Madaxeman

That unfortunately doesn’t get around the not insignificant fixed cost of replacing a spin cast mold - which then has to be amortized over future sales of that figure set. That’s the barrier that’s getting harder to get over for many older and low volume manufacturers nowadays

“Want”, “need” and “could make good use of” have always been semantically challenging words and phrases to differentiate when translated into wargamer !

.. the maths will simply fail to add up as many smaller, older "heritage" ranges age. 3D scanning may be our only chance to some classic sculpts alive.

I just hope it develops fast enough that some companies can do it commercially for complete ranges rather than individuals pirating the odd figure

I've been told by several people that it costs between £40-80 to get a spin-cast mould replaced, with the lower price being just the cost of materials if the manufacturer can do it themselves ... with hard plastics & 3D printing eating into sales volumes with often (frankly) better sculpts ..

But equally I haves more very robust figures in 3D as well which are better sculpts, with more detail than almost any metal cast range - it is a fast maturing technology, and we must now surely be very close to almost every printer knowing what type of resin actually works for robust gaming minis?

I think there are a lot of horror stories out there, and many of us have experienced them. I've got some 15mm figures which are so brittle that I think I will only ever be able to use them at events I can get to by car (rather than public transport) as I can carry them in a bigger tin in the car!

3D scanning the sculpts and selling the STL files might therefore be the only way some of these older ranges can continue to live on - provided that the 3D scanning process becomes easy and cheap enough for someone to do before (ideally) the masters are consigned to oblivion.

With lower sales, and the capex of replacing worn out moulds, these businesses simply aren't "sellable" when the owner wants to retire - no-one (sane) will take them on as they can't realistically be made profitable again.

I'm not sure its a case of preference - the reality is that we are seeing a lot of the older, smaller metal-casters fade away right now - their sales volumes no longer support the costs of casting, and especially the one-off costs of re-making some of their older, worn spin-cast moulds.

The “really” interesting point will however come when this sort of 3D scanning tech becomes sufficiently simple and user friendly that old school casters “won’t” need a Kickstarter and a 3rd party “expert” company to do it for them…

Thoughts?

I’ve had a theory for quite some time that once some of the traditional metal casting historical figure manufacturers start to realise this is an (“the?”) best opportunity they have to sustain and remake their businesses, we will see the manufacturing side of the hobby transformed very quickly ..

I mean, theh are not 28mm Victrix or Perry sculpts (of course), but "designing figures for straightforward painting at a small scale and looking good when fielded en mass" is a style and a real skill in its own right, and one they have really nailed

They paint up en-mass really well, and really take contrasts and the like very well too. Some of them, especially the earlier sculpts can be a bit "meh", but those are far and few between now.

The size and breadth of the range means they have probably become a better default choice than Essex IMO.

I've been accidentally collecting a 15mm Numidian army for many years now, with the most recent addition being these Imitation Legionaries from Forged in Battle: madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2025/10/numi...

"Would you prefer your Scythed Chariot to be a little less noticable Sir?

No thanks. It's a bit rubbish in practice, but it does still really scare the sh-t out of my enemies - so I absolutely don't want them to fail to spot it on the battlefield.. "

#NewlineDesigns #28mm #Successor

Really not sure if I want to sign up to this event at #BristolZoo. Either Facebook formatting on iPhone has done it a real disservice, or it is offering up an entertaining evening of pointing at turds in the pan “with Andy”…

YouTube video by Madaxeman.com Forged in Battle Middle Byzantine (Thematic) Cavalry Commander

Forged in Battle Thematic Byzantine mounted Commander #15mm with a hand-painted "trompe l'oeil" LBMS knockoff shield design on the back of the trumpeter (as I was one transfer short!) youtu.be/y1df4kfRjOA

Almost there with the last batch of Bizzy cavalry from Forged in Battle #15mm

Otomi Warriors The blogger site for Madaxeman.com with content on Ancients, Medieval, WW2, Moderns, & Renaissance in 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, 25mm, 28mm

Otomi Warriors - mercenaries for the Tlaxcallans in #15mm madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2025/09/otom...

The Tlaxcalans are here ! The blogger site for Madaxeman.com with content on Ancients, Medieval, WW2, Moderns, & Renaissance in 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, 25mm, 28mm

The Tlaxcalans are here ! An epic painting project reaches the "lets spray varnish outside before it gets too damp" phase, much to the delight of vendors of multicoloured grass tufts as my first Meso-American army finally gets finished off. madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-...

I've been systematically rebasing all of my Renaissance figures over the past couple of years to play them under ADLG-Renaissance rules, and this Scottish Contingent represents the end of that process, with all of my Renaissance armies now re-done. madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2025/09/reba...

15mm - 28's would be further away 😉

Almost the last of the Txcallan Nutters … just touching up these guys and adding basing texture and tufts to them - and 3 Generals to paint up and base - and the army (all 48 bases of it…) will be done !

From my own extensive and in-depth online research, they do actually seem pretty uniform to me... ?https://www.littlebigmenstudios.com/a/search/28mm?filter_faction=Republican+Roman

15mm Tlaxcallan Suit Wearers - bonkers mental as anything, and that’s purely on a sartorial level, never mind the broken-glass-edged weapons and forearm-extending throwing sticks !

4 x 28mm old-school text-based battle reports featuring the Assyrians in action in the West Country (of England..) now available on the website at www.madaxeman.com/reports/Atta...

Honestly they are both very good, and very similar, and built on exactly the same engine (as the young folks might say!).

ADLG just allows bigger - but not “too big” - battles to be fought with points based list building rather than fixed lists. There’s a bit more “crunch” to it as a result

4 x 28mm old-school text-based battle reports featuring the Assyrians in action in the West Country (of England..) now available on the website at www.madaxeman.com/reports/Atta...

The Texcallans are properly underway now !

LBMS transfers cost almost £1,000,000 per sheet* & applying even one incorrectly means you may need to buy an extra set to "finish the unit", which leads swiftly to destitution and worse - its not worth the risk

White undercoat, gloss varnish, transfer, gloss varnish again

(* OK, I'm a wargamer!)