Joe
Osprey Publishing Historical Miniature Showdown!
March 9, 2009 12:00 AM
Beginning in April, Osprey Publishing will host the first-ever, “Historical Miniature Showdown”. We are inviting all makers of 28mm historical miniatures to submit their best figure released in 2008 or 2009. These figures will be matched up in a bracket-style tournament format, and then we will ask you, the voting public, to decide which figure should advance to the next round.
We hope that the Showdown will prove a fun way for the whole industry to come together, show off some of its best figures and engage in some light-hearted banter.We have already contacted a number of manufacturers to participate in the Showdown and have recieved a great response. But now we want to open it up to all the companies that produce 28mm historical* miniatures. For more information or to join the Showdown, please email auction@ospreypublishing.com.
*We define “Historical Miniature” to mean any figure with a historically plausible set of equipment from the dawn of time to the present day. It does not have to represent any particular soldier, army, or period but it cannot include any fantastic or science fiction elements, nor can it be overly anachronistic (so no Spartans with SMGs). Also considering the size variation within the industry, we will accept any figure that is advertised as being in the 25mm–32mm range.
COMMENTS
I look forward to following this but I am a little concerned that six manufacturers get an explicit mention in the graphic on your post. What did they do to deserve a head start over the rest? I don't think that's entirely fair.
And I note with interest that none of them are known as leaders in the field of Napoleonic figures.
I hope these two things aren't indicative of an unintentional bias.
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Great Idea! This initiative can only benefit wargaming across all genres. However, I share Martin's concerns about the manufacturer's advertised, an also wonder if you have a mechanism to prevent repeat voting?
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Thanks for your comments guys. The six figure companies listed in the press released were selected at random from among the first group to sign-up for the event. These are not official match-ups and were used for illustrative purposes only. We don't believe that this gives these companies any kind of advantage. We are still working on the voting mechanism and will do our best to prevent fraud. However, it is virtually impossible to stop multiple voting in internet polls, so their will be a degree of the honour system in place. The competition is just a fun event, with no major prizes, so there should be little incentive to cheat. It is my hope that all of the major companies will want to join the competition, including the Napoleonic figure makers, but the decision is up to them. If you have a company you would like to see compete, please drop them an email and encourage them to sign up!
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This sounds like a great idea, and I look forward to seeing what the manufacturers have to offer. I would love to see a similar competition with other scales - assuming there are enough manufacturers producing new figures!
I assume the manufacturers will supply images of painted miniatures, but can we see an unpainted version of the model as well? I know this may seem a strange request, but it is a competition for the best figure not the best artist.
And finally I have seen some sites of 'less serious' miniatures where the images of their figures can be rotated. It would be nice to get a complete view of the figure.
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