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"Where do you get your miniatures?" Topic


28 Posts

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Lostraven22 Mar 2019 3:49 p.m. PST

I am relatively new to the hobby, while I used to play a lot of whfb and wh40k back in the day, my interests now are historical Napoleonic and AWI in 28mm. I've been doing some research but I'm not coming up with a lot of Canadian resources for figures other than Meeplemart. I have also ordered from The War Store in the US. I am wondering if there are any "go to" places online?

dBerczerk22 Mar 2019 3:59 p.m. PST

I've been very pleased with the mail order service provided by Eureka_USA, The War Store, King's Mountain Miniatures, and Fife & Drum Miniatures in building up my 28mm AWI collection.

MSU John22 Mar 2019 4:49 p.m. PST

I order direct from Perry for my Napoleonics. Larger orders are post free and arrive promptly.

Aethelflaeda was framed22 Mar 2019 4:58 p.m. PST

Brigade games and Northstar are good sources. I also buy from Scalecreep. Mailorder seems the only way nowadays.

Shagnasty Supporting Member of TMP22 Mar 2019 5:02 p.m. PST

Sadly AwF has the truth of it. I have bought virtually nothing since my FLGS closed as I'm not fond of the Internet.

Rich Bliss22 Mar 2019 5:21 p.m. PST

I generally order directly from the Mfg

jay13822 Mar 2019 6:02 p.m. PST

Cavalier books is my favorite. Cheap and free shipping on most orders. Warlord games also very good service

Canuck6423 Mar 2019 12:36 a.m. PST

Hi Lostraven,

unfortunately their are not a lot of options left in the GTA. Meeplesmart is probably your best choice. Their is Imperial Hobbies in London On. North Bay Hobbies, although I don't thing Terry does online sale's anymore. Also, Imperial Hobbies in Vancouver BC. There use to be more stores years ago, but they just couldn't compete with the internet. Your best option would be to order directly from the UK or US. Meeplesmart is good if you need something in a hurry, otherwise it's easier to order directly. Hope this helps.

Cheers!
Joe

Dervel Fezian23 Mar 2019 3:38 a.m. PST

I would second Warlord, also your local conventions for example Hotlead is coming up next weekend in Stratford. Great place to shop if you want to look and touch.

For some of the best prices on 28mm AWI and Napoleonic my favorite place to order from is NWS wargaming store:

store.nws-online.net

Some of the best discounts on popular figures and terrain. If you order stuff that is in stock shipping is quick. That covers most of your bulk plastic sets. If you order an item that is marked with as special order you wait a little longer.

KSmyth23 Mar 2019 6:33 a.m. PST

Embrace the World Wide Web. My experience is varying degrees of positive. I've had great service from Front Rank, Scotia, and Ros Heroics in the UK. I got great stuff from Badger Games, Old Glory, The Warstore. I truly don't think it has ever been easier to order miniature, terrain, etc.

IronDuke596 Supporting Member of TMP23 Mar 2019 8:54 a.m. PST

My main interest is Napoleonic and War of 1812 28mm. I tend to order my Napoleonic figures primarily from Front Rank and Perry because they have a complete series, are excellent figures, provide quick service, reasonable S&H and most importantly they deduct the VAT for Canadians.

As stated Warlord has a good range of mostly plastic figures as well as some metal. I have ordered British Napoleonic figures from just about all the manufacturers in the U.K. So, if you have a specific request in this vain, I would happy to help.

Also, I really like Brigade Game (U.S.) Napoleonics and War of 1812 figures, which are superbly sculpted by Paul Hicks.

Welcome to a great period of researching, collecting, painting and war gaming.

Frederick Supporting Member of TMP23 Mar 2019 10:29 a.m. PST

By almost all of my stuff on-line, and I agree that Warlord gives great service

Tony S23 Mar 2019 11:39 a.m. PST

Don't order anything from the US. Postal prices are too high.

-Warlord are quite reasonable to order from, and offer free shipping at a certain amount.

-Wayland and Firestorm in the UK also offer good prices – they sell Warlord products cheaper than Warlord, and also offer free shipping beyond a certain amount. (I just got some Cruel Seas stuff from Wayland 20% less than direct from Warlord, and free shipping).

-Caliver are great too, although their website is a bit archaic. Great selection from a variety of manufacturers, although sometimes delivery can be a trifle slow.

I've ordered from all of the above, and would happily order from them again.

mindenbrush24 Mar 2019 3:38 a.m. PST

I am in Montreal and usually order figures directly from the UK for Foundry, Perry, Front Rank and Northstar, or at Historicon.
For paints we have a number of model/hobby/railway shops that sell Vallejo and Scale 75. Reaper triads I order direct from the States.
I am currently painting 28mm AWI for my Camden game at Historicon.

Sturmpioneer Sponsoring Member of TMP24 Mar 2019 8:37 a.m. PST

Thread hijack! If you need 28mm samurai or some some roman gladiators and you want to support Canadian manufacturers please take a look at Kingsford Miniatures at kingsfordminiatures.org

Canadian owned, designed, and manufactured.

Regards,

David
Chief Bottle Washer

wrgmr124 Mar 2019 12:22 p.m. PST

I order online, Front Rank and Calpe are my favorites for Napoleonics. Sash and Sabre, Essex and Old Glory a close second.

altfritz24 Mar 2019 4:51 p.m. PST

I don't mind ordering from the UK but lately some companies have started using Landmark Global who are pretty horrible when the stuff gets to this end. I get these "COD" charges without explanation. And they don't respond to emails using their own customer response system.

willthepiper24 Mar 2019 7:07 p.m. PST

For reference for the following, I'm currently based in Vancouver, but I've lived in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and outside Canada:

Even when I have reasonable access to a local shop, I find they often don't carry the products I'm most interested in. As a result, I generally order online, directly from the manufacturer in most cases. If I know that my FLGS has a distributor, I'll make an order with him, but I know it will often be months before I get my order filled.

I've had great service from many different suppliers. I'm not an AWI gamer, but Perry Miniatures have been great for filling my Napoleonic needs, as has Front Rank. I've ordered from Eureka in Australia as well as from Eureka USA with similar (excellent) results, I'll see whose exchange rates work out best (CAD vs AUD vs USD, plus shipping & handling).

Most of the companies selling miniatures and related products are very small, run by dedicated hobbyists. Service is generally excellent, delivery is as fast as the postal service and Canada Customs will permit. Larger orders are more likely to be hit with duties, GST and extra handling fees than smaller ones. I'm generally used to waiting 4-6 weeks to get an order to my mailbox if shipped from the UK, maybe a couple weeks sooner from the USA, and 2 weeks from a Canadian supplier(provided they have the stock on hand, if they don't then it can be months waiting for them to get restocked!).

Fried Flintstone25 Mar 2019 1:13 p.m. PST

Empress miniatures !

But also Baccus and Adler for 6mm.

Bowman27 Mar 2019 7:17 a.m. PST

….my interests now are historical Napoleonic and AWI in 28mm….

You can buy from a Canadian company, Crucible Crush. They carry Warlord and Perrys.

link

link

They will do special orders for things not in stock. But ordering direct also works.

Marcus Brutus Supporting Member of TMP28 Mar 2019 7:57 a.m. PST

Always order from directly from the manufacturer. Usually very easy and the best price.

Bowman28 Mar 2019 12:25 p.m. PST

That's not always true as Tony S states. Wayland currently has deals on Warlord stuff cheaper that Warlord.

Marcus Brutus Supporting Member of TMP29 Mar 2019 11:40 a.m. PST

If you can get it Bowman. Wayland's stocking hasn't been great lately. In fact I just took a quick look at Wayland Games Warlord listings and the vast majority of them are in the restock mode.

Bowman30 Mar 2019 6:18 p.m. PST

That's true Marcus. The Pike and Shotte stuff I was looking at was available, but most of it isn't.

Asteroid X01 Jul 2019 8:16 p.m. PST

Wayland Games gets stock of items that are not in store very quickly.

mindenbrush02 Jul 2019 11:17 a.m. PST

Mostly the UK – Front Rank, Foundry, Crusader, Perry, Northstar as the postage is better than the USA.
I also pick up Bluemoon, Old Glory, Sash & Sabre at Historicon or any other HMGS Con I go to during the year.

Bowman09 Oct 2019 10:10 a.m. PST

I'm close enough that I can get to the HMGS conventions. So I pre-order and buy from the vendors and shlep it across the border. Once I tell Canada Customs I bought "toy soldiers" they lose interest and ask how much booze I'm bringing across.

Must Contain Minis26 Apr 2020 2:03 p.m. PST

I tend to buy from the UK because it is cheaper shipping the same products from England than it is from the United States. North Star Military Figures is one of my favourites to buy from.

I also like to buy local at the FLGS.

As for online stores, Meeplemart and the various companies that make their products in Canada. If you would like a list of companies that make their products in Canada and sell them online, check out the Canadian Miniatures Gaming Companies Page. link

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