"The New AWI Plastics" Topic

I like AWI figures, so I went and bough several boxes of the new Perry and WGF plastics. Before giving my thoughts, I have two caveats. One, I am no good at plastic models. Never have been, never will. Much more likely to glue a finger to my thumb than to attach any of these parts where they should go. As a kid, I could never do airplanes or tanks without a massive glue avalanche wherever two parts joined. And it looked it. Bah! Humbug! Not my cup of tea.

Second, I own Kings Mountain Miniatures, which I mention in passing because to call me a "competitor" of the Perry twins would be the height of ridiculousness. I do not compete, I exist on the fringe. And this has nothing to do with my thoughts anyway, but in the interest of full disclosure, I thought I would mention it.

PROS
Overall view is WOW!! These are great figures. Nice sculpts, multi parts for variety, cheap and great conversion possibilities. Did I mention cheap? A buck a figure or less. You can certainly build up large forces with these very quickly. And that's a good thing, because cheap will bring more people into the period. My own feelings are that plastic AWI figures are the best thing to come along since 28 mm. And these are exceptional plastic figures. Great value. I've seen some of these figures painted up and they are as good as any figure available today. I've read where some gamers will never use plastic figures. Maybe they have legit reasons (breakage) but I think that it's silly to ignore something so good, just because it's plastic. Not me. I'll be buying more of these. Again, Wow!

CONS
If you are a good plastics modeler than these are for you. For me, lots of fiddily parts that are just beyond my meager talents. I would not even attempt to put these together. Off they good to my buddy, Charlie, who is a wizard at this.

NITPICKING?
I do not wargame. I just like the diorama portion of the hobby. For me, these figures are excellent because they won't be moved around much. They will be featured in static scenes and then back into the display case.
If you intend to use these in an actual game, then I fear that some damage will occur. As an example. I collect LOTR figures by the Perry's former employer GW. The metals hold up well. Not that I don't break the odd sword, flag or lance off. I do. I just glue it back on. The masses of the armies of LOTR are plastic. And I break about a half a dozen figures every time I set up a large battle scene. It's just the way it is. Metal bends, plastic breaks. Most can be mended, but it's gotten so that I don't bother anymore, I've got so much of the stuff. Make of that what you will.

OVERALL
Wonderful!! Another addition to the AWI family. The WGF figures are suited for duty in Boston, as they are dressed the part. Off to Bunker Hill with you lot.
The Perry's British will somehow end up in upstate NY. Saratoga, I believe. Great to have the proper headgear to make Gentleman Johnny's lads.
The Continentals will join Washington, near Philadelphia, as per orders.

If your not into AWI, go see your doctor, something is wrong with you.
After that, take a hard look at both of these company's figures. Then buy some. You'll feel better and there's no co-pay.

ADDENDUM
The Perry figures come with a painting guide picturing dozens of different uniforms of the AWI. How accurate that it is, I cannot say. No details are provided. I wish that there were.

"For me, lots of fiddily parts that are just beyond my meager talents. I would not even attempt to put these together."

I find these sorts of statements about plastic figures odd.

Have you ever made a model kit? Do you have fingers the size of tree trunks?

Why don't people who don't want to put plastic figures together just be honest and say "I can't be bothered".

"Why don't people who don't want to put plastic figures together just be honest and say "I can't be bothered"."

Becauser they love to have the figures ? I quite agree with Nevinsrip that glue is "fingersticking good" (;-)), so for some years I have a deal with a friend of mine: he glues together the figures and I paint them for both of us (with treetrunkfingers ;-)). Everybody happy !

Let me just say this once again: MEK!

Well I am a complete klutz but manage to put plastics together without it getting too emotional! The key is to apply the plastic cement sparingly to both sides then dwell a pause of two marching paces before contact. Once you realise this, the world is your oyster.

Re their alleged fragility, my plastic figures get gamed with hard, and shunted around a lot. Some parts do come off, particularly Victix bayonets, but actually I think they are less prone to damage than lead, primarily because of their lightness. They are certainly easier to repair!

Ambrose Pro Weld is magic – it melts plastic instantly so you brush it on both surfaces, press and it's done. There's nothing that has to dry, it just temporarily melts the plastic making it sticky.

I assembled a box of GW Empire militia in about 6 minutes though I cleaned all the parts and planned the poses in advance.

It's a fairly permanent bond so you won't be able to reposition it later.

Second the liquid styrene glue. If you're using the old gel like glue in a tube you're making things much more difficult than they need to be. Give the plastics a try with the Ambroid Pro Weld or the Plastruct liquid styrene glue and you won't be a klutz any more.

but actually I think they are less prone to damage than lead, primarily because of their lightness

I agree.

I've dropped a stand of lead figures from three feet [accidently], and the results were bad – chipped paint, figures separated from the base, muskets bent, etc. But, I've done the same with plastic figures, and had no issues.
Simple law of physics.

I use Model Master liquid cement for plastics – never had a problem.

I've experienced some issues with plastic broken bayonets, but I have with metals too – and as far as I'm concerned, big deal – my lads are on campaign, and stuff gets damaged in real life too. If someone makes a comment, I'd probably say 'a cannonball just missed the guys head, and hit his bayonet instead – lucky!'

No matter how carefully I try, nor the cement I use, I always end up with fingerprints on flat surfaces.
It is the one thing keeping me from going the plastics route.

Have you ever made a model kit?

Yes, he said that he did in his very first paragraph. did you bother to read it?
Some are good at it, some are not.
I plowed through a 2 year period making 1:72 biplanes. I improved slightly.
I tried the Warhammer Empire infantry and sucked at it. Perhaps they put me off plastic men.
And I put together a box of PSC T70s last night, and smeared he hulls and turret sides with fingerprints.

I am considering these figures and , yes, I have assembled plastic kits in the past and do Bolt Action figures. However I do respect the comments of those who struggle with gluing. It takes care and patience and adds time to the process. Not everyone's cup of tea.

I also agree with the breaking of plastic figures. I had some Perry Nappy's and Bolt Action break on occasion. If others have better luck then I guess it is my lot in life.

John think of it as early zimmerat protection. : )

I've done up a number of the Perry Brits, and they came out great. I have no problem with assembly, but then again, I like scratchbuilding terrain. How they hold up is still open to question. The Perry's are not in firing positions, so that will help hold down breakage. The WGF are in firing poses, which may make them more vulnerable.

It's amazing to me how some people only take what thy want from a comment.
I wrote about how I am inept at models in the first paragraph.
Some people have the knack while others do not. I am a do not.

So, the first person to respond goes into a tirade asking me if I have tree trunk fingers and if I have ever made a model kit.

Perhaps I should ask this person if they wear glasses?

As for the liquid cement, I have Plastistruct Liquid. Doesn't matter. Even if I had Mickey Mantle's bat, I still couldn't hit the curveball.

On the bright side, you have a friend who builds them for you, so that's a bonus. I've got both boxes of the Perry's AWI and I'm dreading it.

Apparently a lack of modelin' skills is a hanging offense in these parts.

I have some Perry ACW guys and a fair number of them have broken bayonets, so fragility is a legitimate concern. Like you posted, the plus side is cheap and good looking figures.

I thought it was a balanced review. The OP liked the look and feel of the figures. They were not for him because they were beyond his ability to put together. That's it. Face value. Nothing to read into. He didn't trash the figures out of hand but rather shared his thoughts. For that, I thank him!

As for fragility, spears and banners can be snapped pretty easily on hard plastics. This is usually a problem with the gamer who does not use care when reaching for miniatures to move and an elbow or the off hand smashes down on the unlucky regiment or hero. The remedy is to replace the broken weapons with hard wire and sharpened spear. The careless gamer will learn in a hurry not to repeat his mistake. Dropping, like others have said, is usually not a problem.

the breaking of weapons on plastic figures is also a feature of how long the part is. as an example, the most robust and damage-absorbing weapons in all the plastics i have had are pikes on GW uruk-hai and Warlord Games ECW figures.

swords/spears on fantasy miniatures are wider and less bend so they tend to break. they are also shorter then the pike and flex less before the weak point. on historical plastics they tend to bend as they are far closer to scale(IE thinner).

bayonets break on muskets because the thin part is much shorter then other weapons so the weak point is much closer to the point that pressure is applied(preventing any kind of bend or flex that, in the case of Pikes, prevents snapping at the weak point 2-3 inches away)

that being said have have lost at least as many bayonets on metal napoleonics as I have on plastics.

I'm cheap/poor, and a pretty decent modeler, so I favour plastics over metals where the choice is available.

I use "extra hands" when I put my Perry plastic AWI figs. together with super glue gel. These are weighted things with allegator clips on two ends. I don't have to hold anything.
John, I can't imagine two years of 1/72 biplane modeling. I put together two 1\24th scale WWI planes and that was enough for me.

Bill;
Some people will whinge on about cold ice cream.

I am not much of a modeler. But I still like the Perry Nappy plastics. I'm going to buy some Perry plastic AWI, just because.

Wargaming and modeling are broad churches.

To each their own.

My two shillings worth.

Eric

Pan, I am a pretty good scratchbuilder, so I do have modelling skills. Just not in assembling plastic anything.
All of these are hand made for AWI by yours truly.

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Try this on for size, 15mm and smaller plastic figs.

I don't mine the existence of 28mm plastic figures I just hope there is a plastic and metal version of the same figures. So, "I can't be bothered." Happy now.

Bill;
Oh my. Those are just flipping sweet….

Hey, you never mentioned those skills before. Nor if any of them were available for purchase…

Yer holding out on us old fat goalie types… Just because I'm a Bruins fan and all…

Eric

H'mmm. @ John the OFM;

Finger prints on hulls and turrets? Isn't that Zimmeritt?

On a T70 or T34?

Eric, been scratch building for many moons. Almost all of my buildings and terrain are hand made. It is where my talent lies, as far as this hobby goes.
I don't sell pieces, but have done trades for painting with better painters than I.
First, pic is of a Hovels church, that I built the graveyard
and surrounding terrain around.

Number two is a better shot of that sawmill. The saw blade is one of those fabric marker wheels for tracing patterns. I think that this is one of my best pieces.

Three, is a shot of adifferent slave quarters. I've made at least half dozen of these, because everyone who sees it in person, ends up taking it home with them. This is a 28 mm version. The first picture was a 42 mm version.

Finally, do you recognize Fort Necessity? Done in 54 mm scale for friend. Completely scratch built using candy apple sticks. I stained and distressed them and then left them outside all winter in a plastic shoe box. Now that's weathering!
The building in the center is a Michael's birdhouse that I took apart and rebuilt to resemble the original structure.
The whole thing is mounted on a 2 x 2 piece of pink foam.

Sorry, Eric. I won't sell these. But I have given several away. Mostly to Generals tho'……not lowly Majors. However, a Colonel might have a shot, even a light one. Go for it!

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I am with you on the fiddly bits part, and from what I can tell there is not a huge difference in the poses you can make with all these damn pieces, and guns never fit into hands properly. I would buy these all day long if they were in maybe three parts. (or is that what makes them easy to cast?)
Maybe a plastic guy can comment on that.

Oh, and I can't be bothered…

My problems with plastic figures started with the Empire arquebusiers.
Do you REALLY need to have separate chests, legs, heads, hats, arms and arquebusses?
Apparently you do.
More than 2 parts, not gonna do it. The thrill of having a figure that no one else has is fleeting.

I assembled my 1000th box of Perry plastics yesterday so I think I can claim to be very experienced in assembling plastic figures and yet, I get glue on my fingers and on the wrong spots on the figures too from time to time. It happens to all of us, no matter how good you are at it. Don't let it be a reason not to like plastic figures because they have a lot going for them once you get used to them.

As for them being more fragile than metal figures, forget about it. Victrix yes, they already break when you merely look at them but Perry's are as solid as metal ones IF you treat them right.

I had to sell my personal (entirely metal) collection when I moved from Belgium to the Philippines so I had to start a new collection. That new collection is made up so far of about 2000 plastic figures and only about 100 metal figures. Until now I have broken only 5 of the plastic ones but many, many more of the metal ones! Drop a metal one and the damage is usually huge, drop a plastic one and it bounces right up without damage. I can't begin to remember how many metal bayonets, spears and shields I had to glue back on or repaint after every game but I can remember the total amount of plastic ones in the last 3 years: 5. :-)

It all depends on how you pick them up and on how careful the people playing with them are. I show everyone that plays with my figures only to put their fingers on the left and right sides of a base when they pick it up. Never put a finger on the front, where the bayonets pikes and swords are and there will be no breakage. It takes a while to "educate" people to do this and it requires some vigilance in the beginning but once they are used to it is no problem.

To each his own of course but for me and my wallet, plastic rules!:-)

Fons
mmps.asia

ADDENDUM
The Perry figures come with a painting guide picturing dozens of different uniforms of the AWI. How accurate that it is, I cannot say. No details are provided. I wish that there were.

The details come from a number of books, including Lefferts' work (which is pretty good on the Continenta uniforms), the two Osprey MAAs on Washington's Army, and Katcher's volume on the uniforms of the Continental Army. FWIW, they were checked by a certain chap in the UK whom you know and trust.
:^))

I am not a fan of them and my figure painter charges more to paint them than metal figures. So cost wise it would be more to get them painted so going with metal saves me money.

I need some more 28mm AWI casualty figures to depict units that have become disordered.

-- Do either the Perry or Wargames Factory AWI plastic sets include figures specifically designed as casualties (either prone, wounded, or falling down)?

-- If not, do any of the poses lend themselves to simple conversions into prone casualties?

I already have the Perry Miniatures metal AWI casualty sets for the Brits, Americans, and Germans. I'm looking for enough casualty figures so as to have one for each unit in my collection.

dBerczerk

The Perry AWI British command sprue has two dead figures.
Pics are available on their site.

link

I sell them:
link
link

Cheers,

Fons
mmps.asia

Those do look very nice! Thank you.