Wednesday, 10 January 2018

And now for something completely different....


The Old Guard in MDF no less....

I came across something rather novel being produced by a company called Commission Figurines which, inevitably, got me thinking. Essentially, as well as a very nice selection of terrain pieces the company have launched a range of 6mm MDF figures. That’s right – MDF. At present Napoleonics and ACW are available and the first of an Ancient range is being launched. These are quite intriguing to look at and certainly give the whole ‘wooden poses’ concept some mileage. Presumably due to limitations of production the figures are fairly static looking but that rather adds to the charm in an old fashioned way. The figures are laser cut from 2mm thick MDF and have detail etched into the surface of the figure which adds to the ease of painting. These are for all intents and purposes ‘flats’ and therefore are a whole lot easier to get ready for action (no offence intended for the ‘flat’ painters amongst us….). 

The poses are quite rigid which works well for certain periods, in fact they put me in mind of the Histoire and Collections uniform plates. Cost wise they are fairly cheap - £2 will get you around 96 foot including command, 30 odd mounted or 6 guns and crews with limbers. 

Curiosity has gotten the better of me and so I have placed a small order for some, just to see how they paint up. The thought crossed my mind that you may well be able to get away with a black wash undercoat and then blocking in colours with ink or paint pens rather than using a brush.  

En masse they look pretty impressive and I believe a review appeared in the January edition of Wargames Illustrated.
 
Sigh....something else to think about....
 
 
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13 comments:

  1. WSTKS-FM Worldwide10 January 2018 at 10:35

    These look and sound really very interesting! Of course it would be sheer folly, and as the late Brigadier Young and Colonel Lawford noted lead to "madness", to embark on another collection. In 6mm no less. Still. . .

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

    ReplyDelete
  2. David Crook10 January 2018 at 11:22

    Hi Stokes,

    As Oscar Wilde once said...."I can resist anything except temptation...."

    I think there is a lot of potential with this idea and I will be interested to see how far it goes.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lee10 January 2018 at 15:42

    Wow! Now these are really interesting and something I had not seen before, MDF come of age. My first thought was that they would be perfect to replace the blocks for C&C Napoleonics, something about the style would sit well with the board game and the challenge of painting them well would be... well, challenging, but worth the effort. A quick glance at the web site has been enough for me to prepare a small order to see them in the flesh. Thank you for bringing them to my attention.

    Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David Crook10 January 2018 at 16:14

    Hi Lee,

    Funnily enough I had a similar thought and when you notice that Napoleonics, ACW and Ancients feature one has to wonder if the designers had a similar idea!

    I will be interested to hear your thoughts on them when yours arrive.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jim Jackaman10 January 2018 at 20:24

    If these came ready painted like the Sarissa mdf buildings, that would be great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. David Crook10 January 2018 at 20:44

    Hi J,

    That would indeed be a bonus! Sadly they have to be painted.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  7. Geordie an Exiled FoG10 January 2018 at 21:23

    MDF laser cut versus 3D printing
    MDF looks like the clear winner on cost alone
    Like you said David
    The appeal comes slightly from that awkward wooden look that benefits from teh en masse

    I am going to have to watch this one!
    Looking forward to the next post

    ReplyDelete
  8. Geordie an Exiled FoG10 January 2018 at 21:25

    PS David

    I was looking back at your old posts (circa 2010) and was wondering where have all your pictures gone?

    Is this the curse of Flickr or Blogger
    Is there a time limit?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Geordie an Exiled FoG10 January 2018 at 21:29

    No pictures at this point:

    http://awargamingodyssey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/ancients-napoleonics-andfantasy.html

    Is there some space limit we all have to watch out for?

    ReplyDelete
  10. David Crook10 January 2018 at 21:51

    Hi Geordie,

    I was very intrigued by these figures so it was inevitable I would succumb....

    I will let you know what they are like as and when they arrive.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  11. David Crook10 January 2018 at 21:54

    Hi Geordie,

    I dont know if it still the case but I had a phase of not being able to upload any photos as I had reached the limit allowed. This was a while ago so I removed some pictures to make room for some new ones. I dont think there is a limit as such now.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mike Strefford11 January 2018 at 13:55

    I saw them at Warfare and thought they looked really interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  13. David Crook11 January 2018 at 14:39

    Hi Mark,

    They certainly caught my eye for sure. I have a modest order in just to see what they look like so will report in due course.

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete