"Wargames Factory finally reveals their new range - AWI" Topic

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After half a year of being coy about their upcoming 6 box historical project, the guys at Wargames Factory have finally shown their hand. A little. We now know that it is indeed the American War of Independence, and the first kit revealed is British Infantry. More information to follow about what the other two release kits and the three follow-on kits will be.

So… WGF and Perry head to head at last :)

Are there enough AWI gamers that this is a profitable period for the two companies to produce? At least in my part of Los Angeles, the few remaining historical mini gamers are playing Bolt Action which is 28mm WWII. There might be a few ACW ones around, but Napoleonics is pretty much dead. But even when I was a teen and we had lots of historical groups, no one was playing AWI.

This is only curiosity. While it's not a period I intend to collect, I have no objection to it and would play if someone would lend me an army. (I also have an AWI uniform book and like the dragoon uniforms.)

Well, I'm Australian and only on the fringe of the historical gaming crowd anyway. But two major plastics players seem to think it's a goer.

That puzzle took me 30 minutes!

Dear Wargames Factory, life is short, time is precious, you just shooed away a customer by your smug little nonsense, just run a preview, sound off like you're a corporate robot and get it over with, I'm not your bitch that will jump through flaming hoops because your product is much wow.

I ignored it too. Gimmicks like that annoy the hell out of me.

But it has got people talking about them :-) just a novel way to promote your new items.

I had time to kill and it took 12 mins

Jules

I'll buy some and the puzzle was an ok 12 mins.

Shame life isn't too short to stop people spouting smug self-righteousness

Bigger shame they are AWI and not FWI / SYW – complementary would have been so much better than competative

Given the Perry's already have excellent plastic's available for this period I think SYW would have been a better choice as the armies are large and there is no plastics for it in 28mm that I know of.

Christopher

What Zippee said.

I did not see a puzzle on that page, using IE8.

I don't see a puzzle either. If AWI I would be in but only if metal. If plastic you can count me out.

Am I a bit late with this, but 'Horse and Musket' is now trade marked to WF Wonder if they will do the same with variations on the revolutionary war.

It seems an odd choice given the brand loyalty Perry Miniatures inspire.

Well, there's two weeks of my life I'll never get back – they might have given us a box lid to work from.

And there was a piece missing on mine.

Seriously, they are trying to trademark "Horse and Musket"? What idiots. That would be worth fighting pro bono just to shut them up.

AWI gaming is alive and well in the midwest USA. Are there any preview pictures after the puzzle is completed or is the completed puzzle the only preview?

This is surprising because back in the days of the nominate lines you want the Prussian SYW did well. Apparently they think they are solid enough to take on the "big boys."

I'm disappointed that it's not SYW, too. I'm not an AWI gamer, and while I might be willing to try a new range, since WF's prices are so competitive, I still wish it were SYW.

So everyone is dancing on the tables when Perry announces them, but it's a bad thing when Wargames Factory announces theirs? Guess that's the brand loyalty Timmo mentioned.

I would be interested in the figures from both manufacturers. I wish WF all the best in this new endeavour.

I am not interested in Perry plastics either.
I don't care for plastics.

its a bad thing when they bring out plastics that have been done well by someone else. 18th Century French would sell better.

So because (insert your favourite manufacturer here) makes Napoleonics every other manufactuer should just roll over and play dead?

18th century French might appeal to you yoakley, but personally I wouldn't touch them.

I'm willing to assume that the market might be big enough to support 2 manufacturers.

I have never been one to use one manufacturer exclusively. An average AWI game at my house has 12+ different manufacturers on the table.
If I DID like plastics, I would welcome a new and different manufacturer.

If they are comparable in quality and price, what's the problem?

Like Morrigan says, it's like bitching that a new manufacturer is making Tiger tanks or Early Imperial Romans.

Just so you guys know, there's very little pose overlap between the Perry and the forthcoming WGF. Perry does marching etc, WGF is doing firing, loading, musket drill poses plus some other stuff. They also have a different 'style' in terms of proportion and the way folds in clothing appear.

Say what you want about 'head to head' but if you're looking at the plastic sets from each I personally think there's room for both companies, each will have their fans and some people will buy from both. I personally hate Perry metals, I've painted tons for myself and for clients. I love their plastic stuff though.

With Acheson's new FWI terrain, Muskets and Tomahawks, the ruleset being developed, etc. I think it's going to be a period that sees more time on the table.

Sometimes companies make a period popular, they don't just manufacture stuff for what is currently popular.

I am with you Dr Mathias, an excellent summation of my own opinion. John the OFM, as much as you like the AWI it must be tough to see so much high quality plastic stuff being released, I used to share your dislike of plastic but after actually assembling and painting a few samples I changed my opinion and have now embraced the dark side. I still love pewter and lead though, there is room in my collection for both.

Well, I make 28 mm AWI figures and I welcome WF's jump into the market.
My own opinion ( again sport fans, MY OWN OPINION) is that plastics bring new people into the hobby. For a small investment you can build a decent army.
However, once you get committed to a period, I think that you would naturally wish to branch out into units that "generic" plastic figures cannot duplicate. And this is where metal figures take over.

I'll give you an example. I have an enormous collection of GW LOTR figures. The mass generic Orcs are plastic. But all of my Heroes and special units are metal .I could never afford to replace the masses of Orcs with metals, so the plastic serves it's purpose.

That being said, plastic sucks as far as wear and tear. Broken spears, swords and bows are everywhere. And that is beyond frustrating. So, my feeling is that once the new plastic figures begin to break, the new convert will turn to the old standby…..metals. And that's where I come in.

kingsmtminis.com/catalog

It's been a long time since I did a puzzle…I had fun. The Perry Redcoat poses are too static and limited for my taste so these WF figs may be just the thing if they are more animated. The real fun would start if the Perry and WF sets are interchangeable!

People really needed to complete the puzzle in order to see what it represented?

A less than ten second glimpse at the screen full of pieces indicates what it is.

Just as I welcome the Perry AWI plastics, so do I welcome the WGF plastics.

I'd rather be spoiled for choice than suffer from a lack thereof. While AWI may not be SYW (which is what I want in plastics atm), I'd never collect an AWI army in all metal, but I MIGHT do an army in plastic due to the price.

Now, if/when WGF can be convinced to do terrain and buildings like Renedra, I will then be in a serious financial bind as I buy it all up.

"It seems an odd choice given the brand loyalty Perry Miniatures inspire."

Really? Some of their ranges are good. They are all well sculpted, but some are boring. Remember their Foundry ACW range?

There is certainly room for another AWI range.

Plastics schmastics, all that gluing together. Nice as some plastic figures look when put together for the advertising, most still end up as odd looking stances.

My 5 year old son liked doing the puzzle. He wants to do it again! :-)

For those who simply want to see the announcement without having to sit and spend time completing a puzzle . . .

I'll probably take a long look at these for Imagi-nation purposes, not only AWI. I like the latter part of the century better for uniform purposes, and the "bug-eyed" aspect of the WF Marlburians put me off purchasing more than a couple of boxes.

I'm not crazy about the firing/loading thing. That's a pity. Great for skirmishing, though.

@JCBJCB

If your WGF WSS figures need a home, I can help you out with that, provided they are unpainted and unbased. :)

"Assemble the puzzle to learn the first product in Wargames Factory's upcoming new range!"

Well that was a waist of my time, and they just lost my $'s

John the OFM, as much as you like the AWI it must be tough to see so much high quality plastic stuff being released,

Huh? I don't follow that.

John the OFM, as much as you like the AWI it must be tough to see so much high quality plastic stuff being released,

Huh? I don't follow that.

It was in jest to infer why arent't you guys doing these in in pewter like normal people. Some other's have said they have had lots of spears and swords break in the plastic though. I haven't had that issue yet but that would turn me off of plastics if my hard work breaks often.

but some are boring. Remember their Foundry ACW range? > > Have to jump in on this one I'm afraid , your wrong, these were just fine and are still some of the best, quite a few fill in ranks and files in my ACW armies and look just grand(there poses were similar yes but mix and matching of packs gave plenty of variety so still high marks even today- a couple of head swops even does more for them)
Its all horses fort courses people. We're just lucky we are in such an abundant period of wargamer history and can afford to be picky. These will have their adherents and protagonists. Let's hope they shake out the faults they had with the WSS stuff and continue to improve like they have with the survivor series. Good luck WGF ( BTW they have made IMO some of the best plastic horses in their Persian range-you can build 12 different horse poses from the spruces ) here's hoping they finish this range soon. Id also look at them for imagi-nation armies,(especially if they do some of the German mercenary soldiers and jagers, * Pretty please* ;)

I liked the puzzle. AWI isn't my period (at the moment) but I don't get the hate. WGF makes decent to goodish figures at a very competitive price. I like the perry stuff too. I have WGF and Perry WWII on the same table. I'd put these on my table too

I find it interesting that if Perry's make it then everyone else has to back off. It seems that it was only a couple of days ago that another company announced they were making Roman figures in Plastic. Now, isn't that the 4th company to make plastic Romans? Where were the SYW people then?

Plastic companies are not doing anything different than the metal companies, each offering what is already available. Just how many lines in 28mm are there in metal AWI? How many lines of metal 28mm SYW? How many lines…you get the picture. Don't expect the plastic companies to be any different or any new company beginning in plastics to change the formula, put out the stuff that people need a lot of to build a historical army.

Plastics or metals , it doesn't matter to me. The most important thing is, " does the range have legs" -- will a company produce everything that I need to build complete armies, or will the first several packs end up being an orphan range? What is WF's track record in this regard? What is the Perry's track record, etc.

Thanks for thereply, mrinku & Redcoat 55. Based on the number of posts, it seems there are a number of people interested in the period.

For the record my comment had nowt to do with brand loyalty.

I'd say the same if this was a Perry announcement.

In a world where there are so many periods not yet covered by plastics, I would welcome complementary ranges that widen the coverage rather than multiple versions of the same. Especially when they can be complimentary.

Once the bases are covered then I'm all for variety of production.

As it is my money stays dusty as I don't want AWI but I would have spent on FIW and SYW – this may colour my point but I think it's still a valid point without that personal prejudice.

Maybe its just me but as a regular reader of TMP I get the impression Disco Joe prefers metal to plastic ? just a hunch.

Wrong scale. Plus the puzzle teaser just loaded as a blank on my tablet.

No matter what anyone makes there will always be a someone that can and will complain that the miniatures offered aren't in the scale he plays or the period he plays or in the material he wanted.

If we just take it as is irregardless of what we play. These figures look pretty good whether I play AWI or not and at the prices they will be sold for I'm sure there be players tempted into trying the period out. All in all it's a very good thing for the hobby.

I am surprised a marketing guru thought there was enough traction in this hobby to justify the expensive tooling of another plastic set. Bodes well for the hobby's future if true.

Don't care about the puzzle. Doesn't work on my iPad. Don't understand the work up over it. Big deal.

For me, unless there is a significant price point I would stick with metal. Started with plastics and still doing Bolt Action figures. However, plastic is not cheap anymore. I would stick with Old Glory. I personally like the animated poses as they stand out in a game. I don't play with my face within a foot of the figure.

I find it interesting that if Perry's make it then everyone else has to back off.

Yeah, that's crazy, isn't it?

As far as I am concerned, the more people making AWI, the better.
Even thought I will only buy metal "relatively inexpensive, or I can get it in a trade or free " 28mm figures, I applaud any new plastic, 15mm, 40mm, etc.
It's NEW AWI!

Sadly due to tooling costs, "so many periods not yet covered by plastics" are really not economical.

Let's face it. ALL companies will only make what they think will sell. If they do not, they are fools.
If WF thinks another range of AWI will sell, they will make it.