Epic Pike & Shotte, question about figures

[Matt Price]

I’ve been following the ACW and Napoleon “Epic” series of games, as that scale looks fun to me, but there’s something that really bugs …

Many of the figures look like they’re walking/marching, and not ready for combat.  I see that they’ve tried to address this a little with the pikemen in P&S in the front row lowering their pikes for combat, but all the soldiers with muskets are just standing there.  Why aren’t there ranks of men firing their weapons?  Was this a technical issue, with HIPS and the way the ranks had to be oriented?  I really wish they were able to figure this out, as it’s a bit of a bummer, to have row after row of dudes with muskets milling about.

(And to top it off, their “epic” scale seems to be somewhat proprietary (12-13mm?), no one else makes a scale that matches?  That’s frustrating!)

I really want to dive in with this new Epic starter set for P&S, but the game is about dramatic battles, not bored looking men marching about…

Any hope for individually molded infantry, or some technological breakthrough to get us more dynamic, combat poses?

[Charge The Guns]

Hi Matt, I think the pose is a limitation of the strip approach and the moulding process.  The pikemen ‘at porte’ with the pikes forward are sideways on the sprue (pics of the sprues on the Warlord site).  There are individual musketeers firing on the cavalry sprue to use as dismounted dragoons, commanded shot etc.  To get a strip of figures to work though they have to be relatively flat and hence the marching or standing pose.  If it is any consolation then I think that they spent most of their time in this pose rather than firing, but I can understand it is disappointing if you really like a firing pose.

As to the scale, I think of these figures as 15mm.  They measure around 13.5mm foot to eye, which is the weird measure everyone seems to focus on.  Most manufacturers will give a figure size for a range but 15mm or 28mm ends up being pretty vague and there is a massive variety between manufacturers of what their figures in a size ‘band’ look like.  The Warlord Epic scale ACW/Naps match some other manufactures 15mm but not others. This just seems to be “one of those things”.    I think different manufactures having subtlety different sizes for their figures is inevitable with the different designers and manufacturing processes being used.

I’m looking forward to seeing the range.

[Matt Price]

Thanks!  I’m very much looking forward to seeing the range too.  I’m also keen to hear from others, as the range hits the market, who might have suggestions on figures from that era in more dynamic poses that might sub in as the “shooting” line for the rows of musketeers.  Or maybe Warlord has plans to release individual figures, like their pikemen, firing their weapons.  We’ll see, I suppose!

Cheers

[Charge The Guns]

Hi Matt – I suggest you check out ‘Millers Miniatures’ YouTube channel and his latest video in which he reviews the actual sprues.  There are some nice single firing musketeers on the cavalry sprue.  He also compares the figures to Steel Fist Miniatures 15mm line and they look spot on to me.

https://youtu.be/oyc-gkSTqGk

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