tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post7602257098695214084..comments2024-03-28T02:06:58.814-07:00Comments on Realm of Chaos 80s: Are Pre-slotta Minatures Crap?Orlygghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-54989860873569545212021-01-14T06:05:34.161-08:002021-01-14T06:05:34.161-08:00Interesting that I find this post many years after...Interesting that I find this post many years after the OP. For me Pre Slotta have so much charm. But just like you....I sneered at them in the 80s. How I regret that now.<br />I would say a great many of my collection are pre slotta. <br /><br />Goblins, Orcs, Amazons, Samurai, Dwarves, Demons, I have a bit of everything.<br /><br />Sadly he ebay bastards have cottoned on to this and the price of Pre-slotta has shot up recently. Probably due to the Hobby spike of the Covid years. Anyway...You will often find preslotta sttuff on my blog or my Insta for those of you who love the Preslotta.<br /><br />Thanks for raising this point.Oldman paintshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05771168094226765042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-9338372357380347652019-05-23T16:03:41.586-07:002019-05-23T16:03:41.586-07:00lead rot is pretty rare - and usually seems to be ...lead rot is pretty rare - and usually seems to be the result of people storing figures for years or decades somewhere damp, or trying to paint strip them with something far too powerful. According to George RR Martin's blog you can stop lead rot progressing any further by putting figures with it in a solution of 50% Pure Gum Spirits of Turpentine (not regular turpentine) and 50% medicinal mineral oil. He got the recipe from some old book and claims it worked for his figures (though he could just have big investments in companies making those products - neither is cheap ;) ) http://www.georgerrmartin.com/for-fans/knights/comments-on-collecting/calgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18253675072578015749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-17646743026729522242019-05-23T14:28:48.604-07:002019-05-23T14:28:48.604-07:00Have to disagree. It was not lower. The first few ...Have to disagree. It was not lower. The first few years the sculptors were still learning how to sculpt - and inevitably the results were not great. No one's first sculpts are great. But from 1982 on they started putting out figures which mostly were much more realistic, much more detailed and much better modelled than most slotta figures. Plus having far more variety (most pre-slotta figures had multiple variants with different heads, weapons etc).<br /><br />The majority of slotta figures look like a cartoon style thing someone bashed out any old way. Most pre-slotta (after the early ones when sculptors were just learning) are simply superior to them in everything except size and type of metal used (mostly lead - only a few in bismuth from early 1984 until they switched to slotta).<br /><br />If you don't believe me just look at photos of them on the Collecting Citadel Miniatures website, Lost Minis Wiki or The Stuff of Legends.<br /><br />Or compare the pre-slotta Grom's goblin guard figures with the embarassing crap slotta version. Or pre-slotta orcs and goblins with most (not all) 1980s and 1990s slotta ones.<br /><br />So more accurately there were some early turds when the sculptors were just learning, then diamonds. Then with slotta the other way roud - mostly cartoon style junk bashed out to maximise profits and be easier to paint for children, with a few diamonds.<br /><br />Quality of slotta improved a bit late on when GW made their second LOTR range based on the films, where they had to make them look like the films, so they couldn't just look like cartoons - and carried over to most of their Warhammer range. calgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18253675072578015749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-33235344264918950832019-01-03T07:57:05.005-08:002019-01-03T07:57:05.005-08:00Isn't lead rot an issue with pre slotta? I hav...Isn't lead rot an issue with pre slotta? I have a few that I love, a lone wolf citadel guard,a norse dwarf and a few chaos warriors. I find myself fretting over them disintegrating but they are still worth a shot even though prices have risenin the last few years.J.P Godsellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16912562749187295548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-13551898543294516562016-03-14T09:15:32.245-07:002016-03-14T09:15:32.245-07:00Is that a fanzine I here coming?Is that a fanzine I here coming?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11041085315586678192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-52635734867816704262016-03-14T09:14:08.267-07:002016-03-14T09:14:08.267-07:00Dwarf Kings Court! there were some amazing pre-slo...Dwarf Kings Court! there were some amazing pre-slotta figures. The ogre gladiator? what about the LizardWarriors boxed set : http://www.solegends.com/citboxes/cp4lizards.htm. The great Spined Dragon, The Chaos Battering Ram. <br /><br />Personally I prefer the strangeness of some of the old figures. The miniatures were designed in their own right and were not solely for Warhammer. This meant they had a strange variety to them. Check out some of the awesome pirates among the pre-slotta thieves ranges.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11041085315586678192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-37717688695189458212015-07-08T04:43:15.182-07:002015-07-08T04:43:15.182-07:00How funny, I had just been gazing over that range ...How funny, I had just been gazing over that range as I noticed your comment. I too like the c15/16 orcs, and for me their look best exemplifies the orc of the McDeath era, especially in the artwork. Not that I have managed to score any yet, but as the years go by I certainly shall build up my pre-slotta collection of them. Not in any great amounts, as I am far more likely to cherry pick what I need. Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-9485134036998434522015-07-04T15:00:44.865-07:002015-07-04T15:00:44.865-07:00Well, this post certainly brought us all out of th...Well, this post certainly brought us all out of the woodwork didn't it. Clearly there's an interest in pre-slotta which I for one share with you guys. I recently started painting a few of the old C15/16 Orcs and can whole heartedly recommend many of the sculpts. Sure one or two are frankly as you put it, a bit crap, but then how many miniature ranges have an all-star cast? What I find interesting though is that how, with the longer I spend on this hobby the more styles and miniatures I come to appreciate (even where I actively disliked them in the past).Leadheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13514771700423204620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-68660078676096296522015-07-03T23:49:14.175-07:002015-07-03T23:49:14.175-07:00That is a very good point private w. There isn'...That is a very good point private w. There isn't a huge amount of visual material out there for much of the pre-slotta range beyond a few grainy shots from the early days, the odd colour photo and the old line drawn illustrations of them. When I was researching the colour scheme for Brooben I couldn't even find a decent picture of the miniature itself - let alone one that had been painted! Perhaps, pre-slotta are the secret pleasure of many Oldhammerers?Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-13326594847360839592015-07-03T23:41:28.328-07:002015-07-03T23:41:28.328-07:00Let us not forget that availability is also a fact...Let us not forget that availability is also a factor here. And as others have already said, pre-slotta is much lesser understood than the 'high-vis' models of the later '80s, though some classics do bleed through. You mention the famous elementals, which were available to relatively recently on the GW website, and they were pre-slotta but I wonder how much of the original range made it to the USA? Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-91045029557141296372015-07-03T23:34:18.959-07:002015-07-03T23:34:18.959-07:00Martin and JC, after reading through your thoughts...Martin and JC, after reading through your thoughts here I got thinking about how miniatures can be interpreted - by that I mean both slotta and pre-slotta. Could they be considered art? If so (and I really do believe they can be) then they can also be evaluated more seriously, beyond 'look at them toy soldiers'. For me, satisfying an aesthetic requirement in essential for anything be deemed 'art' and (at least for me) many of the single sculpted minis from the '80s, inlcuding the pre-slotta stuff do this in spades. Ultimately, they were designed as a single casting by a skilled artisan (who many or may not be defined as an artist) who created the character we all appreciate to this day. I feel that this sense of character, of form, pose and shape is utterly lacking in a plastic kit. So despite being crude in their sculpting, as you describe the kobolds JC, or the 'heft' of the Chronicle hobgoblins Martin, they are still much more worthy than the souless plastic pieces available today. Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-53245687363065711342015-07-03T22:57:54.757-07:002015-07-03T22:57:54.757-07:00I wonder how much the fact that there are very few...I wonder how much the fact that there are very few pictures of pre-slottas out there to influence/obsess the average collector affects the popularity and opinion of pre-slotta miniatures? Imagine if White Dwarf regularly included full-coulour, multi-page spreads of beautifully painted pre-slottas in the early and mid-80's? Or if First Edition Warhammer was full of lavish action photos made up of the miniatures from that time period? I think we would be seeing a very different take on "Oldhammer" if that was the case. But that is okay. I love my pre-slottas and I find that whole era very exciting and inspiring. private w.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13382664057092304789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-19704184692890614002015-07-03T12:46:23.392-07:002015-07-03T12:46:23.392-07:00Whoops I did mean to say varieties in the Tribes r...Whoops I did mean to say varieties in the Tribes range! My slip there :)Wailslakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01091635835282825906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-4074187770687829882015-07-03T12:05:38.171-07:002015-07-03T12:05:38.171-07:00Thanks for those links JC! Just discovered I have...Thanks for those links JC! Just discovered I have a handful of those classics and can now put literal names to them! Wailslakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01091635835282825906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-18427785542973117452015-07-03T06:52:49.262-07:002015-07-03T06:52:49.262-07:00(I need to put my anorak on before I write this): ...(I need to put my anorak on before I write this): Robert, the "infinite varieties" that Bryan mentioned would have referred to the Fantasy Tribes ranges, not the Fiend Factory. Even if Bryan specifically said "Fiend Factory", he was mistaken... :-)Steve Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16970745876897456734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-4439379670565190982015-07-03T06:34:31.131-07:002015-07-03T06:34:31.131-07:00I really like Nick Lund's Chronicle/Citadel wo...I really like Nick Lund's Chronicle/Citadel wolfriders. They're not *technically* excellent, sculpting-wise, but the poses of the wolves and the overall look is terrific. They have a terrific Tolkienesque aspect, and while the detailing is fairly crude, the "vision" - the stance, the dynamics - is brilliant. <br /><br />The kobolds are crude, but they have a lot of charm. The "mutant goblin" from the Death Commandos box set shows what could have been if D&D-style kobolds had made it into Warhammer ...<br />JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964744140140515737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-85406430800299014512015-07-02T16:23:27.822-07:002015-07-02T16:23:27.822-07:00I only have a small number of pre-slotta Citadel f...I only have a small number of pre-slotta Citadel figures. They weren't as accessible to me as a kid in the US, other than what was available through Ral Partha. I've got mixed opinions and feel that there was a great range of quality and style. I do love the elemental and Meier lizard/trog ranges shown in your photos above!ZeroTwentythreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08447858247978320583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-74880959366688064942015-07-02T15:22:15.763-07:002015-07-02T15:22:15.763-07:00I would agree that it is range dependent. I partic...I would agree that it is range dependent. I particularly like the Nick Lund Hobgoblins and Ogres that Citadel produced once they had bought the Chronicle line which I think look pretty decent to this day and have a lot of "heft". Having said that, the Black Orcs and Kobbolds looked pretty crude as does quite a lot of Citadel's earlier stuff, although again some of the early rather generic chaos warriors together with some of their dwarves, undead and FRPG "characters" are still worth getting. I suspect that Grenadier and Ral Partha models of the same era are better overall and many of these appear still to be available. Fitzhornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15635409694245394765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-27282233445667140752015-07-02T01:38:03.892-07:002015-07-02T01:38:03.892-07:00A ha! Another acheaologist! I have found through m...A ha! Another acheaologist! I have found through my travels in Oldhammer that we seem to fit into a select few occupations. Archaeologist, teacher or historian. Funnily enough, I have been all of these in my life so far! As you have said, many of those passions can be applied to the world of 1980s (and 70s) fantasy table top gaming, and indeed, this blog exists because research and aquisition are part of my nature!Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-77855034289454406342015-07-01T15:54:56.010-07:002015-07-01T15:54:56.010-07:00I love researching and collecting the stranger and...I love researching and collecting the stranger and more obscure ranges like Fiend Factory and Weird Fantasy. It appeals to the archaeological side of me! <br /><br />Springinsfeld - yes I am. You can contact me at Robert dot Arcangeli at gmail dot comWailslakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01091635835282825906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-44303379659718218292015-07-01T12:45:47.186-07:002015-07-01T12:45:47.186-07:00Ah, yes the Aardvarks. We have Tim 'Robin Hood...Ah, yes the Aardvarks. We have Tim 'Robin Hood' Pollard to thank for them. Or was that the armadillos? Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-81931504692402885012015-07-01T12:44:51.482-07:002015-07-01T12:44:51.482-07:00Skinthammer! Brilliant!Skinthammer! Brilliant!Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-50794266586722290382015-07-01T12:42:45.688-07:002015-07-01T12:42:45.688-07:00Getting more like a forum here. I seem to remember...Getting more like a forum here. I seem to remember many odd characters in the fluff of out Prehammer games (used to use WRG Renaissance rules) , and the figures were injected with just as much personality and legend as newer sculpts. I'm only buying pre-1983 stuff now unless the figures are really cheap for use in my Skinthammer armies. It's all good fun whatever. Springinsfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14088330681756351208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-56000088913565713942015-07-01T12:38:18.122-07:002015-07-01T12:38:18.122-07:00Convincing aspect needs to be put their by a skill...Convincing aspect needs to be put their by a skilled sculptor. Sadly, many modern figures seem a lot less convincing - though whether this is due to the designers or their respective companies wishes is unknown. Orlygghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01590080915486192175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3283315887973123007.post-91115858450932554852015-07-01T12:38:06.571-07:002015-07-01T12:38:06.571-07:00Check out the short lived Weird Fantasy range if y...Check out the short lived Weird Fantasy range if you don't know it.... overladen adventurers, spaced out druids and aardvarks.Springinsfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14088330681756351208noreply@blogger.com