# Wargames Factory Skeletons



## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

I'm working on a Skeleton-intensive Vampire Counts army-- basically, it's an army without a Vampire in it, themed around a wight king and his ancient warriors buried in his cairn alongside him. Kind of a westernized terracotta army, except the terracotta soldiers are skeletons. 

ANYWAY, I need 100 skeletons just for the 2000-point army list, and probably another 20-30 for the purposes of Invocation with the Master of the Dead upgrade and/or Raise Dead. Now, to buy this volume of skeletons from Games Workshop is going to run me around $325 once we're done with taxes, and that's for about a 500 point chunk of army. 

So I've been looking at some alternatives. I don't really care for the Mantic sculpts, and the difference in price between Games Workshop's skeletons and Mantic's isn't enough for me to mind paying the extra bit per model for a far superior sculpt. However, Wargames Factory's are about a fifth the price per model of Games Workshop's, and are basically plain skeletons. 

So my question, after all that, is if anyone's checked out the Wargames Factory skeletons, and has any thoughts on them as models? I mean, do they seem like quality models, or are they junk?


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## All_Is_Dust (Aug 21, 2011)

Hello, I don't own them personally but I did find this forum post that may help you out. They look pretty good to me. Good luck, sounds like a fun army!

http://www.vampirecounts.net/Thread-Wargames-Factory-Skeletons-review


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## boreas (Dec 4, 2007)

Another thing that might help you is gravestones on 40mm bases as filler. renedra.co.uk makes a nice one. 10 40mm bases help you fill 40 skeletons or zombies as you want. Even a few crypt horrors is your opponent is ok with that. I certainly won't buy 12 Crypt horrors to try it once or twice!

Phil


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## olderplayer (Dec 11, 2009)

Crypt horrors are too expensive and good to use as unit fillers. I don't mind the Mantic models but they don't look enough like the GW models for me in the skellies, I prefer the Mantic zombies. Except I can't find anyone in the US who has the Mantic zombie horde boxes in stock (60 models for a big discount relative to the two 30 model regiment and 30 model command zombies). Wargames Factory has the best price/quality combination for skellies.

I prefer to support GW when possible to reward them for all the time and effort in game development, but when they start charging over $40 US for boxes of special infantry such as 10 grave guard, I get a bit disgusted.


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## boreas (Dec 4, 2007)

olderplayer said:


> Crypt horrors are too expensive and good to use as unit fillers.


Haha, I meant using 40mm bases with gravestones as fillers, even in Crypt horror units. I might buy 6 or 9 CH, but never, ever 12. I think 9 CH and three40mm bases with gravestones would be acceptable in my gaming group.

I'll probably use mantic skeletons as fillers in my skelly units. No one really sees the back ranks anyways.

Phil


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Awesome, thanks everyone for your replies. I've always been lukewarm about unit fillers for my own armies-- I like the look of a full phalanx of infantry over having stuff interspersed as filler, but I can definitely see the merit of spreading some gravestones throughout a unit to cut costs down. I ordered two boxes of Wargames Factory skeletons... I've got about 40 GW skeletons at this point, so I figure if I mix the two up in units and use spare GW bits on the Wargames Factory models, the units will look cohesive enough.


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## olderplayer (Dec 11, 2009)

That's what I'm doing as well. I'm getting some GW skellies with a battalian box and had already bought some (with hand weapons but no shields, so I bought shields). I want the skellies to look sort of jumbled up with different shields and weapons (bought cheap some goblin and other shields that sort of look appropriate for undead skellies and are a number of different types). Once I'm happy with the painting, if I ever use the army at a tourney where army appearance matters I plan to buy thin cloth/material, cut it up to look like torn and rotted clothing, and glue it on random models to make what appears to be the ragged remains of clothing and occasionally a partial shoe.


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

Any chance you need a ton of skeleton bitz to bash into stuff? my bitz box has all the left over parts from about 8 box's......


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Nah, thanks, I've got plenty of bits-- the skeleton boxes from GW give you like 20 shields for 10 models and there are extra spears on each sprue. I also assembled the front rank of each of my 40-man units with hand weapons, so I have a ton of extra spears, to boot.


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

The Son of Horus said:


> Nah, thanks, I've got plenty of bits-- the skeleton boxes from GW give you like 20 shields for 10 models and there are extra spears on each sprue. I also assembled the front rank of each of my 40-man units with hand weapons, so I have a ton of extra spears, to boot.


You sure? You know you want MORE spears.........lots more spears.....>[email protected] Stupid Gw...... packaging....


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

So my order came in today, and I'm really quite pleased with the models. They're a tiny bit smaller than the GW skeletons (which I expected, as GW sculpts in the "heroic" rather than the "true" 28mm scale), but they don't look out of place ranked up next to the GW models, either. 

My only gripe with them is that the figures are cut in about twelve pieces per skeleton-- which is totally unnecessary. For example, the feet do not need to be separate from the legs... It does offer some more posing opportunities, but the thing about WHFB is that you don't want to get too wild with the poses because the unit's got to rank up. It's a totally minor quibble though, at the end of the day.


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

The Son of Horus said:


> So my order came in today, and I'm really quite pleased with the models. They're a tiny bit smaller than the GW skeletons (which I expected, as GW sculpts in the "heroic" rather than the "true" 28mm scale), but they don't look out of place ranked up next to the GW models, either.
> 
> My only gripe with them is that the figures are cut in about twelve pieces per skeleton-- which is totally unnecessary. For example, the feet do not need to be separate from the legs... It does offer some more posing opportunities, but the thing about WHFB is that you don't want to get too wild with the poses because the unit's got to rank up. It's a totally minor quibble though, at the end of the day.


...12??? your kidding right....that could drive a person insane trying to get the little feet to stay in place. :lazy2:


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## misfratz (Feb 9, 2012)

Thanks for posting about these - they look lovely. I'm really liking the huge shields that they've given their skeletons. Have put these on my list of models I want to get soon.

Note for others interested - north star figures are a UK stockist.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

12 pieces for skeles seems a tad over the top, you should stick up some pics in the form of a stop-motion film of the skeletons sembling from pieces into a full upright figure.

Or just a before and after


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

It's head, two arms, torso, legs, two feet, weapon, scabbard, shield, plus a base (WGF does not include bases with the models, but $10 US gets you a movement tray set, and you can make bases from that MUCH more cheaply than buying a bag of bases AND make bases with two or three skeletons per base while you're at it). So it's nine pieces. I just pulled the number 12 out of my ass. But the point is, it's a lot of pieces (some of which are totally unnecessary to be separate, like the feet...) for what ultimately is just a skeleton with a sword or a spear. 

Even though the way the bits are cut is a little irritating, I feel like the price tag more than makes up for it. Two boxes netted me 60 skeletons for $50 after shipping. 60 skeletons from GW are $150-ish...


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