"Perry Plastic Figs for Wars of Religion/Late 16th C. " Topic

I think this is a great period to make a couple of generic sets and compliment it with metal figs. How many of you would build armies?

Count me in

Given the whole blouse button controversy, I'm not sure generic you can get….

I've been thinking about doing this period since reading Bodin's Six Books. I doubt it would be a great period to do plastics with as there probably wouldn't be that much interest but I'd certainly be up for doing it.

This is why hobbyists should never be allowed to make important business decisions.

Besides, somebody on Another Forum has pointed out that the age of the Chinese Warring States is the sensible place for a plastics manufacturer to be putting his efforts right now.

I am not kidding.

I am sure that he would buy at least two boxes, Jack.

what is the relative size of sales necessary to make this "plastic initiative" profitable (or at least break even) compared to doing it in metal? Is a "Eureka 100 Club" in plastics feasible?

King- I would go for The Wars of Relgion plastics AND I would also go for Warring States Chinese!
Clif

Is a "Eureka 100 Club" in plastics feasible?

I think you you would need to make it an "Eureka 100 000 club" to make it more feasible.

Of course, problem would be organising enough players to order a single product, instead of everyone going in minute amounts after their favourite topic (bolo-wielding Filippino guerillas, San Marino marines, Bavarian Horse Grenadiers, Papal guards, medieval Norwegians etc.).

Griefbringer

I would buy them! This is a great period of history and often overlooked by gamers. It has a little of everything:
Knights, Reiters, Pike, Shot, Swordsmen, Artillery (of all flavors), light cavalry, more pike, more shot, muskets, arquebuses, Spanish Tercios, Dutch, Landsknects, all kinds of confusing Frenchmen and that doesn't even start to include the Ottomans, Eastern Eurpoeans, the Med, and Britain and the Armada.

This stuff is made for table top gaming.

Mike B

Certainly not enough stuff available for this period at the moment. OGs stuff is nice, but all a bit "samey", and after that there is very little.

The capital investment is so high that you have to convince the green visor dudes that this project will sell for years.
Plastics also require capital investment in box art, distribution networks, and MANY more intangibles that hobbyists can't begin to comprhehnd.
No one has $50,000 spare cash to make up molds on a whim. You can bet that the several companies going into plastics had a very comprehensive business plan to convince investors of its viability.

I would say that a very good gauge of how well a plastic range would sell is to ask how many METAL ranges of these figures there are.
There are tons of ACW, tons of Romans, tons of Gauls. Therefore, we know they will sell.
How many 28mm metal ranges of late 16th C Wars of religion are there? I would be hard pressed to think of ANY. Old glory, I think. Maybe.

Right now, plastic ranges are a novelty, and quite a few will pick them up because all the Cool Kids are doing it. That is what I will be doing. Then, the novelty will wear off. You can be darn sure I will not be buying a Henri IV range on a whim. Or, a Warring Chinese States range.

"Certainly not enough stuff available for this period at the moment. OGs stuff is nice, but all a bit "samey", and after that there is very little."

OG infantry would certainly be the heart of any army of this period. That is a great plus. Add to them Pendraken Elizabethan cavalry and you have an excellent looking army for any of the western armies. Then throw in Graven Image border figures and you have outstanding militia figures.

Actually we have excellent figures for this period.

Rich

Nuno, I admire your morale, even though I know that you know this period is never going to be adequately catered for…

How many Osprey's are there on European warfare in the XVI-XVII century?

Precisely…

There are a good few ranges out there but as Richard Says, only OG produce a fullsome range and that is not to everyones taste. Which I think is one of the problems with 16th Century we always and more than other periods need to infill with different ranges some of which aren`t compatible.

The test is to see how well the plastics do in 6-9 or 12 months time to see if it will take off, if the companies have made their targets to be able to produce more figures.

Now Warlord games might just look at this period because of Mr Stallard whi is an ECW officianado but as said would it make good buiness sense?

one hopes all will come to fruition

Well, if there is one 16th/17th century topic that could be profitable to produce in plastic in UK, it would probably be ECW – quite big local following (plus popular enough in US, thanks to plenty of English language material on it), and a limited number of troop types needing to be covered.

Griefbringer

I don't think Kingscarbine means ECW, Griefbringer, as there are loads of decent ranges on that conflict.

He means exactly what his title says, which is what I want as well. Oh and for Copplestone to finish his Foundry Conquistador range with Cavalry, Crossbowmen and Characters.

Now I tyhink John Stallard was looking at producing a set of WAB rules for Elizabethan period or certainly army lists, these would spark a great deal of interest.

I don't think Kingscarbine means ECW, Griefbringer

That was in response to Lowtardog's comment about J. Stallard of Warlord Games being fond of ECW.

Oh and for Copplestone to finish his Foundry Conquistador range with Cavalry, Crossbowmen and Characters.

I'll second that motion!

Griefbringer

Griefbringer, join Kingscarbine and me and a few others in our futile attempts.

Kingscarbine can we seriously start the pro-Conquistador range completion lobby and send it off to Mark? Even as a topic to see how many people would subscribe to the idea.

Well, it's hard to buy figures and books if no one puts them on the market. There's definitely an interest in the period since this thread has 21 posts so far. There are so many new plastic companies and sets on the market that I find it hard to believe the cost of moulds is the main issue not to see more 28mm sets released. It is true that metal figs are easier to produce but in time plastic will have a share of the market and help the hobby to grow. I think the number of metal figs sold will have a boost as people start building affordable armies and fill the gaps with metal figs. With just two sets you could field pikemen, musketeers, arquebusiers, targeteers and the main cavalry types of the late 16th century.

I'm in if anyone wants to lobby the pro-Conquistadores range. Although I think Mark has other plans and he generally does what he feels like.

Pikes level!

Go Nuno….do it! If not Mark Copplestone lets lobby Steve Saleh or Mark Sims they are of similar style…any other ideas?

By the way, I know this is off topic, but have you seen the new Caesar Miniatures 1/72 plastic Myceneans! Yhey also have some mean Conquistador figures which go very well with the Revell range of a few years back, but it is those Myceneans which have caught my eye! Check them out!

link

Link to some glorious plastic figures…

Quebecnordiques,

Ceaser has some fine sets. If I was into Biblicals it would be my first choice for building armies.

I'll probe Mark Copplestone to see if he has plans for the Conquistadores.

I sure don't want plastic but a really nice range in 15mm metal would be great, at least for me.
William