Monday 24 July 2017

Perry Good...

Apologies dear reader, I couldn't resist the very poor title.

Recently I had the opportunity to play a learning game of Kings of War.



Being the indecisive type I ummed and ahhhed over whether I was going to collect this game (having quite enough games on my shelves already), and then over which army I might collect *if* I chose to...

Having already purchased a couple of boxes of plastics for use with Mordheim, I thought a fairly easy jump-in point would be to use the left overs as the basis for my army, so Kingdoms of Men (a catch-all army) seemed the easiest option.

First off let me say that Kings of War was a remarkably simple game, the stat line is minimal and the game play is straightforward. It is a very beer and pretzels style of game, where large armies can clash, fight for victory and head home for a pint of the best afterwards. The learning game I played was large enough, and was over in around an hour. There is a risk, when designing a simple game, of removing tactical depth, now I am hardly qualified (after one play) to judge Kings of War appropriately, but I enjoyed the game immensely. The choices you make impact the game significantly. The positioning of your units, the timing of your movements, your ability to attack a flank or outnumber your foe are all significant factors that require some thought both in deployment and maneuver. I'll write more on the game as I gain experience, but thus far I am impressed. I had a lot of fun, and am particularly thrilled to have found a big battle game that plays as quickly and simply as a skirmish game.



Having now (finally) begun to assemble my force I felt particularly inspired to comment on a singular observation: Perry Miniatures make some absolutely stunning figures. I have been putting together men-at-arms and archers from the 'English Army 1415-1429' box, and they are brilliant.



I am increasingly disliking the exaggerated miniatures produced at the 28mm scale, with over-sized weapons and proportions... it must be my age. As I have been putting the Perry figures together my appreciation for their quality and excellence has grown significantly. I enjoyed painting the ones I put together for my Mordheim band, I love the look of the Napoleonics models I have assembled for Sharp Practice, and the bases of miniatures coming together for my Kings of War force look stunning.


One of the sprues from the box (obviously archers), which provides some nice choices. The different sprues provide a different range of options; the men-at-arms ones had a variety of weapon choices.


All the pieces snipped off the sprue and trimmed, ready to be glued together and based. I am multi-basing the units for Kings of War.





The crisp detail in these figures is absolutely brilliant, the historical aesthetic, with good proportions and a variety of poses and expressions is also excellent (though the expressions are hard to note on those wearing full armour!). Each of the men-at-arms came with a detached visor which could be added (as above), glued as if raised (below), or not added at all.



Perry Miniatures are some of the absolute best quality figures I own. I know companies like Games Workshop and others have a reputation for producing high quality plastics, but for me, Perry Miniatures has become a favourite. The detail, variety of options, price and aesthetic are all huge ticks as far I am concerned. They are truly excellent, and well worth looking at.

Some Perry figures painted up for my Averlander warband for Mordheim.











9 comments:

  1. I think the units will look better if they are a little denser, though I suppose you have them spread out for when you get around to painting them. You could just bluetac them to the base as a temporary measure though while you play.

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    1. The smaller number of models on the multibase is so that you need fewer models to play the game with or it means that you can effectively double the size of your force that you currently have because you need half the models to represent it.

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    2. Yeah - I know what you mean Trent. To be honest though I am not a huge fan of densely packed infantry - unless they are spear or pike or something similar. The main goal here is to spread the figures out, make the bases look somewhat dynamic and end up with a larger army with the figures I have! :D

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Michał! Now, if I could just get as nice a paint job on them as you manage!

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  3. I couldn't agree with you more, sir. Perry Miniatures are by far and away the best miniatures on the market. And having recently completed painting an old splat of a sculpt by Gripping Beast, you can probably guess how delighted I am to be able to get back to my Perry Napoleonics!

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    1. I keep look guiltily at my British... they would look so nice painted! :D But then... I do so little painting, and have so many things in the queue ahead of them...

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  4. I should add, your concise review of Kings of War has made me cave in and add it to my wish list. They do an historical variant which I have been intrigued with for a while...

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    1. I enjoyed the game a lot. I believe you can download the rules - if you're curious I'd suggest downloading that and playing with foam board cut outs or similar. I'd be tempted by the Historical version if I wasn't already committed to Sword and Spear!! (and I still yet may take a look at it)

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