Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Another Batch of Ancient Britons

 Here are the latest Cromarty Forge figures to exit the painting desk:



Light skirmishers, armed with slingshots and javelins






And the first three (of nine) chariots, led by the venerable Boudicca, who was completed some time ago.











In other exciting (its all relative!) news, I have made contact with an NZ based 3d print operator who has just run off a test batch of 10mm EIR figures for me. Originally offered as either 28mm or 15mm, I asked him if he could rescale them down - he was happy to run off a few figures and charge me a nominal fee so I can see how they come out and if the match up well with the Cromarty Forge ones. I have just paid for these and hope to see them arrive in a day or two. I have also made another order from the Cromarty Forge "agent" in Australia - they are ready too so hopefully should arrive in a few days too. In the meantime, I still have a few of the existing stock of figures to get finished off.

Finally for this post, not sure how many gamers would have noticed this piece of finance news - I saw it pop up on my phone, courtesy of the Guardian....
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/01/games-workshop-promoted-ftse-100-quarterly-reshuffle

This kind of helps explain - or at least validate - the fact that sci-fi/fantasy gaming is the bigger brother in the fantasy/historical relationship, as indicated in analysis of the Great Wargaming Survey.

30 comments:

  1. The 10mm are really coming on and are especially nice when putting together an eye catching chariot force that can have enough chariots to look right.

    The 3D product is seems to be really starting to shape how we go about collecting.

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    1. Thanks Norm....and great to hear from you...I do miss your blog and the Piggy Longton chronicles, in particular!
      Yes, many advantages accrue from rhe smaller figures....I sometimes wonder if I should have gone for 6mm....?!
      Not sure where 3d printing will end up taking us...hopefully, it's just another option, rather than causing the demise of more traditional manufacturers....

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  2. Those look great Keith and I like the bit of bling on one of the chariots:). It's hard to believe they are 3D printed, as aside from the odd bit of support structure, you cannot really see any build lines. I'm sure we will see much more of this in the future, but I do hope they make or have made the resins much more durable than before.

    Nice bit about GW too, which was of interest as I've been watching a lot of interviews with ex-GW people on Youtube this year. Very interesting to see their reminiscences of their times at GW, both good and bad. I did not know about the Warhammer and Amazon tie up, which could be dreadful or brilliant!

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    1. Thanks Steve....I removed most of had supports, hopefully! When I receive the next batch, I might do a "before and after " series, so people can see how they arrive and what you need to do to make them "paint ready"!
      Glad you found The Grauniad (sic) article interesting!

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  3. Love the chariots, Keith. Interesting info about the 3D prints. I think as the 3D process seems to be getting better and better, it could mean the end of some mini companies? It's a bit doom and gloom I know, but it is a little worrying for a small corner of the hobby world. And as for GW.... no comment!

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    1. Thank you Ray. Funnily enough, we were discussing the possible disappearance of some well known producers at our Sunday game. The likes of Foundry and Perry Miniatures are really just small, family run businesses when all is said and done, and the people running them must be rapidly approaching the age when they want to stop working and enjoy the fruits of their labour for a few years....so some of the traditional metal or plastic ranges may not be around too much longer anyway, unless they are taken over, like Front Rank and Crann Tara were....

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  4. Your making great progress on these Keith, the chariots look superb.

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    1. Thanks Scotty...as with the rest of the Cromarty Forge stuff, they are excellent little models and a joy to paint!

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  5. A very nice collection of Ancient Britons. I particularly like the chariots.

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  6. Another fine batch of Britons. Beautifully done Keith. Even though I have never bought any GW figures I contribute to their profits as I really like their primer, as overpriced as it may be, and use their paints for my bases. I suspect there are probably plenty more like me who purchase their products but don't play their game systems.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence....I too have a few paints purchased years ago when there was a GW store in the Sylvia Park mall....I think they are Citadel....is that a GW brand....I know so little about GW, I don't know the answer!!

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  7. Mighty fine effort with results to match.

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  8. Nicely done! I saw on another's blog yesterday these chariots in their natural "curing" state. The sculpts looked great. The quality of 3D printing has come a long way fast. Hard to grasp how large GW actually is.

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    1. Thank you Jon 😊 Totally agree re the 3d printed figures, and GW, for that matter!

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  9. Amazing looking Britons, Keith! They really look like 28mm figs.

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    1. Thanks Dean, yep, they are excellent little figures, for sure!

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  10. More great additions to your growing collection Keith, love the chariots, great little models. Be interested to see how the rescaled figures look against your CF ones.

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    1. Thanks a lot Donnie! I also am eager to see how the locally produced 10mm figures measure up ...pun intended!

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  11. Amazing Britons Keith. Such a handsome collection.

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    1. Cheers Richard, they are great figures and I am enjoying painting them!

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  12. Good looking toys Keith…
    Lovely detail for something so tiny…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly, yes the detail is outstanding, particularly in 10mm!

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  13. really great job. What's the dude standing up in the chariot about? 😁
    As far as GW; I think it's the media / video games and such that make the big bucks over the actual miniatures / rule books.

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    1. Thanks Stew.....I believe that used to be the Celts party piece....balancing on the draw bar between the horses!
      As far as GW goes, I have no idea!

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  14. Great looking figures Keith.
    I love the guy balancing on the chariot pole out the front. I did the same for some of my 15mm Britons when I couldn't get them to fit in the cart section - remembering Cesare's words on how the Britons would race up and down the pole when driving towards the Romans.

    Good news for GW shareholders - joining the footsie 100 will give their share price a boost as all the index funds need to purchase their stock.

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    1. Thanks Ben.....I was beginning to wonder if I had just dreamed that up myself, when replying to Stew above; nice to have it confirmed 😀

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