OK, I just invented that word (and didn’t bother googling it), but it means a cross between a rant and ramble. Which is what this post is.

I try to be supportive on this blog of the 6mm wargaming community and the manufacturers, so I was unsure if I should post this, but I think its okay to read of different experiences for those looking to buy 6mm wargaming figures. And lets face it, how many people read this blog anyway!

When Baccus released their long awaited WW2 range a few years ago I brought some infantry packs as I am a big fan of their figures. The sculpting was good but I found the figures larger than a lot of other brands I owned, however initially the pack sizes put me off. I mean who needs 12 PIATs or 12 Medium mortars? Also there were on 2 poses of infantry in each pack and not enough cmd figures IMHO, and you couldn’t buy them separately. So I would have to buy infantry 2 packs to get the variety I wanted, but that was ok as I could always sell off any excess figures. Even the figure size difference was not an obstacle as I could mix and match with other brands, and in the real world not everyone is the same height or build.

But what bugged me with both the German and British infantry packs was the bane of many wargamers – weak ankles! Of course I don’t mean wargamer’s ankles, but rather weak ankles on wargame’s figures. I painted some Germans first and probably 20% didn’t make it past the cleanup or undercoating stage. I few more perished during the painting and basing stage, so I stopped painting them. The British I never started, but that was because I had some from Mainforce that were already finished. A couple of years later Heroics and Ros had expanded their WW2 range, and I have to say they are now my go-to brand for WW2 and Moderns figures, with the range, variety, sculpting and options which are unmatched, so the Baccus figures remained in the cupboard.

Fast forward a few years and I have been trying out some WW2 rules and I discovered I was short on painted British figures, so I pulled out my box of figures. I remembered I had sold off the Germans and I thought I had kept the British to make a second company but I initially I thought I must have got rid of those too. After a WTF moment I found the Baccus figures and hoped that maybe I had kept enough for a company. But then I realised there was only about 1/3rd of a pack, and why I still had them was that they were all fucked. I must have only sold the ones were that were still intact. A lot of the standing figures were broken or soon to break off the base and being left with only one pose sucks.

I can still salvage the kneeling dudes and I will, and some of the broken figures can be cut up to look like they are in trenches, but it is disappointing to see these faults. I realise this is not a problem isolated to Baccus, and I will continue to buy Baccus figures for Ancients and Horse and Musket, but I will go with other manufacturers for my WW2 figures.

Maybe they have improved the weak ankles now since I borought these, and on their website are “O” Group packs, so you don’t end up with absurd numbers of spare support weapons, which is a good move.

I haven’t contacted Baccus as its not that much of an issue for me, instead the purpose of this post was to inform the reader, and I’m reminded of one of the few things I can remember from my schools days – Caveat emptor!

Rantable over