Mr. Conte has posted a new blurb about the forthcoming Spartans, along with a ten ton of pictures. He also addresses the size issue and pretty much puts it to rest. There is a great photo of a Britains Deetail figure, an 70mm Elastolin figure, and a new Spartan all side by side. Looks pretty convincing that these new Spartans are not the gargantuan he-men that we might have feared. This is great news, especially since Hat is hopefully going to be adding to this field as well.
Rock on.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Pulling a Spartan out of your Hat
The Field of Spartans just got a little more crowded. Hat has listed Greek Hoplites and Persian Immortals as future projects on their 1/32 page. This might give the average collector a way to bolster their "300" without having to take out a mortgage on their home to get 43 packages of the Conte figures. Man, what would I do with 300 Greeks?? I'm not exactly sure I would have enough room on my table for 300 figures. Plus, however many Greeks you have, you probably need twice as many Persians!!! I'd probably have to relocate from my table to my driveway!
Speaking of Persians, has anybody heard whether Conte is planning on doing the poseable thing wth the Persians. I hadn't really thought about it, but I assume they would... but haven't heard anything. I'd imagine that the costs are very high to produce the poseable figures, and you would have to wonder if the Persians will sell nearly as well as the Spartans will.
Ok, lets see... a little fanciful math for ya... say you wanted 300 Conte Spartans. With 7 Spartans per card, at let's say $23 per card, thats $989. And, according to my woefully misguided logic, you will now need twice as many Persians as you need Spartans. That's 600 Immortals. $989 times 2 equals $1,978. Add in what you paid for those Spartans, and you have a grand total of $2,967. This does not include the 4 proposed terrain pieces to be released later in 2008. Hmmm... Time to start finding a second job.
Now, before anyone gets too concerned about my mental status, I WILL NOT be buying 300 Spartans, nor will I need 600 Persians. One of each card will suffice most likely. But having Hat throw their... erm... hat into the ring will add to the possibilities, as long as size difference isn't too much of an issue.
Speaking of Persians, has anybody heard whether Conte is planning on doing the poseable thing wth the Persians. I hadn't really thought about it, but I assume they would... but haven't heard anything. I'd imagine that the costs are very high to produce the poseable figures, and you would have to wonder if the Persians will sell nearly as well as the Spartans will.
Ok, lets see... a little fanciful math for ya... say you wanted 300 Conte Spartans. With 7 Spartans per card, at let's say $23 per card, thats $989. And, according to my woefully misguided logic, you will now need twice as many Persians as you need Spartans. That's 600 Immortals. $989 times 2 equals $1,978. Add in what you paid for those Spartans, and you have a grand total of $2,967. This does not include the 4 proposed terrain pieces to be released later in 2008. Hmmm... Time to start finding a second job.
Now, before anyone gets too concerned about my mental status, I WILL NOT be buying 300 Spartans, nor will I need 600 Persians. One of each card will suffice most likely. But having Hat throw their... erm... hat into the ring will add to the possibilities, as long as size difference isn't too much of an issue.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
TSSD, Pegasus, and Black Cat
Got a package in the mail from TSSD yesterday. Inside were the new TSSD Germans, the new Pegasus Russians, and the fairly new Black Cat Napoleonics.
The Germans: What can I say about them that isn't obvious. Their sculptor is spot on with dynamic poses, uniform, and weaponry. The set includes an MG42 team, a sniper, a couple mounted figures, a panzerfaust, and an mp40 figure. The MG42 even has a ammo belt that slides into the gun and is supported by the second figure. This set fits in well with all existing German sets and fills in some holes, especially with the mounted figures.
The Pegasus Russians: Very innovative. For only $15, you get 12 poses, with no duplicates. In my book, that's like the best deal ever. There is a bit of assembly required, mostly glueing on arms, weapons, and heads, but it only took me a few minutes. Had to straighten out a few of the pieces, but a little boiling water did the trick. Very awesome set! If you do any Eastern Front setups, this is a must have.
Black Cat Russians: I'm not way into Napoleonics right now, but this is such a nice looking set, that I wanted it just to show off. The sculpting is on size with the likes of Conte and TSSD. The figurse are full, and with their packs and weapony, look rightfully bulky. The poses are perfect and natural looking. My favorite thing about them is the type of plastic used. It's very pliable, and came out of the bag bent all over the place, but a little boiling water fixed everything. The figures are durable with no chance of breakage, and that is always a big plus. They remind me of TSSD figures in that regard.
Still waiting for the Conte Spartans to be released, but these three sets should keep me busy till they arrive. This package was sort of to get me through not being able to go to the Texas Show this weekend. I really thought we might make it down, but as is so often the case, things come up where you can't get away.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoys their Decoration / Memorial Day.
The Germans: What can I say about them that isn't obvious. Their sculptor is spot on with dynamic poses, uniform, and weaponry. The set includes an MG42 team, a sniper, a couple mounted figures, a panzerfaust, and an mp40 figure. The MG42 even has a ammo belt that slides into the gun and is supported by the second figure. This set fits in well with all existing German sets and fills in some holes, especially with the mounted figures.
The Pegasus Russians: Very innovative. For only $15, you get 12 poses, with no duplicates. In my book, that's like the best deal ever. There is a bit of assembly required, mostly glueing on arms, weapons, and heads, but it only took me a few minutes. Had to straighten out a few of the pieces, but a little boiling water did the trick. Very awesome set! If you do any Eastern Front setups, this is a must have.
Black Cat Russians: I'm not way into Napoleonics right now, but this is such a nice looking set, that I wanted it just to show off. The sculpting is on size with the likes of Conte and TSSD. The figurse are full, and with their packs and weapony, look rightfully bulky. The poses are perfect and natural looking. My favorite thing about them is the type of plastic used. It's very pliable, and came out of the bag bent all over the place, but a little boiling water fixed everything. The figures are durable with no chance of breakage, and that is always a big plus. They remind me of TSSD figures in that regard.
Still waiting for the Conte Spartans to be released, but these three sets should keep me busy till they arrive. This package was sort of to get me through not being able to go to the Texas Show this weekend. I really thought we might make it down, but as is so often the case, things come up where you can't get away.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoys their Decoration / Memorial Day.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
New Spartan Scenics from Conte
I don't know how long this has been posted at their site, but I just saw what Conteco has planned for 2008 in their Spartan line (look on left side of page). Besides the upcoming Spartans, and teh projected release of the Persians in late 2008, they are also showing several more pewter sets and... terrain pieces that will include The Hot Springs, a two-part Phocian Wall, and Xerxes tent. I wonder if this will mean a playset sometime down the road for us plastic collectors. For me, Ancient themed playsets would probably be more valuable than WWII or Civil War themed playsets. For both of those eras, duplicate figures are simply not needed at this stage of my collecting. I can fill up my table with over two hundred Germans and never duplicate a pose. Same situation with Civil War.
Ancients on the other hand.... Something like the Spartan Phalanx, you need a bunch of figures to make it look right. And Persians.... You're going to need boatloads of them. Heck, I'll probably chuck in some ancients from other companies just to round out the army. So, if Conte does decide to do a playset for the 300 Spartans, you can count me in. This is one theme where I say bring it on.
Ancients on the other hand.... Something like the Spartan Phalanx, you need a bunch of figures to make it look right. And Persians.... You're going to need boatloads of them. Heck, I'll probably chuck in some ancients from other companies just to round out the army. So, if Conte does decide to do a playset for the 300 Spartans, you can count me in. This is one theme where I say bring it on.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
New Pictures at TSSD
Four of the new TSSD poses are available for your perusal at their website. Mounted Germans, eh? Very different, very unique. It LOOKS like his shooting arm is a plug-in. That might make it easier to replace it with a different arm to allow for a quick conversion if needed. I just love the late war look to these figures so far. Tattered clothing and assorted weapons. Makes for interesting setups. You know what would go good with these, that Pegasus 1/72 scale of late war German Civilians, except bumped up to our 1/32. Just an idea. I've been dying for a good set of WWII civilian fighters for awhile now, either Russian, French, or German.
New Scenic Pieces
I'm usually all about more figures, but every once in awhile, new scenics catch my attention. At the Indianapolis show, Ron Barzso and Jim Clouse were debuting their new modular river system. They had it displayed with their Robin Hood Castle display, and it really stood out as being top-notch. They are now available through their website for $15 apiece (2 for $30).
Pegasus Hobbies is also offering some new pieces, and for really nice prices too. Fences, rock walls, another modular river set, sandbags, oil drums, boxes, crates... everything a good battleground needs. You can see them at the TSSD website (scroll down a bit past the new figures.)
Right now I've got my pre-order in for the new TSSD Germans, along with a few other items I missed including the Blackcat Napoleonics, and the Pegasus Russians. I've also got my pre-order in with Conte for a full set of the Scarlet colored Spartans. Hopefully they don't all become available at the same time. My checking account would never forgive me. And dangit, don't ya know that the ole' federal government would direct deposit that stimulus package into my wife's account!!
Speaking of the new TSSD Germans, I'm still waiting to see some good pictures of them. There is a post over at the Hobby Bunker forums that talks about the different poses, but more pictures besides the sniper have yet to be posted. But how can you not expect that the whole set is going to rock? The sculpting done by TSSD's sculptor is always awesome.
Pegasus Hobbies is also offering some new pieces, and for really nice prices too. Fences, rock walls, another modular river set, sandbags, oil drums, boxes, crates... everything a good battleground needs. You can see them at the TSSD website (scroll down a bit past the new figures.)
Right now I've got my pre-order in for the new TSSD Germans, along with a few other items I missed including the Blackcat Napoleonics, and the Pegasus Russians. I've also got my pre-order in with Conte for a full set of the Scarlet colored Spartans. Hopefully they don't all become available at the same time. My checking account would never forgive me. And dangit, don't ya know that the ole' federal government would direct deposit that stimulus package into my wife's account!!
Speaking of the new TSSD Germans, I'm still waiting to see some good pictures of them. There is a post over at the Hobby Bunker forums that talks about the different poses, but more pictures besides the sniper have yet to be posted. But how can you not expect that the whole set is going to rock? The sculpting done by TSSD's sculptor is always awesome.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A House Divided
A couple posts ago I gave a shout out for anybody who wanted to do some reenacting, that my unit, the 49th Indiana, was a good one to try it with. But then I thought, what if there are some people out there who harbor feelings of a bit more rebellious nature. If that is the case, you should check out the 44th Tenneessee. Good group that often shares the field with us (plus, my dad is a member!!). They are also based out of the central Indiana area.
Aztec Conversion
I was browsing the HAT site, and I found this gem of a conversion. This fellow would go great with the Barzso Aztec set!! I just got that set out yesterday and was looking at it again. Overall, it has the trademarks for what makes the perfect set. It's a unique time frame. It has a few character figures, ample little bits of character to it such as the blood pools and the treasure. And finally, the temples were top notch. The intricate designs are really something to see. One of my all time favorite sets.
Barack Obama Stopped By Today
Barack Obama was in my hometown today. Little Tipton, Indiana. That's crazy. Hillary Clinton was just down the road from us a few days ago in Kokomo, Indiana. Man, we ain't had this big of news since Mr. O'Leary's barn burned down, and all his cows got loose and stampeded through the city park!!
But seriously... those cows could have really hurt somebody.
I have no secrets about my own political views. As the great author Douglas Adams wrote:
"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
But seriously... those cows could have really hurt somebody.
I have no secrets about my own political views. As the great author Douglas Adams wrote:
"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
Friday, May 2, 2008
Something besides WWII & Civil War
I found some pictures of the Waterloo WWI Italians. Plus, Hat has some new offerings in 1/32. More ancients, which when the mood strikes me, I find pretty cool. I've never even heard of Celtiberians, but man, I think I might need me some.
Weekends and Projects
Last weekend my wife and I went to the Vernon, IN. Civil War Reenactment. It's actually one of the best events in the state for reenactors.; laid back, easy battle, lots of nap time, a dance on Saturday night, and lots and lots of pie. This year it was hosted by our unit, the 49th Indiana. If you're an Indiana native, and you're looking for a good unit to join, or just to try out reenacting, let me know and I'll help you fall in with us.
I have the day off today, and I'm spending it reorganizing my room, which we finally finished last night. All the walls painted, shelves hung, and now comes the daunting task of reorganizing my collection. Right now I just have mounds and mounds of plastic sitting in little piles around my room.
Oh, I also put my pre-order in with Conte yesterday for the plastic Spartans. Now it's just the long wait till they actually show up and start shipping.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Here, take my wallet.
Conte has a new announcement on their site about their plastic spartans. Dude, after seeing these at OTSN, I knew I needed them. The poseable figures are really a step forward for this hobby (in my humble opinion). It's something that could have been done REALLY poorly, but after seeing the samples in Chicago, I'm convinced that this is the was to go for ancients.
I wrote a post awhile back trying to figure out if these were too much like Action Figures. My fear was, are poseable toy soldiers, still toy soldiers? And if they are, will they still fall within my realm of collecting? It was a long winded post, and probably didn't make much sesnse to anyone but me. But forget all that. Plastic Spartans... bring em' on.
I wrote a post awhile back trying to figure out if these were too much like Action Figures. My fear was, are poseable toy soldiers, still toy soldiers? And if they are, will they still fall within my realm of collecting? It was a long winded post, and probably didn't make much sesnse to anyone but me. But forget all that. Plastic Spartans... bring em' on.
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