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Figure ReviewsBy Gary LyonAs we all know, GW figures are ridiculously overpriced. So, in search of some cheaper alternatives, I looked at the Harlequin range. Now marketed by Black Tree designs they have a good web site (www.harlequin-miniatures.com ) with many pictures of their figures. Additionally they currently had (and still have) a marvellous offer whereby you can send them you old metal (unpainted) figures and they provide new ones at a ratio of 4:1. The figures are nicely modelled and go together well (I bought a selection of goblins and a giant) and half the price of GW and at compatible sizes. I can recommend them. Some drawbacks however - they charge a whopping £5 P&P regardless of size of order and despite this high charge my order took six weeks to arrive ! They are not doing any shows this year so its hard to get hold of their figures that way, you cannot rely on other traders that carry their ranges as I found out at Newark when the trader carrying Harlequin hadn't brought any fantasy figures (despite Newark being advertised as a fantasy show!). Some figures I did buy at Newark came from an old manufacturer - Tabletop. Previously his service has been abysmal. So it was with some foreboding that a paid for some figures at the Newark show to be dispatched once he had cast them (I wanted 30 and he didn't have enough at the show). They arrived in three weeks so this is one trader that seems to be more intent on serving his customers. The figures are of any older style (no slotta bases here) but at around 90p each make a welcome change from GW. Worth looking at for a bit of variety in your armies. More ReviewsBy Gary LyonStill in search of some cheaper alternatives to the overpriced offerings of Games Workshop I recently bought some figures from the Discount Miniatures range. They have quite a good web site (uk.oocities.com/discount_miniatures ) with many pictures of their figures. I bought some bases (which are nice, cheap and very similar to GW), some shields (cheaper than GW but not as good as the metal shields from Irregular), some plastic dwarves (20 for £5.49) and a metal troll. Postage was a reasonable £1.25 (for orders under £10) & they took about 10 days. The dwarves are fine for the money, being one-piece castings (apparently those from version 3 of Warhammer). I also ordered a troll to see what the metal castings were like but was not impressed as it was a rather featureless blob with loads of flash that wasn't worth the £1.09 it cost. All in all an interesting range with promise - but I would recommend getting some samples first in case the other metal figures are as poor as the troll. |