"Who has got Peter Laing's old wargames figure business ?" Topic

Come on, own up, someone out there has bought them and I'm trying to track them down. I started wargaming with these figures and still have loads of them, they're great. So, any leads from anyone would be gratefully received.

TMP link

Allen

They have been sold on twice since John had them. First to the man who used to own Baker company (not the present owner). Then apparently a man in Scotland bought the range. I think there is only a 12% chance of them ever appearing again!!??? Sorry

Thanks chaps for your help. 12% doesn't sound too good, but at least there's some hope! John Mitchell and I discussed my purchasing the range when I was living in Scotland, that maybe where the Scotland link came from. I'm very keen that this wonderful range of figures is not lost and thus continue my search. Any information on their whereabouts welcomed.

You either loved or hated Peter Laing figures … and I loved them. I still have several large armies of his figures and would love to buy more figures if they were still in production.

Bob, that's good to hear, we're obviously of the same mind on this one. What armies do you have ?

Bob Bordery:

you either loved or hated Peter Laing figures … and I loved them

Well, that's certainly true! I'm afraid I took the opposite stance, however. While I salute Mr. Laing's pioneering efforts in the field of early wargaming figures, often providing 15mm figures for periods long before anyone else made ranges for those periods, I didn't like the figures themselves at all.

I remember ordering some of his Dark Ages Saxons/Normans some 25 years ago (sight unseen – long before Internet sites with photos! ). I had ordered from a variety of manufacturers, including Minifigs, TTG, Thistle & Rose, etc., and eagerly awaited their arrival, as I had been looking forward to doing 1066-era gaming for a long time!

I was sorely disappointed at the shapeless lumps of metal that arrived from Peter Laing. I know that sounds harsh, but even back then the standard of sculpting had been so greatly exceeded by other companies, I could not believe there was a market for the PL figures. Maybe other ranges from him were better? I don't know, as I never dared try them again. I still have theose venerable "samples" somewhere as a personal cautionary tale about the pitfalls of buying "sight unseen".

Nowadays, with the many beautiful figures that are so plentifully available from so many other companies, I cannot imagine giving them a second glance.

<shudder>

Oops! "Cordery" I meant. Sorry.

My regular opponent has a couple of armies of old Peter Laing, and I can see the appeal; individually they are decidedly bland and shapeless, but they're consequently a 10 second paint job, and en masse look very impressive indeed. (His cavalry are based in 12s, infantry in 16s, and you can rank them across the table, which is a surprisingly impressive sight.)

Dom.

I remember seeing a large biblical era game at a Leeds show about 5 years ago. As I walked up it loked great with all the chariots. On closer inspection one of the armies was PL figures, the other some other make. Look very close and you could see that the PL were decidely poor when compared with their opponants but to be honest, standing upright and at normal playing ranges they were as good.

I like them and I too would buy more if they were still about.

Graham

Many have indeed maligned the lack of detail, but that's exactly what Peter intended. He used to say that the detail was 'muted' to enable the painter to finish the figure as he pleased. That's what appealed to me and still does. En masse they look great and that's the point, they remain purely wargames figures. Anyway, delighted to hear various views.
Someone out there must know where they all are !

Bob, if you come back to this thread, I can't seem to get the Colonial Wargaming page (the new one) to load…

Allen

I once had a brigade of ACW Federals and a "legion" of around 200 Punic War Romans by Peter Laing (both sets were sold or traded a long time ago.) Yes, the figures were indeed pretty basic. But I liked them anyway. They were easy and quick to paint. Many of them had decent human proportions. They weren't great works of art, but they could look good en masse.

I really liked dealing with Mr. Laing when I bought figures from him, even though I lived in the U.S. He was a real gentleman, and offered good mail order service at reasonable prices. Back in the early 80s, I once set him a photo of one of our group's wargames (from Corpus Christi, Texas), which featured a bunch of ACW figures with so-so paint jobs and some really bad terrain. My own PL Yankees were in the photo. Mr. Laing responded that the photo was "SUPER!" I guess that sounds vain, but it made my day at the time.

Allen,

The link to the Colonial Wargaming page is colonialwargaming.co.uk (it should work; I have just checked it!).

The Major,

My Peter Laing armies are French and Prussian (1870) and Bolivian and Paraguayan (1030s Chaco War – all 'paint' conversions of WW1 and ACW figures) plus other bits and pieces that are stored away somewhere (including two small 1860s armies for a fictional war between two small countries).

The appeal of PL figures for me was their lack of detail. You could paint on what you liked and leave off what you could not be bothered with. This made them very useable for all sorts of things, and quick to paint. My Chaco War figures started out with very little detail painted on them, but were on the table in weeks not months. I could then 'upgrade' the paint jobs I had done later. They were 'wargmes figures' and not 'miniature masterpieces' like so many modern figures are … and they wers also reasonably anatomically proportioned, something else that is sometimes ignored by modern figure manufacturers.

Peter Laing invented the 15mm scale. Others, better sculptors, can along soon after as the concept caught on. MiniFigs came out with their 15mm strips. Heritage offered beautiful gems, as single figures, but smallish. Jack Scruby tried to compete with n-gauge, 9mm. Hinchliffe tried 12mm. I only owned a few PL figs as samples but a friend painted up a bunch of the colonial range to look very nice.

Didn't he only make two figures? One on foot and one on horseback!

Well, good news, it appears that I've tracked them down, but still awaiting final confirmation.
I do hope I find them both, eh, UJJ !?

I have been trying to find Peter Laing figures for several yeras as I desperately want to finish off my WW1 armies, especially the "exotic" theatres of Africa and Middle East. Any news on a supplier would be great,

I'd love some WW1 stuff too.

Simon

Simon

I have some swaps – what are you looking for? I've got about 20 prone firing Brits and some other bits and bobs e.g serbs.

Bezzo, thanks for the offer, but I need most of an early war British army, and some late war brits too, to complete a couple of armies.

Simon

Simon – The Brits are in field caps c. 1914-15…if they are any use you can have them just for cost of postage.

Bezzo – if Simon doesn't want your Peter Laing figures I'd be happy to relieve you of them.

I would like them! :-)

I'll Mail Bezzo.

Simon

Bezzo, could you mail me please with your address? My address is simon.miller (ampesand) lineone.net.

Thanks!

Simon

A spooky thing – I'd only just read this thread last week, then came into work (where I do all my painting). Contractors came to replace the windows – one of them saw me painting and said that his old mate from Hereford used to to be into wargames – Peter Laing.

A huge thank you to bezzo, who posted me the 22 British riflemen. They are lovely little minis, and I'm really looking forward to painting them!

Simon

So…… did anyone find them?? I remember painting my republican romans in airfix enamels like it was only..oohh… 30 years ago!

I do believe I have found them – more anon !

Come on Major – you can't tease people like that. It's ungentlemanly!

Put up or shut up as the poker players say.

C'mon! Don't keep us hanging like this…….it's cruel!

Chaps, now, now, back in line, stomachs in, chests out, that's better; Listen in, there's no teasing going on here, but of course as a gentleman, I have asked the new owners permission to post his details before doing so, that's only fair and proper. Steady in the ranks, Stand at – Ease…….stand-a easy.

Oooh, the excitement builds!

Just in case anyone might think I'm holding onto information, I don't know Andrew's details other than his name and that he plans to launch a Peter Laing website although whether it will bear that name I do not know. I have checked the web – nothing yet !
Don't know about you chaps, but I'm on the edge of my seat………..

Well, I think it is the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, the detail is not too clear and it may be a leg. Still, if I paint it on then that should be sufficient.

But still looking forward to seeing the little blobs back in production. But is anyone else, and will they sell?

I am for one. It's definitely more of an old school/nostalgia than an aesthetics thing. But yes, I'll buy some.

I have to say that en masse they look excellent and the lack of fine detail in a small 15mm figure is less of an issue. For example, the ECW ironside figure is a classic Laing cavalryman but painted up & en masse my King's Lifeguard Regiment looked great in their bright sashes and gleaming armour in front of the oak trees for an attack ! Similarly, a mass of Zulus looked better than most because their proportion is so good. These are not figures one picks up and looks closely at, their strengths have always been price, speed of painting and how well they represent a large body of troops on the table. Their only weakness seems to be a lack of detail.

Any news? I am not sure what a "gog" looks like but I am agog.

Then I must be another gog.

A Gaggle of Gogs

Is gog alcohol free Grog?

In this fast paced electronic world it can seem frustrating to wait for something. Spoilt, we are. But I really hope the new owner puts some info out soon, even if only a teaser.

Dear Major … Elan is not enough!

Only if made by Lotus

Ok guys – what is going on with this? – are they out there and about to brought back – or can I safely spend all my cash at Salute

Hello there Bro – good to see you on TMP (thought you were denied access at work – not actually using your home PCare you – think of the cost!). And what is this about spending cash at Salute. Who are you, and can I have my real brother back now please.

Mind you, always good to see the Peter Laing thread resurface near the top of the pile.

I was thinking of compiling a list of Hard Things to find, something along the lines of:

1) Evidence of UFO's
2) Reliable sightings of Elvis
3) Shergar
4) Peter Laing moulds

Probably in that order of difficulty.

Is this Andrew person already a purveyor of wargame figures? Are we allowed any other clues to his identity?