"AB vs PSC (20mm & 1/72)" Topic

I'm looking at both companies for getting some troops for CoC and am wondering about the sizes of the mini's when compared to each other.
Does AB look taller that PSC or vise versa?

Both companies have nice looking figures, PSC has enough in 1 box to get you going, AB you have to buy each pack to make your force, can cost more in the end.

Thanks,

Doug

I only have the PSC crews for M3 halftracks. They look OK, but to my mind, nothing beats the AB figures plus I am not a great fan of plastic figures. I have just finished painting my first AB squad and they look really good. They are expensive and I am trying to make up my mind whether to buy more or go with the Foundry (Perry sculpts), which work out at about £1.00 GBP a figure as compared to the AB at about £1.30 GBP. I think I know where I will end up; those AB figures are just so tempting!

AB is what I aspire to if I had the money, which I don't, so I use a lot of PSC (except their americans, the webbing is just wrong). I really like the pcs stuff as you get a lot for your money and they look good and paint well.

Think of it as cars,

You ab figures are your Audi, Mercedes, BMW. High quality.

Pcs is your volkswagan passat. Good reliable, affordable, a solid work horse. They are certainly not your metro.

Just finished some PSC 1/72 Russians both the summer infantry and some heavy weapons and have to say I'm very pleased with them. There are some odd looking poses, but the minis are easy to build and they look good when painted.

AB figures are what I would buy if I had the money. PSC make lovely vehicles that I use a lot of but I really don't care for their figures. To me they look more like portly middle aged reenactors than WWII soldiers; OK so I wasn't a soldier in WWII but was/am a portly, middle aged reenactor ;)

I bought the Russians and heavy weapons recently and ended up giving most of them away as I found them to be rather 'flat' with over sized heads. The sometimes bizarre poses are bad enough, but what did it for me is they are not compatible with any of the other plastic figure ranges I own. Just my opinion, YMMV

Yes, they are easy to paint!

A quick note for Steaming Dave, we should be releasing some crew for his M3's shortly. Keep an eye out for the new AB website due before Christmas too.

Nic EUREKA MINIATURES

Don't mix PSC with Ab figures
Pick one or the other
AB go well with battlefield and fantassin
There are many better plastic sets available. I highly recommend pegasus.
Check out plasticsoldierreview.com for reviews of all 1/72 sets
If you want pictures let me know!

Good news re crew figures Nic, how long before they get to UK? Might have to put them on my Christmas wish list!

Simo Hayha- don't know the Battlefield figures, but I do have Fantassin US. They do not compare well with AB, size is OK but faces are not sculpted well, helmets are massive and the general quality of the figures is rather disappointing. I did have great hopes of these, as I have hundreds of their 15mm Napoleonic figures, some of which are up to AB standards. For me, not liking plastics, the choice is definitely between the Perry sculpted Foundry figures and AB. The Foundry figures are a little bit slighter and there are not as many poses available, but they are nicely modelled and paint up well.

the foundry sculpts are superb, but their range and pose number is extremely limited. Agreed fantassin are not up to the quality, but their poses are complimentary.

I'm debating here. I can get the PSC US and German troops within a few days for a good price, or I can wait and get AB. Only issue I have with the PSC US is as stated…the webbing is incorrect.
Wonder if there is a way to hide that by a good paint job or other means?

Foundry- saw their 20mm line…limited. Will these mix with AB and or PSC?

TQD has some excellent US & Germans:

link

Just another option :-)

As said, the PSC US are a write-off due to the incorrect webbing. Same problem manifests with both US and C'wealth HT crews.

Earlier sculpts (especially Russians) suffer badly from big head syndrome, particularly noticeable in the 1/72 version. In fact I would go so far as to say that you should probably only go with these if doing an entire force with them – in fairness that is viable due to both cheapness and availability of myriad support weapons from the same manufacturer.

And I don't quite understand the philosophy of changing to a new and also rather unique sculpting style with the latest PSC British Heavy Weapons…

I think it unlikely that the new AB M3 sets will be ready before Christmas. Definitely save some money for January though.

Nic EUREKA MINIATURES

What nationalities are you looking at for the comparison? For NWE, AB pretty much takes the cake in terms of sculpt quality and diversity for the Germans, Americans, and British. Battlefield/Blitz, TQD, CP Models, Elhiem, and WarTime are some other manufacturers to consider that match up well with each other. Be careful with Warmodelling/Fantassin, some of their molds are starting to show their age, but they do fit in size wise. SHQ are nice as well, but they're on the thinner side of things.

Here's a comparison I took from a while ago:

From left to right: PSC, AB, Warmodelling, AB, Elhiem, and Battlefield/Blitz.

Scale wise, I'd say they're all quite compatible – PSC is slightly taller due to a thicker plastic base, which could be sanded/filed if needed. From tabletop distance, they all look great. I once had a guy say he didn't believe me that most of my Russian infantry was plastic!

HTH

~iPaint

I know it's a little work, but you can cut the Y straps off the PSC Americans with a scalpel blade – I use a small chisel blade but a standard #11 blade works too. I then smooth the site with a little putty of choice – I've used Tamiya and Kneadatite. Pretty easy job actually. Can also add backpacks if inclined and the issue becomes moot.

Think I just might get AB instead. Yeah a little more money in the end, but I'm picky about how they need to look, so PSC is not in my favor. Especially since a buddy of mine just got some PSC 1/72 troops. Glad I held off until he got them. Now I know :)
AB here I come :D

You won't be disappointed, Doug! And since Mr. Barton is doing more sculpts for the line we are in The Golden Age of 20mm WW II as far as I am concerned.

A quick note for Steaming Dave, we should be releasing some crew for his M3's shortly. Keep an eye out for the new AB website due before Christmas too.

Nic EUREKA MINIATURES

Nic, are these crews going to be British or US?

If the latter, they must be new figures!!!! Which means Tony is sculpting again!!!

Can you tell us what else might be coming down the track in this range?

Thanks for the enthusiasm !
The M3 crews are US ones, and all new figures,three sets comprising two sets of six seated figures, and one of eight standing .
I've recently been making some extra sets to fill a few gaps in the range, since we've moved the WW2 range to Eureka. There are new PzJaeger crews, WSS crews for Kubelwagens, US Jeep crews, and some British Western Desert A/T crews , and an Airborne 17pdr crew on the way.

As I have explained elsewhere, please don't expect huge new ranges, but I shall be adding a dribble of new sets .

Always great to hear from you, Tony. And especially when you are announcing more goodies!

I guess that probably rules out Soviet infantry squad sets though.

I expect huge new ranges =) mmm american paras