Army Painter missteps while GW bends the FLGS over again

As anyone who has seen my blog knows I'm a fan of The Army Painter. I've been looking forward to their new line coming out. The delay in introducing their new lines, I think, is a real missed opportunity for TAP. With GW introducing the new ridiculously sized paint range means that retailers that have previously carried Citadel paints are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Those racks the paints are stored on are provided by Citadel in exchange for a minimum order size when they start carrying them. Yes, you usually get them at the standard 40% discount from MSRP but you have to buy a good bit. If you sell lots of paint, that isn't bad. But, with the new line, you are going 6 times 145 boxes of paint (Paint from Citadel is shipped in boxes of 6 BTW) times $2.22 USD wholesale. So a basic full rack will run $1934 wholesale. That's before primer, tools, etc. Holy crap, that is a LOT of money for an FLGS to invest in something that will take the sale of a TON o' paint to make their cost back. That is assuming that they aren't discounting their paints.

As you can tell from looking at one of those old racks, there isn't any extra space. (If you ever wondered what it's like to start a game store, the link should give you an idea) There are also some pretty strong embargoes against using the racks for anything other than Citadel paints. So, with the new line coming out, retailers are going to have to really lay out a huge amount of cash to get the new line and the new paint rack. Meanwhile, they still have a big supply of their old Citadel paints they either take the loss and sell them at a steep discount or stick with them until they run out and hope people will buy them still. FYI, the racks themselves are traditionally provided free by the manufacturer since they inhance their sales. It's the carrot to their minimum order stick.

TAP had a real chance to sneak into the marketplace with some size by giving people an option of selling a line of really really good paints, washes, etc as well as encouraging people to venture into using their sprays. Retailers costs are so much lower for them unlike Citadel to get their entire line. Well, with the delay, that really means that retailers, at least in the US, have the option of Vallejo & P3. TAP really did have a big chance. I for one hope they are able to do as well and become as popular as I know they should be.
I really do wish TAP well and look forward to seeing their paint racks up close.

Dear reader, a postscript. The fine people over at The War Store provided an AMAZING paint conversion guide between new and old lines of Citadel paints as well as Vallejo paint lines. Kudos gents, kudos. Here is the link for the PDF conversion chart.

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Magnification While Painting and the whole "Tabletop Standards" Thing

Seriously, I value your input. Do you paint with any magnification? Do you believe in "tabletop standard" as the standard? Do you think people put perfection in the way of good? Let me know.

 

Do you use something like this when you paint?

I never have, even when I was painting up my 2mm Macedonians. I actually own one and use it while I'm looking at my stamp collection. If you have never experienced an Ott-Lite, you are missing something. Basically, it's a genuinely pure white light without any yellowing or harshness. Perfect for reading, painting, etc. Now anyone who's seen my painting stand knows I have two Ott-Lite lamps on my desk. Or to be more accurate, two cheap Home Depot desk lamps with Ott-Lite bulbs in them. I can't get over what a please they are to paint with. There is no "oh crap, I didn't realize the colors were that off" moments. 

IDEA

What brings this up is I went over to a friends house, Mr Gadget Freak, and he had a really cool setup. He was using a USB connected microscope, actually an endoscope. His wasn't a cheap one, it was actually a medical grade one, but he had it connected to his laptop. That way, he had an exploded view, and pretty decent resolution at that, of his work while iHeartRadio was playing. 

 
Funny but I had the real feeling that I was watching a painting tutorial by Romain from Beasts of War. Kind of expensive for a really good one but that does make me wonder. Hmmmm. Cheap ones might not be as clear but even blurry-ish images blown up to my 15" screen could be useful. It would really help you get in nice and close to view your models as you paint them and give you more brush control.

Problem

Paralax. The first problem I have with it is unlike traditional jewelers headsets, you aren't looking directly at what it is you are painting. It is easily doable with practice, I did it all the time when I was teaching and used an Elmo Document Camera. Still, it is not ideal.

Cost. The inexpensive USB magnifiers are pretty crappy as they use software for zooming. Bascially, they are live feeds from really bad quality digital cameras with macro lenses. Also, even the cheapest digital ones are still more pricey than the traditional jewelers visor that I sometimes wear. 

Focus. No, not focus as in clear images. I mean focus in the metapysical sense. I've painted everything from 2mm all the way to 57mm. Being on the internet and also being wildly guilty of it myself, I notice sometimes that people forget what their goal is. By my guess, 99.5% of people know that they are never going to win a Golden Daemon for painting and frankly don't aspire to. One of my great criticisms of certain corporate tabletop wargame chains is that they keep stressing Golden Daemon level paiting for the sake of selling more stuff at the expense of discouraging hobbyists. 

I'm a strong believer in tabletop quality for tabletop models. If you are putting a model on display, then go for it I say. However, most of us actually intend to use our toy soldiers for the purpose in which they were created: playing a tabletop wargame. "Tabletop" has become an almost snear from people. I heard it used usually as a knock from one painter to another when I managed a game store. "Oh, it's tabletop for sure but not bad." Frankly, we need to remember that we are viewing the models usually from about six feet away. So, QUIT FOCUSING ON YOUR MODELS FROM 6 INCHES AWAY darn it. 

There is absolutely no need for someone painting a stand of 2mm Macedonians to worry about painting each man in the Phalanx individually. Unless you use a magnifying glass, you'll never ever see the details. 

Digital Cameras. I think one of the other HUGE elemnts of people moaning about Tabletop Standard is the use of digital cameras. Frankly, even cell phones much less the cheapest Chinese digital camera on the market can take some pretty darn good macro shots. Again, people are taking, myself included, some really good up close and personal shots of their work. Problem is, we are forgetting nobody should be looking at the models that close normally. 

Looking at the models on the Flames of War website, you would think that they look like crap. Up close, yes, they do. However you aren't supposed to look at either of these pictures up close. The whole point of the FoW painting style as well as the whole school of Pointalism is that YOU AREN"T SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT THEM UP CLOSE. The distance is what causes the light to play tricks and make something oh so much more beautiful as you step away from it. 

 

Seriously, do you notice the difference? Same things, just viewed at the distances that they were intended to be viewed at. 

 

Ok, so I have ranted along for almost 900 words now... my point is, don't let perfection be the enemy of good. 

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Review of Plastic Soldier Company 15mm Soviet Troops

I am trying out Plastic Soldier miniatures for the first time. Overall, my impression of their Soviet Infantry box is that it provides great plotnost. On opening the box, I was immediately impressed. I'm used to metal models being crammed into blisters, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that, it's just that it's a change. The sprue does lead to significantly less bending of weapons etc on the models though the debate of metal bendage vs. plastic breakage once assembled goes on. Two things immediately stood out to me as being very impressive. One is the painting guide, the other is the packaging.

PAINTING GUIDE

 

DEAD LORD, WHY DON'T MORE COMPANIES DO THIS? I know that everyone and their dog has their own Space Marine paint scheme but for historical miniatures, there is a pretty set way of painting Even with Napoleonics you have a relatively limited color scheme for the models included in a box. The one included with the box recommended Vallejo paints but the guide and color swatches are an absolute time saver as are the examples of two painted models.

Yes, I'm using my own colors and paint scheme but it's still pretty useful, especially for the beginning gamer. Kudos Plastic Soldier company, kudos.

 

PACKAGING

 

The front artwork is pretty darn good as well as giving you an idea of what color scheme to use. It's not the overdone CGI infused artwork that GW provides or the overly Gothic fantasy that Privateer Press provides on their boxes. It's a pretty decent battle scene that could have very easily come from some historical painting. I feel like I'm doing a review of Christina Hendricks: while the front of the package is really nice looking, it's the back end that really floats my boat.

The back end is where the aforementioned painting guide is. The thing that is a “killer app” for me is the clear window. Why more companies don't do this more often really surprises me. I imagine it's not a design issue but a fiscal issue. Being able to see exactly what the sprues look like is a real amazing thing. I hate buying a GW box and only having the CGI enhanced artwork on front to let me really know what's inside. With Plastic Soldier Company, you get to see exactly what you are buying. Yes, you get to see what you're buying if you get a Battlefront or Battle Honours blister but they are usually pretty jumbled in there. Lastly, I like being able to see that these models are indeed multi-part models that are going to need to be assembled. This is a change from most of the metal 15mm models I've done recently.

As a retailer, I would LOVE this as it really gives me a big up on trying to sell these to a customer. Being able to actually show product to buyers is a real plus. If I'm not doing the sale, the customer picking up the box and seeing the actual contents for themselves is a huge selling point. It really does give you a great impression of the quality of the models and the quality of the sculpts.

 

SCULPTS

 

Here is my one minor criticism of the packaging. The front illustration does show quite clearly a Maxim crew. For Flames of War, the Maxims are heavy machine guns and would not come with an infantry box. The back of the box very clearly states that there are 6 NCOs, 45 riflemen/submachinegunners, and 6 LMGs with loaders. The LMG sculpts are a departure from the way Battlefront and Battle Honours have their sculpts laid out. For game purposes, it doesn't matter. Personally, I live the variation. It does break up the monotony of having the same sculpts over and over.

The first thing that stands out to me is the fact that they include women soldiers. /soapbox It really chaps my hide that people really downplay the incredibly important role that women play in war, especially in the Great Patriotic War. sidenote: Dr. Ruth was a trained Israeli sniper. She can cure your sexual disfunction and shoot you at 800 yards. While women were used primarily as support personel and snipers, they still did play an important role and I like that they include them. 

The models, and this may be just me, are a bit thinner than others. I believe this is due to the fact that PSC is using plastic injection molding and not metal spin casting. That does allow for some finer casts IMHO. The officers are decent. I will most assuredly be painting them with blue pants. Not historically accurate per se but I really love the look. The DP-28 gunners have a great amount of detail on their stomachs but it hurts that nobody will ever see them. Riflemen are in, by my count, 5 seperate poses. That is a nice bit of variation. Now one real gem is the soldiers throwing grenades are equipped with PPSHs. I'm debating seperating them and just mountin them as PPSH squads but probably won't given I don't need them. 

 

PLASTIC

 

I will admit, when I first pulled them from the box I was a little bit worried. The edges of the sculpts seemed “soft” compared to most. However, once I primed them I realize it's largely an optical illusion because the plastic is a really light, almost translucent white/grey color. The plastic itself is pretty lightweight but then that impression may stem from me being used to working with heavier 28mm sprues. The plastic is a bit softer than GW plastic so it is a good bit easier to work with. Oddly enough, I'm used to having to remove mold lines on my models. The PSC models I have don't seem to have that problem. I couldn't imagine doing 130 models with GW plastic and not spending a good while cleaning up mold lines. Again, this may be explicable that they are from new molds but there also seems to be a real lack of flash. Now that I think about it, my Battlefront miniatures didn't have the level of flash that I'm used to working with. Odd.

 

I think that casting in plastics (and that does include resins) is a delicate art that encompases a fine balance between speed of casting, cost of production, sharpness of lines, brittleness, and risk of casting erors (which includes mold lines, flash, and bubbling). The Plastic Soldier Company models really very near if on indeed in the center of that Venn diagram.

 

They do come off the sprue pretty cleanly thanks to the softer plastic. That really is a huge advantage if you are painting on the sprue like I am. Just make sure that your clippers are sharp and lacking pock marks from having clipped pins during pinning projects.

 

SUMMARY

 

Overall, I can't stress how much I really love these Plastic Soldier Company models. I am blown away by the overall value that provide. The plastic on the models seems to be a real sweet spot on the soft/brittle scale. The sprues lack the flash and mold lines I'm used to dealing with when doing GW models. The sculpts themselves are perfectly sharp and detailed for 15mm and fit in quite nicely with my Battlefront and Battle Honours miniatures. Overall, it's a win/win for me. I look forward to getting my hand on some of their Soviet armor and giving them a spin.

 

Side Note

I'm in the process of painting them right now. I'm going to do a week long once a day post showing my progress showing how to use assembly line painting techniques in order to get a large volume of painting done while maintaining your quality of work. The first of the articles should post in a couple days. I'm giving myself a bit of a head start just in case I don't actually finish painting and basing all 130 models in a week. When it comes to painting, I am indeed a machine, much like the glorious Soviet state

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A big shot across GW and the industries bow by Privateer Press

GW's biggest competitor in the skirmish game market has been Privateer Press. Yes, Mantic has done amazing things and made inroads with their fantasy and new science fiction lines, but Privateer Press along with their Warmachine and Hordes products are the games that keep GW up at night. Privateer has always constructed their game by one of their mottos: Play like you got a pair. The rulesets encourage aggresive play. The rulesets also encourage using small armies (when compared to GW), thereby saving gamers money.

Personally, I have a Trollbloods army and love them. The cost of getting my army up to speed was probably the cost of a batallion box and a command blister. For GW, that is barely enough to have the bare minimum units. Forget about playing a decent sized game, that's barely enough to do starter battles. No, for the same cost, I'm able to get a really playable army. What is this about? VALUE

The Value Issue: Gross cost is something that frankly doesn't bother most people. What bothers most people, and what GW seems to forget, is that consumers tend not to be price sensitive but are value sensitive. What is value? Bang for the buck. Frankly, $200 won't get you much at a GW store, especially if you are just starting out. You can get a battalion box, a codex, and maybe a bister. For the same amount, I got a starter set of Trollbloods, a full deck so I can proxy, and three or four boxes of additional units.  Feeling. I have faith that most people are like myself and will sit and look at the $200 they've spent and think that they got a much greater value from the Privateer purchase than the GW purchase.


So What Is The Hubub About First, and I think significant but not indiciative of GW's screwed up culture, is the release of Khondor Colossal. This news was broken by the awesome fellows and lady over the The D6 Generation. (If you've never listened to their free podcast, you are missing out.) This screams "we're here and we are entering into the Super Heavy marketplace." So, fans of ridiculously oversized models, you don't have to rely on Games Workshop Titans. Plus, Privateer is making them usable in regular games and not forcing you to buy and learn yet another ruleset ala' Apoc. Jeff Wilhelm did the sculpts and I must say that they are beautiful.

 
The thing I'm most excited about and frankly I think says so much about our industry is the second sweet morsel of news. That is the pending release of <cue musical fanfare> The War Room. Take a brief look below and then see my comments as to why this little bit of code is really important.  

Game Changer? This is a piece of software that I feel will make the game easier, much more user friendly, less logistics tracking driven, and frankly faster. That is what I think most people want in a game. Of course, you would never ever see GW doing something like releasing the software like this for free. Chances are, you'd have to buy a copy of White Dwarf, pay a monthly license fee, and agree to name your next born child Tom Kirby. I know that Army Builder serves a similar function. However, it's far from free, very far from being liked by GW since they are convinced it allows you to build armies without having purchased a codex, and not nearly as functional ala' wound tracking and list checking. Seriously. This is a beautiful piece of software. I think it may be a game changer in the tabletop industry. I know people have been murmuring in the industry about using technology to enhance gameplay at the tabletop level. I think that this is something that may really signal the future.  

Of course, GW will come late to the party, they'll make it more expensive and much more laborious and DRM locked, and they will call it groundbreaking and an industry first.

Still, I am very glad to see this bit of innovation in the tabletop gaming industry. It may not be perfect but by golly, War Room is the future of the industry.   Am I blowing smoke? Let me know what you think.

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Pinning of the year award goes to...

This little gem came from Yahoo News.

Dentist accused of paper clip use in root canals

Sorry, but this is indeed how the world sees most dentists

Ok. I love metal models, that is well known. I am also pretty darn good when it comes to the pin vise. However, this guy wins the award for most amazing pinning. You know, this is probably GW's fault. NOWHERE on their package of their pin vise does it say "This is not for medical/dental use". 

I have seen a LOT of freaky things done thanks to pinning but he does win the award hands down for top pinning. I wonder, did he use accelerator?

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Grey Knights Humor

This was stolen from Chief Lackey Rich over at TMP.
The Six Chants of Denial for the Grey Knights:

The Chant of Denying That Finecast Was A Very Bad Idea

The Chant of Denying That Our Games Have Any Balance Issues

The Chant of Denying That Accountants Dictate Our Actions

The Chant of Denying That There Are Better Minis Out There

The Chant of Denying That That There Are Much Cheaper Minis Too

The Chant of Denying That Squats Could Be A Profitable Range

Quite Funny. If you've never been to The Miniatures Page, you owe it to yourself to take a look. They don't focus on any one scale or period and the site can be a bit tricky to navigate at first but they are a good group of people.

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Amazing Color Theory Primer

When I worked for GW, I used to sell the heck out of their painting guide since it had a wonderful primer on color theory and how to select complimentary colors. It was one of the few things that made the book quite valuable since the books pretty agressively encourage people to paint their minis one way or the other thanks to the "official" paint schemes. Once again, Beasts of War and Romain specifically have done an AMAZING job teaching us or refreshing and even I'd say extending our knowledge of color theory. You owe it to your painting skills to check the videos below out. 

As always, Romain manages to play to stereotype of the trained French artist and manages to give his pompous sneers to the camera. However, I think it adds to his charm. Part of me says that he would be an interesting guy to have a beer and bbq with assuming you can avoid hitting him repeatedly or making some garlic munching comments. 

 

I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did. I look forward to trying some of the ideas out. 

Oh, try and tell me that this image doesn't SCREAM for some photoshoping. 

Cheers and Happy New Year!

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