Thank you for the nice comments! We respect out spot, and will try to get to that S tier! LETS GO! We are always trying to make our stuff better, Thats why we have changed our material quite a bit over the years! We won't stop trying new things wether it be mold making, material the models are made of, or designs! :) Love the channel, keep it up! - ReaperJon
Something that Para Bellum does that I think everyone should get in on is putting numbers on the pieces themselves. So a lot of the newer kits say you have 3 bodies on a sprue, all the pieces that go to that body (say torso halves) all have a 1, 2, or 3 obviously on the mini in a place that you won't see once assembled. So convenient.
This is honestly one of my biggest complaints with GW minis is the difficulty of assembly. First there's the absolute bat shit insane way they number the sprues, but also use the pieces in assembly. I could almost forgive the pieces being all over the place on the sprue if we at least started by attaching piece 1 to piece 2 - but half the time it's like Step 1: Attach piece 73A to 15D and 17D. And then sprue D has been split in half to fit in the box and the pieces are on different halves but wouldn't even be close if the sprues where still one piece. The second big complaint is actually about how precise they've gotten. Use to be there would be either flat shoulders or ball joins so you could pose the minis, but now everything is monopose. Adding in the huge price I wouldn't put GW minis above a C. They may be the standard, but they've let their popularity get in the way of making the kits fun to put together. Third bonus complaint against GW, basically every other company reviewed has the rules for their games available for free. It's basically the industry standard. Yes, you can, and probably will buy a physical copy of the rules if you like the game, but being able to see the rules is great, especially if you already like the minis.
I wonder if that is a newer advantage? I'd still prefer a build handout. Some of the wraiths you don't know where to put what; or at least that is what I found.
@@YanniCooper this is ny huge hurdle with getting back into it with 10thED. I started in 8th with the Tau and now so much has changed and i want to make a new lists but unless i spend $60 on a new codex and $60 on the new rules book, its a pain to get my hands the info for my army to see if i even WANT to keep playing them. I also wanted to possibly expand to another army but a 2k point list is over a thousand dollars. My friend bought the new tau Kroot box and he is a seasoned painter and even he was like, "wtf am i looking at?" when trying to assemble the minis. They could be SO much better, especially with the amount of money and branding behind them.
I'm a HUGE Reaper fan girl. They have been huge innovators in the space for over 30 years. They coined the phrase "Heroic Scale". In the days of assembly-required metal miniatures, they developed single piece indestructible PVC plastic minis, ready to slap on the table right out of the blister if needed. They are small for their reach and are so community-oriented. They have the best customer service and engagement. They are constantly trying to find new ways to present minis and innovate materials or manufacturing. They identify all their sculpters on their website and on the packaging for each mini. They also identify the painter for any painted minis on their website. They support the hobby and those that make it. I love the company. I love the people at the company. Reaper is amazing. And they make great minis and paints too.
Reaper got done dirty by the list only focusing on human-sized minis. Reaper’s stuff gets far better quality and far better value for money as you get up into the BIG stuff where you’d lose an arm and a leg from other companies. I’ve got some massive centrepiece minis that cost me like US$25 that’d be pushing the $200 mark if they were from GW, and the GW version would include a bunch of unnecessary clutter and easy to break thin points on the model holding it up.
So many companies that didn't get a mention, there's enough for a part 2 to this: Modiphius (Fallout: Wasteland Warfare); Oathsworn (Burrows&Badgers); Goblin King (Moonstone); Iron Wind (Battletech metal minis); Mantic (Kings of War)
Add to that list North Star (Frostgrave, Stargrave, Oathmark), Atlantic Games (various fantasy and sci-fi that aren't WH/40K honest, guvnor!), Warlord Games (2000AD games, Mythic America, Warlords of Erewhon, Gates of Antares).
By no means a defense for Conquest is that their quality got at least 2x better with their 3rd faction, but more importantly their hero models are resin and are some of the best models you will find!
This 100%! Some of the original models are deserving a C tier ranking but the new stuff and especially the heros are on a whole different level! One thing I really like about their line is the larger scale so painting is just easier and details are better defined
@@marekjanousek5443 The quality has improved, but I'm just not a fan of the range personally. The designs of the sculpts are what let it down for me. Some of it feels like random things are added on for the sake of adding details without thought or consideration to what those details are. I haven't enjoyed painting most of them because too many of those things just aren't discernable.
Yeah, Para Bellum got done a bit dirty in this, the kit he's holding is 4 years old at this point, and not pointing out that those single miniature prices are for resin kits feels a bit deceptive. Especially with the amount of bending over backwards he does to give GW excuses for its pricing
To be fair though, the prices have increased with the quality. A unit of newer models through PB is on par with a unit from GW. The Spire Leonine Avatara unit with 3 models is $60 and the Lineage Prideborn is a normal sized hero model for $40.
@@dominicparker6124 Yeah I'll be honest this list is a mess, Idk what Jon's smoking to put Wyrd at C and freaking Reaper ahead of Corvus Belli is just a staight up insult
> Shows a video game during the Battletech section, a franchise with multiple popular games, including one that came out a few weeks ago > It’s for a completely separate franchise. Damnit, Jon.
It's a bit funny about Battletech; I remember the 'Battledroids' game box, back before George Lucas sued FASA over the term 'droid' and they had to change it. The box had two bagged 1:100 models from the anime series 'Fang of the Sun Dougram', and the early metal miniatures bore _amazing_ resemblances to various anime mecha that it took FASA years to beat down to develop their own styles.
Wasn’t just a resemblance, FASA licenced the designs for various mecha from anime to bulk out the cast, it was American company Harmony Gold who threatened suit in the 90’s to get them removed for anything HG was distributing in the US. Turned out in the late 2010’s harmony gold never actually owned the rights because the people who sold them to them never owned the rights in the first place (film distributors sold the rights to them, not the toy designers who created the designs) which all resolved during the battletech video game kickstarter fulfilment, where Harebrained Schemes and Catalyst Game Labs both either defaulted or settled, but PGI (Mechwarrior online and Mechwarrior 5) came out swinging and broke Harmony Gold’s stranglehold on the IP (HBS and CGL had been avoiding the ‘unseen’ mechs, but PGI had kind of provoked the lawsuit with their redesigns of the unseen made for MWO) which then led to Catalyst relaunching the then-dead miniatures game and producing the plastics we see today (the previous version had been pretty awful metals from Ral Partha)
Battletech stole a huge number of mech designs from the 80s anime series Robotech. Like, straight up shameless copies. I enjoyed that game so much, even when I was playing with a printed, folded bit of cardboard in an unstable black stand, back in the early 90s!
12:39 I think the thing that impressed me about ParaBellum isn't just their mini quality, it's how far they've come in such a short amount of time. Their first kits, like the 100k Men At Arms, are super rough, on round sprues with massive gates and fairly soft details. Comparing that to some newer minis, like the elite cavalry options, the difference is might and day. The sprue is better, the gates are smaller, and overall quality is massively better. And it's a difference of 6-7 years, I think? They may not be up to GW standards, but with the pace at which they're improving, I honestly don't think it'll be long before they get there!
this is only there 5th anniversary (2024). I agree whole heartedly mind, I play Nords and the difference between a Huskarl sprue manufactured in the US, to the latest releases out of the Poland production line are night and day. Helps its an awesome game as well, and they are resculpting model ranges from the original factions to update the worst offenders, which is very cool within 5 years I think.
@@SlytherpuffHouse I'll second the comment about their resin. It's high detail, high quality, easy to clean up, and best of all, takes paint oh so readily. There's only two resin companies I can think of that have produced higher quality with the same ease of use, and that would be Trenchworx and the high tier (and high cost) gunpla resin conversion kits (from makers such as Yujiao Land or AEther Studio)
This was tremendously useful. My niece recently told me she was interested in getting into miniature painting and I had no idea where to start looking. I found lists of places, of course, but none of the lists actually went into detail about what you'd be getting. So, this was great, thank you!
No BattleTech fan will disagree with you regarding the models. That being said, I was hoping all the BT fans had shown up to roast you for posting some other Mecha animation. Shame Jon, shame!!! PS, I would argue and be correct, that BattleTech lore is BETTER than 40K and makes sense too. (Dark Ages is Highlander 2)
Reaper has grown in leaps and bounds. They went from a company making metal minis and then their bones material (which was almost completely unpaintable) to the Bones USA material and using SioCast machines. Their quality has improved immensely. The models are also dependent on the sculptor. Bobby Jackson’s stuff, in my opinion, DEFINES the range and is what we use in my DCC gaming group.
Ill step in to defend MCP a bit here. There are absolutely no rules or expectations limiting your creativity when it comes to painting "correct" colours. Each hero has at least a dozen alternative outfits over the years and their colour doesn't determine, say, their legion and specific rules ...
Kingdom Death: Monster also has it's Black Friday sale coming up this month. The game and kits will be for sale at a DEEP discount at midnight EST on Black Friday for those interested.
If you are thinking of jumping in, that’s the day. Your wallet will both love you and hate you as the discounts are great but you will still go overboard.
-Archon studios is fantastic and have grown a ton in a short amount of time. I think they also make the conquest minis. Stick with their kickstarter and dungeons& lasers line for the best value! -I know CMON is represented but I love their miniatures from their OoP line wrath of kings. Quirky, detailed enough, simple to build, and great to paint. -I really love bones for the value, epic encounters for the story telling, and Wargame Atlantic for simplicity and bits.
Reaper is solidly my favorite mini company. I live in the same town as the factory and have gotten to speak to a lot of the employees and artists of the company and they are all so nice and helpful. Reaper does an EXCELLENT job of engaging with their fans and taking suggestions through their forums and discord communities about the kinds of models we want to see. I also love their paint range and always recommend their company to start for beginning painters. And they also run a small yearly convention for reaper fans where you can meet and hangout with other painters of all skill levels as well as meet a lot of the sculptors and studio painters for the company. The Reaper community is one of the biggest reasons I have continued painting and gotten better at it.
💯 agree with everything you said. I would also like to add I have had an excellent experience with their customer service. I got some wonky bases and they replaced them with extras. I was missing a jawbone on one of my bones 5 dragons and it was replaced in a week. They used to have a great deal with free shipping over a certain price with all sorts of free seasonal and monthly free minis. Having spent at least $3000 on two kick starters and lots of bundles over the years, they definitely have proven to me, that they are the best value for my D&D table.
They are great miniatures for beginners. At my old gaming shop we ran a painting table where we taught newcomers how to paint using minis donated from our collection-mostly reaper and old GW stuff. Reaper sets a fantastic balance of easy-to-paint and cheap while looking good.
I disagree with them being good for beginners mainly because a beginner is going to go out and prime them with a rattlecan, which is going to ruin the mini and is a problem no other miniature mgfr has. Unless they've changed their newest line to not have that problem but the first Reaper minis I got were poor quality. Their paints are unmatched and they invest a ton into the miniature community so I gotta give them props for that.
@@kevinshoulars1170 it took me ages to stop initially thinking people were talking about it as the rating your paint job website when they started manufacturing!
Not only did they start as a gallery site, but it had taken over Dark Age and their outstanding miniatures long before it got anywhere close to any board game.
@ they are worth a look at! Good quality and a decent amount of customisation! Just limited on the range! There isn’t a mini for every class/race combo yet!
Regarding the battletech models. I had the exact same wish as you as i come from 40k. However after meeting many battletech players, that prebuilt static model is a HUGE selling point for them.
I find a lot of BT players are in it for the setting and game, not to be hobby painters. Most that paint them don't even clean the mold lines. So yeah the unbox and play aspect is huge.
Excited to see BattleTech. I've looked forward to seeing what you could do with paint and a mech since seeing your first video. Then you poop on it, still like you.
CMON actually started out as a mini painting review site, AFAIK. Not a board game manufacturer. People would upload their painted mini and ask, Cool mini or not?
And that was an imitation of the old “Hot or Not” website, where people would upload a photo of themselves and other users would rate their physical attractiveness on a scale from 1 to 10.
Yeah, Wyrd games models are expencive but with just few boxes you have a playable group. For a busy dude it's great that you get different armies ready to play relatively fast. Biggest downside are assembling and how some minis don't even fit on their bases.
I don't know why their scale was mentioned as "small and difficult" when they are 32mm, same as Corvus Belli, and bigger/same as GW depending on their models
The thing about Battletech is that its core fantasy is, frankly, 40 years old. The rest of the industry has passed it by, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s really, really great! But that all speaks to the miniature quality. It’s not trying to go after each mini being a tool for self expression, or a tool to push yourself as a painter. It’s about painting a big stompy military sci fi mech and rolling lots of dice and checking result tables to see what happened. It’s simply not trying to be like everyone else.
@@Acsabi44 40k Is 37 going on 38 yrs old, Batletech is 3 years older than 40k, GW is a mini company with a game and btech is a game company. Two totally different focus's (you dont need minis to play battletech many people play with cardboard cutouts or megamek online using 2d pixel art) He should have ranked Ironwind Metals who make battletechs metal minis (still would rate low) but those box sets are intentionally low detail relatively cheap mass produced minis and were meant to be.
I was just thinking of the cardboard standees and the old Ral Partha metal minis for battletech. The art and sculptures were all over the place. Also, the wizkids click bases of the Dark Age era were, IMO, absolute... trash. So, as a range of minis for Battletech, the new plastics are streets ahead compared to the older minis. Also, they are getting more dynamic poses, and Catalyst is toying around with optional parts for minis. Also, all of the minis are still valid, I can put the card board standee, Ral Partha, Iron Wind, and Catalyst minis all on the same board at the same time. Could the Catalyst minis be better, yes. Are they as bad as described, no. I know, typical Minnesota nice.
I will also shout out how accesible Battletech is from a miniatures standpoint. You can crack open a force pack, with 4 prebuilt mechs with stats included and put them right on the game table and get started. Also 4 mechs is a pretty standard size for a force. The ease of purchase to play is incredible. I would personally like to see some more dynamic poses though, and some of the edges and details could definitely be sharper but that does seem to be getting better with time.
As someone who's played Battletech for 30 years it's still surreal to hear Battletech listed as "current and popular" LOL It's been a wild few years. I do think it should have gotten a little better in terms of variety though. you make it sound like there's only one or two mechs for each size class, but there's currently close to 300 minis in the Catalyst range. Most mechs only have one or two variants or poses currently, but there's something like a thousand unique chassis in the game, not including vehicles. And each of those has generally a half dozen variants. The current focus is to get as many chassis out there as possible. I'd put them at C-tier msyelf That said, I would love to see some multipart posable kits, or at least some weapon packs and the like for customizers to play with.
They do have a couple semi poseable models out right now, like the clan-buster black Knight. I do think the main reason battletech is monopose is 1. They've always been like that and 2. Battletech fronts as game first: 50 bucks for a box with enough plastic models for two players (9 more if you count the cardboards) and you have a game. Pvc models are softer and less detailed, but they're cheaper and will survive a fall off a dinner table easier. If you want nicer models you can go to Ironwind Metals, which the game box has a coupon for.
As someone who started painting with Wizkids Nolzur’s minis and thought I was a shit painter for years because of them, I agree with every word here. They’re only good for a terrible painting experience and are generally awful. Just buy Reaper.
@@kkuapo I tried using paint stripper to get it off the prepainted ones AND the primed ones, and it didn't make a dent. No idea what kind of industrial-grade paint they slap on those but good god almighty it bungles up all of the details.
24:50 I disagree, transferring the whole range to Siocast would be a step down in quality instead of a step up. Cleaning/prepping metal mini's is quite a bit easier than Siocast. With siocast you can't really scrape the mold lines, you have to cut them. I do hope, like you said, that they will improve the Siocast casting process (or someone else does and they learn from them), then maybe.
Totally agree. I recently picked up WarCrow and while the end result is really nice the assembly’s process kind of sucks. Mold line removal is a pain and you can’t use plastic cement.
Just a FYI Jon, a lot of Marvel characters have very different costumes in different comic runs, so you can usually go "off script" from the most popular scheme into a less popular or even wholly unique scheme.
No reason you can't give your take on a character as well, just like the comic book artists do when taking on a book. One of the great things in comics is when artists do that, also how we get some new characters as well! Go nuts with it!
Agreed. And not just a few. Some characters like Spiderman have literally dozens of costumes over the years, and there's no reason you have to stay to just preexisting costumes
i think you should re-evalute parabellum tbh, their modern kits are 100% better then GW for me. Not only are they easy to assemble and every print model is number. But the plastic on everything newer is far beyond the sculpts of the old stuff. Comparing city states now to what hudnred kingdoms first release was, is almost two seperate manufacturing styles. My city states vs my brothers hundred kingdoms look very different and the hundred kingdoms range is getting refreshed
You skipped the big player, Archon Studio. They make Dungeons & Lasers, as well as some board games. While they are not the best, they are definitely in the range of CMON/Steamforged. And the price can really be tempting - their recent set of 100 models is around $100 (and it does have some big ones too). They have upcoming crowdfunding campaign next year with pirate themes.
It should be mentioned, Archon has two different approaches to their miniatures: The pre-assembled ones for a game like the Heroes Of Might And Magic 3 board game are made in china and similar in quality to CMON (no idea about Steamforged, don't have any of their miniatures). The Dungeons & Lasers miniatures are made in-house and come on sprues, it's the same type of plastic that Games Workshop uses so in that regard the same quality. The sculpting is not yet on the same level but they are steadily improving on it and the bigger miniatures (dragons, terrasque) or the Deuslair miniatures (I don't think they are in retail yet, got them from their Gamefound campaign) are way better quality than anything I've seen from CMON. From the older campaigns I only have a few of the big miniatures that have come out in retail plus the NPC miniature pack and, well, the NPC pack is not that good in my opinion. Might be because it's mostly 28mm, so a bit tiny for my taste.
@@oklaftrahlegne7298 Deuslair is in retail. Big set I was talking about is Deuslair Core set with 99 minis, they also have Beastkin Hybrids, Deceptive Encounters, Horrors of Deuslair and Armies of Deuslair (the last one is super fresh, released like few days ago). I have their Fantasy Miniature Set and NPCs as well, but they recently announced they are going for their own miniature skirmish game, so I wonder if they will be on par with GW or Infinity.
I originally got into painting miniatures with Battletech back in the 90's after playing the original Activision Mechwarrior game. Those old Ral Partha figures were pretty good quality for the time and I could afford one every few weeks with my allowance as a kid. I still have and occasionally paint one of those figures for the nostalgia. I love Battletech for the fun it gave me over the years but I can also accept that it has struggled to keep up with changes in the game industry.
I have to say, the newest conquest models are exponentially better than the old sprues. I recommend checking out anything from the newer factions to see the improvement.
Even using W'adrhun models would have shown significant improvements. Honestly can't believe he's all "yup, this initial launch model is how the entire range is", which is like using a 2nd edition Space Marine to judge the quality of current GW models (using GW as an example, since he constantly gushes about them in this video)
I dont know the availability in the US, but I really miss: - North Star Miniatures (Frostgrave, Oathmark, Stargrave, Silver Bayonet and a lot of other games): the variability (every plastic set is compatible with each other, and there are a lot of options on the sprue) and pricing (from around 1€/miniature) are amazing! - GCT Studios (Bushido the game): the theme is pretty limited (fantasy far east), but they miniatures are just awsome: character design, details, dynamic poses with great castig quality (both in metal and resin). And the ruleset is one of the best too! They deserve much more recognition. - Archon Studios (Dungeons and Lasers, Rampart, Masters of the Universe, HoMM3 board game): most known for they terrain, but they make plastic miniatures too. The design maybe not for everyone (as GW...), but they quality and price are truly great! A dragon or a tank around 25€? Yes!
i hope they keep up thier success so people look at them in comparison with these others. I think they are GREAT quality for the price, but i'm not going to say they are quite where GW are, but i think they ARE a much better value!
Also a big critique was that it wasn't Armored Core. Very different universes, and the way he describes wanting to play is not how Battletech is played. I can agree the models are softer plastic, but pushing it down for not being AC is odd.
Battletech plays about how he describes it being played. The mechs are highly customizable... but the miniatures are not. Even as a fan of Battletech I'd give CGL a C, the quality isn't the best but it isn't the worst, either.
@@bobinhed C is totally fair. The main advantages being affordability and ready to play. I don't know the whole market very well but I feel like it could be one of the cheapest wargames to play right now. I would argue though, that while a player can indeed easily make custom mechs, the lore of the setting leans far more heavily on fixed variants, where even major hero's in the setting use stock mechs. Variant plastics are steadily being added, and when IWM release their version a lot more are provided. I get the impression that Ninjon wants torso/leg/head swapping, not just arms and a few gun pods.
@@ShimmeringSwordThank you for bringing up how in-universe, unlike in the current generation of video games, most mechs are stock variants. Also, your artwork is fucking sick ❤
@@kaynadinstilleverge3843 They do but they are non-heroic 28mm no? I was a bit disappointed with how small they were when I backed a few of their campaigns.
@@forouza1 maybe earlier campaigns were. Their latest is 32mm scale. I'd have to set some of my minis side by side to see just how much larger newer ones are overall.
Agree with most of the list but I would knock GW down to an A+ max (the price and the core infantry same body weakness) and bump up CB as the infinity sculpts are just top notch, they are the most dynamic and unique on the market (maybe only comparable to KDM) so Id move them up to A tier at least. Sure, GW does better large miniatures but man are the Infinity regular size (which is small, yes) just absolutely amazing. I know the list would get exponentially long with how many BG minis are now available but I think some large ones that could easily be included are; Knight Games (really surprised this one isn't here especially with atomic mass), Monolith (MB, Conan, batman, etc), Dimension Games (their celestial resin is amazing), Into the Unknown (a KDM competitor, especially their LE resin craft boxes), Shadowborn Games (small sample but Oathsworn models are amazing), Limbo Miniatures (similar to Dimension Games), Go On Board (their Witcher models are fantastic and CP 2077 look to be just as good), Reggie Games (their large monsters are top notch), Awaken Realms (OK sculpts but they have mega diversity), Ludus Magnus Studio (OK, but they have some fantastic model and some resin), Lazy Squire Games (terrible company, great sculptors), Archon Studios and infinite other BG companies. You could probably just make a video dedicated to BG minis that's 5x as long as this one.
@@dominicparker6124 One reason is that he doesn't want to annoy GW and keep on getting freebies from them. Basically, don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Yeah, there are a lot of mini companies out there- past and present- with far better quality miniatures than GW. Sure, you are looking at a lot of metal and resin options to get that quality, but it's there if you look for it. Personally I'd add Darksword Miniatures, GCT Studios, Zenit Miniatures, Northstar Military Figures, GHQ Models, and Crooked Dice as excellent mini companies with great ranges. Would love to see another video exploring the wider range out there.
I live in Fort Worth Tx, went up to the Old reaper factory (this was around when bones was on kickstarter). I asked and they gave me a small factory tour and even let me take a picture of their first test print of the Tiamat model (they just asked I not post on social media until it was officially announced). They were awesome guys to talk to and you could tell their passion for DnD and tabletop games was everywhere. Also got to play a MTG pre-release there since they had their own attached games store.
They were about 15 minutes away from where I lived in Carrollton, TX. They are such a warm and friendly company, made up of wonderful people who really love the hobby--and I think their minis reflect that. I make up a background or story for every mini I paint, and Reaper minis really invite that, with their human-sculpted figures. There are no game rules or aesthetics to consider; you just paint everything the way you want to paint it, without feeling guilty about it. Their high-end large monsters often cost less than a single GW model, and little, if any, assembly is required! I may be biased by the friendliness of the company, but I've been painting Reaper minis since the beginning, and going back to them is always a pleasure!
Para-Bellum needs to be a solid B. Their newer kits are a vast improvement over their original kits. Plus, the company is not afraid to go back and refresh those old kits. Men-At-Arms, one of the original units, is getting a complete revamp in January.
reaper is def my fav! whenever i go to my local hobby shops they have a wall full of old and new models and i get SO excited hunting through them and just seeing so much variety and fun sculpts, it gets me so hyped to paint, and there truely is something for everyone! whether is busty ladies or big manly warriors i truly love what they do
I couldn't give GW an S-tier in good faith. The most I can give them is an A+ or lower (depending on the region you live in as they have different prices.) Yes they have the best looking models that are fun to paint, but they are expensive and are getting more and more expensive every year due to yearly price increases. Not to mention the 5+% price (at the lowest end) difference from the UK and nearly every other country.
I get not liking the designs and the preassembled Battletech minis, but wanting customizable mechs? It's kinda in a similar boat to Marvel/Star Wars in that you really have to like the IP it's presenting in it's many novels, the old cartoon, and all it's art and video games. It's not trying to be something it's not in the same way you won't have a custom spiderman. There are more than mechs out there, the lance packs are the bread and butter but they are thankfully getting more and more vehicle and battle armor miniatures in the mix. There are now two different games too so they are changing the way they are doing things, but they are slow and small and aren't ever going to be a GW.
Hey jon, since you already have a few of the miniatures, think you could paint up some battle mechs? Id love to see how youd approach them, since its a different scale than what youd usually paint.
I've found CMON to be pretty good quality. I've painted all of Ankh and I'm currently working my way though Marvel United. Super fun to paint, and the cost is very low per mini, as low as $1.06 per mini depending how and where you purchase them. Also, has the quality of GW mini improved recently? It's been a while since I painted them, but I always found them to be pretty average.
If you are wanting Battletech Mini's to be more customizable, you need to check out the Iron Wind Metals versions, or the Catalyst Game Labs Premium Minis, the Black Knight Model is gorgeous.
Love this video! And I'm happy to see Reaper minis getting some love. I really appreciate all the newer plastics that they've been using the last few years. So much variety for minis!
I think the Reaper metal mini's are pricewise of higher tier. What's your opinion of the metal mini's from Reaper, cuz you showed a dwarf with pints! and talked about plastics and such...
"I'm not making excuses for their price gouging".. now here's a bunch of excuses for them and we won't be considering the price like every other company.
For real, I don't know how you place something in S-tier when the company is controlled by greed demons. The pricing isn't premium or luxury, it's fucking disgusting.
As a DnD player, I love Epic Encounters. Cause you get a thematic set. Need some goblins? Sure, here are some spear warriors, spellcasters, etc. Skeletons? Sure, here's a handfull. And they are durable, highly reusable.And the Hydra boss - it's gorgeous!
It warms my heart to see this! I lead the team of sculptors on Epic Encounters and we are all ttrpg players (all in the same campaign in fact) so making these sets is really something we love doing!
while i think Archon studios out of Poland is making some of the conquest sprues, I wish you would have included their dungeons and laser or masters of universe lines. Also of note, Reaper has also ventured into Siocast (like corvus belli) and 3d printed (but super durable and not fragile). Their Bones USA line is all made in usa siores or 3d print (while the bones is still made in china pvc).
So as a Malifaux fan, I was going to take offense at them only getting a C rating - but then I remembered being on my hands and knees trying to find the front of the face of one of my wife's gremlin model... seriously the head was split in two down the front of the face, on a 28mm true scale gremlin. That face was probably 2-3 mm wide. So a C is probably fair
I feel like the newer kits have improved a lot in terms of small parts and ease of assembly. I'd love if Ninjon took a second look at the most recent (2024) releases.
You already gave a fair placement on Reaper but I want to add: I believe their miniatures are extremely beginner friendly. More round shaped figures allow for bigger surfaces that you cna put paint on. I know that crisp details are appreciated but a beginner facing thousand details and hundred lines to edge highlight would be extremely overwhelmed.
This is awesome. Thanks for covering so many mini manufacturers. I'll be looking at Reaper for my DnD minis. Also, I love that Baron of Dice is sponsoring you. I got 50 of their dice, and rolling them feels amazing. Their dice cup is beautiful and sturdy, and it can easily hold 50 of their 16mm round corner dice. I highly recommend both their dice and that cup.
@@greyboi9550 Atleast he didn't show the artisan one. Now that one would be extra wtf with the generic faction comment when Spires are one of the most unique takes I've seen for an elf fiction
Infinity currently has actually three materials: metal (most of it), siocast (some big units, same material used for all Warcrow), and Unicool (used in some of the tournament kits minis). Unicool is amazing, would be interesting to see if you review it (other manufacturers also use them).
While I don’t really disagree with your ranking of Battletech minis, the truth is that I don’t care. I paint ‘Mechs because I love Battletech. I recently got some Infinity models and they are incredible models! But I only painted a couple before reaching for another ‘Mech because the lore just didn’t grab me. That’s probably my biggest gripe about this list - while you listed a whole bunch of factors that you were going to weigh, your top two choices are the ones with highest quality and customization without respect to cost. As a top shelf painter, it makes sense that those are your highest ranked brands. But I think that most people are going to collect and paint models from the games that appeal to them most, because of the gameplay, the setting/lore, the esthetic/art direction, and yes, the quality of the models. Anyway, I’m just feeding the algorithm. You gave your disclaimer at the start of the video, and we’ve all gotten to see the type of content you produce, so it’s not like the results were all that surprising. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t enjoy your content, so thanks for continuing to make great videos about mini painting!
A bit forgotten nowadays but 5-6 years ago Creature Caster made the best looking greater demons on the market, their sculpts were gorgeous, their resin was also the best on the market with almost 0 bubbles or miscast.
Lowkey, Jon should have bought a recent mini from each range so that his bias was up to date. Like bringing a 1st Edition AoS Liberator to a current discussion on minis.
Thank you for your review. It helps to get ideas and have reasoning behind it. I struggle with what to paint most times honestly. Part of my problem is what hinders most people I think is price. So I loved the breakdown and ranking system you came up with. Thank you!
I just built my first GW minis. Ork Kommandos. I am about to prime them but all I can think is, “these aren’t built to paint. How am I going to get my brush past all these things I glued on?!?” I am about to see what it’s really like but I am not sure that More Detail Bits = a better mini.
Start out worrying about the skin, weapons, and armor. If you come out the gate fixating on the greebles, you'll ruin your enjoyment. Jon is a mini painter first and foremost. You don't hear him glowingly relate his recent gaming experiences. He's overwhelmingly concerned with the process of painting minis for display. You're concerned with putting a mini on the table to get shot by an Ultramarine.
@@fenreer01 I am going to zenithal hi-light then give contrast paints a try on the skin followed by airbrush glazing. Once the skin is done I am just going to start “working my way out” clothes, then weapons, then little bits. I am just worried about getting to all the places on the skin to begin with. I guess I will know in a week or so what it is really like.
@christopherkelly9153 a size 3 or 4 synthetic round brush will be your friend for contrast paint. Big enough to hold paint, small enough to not slop everything all over.
Newer Para Bellum plastics are much better quality than the ones you had. The art direction is still a bit iffy, but the plastic is approaching GW quality.
Ahgawd, it is not. Bought a box of the most recent stuff (mech spartans and djinns) and engineering and soft edges, poorly fitted pieces on bigger models. They are years behind GW and I don’t even play any GW games.
I found a good white metal miniature company for plenty of unique fantasy minis. They're called Midlam Miniatures. A UK company and if you need relatively cheap metal townsfolk it's excellent for it.
I nearly totally agree on the list, but I personally would put corvus belli on an a+/s-. There cool designs gave me my painting spirit back. Morats are the best
You should review newer Para Bellum models. The Steel Legion are the first kit they released 5 years ago. They also can look a bit static because they are made for a rank and file game. Also their resin is probably the best in the industry.
ninjon has some weird takes here, he sometimes factor in price yet all the higher tier models are absurdly expensive compare to what archon/para-bellum produces....
Metal is still my favorite model material to paint, never understood why people had issues with it. It holds great detail and takes paint well. Assembly issues are largely dependent on the manufacturer (looking at you Dark Sword. I love what you do, but that amazon's wrist is entirely too small to pin or glue in a reasonable fashion. I appreciate your vison, but you don't have to be 'that' true to the original art.) Reaper's metals are easily 'A' tier. (Despite my one complaint about Amazonian wrist connections Darks sword is also 'A'.) You can still get metal Battletech minis from Ironwind metals. Much better than the plastics (though those plastics are still better than the Clix versions.) I recommend just getting those from their website. Ironwind has most of Ral Partha's old molds and are great. Though I'd make them 'B' tier, mostly because most of their sculpts are a much older style and smaller scale, and their website isn't great for searching through, some absolute gems hidden in there though. They also have the models from the old Kenzerco games, Tin Man miniatures, and Thunderbolt Mountain.
I came here as a HUGE BT Fan (such a Fan I am a local Demo Agent, and have helped with demoing/running BT at GenCon) to roast Jon for his arguments of BT models. Are they perfect, no, but then I can argue the same thing with regards to GAMES WORKSHOP model (having just assembled and painted a Lizardman Blood Bowl team (poor parts line up, and why do Lizard Man Teeth run across the top of their palate like the teeth of pliers??? Not separate teeth on either side, just rows of one tooth running from left-to-right.) Based on some Jon's criticisms of the BT Minis I wonder if he has even cracked and read anything of the BattleTech rules and lore? Because talking about making a mini and choosing the Engine and Motive type and weapons is a very, very, very tiny part of the rules that most players don't even touch. A BATTLEMECH is more equivalent to comparing a Russian Tank, with a German Tank, and an American tank from World War 2 up to modern age. To complain you can't 'customize with all the little bits' I guess I should complain I can't take a German Panzer's turret and put it on my Churchill Crocodile. Sorry, my example may not make 100% sense but the BT Lore people will understand why a Locust doesn't look like a JagerMech and why those don't look anything like King Crab.
Side tracking a little on the battletech mechs, it sounds like you just need a smaller 30mm* kit from Bandai. Super duper crazy modular *30 Minute Mission, not size/scale.
CMON is definitely a B-, B if you account for the landscape of sales and deals, especially when stock is being cleared and they're running crowdfunding campaigns. I've gotten HATE and Massive Darkness both for around $2/mini (with some really huge ones in the HATE box) and the ASOIAF starter for less than $1/mini. ASOIAF infantry boxes for $20-$25 when on clearance (12 minis). All of these are great for huge blocks of troops for wargames, enemy hordes for TTRPGs, and I would actually argue the premium large models are good enough for skirmish-level. Yes, ASOIAF is a lot of dudes and dudes on horses, but they're perfect for generic fantasy medieval settings- all my D&D bandits are from there and look awesome.
Their sculpts are great, but I find that they suffer from the woes of a lot of softer plastic pieces with obnoxious to remove moldlines and damage from roughly-removed injection points. Look great when painted up though, and I have a lot of the ASOIAF and Zombicie Black Plague minis purely to use as generic fantasy miniatures.
@@catoblepasomega Agree. If you go this route you definitely need some kind of mold line remover and potentially some green stuff but I think the results relative to the time/money in are pretty sweet.
Yeah, I was a little underwhelmed by the "it's dudes and dudes on horses" comment when he's got Massive Darkness 2 sitting there, not to mention the other variety in all the games they make. Rating SFG higher is what blew my mind. I feel like that was him having more of the larger SFG models, because I do not think their models are better at all.
I'm currently assembling and painting dudes and dudettes for a role-playing campaign in the LotR universe, and the choice is over-fricking-whelming. This video is a god-send, my man!
@@scottwallbank4794 But it clearly isn't as the other companies who produce comparable stuff to GW are getting marked down for price. Para-Bellums resin characters and big monster kits are just straight up crisper and better than a lot of GWs, Wyrd has some ridiculously characterful and creative sculpts in their catalogue and Corvus Belli's metal are insanely detailed.
14:19 I'm a BattleTech guy. The fact there's a highly detailed tabletop simulator for it (megamek) is an absolute clincher for me.... But yeah, they need to re-release Battletroops at a larger scale to attract hobbyists. The mechs would be more like GW vehicles. I understand they have brought "Destiny" scale models to conventions to sell as one offs, so they know it, but nothing will change until after they finish the delivery of the Mercenaries Kickstarter.
@@photonfartsqueeze6694 The first run stuff that he's holding were produced by an American company that they don't do business with. The sculpts and miniatures are now done by Archon Studio in Poland and the quality has sky-rocketed since the handover
Solid video and I liked the well reasoned arguments. As an older subscriber I do like historical, but there are now so many good plastic and resin ranges they would qualify for their own video - which would likely tank. Cheers
There is a 3d designer, Locust Labs, that gives people everything you'd want from a mech for battletech. They are modular, have hard edges, and paint really well. As someone who loves playing Alpha Strike, I really only own official minis to support my game store.
Great video and I share the same general mindset regarding miniature manufacturers. Random question here; what are you using to hold your AK 3rd Gen paints? I was going through your gear list but I only see the wall mounted nail polish listing you use for Citadel paints, Contrast paint, and Pro Acryl. Anyone know what I should be searching for? Thanks in advance.
98% of my none 3d printed minis are Reaper. I have always loved Reaper minis. I agree with you about them having personality and I think it is because they are hand sculpted. Someone put part of themselves when sculpting them. And I agree with them being a B because of the quality of some of them, maybe a B+. I also agree with everything you said about Wizkids minis being crap, If F- was a grade it is what I give Wizkids. What sucks is that my local store has slowly progressed from selling Reaper to Wizkids because they are the "official" minis for Wizards. It has gotten to the point that I have to order mine from Reaper directly.
@@impcit5717he specifically said pricing was taken in consideration over and over and over again for every company, so I’m not even sure you’ve watched the video.
@@impcit5717 see? Hahahah but, idk, I found it funny how he established his criteria to just sorta throw one of them out right at the second pick. He said that he would stick to "fantasy-ish" and "space-ish" to then just feature a brand that does Star Wars and Marvel. Like...what..?
I love love love Battletech… and your assessment is spot on. The models are not usually the best quality: lot of mold lines, detail is soft (and sometimes missing completely) They paint a lot different than Warhammer stuff, for the reasons above but also the scale is way way way bigger. I love BT! I love the game, I love the lore, the mechs are super cool. A lot of their plastic is ass tho.
It should be worth noting - as you did for other companies - that Games Workshop also locks you into a VERY specific aesthetic. Everything they make has very similar styles, and if you don't like your models festooned in skulls and in their hyper-specific style, then they're not really any good for you. It's the same point you brought up for CMON, and it still applies with GW. You're locked into one very specific design niche with them.
What does this mean? There are plenty of factions and games that aren’t “festooned in skulls”. Are you talking about similarities across all the games? Like necromunda is similar to Middle Earth?
@@eeyun5279 It means that they all stick to very similar styles. When you look at most of the GW miniatures, doesn't matter which universe, you can clearly see it's a GW miniature and can't exactly fit somewhere else, other than their universes. You can take most LotR minis and drop them in AoS, or 40k and drop them in Necromunda, and they wouldn't feel "off". But put them in other fantasy or sci-fi universes that are not GW made, they stick out like a sore thumb. As for Infinity for example, you can take most of their miniatures an drop them in a lot of similarly styled cyberpunk or sci-fi based universes and would feel right at home.
I've gotta say though, I think he's definitely off-base when it comes to saying CMON minis are all the same. He's talking about "it's just dudes and dudes on horses" when he's got a box of Massive Darkness 2 right there on the table. Zombicides, Marvel (in realistic and chibi style), Rising Sun, Ankh, Dune, Cyberpunk, Cthulhu... I'm sorry, dunking on them for lack of variety seems like deliberately ignoring the variety that they have.
I'm not an expert on GW, but it feels like you are referencing only a couple of factions from 40k specifically. You do realize there are like 15 other factions that aren't covered in skulls? Or that they have many, many minis outside of just 40k and even AOS?
@@AmstradHeroI like him but when he shills for GW, he shills. He assigned criteria then ignored it when it came to GW. They are expensive as Hell and have a specific esthetic.
Ninjon I know you just came out with this video but do you have any thoughts on Trench Crusade on Kickstarter? I've been running into a lot of very enthusiastic people who have backed it and the minis look ill.
Best metal miniatures on the market, let's give CB a B. Seriously, maybe it would be true like 10 years ago. These days their miniatures are still amazing in quality and newest models only prove that. Switching to siocast has hurt their reviews quite badly, so the trend to fix that would definitely be to go back to full metal. Siocast is just too crappy and unrealiable compared to what they have done with white metal.
It's interesting to me that Creature Caster didn't get on this list? If we're willing to review D&D stuff I'd figure a huge 40K proxy company would be viable as well, plus they have their own wargame and are supplying models for two new ones.
Going to have to agree with others that Games Workshop probably deserved an A tier. You admitted that the cost is a pretty big downside and that alone should be reason to knock them down to maybe an S- or A+. For me personally you also really need to be into their particular brand of lore and character design. I'm not a fan of like 80% of the stuff they put out, kinda like how you don't enjoy Marvel or Star Wars models as much. They have a very particular brand that you need to be invested in or else the amount of models that excites you shrinks drastically.
Considering I'd be spending multiple thousands on one army ( genestealer cults and sisters being the worst ) I'd say that's a massive barrier to entry. For me it's A tier at best
Thank you for the nice comments! We respect out spot, and will try to get to that S tier! LETS GO!
We are always trying to make our stuff better, Thats why we have changed our material quite a bit over the years! We won't stop trying new things wether it be mold making, material the models are made of, or designs! :)
Love the channel, keep it up! - ReaperJon
Always nice to see a company taking feedback so well! I have plenty of reaper stuff, and love it! Keep on doing what you do!
Keep up the good work 😊
@@FurtuimI'll second that!
I like Reaper
I love you guys the best. You're why I'm here!
Something that Para Bellum does that I think everyone should get in on is putting numbers on the pieces themselves. So a lot of the newer kits say you have 3 bodies on a sprue, all the pieces that go to that body (say torso halves) all have a 1, 2, or 3 obviously on the mini in a place that you won't see once assembled. So convenient.
This is honestly one of my biggest complaints with GW minis is the difficulty of assembly. First there's the absolute bat shit insane way they number the sprues, but also use the pieces in assembly. I could almost forgive the pieces being all over the place on the sprue if we at least started by attaching piece 1 to piece 2 - but half the time it's like Step 1: Attach piece 73A to 15D and 17D. And then sprue D has been split in half to fit in the box and the pieces are on different halves but wouldn't even be close if the sprues where still one piece.
The second big complaint is actually about how precise they've gotten. Use to be there would be either flat shoulders or ball joins so you could pose the minis, but now everything is monopose.
Adding in the huge price I wouldn't put GW minis above a C. They may be the standard, but they've let their popularity get in the way of making the kits fun to put together. Third bonus complaint against GW, basically every other company reviewed has the rules for their games available for free. It's basically the industry standard. Yes, you can, and probably will buy a physical copy of the rules if you like the game, but being able to see the rules is great, especially if you already like the minis.
I wonder if that is a newer advantage? I'd still prefer a build handout. Some of the wraiths you don't know where to put what; or at least that is what I found.
@@YanniCooper this is ny huge hurdle with getting back into it with 10thED. I started in 8th with the Tau and now so much has changed and i want to make a new lists but unless i spend $60 on a new codex and $60 on the new rules book, its a pain to get my hands the info for my army to see if i even WANT to keep playing them. I also wanted to possibly expand to another army but a 2k point list is over a thousand dollars.
My friend bought the new tau Kroot box and he is a seasoned painter and even he was like, "wtf am i looking at?" when trying to assemble the minis.
They could be SO much better, especially with the amount of money and branding behind them.
@@mindyfranke5279 They've had the internal numbering on body parts since the initial W'adrhun release in 2021.
Northstar does this with the Stargrave minis. But they assemble nicely if you don't follow the numbers too.
I'm a HUGE Reaper fan girl. They have been huge innovators in the space for over 30 years. They coined the phrase "Heroic Scale". In the days of assembly-required metal miniatures, they developed single piece indestructible PVC plastic minis, ready to slap on the table right out of the blister if needed. They are small for their reach and are so community-oriented. They have the best customer service and engagement. They are constantly trying to find new ways to present minis and innovate materials or manufacturing. They identify all their sculpters on their website and on the packaging for each mini. They also identify the painter for any painted minis on their website. They support the hobby and those that make it. I love the company. I love the people at the company. Reaper is amazing. And they make great minis and paints too.
Yup; Reaper is S tier.
Reaper sure punches above their weight when it comes to cost:quality ratio. After civil war army soldiers; reaper were the minis I cut my teeth on.
Absolutely. Reaper is my go to. Price is right, quality is right, so many options.
Love the Sandra Garrity and Werner Klocke sculpts.
Reaper got done dirty by the list only focusing on human-sized minis. Reaper’s stuff gets far better quality and far better value for money as you get up into the BIG stuff where you’d lose an arm and a leg from other companies. I’ve got some massive centrepiece minis that cost me like US$25 that’d be pushing the $200 mark if they were from GW, and the GW version would include a bunch of unnecessary clutter and easy to break thin points on the model holding it up.
So many companies that didn't get a mention, there's enough for a part 2 to this: Modiphius (Fallout: Wasteland Warfare); Oathsworn (Burrows&Badgers); Goblin King (Moonstone); Iron Wind (Battletech metal minis); Mantic (Kings of War)
Volume 2?
Add to that list North Star (Frostgrave, Stargrave, Oathmark), Atlantic Games (various fantasy and sci-fi that aren't WH/40K honest, guvnor!), Warlord Games (2000AD games, Mythic America, Warlords of Erewhon, Gates of Antares).
I was surprised Mantic didn't make the list especially because they have some stuff that works well as proxies for GW stuff.
+1 for Moonstone
Iron Wind is a solid D at best.
By no means a defense for Conquest is that their quality got at least 2x better with their 3rd faction, but more importantly their hero models are resin and are some of the best models you will find!
This 100%! Some of the original models are deserving a C tier ranking but the new stuff and especially the heros are on a whole different level! One thing I really like about their line is the larger scale so painting is just easier and details are better defined
@@marekjanousek5443 The quality has improved, but I'm just not a fan of the range personally. The designs of the sculpts are what let it down for me. Some of it feels like random things are added on for the sake of adding details without thought or consideration to what those details are. I haven't enjoyed painting most of them because too many of those things just aren't discernable.
Agreed, best Resin I've ever worked with.
Yeah, Para Bellum got done a bit dirty in this, the kit he's holding is 4 years old at this point, and not pointing out that those single miniature prices are for resin kits feels a bit deceptive. Especially with the amount of bending over backwards he does to give GW excuses for its pricing
To be fair though, the prices have increased with the quality. A unit of newer models through PB is on par with a unit from GW. The Spire Leonine Avatara unit with 3 models is $60 and the Lineage Prideborn is a normal sized hero model for $40.
Oh this should be entirely non controversial
😂
😂
😂
Bring on that sweet sweet engagement
I bought popcorn just for opening the comment section!
I can't get behind Reaper being higher than Wyrd, and if GW is S tier fine, but Atomic Mass needs to be solidly in A tier if that's the case
Yes, Wyrd got robbed.
As does CB, Jesus, jon really beansd it
@@dominicparker6124 Yeah I'll be honest this list is a mess, Idk what Jon's smoking to put Wyrd at C and freaking Reaper ahead of Corvus Belli is just a staight up insult
Wyrd’s models are easily higher quality than AMG’s.
@@photonfartsqueeze6694 he dropped them down cause they are harder to assemble and paint for newbs. But design wise they are so full of flavour
> Shows a video game during the Battletech section, a franchise with multiple popular games, including one that came out a few weeks ago
> It’s for a completely separate franchise.
Damnit, Jon.
It's a bit funny about Battletech; I remember the 'Battledroids' game box, back before George Lucas sued FASA over the term 'droid' and they had to change it. The box had two bagged 1:100 models from the anime series 'Fang of the Sun Dougram', and the early metal miniatures bore _amazing_ resemblances to various anime mecha that it took FASA years to beat down to develop their own styles.
Wasn’t just a resemblance, FASA licenced the designs for various mecha from anime to bulk out the cast, it was American company Harmony Gold who threatened suit in the 90’s to get them removed for anything HG was distributing in the US. Turned out in the late 2010’s harmony gold never actually owned the rights because the people who sold them to them never owned the rights in the first place (film distributors sold the rights to them, not the toy designers who created the designs) which all resolved during the battletech video game kickstarter fulfilment, where Harebrained Schemes and Catalyst Game Labs both either defaulted or settled, but PGI (Mechwarrior online and Mechwarrior 5) came out swinging and broke Harmony Gold’s stranglehold on the IP (HBS and CGL had been avoiding the ‘unseen’ mechs, but PGI had kind of provoked the lawsuit with their redesigns of the unseen made for MWO) which then led to Catalyst relaunching the then-dead miniatures game and producing the plastics we see today (the previous version had been pretty awful metals from Ral Partha)
Be that as it may, as a Battletech player, I dream of a day when we can buy sprue kits that actually look nice.
@@benbattiste1041 I understand they have some "premium" line they're working on. Knowing Catalyst, it'll be available in 3-5 years.
Battletech stole a huge number of mech designs from the 80s anime series Robotech. Like, straight up shameless copies. I enjoyed that game so much, even when I was playing with a printed, folded bit of cardboard in an unstable black stand, back in the early 90s!
12:39 I think the thing that impressed me about ParaBellum isn't just their mini quality, it's how far they've come in such a short amount of time. Their first kits, like the 100k Men At Arms, are super rough, on round sprues with massive gates and fairly soft details. Comparing that to some newer minis, like the elite cavalry options, the difference is might and day. The sprue is better, the gates are smaller, and overall quality is massively better. And it's a difference of 6-7 years, I think? They may not be up to GW standards, but with the pace at which they're improving, I honestly don't think it'll be long before they get there!
this is only there 5th anniversary (2024). I agree whole heartedly mind, I play Nords and the difference between a Huskarl sprue manufactured in the US, to the latest releases out of the Poland production line are night and day. Helps its an awesome game as well, and they are resculpting model ranges from the original factions to update the worst offenders, which is very cool within 5 years I think.
I would put a lot of their resin character sculpts above GWs.
@@SlytherpuffHouse I'll second the comment about their resin. It's high detail, high quality, easy to clean up, and best of all, takes paint oh so readily. There's only two resin companies I can think of that have produced higher quality with the same ease of use, and that would be Trenchworx and the high tier (and high cost) gunpla resin conversion kits (from makers such as Yujiao Land or AEther Studio)
This was tremendously useful. My niece recently told me she was interested in getting into miniature painting and I had no idea where to start looking. I found lists of places, of course, but none of the lists actually went into detail about what you'd be getting. So, this was great, thank you!
It kills me that when you talk about how much potential there is for Battletech to be awesome, you used Armored Core footage. That's some shade.
Maybe Jon thinks Armored Core IS Battletech.
No BattleTech fan will disagree with you regarding the models. That being said, I was hoping all the BT fans had shown up to roast you for posting some other Mecha animation. Shame Jon, shame!!! PS, I would argue and be correct, that BattleTech lore is BETTER than 40K and makes sense too. (Dark Ages is Highlander 2)
Yes! The Battletech universe is awesome, deep, and amazing.
Anywhere in particular I could find a good place to check out BattleTech lore? I’ve been thinking about checking it out lately.
@@disturbed8411 my favorite by far is the black pants legion on UA-camrs. Tex does the best lore videos.
Reaper has grown in leaps and bounds. They went from a company making metal minis and then their bones material (which was almost completely unpaintable) to the Bones USA material and using SioCast machines. Their quality has improved immensely. The models are also dependent on the sculptor. Bobby Jackson’s stuff, in my opinion, DEFINES the range and is what we use in my DCC gaming group.
Thanks John! We love Bobby J's stuff too!
Ill step in to defend MCP a bit here. There are absolutely no rules or expectations limiting your creativity when it comes to painting "correct" colours. Each hero has at least a dozen alternative outfits over the years and their colour doesn't determine, say, their legion and specific rules ...
Kingdom Death: Monster also has it's Black Friday sale coming up this month. The game and kits will be for sale at a DEEP discount at midnight EST on Black Friday for those interested.
Don't tempt me
@o7_AP the store is mostly 50% off! (The ring tempts you)
If you are thinking of jumping in, that’s the day. Your wallet will both love you and hate you as the discounts are great but you will still go overboard.
I checked out the discount and it was pretty steep. I decided not buy in but to me, it felt like the pricing was how it should be by default.
-Archon studios is fantastic and have grown a ton in a short amount of time. I think they also make the conquest minis. Stick with their kickstarter and dungeons& lasers line for the best value!
-I know CMON is represented but I love their miniatures from their OoP line wrath of kings. Quirky, detailed enough, simple to build, and great to paint.
-I really love bones for the value, epic encounters for the story telling, and Wargame Atlantic for simplicity and bits.
Reaper is solidly my favorite mini company. I live in the same town as the factory and have gotten to speak to a lot of the employees and artists of the company and they are all so nice and helpful. Reaper does an EXCELLENT job of engaging with their fans and taking suggestions through their forums and discord communities about the kinds of models we want to see. I also love their paint range and always recommend their company to start for beginning painters. And they also run a small yearly convention for reaper fans where you can meet and hangout with other painters of all skill levels as well as meet a lot of the sculptors and studio painters for the company. The Reaper community is one of the biggest reasons I have continued painting and gotten better at it.
💯 agree with everything you said. I would also like to add I have had an excellent experience with their customer service. I got some wonky bases and they replaced them with extras. I was missing a jawbone on one of my bones 5 dragons and it was replaced in a week. They used to have a great deal with free shipping over a certain price with all sorts of free seasonal and monthly free minis. Having spent at least $3000 on two kick starters and lots of bundles over the years, they definitely have proven to me, that they are the best value for my D&D table.
They are great miniatures for beginners. At my old gaming shop we ran a painting table where we taught newcomers how to paint using minis donated from our collection-mostly reaper and old GW stuff. Reaper sets a fantastic balance of easy-to-paint and cheap while looking good.
I disagree with them being good for beginners mainly because a beginner is going to go out and prime them with a rattlecan, which is going to ruin the mini and is a problem no other miniature mgfr has. Unless they've changed their newest line to not have that problem but the first Reaper minis I got were poor quality. Their paints are unmatched and they invest a ton into the miniature community so I gotta give them props for that.
CMoN started as a website for posting painted miniatures.
Thank you, I thought it was just me.
Was just gonna comment this thanks. It was kinda like Putty and Paint
@@kevinshoulars1170 it took me ages to stop initially thinking people were talking about it as the rating your paint job website when they started manufacturing!
Not only did they start as a gallery site, but it had taken over Dark Age and their outstanding miniatures long before it got anywhere close to any board game.
I think WizKids needs two different scores.
Medium sized creatures and below: F
Large and above monsters: B
Not a bad point.
also, they have their frameworks line which is better
Also think their frameworks line should be looked at too
@@tonyh681 true, I haven’t built one yet but they do look slick
@ they are worth a look at! Good quality and a decent amount of customisation! Just limited on the range! There isn’t a mini for every class/race combo yet!
Regarding the battletech models. I had the exact same wish as you as i come from 40k. However after meeting many battletech players, that prebuilt static model is a HUGE selling point for them.
I find a lot of BT players are in it for the setting and game, not to be hobby painters. Most that paint them don't even clean the mold lines. So yeah the unbox and play aspect is huge.
Excited to see BattleTech. I've looked forward to seeing what you could do with paint and a mech since seeing your first video.
Then you poop on it, still like you.
CMON actually started out as a mini painting review site, AFAIK. Not a board game manufacturer. People would upload their painted mini and ask, Cool mini or not?
And that was an imitation of the old “Hot or Not” website, where people would upload a photo of themselves and other users would rate their physical attractiveness on a scale from 1 to 10.
Yeah, Wyrd games models are expencive but with just few boxes you have a playable group. For a busy dude it's great that you get different armies ready to play relatively fast. Biggest downside are assembling and how some minis don't even fit on their bases.
I don't know why their scale was mentioned as "small and difficult" when they are 32mm, same as Corvus Belli, and bigger/same as GW depending on their models
I completely agree with the reaper sentiment. I get excited by those models, even with their melted-crayon faces
The thing about Battletech is that its core fantasy is, frankly, 40 years old. The rest of the industry has passed it by, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s really, really great! But that all speaks to the miniature quality. It’s not trying to go after each mini being a tool for self expression, or a tool to push yourself as a painter. It’s about painting a big stompy military sci fi mech and rolling lots of dice and checking result tables to see what happened.
It’s simply not trying to be like everyone else.
40k is close to 50. It is okay to improve.
@@Acsabi44 40k Is 37 going on 38 yrs old, Batletech is 3 years older than 40k, GW is a mini company with a game and btech is a game company. Two totally different focus's (you dont need minis to play battletech many people play with cardboard cutouts or megamek online using 2d pixel art) He should have ranked Ironwind Metals who make battletechs metal minis (still would rate low) but those box sets are intentionally low detail relatively cheap mass produced minis and were meant to be.
I was just thinking of the cardboard standees and the old Ral Partha metal minis for battletech. The art and sculptures were all over the place. Also, the wizkids click bases of the Dark Age era were, IMO, absolute... trash. So, as a range of minis for Battletech, the new plastics are streets ahead compared to the older minis.
Also, they are getting more dynamic poses, and Catalyst is toying around with optional parts for minis.
Also, all of the minis are still valid, I can put the card board standee, Ral Partha, Iron Wind, and Catalyst minis all on the same board at the same time.
Could the Catalyst minis be better, yes. Are they as bad as described, no.
I know, typical Minnesota nice.
@@nunrab Ironwind is the old ral partha employees with all the old molds, they still make alot of the older minis from ral partha too.
I will also shout out how accesible Battletech is from a miniatures standpoint. You can crack open a force pack, with 4 prebuilt mechs with stats included and put them right on the game table and get started. Also 4 mechs is a pretty standard size for a force. The ease of purchase to play is incredible. I would personally like to see some more dynamic poses though, and some of the edges and details could definitely be sharper but that does seem to be getting better with time.
"A couple of different Battlemechs"
What the heck are you talking about 😂
As someone who's played Battletech for 30 years it's still surreal to hear Battletech listed as "current and popular" LOL It's been a wild few years.
I do think it should have gotten a little better in terms of variety though. you make it sound like there's only one or two mechs for each size class, but there's currently close to 300 minis in the Catalyst range.
Most mechs only have one or two variants or poses currently, but there's something like a thousand unique chassis in the game, not including vehicles. And each of those has generally a half dozen variants. The current focus is to get as many chassis out there as possible.
I'd put them at C-tier msyelf
That said, I would love to see some multipart posable kits, or at least some weapon packs and the like for customizers to play with.
They do have a couple semi poseable models out right now, like the clan-buster black Knight. I do think the main reason battletech is monopose is 1. They've always been like that and 2. Battletech fronts as game first: 50 bucks for a box with enough plastic models for two players (9 more if you count the cardboards) and you have a game. Pvc models are softer and less detailed, but they're cheaper and will survive a fall off a dinner table easier. If you want nicer models you can go to Ironwind Metals, which the game box has a coupon for.
As someone who started painting with Wizkids Nolzur’s minis and thought I was a shit painter for years because of them, I agree with every word here. They’re only good for a terrible painting experience and are generally awful. Just buy Reaper.
The only worse thing than nolzur's is the quality of the pre painted ones from WizKids 😅
Idk, the paint jobs may be abysmal but I swear the sculpts are still better than Nolzur’s 💀
@@kaidenggsjsjjenf they're the same models 😭 I always end up painting over them. Have not figured how to get rid of the paint
@@kkuapo I tried using paint stripper to get it off the prepainted ones AND the primed ones, and it didn't make a dent. No idea what kind of industrial-grade paint they slap on those but good god almighty it bungles up all of the details.
@@Guzwar same here, it's like trying to strip paint off a car
24:50 I disagree, transferring the whole range to Siocast would be a step down in quality instead of a step up. Cleaning/prepping metal mini's is quite a bit easier than Siocast. With siocast you can't really scrape the mold lines, you have to cut them. I do hope, like you said, that they will improve the Siocast casting process (or someone else does and they learn from them), then maybe.
Totally agree. I recently picked up WarCrow and while the end result is really nice the assembly’s process kind of sucks. Mold line removal is a pain and you can’t use plastic cement.
Just a FYI Jon, a lot of Marvel characters have very different costumes in different comic runs, so you can usually go "off script" from the most popular scheme into a less popular or even wholly unique scheme.
Yup, I've done that with multiple figures where I didn't care for the costume that they chose.
No reason you can't give your take on a character as well, just like the comic book artists do when taking on a book. One of the great things in comics is when artists do that, also how we get some new characters as well! Go nuts with it!
Agreed. And not just a few. Some characters like Spiderman have literally dozens of costumes over the years, and there's no reason you have to stay to just preexisting costumes
Reaper will always be my favorite mini company. They were my first minis and they bring so much joy to paint.
i think you should re-evalute parabellum tbh, their modern kits are 100% better then GW for me. Not only are they easy to assemble and every print model is number. But the plastic on everything newer is far beyond the sculpts of the old stuff. Comparing city states now to what hudnred kingdoms first release was, is almost two seperate manufacturing styles. My city states vs my brothers hundred kingdoms look very different and the hundred kingdoms range is getting refreshed
You skipped the big player, Archon Studio. They make Dungeons & Lasers, as well as some board games. While they are not the best, they are definitely in the range of CMON/Steamforged. And the price can really be tempting - their recent set of 100 models is around $100 (and it does have some big ones too). They have upcoming crowdfunding campaign next year with pirate themes.
It should be mentioned, Archon has two different approaches to their miniatures: The pre-assembled ones for a game like the Heroes Of Might And Magic 3 board game are made in china and similar in quality to CMON (no idea about Steamforged, don't have any of their miniatures). The Dungeons & Lasers miniatures are made in-house and come on sprues, it's the same type of plastic that Games Workshop uses so in that regard the same quality. The sculpting is not yet on the same level but they are steadily improving on it and the bigger miniatures (dragons, terrasque) or the Deuslair miniatures (I don't think they are in retail yet, got them from their Gamefound campaign) are way better quality than anything I've seen from CMON.
From the older campaigns I only have a few of the big miniatures that have come out in retail plus the NPC miniature pack and, well, the NPC pack is not that good in my opinion. Might be because it's mostly 28mm, so a bit tiny for my taste.
@@oklaftrahlegne7298 Deuslair is in retail. Big set I was talking about is Deuslair Core set with 99 minis, they also have Beastkin Hybrids, Deceptive Encounters, Horrors of Deuslair and Armies of Deuslair (the last one is super fresh, released like few days ago).
I have their Fantasy Miniature Set and NPCs as well, but they recently announced they are going for their own miniature skirmish game, so I wonder if they will be on par with GW or Infinity.
@@metalcollection1 I might have missed them then, had a quick look at what's on their US Amazon store and only saw the Wolfrake from Deuslair.
I originally got into painting miniatures with Battletech back in the 90's after playing the original Activision Mechwarrior game. Those old Ral Partha figures were pretty good quality for the time and I could afford one every few weeks with my allowance as a kid. I still have and occasionally paint one of those figures for the nostalgia. I love Battletech for the fun it gave me over the years but I can also accept that it has struggled to keep up with changes in the game industry.
I have to say, the newest conquest models are exponentially better than the old sprues. I recommend checking out anything from the newer factions to see the improvement.
Even using W'adrhun models would have shown significant improvements. Honestly can't believe he's all "yup, this initial launch model is how the entire range is", which is like using a 2nd edition Space Marine to judge the quality of current GW models (using GW as an example, since he constantly gushes about them in this video)
Surprised to see no Creature Caster but it was good to see other brands I didn’t know before
I dont know the availability in the US, but I really miss:
- North Star Miniatures (Frostgrave, Oathmark, Stargrave, Silver Bayonet and a lot of other games): the variability (every plastic set is compatible with each other, and there are a lot of options on the sprue) and pricing (from around 1€/miniature) are amazing!
- GCT Studios (Bushido the game): the theme is pretty limited (fantasy far east), but they miniatures are just awsome: character design, details, dynamic poses with great castig quality (both in metal and resin). And the ruleset is one of the best too! They deserve much more recognition.
- Archon Studios (Dungeons and Lasers, Rampart, Masters of the Universe, HoMM3 board game): most known for they terrain, but they make plastic miniatures too. The design maybe not for everyone (as GW...), but they quality and price are truly great! A dragon or a tank around 25€? Yes!
Archon games from Poland are the closest in terms of quality to GW in my opinion.
Especially their newest models. They have taken huge strides in the last two years.
And Soo affordable. And the latest Prismacast terrain is Awesome, I've got 5 sets of this so far.😊
Ha. No, they are not.They have a long way to go.
I think the new conquest minis are made by archon
i hope they keep up thier success so people look at them in comparison with these others. I think they are GREAT quality for the price, but i'm not going to say they are quite where GW are, but i think they ARE a much better value!
Talking Battletech, uses Armoured Core footage o.0
Also a big critique was that it wasn't Armored Core. Very different universes, and the way he describes wanting to play is not how Battletech is played. I can agree the models are softer plastic, but pushing it down for not being AC is odd.
Battletech plays about how he describes it being played. The mechs are highly customizable... but the miniatures are not. Even as a fan of Battletech I'd give CGL a C, the quality isn't the best but it isn't the worst, either.
@@bobinhed C is totally fair. The main advantages being affordability and ready to play. I don't know the whole market very well but I feel like it could be one of the cheapest wargames to play right now.
I would argue though, that while a player can indeed easily make custom mechs, the lore of the setting leans far more heavily on fixed variants, where even major hero's in the setting use stock mechs. Variant plastics are steadily being added, and when IWM release their version a lot more are provided.
I get the impression that Ninjon wants torso/leg/head swapping, not just arms and a few gun pods.
@@ShimmeringSwordThank you for bringing up how in-universe, unlike in the current generation of video games, most mechs are stock variants.
Also, your artwork is fucking sick ❤
No Archon Studio? My heart is broken
My first thought. They make great minis.
@@kaynadinstilleverge3843 They do but they are non-heroic 28mm no? I was a bit disappointed with how small they were when I backed a few of their campaigns.
@@forouza1 maybe earlier campaigns were. Their latest is 32mm scale. I'd have to set some of my minis side by side to see just how much larger newer ones are overall.
Agree with most of the list but I would knock GW down to an A+ max (the price and the core infantry same body weakness) and bump up CB as the infinity sculpts are just top notch, they are the most dynamic and unique on the market (maybe only comparable to KDM) so Id move them up to A tier at least. Sure, GW does better large miniatures but man are the Infinity regular size (which is small, yes) just absolutely amazing.
I know the list would get exponentially long with how many BG minis are now available but I think some large ones that could easily be included are; Knight Games (really surprised this one isn't here especially with atomic mass), Monolith (MB, Conan, batman, etc), Dimension Games (their celestial resin is amazing), Into the Unknown (a KDM competitor, especially their LE resin craft boxes), Shadowborn Games (small sample but Oathsworn models are amazing), Limbo Miniatures (similar to Dimension Games), Go On Board (their Witcher models are fantastic and CP 2077 look to be just as good), Reggie Games (their large monsters are top notch), Awaken Realms (OK sculpts but they have mega diversity), Ludus Magnus Studio (OK, but they have some fantastic model and some resin), Lazy Squire Games (terrible company, great sculptors), Archon Studios and infinite other BG companies. You could probably just make a video dedicated to BG minis that's 5x as long as this one.
Yeah i dont see how you can factor in prices for some and mark them down and then have the single most overpriced producer and hand waive it.
@dominicparker6124 100%
@@dominicparker6124 One reason is that he doesn't want to annoy GW and keep on getting freebies from them. Basically, don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Yeah, there are a lot of mini companies out there- past and present- with far better quality miniatures than GW. Sure, you are looking at a lot of metal and resin options to get that quality, but it's there if you look for it.
Personally I'd add Darksword Miniatures, GCT Studios, Zenit Miniatures, Northstar Military Figures, GHQ Models, and Crooked Dice as excellent mini companies with great ranges. Would love to see another video exploring the wider range out there.
@@catoblepasomega Dark Sword for sure
I live in Fort Worth Tx, went up to the Old reaper factory (this was around when bones was on kickstarter). I asked and they gave me a small factory tour and even let me take a picture of their first test print of the Tiamat model (they just asked I not post on social media until it was officially announced). They were awesome guys to talk to and you could tell their passion for DnD and tabletop games was everywhere. Also got to play a MTG pre-release there since they had their own attached games store.
They were about 15 minutes away from where I lived in Carrollton, TX. They are such a warm and friendly company, made up of wonderful people who really love the hobby--and I think their minis reflect that. I make up a background or story for every mini I paint, and Reaper minis really invite that, with their human-sculpted figures. There are no game rules or aesthetics to consider; you just paint everything the way you want to paint it, without feeling guilty about it. Their high-end large monsters often cost less than a single GW model, and little, if any, assembly is required! I may be biased by the friendliness of the company, but I've been painting Reaper minis since the beginning, and going back to them is always a pleasure!
Para-Bellum needs to be a solid B. Their newer kits are a vast improvement over their original kits. Plus, the company is not afraid to go back and refresh those old kits. Men-At-Arms, one of the original units, is getting a complete revamp in January.
reaper is def my fav! whenever i go to my local hobby shops they have a wall full of old and new models and i get SO excited hunting through them and just seeing so much variety and fun sculpts, it gets me so hyped to paint, and there truely is something for everyone! whether is busty ladies or big manly warriors i truly love what they do
We appreciate it!
@@ReaperMiniOfficial
I couldn't give GW an S-tier in good faith. The most I can give them is an A+ or lower (depending on the region you live in as they have different prices.) Yes they have the best looking models that are fun to paint, but they are expensive and are getting more and more expensive every year due to yearly price increases. Not to mention the 5+% price (at the lowest end) difference from the UK and nearly every other country.
the extra 5% goes to that free dental care
I get not liking the designs and the preassembled Battletech minis, but wanting customizable mechs? It's kinda in a similar boat to Marvel/Star Wars in that you really have to like the IP it's presenting in it's many novels, the old cartoon, and all it's art and video games. It's not trying to be something it's not in the same way you won't have a custom spiderman.
There are more than mechs out there, the lance packs are the bread and butter but they are thankfully getting more and more vehicle and battle armor miniatures in the mix. There are now two different games too so they are changing the way they are doing things, but they are slow and small and aren't ever going to be a GW.
Hey jon, since you already have a few of the miniatures, think you could paint up some battle mechs? Id love to see how youd approach them, since its a different scale than what youd usually paint.
I've found CMON to be pretty good quality. I've painted all of Ankh and I'm currently working my way though Marvel United. Super fun to paint, and the cost is very low per mini, as low as $1.06 per mini depending how and where you purchase them. Also, has the quality of GW mini improved recently? It's been a while since I painted them, but I always found them to be pretty average.
Their newer stuff is better, he was showing older models. Some of the marvel zombies models are better then Crisis Protocols older models.
'Ankh' minis are fantastic! 'Rising Sun' minis as well.
I adored there wrath of kings line. All the factions were unique smash ups.
If you are wanting Battletech Mini's to be more customizable, you need to check out the Iron Wind Metals versions, or the Catalyst Game Labs Premium Minis, the Black Knight Model is gorgeous.
The newer IWM range releases are fantastic I have an.....unhealthy amount of Locusts assembled I love that sculpt so much.
I'm really enjoying the Moonstone miniatures. So quirky! Worth checking out if anyone is interested in interesting projects.
Yes! I love them too.
Love this video! And I'm happy to see Reaper minis getting some love. I really appreciate all the newer plastics that they've been using the last few years. So much variety for minis!
I think the Reaper metal mini's are pricewise of higher tier. What's your opinion of the metal mini's from Reaper, cuz you showed a dwarf with pints! and talked about plastics and such...
He should have said plastics only this time. There's even more metals with all the small producers.
"I'm not making excuses for their price gouging".. now here's a bunch of excuses for them and we won't be considering the price like every other company.
For real, I don't know how you place something in S-tier when the company is controlled by greed demons. The pricing isn't premium or luxury, it's fucking disgusting.
As a DnD player, I love Epic Encounters. Cause you get a thematic set. Need some goblins? Sure, here are some spear warriors, spellcasters, etc. Skeletons? Sure, here's a handfull. And they are durable, highly reusable.And the Hydra boss - it's gorgeous!
Yeah EPIC miniatures is fantastic. Plus, it can occasionally be discounted online for very good prices which makes them a tremendous value for TTRPG.
It warms my heart to see this! I lead the team of sculptors on Epic Encounters and we are all ttrpg players (all in the same campaign in fact) so making these sets is really something we love doing!
@@RedHatRuss Kudos. You guys are killing it. Keep it up.
@@RedHatRuss Great job :) I wish you had better EU delivery options.. Cause now I have to wait for the sets to arrive in hobby shops for a fair price.
while i think Archon studios out of Poland is making some of the conquest sprues, I wish you would have included their dungeons and laser or masters of universe lines. Also of note, Reaper has also ventured into Siocast (like corvus belli) and 3d printed (but super durable and not fragile). Their Bones USA line is all made in usa siores or 3d print (while the bones is still made in china pvc).
So as a Malifaux fan, I was going to take offense at them only getting a C rating - but then I remembered being on my hands and knees trying to find the front of the face of one of my wife's gremlin model... seriously the head was split in two down the front of the face, on a 28mm true scale gremlin. That face was probably 2-3 mm wide. So a C is probably fair
I feel like the newer kits have improved a lot in terms of small parts and ease of assembly. I'd love if Ninjon took a second look at the most recent (2024) releases.
It ain’t because most of those kits are pretty much old M2E kits repurposed for 3 rd edition
You already gave a fair placement on Reaper but I want to add: I believe their miniatures are extremely beginner friendly. More round shaped figures allow for bigger surfaces that you cna put paint on. I know that crisp details are appreciated but a beginner facing thousand details and hundred lines to edge highlight would be extremely overwhelmed.
Yan Lo's BEARD!
😆
This is awesome. Thanks for covering so many mini manufacturers. I'll be looking at Reaper for my DnD minis.
Also, I love that Baron of Dice is sponsoring you. I got 50 of their dice, and rolling them feels amazing. Their dice cup is beautiful and sturdy, and it can easily hold 50 of their 16mm round corner dice. I highly recommend both their dice and that cup.
Jon calling parabellum generic while also showing the abomination and spires is so hilarious
Exactly what I was thinking. Games Workshop being the only S tier is suspect
Yep, clockwork flesh-crafting Ancient Greeks *yawn* seen it a thousand times.
@@greyboi9550 Atleast he didn't show the artisan one.
Now that one would be extra wtf with the generic faction comment when Spires are one of the most unique takes I've seen for an elf fiction
Infinity currently has actually three materials: metal (most of it), siocast (some big units, same material used for all Warcrow), and Unicool (used in some of the tournament kits minis). Unicool is amazing, would be interesting to see if you review it (other manufacturers also use them).
While I don’t really disagree with your ranking of Battletech minis, the truth is that I don’t care. I paint ‘Mechs because I love Battletech. I recently got some Infinity models and they are incredible models! But I only painted a couple before reaching for another ‘Mech because the lore just didn’t grab me.
That’s probably my biggest gripe about this list - while you listed a whole bunch of factors that you were going to weigh, your top two choices are the ones with highest quality and customization without respect to cost. As a top shelf painter, it makes sense that those are your highest ranked brands. But I think that most people are going to collect and paint models from the games that appeal to them most, because of the gameplay, the setting/lore, the esthetic/art direction, and yes, the quality of the models.
Anyway, I’m just feeding the algorithm. You gave your disclaimer at the start of the video, and we’ve all gotten to see the type of content you produce, so it’s not like the results were all that surprising. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t enjoy your content, so thanks for continuing to make great videos about mini painting!
The FASA line from Ral Partha were so much better.
A bit forgotten nowadays but 5-6 years ago Creature Caster made the best looking greater demons on the market, their sculpts were gorgeous, their resin was also the best on the market with almost 0 bubbles or miscast.
Lowkey, Jon should have bought a recent mini from each range so that his bias was up to date. Like bringing a 1st Edition AoS Liberator to a current discussion on minis.
Thank you for your review. It helps to get ideas and have reasoning behind it. I struggle with what to paint most times honestly. Part of my problem is what hinders most people I think is price. So I loved the breakdown and ranking system you came up with. Thank you!
I just built my first GW minis. Ork Kommandos. I am about to prime them but all I can think is, “these aren’t built to paint. How am I going to get my brush past all these things I glued on?!?” I am about to see what it’s really like but I am not sure that More Detail Bits = a better mini.
Start out worrying about the skin, weapons, and armor. If you come out the gate fixating on the greebles, you'll ruin your enjoyment.
Jon is a mini painter first and foremost. You don't hear him glowingly relate his recent gaming experiences. He's overwhelmingly concerned with the process of painting minis for display. You're concerned with putting a mini on the table to get shot by an Ultramarine.
That Kommandoes kit was one of the biggest puzzles I've ever had to solve to assemble miniatures. I promise they are not all that bad
@@ScottySpeeks thank you! I was really wondering why they made it such a pain to find the pieces.
@@fenreer01 I am going to zenithal hi-light then give contrast paints a try on the skin followed by airbrush glazing. Once the skin is done I am just going to start “working my way out” clothes, then weapons, then little bits. I am just worried about getting to all the places on the skin to begin with. I guess I will know in a week or so what it is really like.
@christopherkelly9153 a size 3 or 4 synthetic round brush will be your friend for contrast paint. Big enough to hold paint, small enough to not slop everything all over.
Newer Para Bellum plastics are much better quality than the ones you had. The art direction is still a bit iffy, but the plastic is approaching GW quality.
I bought a box of hundred kingdoms knights and hated the sprues, got some city states, and the quality is night and day difference
Ahgawd, it is not. Bought a box of the most recent stuff (mech spartans and djinns) and engineering and soft edges, poorly fitted pieces on bigger models. They are years behind GW and I don’t even play any GW games.
I can confirm. The quality jump between Old Wadhrun and New Wadhrun monsters is stark
I found a good white metal miniature company for plenty of unique fantasy minis. They're called Midlam Miniatures. A UK company and if you need relatively cheap metal townsfolk it's excellent for it.
I nearly totally agree on the list, but I personally would put corvus belli on an a+/s-. There cool designs gave me my painting spirit back. Morats are the best
Battletech is a board game, the mechs are board game quality, on par with CMoN
You should review newer Para Bellum models. The Steel Legion are the first kit they released 5 years ago.
They also can look a bit static because they are made for a rank and file game. Also their resin is probably the best in the industry.
ninjon has some weird takes here, he sometimes factor in price yet all the higher tier models are absurdly expensive compare to what archon/para-bellum produces....
Ninjon is a GW shill, fuk him
He factors in price when we needs an excuse for comparable products to not be up near GW.
Metal is still my favorite model material to paint, never understood why people had issues with it. It holds great detail and takes paint well. Assembly issues are largely dependent on the manufacturer (looking at you Dark Sword. I love what you do, but that amazon's wrist is entirely too small to pin or glue in a reasonable fashion. I appreciate your vison, but you don't have to be 'that' true to the original art.) Reaper's metals are easily 'A' tier. (Despite my one complaint about Amazonian wrist connections Darks sword is also 'A'.)
You can still get metal Battletech minis from Ironwind metals. Much better than the plastics (though those plastics are still better than the Clix versions.) I recommend just getting those from their website. Ironwind has most of Ral Partha's old molds and are great. Though I'd make them 'B' tier, mostly because most of their sculpts are a much older style and smaller scale, and their website isn't great for searching through, some absolute gems hidden in there though. They also have the models from the old Kenzerco games, Tin Man miniatures, and Thunderbolt Mountain.
I came here as a HUGE BT Fan (such a Fan I am a local Demo Agent, and have helped with demoing/running BT at GenCon) to roast Jon for his arguments of BT models. Are they perfect, no, but then I can argue the same thing with regards to GAMES WORKSHOP model (having just assembled and painted a Lizardman Blood Bowl team (poor parts line up, and why do Lizard Man Teeth run across the top of their palate like the teeth of pliers??? Not separate teeth on either side, just rows of one tooth running from left-to-right.)
Based on some Jon's criticisms of the BT Minis I wonder if he has even cracked and read anything of the BattleTech rules and lore? Because talking about making a mini and choosing the Engine and Motive type and weapons is a very, very, very tiny part of the rules that most players don't even touch. A BATTLEMECH is more equivalent to comparing a Russian Tank, with a German Tank, and an American tank from World War 2 up to modern age. To complain you can't 'customize with all the little bits' I guess I should complain I can't take a German Panzer's turret and put it on my Churchill Crocodile.
Sorry, my example may not make 100% sense but the BT Lore people will understand why a Locust doesn't look like a JagerMech and why those don't look anything like King Crab.
Can't wait for the tarrifs to make all of this imported stuff a minimum of 20% more expensive in the US.
Loved the reference to miniac's video in the miniature.
Great vid !
Bushido from Gct studios have great looking miniatures, too
Side tracking a little on the battletech mechs, it sounds like you just need a smaller 30mm* kit from Bandai. Super duper crazy modular
*30 Minute Mission, not size/scale.
CMON is definitely a B-, B if you account for the landscape of sales and deals, especially when stock is being cleared and they're running crowdfunding campaigns. I've gotten HATE and Massive Darkness both for around $2/mini (with some really huge ones in the HATE box) and the ASOIAF starter for less than $1/mini. ASOIAF infantry boxes for $20-$25 when on clearance (12 minis). All of these are great for huge blocks of troops for wargames, enemy hordes for TTRPGs, and I would actually argue the premium large models are good enough for skirmish-level. Yes, ASOIAF is a lot of dudes and dudes on horses, but they're perfect for generic fantasy medieval settings- all my D&D bandits are from there and look awesome.
Their sculpts are great, but I find that they suffer from the woes of a lot of softer plastic pieces with obnoxious to remove moldlines and damage from roughly-removed injection points. Look great when painted up though, and I have a lot of the ASOIAF and Zombicie Black Plague minis purely to use as generic fantasy miniatures.
@@catoblepasomega Agree. If you go this route you definitely need some kind of mold line remover and potentially some green stuff but I think the results relative to the time/money in are pretty sweet.
Yeah, I was a little underwhelmed by the "it's dudes and dudes on horses" comment when he's got Massive Darkness 2 sitting there, not to mention the other variety in all the games they make. Rating SFG higher is what blew my mind. I feel like that was him having more of the larger SFG models, because I do not think their models are better at all.
I'm currently assembling and painting dudes and dudettes for a role-playing campaign in the LotR universe, and the choice is over-fricking-whelming. This video is a god-send, my man!
For price alone, GW should definitely go down a notch.
Depends what's being judged. If it's purely miniature quality, GW is an easy S.
@@scottwallbank4794 But it clearly isn't as the other companies who produce comparable stuff to GW are getting marked down for price.
Para-Bellums resin characters and big monster kits are just straight up crisper and better than a lot of GWs, Wyrd has some ridiculously characterful and creative sculpts in their catalogue and Corvus Belli's metal are insanely detailed.
GW is S tier miniatures at F tier pricing.
14:19 I'm a BattleTech guy. The fact there's a highly detailed tabletop simulator for it (megamek) is an absolute clincher for me.... But yeah, they need to re-release Battletroops at a larger scale to attract hobbyists. The mechs would be more like GW vehicles. I understand they have brought "Destiny" scale models to conventions to sell as one offs, so they know it, but nothing will change until after they finish the delivery of the Mercenaries Kickstarter.
I also agree with many others who say that GW should be bumped down to A or B+ tier, while Corvus Belli should definitely be up around A tier.
Just realized no Creature Caster. I find their minis are on par if not better then Games Workshop’s
Conquest actually updated their sprues with newer releases, they're a lot closer to gw sprues now
Lol.
They are. I have stuff from both companies.
@@photonfartsqueeze6694 The first run stuff that he's holding were produced by an American company that they don't do business with. The sculpts and miniatures are now done by Archon Studio in Poland and the quality has sky-rocketed since the handover
Solid video and I liked the well reasoned arguments. As an older subscriber I do like historical, but there are now so many good plastic and resin ranges they would qualify for their own video - which would likely tank. Cheers
There is a 3d designer, Locust Labs, that gives people everything you'd want from a mech for battletech. They are modular, have hard edges, and paint really well. As someone who loves playing Alpha Strike, I really only own official minis to support my game store.
You can't buy physical LL minis in the US yet. Also, they aren't going to be in stores, which was a requirement.
Great video and I share the same general mindset regarding miniature manufacturers.
Random question here; what are you using to hold your AK 3rd Gen paints? I was going through your gear list but I only see the wall mounted nail polish listing you use for Citadel paints, Contrast paint, and Pro Acryl.
Anyone know what I should be searching for? Thanks in advance.
98% of my none 3d printed minis are Reaper. I have always loved Reaper minis. I agree with you about them having personality and I think it is because they are hand sculpted. Someone put part of themselves when sculpting them. And I agree with them being a B because of the quality of some of them, maybe a B+. I also agree with everything you said about Wizkids minis being crap, If F- was a grade it is what I give Wizkids. What sucks is that my local store has slowly progressed from selling Reaper to Wizkids because they are the "official" minis for Wizards. It has gotten to the point that I have to order mine from Reaper directly.
I’m going to play a miniatures agnostic game with my sweet new metal miniatures! I’ve got a wheelbarrow, a race car, a shoe, a top hat…
On pricing alone GW should not be an S. A at the very most.
It’s not for price, it’s for quality. And GW makes the most detailed, quality miniatures for the mass market.
@@impcit5717he specifically said pricing was taken in consideration over and over and over again for every company, so I’m not even sure you’ve watched the video.
@@shocknawe yeah, you got me there. I skipped to the end. I’ll agrer that GW is A tier, factoring in price.
@@impcit5717 see? Hahahah but, idk, I found it funny how he established his criteria to just sorta throw one of them out right at the second pick.
He said that he would stick to "fantasy-ish" and "space-ish" to then just feature a brand that does Star Wars and Marvel. Like...what..?
@@shocknaweStar Wars isn't "fantasy-ish" or "space-ish?"
I love love love Battletech… and your assessment is spot on. The models are not usually the best quality: lot of mold lines, detail is soft (and sometimes missing completely) They paint a lot different than Warhammer stuff, for the reasons above but also the scale is way way way bigger.
I love BT! I love the game, I love the lore, the mechs are super cool. A lot of their plastic is ass tho.
It should be worth noting - as you did for other companies - that Games Workshop also locks you into a VERY specific aesthetic. Everything they make has very similar styles, and if you don't like your models festooned in skulls and in their hyper-specific style, then they're not really any good for you. It's the same point you brought up for CMON, and it still applies with GW. You're locked into one very specific design niche with them.
What does this mean? There are plenty of factions and games that aren’t “festooned in skulls”. Are you talking about similarities across all the games? Like necromunda is similar to Middle Earth?
@@eeyun5279 It means that they all stick to very similar styles. When you look at most of the GW miniatures, doesn't matter which universe, you can clearly see it's a GW miniature and can't exactly fit somewhere else, other than their universes. You can take most LotR minis and drop them in AoS, or 40k and drop them in Necromunda, and they wouldn't feel "off". But put them in other fantasy or sci-fi universes that are not GW made, they stick out like a sore thumb.
As for Infinity for example, you can take most of their miniatures an drop them in a lot of similarly styled cyberpunk or sci-fi based universes and would feel right at home.
I've gotta say though, I think he's definitely off-base when it comes to saying CMON minis are all the same. He's talking about "it's just dudes and dudes on horses" when he's got a box of Massive Darkness 2 right there on the table. Zombicides, Marvel (in realistic and chibi style), Rising Sun, Ankh, Dune, Cyberpunk, Cthulhu... I'm sorry, dunking on them for lack of variety seems like deliberately ignoring the variety that they have.
I'm not an expert on GW, but it feels like you are referencing only a couple of factions from 40k specifically. You do realize there are like 15 other factions that aren't covered in skulls? Or that they have many, many minis outside of just 40k and even AOS?
@@AmstradHeroI like him but when he shills for GW, he shills. He assigned criteria then ignored it when it came to GW. They are expensive as Hell and have a specific esthetic.
Ninjon I know you just came out with this video but do you have any thoughts on Trench Crusade on Kickstarter? I've been running into a lot of very enthusiastic people who have backed it and the minis look ill.
second 10, i feel reassured already.
Best metal miniatures on the market, let's give CB a B. Seriously, maybe it would be true like 10 years ago. These days their miniatures are still amazing in quality and newest models only prove that. Switching to siocast has hurt their reviews quite badly, so the trend to fix that would definitely be to go back to full metal. Siocast is just too crappy and unrealiable compared to what they have done with white metal.
I got in to CMON with Relic Knights. Never got to play a single game of that despite having every model for 2 factions.
Relic Knights minis (CMON version) are like 12 years old...
If Duncan can paint those Battlemechs, so can you... or can you? 😜
Hey ninjon, Im super happy for this video. I enjoy painting a lot and GW minis are so expensive, so seeing a breakdown of whats out there is amazing!
It's interesting to me that Creature Caster didn't get on this list? If we're willing to review D&D stuff I'd figure a huge 40K proxy company would be viable as well, plus they have their own wargame and are supplying models for two new ones.
Going to have to agree with others that Games Workshop probably deserved an A tier. You admitted that the cost is a pretty big downside and that alone should be reason to knock them down to maybe an S- or A+.
For me personally you also really need to be into their particular brand of lore and character design. I'm not a fan of like 80% of the stuff they put out, kinda like how you don't enjoy Marvel or Star Wars models as much. They have a very particular brand that you need to be invested in or else the amount of models that excites you shrinks drastically.
100% agree
Yeah, if we are giving a bump for cheap minis we should give a dip to GW for how expensive it is. A Tier for me.
Considering I'd be spending multiple thousands on one army ( genestealer cults and sisters being the worst ) I'd say that's a massive barrier to entry. For me it's A tier at best