"Ramshackle Miniatures" Topic

Well, I've done it. I've bought miniatures from a new line. I must say, I am pleased . . .

I review what I bought in a post called Ramshackle World.

As usual, here's the art, but I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention that these really were some fantastic miniatures. Please do come take a read.

Without further ado . . . miniatures:

The Boss

Arthur Zanzibar Rex-Avis

Alex Alexander, on bike-back, gets ready to find out what Kate MacLeod does with lowlife-scum.

Kate with Vole Light Tank

Stay back, it's under control!

And while Kate isn't Ramshackle, I like her anyway, so we'll close with Kate.

Thank you. Hope you enjoy. These really are great minis, well worth considering.

Nice work.
I've not seen some of these anywhere but the Ramshackle website.

Nice even review of the pros and cons of Ramshackle's miniatures.

Thank you. I'm trying to be fair and state both what makes them lovely and what a buyer might like less. It's a little hard, because they are such lovely miniatures. But I do my best and I love showing off my miniatures. Maybe folks will enjoy seeing what other people do with them.

I was going to go back and make one minor ammendation to the original post, but I can't, so I'll make it in a comment instead: Note, the Vole Light Tank comes with a separate hatch that you could glue open or closed. The actual opening hatch is my own modification.

Great review and gorgeous photos, SP.

I have some Ramshackle stuff and am actually about to make another purchase to kitbash a giant tracked robot!

I found that, so long as the resin is washed properly (found an excellent guide on Pardulon Miniature's site), the resin parts glued easily together with super-glue, and also to plastic and metal – I was assebling some alien bikers from various parts.

However, as I'm sure you found, the resin is quite brittle, and hard to trim without the edges flaking and becoming uneven. Overall, I don't think it matters too much, as the vehicles and machinery's style is, well, ramshackle, and fits fine with that.

But overall, I really like Ramshackle's stuff – a massive load of interchangeable parts, and all with free shipping!

Oh, they glue all right, it's just slower than bonding metal or plastic, thus requiring more patience. Since it's so glossy you have to scuff it up a bit first. Also it requires a bit more glue, which takes a little longer to set. Once cured all the bonds are rock solid.

Indeed, the hard resin is a little prone to flaking, but it's easy enough to avoid if you're aware of the problem. Use nippers to remove all large flash at a small distance from the model. And scrape or file to create a finish surface, rather than carving with a hobby knife. I've worked with resin often enough that it's a fairly familiar issue. Just the way the material works. But it takes detail well and for a fraction of the cost of metal. And it paints up fine. Once painted it's hard to tell the difference. Impossible, really, until you pick it up.

Yes indeed, the load of interchangeable parts is great. Talked about all of this on the blog post, but didn't reiterate here. Just posted pictures and a link. All in all they are great little minis. They're not necessarily "starter" miniatures, particularly the multi-part resin stuff, but for the experienced sci-fi modeler they're a must.

You definitely did a good job of showing both sides. Ramshackle's stuff continutes to get better, but there is a learning curve evident when comparing earlier and more recent stuff. Still, even the rougher earlier stuff has a neat "Ramshackle" aesthetic.

I've got a few of the figs, one of their trucks that I acquired assembled and one of their buggies waiting to be assembled. None of which I'm disappointed by.

Thank you sir. I'm going to see if I can convince one of the local gaming stores to carry their stuff. Need to find out if they have a distributor. (There's a new store in town and maybe they would be willing to carry a variety of stuff not from the usual suspects.)

They were carried in the USA for a while by Recreational Conflict, but they discontinued them a year or so ago. Our club bought a good number of things from their remaining stock when they stopped carrying the line.

I'm pretty sure they don't have a distributor.

I was coming to that conclusion, sadly. It's easy enough to order direct, but I'd love to see them get wider exposure. There are about three major miniatures companies that get carried in this modest Midwestern college town. It's really time for more.