"starting out - does the world of plastic 28mm now tempt." Topic

Interesting to see posts that are just 12 months old on what the future of plastics held – and here we are, 12 months on with some great ranges out and in the pipeline – surely expectations have been largely exceeded.

If you were just starting out now and wanted to just collect in a single scale – would you now choose 28's over your current scale.

I have mixed views, my older eyes say yes to 28mm tables, my practical sitaution in relation to storage space and playing area say yes to 10mm.

Have gone 28mm for my first foray into Naps, largely due to the plastics available – though I've chosen to go metal. Plastics have meant that I've got more opponents amongst my gaming buddies.

If only I could stick to ONE scale, any scale. But no, cool stuff keeps coming out in 6, then 10, then 15, then ooh, look at those cool 28's…

I would (and do) only collect 28mm regardless of plastic or not.

Personally plastics have dissapointed not exceeded my expectations.

The best plastics still do not rival the best metal, low relief detail which is hard to paint and doesn't show up on the table so well, the issue with lack of detail when side on to the mold, difficulty in representing chainmail are all issues that still leave metal king of the hill.

Plastics are cheap but little more, and if money was no object or if metal was as cheap as plastic I doubt I would ever touch plastics.

The likes of Renegade, MDS and (maybe some) OG show that it is possible to produce quality metal sculpts for the price of plastic, it just a matter of the willingness of manufacturers to trade price for volume.

agreed with bravo x .. would also add the multi part aspect and plentiful mould lines is a pain in the backside … the time spent assembling and cleaning up means at the end of the day the money saving by going plastic is lost .

the figures also tend to break quite easily , especially when in my carry bag en route to the club game :(

no doubt the figures on the whole are exceptional .. but they ain't for me ..

I like mixing the Perry plactic ACW with metal ACW so far.
You can get a great variety with all the conversions you can do.

What Dwight said; the assembly time …good grief!

Yes, there are some issues with the plastics, more so with some firms then others. That said, I really like working with the plastics, as you can do a lot with them using a sharp blade, some small sanding sticks, and liquid glue. I am just finishing the prep work for 6 boxes (+220 figs) of Perry British Naps (after having done the same for the Perry's ACW inf and cav as well as their French Nap inf) and I can tell you that it has been some work. Of course, I tend to go overboard on both my lead and plastic figs, re-engraving various items (joints between figs, straps, etc.), drilling out all musket/rifle barrels, adding battle damage (rips and tears) to pants (which is a lot easier to do in plastic!), and generally turning them into little miniature masterpieces…let's just hope that my painting skills prove up to the job! LOL.

Of course, there are certain things that I like about the plastics (much more easier to work with as a material) and those I like about the metal (better relief). So I tend to opt for both, as long as they are all size and style compatible in the same units, which I find they are. For example, I have Perry metal French command units with their plastic marching troops…and they look good together!

Finally, the clincher for me with plastics is the conversion possibilities one can do. My sculpting skills aren't quite there yet but I am experimenting and can see much much more potential with the plastics then with metal. If you take a look at modelers in bigger scales, like 54mm, you will find that many of them make good use of Airfix and Historex multipose figs to make some wonderful creations.

So those are my thoughts on the subject.

PS If you are going to work with small scale plastics and find the mold lines a pain (as I do), then I strongly recommend that you buy some small Durasand sanding twigs. These twigs are a great tool for any modeler working with plastics. Essentially, they are the offcuts from the bigger sticks that are also sold. The twigs are sold individually and come in buckets. The twigs come in a variety of colors, depending on the grade of the sand paper. Also, each twig has two sides, with two slightly different grades of grit.

For the hard plastic figs I use the med blue twigs for an initial clean-up of the mold lines followed by using the pink ones for a final one. The end results are great, especially if you learn how to use a very light amount of Tamiya Super Thin liquid glue to smooth over any imperfections.

I bought my Durasand sanding Twigs from a HobbyTown outlet…they were like .08 cents each. I take the twigs, which are about 6 inches long, and cut them down into handy 1 1/2" segments, which I find is perfect for holding in my hands while doing small 28mm figs!

Take a look at Durasand's website.

link

PS I don't work for Durasand but I do like their products!

So Aroudaki, how is your job with Perry figures going? lol.

JohnnyBGoode, !

Unlike your incessant and unprovoked attacks against me on TMP, I am trying to help others via my posts. In short, you are . It is really sad as almost everyone on TMP is usually nice and friendly, even when they don't agree with the opinions expressed. As for you, you seem to think that attacking people and calling them liars is acceptable behavior, which it is clearly not.

JohnnyBGoode, you are indeed !

I looked through some of your previous posts and you have a reputation for attacking others, especially over any comments you consider to be 'negative' about HaT miniatures. In fact, in your posts you seem to rant and rave quite a bit at people, along with spouting out erroneous info on various topics.

Your classic line in one post was that in your business 'the customer is always wrong'. That was a classic. So what branch of the US Govt do you work for?

As for your connection with HaT, well that seems pretty evident. Either you are one of their ardent fans or maybe one of those employed directly by them to write blogs… who knows. Never mind, as long as everyone knows this they can read your rants and raves and know where it is coming from.

In summary, I respect your right to offer an opinion, as I would anyone else. Sadly, your opinions are not backed up by any factual evidence… just you spouting off that HaT figures are great. Furthermore, you have no right whatsoever to launch personal attacks calling people liars and such.

Plastic figures tend to be cheaper than metal, but cost is not always the only constraint. I find that 28mm figures need too much space to be convenient for me. I tend to use smaller sized figures. Good luck to anyone who has more playing area and storage space at their disposal, though.

If I was starting out now, I'd stick to 40mm (which was the original German toy soldier size btw). I have dabbled in 6 and 15mm, but these lack appeal. I have been into 28's for 40 years. 20mm for WW2 to take advantage of realistic continental building kits.
I too believe that 28mm metals have better realism, detail and animation than plastics. I was heavily into LOTR plastics even before historical plastics were released. I now regret not buying masses of 40mm Sabertooth LOTR figures. Even though the LOTR 28's and 40's are the same figure in different sizes, the 40mm stuff has more personality.
Plastics have the advantage of being readily available.

… why do I get the feeling some of the posts have been edited?

I agree they're pretty nice figs; they're lighter, which is a benefit, easier to modify/convert, too. Like all miniature lines, though, they're doomed. Doomed, I say. I ask you, how long before scale creep makes these 28s into 30s, and will they ultimately catch up with thehawk's 40mm?

Jim