To Wofun or not Wofun that is the question!
God help me I’ve been in and out of their ruddy website for months, trying to make up my mind.
It’s appeal is obvious to the lazy gamer like me, limited prep and instant results. I think I’d paint the edges do over the bases to make them more presentable and use 3D artillery, but I’m still agonising over it.
I don’t like the eerie looking faces on some of their ranges but the Peter Dennis illustrated ones look quite nice.
My Baccus 6mm ECW lads are great but given their susceptibility to bendy pike syndrome they have to be handled with care. Would it be madness to do the same period with Peter Dennis illustrated flats? Have any of you guys (and possibly gals) given these serious consideration?
 |
| Wofun ECW flats |
Like you I have fought with this but have caved in and ordered 18mm Peninsular war.
ReplyDeleteA colleague has done the Marlburians his thoughts etc are here
https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/forums/topic/war-of-the-spanish-successin-18mm-wofun-games/
My own view if it gets me gaming in a period I haven’t got time to paint etc then that’s good.
Hi Graham, thanks for the link. I can feel my resolve failing and that order button being pressed. Might get ECW which I’m comfy with and then try AWI. Buggers are coming out with a Spanish Armada set in Feb as well. So many things to buy...and so little money!
DeleteDavid Crook over at 'Wargaming Odyssey' has bought some Wofun and was rather keen, I think, even when they sent the wrong size figures! See his entry from late December http://awargamingodyssey.blogspot.com/2020/12/wofun-and-games.html
ReplyDeleteand some earlier posts..
Given that they are coming from the EU, better check the postage rates and VAT!
Cheers David, another useful link. I’m not so much worried about the postage and the vat as the bloody things arriving at all. I’ve an order placed with Miniairons in Spain that has been “in transit” since mid December!
DeleteI have a buddy who does not like to paint, enjoys playing with miniatures, and loves Commands & Colors. WoFun was a perfect solution for him. He is having figures commissioned for the mid-19th Century Colonial Wars in Afghanistan and India. He also has WoFun armies for the Jacobites and Texas Revolution. He is quite pleased. Hopefully, one day, I can game with these armies F2F.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for weighing in on this Jonathan. Commissioned figures sounds like a great idea, I could think of half a dozen periods I’d l8ke to dabble in.
DeleteThey are very popular, but given the recent changes to import duties from the EU, the costs can be a lot more than advertised, so something to bear in mind.
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve, that’s an important point, though they seem to have reduced their prices, so that it all ends up around the same amount..
DeleteHi Steve, just to balance things out a bit here are my thoughts as one who also seriously considered ordering from them some time back but decided against it.
ReplyDeleteThe ECW's are very nicely done and in 18mm look great, BUT I just can't get past those thick edges of the plexiglass, for me they detract from the aesthetics of the wonderful artwork. You mention colouring those edges? I have seen a few images with painted edges but still for me personally it does not work.
If one was to accept them as playing pieces for boardgames such as Commands & Colors then I think they work well, and I understand that this was the original design concept of WoFun.
That said I fully understand the appeal, armies on the table in no time - even faster than I can paint them!
Yeah Lee, the edges are a real turn off. Flats...but not quite.
DeleteWhatever you do JBM don't look at the Eureka 18mm ECW's, I made that mistake and am so tempted :)
ReplyDeletehttps://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0253/9533/1120/collections/ECW2_940x.jpg?v=1581413817
Lee.
Oh bloody hell Lee, that’s just not fair! LOL.
DeleteIf I could paint with as much speed, enthusiasm and style as you Lee, this post wouldn’t even be here!
DeleteWow, tempting and beautiful flats...
ReplyDeleteI know Phil they are. I’m hoping to get my grandson involved in the hobby in the near future and I suspect these are much less likely to get damaged than my ECW 6mm with their spaghetti pikes. Still very tempted despite Lee’s best efforts.
DeleteHi JBM, sorry if I was a little negative in my comments. They are lovely figures in spite of the thick edges. Here is a review I read recently, very balanced discussing the pros and cons upon receiving his order, you might find it useful.
Deletehttps://generalwhiskers.com/2021/01/20/review-of-wo-fun-18mm-models/?fbclid=IwAR0d8bCOzLdzcDQcbYx4DmtPjs9-T6vqIqSOQbSrm-VW7GOaf_uZVVqtYn0
All the best,
Lee.
This was the image I found a bit off putting!
Deletehttps://generalwhiskers.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/img_2106.jpg?w=1024
Hey no worries mate, they are a bit like marmite - I get that. They were something that I was really flirting with and I was genuinely interested to find out if others had considered them as well. They have a lot of advantages including immediacy - but- I’m still going to have to work on both the bases and the edges...and then there’s the postage cost. When the postage costs more than the product that gives me real pause for thought. It did occur to me that they could have produced them in smoky or black Perspex instead of clear. On balance I’ve abandoned the idea for now - and we’ll see how the grandson gets on handling regular miniatures. Hopefully he hasn’t inherited his fathers clumsy hands of death.
DeleteNice, but I like painting the miniatures! Sounds like a good idea for playing with grandchildren though!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Might just order the one unit to see if it gets here okay and to see if they look okay on the table.
DeleteI’ve been tempted but put off recently by the stories of people being handed big bills to get deliveries of their shoes or whatever, put about but the ‘liberal snowflake media’ (copyright every nationalist nutjob). I think I’ll wait to see if things settle down. It’d be a good way to get into a different period without too much effort.
ReplyDeleteSome of my interest evaporated just now when I went to place an order for one pack of dragoons. 18 Euro for the figures and 19 Euro for the postage. Gulp.
DeleteIt truly is a golden age in the hobby at the moment more choice than you can shake a stick at... or more flavours of marmite, depending on your point of view! We are not a homogenous lot, and one gamers views is definitely not another's.. f.w.i.w. I'm with Lee, for me the gaming is not the most important part of the hobby, so the look of the figures and the game becomes more important, rather than the activity... I've learned my lessons so some things I don't like others love and I ain't going treading on peoples sensibilities any more than that! LOL ... A thought.. have you considered investing in a laser cutter ad doing your own?? Doesn't take many 20 quid postage bills to make it worthwhile?? I found this recent post interesting and thought provoking.. http://daleswargames.blogspot.com/2021/01/i-received-my-dream-tool-laser.html along with Graham C's posts on resin printers, and this on laser cutters, I see the future of the hobby changing!!
ReplyDeleteHey Steve you’re right, it truly is a golden age. The contrast between even twenty years ago and today is massive. I’ve just sent an order off to Navwar, on a special form I had to print off and fill out by hand - then send in the post, (because they have no email), for a product I cannot see since there are no pictures on their very basic website. Apart from being instructed to send a postal order with it (which wouldn’t have surprised me) you couldn’t get any more old school! The future for me definitely lies in home 3D printing - and it seems the price of printers are continuing to come down, so it’s a possibility some day (if I get a win on spot the ball). I actually prefer 3d models to flats but the Wofun selling point for me WAS the instant nature of their deployment. Being a solo gamer I always have to make two opposing forces and sometimes the size of the task can be a bit intimidating. The process of painting I find tiresome but the results of the painting are quite rewarding so I’m going to persevere and stop moaning about it. You make a couple of good points - I’m off to check out those links!
DeleteMy 18mm Peninsular war arrive Thursday.
ReplyDeleteA few observations, the €19 postage is for one or twenty + frames.
My DHL additional costs were £34 which considering the removal of the VAT by Wofun etc and for the amount I’ve ordered I find quite acceptable.
Bases will be pva and sand followed by ink wash and dry brush
Edges will be either pale grey or brown.
I spend more time painting, planning and writing all of which I enjoy but like you I frequently end up doing both sides and if I really want to do some serious battles in new periods then I have to accept I will not have time to,paint the required figures.
So let’s see!
Hi Graham, thanks for taking the time to update us all. I wasn’t aware it was the same postage for a larger order and I agree that the £34 seems to be covered by Wofun’s reduced prices. I’m really keen to see how these turn out especially with the pale grey or brown rather than black. I emailed a guy called Cosi at Wofun to ask if they’d considered doing the minis with smoked Perspex rather than clear. His reply was that they can only do the smoked in 3mm thick which makes the figures look too chunky, though they will consider it for the 54mm figs they are planning to do.
DeleteA vexing question you have there, especially with an existing army. While I have no WoFun flats, I do have three paper armies created from Peter Dennis books. Should you choose to go down the pathway of flats. I find they work best on the tabletop when the units have some depth, 3 ranks minimum, and they are just as engaging to wargame with as miniatures.
ReplyDeletePeter, I admired your ECW paper army greatly when you first got it, and I know you’ve had a lot of fun with it. I assume the rules in the book that came with them are the same ones I’ve just downloaded from Wofun now that my purchase has been confirmed. I have to say I thought they were really quite good, which was somewhat of a surprise. It’s taken me forty odd years but I’ll finally have two armies of the same period in different scales, a small but growing lead pile, and projects going off in several directions at once. See what happens when you resolve to be a bit less OCD in your approach to the hobby! Lol.
Delete