"less expensive alternative to BF miniatures" Topic

anyone know of an alternative in terms of Battlefront miniatures, or is this one of those GW deals where one has to use their miniatures to play the game properly???

Any 15mm minis will do.

Plastic Soldier Company 15mm
Old Glory Command Decision Line.
Peter Pig
etc…

Old Glory has an EXTENSIVE line of 15mm WW2. Good and inexpensive. If you have an Old Glory Army membership ($50/year), you get 40% off on purchases. Good stuff.

PSC

Forged in Battle and Zvezda are both good options.

Ferb

My Blog: Ferb's Fighting Forces updated daily.

If you can bear the wait buy your Old Glory from warweb, you get the 40% off. However, don't get their vehicles, the moulds are (in my experience) worn out.
Go PSC or Forged in Battle or PP for vehicles

I tend to find the PP figures lack facial detail and character and look chubby and stout, the OG ones are more realistically proportioned. The PSC ones are very cheap and correctly proportioned but the poses are limited and they lack character. Overall, I'd go BF or OG (BF infantry aren't too expensive in relation to other companies).

When you think about it, ebay is probably the best place to find cheap figures

or is this one of those GW deals where one has to use their miniatures to play the game properly???

BF did not invent WWII. GW invented 40K and Greyhawk (or whatever their fantasy world is).

Here's what one of the company's owners (or is he the owner) had to say about it:

You'd certainly be welcome an any FoW table or any FoW event that I know of with whatever minis you brought. One word of note though, unpainted miniatures are generally frowned down up…at least that's how we roll in my area!

To reiterate what VonBurge said, Battlefront does NOT require the use of BF figures in "official" sanctioned Flames of War tournaments. Good for them!
They DO require BF figures in sanctioned painting competitions, but there's nothing wrong with that.

The only army I had that was mostly BF figures was the Finns. My favrite source is Old Glory/command Decision and they made no Finns.

If you buy the standard figures from OG/CD, and use the Old Glory Army Card, you could be paying a third of the price that BF charges.
I might add that I have seen very few figures or models where the Battlefront figures are better than OG to justify the MUCH higher prices. They are very comparable.
Sadly, OG does not make the Sovet/Finnish T28 tank. Yet!

I also say Forged in Battle, on a group of 4 vehicles, you save 8.00. The negative is they come on a base, and that might not be a negative for some folks.

Another source you can try:
QRF Miniatures (quick reaction force).
(and they have a T28 in case you didn't know, John.)

Thank you…

The way I do it is OG for infantry and some armour, PSC for the armour range that they have, and BF for individual blisters that are hard to find elsewhere or I only need singles.

Having said that, the majority of my collection has come from trades, buying second hand of people I know, ebay or bartertown.com.

I got half of my Amricans trading a pile of ACW miniatures I was ever going to paint.

or is this one of those GW deals where one has to use their miniatures to play the game properly???

Only if you want to enter a BF-sponsored painting contest. Even the FoW Nationals explicitly permit you to use any 15mm WW2 minis. One guy actually gamed with the 'decoy army' from Normandy (painted flats), and was shown in Wargames Illustrated.

I have a mix of models, but most of mine are BF. The local stores carry BF, after all. If/when I go for Russians, I will be buying lots of PSC T34s (and hopefully guns).

If you know what to look for, you can tell the difference between PSC, Zvezda, QRF, and BF just by looking at them, but they're all the same physical bulk. The tracks on the plastics are generally better, but some of the details are crisper on the BF resin. QRF generally doesn't have all the extra stowage molded on, so you need to add that to make the tanks look right.

Mine are mostly Peter Pig figures with a mix of vehicles (BF, Skytrex/CD, FiB, Zvezda, PP, QC etc.)

There is more choice for vehicles than figures IMO.

Phil
pbeyecandy.wordpress.com

Try Gaming Models. At $5 USD a vehicle you can't beat it.

Even the FoW Nationals explicitly permit you to use any

15mm WW2 minis. One guy actually gamed with the 'decoy army' from Normandy (painted flats), and was shown in Wargames Illustrated.

One of the US Masters play actually had an Old Glory based Soviet Tank fore.

Only if you want to enter a BF-sponsored painting contest.

I wonder if BF at some point in the future started pulling back on prize support for FoW events that do not specifically exclude/prohibit non-BF models…might we see companies like PSC step up and provide prize support in thier place? Hmmm……..

I wonder if BF at some point in the future started pulling back on prize support for FoW events that do not specifically exclude/prohibit non-BF models…might we see companies like PSC step up and provide prize support in thier place? Hmmm……..

Well at UK events I would say that nearly every event that has prize support (and not all do) has more non BF support than it does BF. Many UK events have lots of support with no BF support at all.

Personally I play in tournaments to get games with lots of different players. The level of prize support makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to my decision to attend or not. I have won prizes, I have even won BF prizes but that is not why I play.

Some good suggestions here most of which I use myself. Something to watch out for though is BF package their stuff to suit the game and although other manufacturers are cheaper model for model you may end up spending more to get the number of figures you need due to the way they are packaged. Also BF include bases, you can of course make your own and there are lower cost alternatives available too. You may need to mix and match manufacturers too e.g. Forged in Battle sell platoon packs which almost suit FoW organisation but you'll need command teams for the heavy weapons and bazookas, panzerfausts etc which FiB do not currently provide. None of this is an issue for me as I use my kit for various rulesets and spare/extra figures get used for something. The convenience of FoW packs can be a factor particularly if just starting off. The fact they are stocked in many FLGS is another factor I like to support games stores if I can and I'm lucky to have 2 one of which stocks BF the other PSC, I buy both. Online purchases are of course an option but shipping costs can sometimes be prohibitive, e.g. Skytrex vehicles are roughly 20% cheaper than BF but they charge a flat rate of £4.00 GBP in the UK for postage so unless I'm putting together a large order I may as well buy from my local store (or wait for one of their sales as I did before Xmas buying a load of Japanese infantry) Of course other retailers offer better shipping terms many free worldwide over a certain order value.

I agree on prize support. It's completely irrelevant to me personally as I've got no need for new junk I won't paint. That, and I seldom do well at tournaments anyway! :)

The reason I posed the question is because tournament prize support is one of the things that some players on the BF forums, including at least one BF staff member, have cited as one of the reasons why FoW players should want to pay the higher BF prices rather than "give in" to cheaper plastic options.

In the US events I've attended, prize support has been nearly universally from BF, with some notable exceptions in terrain etc. I'm encouraged to hear what the situation in the UK is like; hopefully the US will follow the UK model more closely as time goes on, especially if BF does embark on a policy of not supporting FGoW events that are not BF Exclusive.

Cheers, VB

…especially if BF does embark on a policy of not supporting FGoW events that are not BF Exclusive.

Part of the good vibes that BF has is because of this policy. It would instantly evaporate if they webt back on it.
They are very realistic about it, and know that they do not have the exclusive market in 15mm WW2 figures. Unlike Warhammer which has its own exclusive fluff. I can not see BF threatening legal action against another manufacturer who makes a Tiger II, unless it were a blatant recast.

The only money BF makes off me is the books, and that is a pretty penny for pretty books. That would dry up if they went all GW on the fanbase, and they know it.

Yep. That's what has impressed me the most about BF as a game company. Hope you're right John that this is the way it will always be.

One of the US Masters play actually had an Old Glory based Soviet Tank force.

For the record, it was Quality Casting T-34/85s… :-) Everything else (Decoy Panthers, SU-100s, M-10s, BA-64s, etc.) was Battlefront.

Ed

Don't forget skytrex they have some quite nice stuff.
I can also echo what others have said and recommend peter pi always had good service from them whether by or at shows.
The forged in battle stuff looks good had a look at their stuff this weekend and was sorely tempted.

Also cheers guys for answering a question I had been pondering on Flames of War tournaments :D