and can tolerate seperate arms for officers, I do not want multi-piece figures.
I recently bought one of every set of current HaT napoleonics. I was a little dissapointed. I also bought the BUM russians painted red and green. The poses were better, more unique and with no blocking. Unfortunately they are in 60 mm.
Blackcat does multi-pose figs and assembles them for you. I think that would be a way for HaT to go. The arms are not molded to the body and no blocking would allow the buyer to dissaemble the figure without destroying it and leave all the detail. Then the figure could be reassembled with any other arms to any torso and come up with new poses. Again, unfortunately blackcat only does russians in 1/32 in plastic as far as I know.
What I'm getting at here with mention of other makers is that you could mix and match arms and heads and torsos from multiple makers for even more variety. As long as the scale matches up.
Sscot
Hi -for really unique figures utilizing hat Napoleonics you can do simple head swaps - screw-hook and nail/pinning procedure is the best - doesnt even require glue. I convert many figures using heads from Helmet spares -I also use these on old Airfix French Imperial Guards
I will send Mr H some photos when hat conversions done
9th
Perhaps, Timothty, a better moniker for you might be "Troll"?
That aside, Timothy, perhaps when you stop whinning and crying about people likes and dislikes, you could learn to do what many of us have done for decades: convert! (Yes, I have seen your atttempts - hence my suggestion.)
In case you weren't aware, there are numerous manufacturers that sell seperate head, arms, legs, guns, packs, swords, bayonets and hands: All the Kings Men Toy Soldiers, Alexanders Toy Soldiers, Dorset Soldiers, Helmet Soldiers, Rose Miniatures and Historex! That way you can glue and pin and drill to your heart's content, and buy all the head you want!
Happy New Year!
George
You guys just don,t get it or care and I give up! keep pushing your carts with squares tires, your not ready yet for the wheel.
I,m no troll, I just wanted every one to have special figurs and have always been willig to share in any info on how to convert figures and have posted how to threads on a few forums.
If every one had the same exact figures as mine, my figures would still be special to ME.
So troll??? NO! Guy looking to get us better figurs??? YES!
Figures that no one seams to want???
I guess its a good thing that I know how to use a knife because its not looking good for separate arms.
By the way Those Prussians had a couple of separate arms and figures with no blocking and take a look at what I was(and you guys could do) with just a few figures without blocking. Now imagne what could be done with whole sets like that.
My question is whats so hard about gluing in a couple of arms that will have sockets when you allready have to have the glue out to glue on the back pack????
I myself would rather have the separate arms over the separate back packs if it came down to a parts issue.
I think the guys that are against this idea are the 1/72 scale guys that want to see every figure made into 1/72 and I can see how separate arms would be tough in the tiny scale to be gluing and they also get twice as many figure per box. They also have every set of napoleonic figures under the sun already, I wish we had half of what they have available in 1/32 scale.
And now the 1/32 scale line hat started to give us has dried up and is in question of being stopped altogether???
I wish I could sculpt and mold my own then you guys wouldn,t have listening to me rant any more on deaf ears.
I give up! I guess I,ll try and take up sculpting?
FISH!
P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR GEORGE!
Please disreguard the whinning above, I thought this tread was put up to give our veiws on multipart figures?
Sorry you don,t like my veiws on the subject or my "ATTEMPTS" at conversions.
TIMOTHY!
Timothy,
Figures in pieces which have to be assembled - sockets or no - does not necessarily make them "better"
per se. IF you think it does, then by all means, buy Victrix's figures and assemble them to your heart's content. Better still, if you really want to make custom miniatures and converting is too passe for you, then try your hand at Historex! They make beautiful models with infinite customization options with enough body parts, buckles, shako plates, equipment and weapons to keep you occupied indefinitely. (Should you pursue that course, you might like a book by Bill Ottinger entitled Napoleonic Plastic Figure Modeling.) Though this may be a bit advanced for someone of your obvious expertise.
It would appear that those posting here are referring to 1/32 scale and clearly not 1/72, hence it being called "1/32 HAT Blog". Since I just bought 30+ boxes of their 1/32 scale Napoleonic figures, this seemed to be the place to be.
With regards to the 1/32 range drying up: it only dries up if HaT continues to produce minor states with such gusto and not THE major participant: FRANCE.
(In fact, someone made a very good point about this in the first post under this topic .)
Finally, with regards to trolling; You should not continue to whine & cry - now rant and rave - about those (majority) that like clones, as you put it, but be happy about them, instead of trying to run them down and insult them! Because THEY are the ones that make the 1/32 scale market a possibility.
(See reference to "30+ boxes".)
Once again, Happy New Year to all!
George
George I don,t want to get into a pissing contest with you on this subject.
I read back my first post and I see why you were offended by it, it did come off a bit harsh. That was my second post, the first long winded more civil one I tried to post vanished when I tried to enter it and that set me off into a bad mood and I almost didn,t repost at all and shouldn,t have I made my point the last time this subject was brought up and shot down.
The second post was just me responding to being attacked by you,
I apologize to anyone I offended by it, even you George.
As far as all these kits you talk about and companies that you listed???
I think I,ll pass on $15 plus dollar single figure Historex kits and over seas figure parts that will cost me an arm and a leg for an arm and a leg and head or two.
Over seas shipping is killer!
I like to bash on plastic figures and like you said I,m sure those kits are way over my skill level anyway.
Sorry to have offended on such a level George.
I,m sure you buy many boxes of figures George but what makes you think that I don,t also?
I have every napoleonic set released so far and multiples sets of each.
Again I,m sorry to any one I may have offended and George I think we got off on the wrong foot, there is no need for personal attacks.
FISH!
Having read all of the remarks here, it would seem the majority are in favor of what HaT is currently producing. Though I must comment about their heads:
Last month I purchased 22 boxes of their Elites in Greatcoat (9311 & 9310) The detailing on the heads was very nice, though they were quite small. In fact the look somewhat disproportionate to the rather long-limbed "skinnies" wearing the overcoats. They reminded me of the "Marie Louises" of the 1814 campaign.
Once again, they are very nice just the actual head seems small under the shako. Best described as a 1/35 scale head on a 1/32 body, under a 1/32 scale shako, wearing a 1/24 scale overcoat!
As result of this, I decided to replace the heads with the Chasseur 'a Pied metal heads produced by Ken Cliffe of www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com
They are very slighty large, but that's okay since the rest of the army thought the Imperial Guard had big heads anyway!
The most disappointing thing I have come across so far is how the muskets in 9311 seem to be miscast on some of the figures, i.e. lacking detail that should be there and could have been cast.
In closing, it is my opinion that multi-pose/part miniatures like those from Victrix are more a luxury than a necessity. I, for one, would - as others have already said - prefer a continuation of the current trends, with far more attention paid to the French. They DO NEED both Line Chasseurs, Chevauleger Lancers, Line infantry, et cetera.
Russian and Prussian Dragoons would be nice as well! (Though please try to keep proper conformation, uniformity and consistency amongst troopers and horses.)
Happy New Year!
Dr. J., Ph.D.
The Vitrix set was nice but the figures were to large and with just one set of British figures that don,t fit with anything else what do you do???
Had they been in 1/32 scale they would have been great and the parts could have been used to convert on other 1/32scale figures.
They were supposed to release a french set also in 1/32, what ever happened to that?
Timothy,
Contrary to what you may think, the postage on the parts I've been referring to is really quite reasonable. Of all the orders I have made with Historex Agents, for example, the amount has never exceeded about $5.00 - even for $85.00 worth of parts! The guys there are very fair about that. Aside form Helmet, the most expensive postage I have encountered is actually here in the States with All The Kings Men Toy Soldiers, $8.00 no matter how small (or large) the order size.
The "attacks" you refer to were not "attacks" as such. But were meant to make you stop and take note of what you had said - or self destruct. In other words, an indirect way of saying, "Hey kid! Mind your manners!" Remember: when you type online in a situation without just provocation, think if you'd say that to someone's face (or a not so understanding crowd), especially if your Grandmother were listening in. :-)
Having said that, I commend you for your attempts to mend fences, though somewhat left-handed. So, apology accepted.
As to "bought boxes": that was referenced more for the benefit of HaT, as a reminder where and what type of buyer is their mainstay and not to be distracted by a meltdown. (NB: In case they are wondering, yes, I do drop that (and more) on this hobby monthly.)
Happy New Year!
George
George apology accepted also.
I just get frustrated by the lack of whats available in 1/32 scale and I got carried away so here is a right sided apology.
And if your a fellow figure converter you should share some of your work with others.
I have tried many times on a few other forums to get fellow figure converters together to share ideas and learn from each other because there is not a lot out there on how to convert plastic figures.
I really wish more guys would get into this end of the hobby and see how much fun and rewarding it is and what can be done bashing away at figures.
We have nothing when compared to whats available in 1/72 and 28mm, they have tons of sets and more poses per set.
We get 4-8 figures per set if were lucky and the sets are few and far between.
I was very excited when Hat began doing 1/32 scale again and in my favorite range Napoleonics! And they did them very well and the MAC format gave us extra poses and lots of conversion possibilities so I,m very greatful for what they have done but very sorry to see that it has not done well and to see half the planed sets like the Spanish and others now not going to see the light of day???
Like others have stated i hope we at least see a set or 2 a year still being made?
And as far as Victrix goes they only have the one set in 1/32 scale and they are on the large size.
I still hope to see more of those sets though I like the idea I just think they missed the ball with the size of the figures, The parts would have been great to mix with other figures.
They also have a 28mm-ish look to them with there over sized features but I still liked the set.
FISH!
Hi Fish/George etc... - Victrix are unique to their own scale - I think that they are releasing a set of French Infantry to compliment the British set. I dont like these Victrix sets as they are too large but I do like the 28mm sets which go well with the Perry miniature sets.
1/32nd scale is a frustrating scale - so much interest but not
enough people buying for all the reasons given on here previously.
I figure paint as a part time business and would be very happy to go full time but it doesnt pay. My favourite scale is 1/32nd but the sales have fell away this last 12 months. I now paint 1/72nd,
28mm soldiers and have now attempted civilian fgures for model railways and slot racing car backdrops. I may even try some metal figures. Diversification may be the answer?
A real shame after all those years with no 1/32nd plastics available.
Fish - your coversions are great and inspiring. We all have our own style and techniques. I carry out loads of simple conversions but I dont get the time to post them on here which I will try to remedy this year. My current conversions are so simple, but completely change the donor figures.
You should subscribe to Plastic Warrior magazine which has a large readership and its all about 1/32nd plastics. I was contacted recently and asked to contribute figures/photos for articles on converting. The reader who ased me feels that there are not enough contributors about converting. So Fish here is your chance to show what great figures you have converted. The magazine is alsoa perect platform topromote hat figures.
Just my 10 pennyworth of opinion
9thHussar
Sorry -bad keyboard skills - I tried to say that.....
Plastic Warrior Magazine is a perfect platform to promote hat 1/32nd figures.
Happy converting
9thHussar
yes but the victrix figures ie 54mm and the hat prussians russians and bavarians is only 45 mm, way to small.
if is in the real world they would only be 144 cm.
Yes, HaT has sufferd form reverse "scale creep". This shows a clear flaw (or lack of concern for customers?!) in thier design and quality control process.
Let's hear form HaT on this (not a fan-boy).
Baker
hat are 1/32nd scale which is the proper scale for plastic polythene figures
the larger version 54mm scales are too big in my opinion
hat figures are pukka
9th
Dear All,
whilst not wanting to disagreee with any of the above, you cannot mix Victrix with Hat figures, they are apples and pears and the scales are different.
The only company that is making an effort to provide us collectors and wargamers with Napoleonic figures is Hat. They are doing this at considerable cost to themselves and producing excellent figures(in my opinion).
Lets applaud them for their efforts and stop biting the ONLY hand that is feeding us.
brian023
I know this is a hat blog but boy i wish Italeri would get back to making 1/32 naps or anything else.
Its rather sad if hat is the only game in town and going by what i read here hat 1/32 is on life support?
who else is there? ACTA they are done and dusted.
CTS they are to busy making ACW and WW2.
TSSD forget it they are to busy making 70mm Romans and Barbs.
The only hope for 1/32 Naps is that hat can add a set or 2 each year and maybe the odd set from AIP
{russian or prussian artilery from AIP would be nice}
I do have a fondness for 1/32 cos i played with them as a kid but in the last year i relizied i could never build my dream Waterloo in 1/32 it just will not happen with the current output{and i dont want wait 50yrs either} so im building up a 28mm collection.
But i will still buy the odd 1/32 set from various makers cos i still get the erge to paint them now and then.
Rob C,
Brian023,
HaT is NOT the "only game in town". In fact, there is Armies in Plastic (they already have plans to release sets of Napoleonic Austrian Artillery (they have the masters for Austrian, Russian and Prussian plus various cavalry, from Tony said); some sets still from Italeri (Revolution, Austrians, and British Light Dragoons which are great for conversions) and
A Call To Arms (ACTA) - they are NOT on their "last leg" and are
re-releasing their Waterloo Brit and French infantry in early 2012.
So even if HaT stops releasing new sets, there is plenty to work with and convert! So stock-up on your Brit LD's and draw from the sources for parts listed above and you're good to go!
Brian thanks for your post
but err did you know AIP is short for Armies in plastic?
Rob C
AIP figures are a joke. The Russian and Prussians are the same figures, just in different colours. Just toys.
they are all TOYS!
Armies in plastic russians and prussians are not the same figuires.
they are very similure in their poses but are very different in equipmeant,shakos etc.
apart from the odd scaling in some of their sets HATs offerings are the best available on the market.
good news about AIPs cavalry and artillery. CHEERS MARTIN :)
Apologies for my previous post . I was dictating to my son (he is 11)and is as bad as me for spelling and grammar . You get the point though. Cheers Martin
its like the house of commons on here recently - good entertainment!
Yea this place is a real riot!
this news about AIP did it come straight from the horses mouth??
I can not find anything about this on the net!
Rob C
I'm interested also about Austrian Artillery. What was the source
With regards to AIP: Yes directly from the owner himself in a conversation a few months ago.
I am very pleased that ACTA are still going OK and hope that they release more new sets like hat in 1/32nd
9th
On a few sites they have noted that ACTA brits are never to be remade? the french line set has been sold out for years why dont they do another production run?
Yes there small but better then nothing.
ok this news about AIP has got me excited again about 1/32 Naps :)
Rob C
RobC,
Note the above comment. Looks like they are being re-released in 2012.
The armes in plastic russian Milita and Prussian landwear militia are the same men in different color. They do one set many colors. See their new camels sets. Made in China quality is poor through out except for a few sets.
Pascual
Pascual,
Their Napoleonic artillery, French Line infantry and Russian Line/Grenadiers/Jagers infantry are not poor with the exception of a few figures have "undercuts" - the chunks of "plastic between body and arm to allow for that pose to be cast" to quote Tony, the owner.
I like the plastic they use on the infantry and artillery. It lends itself well to being carved and converted. Though I do wish ther sold individual guns sans the carriage, for the artillery pieces.
George
With regards to the aforementioned gun tubes; my preference would be for them to have the handles cast seperately so you can attach them. I am tired of having to make and add them!
George
George it sounds like you should get the Italeri gun set instead, its a better cannon and the gun handles are separate and have slots to be glues in. They have 3 sets with the gun. They are all guard horse artillery sets, one set is the artillery crew and the other 2 are limber sets which are really nice sets but the limbers are on the pricey side, they get around $40 bucks for the limber sets these days!
The figures are very easy to convert and they also have a nice wagon set also.
I was able to make a whole 12 plus artillery battery with these sets and almost no 2 figures are alike.
They were going to be doing an Austrian artillery set and limber set to go with it but they have been canceled also do to poor 1/32scale sales? Sound familiar?
Here is a link to my Italeri artillery conversions!
http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?18654-French-Guard-horse-artillery-Pt2
These are nice sets and paint up great. Now to get Hat to make some great artillery sets to fire back at these guys???
Those Austrian sets would have been great, maybe hat could pick up the ball Italeri dropped???
Timothy,
Thanks for the link. Seeing the Volante' en masse warms the heart!
With regards to the Italeri sets:
I have and have gone through 18 sets of the French Artillery (Guard Horse Artillery with two guns); 10 of the Guard Artillery (limber set); several Gribeauval Howitzer sets (like the mounted officer and the train drivers in bicorne - lots of uses for both!) and four of the wagons!
Love the Italeri stuff! Though the numerous slick areas on the Revolutionary French and Austrian infantry is rather disappointing.
With regards to conversions: the Guard artillery crews worked great for early Line HA. Replaced the busby with the Historex's shakos.
The train drivers in bicorne convert effortlessly into Gendarme.
Of all the current Napoleonic miniatures available (whether in production or not) I have found the Italeri ranges to generally
the widest/greatest range of customizability, due to variety, detail and the qualityand type of plastic used.
Happy Russian Christmas!
(A Day Late!)
George
Thanks George, that was a fun project chopping up on those guys, that was one of those sets that just had a lot of conversion possibilities. I was tempted to go even further with it and do a battery with shakos like you suggested and had plans on doing more mounted guys using the hussar set figures and do horse holders dead, wounded, a crew under attack from cavalry and had tons more ideas but I just got side tracked to the next project. I hope some one will come out with more artillery sets so maybe I can do some of my other ideas with some different artillery units.
I,ve done some prussian and russian crews I need to do some french foot and line and british and austrian crews. I could do Austrian crews by converting them from sets available already but It would be nice to have a set to work with for parts to speed up the process.
I know there are are all kinds of metal parts and plastic kits for conversion parts but these can get expensive real quick so cheaper plastic parts are what I look for.
I,m more of a plastic figure converter, not a kit basher. Although that can be fun also but thats a lot of money for the amount of figures that I like to do.
Thanks again George! Here is a link to those artillery figures I did with more close ups and a couple of batches of then still in the rough stages so you can see what was done to some of the figures.
http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?17981-Napoleonic-french-artillery-conversions
FISH! <"))))><
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