I was recently thinking about old forgotten ranges that are no longer available and made a blog post about it here (http://lecoqfou.blogspot.com/2023/09/lost-ranges.html?m=1) and was curious if there are other ranges that fellow gamers lament being gone forever.
My mind immediately goes to the 15mm late medieval ranges of both Wargames Foundry and Peter Pig.
Does anyone have photos of the old 10mm Wild Geese miniatures? There have been so many good figures that have come and gone.
Anyone else miss certain ranges of figures?
I've been through this a number of times, but I've found that any time I've finally seen a range that I took years to hunt down, I've always found them a disappointment (of course what you like to imagine always excels reality).
For instance I had heard nothing but good of the OOP Poly Oliver AWI range. Then it came back into production, and I couldn't see what all the fuss had been about. They were perfectly OK, but nothing to rave about I thought. Of course it complicated things that they were probably great when first released and by the time I saw them sculpting had moved on.
Worst instance; probably Donnington's 1685-1700 stuff. May have been one of two possible Augsburg ranges when released. When I got my hands on some I was crushed- they were absolutely awful, the only figures I never took out of their bags again. All the more unimpressive as Donnington's 1660-85 figures were actually pretty decent.
I guess exorcising those disappointments was part of my motivation to make AWI and LoA ranges in 10mm.
Clib, that's a valid point. Sometimes the nostalgia gets the better of us and what we once remembered so fondly doesn't always pass the test of time. I tried very hard to get my hands on Frontier Figures 15mm Mexican American War range for a while, but I remember the sculpts often were poorly cast with lots of flash and mold lines.
Speaking of 15mm League of Augsburg, I seem to recall you once owned a late 17th century French army that was comprised of converted Essex (and maybe other) figures. If my memory serves me right, one of the units had a flag with a large sun emblem on it. I always drooled over the pictures of that army.
Quote from: clibinarium on 16 September 2023, 08:14:58 PMI've been through this a number of times, but I've found that any time I've finally seen a range that I took years to hunt down, I've always found them a disappointment (of course what you like to imagine always excels reality).
For instance I had heard nothing but good of the OOP Poly Oliver AWI range. Then it came back into production, and I couldn't see what all the fuss had been about. They were perfectly OK, but nothing to rave about I thought. Of course it complicated things that they were probably great when first released and by the time I saw them sculpting had moved on.
Worst instance; probably Donnington's 1685-1700 stuff. May have been one of two possible Augsburg ranges when released. When I got my hands on some I was crushed- they were absolutely awful, the only figures I never took out of their bags again. All the more unimpressive as Donnington's 1660-85 figures were actually pretty decent.
I guess exorcising those disappointments was part of my motivation to make AWI and LoA ranges in 10mm.
I have fond memories of the Minifigs Pig Faced Orcs, the Valley of the Four Winds range and Thane Tostig. The latter were dreadful when I saw photos of them recently, but in my mind they were great! A friend bought me some pig face orcs about 10 years ago and whilst pure nostalgia to have them, the flash was dreadful due to them being very old moulds and the detail minimal to say the least. But still I loved them! I have a few of my original VotFW figures and they are not half bad, but again maybe I'm viewing them through rose tinted glasses... :-\
Actually, I saw elsewhere that you mentioned the Obelisk 10mm Americas range, and I would totally agree that counts as a great lost range, or perhaps a "never was" range. I picked up a few packs when they were released and they were indeed beautiful. On the strength of the sculptor's 28mm Aztecs, I was looking forward to a great range, and it never progressed beyond those first few packs. That's a genuine pity, regardless of nostalgia, those sculpts are as good as any in 10mm.
My old 15mm army! Yes, there was a unit with a large gold sun on a white field (Zurlauben's Swiss for the Boyne I think- I took it from an old Military Illustrated article on the flags of Blenhiem I found in a second-hand book shop in Galway). That army was made of all sorts, I was converting Minifigs with hats made from hole-punched paper painted back (A4 punch I had for school was just the right size). It grew very slowly and then Esssex and Halmark both released 1680-1700 troops which I added. I pestered Irregular into releasing a range, I gave them all the research I had done on uniforms. But by then I was off to Uni and had little time. After Uni I had to sell off the whole lot to keep from starving.
It always bugged me that I was too broke to buy very many of the Irregular range (bad timing really), I imagine they were cursing me, but they turned it into a Marlburain and GNW range, so hopefully it worked out for them.
QuoteActually, I saw elsewhere that you mentioned the Obelisk 10mm Americas range, and I would totally agree that counts as a great lost range, or perhaps a "never was" range. I picked up a few packs when they were released and they were indeed beautiful. On the strength of the sculptor's 28mm Aztecs, I was looking forward to a great range, and it never progressed beyond those first few packs. That's a genuine pity, regardless of nostalgia, those sculpts are as good as any in 10mm.
The Obelisk figures are very nice - and I picked up most of the packs just after the range moved owners (to Tsuba Miniatures IIRC?) Whilst they are nice figures they aren't really 10mm - they are big at least 12mm, and as such they haven't moved up the painting queue.
Quote from: clibinarium on 16 September 2023, 09:07:37 PMActually, I saw elsewhere that you mentioned the Obelisk 10mm Americas range, and I would totally agree that counts as a great lost range, or perhaps a "never was" range. I picked up a few packs when they were released and they were indeed beautiful. On the strength of the sculptor's 28mm Aztecs, I was looking forward to a great range, and it never progressed beyond those first few packs. That's a genuine pity, regardless of nostalgia, those sculpts are as good as any in 10mm.
My old 15mm army! Yes, there was a unit with a large gold sun on a white field (Zurlauben's Swiss for the Boyne I think- I took it from an old Military Illustrated article on the flags of Blenhiem I found in a second-hand book shop in Galway). That army was made of all sorts, I was converting Minifigs with hats made from hole-punched paper painted back (A4 punch I had for school was just the right size). It grew very slowly and then Esssex and Halmark both released 1680-1700 troops which I added. I pestered Irregular into releasing a range, I gave them all the research I had done on uniforms. But by then I was off to Uni and had little time. After Uni I had to sell off the whole lot to keep from starving.
It always bugged me that I was too broke to buy very many of the Irregular range (bad timing really), I imagine they were cursing me, but they turned it into a Marlburain and GNW range, so hopefully it worked out for them.
I think it's a great heartbreak that the splendid Inca range dropped by the wayside, though I'm glad I grabbed an army's worth while the going was good. Learning from that, I've just bought a last few Magister Militum before it's too late.
Generally no lamentations here, but a story to induce caution.
I recently bought some very hard to find figures to complete an obscure force.
They were from a defunct range which another manufacturer had resurrected.
The resulting figures were disappointing to say the least.
The old moulds were well past their best, with incomplete flow to edges.
Size also pushed both extremes of the claimed scale.
I suspect the poor definition had a lot to do with the age of the moulds.
I might have picked up the size issue from reviews if the range were contemporary.
Being a defunct range, no reviews were available.
The 15mm 'Perry' Wargames Foundry Late C15th range was superb.
However, it was very contentious (between WF & the Perrys - apparently) as the masters & the molds 'disappeared' but the rumor is that WF still have them somewhere, but have no interest in releasing them.
But in many ways the Mirliton 15mm Condotta range is very compatible with them, it's just that the Perry range has more LB types. I managed to get my hands on a whole load of the Perry ones (almost an armies worth) on a Bring & Buy at a show (at a sensible price) but I've seen a few on eBay, but always at exorbitant prices.
I also saw that the old Minifigs fantasy ranges (Pig Faced Orcs et al.) and the whole 'Valley of the Four Winds' ranges are now available on the Minifigs website - but prices for single figure are eye watering. I always fancied making up a HoTT army using the Elven types.
I did need to buy a few packs of Tin Soldier later medieval knights recently, to upgrade an army to add a few more compatible units to it, and was very pleased with the quality of the castings (especially as that range must be at least 30 years old) and the service was great.
Mikes Models is another one of those old ranges (now available via Essex Miniatures) that I have fond memories of. I own a MM Ottoman Turk and needed to buy a few figures to complete an army - again they lived up to my expectations (which admittedly were not very high ;D ) but they did the job.
Falcon Figures 15mm, went to America and became unavailable in the UK. Did some really useful Ottoman Turk and War of 1812 figures.
Then the reason I stopped buying 15mm. I got a lot of Lancashire Games, and their 2nd generation Napoleonics were great. Then that sculptor got ill and they couldn't find an equivalent, so all their new releases are now chunky 18mm, such that I couldn't get 4 new figures on the same frontage base as their older figures. Hence conversion to 10mm.
And now Outpost 28mm are gone. I had managed to complete my 1877 Turkish army just before they shut down, but I was hoping to persuade them to make a guard lancer figure, but the owner became ill and sadly died. Has anyone heard if the moulds have been sold on at all?
Some great mentions. I like those old Falcon figures. I started up a late 19th century Chinese army for the Sino Japanese war with some of the Falcon figures. Also had some Meso-Americans from them.
I was always intrigued by the Falklands and early on the only smaller scale range was the old MJ Figures which were "heroic" 18mm). They were hard to find but I managed to find enough for gameable forces. The sculpts were a bit basic and when Pendraken came out with their range, I sold them off and never looked back. They sold half body Argentines for their trenches and I stole the idea when making my Argentine forces.
Quote from: sultanbev on 17 September 2023, 12:47:29 PMAnd now Outpost 28mm are gone. I had managed to complete my 1877 Turkish army just before they shut down, but I was hoping to persuade them to make a guard lancer figure, but the owner became ill and sadly died. Has anyone heard if the moulds have been sold on at all?
The Outpost 28mm ranges have gone over to Badger Games in the States, there's an update on TWW here: https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/news-from-badger-games-26/ Their 15mm ranges have stayed in the UK but I don't think the new owner has announced anything yet.
Quote from: Leon on 18 September 2023, 12:22:00 AMThe Outpost 28mm ranges have gone over to Badger Games in the States,
Thanks Leon, they are now up on their website, $6 for 4 foot figures isn't bad price. But UK postage is 25% plus whatever random magic numbers the UK customs decide to add on :(
Anyone know where the Indian Mutiny 15mm range from Lancashire Games went. Got Sepoys but would like to add cavalry and guns. Alan couldn't remember who he sold them to.
Quote from: sultanbev on 18 September 2023, 08:42:40 AMThanks Leon, they are now up on their website, $6 for 4 foot figures isn't bad price. But UK postage is 25% plus whatever random magic numbers the UK customs decide to add on :(
We're finding that the UK Customs don't seem as on the ball as previously and quite a lot of stuff is getting through without any fees. I guess the UK government telling all foreign businesses that they have to register for and pay UK VAT has meant that the border people don't bother as much.
Gosh I miss those Peter Pig Italian Renaissance figures as well. Unfortunately the cavalry, although beautifully sculpted, were a bit on the small side compared to the likes of Minifigs. The infantry and artillery (not to mention the resin supply wagon) were excellent figures, and indeed the bulk of my Venetian pikemen are those figures (including the men being rude). I also lamented the passing of the 20mm Jacklex ACW figures. They were great when I was moving from Airfix plastic to metal back in the late 60s. I ended up selling off my 20mm ACW. Games Workshop produced a lovely range of fantasy Italian Renaissance figures, including a Leonardo-type character. Although I have him and some really nice lighter style Italian cavalry (heavily armoured on unbardedd horses) and some really heavy crossbow, I regret not buying the hanglider crossbowmen, obviously made possible by Leonardo.
Quote from: Big Insect on 17 September 2023, 12:42:21 PMMikes Models is another one of those old ranges (now available via Essex Miniatures) that I have fond memories of. I own a MM Ottoman Turk and needed to buy a few figures to complete an army - again they lived up to my expectations (which admittedly were not very high ;D ) but they did the job.
YOu aren't alone in your appreciation of the MM Ottoman Turk range