"Minden Hanoverians" Topic

Just seen the new Minden Miniatures Hanoverians on their site. What fantastic figures I will be ordering shed loads. Sculptured by Richard Ansell of course. These really set the bar.

Link?

mindenminis.blogspot.com

Thanks.

Dear Lord these are superb aren't they. I've always liked Hanoverians as a SYW army, but luckily always had the excuse that nobody made a decent range.

Oh well, off to find where my boys have hidden their piggy banks……..

It looks like I will have to start a Hanoverian army now. I hadn't planned on it, but how can I resist these wonderful figures?

Now we need GMB to design the appropriate flags for this range as they are too complicated to paint freehand.

Vaubanner has some

Methinks there will be a few unhappy people in Oz when they hear this news.

I tend to think "the more the merrier".
The more manufacturers doing a period the more likely that people will feel the period is well supported.

So if Eureka do more ranges, HAT and Victrix offer plastic 7YW I see that as all for the better.
The figures aren't going to be precisely the same,variety is the spice of life and all that.
Some people want figures in shooting poses, some want them all marching.

Ranges aren't necessarily competing, I've worked for various manufacturers that have worked together to cover periods that would take years for a single manufacturer to cover on their own. My own armies include figures from all over the place.
The flip side is that people aren't necessarily going to flock to a new company if they already have a large army in a different style.
Minden's only a little part-time manufacturer, I really can't see it impacting on the sales of the bigger companies

"there will be a few unhappy people in Oz when they hear this news."

Not unhappy at all, but certainly unsure of whether to proceed with the project. I currently have the initial master work being done on Hanoverians in a style similar to Minden. A comprehensive range of some 35 figures. Line infantry first, followed by horse, Light Troops and artillery/engineers. Includes Luknar Hussars and Schaumberg-Lippe -Buckerburg Caribinier.

The first release:

H01 – Musketeer marching
H01A – Guard Musketeer marching
H02 – Sergeant marching, halberd
H02A – RSM marching, cane
H03 – Officer marching, spontoon
H03A – Officer marching, sword drawn (shouldered)
H04 – Drummer marching
H05 – Hautbois marching (Oboe)
H05A – Hautbois marching(Bassoon)
H06 – Standard bearer marching (finial + cords)
H07 – Infantry casualties (2)
H08 – Mounted Colonel

H10 – Grenadier marching
H10A – Guards Grenadier at attention
H12 – Grenadier sergeant, marching with fusil
H13 – Grenadier officer, marching with Spontoon
H14 – Grenadier command set (drummer, fifer, sapper)

I am now in the quandry of whether to continue with the project.

regards
Mathew

well Matt you are planning a lot of things Frank probably won't do. Frank's ranges are a little stripped down compared to what you plan to do ..and he doesn't sell to every one either, rather selective in that matter I think the market is ready for an indepth range Front Rank have been selling their slighly odd Hanoverians for years yet the market seems ready for much more

By all means go for it, the market is big enough for everyone. I'd suggest checking with Frank what ranges he's planning. I don't think he's got plans to do Hessen Cassel or Brunswick-Wolfenbuttle and Schaumburg Lippe.
Really the whole thing is driven by what we need for our own armies (he's collecting Austrian/Prussian and I'm collecting Anglo-Hanoverian/French). Things tend to get done as and when he finds a gap in his army and I can persuade him I need more troops for my army!
I'd convinced myself I'd have to convert Prussians for service as Brunswickers, but if someone else can save me the the trouble that's great ;-)
PS the only person I know for sure that Frank won't sell to is the Cardinal as his constant pops at Frank on here have understandably rather annoyed him.

actually Frank's Prussians are better suited to Brunswickers than they are for most of the Prussian musketeer regiments..it is the Swedish cuffs..hardly constant pops and I have heard as recently as earlier this week he knocked back someone who was after a reasonable number of figures ..so mind your business woodwose

Charming!
I'm sorry that you can't seem to get on with Frank for some reason but there's no need to take it out on me just because I make his figures!
So far the majority of his customers have been a real joy to work for and have been very helpful with the research. I've found the people gaming this period to be a great bunch

A number of those figues seem unlikely to get onto Frank's list. I'd think you will probably sell enough of the "duplicates" to be worthwhile to those prefer a sort of more mainstream suppliers approach to Frank. The less popular ones, you can probably also sell to people who'd otherwise buy off Frank as well. Aren't those the ones you'd usually have trouble breaking even on?

If you're really in doubt then how about Russians instead.
I don't think Frank is doing any of those.

I'd also be interested in casualties which are compatible across the range.

I'd push on with the OZ Hanoverians as it is each to his own in preference for figure style. Remember that TMP posts are just the personal opinions of a handful who may or may not actually paint figures and play SYW wargames.
There were Hanoverian ranges out there before Minden which are just as good in my own opinion, so any new range will need to be right up there to sell.

Mindens remind me a lot of an old 25mm American range where the cavalry figure used to slot into a cut-out in the horse. Does anyone remember what range they were?

I have spoken with Frank and advice across the board is to push on, which is what i am doing. :)

There will be some small differences in the figure detail, but i know for one thing we will all be really spoilt for choice in both figure options and high quality.

regards
Mathew

The wafer thin mint has been consumed. Explosion to follow in 3, 2, 1 …

Weren't the figures The Hawk refers to by a firm called GHQ who also did micro-armour. I remember buying some Prussian dragoons from a long-gone retail outlet in London and was very impressed with them but then they sort of disappeared, at least from the UK.

well woodwose keep your smart arsed unreliable comments to yourself and you will remain unremarked upon ..like many people I don't appreciate snarky comment by unknown third parties so belt up you nosey ..and mind your own frrk'n business, .

Gentlemen – please stand back-to-back, take ten paces, turn and fire when ready.

I do not appreciate your vulgar abuse.
My only remark was about Frank not wanting to sell his figures to you and your response here demonstrates why he came to that decision.
I have no idea who you are in reality, but I'm sure you wouldn't behave like this if it wasn't for the anonymity of the Internet.
I feel I have as much right to comment on this thread as you do as I sculpted these figures so in fact it is literally my business!

Richard Ansell

"so belt up you nosey ..and mind your own frrk'n business"

Call me suspicious, but I don't believe you're a real Cardinal!

I dunno, Rich…..could be a Jesuit.

A fabulous bit of sculpting Richard.

What AONeill said. I brought along a 60 figure battalion of the Prussian Musketeers I started painting just prior to and at Historicon. A number of my fellow more longtime SYW playing friends got to see them in person and remarked how good they were, even with my beginning paint job on them .

Best SYW figures available anywhere, I have painted up 5 regiments so far, I agree even my lacklustre paint jobs show very well. Woodwose is the man!!

I recently asked Frank about buying 50 British or so figures as a start and was told that he had no room to take on new customers at the moment. He was nice about it, but I did think the response was somewhat strange….Shame as I had also intended to buy about 20 battalions of French.

I believe Frank recently had an order from someone in Australia that he believed was ordering on behalf of Cardinal Hawkwood.

If a private closed-shop venture, are these Minden posts just a case of elitist one-upmanship? I wondered why I had a . ROFL.

Richard – lovely figures, and great to see you and Frank doing your own thing. I do have some of his figures (less than 200) but they are lovely. having met Frank and done business with him I found him a great guy to chat to at shows, so if someone winds him up then no wonder he will not sell to them. Free market and all that. And if that makes it elitism, then so be it.

So hats off to you and Frank, and good luck to Oz with their range as well.

Ok, so becuase Frank thought I was in some way related to Hawkwood he wouldn't sell to me? I made it quite clear that I was ordering for my SYW India project. Now I hear that because I am in Australia I must be ordering for Hawkwood.

I can give Frank references if he likes. And a guarantee that they are for my personal use. Oh well…..

And I agree that Hawkwoods response on this thread is inappropriate.

wow what a sublime level of pettiness is this?..amazing ,,I know personally , of course every 18th century 28mm gamer in Australia and they are all in my pocket to the point of me being able to manipulate them to my moriaty level of evil genius wishes .., you Woodlouse and you chum Victor Melldrew are pair of stupid idiots at the best , eliitist isn't the word ,and infantile playground bullys at the worst … this is about your level ..and as for you Demaratos you can off as well..

So do you mean to say that if I reside in Australia and attempt to purchase Minden figures, there'a a fighting chance I won't get them because the owner is in a huff with someone who also resides there?

That is brilliant. Ok, I understand it's a 'private venture' and the owner can sell what he looks, to whom and when but that seems remarkably silly and somewhat childish.

Leaving aside the fact that there must be more than a few potential customers in Australia, not all of whom could possibly know an anonymous poster on TMP (it's a big country, look at a map)it would occur to me that the best policy would be to sell them to the critic. I don't know Cardinal Hawkwood nor have I read his comments, save those above but if it's really a case of unfair criticism then surely the best counter would be to say 'ah but he must like them because he bought X number'.

At any rate they look like very nice figures and Mr Ansell is to be congratulated on the sculpting. I doubt if I'll be able to buy any under the circumstances.

I imagine I would like them if I had any..and indeed any arguement I have isn't with the miniatures …so it seems Frank will lie to someone , , claiming he has closed his books rather than sell on the off chance they are for me..which they weren't . Well you are probably better off not buying from such a person..my apologies to Victor Melldrew, Frank goes way beyond any curmudgeonly behavior such a character's writers could be capable of imagining..ban sales from a whole comtinemt!..amazing I am a bit choughed about in an inverse sort of way..and as for you woodlouse, you would have to very very thick skinned or a bit of a goose to bring such a matter to the public in such a silly way….you seem to be about seven years old by your actions, a bit young to be wielding the casting spoon? Grow up the pair of you..

@Demaratos – I think you may be a victim of living too close to where the Cardinal lives, I don't think Frank has imposed an embargo on Australia as a whole. Perhaps you could email him again?

@Cardinal – An impressively perspicacious argument put across with a level of piquant wit and old fashioned charm seldom encountered on these boards anymore.

I don't want to talk about this ridiculous and humiliating state of affairs..how ludicrous that Demaratos lives near me ..I live near, used to live "near" around 3 million people..and to have been ridiculed in this manner is insufferable… to be the victim of such childish spite is inexcusable… Frank began it by impying, without a sinegle enquiry, that I was a pirate of his figures and from then on it has been nothing but a childish response, even when I tried some act of friencship.. to bring it all up in this thread to gain some cheap point scoriung against me is ludicrous in the extreeme. I am a person of some stature and influence and some friendships with gamers across the world and to be treated like this says more about the peopel doing it than about me. I refuse to sit back and be discussed by a character like woodlouse for some amusement on his part..he had no right to introduce some demeaning reference to me in a thread.
Frank obviously lied to Demaratos.. that in itself is a little alarming..Your ironic final above does not in anyway exculpate your initial troublemaking. Pity your cyber interaction isn't as good as your figure sculpting

I'm at a loss here, just who has been flinging the insults in each post in this thread?
I feel I shown ample restraint in dealing with someone openly called me a bastard from the word go!
Just how much good do you think your actions here are doing for your 'stature and influence'. It's quite possible to discuss matters without resorting to abuse and invective.
Still, well done to you for successfully derailing this thread, no doubt we can look forward to seeing it happen every time someone mentions the word Minden.

They are great looking figures. The Croats look the best they have produced yet

hussarbob1746.webs.com

only if they mention me at the same time..they have an odd notion of causality over at your place?

Thanks Woodwose,

I will email Frank again, but I won't hold my breath as a result of all this…..

I am also a citizen of Australia & i too have had an order rejected, that such racial prejudice exists in these days & times is not only a disgrace, but under English common law ie
the equality bill of 2009 illegal. bigotry in any shape or form should not be tolerated.

Wow…

One should not accuse someone of racism so flippantly just because he won't sell you his toys.

I thought most Australians and most English were the same racial group anyway?

Drama = No Deal is a sound policy for private sales between individuals.

Indeed one should be very careful with such accusations…

Although I have yet to meet Frank face to face, as a German customer residing in Belgium, I think I can vouch for him not harbouring any racist or xenophobic prejudices. Following a polite enquiry, I've found him very pleasant to deal with.

Would quite like to see these in the flesh though from the pictures I dont think they are my cup of tea. The poses are too static for my tastes.

Having said that I do think some of the cavalry are terrific.

I think he doesn't like some Australians , not all of them..though …..

I want to enjoy this fight, but don't have the context.

Why don't you just leave it be, instead of coming here and dragging up an old thread to cause more aggravation? Maybe you want to enjoy the fight, but I'm sure nobody else does.

Well, call me a barmy Aussie, I do not care! I say great work to both Mat and Frank. 28mm is not my scale of choice, but the Minden Figures are beautiful and some of my Koenig Krieg customers have really ooed and aaghhhed over them. And the same goes for Mat's Hanoverians as well. They will be a great achievement and I encourage you mate to press on, as one can never have enough choice in the market place, especially when both ranges are such high class sculpts. :)

I say well done to Richard Ansell for sculpting these lovely figures.