Hi all,
Just out of curiosity, why and when did you decide that Pendraken was for you?
Myself, I saw a link online at my brothers last month to some AWI painted figures and clicked on it, the first image I saw was of immaculately sculpted and painted Pendraken AWI british infantry.
It took me all of 2 seconds to decide that this would be my next major project and so the call went out for the catalogue and my first order hurried after it.
Since then, I've made another order for some medieval figs to try out and will likely very soon make another to follow it up, so as you can see I'm well and truly hooked by the Pendraken line (tempted to add fishmen pun) and honestly think I've finally found a range that suits my painting style and desire for 'mass effect'.
So, when and how did you find Pendraken or did it find you and what part of the ranges got you hooked?
Cheers
Ry
For me apart from Wargames South they were the only 10mm/12mm figures about that we wanted to use for Crossfire
Initially it was a cheap way of getting Austro-Prussian War figures in the '90s. The reason I am still buying is ever improving ranges and the best customer service, bar none.
Mollinary
My mate DaveL bought me some of the Marlburian range as a birthday present some years ago and I was hooked.
Chad
Originally bought the Aliens in the early nineties as a joke to bulk out a DBM warband. Came back in 2009 after a friend suggested them for Prussian and French 1870, and not looked back since!
I hoestly don't recall.
Pendraken has just sort of always been there. ;D
I think it was probably the fantasy ranges in conjunction with wanting to build Hordes of the Things armies when there aren't any decent 15mm fantasy ranges out there.
Began collecting Skytrex 1/200 armour but their infantry left a lot to be desired. Then got some wild geese infantry they were great but vanished, then i came across pendraken, wonderful infantry and armour, totally seduced, the rest they say is history. Still have loads of Skytrex armour, such is life.
I saw them over at my buddies when he set up a bkc game. Bought me some myself, and just love the models. Not to mention the costumer service!!
Was looking for some way to replay Aliens vs Colonial Marines, found Nik's hp and the rest is hostory.
Leon has kept me with his unbelievable service and speed.
I never regretted.
It all began with my 1870 project!
Same reason as the original post. I first ordered AWI british about 3 years ago, and still cannot believe the kind of detail on that small scale. I am a big fan of Clib's work and sculpting style in this scale. Little things like displaying relief in garments, as in buttons as indents, rather than raised buttons. Or the large hands which work to offset the the length of a musket. In 10mm you need to be creative....
Now about those LoA artillery figures coming out soon... (?)
William
I lost all my 15mm pike and shot figures when I had to change countries in a hurry following visa problems. When I'd stopped crying (most of the time), I realised how much cheaper and more mobile 10mm would be. If only they'd make those Aztecs now!
Great figures suited to my painting style, excellent customer service, and, for those of us on a budget, more bang for the buck. ;) :)
I wanted to do TYW with a lot of figures which didn't break the bank. That was probably 8 years ago. I actually heard about Pendraken from Blake many years before but never got into the 10mm scale until I purchased the TYW figures.
Since then I've ventured into WWII British, early and late war German, French, US and now soviets.
I also have ACW, AWI, FPW and Falklands. Oh, and Vietnam.
I'm taken by the LoA and Marlborough figures as well as SYW, but those will have to wait for another day.
Oh, and the TYW project which I initially started has been on hold for years!
I chose 10mm models for reasons of money and space, friends put me on to Pendraken, customer service and general friendliness is what kept me here.
Cheers,
Aart
I've found it making the best 10 mm figures.
And later - having the best customers service.
I made the switch from 15mm to 10mm about 4 years ago. I'm now selling off my 15mm stuff and concentrating on 10mm. Why?
- Quality figures.
- Great price.
- Outstanding customer service.
- Great range of figures.
I wanted to do AWI in a smaller scale. Bought some Baccus figures and wasn't impressed and then I came across Clibs pictures of his painted British sculpts and couldn't believe how good they were. When the figures arrived in the post they were even better than I'd thought. the customer service was really good and from that I joined the forum and discovered that the inmates were very friendly and only bonkers in a harmless way :)
I was lured in by the Aliens and Colonial Marines range via BKC forum and FWC (Future War Commander) which I wrote the Colonial Marines/Aliens army lists for.
Since then I have collected at least five armies from the medieval ranges, matching ECW armies, Polish/Lithuanian Commonwealth Army, Normans, Saxons and Vikings, Thirty Years war, Napoleonic and SCW.
I have pretty much everything I need for 'now' but will be back for Falklands Range once the argies get bulked out and LOA when the range is complete.
I keep coming back because customer service and friendliness here is top notch ;)
first I was interested by the SCW range..
Then I realized how great it was !
And now I really like how it looks on my table : fire ranges are more realistics.
I painted some late Romans and was so impressed with the quality of clibs sculpting i looked into other sculpts he had done and chose AWI. A first for me in this period and am now intending to build up armies to game with myself,( another first ) as never rolled dice in anger before. Secondly the great value for money, very impressed with the £25 pack deals of which i have just about finished my first pack so will put a few pics on tomorrow. And last but not least the great service, so a very happy customer :D looking forward to my next figs arriving.
kev
I first bought Pendraken way back in the early days of creation near the hydro thermal vents I was at a show possible Allumwell in ts old location and bought a fantasy army for each of my 4 sons
Me I am slowly working on French Indian Wars using British Grenadier 28mm base and ground scale so about 12/14 figures per base instead of 4 so a 16 figure regiment is about 48/50+ figures looking good so far(1 regt finished)
Martin
Began assembling Marlburian armies in the mid nineties - initially with Irregulars but switching to Pendraken when I found that the figures were better and the range larger. Did Blenheim for the club's 2000 convention game, for which I provided all of the figures, and which required long hours of additional painting. I well remember Dave coming across to the game at Broadsword that year and showing me the newly re-designed early tricorn figures. I think that's when I started losing my hair.... ~X(
QuoteI really like how it looks on my table
Forgot this one, but agree that the look is much better 8).
I,ve been modelling in this scale since I was a kid with N scale model railways.
Back in the '90s I decided I wanted a change from 28mm wargaming and 10mm just made sense. I emailed every 10mm wargames manufacturer I could find and asked them to send me some samples. Dave was the only one who did, and I've never veered from Pendraken since.
Never been diappointed either with a purchase or service since, so cheers Dave and Leon :-bd
I started buying Pendraken because they fit well in beside Magister Militum ;)
That's not strictly true, I apparently bought loads of Pendraken many years ago, but they lay neglected in a box until my interest in 10mm reappeared recently - when looking for additional minis to fit with my new MM I discovered all sorts of goodies! The newer Pendraken sculpts are my first choice now, hoping there will be more of them in the Ancients ranges...
I'm struggling to remember exactly - about 10 years ago I discovered Warmaster and GW's 10mm figures. I bought various GW figures off eBay - then discovered Pendrakens fantasy ranges. Then added WWII stuff, I think probably because the price was so good, then the quality is good too - WWII did lead me to other manufacturers.
But I have continued to buy lots of Pendraken especially the newer ranges, such as the Late Romans and LoA figures (and older stuff like Lizardmen).
Like other folks found the AWI line, bought some and found out how wonderful the figs were. Then decided to do large WW2 battles and what better way then 10mm. Which lead to a never ending WW1 and thoughts on a ACW western campaign .......
Plus the customer service is top notch :D
Like Howayman I started with Skytrex armour but didn't like the infantry. Got some Wargames South troops but they weren't a lot better back then and I let the scale drift. Then I refound soem models when going through old boxes of stuff and decided to see what was available now. Found this site and was wowed by some of the painting jobs I saw (level way beyond me but inspiring nonetheless) and decided to indulge myself with restarting Napoleonics, something not played since schooldays. Always liked the spectacle but getting enough figs on the tbale was always a problem, both aesthetically and financially - Pendraken provided the answer.
Also rekindled my ECW interest. This had always been a problem in other scales with pikes either too long or too short, not enough choice in ranges etc. Once again 10mm seems to fit the bill.
Needless to say like others here my magpie like wargames mind has since leapt to other ranges and projects, long considered and never embarked upon, due to cost and space. Currently have WWI German infantry division ready for basing and priming and at the paperwork stage of a Culloden army, all from Pendraken.
Have to say that the Pendraken service is second to none and I've been buying tiny shiny men for more than 30 years :o The forum is also one of, if not the, friendliest i've found. These two points are also very important. It's not every manufacturer that will bag up a unit to your specifications and dispatch the same day. :) Much better than the traditional buy a bag of 6/8/10 and one day you'll find a use for the spare figs way of doing things :D
I started with Franco-Prussians in the early 90s, since which time I've added 1866 Austrians and Saxons, WWI Eastern Front and Russian Civil War, Italian Condottiere, Republican and Early Imperial Romans, Sassanids and Feudal Western Europeans. I like the scale as it works very well with 6mm scenic items which allows forn quite an extensive battlefield. I also like to use Pendrakenn as they are generally well-sculpted, robust and easy to paint. I have almost completely abandoned 15mm now (apart from ACW) and have a number of future Pendraken projects in mind, especially the expansion of my DBA armies for larger campaigns. :-bd
Excellent thread, and nice to see some common reasons... :-[
:-bd
I bought some lizard men and Elves way back in the day when my lads had a dabble with HOTTs. So when 10mm Medieval gaming became my thing i thought Id have a good toot at Pendraken and I think Ive got most of the Medieval ranges now.
To Sum up:-
Good quality :) Very Reasonably priced :) Very good customer service :) and above all... an involvement with the hobby and it's painters and gamers (us) :) :D :) :D They've even got their own forum :o
Yep there are some other 10mm manufactures out there :o and I'm sure we've all bought stuff from them :o but none of them seem to have that involement and for me thats what counts...yada, yada, rant,rant etc etc
Great point Bishop about being involved in the hobby, which is great, and listening to what we as gamers would like :).
Quote from: Leon on 03 April 2013, 07:41:38 PM
Excellent thread, and nice to see some common reasons... :-[
:-bd
Common reasons = common sense. :)
Greetings
Started with Mediaevals, I think for DBx, which I never really got round to but liked the figures. When I decided to do platoon per stand Ostfront WW2 Pendraken was the natural choice. Lots more collected since then (WWI Mesopotamia, WW2 desert, FPW 1870, SYW Western Germany) though a lot of it still to be painted ...
Regards
Edward
I was a GW gamer originally, but I preferred things like Warmaster and Epic to thier mainstream games. One of my friends got me into WWII using BKC so I started collecting a 10mm German army from Pendraken at his recomendation. (That's almost finished, honest) and I've now bought a bundle of Arabs and Crusaders for me and the wife, which are getting based up for Warmaster, but I can also use them for Impetus 15mm (Which I have my only historical 28mm army for)
10mm is fantastic for smaller gaming space (I only have space for a 4x4 table.)
Customer service here is fantastic
I regularly check the forums here for stuff to read (Very friendly)
Ranges are decent for the stuff I do.
I've gamed with Chad for about 23 years, and we always get each other some wargames connected items as a Christmas present.
Chad always had a "tricorn fetish"" - his words, not mine! I won't tell you about his other fetishes!!!! ;D
So about 6-7 years ago, having seen the Pendraken stall at shows, I decided to get him some Malburian figures for Christmas - some infantry, cavalry and artillery which I painted for him.
Well that was it! Fantastic quality, sculpting, and everything else everyone has already mentioned.
We now have about 1,300 WSS painted figures and have invested in other ranges.
Chad's painting and collecting armies for 1859, 1866 and 1870. I've got about 800 AWI to paint, not to mention Latr Romans, Samauri, Crimean and have started collecting LoA.
They're so damned good that you just want to keep on collecting.
DaveL
Quote from: Bishop Lord on 04 April 2013, 07:57:23 AM
Yep there are some other 10mm manufactures out there :o and I'm sure we've all bought stuff from them :o but none of them seem to have that involement and for me thats what counts...yada, yada, rant,rant etc etc
Is the 'Best 10mm Manufacturer' poll running this year? :-\
Quote from: Leon on 04 April 2013, 11:43:35 AM
Is the 'Best 10mm Manufacturer' poll running this year? :-\
Nope, all the others have quit. I wonder why .. :-\
:P
Cheers,
Aart
Quote from: Leon on 04 April 2013, 11:43:35 AM
Is the 'Best 10mm Manufacturer' poll running this year? :-\
There are others? :o 8) :P :D
Quote from: sebigboss79 on 04 April 2013, 01:59:45 PM
There are others? :o 8) :P :D
They lurk in the deepest caves of thisisanoverpricedunpaintablelumpofmetaldom and are to be avoided at all costs!!!
Quote from: ryman1 on 04 April 2013, 03:19:29 PM
They lurk in the deepest caves of thisisanoverpricedunpaintablelumpofmetaldom and are to be avoided at all costs!!!
I heard rumours of this place...is it, by any chance, in Nottingham? :D
Moved up from 6mm years ago and Pendraken and Irregular Mins only 10mm companies about. Pendraken's range even then was far more extensive and it was the same time that Keith began Realistic Modelling with his lovely trees and terrain boards.
For doing display games 10mm got far more favourable responses than my 6mm ever did as the look and scale was so much better yet figures were still quite distinct.
From a different angle......
Checked if they were good guys to work for with another designer, who you'd never have heard of.....Clippy ?....Clubby ?.....Something like that....Can't remember now...But mark my words this chap is pretty damn good, to say the least.
Cheers - Phil ;)
How could I have forgotten my SYW collection - looking really good now and has had outings with Maurice, Black Powder and Minden Rose.
QuoteIs the 'Best 10mm Manufacturer' poll running this year?
Yep I will be running the best 10mm poll again this year :) but it will be later than normal
Jason
AWI for me too. I saw some painted figures over on TMP (I think) and had a genuine double take moment when I read they were 10mm.
Then I saw Mollinary's Jicin game photos and was hooked. Seriously, that man should be on commission...
Ok - cause someone has to bring Leon and Dave back to this planet, and bearing in mind that I have no sense of humour.
a) There is no alterative
b) Terrible service
c) High cost
d) Appalling casting
Corse I could be being a bit backward :d
IanS
Not enough tanks either ?
Quote from: Charon on 05 April 2013, 01:54:23 PM
Then I saw Mollinary's Jicin game photos and was hooked. Seriously, that man should be on commission...
And what makes you think that I am not? ;) ;) ;)Still, if you enjoyed the Jicin photos, you ain't seen nothing yet! The magnum opus, the tome that will change the Wargaming world for ever, the book that will usher in the "Golden Age of Pendraken 10mm figures" for a thousand years, is almost upon us. Wargaming in History, Volume 8: The Austro-Prussian War, the Opening Battles, should hit the streets at SALUTE on 20th April. Snappy title, eh? And it contains shedloads of piccies of Pendraken goodness. Oh, what an age of wonders we inhabit.
Mollinary
Oh, and a chap called John Dz had something to do with it as well, but I cannot quite recall what!
Quote from: ianrs54 on 05 April 2013, 06:59:57 PM
a) There is no alterative
b) Terrible service
c) High cost
d) Appalling casting
Don't worry Ian, we'll continue to give you the worst service we can possibly manage, just as long as the postman can find you under that black cloud... :P
Quote from: mollinary on 05 April 2013, 07:16:52 PM
the book that will usher in the "Golden Age of Pendraken 10mm figures" for a thousand years, is almost upon us.
Mollinary
Sounds like something put about by that nice Mr Schicklgruber all those years ago. :d
Quote from: Hertsblue on 06 April 2013, 08:42:04 AM
Sounds like something put about by that nice Mr Schicklgruber all those years ago. :d
Very true, only at 150th the size!! ;D ;D ;D
Mollinary
Quote from: ianrs54 on 05 April 2013, 06:59:57 PM
Ok - cause someone has to bring Leon and Dave back to this planet, and bearing in mind that I have no sense of humour.
a) There is no alterative
b) Terrible service
c) High cost
d) Appalling casting
Corse I could be being a bit backward :d
IanS
I don't think Leon and Dave could get any higher praise from Ian, could they ?? ;) :P
Cheers - Phil.
I feel that you should add aztecs to the line and see if it really brings up the costumer satisfaction 8-} 8-} 8-}
I think the first stuff I got was actually Wild Geese miniatures
Aztecs - why would we want very small chocolate bars ? :d :d
IanS
Quality of casting which I saw for the very first time when I was at leads several years ago . I. First bought son colonialism British and mahdist figures and have been impressed ever since in all aspects even a follow up phone call on one occasion as there was some concern snout as to whether I had received the order . In the past I have given my order over the phone.
They are always polite and.pleasant
Quote from: ianrs54 on 07 April 2013, 06:58:35 AM
Aztecs - why would we want very small chocolate bars ? :d :d
IanS
Words of wisdom. We could all learn something from this man!
Quote from: FierceKitty on 07 April 2013, 09:52:53 AM
Words of wisdom. We could all learn something from this man!
Really? :o :o :o :o :o :o
My choice was quite deliberate. I was trying to move away from 15, 20 and 25mm into a single scale and preferably supplier that would a) cater ranges for all my needs b) look right in skirmish and big battalion games, and c) allow for one set of scenery to be used (that immense tree in 15mm is but a sapling to the 25mm giants.)
I was also pretty hacked off with my 20mm Panthers not being able to engage at 8' - approx 200 yds. Something smaller was called for. I considered standardising on 15mm, but they were too tall. Then I thought about 5mm, but they were too small. Then I thought about 10mm and they were just right. I'd used 5mm and 15mm, but never 10mm. I felt the desire for something new.
Next stage was research. I narrowed the possible suppliers to three (two of which I won't mention) based on ranges, compnay profile and of course, price. I sent for the same samples from each - Churchill tank, C15 knight, ACW infantry - then sat back and waited.
One company pretty much ruled themselves out with what can only be described as a Byzantine payment system (that reminds me Leon, where's my Byzantine range?).
When the samples arrived, I painted them all the same way, and looked at them to see which appealed. One had a Churchill which looked to long and thin and somehow elegant. That ruled them out. My Churchills are ugly, brutish and somehow reminiscent of a Stegasaurus (That is the dinosaur, don't all go rushing to your tank recognition books.)
So, my decision to go with Pendraken was coldly logical and I haven't regretted it at all. Except for the fact that they stilll haven't got the chariot ranges I've been after, and my Frech WWII infantry are slumming it in artillery tractors and the Napoleonic British range needs filling - Pendraken provide a good range, at a reasonable price and deliver in acceptable timescales.
Long may it do so.
(Think we said £20, Leon?)
I first met Dave when I started trading at shows around the year dot. He's a nice guy, we chatted a lot at the shows and I decided to try the Aliens/marines range. So impressed with the quality and I was hooked from there on! ;)
Then Warmaster Ancients got released and who else would you want to buy your armies from? I replaced my huge 15mm WotR collection with a huge 10mm WotR collection.
I've still got 28mm stuff for skirmish games, and 15mm armies for Europe 1859-71, WW2 Burma and Korean War. Everything else has now been replaced with 10mm and all my new projects for the past 7-8 years have been done in 10mm. :D
Back in 92 or 93 I was lured to the SCW and Vietnam figures (wildgeese?) from the awful action 200 stuff I had. Always liked the small scales. 15mm or less. Gave me more troops at lower price and more fighting space. That and I always thought warty k was silly even as a kid :P.
I do remember having to phone Daves to put in orders. Always ended up with some clueless kid on the line... :D
Quote from: fsn on 09 April 2013, 06:36:54 AM
(Think we said £20, Leon?)
:D
Quote from: republic of tolworth on 09 April 2013, 08:28:01 AM
I do remember having to phone Daves to put in orders. Always ended up with some clueless kid on the line... :D
L-) ;D
Hi all
The main reason I decided to go with Pendraken was a demonstration game held at triples about six or seven years ago.
However I'd been unhappy with 20mm for a long while it was just wall-to-wall tanks and just seemed wrong, I had looked at 6mm but found that just too small.
However I have yet to convince the other members of my club the benefits of 10mm it is now my preferred scale.
Take care
Andy
For me it was The Dungeon! :d
Followed a link on boardgamegeek.com (http://boardgamegeek.com) about the alien miniatures, saw The Dungeon and the rest was history. :-\ umm FANTASY! :D
Cheers,
Meirion
I have Napoleonic and SYW collections in 6mm (using the very nice Adler figures) and wanted to move into ACW.
I initially looked at the Adler range, which are very nice with plenty of vigour to them. The problem was that, basing them for Fire & Fury, they seemed a bit too frail. The Napoleonics and SYW are all in the 'march attack' pose and, whilst I'm sure that a lot of manouevre in the ACW was done in this formation, it just doesn't sit with my image of what ACW should look like, and the advancing and marching figures just had too many bits that stuck out just asking to be broken.
The project went on to hold until I saw Pendraken at a show a couple of years back and began to think of going up a size; the release of the new range, and the deserved praise heaped on it, prompted me to buy the figures.
Once I've progressed the ACW a bit I can look to future projects, I shall probably return to Adler for my AWI but the photos I've seen of the Pendraken FPW range are very tempting, as is the idea of early WWI.
PS. Thanks for the order I collected at Salute; they are already sorted into batches for painting and, as soon as I've cleared a SYW Prussian Kurassier unit and a SYW Prussian Dragoon unit (one half completed and one cleaned and primed) off my table, work can begin.
Quote from: DHautpol on 24 April 2013, 11:45:54 AM
PS. Thanks for the order I collected at Salute; they are already sorted into batches for painting and, as soon as I've cleared a SYW Prussian Kurassier unit and a SYW Prussian Dragoon unit (one half completed and one cleaned and primed) off my table, work can begin.
8)
In Russia, Pendraken choose you...
In reality, GOMs postings on GWP and VCBW lured me onto here and being a sucker for eyecandy and having a rather entusiastic outlook on life, I stepped up to the plate and invested in Soudan forces, rulesets and paint which currently resides along side earlier efforts, atleast I didnt go for another VBCW scale. :D
Quote from: HPFlashman on 24 April 2013, 03:26:46 PM
at least I didnt go for another VBCW scale. :D
Go on HPF - picture large scale VBCW engagements with realistic weapon ranges, you know you really want to........ ;D ;D ;D ;D 8)
GrumpyOldMan
Cough, cough....
(http://gallery2.jpmullan.com/d/519559-2/myvan.jpg)
X_X 8-> :D
Chuckle chuckle.....
;D ;D ;D ;D
Got my first Pendraken stuff from salute when it was at Kensington town hall as I was fed up with the Skytrex quality and havent looked back since!