Cardinal Hawkwood | 28 Apr 2014 10:28 p.m. PST |
and they do insist on calling them "25mm scale" and if that is not bad enough the pictures of them are mostly execrable, being distorted, small and
execrable. Is there a single site where you can actually see what they actually look like without having to resorting to a, mostly useless, magnifier? This is the 21st century after all. Damn spelt it wrong in the title and no editing that. |
pegasusfridge | 29 Apr 2014 1:40 a.m. PST |
Now now. You'll get a variety of companies turning up to defend with the "we haven't got time" and "its a small hobby we don't make enough money to do that" nonsense. |
langobard | 29 Apr 2014 1:58 a.m. PST |
Fully agree, which is a shame, as I'd happily buy more of their figures if they had reasonable pics. Interesting that the Perry's can find the time to put up good pictures, while Old Glory can't
|
Grelber | 29 Apr 2014 2:18 a.m. PST |
Some of them are OK--but you are right, many are a waste of electrons. I find it particularly annoying, since I'd like to build an army nobody makes, so I will have to do conversions, and the pictures aren't good enough to see if the figures will work. In 2005, I spent an hour or so looking at the OG figures on display at a store in downtown Sidney--the Tin Soldier, perhaps, now gone, alas!--and making notes. For what it's worth, though the Old Glory UK site doesn't have photos of all the figures, the ones they do have are much better. Grelber |
abelp01 | 29 Apr 2014 2:56 a.m. PST |
Did you try this site: link They have quite a few pics. |
Chortle | 29 Apr 2014 3:03 a.m. PST |
Just finished painting some Old Glory 28mm Napoleonic Sailors of the Guard. They are fantastic. I mixed them in with some Bicorne and Connoisseur. There is loads of great stuff in the ranges and OG USA seem to be really good as casting them. Perhaps the web site photos are a let down. At least they are damn cheap with the OG Army discount. I wonder if the newer, more expensive, ranges are better cataloged. |
YogiBearMinis | 29 Apr 2014 4:10 a.m. PST |
In their defense, Old Glory/Blue Moon put out so many new figures that it legitimately does seem that taking pictures is a luxury they do not have time for. |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 5:50 a.m. PST |
With the 28/25mm they are pretty long in the tooth and one would think they might have had time to take,and post up, some decent pictures.I know a lot of the figures, it is the mass of ones I have no knowledge of that stress me out. abelp)1.It is that online catalogue that is totally driving me mad.In most cases really aren't much help at all. |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 5:51 a.m. PST |
Nearly every other site is better visually served than OG. |
parrot1500 | 29 Apr 2014 5:56 a.m. PST |
I know the OG stuff is an amazing deal, and one guy in our gaming club has the discount card, but we almost always skip OG because there are no pictures. They'd get so much more business out of going back and properly photographing their catalogue instead of coming out with new shiny stuff or holding prices down. Color me unimpressed. |
Extra Crispy | 29 Apr 2014 6:53 a.m. PST |
Amazingly, I have talked to several large manufacturers. They spent a LOT of time and money going back and photographing old ranges, stuff they had produced 10 or 20 years ago but never photographed. The photos were uploaded to the site and
..sales remained exactly the same. Now in some cases these are pretty obscure items – so gamers have little if any choice. So you'd not expect sales to move much anyway. But other ranges were much more "mainstream" and the result was the same. No lift in sales. They all agreed they needed to continue, and they add photos every once in a while. But the "more photos = more sales" has some substantial anecdotal evidence against it. |
CPBelt | 29 Apr 2014 7:04 a.m. PST |
But other ranges were much more "mainstream" and the result was the same. No lift in sales. They all agreed they needed to continue, and they add photos every once in a while. But the "more photos = more sales" has some substantial anecdotal evidence against it. What mainstream products? That would make all the difference, I would think. Is the company so well known and of such a high repute that consumers know everything the company makes is top notch? How buys them? Old foggies? Young kids? Are these British manufacturers, who seem to do much of their business via shows where people get to see the products before buying online? Too many unanswered variables there to draw any conclusions, even anecdotal. BTW thankfully this has never really been an issue in the model railroad hobby, where we have photos of nearly every single product available since I was a kid in the 70s, either in catalogs or now online, with many small companies. |
John the OFM | 29 Apr 2014 7:06 a.m. PST |
I am not going to condemn Old Glory. I have bought them for years, and I know what to expect. |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 7:14 a.m. PST |
I do have a lot of OG already..and I would like more but finding good images of them is
impossible.I don't condemn them at all, only their bloody awful pictures. |
John the OFM | 29 Apr 2014 7:32 a.m. PST |
Well, see what Extra Crispy said above. Russ probably decided to make an effort to photograph his current flagship line, Blue Moon, but that catching up was not worth the effort. That would be literally THONSNDS of pictures needed. |
darthfozzywig | 29 Apr 2014 9:31 a.m. PST |
we almost always skip OG because there are no pictures You're missing out. And if folks want more pics, they can always send some to OG. There are a number of pics of painted minis now, I believe submitted by consumers.
|
Zargon | 29 Apr 2014 10:13 a.m. PST |
Want to do Byblicals in 10mm, where would I get pictorial info from of all the differing companies? Do I just jumps the money to companies who say (and others say on there behalf of the 'no use us just because group' or do I use companies who want my money as well but have made an effort to show ne their products? Is their a site or blog doing these companies a courtesy by showing/comparing the differing products? Any help appreciated, Thanks and Cheers |
Virtualscratchbuilder | 29 Apr 2014 11:06 a.m. PST |
If you work hard enough you can find pics of almost everything. My routine is: - check Oldglory25s first - check Oldgloryminiatures second - google "old glory (whatever)" third and there is almost always someone who has pictures of their own painted OG minis - look for them on eBay last. This works once and a while I have never NOT bought because I could not find pictures. |
BelgianRay | 29 Apr 2014 11:33 a.m. PST |
Problem with the "no pictures" of OG is more a problem with this manufacturer than with others. 1 – There is quite a difference in quality between one catalogue categorie and the other. Some categories are ok , other are not. 2 – "no pictures" means in many cases just that : no pictures at all
3 – I don't agree with Extra Crispy : if you have no (or almost no) pictures up, people will stop looking up the site. 4 – New products ? I do not see much new products on OG. BLUEMOON yes, but OG ?? |
Baccus 6mm | 29 Apr 2014 12:14 p.m. PST |
Speaking as one of the much maligned manufacturers I would say that having decent pictures of my ranges on my site is essential. Here is a link on the Baccus forum to a discussion on the subject. link Having a good image of my Ancient Egyptians may or may sell that particular range, but it shows that I care to someone looking through the pages. Impressions count and your web site is your shop window. To treat it otherwise does a disservice to your products and your customers. |
GarrisonMiniatures | 29 Apr 2014 1:12 p.m. PST |
I've never found that putting extra pictures out has helped sales. In my defence, most ranges have some figure with photos! |
JJartist | 29 Apr 2014 2:10 p.m. PST |
It seems about ten years ago Old Glory did these photo shoots of everything they had--- it was a very large project since they have an extensive catalog covering multiple periods of history and fantasy miniatures. At the time they seemed to be responding to the market and try to catch up. The pictures themselves are indicative of their figures, however the execution of their website has always been problematic. The fact that one cannot zoom into the pictures makes them mostly useless to be able to convey to the buyer what he needs to know. Folks on the East coast of the US that have access to Historicon or the other conventions where Old Glory brings virtually their whole catalog to be perused and purchased only helps them. Which is very praiseworthy, but does not allow the web searcher to see what they are getting. I'm not sure which of their models this inquiry was addressed. OG figures are on the small side of 28mm nowadays- but are certainly compatible with many ranges. Just now I'm integrating an Old Glory cavalryman with some other more newish figures. The best I can say is that certain ranges of Old Glory 25-28mm figures are great, and great values, but some ranges are not very good at all
sadly the photo system does not help the buyer discern the good from the rest. I have the same comment as some.. I usually know what I'm getting from OG, but it is sad that their website not only precludes folks from seeing the bad in their catalog, but makes it mostly impossible to find the gems. |
Finknottle | 29 Apr 2014 4:03 p.m. PST |
And then there was the 1/300 scale "British Frigate" my buddy bought from the Merrimack Miniatures/The Old Glory Shipyard – without picture. Evidently, according to Old Glory, 18th century British frigates have 2 masts and ~18 guns. Who knew? |
trailape | 29 Apr 2014 5:05 p.m. PST |
Simply google the codes you're interested in or "Old Glory ACW" for example. That will often work. Or ask here! Most of OLD GLORY's 28mm stuff is pretty good. Add in the ARMY CARD and they are also fantastic value for money. The service is right up there with the best of them also. I've never had anything but excellent service from OG. Highly recommended! |
Extra Crispy | 29 Apr 2014 5:10 p.m. PST |
Well, I myself did photos of Warmodelling 15mm Napoleonics and Figurehead 1/6000 ships (WW1 and WW2). As a retailer this ws hugely expensive and time consuming. I had to buy each pack, ink and photograph it, edit each phot, upload and make sure the right photo got to the right product. Total time involved was probably on the order of 100-200 man hours spread out over a summer. I advertised the new photos, posted them here and on other forums, etc. etc. I got lots of nice compliments and helpful photography hints. What I did not get was increased sales. It was worth it to have the site be more complete, and for my own pride. But the ROI was awfully low
|
Bede19025 | 29 Apr 2014 6:49 p.m. PST |
Remember the days when you ordered from a mimeographed catalog, paid by check via the snail mail, and waited a month (if lucky) to get your order? Now we're ed if there aren't photos. How far we've come. |
rmaker | 29 Apr 2014 6:51 p.m. PST |
I suspect that the reason many of the OG pictures are less than beautiful is that they've had pictures up for a long time and that a lot of them are lower resolution than more modern ones and some were taken at the old 8:5 ratio rather than the more modern 4:3. |
Extra Crispy | 29 Apr 2014 7:23 p.m. PST |
And likely their web software automatically resizes them (that's what it always looks like to me). |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 7:25 p.m. PST |
we have come a lot further along life's rich timeling than much of the OG catalogue suggests that's for sure. No question about their service, not even hinted at by me , this is all about the remarkably substandard photographs.I have an army card, like so many of you out there , I am ever so very pleased with their accurate and prompt service but I will be damned if I buy something I can not make out clearly , sometimes not make out at all , or find a picture of anywhere else.Even my best and dearest friend Google images is not much help with regards to Old Glory.From now on I will include "Old Glory XXXXXX" in my pictures so that I may help out some other boob trying to see what they might be getting when they hit Google Images.. |
trailape | 29 Apr 2014 7:49 p.m. PST |
From now on I will include "Old Glory XXXXXX" in my pictures so that I may help out some other boob trying to see what they might be getting when they hit Google Images Atta boy! |
Long Valley Gamer | 29 Apr 2014 8:56 p.m. PST |
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that people want to see what they are buying before they purchase. Most figure companies have pictures up of their products. |
JezEger | 29 Apr 2014 9:41 p.m. PST |
Might be a good idea for OG to run a monthly comp wherein people send in pics of their painted units and the winner gets a free pack of their choosing. All pics are able to be used as a condition of the deal. Minimal cost to OG and they would get a lot of images quick. If its certain ranges they need photos of they could limit it to a certain scale/ period. Just a thought. |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 9:42 p.m. PST |
Old Glory have pictures, you just can't make anything out |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 29 Apr 2014 9:56 p.m. PST |
I mean what on earth is this picture worth as guide to anything? Actual size from tne online catalogue, total rubbish
|
trailape | 29 Apr 2014 10:39 p.m. PST |
not much help eh
Might be a good idea for OG to run a monthly comp wherein people send in pics of their painted units and the winner gets a free pack of their choosing. All pics are able to be used as a condition of the deal. Minimal cost to OG and they would get a lot of images quick. If its certain ranges they need photos of they could limit it to a certain scale/ period. Just a thought. I like that idea! |
Porkmann | 29 Apr 2014 11:17 p.m. PST |
Like Belgian Ray, I tend to scout the US site to see if there are any potentially interesting codes and then after looking at the crappy pictures, I Google. It is a pain in the ass but at least it makes you feel as if you have hunted! |
chicklewis | 30 Apr 2014 4:02 a.m. PST |
I haven't taken the time to read every post above, but does the original poster REALLY not realize that if you double click the little pictures they open up to larger size and are no longer distorted? |
YogiBearMinis | 30 Apr 2014 4:47 a.m. PST |
OG, esp with the Army discount, has the best prices in the industry. Their metal is cheaper than almost all plastics and any other metal. They are also good to very good to many times excellent figures. Hey, Russ, raise your prices 20% and fix your website. THEN see what people complain about. |
John the OFM | 30 Apr 2014 8:20 a.m. PST |
Hey, Russ, raise your prices 20% and fix your website. THEN see what people complain about. "In an effort to better show gamers our vast catalog, we have been forced to raise our prices." Sure, that'll work. |
hindsTMP | 30 Apr 2014 9:38 a.m. PST |
Might be a good idea for OG to run a monthly comp wherein people send in pics of their painted units and the winner gets a free pack of their choosing. All pics are able to be used as a condition of the deal. Minimal cost to OG and they would get a lot of images quick. If its certain ranges they need photos of they could limit it to a certain scale/ period. Just a thought.
Images of unpainted miniatures are much more useful, ideally with scale information. See here: strategianova.it/soldatini-e-resine/miniature-wars-15-mm/musulmani/fanti-con-lacia A good example of the problem with painted is the current Essex site, where the paint jobs hide the detail. This matters for the common case where you are considering using a figure to represent something other than its stated subject. I admit it's much better than nothing, though. Mark |
Beaumap | 30 Apr 2014 9:52 a.m. PST |
Just noticed this one. Many worse offenders – Redoubt with, wait for it, line drawings! Some with just lists and maybe example figures (eg Irregular for many ranges.) In the UK however, both OG and Irregular are v diligent attendees at shows. I ring Andy Copestake of OG UK for advice if stuck. I follow the same process as VirtualScratchBuilder for photos, and am rarely disappointed. And yes, many photos can indeed be enlarged – or found on OG UK. Keep those prices down! |
hindsTMP | 30 Apr 2014 9:55 a.m. PST |
BTW, to get the OG enlargements to work, you apparently have to have javascript turned on in your browser. Cardinal Hawkwood take note! Mark |
Mountain Goat | 30 Apr 2014 11:10 a.m. PST |
Man, what a bunch of cheap bastards. Old Glory figures, for the most part, all look the same. They look like whatever they are supposed to be in an old glory style. You won't find many surprises in their ranges. Just buy a bag and see. If you have the army card they are pretty cheap. |
HANS GRUBER | 30 Apr 2014 12:40 p.m. PST |
Out of sight, out of mind. No problem at all. |
BelgianRay | 30 Apr 2014 2:08 p.m. PST |
Beaumap : I am not a UK resident. And , yes, whe do have venues. And on these venues : no OG. But , yes, whe do get to see Redoubt
. And by the way , they do have more (descent) pictures than OG. and I still prefer drawings to
nothing
. Ever phoned Redoubt ? Apparently not
. So what are whe talking about ?? |
Cardinal Hawkwood | 30 Apr 2014 5:08 p.m. PST |
I live in Australia and they aren'y that cheap after post and of course I double click the images , still rubbish this is the double clicked opened size
I have java script on. OG UK have some pictures but not that many. |
John the OFM | 30 Apr 2014 6:32 p.m. PST |
This topic will fall off the front page soon and die a natural death. But, don't worry! It will be back again in a few weeks! |
Henry Martini | 30 Apr 2014 9:13 p.m. PST |
In my experience, if you can invoke the 40% discount and buy in sufficient quantity to minimise per figure postage, even after postage they work out about the same price as local suppliers here in Oz charge for 15mm. However, as the Cardinal points out, the photos on the website aren't very helpful. For instance, there's no way they'd allow you to determine that most packs in the Ottoman Turkish range are very good to excellent, whilst some, such as the Albanian irregulars, are clearly sculpted by a lesser talent and reminiscent of Hinchcliffe. The figures depicted above appear to be dark ages types, possibly Scots Spearmen. If they're from the Somerled range I can attest to their being as good as anything on the market; one of OG's best ranges, IMO: fine detail, natural, dynamic poses, and excellent proportions. |
Hobhood4 | 01 May 2014 12:09 a.m. PST |
The figures above are dark age Welsh. Very serviceable from Arthurian to Norman conquest. |
French Wargame Holidays | 01 May 2014 1:59 a.m. PST |
how about instead of complaining, why do we send them painted examples of their ranges
.I have a few
the cardinal has a few. I have done this for a number of manufacturers ranges
.. |