Editor in Chief Bill | 19 Mar 2019 9:31 p.m. PST |
How do the scenics from Hovels Ltd. stand up to today's products? There was a time when Hovels products were the best around, and I was wondering if that was still true, and if their new releases are up to today's standards. |
Simo Hayha | 19 Mar 2019 10:38 p.m. PST |
speaking in terms of 20mm buildings they have been surpassed |
nevinsrip | 20 Mar 2019 12:07 a.m. PST |
I find their North American 25 (28) mm stuff to be excellent. |
Northern Monkey | 20 Mar 2019 2:05 a.m. PST |
Remarkably well. Their 25mm stuff is slightly smaller than 1:56, but not noticeably so. The hougoumont, La Haye Saint and similar are excellent. I'd say that their ACW stuff was still the best around |
athun25 | 20 Mar 2019 5:11 a.m. PST |
I really like their Eastern European line in 25mm. I have it done both in normal paint scheme and permanently for winter. Nice selection and fairly cheap. I am just not impressed by MDF buildings. |
Garryowen | 20 Mar 2019 6:58 a.m. PST |
I think all of it is fine. I have both 15mm and 20mm for different games and love them. Lots better than MDF. Tom |
rustymusket | 20 Mar 2019 8:15 a.m. PST |
I have much of their ACW buildings. Slightly small compared to Foundry/Perry ACW figs, but not to worry. To me the cons are that I wish they would add to their 25mm lines and generally you cannot remove roofs for use of interior of buildings. |
Baranovich | 20 Mar 2019 8:31 a.m. PST |
Well, if you are speaking of advances in resin molds and resin technology I suppose they are dated in that regard. Companies for example like Tabletop World have achieved astonishing levels of crispness and detail in their 28mm building range. However I feel it's entirely relative. The detail of Hovels is in my opinion still right on par with the best resin stuff today. Their 28mm historicals have detail to a degree that I would be hard-pressed to say that any resin terrain company today is like leaps and bounds ahead of them. Detail has gotten better with resins but I don't think it's as drastic as some might suppose. |
Vintage Wargaming | 20 Mar 2019 12:02 p.m. PST |
The whole point about hovels is that they don't stand up… |
bruntonboy | 20 Mar 2019 1:44 p.m. PST |
Yep still very good. There maybe "better" resin buildings but sometimes the more accurate scaled, sharper edged designs don't have the character that make Hovels (and others) very good. In any case much better than the MDF kits that are so prevalent now that I can't get away with- unless you use them as a bare shell to texture yourself. |
Old Contemptibles | 20 Mar 2019 6:45 p.m. PST |
They hold up very well today. They carry the best palm trees. I also would like to see them expand all their lines. Much prefer their buildings to MDF kits. |
oldnorthstate | 20 Mar 2019 8:47 p.m. PST |
I use their Eastern European buildings extensively and find them as good as any of the more recent buildings. |
surdu2005 | 21 Mar 2019 4:39 a.m. PST |
I had the Hovels Russian village buildings on the table last weekend at Cold Wars. They looked fine next to more modern MDF buildings from Things from the Basement. My only issue with Hovels is that the roofs don't come off the buildings I have. Buck |
Marc the plastics fan | 21 Mar 2019 2:15 p.m. PST |
I have their 15mm ACW and Waterloo buildings. Both ranges stand up very well. They have a soft, natural feel tha5 beats MDF hands down |
PeterH | 22 Mar 2019 7:46 p.m. PST |
i agree with the poster who liked hovels for their character – they have that. but there are better choices in 20 out there at this point. when i place the hovels next to them, they show their inaccuracies like doorways being very narrow and odd sized perhaps being the most obvious problem, and lack of detail in the windows (no frames). i find Sentry/Raventhorpe and Queens Hussar also show their age a bit, yet I like all of them still! |