I know that Games Workshop typically gets a bad rap from Historical gainers, because of their overt championing of Fantasy gaming, but I have some thoughts to offer. First of all, just in case you don't know, Games Workshop and The Foundry, are basically sister companies. Both are essentially run by Brian Ansell, and the principal designers for GW, are none other than the revered Perry Twins. In fact, I believe that GW/ Citadel, is actually their real source of income. But I'm getting off topic.
In my area, there is a Games Workshop store (actually a Showcase Comics), and I will often stop in to browse the shelves, and from time to time watch a game in progress. I had been looking with longing at the recent releases of sets of plastic Landsknechnt type figures, as well as other metal types in the same period. Now you have to understand, that the Italian Renaissance is one of those periods that is always in the back of my mind, and years ago I was quite involved in it.
I had just gone through a period of major selling, all of my 10mm figures and a number of 54mm figures had gone "the way of all flesh", and I had cash available to spend on a new period. With a certain amount of the money already committed to my 20mm Spanish Civil war armies, I decided to take the plunge and start collecting the GW figures.
I tend to be a great believer in omens, so when two fortuitous events occurred within days of each other, I knew I was on the right track. First, I knew that periodically, GW ran sales, and on a day off from work, I called the local store, only to find out that they were indeed having a sale that very day - event # 1. 1 took a quick drive over, and picked up a couple sets. Event #2, I discovered a wonderful dealer on the Internet (who I think should remain nameless), who is able to sell GW products for 35% off of list price! I now had probably everything I needed to get started. On to the review.
In a word, the figures are breathtaking! The detail, animation and anatomy are the best you will find, it being a known fact that plastic takes detail better than metal. The single drawback to the figures, is that they are kits! I mean this exactly as it sounds. In a box of basic infantry, you will get the following pieces: 16 sets of legs in 4 poses, 16 torsos, I with back and breastplate, I with just breastplate and 2 unarmored, 32 heads, these vary from floppy hats to helmets, 8 different heads, 16 sets of arms to make halberdiers, arms, hands and halberds are separate pieces, 16 sets of arms to make swordsman, along with separate shields. Metal pieces to make a commander, drummer and standard bearer, 16 square, plastic bases to mount the figures on, a large plastic movement base to hold the entire unit.
All the above by the way, sells at list for $ 22.00, I purchased a number of sets at $14.94 each at 35 % off. Plus, If you purchase the sets specified as Crossbowmen or handgunners, you get 16 pairs of arms in metal, with handguns or crossbows as required, plus pouches and other accessories. So, yes they do take some time to put together. I have spent several days peeling and scraping super glue off of my fingers, but the result is well worth it. Of course, one could say, well if they reduced the amount of extra pieces, they could probably lower the price. On the other hand, there might be a way to make use of all the extra arms, heads etc., maybe to convert and update some older figures but then, look at the new stuff from Foundry, for the Darkest Africa natives, you get the basic figure, at $1.35, but then have to buy a pack of shields, and either make or buy your own spears, which drives the price to over $ 2.00 per figure !
The look of the completed figures, is really impressive, and in addition to the basic infantry, they do make a large number of rather expensive metal sets that will provide artillery, cavalry and some specialized troop types like pikemen. I have found, quite inexplicably, that the figures are just great fun to paint, and I have been able to turn out painted troops at a surprisingly quick rate with considerable detail. The heads and hands seem like they might be just a hair larger than they should be, but the resulting ease of painting out weighs that minor point. You actually can paint eyeballs and pupils on them, and not have them look out of scale, figures with open mouths, even have visible teeth! Using what Steve Dake calls the "Kevin Dallimore" method, of lightly drybrushing the hands and faces, the figures have a really striking appearance.
As an aside, their Warhammer 40k figures, the humans only, make great "ultra- modems" for low level SF ground combat games. These are solid metal figures, and so are a bit pricey, but again, have great detail, very complete ranges, including a variety of support weapons and vehicles. We have played a number of games using these figures with the Crossfire WWII rules, and found that they work quite well.
Overall, I have to give the games Workshop figures, and the plastic Warhammer Fantasy figures in particular, a high recommendation, and strongly urge you to check them out. box lid, it tightly holds a bottle of Ral Partha paint with no fear of accidental tipping. Now I had the makings of my mobile painting kit.
Inside the trunk of my car I keep the tote box which contains the following items:
One 11 inch plastic "Stack-On, Keep All" organizer box that looks like a small tool box with a handle. Inside I store 20 bottles of Ral Partha acrylic paint, a 2 ounce flip top container of fresh water for brush cleaning, and a small plastic bottle with a lid which I believe is designed to store ink or mixed paints. I use this bottle to actually clean the paint brushes in. I also keep three paint brushes (sizes 0,1,3) in a separate compartment of this box. One plastic organizer storage box commonly found in craft stores, which contains 24 to 36 primed figures mounted on wide Popsicle sticks for ease of painting. Some glossy advertisement insert -- found in the Sunday newspaper. I place a sheet on the tote box lid while painting to keep it clean. A roll of paper towels to help clean the paint brushes and to have on hand just in case of accident.
That's all! Nice and compact. As you can imagine, the bulk of my painting is still done at home. Obviously, there are a lot of tasks I don't attempt in the car such as figure cleaning, filing, priming, lacquer coating, or basing. In addition, any item I generally paint using washing techniques such as horses, buildings, or wagons are not suited for the car. However, I am able to accomplish a surprising amount of my figure painting with this mobile kit and it is amazing how the completion of an extra unit or two quickly adds up.
For me, the benefits of mobile painting have been most gratifying. The occasional hour I spend painting provides the satisfaction of seeing my miniature army projects progress steadily toward completion. More importantly, I find this activity to be a refreshing sanity break, which allows me to clear my mind and return to the realities of the workplace with renewed vigor and a positive attitude.
So there you have it. I know it may not be suited for everyone, but my experience with mobile painting has been very positive. If the time ever comes when your painting projects are stalled, your dream army remains incomplete, or you find yourself getting temperamental at work or home; then you might consider the benefits of mobile painting. Relief can be as close as the trunk of your car.
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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