Post by mikeydanuke on Aug 17, 2009 11:57:29 GMT -5
Many months ago I became aware that a company (Wargames Factory) was going to be producing a set of Zulu's and British Infantry for the 1879 Zulu War. Being that Dave and I are both fans of "The Sword and the Flame" type era-battles, I was watching for these to make their appearance.
Appear they did, just a few days ago, and I eagerly brought 2 boxes of them, one of Zulu's and one of British inf. I thought I would mention my impressions of these minis.
GOOD:
1) They are cheap! For $20, you get 30 Zulu's or $15 you get 20 British inf. Hard to argue with the price.
2) The Zulu's especially can be assembled in a variety of poses, with arms, heads, and torso mixed as desired. Thus, it is possible to assemble 30 different Zulu's from the box. Since I want my Zulu Impi's to appear "irregular" this is good.
3) The pieces, after a little trimming, assemble very easily using simple model airplane glue. I have had little problem with arms or heads falling off after being glued on, even if I find I need to go and trim a little flash off after wards.
4) Detail on the mini's is good.
BAD:
1) Each Zulu mini consists of 6 parts, torso, head, 2 arms, weapon, and shield. That is 6 parts that need to be trimmed and glued together, a bit of a time consuming process.
2) I am a little less pleased with some of the body torso's. One in particular appears to have a bit of a pot belly! Another stood up quite well once cut from the sprue, but once arms and weapons were added, kept falling over (Solution, mount the mini's on a stand first, then add arms, etc...) (Note: Pot bellied may be used later to represent Natal force warriors, or Dead figures, or even Non-royal Army Zulu infantry.)
3) The British infantry are listed as being a "Firing Line", and that is pretty much what they are, all infantry line. Would it have been so difficult to toss in an Officer figure? (For small unit actions, which I intend to run, Sergeants and Leftenants are needed....any line soldier can easily be converted into a sergeant, but the officer uniforms were a little more distinct.)
4) There seems to be a larger demand than supply of these mini's ATM. I had asked the game store to reserve 3 Zulu's and 2 Brits, and he assured me he had ordered plenty. However, when I got to the store after work, there was only 1 box of each waiting for me, and he informed me the order had been short, possibly due to large demand and not enough supply. So now I have to wait for more boxes to come in....
OF NOTE:
1) The Zulu's come with the capability of making them either an unmarried or married regiment, but both are in what should be considered "Undress" uniform. Some of the "Dress" uniforms for the Zulu regiments were quite elaborate. These aren't available in Plastic yet. (Old Glory does have several groups in dress uniforms)
2) And now to go out on a limb....all things considered, I like these miniatures, and plan to order/acquire at least 5 more boxes, but on a scale of 1-10, I would only rate them a 6 or 7. Maybe they will paint up better. (As an example, I have purchased many boxes of Warlord Games Celts, Romans, and English Civil War, and would rate them 9 or so)
So anyway, due to the current economic outlook, that's my $6.35 worth....
Toodles
Mikeydanuke
Appear they did, just a few days ago, and I eagerly brought 2 boxes of them, one of Zulu's and one of British inf. I thought I would mention my impressions of these minis.
GOOD:
1) They are cheap! For $20, you get 30 Zulu's or $15 you get 20 British inf. Hard to argue with the price.
2) The Zulu's especially can be assembled in a variety of poses, with arms, heads, and torso mixed as desired. Thus, it is possible to assemble 30 different Zulu's from the box. Since I want my Zulu Impi's to appear "irregular" this is good.
3) The pieces, after a little trimming, assemble very easily using simple model airplane glue. I have had little problem with arms or heads falling off after being glued on, even if I find I need to go and trim a little flash off after wards.
4) Detail on the mini's is good.
BAD:
1) Each Zulu mini consists of 6 parts, torso, head, 2 arms, weapon, and shield. That is 6 parts that need to be trimmed and glued together, a bit of a time consuming process.
2) I am a little less pleased with some of the body torso's. One in particular appears to have a bit of a pot belly! Another stood up quite well once cut from the sprue, but once arms and weapons were added, kept falling over (Solution, mount the mini's on a stand first, then add arms, etc...) (Note: Pot bellied may be used later to represent Natal force warriors, or Dead figures, or even Non-royal Army Zulu infantry.)
3) The British infantry are listed as being a "Firing Line", and that is pretty much what they are, all infantry line. Would it have been so difficult to toss in an Officer figure? (For small unit actions, which I intend to run, Sergeants and Leftenants are needed....any line soldier can easily be converted into a sergeant, but the officer uniforms were a little more distinct.)
4) There seems to be a larger demand than supply of these mini's ATM. I had asked the game store to reserve 3 Zulu's and 2 Brits, and he assured me he had ordered plenty. However, when I got to the store after work, there was only 1 box of each waiting for me, and he informed me the order had been short, possibly due to large demand and not enough supply. So now I have to wait for more boxes to come in....
OF NOTE:
1) The Zulu's come with the capability of making them either an unmarried or married regiment, but both are in what should be considered "Undress" uniform. Some of the "Dress" uniforms for the Zulu regiments were quite elaborate. These aren't available in Plastic yet. (Old Glory does have several groups in dress uniforms)
2) And now to go out on a limb....all things considered, I like these miniatures, and plan to order/acquire at least 5 more boxes, but on a scale of 1-10, I would only rate them a 6 or 7. Maybe they will paint up better. (As an example, I have purchased many boxes of Warlord Games Celts, Romans, and English Civil War, and would rate them 9 or so)
So anyway, due to the current economic outlook, that's my $6.35 worth....
Toodles
Mikeydanuke