Bat Swarm Alternatives

[Farmer7574]

Hi guys, just wandering about choices for Bat Swarms out there as I'm not very familiar with all the manufacturers. I know of GW's (a bit comical for my tastes), Reaper's (more realistic) and Mirliton's (I believe that's what @Shadespyre used a while back?), and prefer the more lifelike kind.

Any others out there?

 

[Shadespyre]

I had a list... you already picked out the ones I actually used, here are some options

Ral Partha Europe

http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/sh...17000-c-30_34/17034-swarm-of-bats-p-1030.html

Splintered Light (15mm but does it matter?)

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-133546587642587_2264_52887935

Also Masquerade Miniatures used to do some nice ones, but they are defunct, but you could try searching ebay or German webstores

 

[Unas the slayer]

eh, AFAIK not so many out there. Personally I favor the Reaper's version, but for those that likes the GW bats' style, there's "Black Tree Design": fairly similar and much cheaper.

 

[Malisteen]

I like reaper's bat swarms.

pewter: https://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Necropolis/latest/03355
plastic: https://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Bones/sku-up/77046

Games Workshop still has this model in their hobbit line (under denizens of mirkwood):

But it's currently out of stock (at least on the US site), probably in GW's kinda iffy resin if you do find it, and, of course, much pricier than the reaper versions.

I kinda prefer the reaper models' 'cloud of bats' look, but these guys do have some personality to them, and they'd be playable in a GW store (though licensing issues might still limit their ability to be photographed at events).

 

[Farmer7574]

Cheers for your suggestions guys,

@Shadespyre Great, options here. They're all great!

@Unas the slayer I've had my eye on some plastic reaper ones (which are pretty cool), I wish there was a bit more variety to them. Perhaps that gravestone could be chopped off and the bat cloud attached in different ways to scenery and stuff on the base...

@Malisteen This one's pretty darn cool, I'd never seen this one before.

 

[Shadespyre]

The Reaper Bones plastic is so soft (and cheap!) that it's easy to hack around a bit. Just moving some of the bats around to change the outline is quite effective, but you could easily cut the whole swarm off the gravestone I think. Even with the metal versions I managed a little bit of variety:

 

[Farmer7574]

@Shadespyre I think I'm sold on the Reaper plastic ones; they've got quite an appealing appearance to them, are cheap & cheerful and, as you mention, would be easily repositioned to get some variation. Cheers buddy!

 

[Unas the slayer]

I think I'm sold on the Reaper plastic ones; they've got quite an appealing appearance to them, are cheap & cheerful and, as you mention, would be easily repositioned to get some variation. Cheers buddy!

Mine are of the metal variety... but I've got only a couple, so for now i don't feel the need for different poses.

 

[edwardvlad]

I second the Reaper ones, it's a good choice cause they're cheap and you can paint them easily with some drybrushing and still get a nice overall look, as unas showed

 

[Lord Elpus]

I had a list... you already picked out the ones I actually used, here are some options

Ral Partha Europe

http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/sh...17000-c-30_34/17034-swarm-of-bats-p-1030.html

I have the Ral Partha ones and they're really nice.

 

[Farmer7574]

Cheers chaps, I went ahead and ordered a few of the Reaper plastic ones the other day. I've yet to get them but I'm sure they'll do the trick