eptingmike | 07 Dec 2010 1:55 p.m. PST |
Hello all, I am a total newbie in the realm of AWI so bear with me. What I am wondering is if any of the Revell 7 Years War figures would be usable for Hessians(the Prussian set)or French(the Austrian set). I was also thinking that the HaT 1805 Prussian jaegers could stand in for Hessian jaegers with a wee bit of 'fixing.' Thoughts? Thanks Mike |
95thRegt | 07 Dec 2010 2:07 p.m. PST |
7YW Prussians would work for Hessians,but not 1805 Prussians. Wrong headgear,and they're in trousers . Someone already makes French AWI in 1/72. Bob |
Old Contemptibles | 07 Dec 2010 2:08 p.m. PST |
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eptingmike | 07 Dec 2010 2:47 p.m. PST |
I was thinking of the Austrians for French as the current French set(Italeri?),well, I don't think they look all that great. @Rallynow, Was the "Why?" directed at me of 95th? If me, I just want to see what I could drum up in plastic. |
Andrew May1 | 07 Dec 2010 3:17 p.m. PST |
Here's a link to the relevant page on Plastic Soldier Review. I'd you didn't know about this website, it's very good! link hope this helps, Ace |
Who asked this joker | 07 Dec 2010 3:41 p.m. PST |
Why? Because it is far cheaper than 15mm and looks as good en masse as most 28mm figures. BTW, I will second the PSR page. Very, very good resource. |
Jeigheff | 07 Dec 2010 4:44 p.m. PST |
There are indeed some good 1/72 plastic figures for the American Revolution. However, there are quite a few troop types that aren't yet represented in plastic, like Americans in hunting shirts, Hessian fusiliers, or American light infantry, just to name a few. On the plus side, there are enough 1/72 scale AWI figures to make a lot of the troops for both sides, certainly enough to put on a game. Also, they're relatively inexpensive. But unless you like doing conversions, you might feel a little thwarted if you want to depict some of the more unique units. I think the PSR site lists just about everything there is for the AWI in 1/72 scale plastic. |
Old Contemptibles | 07 Dec 2010 5:00 p.m. PST |
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egoboy | 07 Dec 2010 8:52 p.m. PST |
Hat site has pics of some excellent upcoming Hessians. I was really impressed by the short helmets on the fusiliers (the Revell and Zvezda 7 yw stand ins are all tall capped grenadiers). For hunting shirts, the Imex Lewis and Clark set, as well as colonial militia sets have some real beauties. |
Olaf 03 | 07 Dec 2010 8:53 p.m. PST |
I think 1/72 scale is great for wargaming. Plus many of the plastic figures are just as well sculpted (if not better) than many metal figures. I have Napoleonic and ACW armies in this scale. If you really need French and Hessians you can always see if there are any 20mm metal figures out there. Take a look at Irregular Miniatures. They have a 20mm AWI range. I am not sure how similar they are in size to the plastic figures but it might be worth looking at. |
egoboy | 07 Dec 2010 8:54 p.m. PST |
having trouble posting. hope I don't double post. |
egoboy | 07 Dec 2010 8:58 p.m. PST |
ok will try again. Hat has pictures of excellent short cap true Hessians on their site. The Revell and Zvedz 7 years war stand ins are all in the taller grenadier cap. Accurate has some great AWI , specifically helmeted Brit light inf. For hunting shirts grab a set of Imex American Militia and the great Lewis and Clark set. |
eptingmike | 07 Dec 2010 10:50 p.m. PST |
I picked up the Billy/IMEX/Accurate brand figures that they stock at Hobby Lobby. So I was able to get this set link and this set link to get started. And it was dirt cheap! |
Pijlie | 08 Dec 2010 12:27 a.m. PST |
I play AWI in 20mm and had a lot of fun creating the armies for the Black Powder ruleset. Can't paste the link onthis damned Iphone but a Google for Pijlie and Flickr should yield my photo page. The Revell Hessians are pictured there in all their high-peaked mitred glory ;0) |
John Leahy | 08 Dec 2010 5:36 a.m. PST |
Wow Pijlie! Great looking battle! That is something that should be rolled out when folks ask about AWI using plastics. Simply awesome! link Thanks, John |
eptingmike | 08 Dec 2010 6:41 a.m. PST |
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95thRegt | 08 Dec 2010 9:47 p.m. PST |
I'm not a fan of the funky poses 1/72 figures come in. Not for wargaming anyway. Bob |
John Leahy | 08 Dec 2010 10:05 p.m. PST |
Wow Bob. You really didn't like those pics of games that Pijlie posted? They are as nice as anything in metal. |
Marc the plastics fan | 09 Dec 2010 3:25 a.m. PST |
Damm those funky poses! Well, each to their own, but they are some great looking figures – what a lovely looking game. Thanks for the link. I wonder if people still confuse plastics with Airfix. HaT now make figures in three boxes – marching, action and command. There is no "funkiness" in these. And HaT are not alone – the Zvezda sets include great wargame friendly poses. The days of clubbing a mole to death seem to be behind us now. Still each to their own I guess. |
eptingmike | 09 Dec 2010 1:18 p.m. PST |
I would love it if HaT or Zvezda would jump into the AWI fray
.that would be awesome! |
20thmaine | 09 Dec 2010 3:26 p.m. PST |
The Italeri AWI figures are superb – the british light cavalry and the Native American warriors in particular. |
(religious bigot) | 09 Dec 2010 8:46 p.m. PST |
Well, the cavalry have teeny weeny swords, but their oversupply of gorgets may compensate. They are pretty figs though. The infantry are horrible and too bog, and a pant job on some British is a much better idea. |
colkitto | 10 Dec 2010 6:15 a.m. PST |
It's not just the AWI dragoons whose weapons are a bit small. There are some other Italeri cavalry which are quite nice but whose choppers don't measure up. Is there an easy way to fix this? |
Marc the plastics fan | 10 Dec 2010 8:59 a.m. PST |
Replacing short plastic swords with pins or flattened wire is both easy and helps resist the dreaded "ping" effect, that may cause paint to crack or flake in extreme cases. Take you pin (soft iron pins, not hardened stinless steel), flatten with hammer and vice, leave bit of round end, heat and insert into pommel. |
Pijlie | 10 Dec 2010 9:29 a.m. PST |
I would be the first to admit that gaming with 20mm plastic is somewhat testing for the purist. I however am neither a purist nor an AWI expert and neither do I aspire to a top paint job for every single one of the 700 figures I painted for these two AWI armies. My buddy Straetski does and succeeds as well I might add. But this scale is a hell of a way to end up with a spectacularly looking table and I think we pulled that one off :0) |
firstvarty1979 | 10 Dec 2010 9:45 a.m. PST |
Nice looking game. I never would have guessed that they were plastics, to be honest. I don't know if I'll move over to plastics for any period I game, but I think with figures like these they gain considerable respect in the eyes of at least a few of us who normally prefer lead/pewter. |
colkitto | 10 Dec 2010 12:54 p.m. PST |
<<Take you pin (soft iron pins, not hardened stinless steel), flatten with hammer and vice, leave bit of round end, heat and insert into pommel.>> The very thing. I've always wondered where you get soft iron pins – are they a bit specialist or can you find them all over the place? |
Widowson | 10 Dec 2010 2:00 p.m. PST |
Accurate makes a set of AWI militia which includes a number of figs in hunting shirts, shirt sleeves, others. It's a very good set, as 1/72 plastic goes. I have one set I don't need. I'm looking for 1/72 Italeri Pavlov Grenadiers. Let's make a deal. widowson1@juno.com |
number4 | 23 Jan 2011 10:43 p.m. PST |
"HaT now make figures in three boxes – marching, action and command" Not in this range – they've gone back to funky toy soldier poses, no research, no realism and a real disappointment compared to their Napoleonics and Hessians link Unfortunately the sycophantic drooling from their fans means this rubbish will end up being produced anyway. |
Marc the plastics fan | 24 Jan 2011 5:22 a.m. PST |
Ah come on No 4 – tell HaT and help them. HaT are a good company who try hard. Remember, they are a manufacturer dependent on a lot of other people/processes. This is not the Perry twins doing everything themselves. So moan at HaT or, better, work with them. But my feeling is that HaT are playing a "playset" approach with these figures, something I belive that the US get a lot with 54mm figures. Anyway, off to do some more drooling :-) |
number4 | 24 Jan 2011 2:25 p.m. PST |
Marc, I already have – and offered my services (I'm a long serving NCO in one of the country's premier living history reenactment groups), but I am just one voice and in my experience, anything remotely critical gets howled down deleted by the moderator over there. It's a pity, because Hat can make really nice stuff when their heart is in it. Amazing what a free test sprue can do for your customer fan base. |
HaT Indu | 24 Jan 2011 4:29 p.m. PST |
"anything remotely critical gets howled down deleted by the moderator over there." That just isn't true, your posts are still there aren't they :-) ? Fighting and cursing gets deleted by the moderator. |
Adam D | 24 Jan 2011 7:16 p.m. PST |
I stumbled across this recently; don't know if this has been mentioned here before: 1:1 Battle of Bunker Hill with 1/72 plastic figures: link link |
Steve Pickstock | 25 Jan 2011 4:42 a.m. PST |
Just been trying to see the 'funky' poses in the AWI sketches, couldn't see any. Hat try very hard more so than some manufacturers They also use a sound principal of working with people they know which sometimes means they appear to be less than forthcoming. (It is after a business not a charity. However they are very open about their plans and they do listen. But it's like anything else, they're looking for constructive criticism more than anything else. I couldn't agree more with the people who talk about 1/72nd as a scale for big battling. I have been almost exclusively 1/72 for nearly 30 years and I love to see big tables full of figures (that I can then carry out to the car without giving myself a hernia) knowing that I only paid a fraction of what the metal guys paid. Amongst other things the little club I belong to do WAB and Napoleonics using "WRG 1685 to 1865", both of which rules sets benefit from loads of figures on big tables. |
Supercilius Maximus | 25 Jan 2011 5:29 a.m. PST |
In terms of being wargamer-friendly, I'd say these figures are a big improvement on anything that's gone before in terms of AWI boxes. If the drawings represent what will be going into a "playset", then I'd say they've got a nice mix of figures in there – something that could equally easily represent action from New York in 1776, the South in 1780-81, or the western frontier any time. |
Marc the plastics fan | 26 Jan 2011 4:42 a.m. PST |
Steve – could not agree more. I wish I had got back into plastics sooner. The current range is eye watering in depth, breadth and quaility, paint stays on – acrylics over enamels, better prep and varnish, glues work now, and poses are being made with wargamers in mind (HaT's MAC format a case in point, although Zvezda have been pretty good for years). So I am making up for lost time. But £40odd of Zvezda GMW (8 boxes) got me 4 full 53 man battalions, compared to £53.00 GBP per battalion with Minden (which I love, and have a few of, so not a nasty dig, just economics for me), with another battalion to come and a half unit of grenadiers. Fantastic! |
Steve Pickstock | 26 Jan 2011 7:33 a.m. PST |
I worked out a Sassanid army based on Hat's new figures 2000pts came to sixty odd notes. Just the cavalry from Gripping Beast would come to £125.00 GBP Similarly my old Zvezda mongols 40 at the rpices of the time(probably 50 today) but I am very choosey about which figures I use. |
Marc the plastics fan | 26 Jan 2011 9:12 a.m. PST |
Steve – agreed again. Quality does vary (as it will in metals of course), but I generally find that anything by Zvezda will fit my standards (and I know they have been getting bigger, but I don't tend to mix a lot in a unit), and teh newer HaT stuff is very nice too. Most of my French are the old HaT ranges, and so they will be supplemented when the new stuff comes out. But as boxes are more sensibly posed, so I find my "figure wastage" has dropped to make the average figure cost around 10p (UK) for me, which cannot be beaten by 15s – not sure about 10s – and I get a far bigger visual impact. As to pricing – F and S Scale Models in Manchester offer free p&p over £50, and 10% discount vouchers – ask for a listing and they will send a voucher with the list, and I get a regualr voucher with their newsletters. So a current box of HaT Prussian infantry is £4.00 GBP (UK). |
Steve Pickstock | 27 Jan 2011 12:20 a.m. PST |
I think I have every maker of plastic figures going in my Napoleonic French. And a shameless plug for F&S – their shop is just off the route between the offices where I work so I only pay shipping when I really really have to. Nice peopole, they deserve your business. |
number4 | 12 Mar 2011 5:27 p.m. PST |
"Just been trying to see the 'funky' poses in the AWI sketches, couldn't see any." Running forward, firelock in one hand with arms outstretched to the side? Don't remember seeing that one in von Stueben or the 1764 instructions. How about the character with the pistol stuffed in his belt like someone from an SCA pageant? I'm not bashing Hat as a company here because they produce some really wonderful stuff – just take a look at the new 1812 Prussians for example. Well researched, beautiful and lifelike poses. These 'continentals' fall a long way short of that standard. |
Supercilius Maximus | 13 Mar 2011 10:42 a.m. PST |
<<How about the character with the pistol stuffed in his belt like someone from an SCA pageant?>> Yes, it is surprising how many figure manufacturers – no matter how good their research is generally – can't resist the pistol-toting figures in any 18thC range/set. Cavalry aside, few people carried them in this period – and certainly not the rank-and-file who were probably too poor to own them. |
Der Alte Fritz | 13 Mar 2011 2:05 p.m. PST |
Pijlii's game looks very nice. I like the style of the plastic figures and their realistic proportions. |
eptingmike | 26 Mar 2011 11:36 a.m. PST |
If anyone is interested there are some 1/72 AWI figs in the marketplace I put up. Putting the project to bed. :) |
Pijlie | 29 Mar 2011 9:04 a.m. PST |
I should wake the project up if I were you. HaT is prepping an AWI/7YW range. Check out their forums for some masters that look very good. |
eptingmike | 29 Mar 2011 6:58 p.m. PST |
True, true. I just have been going a little ga ga over the Perry figures
.they are just so snazzy!! |
eptingmike | 29 Mar 2011 6:59 p.m. PST |
I guess I could consider doing two scales
. :) |
Pijlie | 09 Apr 2011 4:55 a.m. PST |
Now you´re talking sense! :o))) |
number4 | 09 Apr 2011 2:14 p.m. PST |
"HaT is prepping an AWI/7YW range" The 7YW masters are the best I've ever seen, but the AWI are just clones of the tired old ACW toy soldier sets done years ago. I can't believe they didn't use the same sculptor for two subjects that are so closely related. |
(religious bigot) | 09 Apr 2011 2:46 p.m. PST |
I'm guessing it's a time / availability of the people who do the sculpting thing. There's a bit of a mismatch between the early French infantry (chunky and chinless) and the early French in greatcoats (beautifully proportioned and animated) as well. |
eptingmike | 10 Apr 2011 10:39 a.m. PST |
"Now you´re talking sense! :o)))" I about spit my coffee out reading this one! Ha ha!! :) |