Opening a wargames shop.. need help with historicals etc

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Propaintjob

New member
I\'m in the process of opening a wargames shop in my hometown and almost everything is in order except for one thing.

Historicals!

I\'ve never played them & my knowledge of them is pretty slim, so I\'m hoping you\'ll be able to help by answering some questions.


Which ranges of Historical Minis would you say are the most popular?

And which game systems?


If you are also able to tell me the website addresses that would really help. Historicals seem to be very popular but incredibly undercatered for in terms of being able to walk into a shop and buy minis etc off the shelf so I\'m keen to sort that out in my neck of the woods.


Thanks in advance for any help you can offer :)
 
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t_haye2

Guest
i would go with foundry to start with, 15 mm historical(romans and things) is pretty popular too, as is 6mm 2nd world war. try selling some larger scale display models too, like pegaso, andrea and elite, they will sell, and you won\'t need to rely on a game system to sell them.
 
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finn17

New member
Hmmmmm...

I don\'t even play so I am about as much use to you as a chocolate fireguard:D

I was about to recommend the i-kore/urban mammoth Xyston range, but it appears that they have now dropped this themselves.

My own personal feeling is that there is probably a very good reason why you can\'t go into a shop and buy historicals....

Foundry seem to be doing well with them on their website however, and have the added advantage of doing other ranges as well, such as the scrummy 2000AD range they are now putting out. At least with big guys like this you could probably swap unsold figs for more likely candidates:D

*EDIT* great minds think alike, fools seldom differ;)
 
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Albert Moreto Font

Member
I can just say: thats so cool! having a wargames show must be amazing, i want to live either of this or freelance miniature artist!! (or both at the same time :D
 
Brother Tom

Brother Tom

Member
I recently bought a load of samurai from perry minatures and I think there quite good. They also do other historicals. I\'ve got some samurai posted, why dont you take a look. There about 28mm.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/70996
 
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jah-minis

Guest
historicals

don\'t forget to check out crocodile games for a nice mix of historical and fantasy...
crocodilegames.com

jah
 
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finn17

New member
You also might want to PM tuubje.

He went from being a sad old posting freak into being an entrepreneurial games shop owner. He might have a few tips he is prepared to share.

Beezlebrush from these forums also owns GameMart.
 
Corvus

Corvus

New member
Originally posted by finn17
He went from being a sad old posting freak into being an entrepreneurial games shop owner. He might have a few tips he is prepared to share.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but apart from some modelling kits such as armour and airplanes he doesn\'t have much historicall stuff.
 
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finn17

New member
Exactly...maybe...

Originally posted by Corvus
Yeah, but apart from some modelling kits such as armour and airplanes he doesn\'t have much historicall stuff.
Click to expand...
Doesn\'t that say something in itself?

I am sure if tuubje thought he could flog it, he\'d stock it;)
 
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DanseMacabre

Guest
Not really my cup of tea but i have some friend that plays that and from what i see there are two gamerules that are most played : DBA and DBM, both in 15 mm scale. DBA-M is for De Bellus something :)
 
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tidoco2222

Active member
Some of the larger scale historicals are excellent modelling projects, Andrea and Pegaso do some great stuff. They are quite pricey but the quality is unquestionable. If you decide to stock any let me know as I\'ll definately like to come and pay your shop a visit. I could turn it into a wargaming painting vacation.
 
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Imrael

New member
Good luck with the shop, and if you are running an email list for announcements please \"include me in\".
Why not check out local wargame clubs and find out their favoured periods, rules and ranges.
Also, try Artizan. Small range but I love the sculpts.
 
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Gelflin

Member
GO propaintjob!!

Me and my husband want to open a local independant stockist/games store and I think its great that you are nearly there!! I do collect historical figures and would say that Tammy is right foundry do a great range and are pretty acurate as well. They also have alot on the website for related books..........The Osprey military elite series, do a range of books that while not wargame based give great background on all historical armies and are great for getting a historical army acurate, as well as colourschemes and tactics. I would highly recommend them as a small addition instore as source books.
 
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Propaintjob

New member
Wow! Thanks guys

and here was me thinking everyone here was like me, diehard fantasy & scifi.

I\'ll be a GW stockist (more through prudence than choice) as well as other stuff and am looking to carry the following:

WFB & 40k
Warmachine
Reaper Minis
Confrontation

Vallejo paints (Model & Game Colour full ranges)
High quality brushes (inc W&N series 7)

Historical mini\'s (haven\'t finished checking all your suggestions yet so no final decisions made)

Plus mini\'s from manufacturers which I think are just really cool minis for use in any systems. So there may be some Spyglass stuff etc

Combine all that with the painting service too.


As you can probably tell, the shop will be aimed at what I call \'proper\' hobbyists, what do you think? Would you visit the shop if it was near you?


As a side note, I am considering opening it as a partnership rather than a sole trader so if there\'s a good painter out there (I\'ve got too much painting work for just me) who wants to be part of the painting and the shopwork just give me a shout, there\'s not much investment needed.

Thanks again everyone, I\'m off to check out these companies :)
 
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Ritual

New member
Originally posted by Propaintjob
As you can probably tell, the shop will be aimed at what I call \'proper\' hobbyists, what do you think? Would you visit the shop if it was near you?
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Are you kidding me?? I would basically live there!!lol
But, I don\'t live nearby, so... I\'m sorry.
 
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tidoco2222

Active member
Good luck in your venture, I would love to do some of your paintwork sadly though I think I am a little too far away but if there are any other budding entrepeneurs out there :D.
 
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Strateegos

New member
Historicals

The only problem you have with Historical figures and games is that you cannot please everyone. There are numerous rules sets in every scale and ratio of man to figure. Also, to most historical wargamers their perspective of history is the right one. Just as a base line area to get into though would be ACW and WW2. Fire and Fury is a very popular rule set for ACW and Flames of War is the upcoming rule set and figure producer for WW2. For ancients through renaissance you could get DBA/DBM/DBR which is known world over. I know that in 15mm which is still quite popular, Essex or Old Glory would suit you well. Of course you can order just about anything but that does not help the guy with money to spend right now. I would suggest the Warhammer Ancients line of books which are becoming more and more popular with cross-over gamers.
Steve
 
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