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Post by Forum Admin on Jan 3, 2020 22:15:56 GMT
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Post by Stan on Jan 4, 2020 8:50:55 GMT
Thanks for the info Admin! Any news on their 1/32 big brothers?
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Post by minuteman on Jan 4, 2020 10:26:45 GMT
It's good to see the figures on the sprue. They look 'almost complete' to me, so would be interested to know what is required now to make them ready for production.
Size looks about right compared with other existing Austrian figures - it's useful to see the side-by-side comparisons.
I am assuming that the production will be in something other than red plastic?
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Post by Forum Admin on Jan 4, 2020 10:55:45 GMT
No news on 1/32. There is often a lot of clean up to be done and it's highly unlikely Austrians will be made in red plastic!
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Post by harlow on Jan 4, 2020 11:25:41 GMT
Thanks for posting .... The figures look great, but in comparison to the Haet grenadiers and some other figures a little bit to tall - especially the last row with officers. To size them a little bit down would been a good move also in regard of their more voluminous figure-style in comparison to former produced figures.
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2020 0:17:32 GMT
Looking at the comparisons provided I would disregard the Italeri and Esci figures both are a bit spindly and the Hat Grenadiers are a bit up and down regards size, so it's the Grenzers in the shakos which give the best comparison at 23.5mm from heel to where you judge top of head (approx. half way up shako) and in terms of human proportions they make a good benchmark to aim for. To me the new Austrian Infantry look to be a less than 1mm bigger not enough to worry about for me but if the figures can be adjusted without causing a major hold up then fine, also I do not know if there is a possibility of the final figures shrinking in the rest of the production process. It's great to see them progressing and I hope Hat can obtain some more information on these pictures the detail on the figures is missing but maybe that's normal at this stage and that red colour is hurting my eyes. Hat one more thing is it possible to add some more shakos to each of the sprues?
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Post by waynew on Jan 5, 2020 1:12:50 GMT
MHO, the difference is minimal and might even be magnified by the magnification of the photos. Besides people come in different sizes so the folks aren't too out of line size-wise. The big test to me is muskets - they look fairly close. At this scale I think close enough. Not worth going back to the drawing board and starting all over again - which would delay the product - which would cause no amount of screaming.
I think cleaning up the mold to reduce flash is a good idea; but with the way the factory's going, if you try to resize them they might go too far the other way and you end up with wee people. That would be far worse. If push comes to shove and I can't mix figures from various makers I just put them in separate formations. Sometimes the differences add enough variety to my formations to add life to them.
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Post by stevo0113 on Jan 5, 2020 5:57:31 GMT
Nice to see the Austrians taking shape seems a lot of interest in them these could be big sellers Hat get them out quick before the competition start there Austrian infantry range.
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Post by minuteman on Jan 5, 2020 14:10:53 GMT
Nice to see the Austrians taking shape seems a lot of interest in them these could be big sellers Hat get them out quick before the competition start there Austrian infantry range. These should sell well. I'll buy loads. The competition are already starting to produce a few Austrians (in greatcoats) but the way things are going will be producing more before long. The opportunity is there for HaT. Need I say more.
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Post by stevo0113 on Jan 5, 2020 17:58:48 GMT
Luckily for hat they are releasing the grenadiers sets first they have two sets of greatcoats already out and are releasing another two sets with summer uniforms round about June or July. the bad news for Hat is the other companies sets seem to get better with each release, I have bought most of the recent Napoleonic sets & they are really good quality & they have released over TWENTY FIVE sets in the last year.
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Post by waynew on Jan 5, 2020 19:54:03 GMT
It's not necessarily bad news depending on how one looks at it. For me the improvement in another company's output is good news because it means I can now combine figures from both companies in my scenarios. I don't think one set will effect my demand for another except perhaps to increase it. But I might be in the minority.
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Post by davidmac on Jan 5, 2020 22:45:08 GMT
Well, just read/looked at the PSR review of the new HaT Austrian grenadiers (in winter coat). Won't be buying any of them!
I suppose I should say why, in fairness to HaT. They seem to have mangled the grenadier's cap. Too much fur, wrong placement of the sack. Given that this is the distinguishing feature of a grenadier, these figures seem pointless to me.
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Post by minuteman on Jan 6, 2020 0:20:38 GMT
Well, just read/looked at the PSR review of the new HaT Austrian grenadiers (in winter coat). Won't be buying any of them! I suppose I should say why, in fairness to HaT. They seem to have mangled the grenadier's cap. Too much fur, wrong placement of the sack. Given that this is the distinguishing feature of a grenadier, these figures seem pointless to me. I suppose the underlying point is that, although there are a few 'misses' or 'near misses' with HaT, the overall trend if towards better sculpts and better quality. And their output of late has been prolific. Just look at what they are already doing in a very short time with the WoSS (early 18th century). It's good to have choice and I for one like to mix figures from different manufacturers if possible ie: where the figures are similar in size, style etc. It would be good to see the pace of HaT releases to pick up a bit, and hopefully this will happen this year. The market is still out here.
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Post by greentiger on Jan 6, 2020 11:55:50 GMT
Personally I like the 'spindly' build of the Esci and Italeri figures, so slightly disappointed by the added bulk but these should look alright painted up- Be nice to see them in the shops soon.
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Post by stevo0113 on Jan 6, 2020 15:56:45 GMT
The PSR review is not very good for the HaT Austrian grenadier set but I still like the overall look of the figures. I will definitely be buying at least one box of all Hats Austrian infantry sets maybe more, you can never have enough Austrian infantry you know.
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Post by waynew on Jan 6, 2020 21:17:04 GMT
The PSR review is not very good for the HaT Austrian grenadier set but I still like the overall look of the figures. I will definitely be buying at least one box of all Hats Austrian infantry sets maybe more, you can never have enough Austrian infantry you know. At this scale I can be a bit more lenient on some of the finer details to a point. I like what one fellow who used to frequent the forum used to say (I'd give his name but am afraid I'd be wrong) - he used the "three-foot rule" if you couldn't see it from three-feet away in real life, it's not worth hassling over. In this scale in particular I think that holds true. But when a company gets it truly right man you just KNOW it - taking a magnifying glass to count buttons isn't necessary. But that's just me.
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Post by vellek on Jan 7, 2020 20:23:55 GMT
Hat one more thing is it possible to add some more shakos to each of the sprues? I wholeheartedly join in this request
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Post by Forum Admin on Jan 12, 2020 20:07:06 GMT
More sizing pics:
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Post by Brian on Jan 12, 2020 21:08:21 GMT
Hi Hat Team,
They are as I thought from the first pictures slightly big but acceptable to me, is there any possibility of them shrinking in the rest of the production process?
Also they are lacking detail with regards to the face, cross belts etc. when compared to the other figures at this stage can you explain more about that?
One more thing is it possible to add some more shakos to each of the sprues?
Finally do we have any box art to show us I am itching to change my profile picture.
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Post by Forum Admin on Jan 12, 2020 22:39:01 GMT
I don't have any information regarding size during production because I have not seen any production sprues.
The lack of detail appears to be from the color of the plastic, these being test shots and the photographs.
I do not have any information regarding extra shakos.
The boxes are not ready at this time.
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Post by stevo0113 on Jan 13, 2020 12:50:39 GMT
The figures do look a bit tall & a bit fat as well they would probably look thinner in light tan red is a very fattening colour you know.
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Post by davidmac on Jan 13, 2020 15:01:22 GMT
I agree that red is not a great color for samples, but white would be even worse. Tan is nice.
Best is a light color with a darker wash.
Could we get manufacturers to bring back Toby Barret measure? It was used in reviews by the old Courier magazine. Height of figure is measured from the bottom of the feet (top of stand) to the eyes. Also, the figure would be graded as light, medium or heavy "heft". The insight of TB measure is, you can almost always tell where the eyes are--even medieval knights had an eye slit, whereas the height of the hat/shako/helmet varies greatly.
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Post by waynew on Jan 13, 2020 21:26:28 GMT
I remember reading or hearing somewhere - perhaps in a talk with someone who made figures - or even here - that unless a company owns the factory in which figures are produced they have little control over the color of test sprues as the factories often do test runs using left-over plastic from previous runs. No telling what was made prior to doing the test runs of these Austrians.
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Post by harlow on Jan 14, 2020 15:14:21 GMT
I agree with DavidMac.
The height of the shoulders are often very easier to compare than the figure including their different hats/helmets.
And the 3 red figures in the centre have mostly theirs shoulders on the height of the noses or eyes of the other ones. Only the firing figure seems to be tall like its neigbour.
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Post by waynew on Jan 14, 2020 17:03:12 GMT
Well, I'm looking at it and the question I ask myself is - are the figures so big as to stand out and be totally unusable on a game board or scene? There are differences in height and build among individual people. I am reminded of the gigantism exhibited by a couple other companies some years ago. There were some really beautifully sculpted figures in subjects I wanted that I passed on because the guys were so big as to be almost another scale.
By the same token, there are sets that are on the outside limits I will buy. I even have bought some sets where the style of sculpting wasn't completely compatible because they were pretty good. I wasn't normally fond of the style of the HaT 1812 French Line Infantry but there was something about the guys I liked. It was the same with the Russian Militia set. There was something about those guys that in my head captured the spirit of the poor peasants rushed into service. So I grabbed bunches of each. I just put them in their own spots on my battlefields.
So I look at these guys and ask, "Are they usable?"
My own opinion is, I think so. I've discovered there's something about a paint job that does a lot to diminish size differences - even at 1/32 scale. I don't know what it is, but I put my unpainted Conte ACW troops along side unpainted Marx and Accurate guys and they definitely stand out. When I paint them up it isn't so bad. One is entitled to disagree, but that's MY observation.
So, can I put these figures "as-is" (remembering the red is a test shot and not the final product) with my other guys. I think so, if not, well, I just paint them up as new regiments in my Austrian formations - which is what I expected to do anyway. I think it won't make a difference.
Do I hope there might be a BIT more shrinkage in the process before they get to us - but I think I can live with the current size.
And there's one issue I don't think has been addressed: Are we willing to take the time it will take to "re-size" the set?
I believe from my reading of this forum and the numerous explanations HaT has made concerning the delays in this or that set that other than H's health problems (which we should all understand) the MAJOR hold up has been the communication problem and delay in dealing across the globe required with HaT's current business model - which puts them at a disadvantage with those competitors who are onsite, have their own factory and thus total control over production from start to finish.
From explanations given over many, many years (some of us have been here since the 90s when the original forum was introduced and I say this for reference) it is understood that for the most part (there are exceptions with masters or molds were lost or damaged) - the masters for the figures on the list are completed and are in queue waiting their turn. I know from "listening" not only to HaT, but talking to other makers who have to deal with Chinese factories that orders for plastic figures are considered "small potatoes" to the factories so they often go to the bottom of the list in the face of other larger, more lucrative (for the factory) orders.
Again, talking to other makers as well as HaT, communication through language and cultural differences is extremely difficult. When Bill McMaster (of BMC Toys) died a few years back, it was a nightmare for many in the hobby. Bill had worked with Toys-R-Us for years doing business in China in acquisitions (or something like that) and had developed relationships (vital in doing business in Asia) and helped several of the guys get started making toy soldiers. His premature death was a blow to the hobby (1/32 scale) as we not only lost a valuable asset who had helped so many makers get established, but also a genuine nice guy.
So, taking that all into account. The figures are great IMHO. The size isn't too out of line (yes, I'd feel better if they were a "Teeny" bit smaller), I ask again - is it worth the delay to this set - and others - to send them back for one more adjustment? And is it worth taking the chance of the folks at the factory over compensating and giving us Munchkins?
I'm looking at the pics and accounting for the color (which magnifies the difference IMO) and the fact the figures are magnified in the pics I think they'll do just fine.
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