So what to do with them? Use them, horde them or give them to a good home . I have done all three. Ok the magazines would be cheaper without but as well as the above free sprues could be just the right thing , at the right price , at the right place and at the right time to bring someone to take their first faltering steps in a hobby that will last a lifetime .
Sprues for free are fun. They gave just enough werewolves for a project, just enough German paratroopers in winter gear to start a new project and get into Bolt Action and now just enough Caesarean Legionnaires for a wee skirmish. Viva free sprues!
I totally agree, free sprues feel exactly like childhood comics with gifts. Good for rainy days.
ReplyDeleteBut are they the distracting slippery slope shiny entry-level gateway drug to another period or expensive game system?
They are very useful for messing around with skirmish games with small numbers on either side. Its good that people now pass them on as freebies rather than throwing them away. They do allow kitbashing like the sprues I received from David in Suffolk, embellished with MLS figures from yourself. Fantasy Sprues get passed on within the family to other more RPG gamers.
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/tag/kitbashing/
You did a great job of kit- bashing, Mark! I was glad to see them used so imaginatively.
DeleteThanks David for your generosity. They await their moment on the tabletop!
DeleteAs I haven't bought a wargame mag for 30 years at least, I have never experienced a free sprue, but I can't see any harm in them!
ReplyDeleteI have a draw full of sprue 'just in case'
ReplyDeleteI see your point entirely ,Alan - though the freebies are usually 28mm and it occurs I have nothing in that scale. I've been glad to pass them on to others who will 'give them a good home'. Come to think of it, do you want some more of those recent Romans?
ReplyDeleteYes please!
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
Wow! Great!! We do not have any comparable Norwegian magazines. Our local version of WHS we have foreign magazines, but I have not seen any of them with free sprues. Great intro to trying new periods, scales or wargames!
ReplyDeleteI have tried assembling 28mm plastic figures but find them too fiddly and too infuriating so refuse to use any one then unless it is just sticking on a head or a backpack...
ReplyDeleteI'll save some sprues for you (I get sent WI magazine, usually scan it and then recycle it as it doesn't really cover anything I'm interested in) and pass them on when it is worth sending a bunch - they usually get binned.
I like the free sprue. It often gets me to buy the magazine, Twice they've helped me decide that these aren't the figures I want for the project, a few have been added to my collection and others are enough for a fun little project and the rest have been passed on for someone else to use as they see fit.
ReplyDelete