Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wargames Factory 15mm Germans Review

Some of the newest 1/100th scale (15mm) miniatures to reach the market are from Wargames Factory.  The first box set is WWII German Infantry Company Late War.

Wargames Factory - Fresh from the store


The box set contains

  • 84 figures
  • 2 mortars (each in two pieces)
  • 16 "medium" bases for squads 
  • 8 "small" bases for command or special teams
Retail price that I've seen is a consistent $19.99

Each of the figures is a single piece - no gluing arms or heads to torsos...

Inside the box are four sprue (two identical sets of figures and two identical sets of bases)

Box Contents - Four Sprues

I am very impressed with the quality of the scupts and the manufacturing.  The figures have excellent detail: ridges on the gas mask canister, webbing wrapped around blanket rolls, ammo pouches along the belts, and very nicely sculpted folds in the uniform fabric.  There appears to be little to no flash and undetectable parting lines.  

The bases are just slightly larger than the Battlefront versions.  I estimate about 1/16" longer and wider, and the corners are square instead of rounded.  

By my count, it appears that there are 21 unique sculpts.  Per sprue: some sculpts are a single figure, for example a kneeling infantry with a Panzerschreck, and range to a maximum of 6 figures of the same sculpt (standing infantry with scoped rifle).

The Wargame Factory figures appear to be true 1/100th scale, and because they are made of hard plastic, the proportions of the figures are more true to life than figures made from metal.  I believe one could easily mix a platoon of Wargame Factory figures with platoons of Battlefront or Old Glory/Command Decision figures on the table.  However, I don't think one could effectively mix the figures within a platoon or on the same base.  The difference would be noticeable that close together.

Below is a size comparison.  I tried to find figures as close to the same pose as possible to compare.

From Left to Right: Wargames Factory, Battlefront, Command Decision

Wargames Factory got it right; these figures are excellent - high quality manufacturing combined with very good sculpts.  And, at $19.99, these figures may be the absolute best value on the shelves at the moment.




4 comments:

  1. They're not the best value. Plastic Soldier Company has a greater variety of poses, less of the green-army-men-look, and no repetition on the sprue for less cost per guy.

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  2. I agree Plastic Soldier Company also makes a good product. (I just recently built some of their Panzer IV, which I'll be reviewing in the near future.) However, both PSC and WF figures are about $0.23 to $0.24 per figure - PSC $30/130 figures and WF $20/84 figures. Plus, WF comes with bases, where PSC does not. The inclussion of bases tips the $/figure cost in favor of WF. There's room for both companies in the marketplace, and competition is always a good thing to drive quality and variety up while keeping costs down.

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  3. How do you think they rate in terms of durability? Looks like the fine details like rifles might snap off easily in transit or in general use.

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  4. I don't think normal use will result in broken models.

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