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DRM in 2008 and beyond

 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:13 am 
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Well it is Christmas so we can always hope.

What I would like to see is more heavy wepons teams for the Pax, light & medium mortars, missile launchers, twin AA guns on ground mount and tripod mounter beam gun.

Next, trike, quads and quads with trailer for my jungle and rpid deployment force.

A terminator style heavy power armor to support my infantry against lizards and robots.

On a longer term, bioengineered aliens based on canine, feline, ursoid and/or gorillas that have higher IQ level. These would have been bioengineered to serve as mercenary to one of the future race but have now evolve as private mercenary units made up of these creatures plus humand & lizards, using a diversity of weapons and hired by various Pax lords to supplement their own armies.

You could end up with a lizard army fighting a regular Pax unit augmented by an auxilliairy unit comprising some lizards & lizards weapons and some reprogrammed robots

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:57 am 
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Quote: (Templar @ 25 Dec. 2008, 04:13 )

gorillas that have higher IQ level

OW !  OW ! OW !  Planet of the Apes type force !!   :)   Kind'a like Orks but Apes !!  :agree:

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:28 pm 
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I like Legions 4 idea on a planet of the Apes type Army. But I will buy tons of the Pax forces. So if you get a new idea for the Pax forces put it out.


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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:05 am 
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Really, really like the Pax lot, the other races just don't do it for me (yet) very impressive though they are. Am really looking forward to some of the teaser pieces previously posted about though, they excited me!

Terrain bits would be a good addition as would Arty crews as mentioned before.

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:23 pm 
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Quote: (CyberShadow @ 21 Dec. 2008, 22:12 )

Miniatures... what do you think has not been executed as well as you would have liked? Also, what about the general style of the minis, any comments or feedback there?

Hmm.  Haven't noticed this topic before, but I might vent about something that's been on my mind, regarding the above quote.

Back when DRM and EW started up I was excited that there were new 6mm producers with a variety of Epic-compatible minis (and a full set of photos of the same!), and I was impressed by some of the white milliput vehicle 'greens' I saw.  I bought... not loads, but a fair amount.
Now?  Years later the novelty's worn off.  Whenever I pull the minis from the bottom of the lead pile, I'm cast a more critical eye and I'm less satisfied with them every time.  The reason, IMO, is why I lumped DRM and EW together in this post: I think Bob Naismith's having a laugh.

I'm probably the only person who thinks this, and I can list a few good reasons why:

- They're only 6mm minis.  Individual detail and quality isn't important at arm's length on a 6x4 board.
- The infantry, at least, are sculpted very quickly - I'd guess this drives down the cost for DRM. (Doug once told me how long Naismith takes to sculpt a single 6mm infantry figure.  I had to take a moment.)
- With GW's lack of support for SG and Epic, you take what alternative minis and games you can get.  Beggars can't be choosers.

To be honest, for me (very personally) the only one of those points with much merit is that speedy sculpting might keep the cost down for Doug and Tom.

I'm a stickler for good-quality sculpting, in any size and scale.  Not that 6mm has to have the same level of detail and artistry as 54mm (of course not); but IMO Bob Naismith's minis for DRM and EW are substandard.  They look rushed, blobby, and in places malformed.  Look at the Pax Arcadia Reg HQ in the store.  Look at the guy on the furthest right.  What's up with that?  The effect becomes worse in larger minis, approaching the size of 28mm minis, that should have more attention spent on them.  It's a problem GW has with certain Epic and Warmaster minis, e.g. larger daemons.
Take the Skyth for instance.  I was looking forward to these but I'm kind of disappointed.  Perhaps the process of taking photos of tiny, painted, based miniatures adds to the problem; but I have trouble making out more than the basic shape of the small infantry, and what I see looks like a bit of a mess, sorry.  Unfortunately I don't think the situation improves with the medium beasties.  To be blunt, they look like a random collection of soft, blobby details and textures gathered together into a rough animal or insectoid shape.
The vehicles are better, but there's a slight problem in design in that the detail looks more and more like the random discs and squares that they are.  The bigger problem is that details that are supposed to be symmetrical, aren't.  Bits are noticeably skewed, differently-positioned and even differently-sized.  The lance hoverscout, for instance, has two lateral guns.  One hugs tight to one side, but the other is out on it's own, attached only at the base.  Rushed in design and execution, I think.
In general design, most are good, but some give me headaches.  I've been looking at hammerjacks too long, and I'm not at all sure how the vorace moves it's legs.

I know some of GW's 6mm has an advantage in being designed and sculpted as 3-ups for plastic production, including some of the stuff that's now metal.  But while some of those are maybe less detailed than DRM infantry, I think they look better.  Better proportions, or more careful execution, or something.  GW's new metals (Vehicles mostly.  Any new infantry?) are also sharper and less skewed.  Or compare Max's Necrons to Bob's on-the-side infantry.  No comparison, in my opinion.

I just sold a bunch of DRM tanks and EW infantry in preparation for EW's modular tanks.  I'm keeping my DRM industrial infantry (They are good proxies for skitarii, but I wouldn't mind sharper versions) but for IG proxies I'm not so sure I'd go with the current minis from either company.

Whew.  That was longer than I intended.  I know it'll hardly make much of an impact but hopefully I made some sense.





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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:37 pm 
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Well of course, I'm a DRM-E/W fanboy ... so I think all of their stuff painted up will look fine. As much as I liked the F/W Gray Knights ... much of the detail is imperceptable...

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:32 am 
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I did say I'm probably the only person who feels that way. :laugh:  Not that I enjoy that arrangement.

Oh, and I was looking at my EW Enforcer SHTs the other day, and only really noticed the tracks then.  Single, haphazard sculpting tool marks define the individual treads.  Bob Naismith is having a laugh.  The lowliest hobby sculptor on these forums puts in a heck of lot more care and attention.


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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:58 am 
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Well .... I like'm, so for me that is all that counts ... :))  :vD  8v)

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:35 am 
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Remind me never to have you as my boss Vermis...  :laugh:  :;):

I'm happy with my DRM and EW. At least they don't have their tracks stuck on backwards like certain GW vehicles...

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:27 am 
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Yeah, what is up with that.  Just got some second hand E:A Chimera and Hydras....I thought someone was taking the p#ss.

While I do like most of the EW and DRM infantry, they are a little variable.  Some are awesome (Kraytonian Bodyguards and Mounted Bounty hunters spring rapidly to mind), but in the DRM infantry packs I have there's usually one pose that looks too improbable for me to use.  This is usually offset by 4 other really good ones, and I've made second orders of some types despite this.

My major issue is the track/wheel/bogie/sprocket detail on the tanks.  It's just too simplistic for me.  I have bought the Enforcers but I can't bring myself to use them.  I would have liked to use the DRM Mammoths (as, ironically, Mammoths) but ended up paying a lot more for SG Ragnaroks.

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:34 pm 
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Quote: (Vermis @ 27 Apr. 2009, 15:23 )

Snipped the valid and well expressed opinions.

Many thanks for this. It is only be this kind of feedback that we can improve and work out what the player 'on the ground' wants. I will go over your post again and send some comments on to Doug and we will talk them through. I do think that 6mm (of most flavours) is going through a bit of a 'dead end' right now in an attempt to grab detail on a single figure, and perhaps this effort cuold be channelled better.

When we have discussed this, I may drop you a quick PM to get some further thoughts from you, if you dont mind.

All the best.

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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:56 pm 
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Quote: (CyberShadow @ 28 Apr. 2009, 13:34 )

Quote: (Vermis @ 27 Apr. 2009, 15:23 )

Snipped the valid and well expressed opinions.

Many thanks for this. It is only be this kind of feedback that we can improve and work out what the player 'on the ground' wants. I will go over your post again and send some comments on to Doug and we will talk them through. I do think that 6mm (of most flavours) is going through a bit of a 'dead end' right now in an attempt to grab detail on a single figure, and perhaps this effort cuold be channelled better.

When we have discussed this, I may drop you a quick PM to get some further thoughts from you, if you dont mind.

All the best.

Vermis concerns are well stated indeed....  But to the contrary i'd note that addressing them raises some larger issues about 6-8mm figure design: not least, its terribly hard to please the painter and the gamer with the same miniature or set of miniatures.

There's a good piece of advice (maybe tuffskull's) that small-scale miniatures are best painted as a stand, not individually -- which raises the question of whether the figures provide enough interest and variability to compose an interesting stand. For infantry, the implications are relatively clear, though for vehicles, it may mean that optional stowage, open hatches, and/or decals are a fair trade-off for quickly sculpted tracks.

In short, some decisions have to be made about whether to provide beautiful individual sculpts for painters to paint one by one, or whether to provide sculptures that function well on the gaming table... and the smaller the miniatures get, the more distinct these two strategies become.

E.g. for the gamer, the most important elements of the 6mm miniature may well be the knees/ankles, and the gun barrel -- no matter how well sculpted, it aint going to look good on the table if it is bent or broken.  Secondarily... dramatic and varied poses are probably more important (particularly for a modern/sci-fi range) than well-sculpted noses -- facial details, even details of the helmet, will tend to be lost, but the overall composition of the stand will make a difference.

... and, oh by the way... it's interesting to note that one particular detail on the Mainforce modern/wwii minis probably wins them the title of 'most realistic' minis for the period: they're all prone, as any good grunt should be.

But then of course epic is a spin-off of a world of bolters and bright blue armor...





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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:34 pm 
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I forwarded this post to both Doug & Tom, C/S  just so they know what is going on ... And we've been e-pals with them for years.  But again as far as detail ... I'm all for it ... however as with the F/W Epic Grey Knights ... sometimes I had to look at a pic of the 40K version to see what I was painting ...  :sus:  And of course I too think for example the Lizardmen, Khazari etc. ... look good to me ...  :))   But I'm easy !  8v)




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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:20 pm 
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Quote: (Carrington @ 28 Apr. 2009, 16:56 )

its terribly hard to please the painter and the gamer with the same miniature or set of miniatures.

In short, some decisions have to be made about whether to provide beautiful individual sculpts for painters to paint one by one, or whether to provide sculptures that function well on the gaming table...

Precisely. :))  I admit I sit pretty far to one side in this matter, but I don't think 6mm minis - infantry anyway - are the kind of thing CMoN was made for.

On that note, I also admit I've less of a problem with infantry than with larger minis.  6mm tanks and SHTs can have as much or more mass than human-sized 28mm minis, but in some cases it seems 6mm armour (and greater daemons) gets away with detail that would get 28mm booed off the stage.  On some forums.
But again, it comes down to whether you want gaming counters or sharply-defined replicas.  (Although I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive. :;): )

E.g. for the gamer, the most important elements of the 6mm miniature may well be the knees/ankles, and the gun barrel -- no matter how well sculpted, it aint going to look good on the table if it is bent or broken.


I agree, but at the same time I don't think 'sturdy' has to mean 'rushed job'.  Sorry to sound like I have a permanent downer on DRM, but in the industrial infantry some of the gun barrels and muzzle discs already seem a little crooked on the man body of the gun.
With the same old disclaimer that yeah, you have to look pretty closely. :laugh:

Mark: that was mild, compared to some rants against minis I used to make on the internets. :vD  Like I said, I am pretty pedantic and I'm not comfortable settling for minis when I think they could have been sculpted better.  Although that, and the rants, are saved for when I think the sculptor in question is easily capable of better.  Needless to say I'm especially frustrated when the sculptor is a reputable veteran like Bob Naismith - although I don't know what individual commission briefs ask for.

It's also why I started trying to sculpt myself, if I could get off my arse and finish a few things.

By coincidence there's a discussion about detail in 6mm historicals and sci-fi here, sparked off by some stuff I think Otterman's already seen.  (Hello Zandris IV, if you're reading this.  Nice work.)  Jed is the guy with the weird numbers-and-symbols username, and owns Antenociti's Workshop in the UK.  Sorry, though: he has a similar opinion of DRM's tank details as mine.
I've never seen GHQ 6mm WWII before.  It almost blew me out of my seat.  I know I've been whinging for "Better detail!  Better detail!" but I don't know if I'd push anyone to achieve that level, to look better. :laugh:





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 Post subject: DRM in 2008 and beyond
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:24 pm 
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