Getting into 10mm and chain of command and Im close to buying Arrowhead minis. There tanks look sublime!! That being said I see pendraken is revamping a lot of their models. Are these new models on par with arrowhead tanks? Even some of the pinhead afvs look nice.
Arrowhead are very big compared to Pendrakem
Heard that too. Arrowhead>>pithead>> pendraken for size comparison
Arrowhead are a smaller range and not all models are always available. Several on their website are "sold out". I have bought the 88 Flack as you could model it on the wheels, and while its a lovely model it is significantly bigger than Pendraken. I have not bought their tanks as they are very expensive.
Arrowhead stuff is scaled to be 1/144th, so is bigger than Pendraken, which is scaled to be 1/150th (and some of the older Pendraken stuff is a bit smaller).
That being said you can normally get away with mixing different tanks from different manufacturers without too much of an issue.
Its really about going for what makes a model look right to you. Personally I always found the cost of the Arrowhead stuff too high, even though it is very detailed. I got a lot of Pithead stuff mainly because it had more detail in the road wheels than the older Pendraken models - but the new Pendraken stuff looks great.
Tough choices :)
Inetresting.
I eshewed Pithead because their Churchill tank looked too graceful and slim to me. The Pendraken one looks chunkier and more grumpy.
Don't know which is more millimetrically accurate, but I know what I like. :)
Pendraken Tiger II : 3,50£
arrowhead tiger II : 6,50£
At that price you have Almost 2 pendraken models, or FOr 7,50 you have a 15mm tiger I from forged in battle.
I do my gaming on a budget, so when something costs twice as much, and only has a fraction of the range of the cheaper ones, i pass.
Not all Arrowhead are bigger than PD - their Marder III is precisely the same length & width as the PD Hetzer (on the same chassis).
I would use Arrowhead for static displays but at the price and given the comparatively small range I wouldn't use them for gaming.
Having had a bad experience with Pithead a couple of years ago I wouldn't buy from them again and hesitate to recommend them but, that said, they have an extensive range of excellent vehicles (less impressed with what I've seen of their figures) including several that Pendraken don't do.
Pendraken have a huge range, my favourite 10mm scale "people miniatures," some beautiful revamps of existing vehicles and Pendraken's customer service is second to none. The bulk of my 10mm WW2 collection is Pendraken and I can't recommend them enough.
As to mixing and matching, I'd say it depends on whether it matters more to you that things are the right relative size or that you and your opponents can tell what things are meant to be.
Pithead figures are great for variety of poses, but not too impressive for detail. Not at all impressive in fact.
The only Arrowhead mini I use in game is their Marder III, which is the earlier mid-mounted gun no-one else seems to make. It matches the one in World of Tanks, and it's perfectly usable in a game too... Very very thin gun barrel though...
I did buy some of their WWI tanks, beautiful minis.
Well, I don't need many tanks. I'm only going for Western Europe 44-45. The cost of Arrowhead isn't too much of an issue for me (vehicles only). Probably only going to have 6-8 vehicles on the table at once. But, my quandary came from seeing the new Pendraken sculpts....they look amazing!
Quote from: acctingman on 25 August 2016, 01:39:22 PM
Well, I don't need many tanks. I'm only going for Western Europe 44-45. The cost of Arrowhead isn't too much of an issue for me (vehicles only). Probably only going to have 6-8 vehicles on the table at once. But, my quandary came from seeing the new Pendraken sculpts....they look amazing!
Well, i guess it really depends on the vehicles you want. I saw on the arrowhead site there is only one tiger variant, and it's not available. It states it's being reworked, and that the new model will have opening engine compartments etc.
Why that would be of use when using them to wargame, i don't know.
Guess it will be completely personal preference !
I still like my pendraken tanks
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/petercooman123/DSC02902_zpsc7d508ff.jpg)
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff441/petercooman123/DSC02890_zps3c5814f6.jpg)
'Quantity has a quality all of its own '
Quote from: petercooman on 25 August 2016, 03:07:24 PM
Well, i guess it really depends on the vehicles you want. I saw on the arrowhead site there is only one tiger variant, and it's not available. It states it's being reworked, and that the new model will have opening engine compartments etc.
Why that would be of use when using them to wargame, i don't know.
Arrowhead aren't really 'for' wargaming though, they're collector's models. Much too delicate parts.
Just avoid the Panther, the lower/upper hull join is horrible - a gaping hole across the nose. It does fill & sand well though.
Quote from: Wulf on 25 August 2016, 03:52:53 PM
Arrowhead aren't really 'for' wargaming though, they're collector's models. Much too delicate parts.
Just avoid the Panther, the lower/upper hull join is horrible - a gaping hole across the nose. It does fill & sand well though.
I didn't know this about Arrowhead (that they're too fragile for wargaming). That changes things.
Hmmm.....maybe I'll just choose between Pithead and Pendraken for a particular vehicle. I don't see that much difference in quality between the two brands, however, some of the models have very little detail even compared to Pithead (this is going off pictures on their product pages)
I would most definitely refute the statement that Arrowhead are too fragile and not suitable for wargaming.
My WW2 collection started with plastic CAN Do and Takara tanks with Trumpeter half tracks which I generally got from wholesalers or at a discount for bulk. The problem with the plastic tanks is the range of vehicles is quite small and it is difficult to get vehicles in any quantity.
I bought quite a lot of Arrowhead vehicles to fill the gaps as they are the only 144th scale tanks on the market. However I have used Pendraken for infantry, guns, recce kubel-wagons and motor bikes with no problems with the scale looks. Also there are some minfigs vehicles where no other was available and their SU76 (with silver paper tarp) seems to be bigger than their normal scale so fits in well.
The problem I find with Arrowhead is the range scope and some of vehicle choices. I wanted to do Western Desert '42 but the only Crusader available is a MkIII with 6pdr and the only Valentine is a later mark with a 75mm gun! I did buy quite a lot of Russian kit though. The point about Arrowhead prices is true if you buy single vehicles, they are expensive, but if you are prepared to spend some money and buy in bulk the proprietor will give a massive discount.
Look at the following to see how they mix together:
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,6728.0.html
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,3924.0.html
The Tigers are mixed Takara and CAN Do. Halftracks are Trumpeter. Su152 and SU122 are Takara. Guns are mixed Takara and Pendraken. T34, T70, PzIV, PzIII, armoured cars, jeep, and lorries are all Arrowhead. Infantry is mixture of Pendraken and Minifigs. Recce Kubel-Wagon and M/Cycles are Pendraken.
For modern tanks I have never seen plastics in enough quantities or at a place I could get a discount. Minifigs just generally seem poor quality compared to Pendraken. When I get moderns they will be Pendraken as the quality is now so very very good.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Rob
Quick question sort of related to the above photo. Anyone know where you can pick up the Really Useful Boxes people often talk about?
Staples
Hobbycraft
Amazon - though postage is often high
Direct from really useful - good for large amounts
Many thanks Fred.
Quote from: Leman on 26 August 2016, 08:19:22 AM
Quick question sort of related to the above photo. Anyone know where you can pick up the Really Useful Boxes people often talk about?
We have found Hobby craft can be cheaper than staples, although they often only have coloured ones. They are normally cheaper for the Trays
We use the 4 litre and 9 litre A4 boxes taking 2 or 4 trays each
BEWARE - If you use a tray with a "lip" it will stretch the clips and will no longer lock if a tray with a lip is not used.
I found the stationary tray is best for 10mm vehicles. It available without a lip direct from really useful, but much cheaper with a lip from Hobbycraft. A Razor saw takes the lip of quickly and easily, although it does leave a rough edge
You can buy double depth trays (Often sold as two in a 9 Litre box) These are excellent for buildings.
I use these
http://www.ryman.co.uk/tiger-brand-tuff-storage-box-deep-a4 - suitable for anything up 30-35mm tall
and
http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/a4-plastic-storage-box/571895-1000 - suitable for anything up 50m tall - ebay is cheaper and you can get some good deals
I use the tiger brand ones too, but the deep ones as they go to about 40-45mm deep (only a few stands don't fit, bats, clibinarii, medieval lancers, dragons, mammoths, yeah, basically all the stuff you want to protect)!
I use 9 Litre Really Useful Boxes, with either four Hobby Compartment Tray (4 Litres) or two of those and one 7 compartment tray
Hobbycraft have been cheapest for me. Free postage for orders over £30 helps.
Yes, the Hobbycraft ones are good. You can get 5 of them into 1 Ikea Drona...
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00298487/
...and then as many of those as you want into their Kallax range of shelving units:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90307492/
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30275861/
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00275848/
thanks everyone. This is Really Useful Information. :-bd
Going to piggy back my own thread instead of starting another...
What about infantry?
Most look "chunky" but the Minifig infantry, although more slender, look the best, from what little I can see. Pendraken and other makers all seem "chunky"
What do you all use?
Again pendraken, and a few pithead ones.
I use Pendraken figures for almost all of my infantry and gun crews - exceptions are from grab-bag type purchases from Bring & Buy stalls or EBay where the bulk of the figures were Pendraken.
I like the look of the Pendraken figures.
As I'm sure Techo, Clib and others will confirm, the art of sculpting wargames figures, especially so as scales get smaller, is not to sculpt 100% anatomically correct miniatures but to sculpt ones that look 100% anatomically correct - not the same thing, surprisingly - and which have no weak points, ankles spring to mind.
Pithead figures have a good range of options and decent poses but I don't like the detail.
I found it hard to do a decent paint job on the Minifigs stuff, plus the ones I had were noticeably taller than their PD equivalent. The painting thing may not be a problem for you, depending on your painting technique.
Eee, I do like a chunky figure. None of that messing about with buttons and lace.
Minifigs are without doubt the most anatomically correct of the 10-12mm ranges - the figures look slender compared to other wargames figures. But the sculpts are quite flat, and most of the WWII ranges have very little kit on them, and weapons tend to be quite generic - the main exception are the 8th Army figures.
Most of the other manufacturers (Pendraken, Pithead, Magister Militum) go with a much more Wargames style of figure, which you can see in 28mm and 15mm too, where the figures are chunkier than life. But this gives more depth to the sculpt making painting easier, and giving more character to the figures. Of course this can be taken too far, as can be seen in quite a few 28mm ranges with 'catcher mitt' hands etc.