Frostgrave & Stargrave Minis - WHY I LIKE IT
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Excellent modular plastic miniature kits for fantasy & sci-fi - what else could you want? How about REASONABLE PRICE?
Find all these miniature sets at www.northstarfigures.com
NOT SPONSORED - I just really like them.
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Wizards II has the single greatest bit ever included in a miniatures kit: An arm wearing a glove puppet.
That is a kewl part... :)
And now...to find that arm puppet...and make it a functional head.
Yeah the arm puppet is amazing
hahaha! yeah, it does. You can make your own Mordheim zealot with that one.
Don't forget Northstar's Oathmark line for JM and Osprey's big battle game Oathmark. They are also just as compatible with the Frostgrave and Stargrave sets. The Dwarven light infantry box becomes space dwarves fairly easily..
I really only own one box of Oathmark minis, so I had kinda forgot about them. They’re great, too! Thanks for watching!
I was going to mention the Oathmark range. The style of some of the sculpts is rather different and the Humans are distinctly lacklustre - they might have given them a more interesting name, to start with - but the points about the modularity and adaptability are just as valid.
Yeah it would be awesome if you reviewed the Oathmark minis also! Perhaps even Oathmark the game too as an entry way into rank and file! A lot of folks are into that especially with the Old World coming up. Great miniature agnostic game but also the miniatures themselves are pretty agnostic. Great channel btw! @@tabletopminions
Wanted to recommend Oathmark too! Game and the miniatures are booth fantastic!
It must be said that while these kits are great for building individual unique models for small skirmish games, they’re not so good for building large units.
There’s rarely enough parts to give all the models unified equipment, so e.g. if you need a unit of 10 gnoll archers, you’ll be buying 40 gnolls total (two boxes).
The fantasy boxes are also pretty short on shields, so if it’s important in your rules that everyone has a shield you need to find extras elsewhere.
Really great for kitbashing, not so much for your typical 40k style squads (8 identical troopers, special and sarge).
To add to this: Oathmark Kits are from the same manufacturer and have stuff like goblins or skeletons and such to offer.
And they also match nicely with the *grave miniatures. ;)
@@LukasEisenringAnd the skeletons are the basis for my risen cultist mob ;)
I'm fairly certain the Fire Forge are same manufacturer too (or are the manufacturer), and they have alot of nice fantasy and historical kits.
Fireforge is a completely different manufacturer with its own ranges, primarily historical, though they’re manufactured at the same factory used by North Star, Perry Miniatures and possibly others (Renedra). It’s certainly feasible to use their models and parts in combination with North Star’s, allowing even greater conversion possibilities.
I love the positive content in opposition to so much negativity out there int he hobby.
I love this! Thank you so much for posting this. Because I dislike GW business practice, I have been trying to minimize my GW purchases, but they are still the best place to go for models. Now I feel like a real alternative and I am THRILLED at the price point. Also, as a mom, I think this is an awesome option for those with kids who might like the hobby, but don't want to (understandably) pay the super high cost of GW kits for kids who simply aren't going to do a super job. Now, you could buy them one of these boxes, a can of primer, a handful of paints, and print off some One Page Rules, and be able to start them for around $50. That's awesome.
Frostgrave kits are pretty awesome. I bought 2 knight sets, and I have practically unlimited fantasy kit-basing opportunities.
Frostgrave miniatures are my go-to recommendation for new mini makers! There's so many per box that there's freedom to experiment and bash and get creative without fretting over "wasting" a mini or bits just trying something out. Make mistakes! Get messy! Bash Those Kits!
It has to be said that Northstar, the manufacturer of these kits, also makes miniatures for Oathmark, a rank-and-flank fantasy wargame, and the Xgrave kits are fully compatable with these. So when you combine all the Frostgrave boxes with the Oathmark range, the diversity of models is pretty astounding. Here´s the full list of the Oathmark kits:
Dwarf Infantry
Dwarf Heavy Infantry
Dwarf Light Infantry
Elf Infantry
Elf Light Infantry
Elf Cavalry
Goblin Infantry
Goblin Slaves
Goblin Wolf Riders
Orc Infantry
Human Infantry
Human Cavalry
Skeleton Infantry
Revenant Infantry (heavily armored skeletons)
All the infantry boxes have 20 models, all the cavalry boxes have 15 models, all are priced around 30$. Plus, they have A TON of blister packs with unique models for characters, comanders, generals and such, which cost between 7$ and 10$. They packs usualy come with two figures. It´s absolutely crazy value for money.
Those Elf kits + Stargrave bodies are basically perfect for making these conspiracy theory "Nordic" type aliens.
@@Wojti2000Zapasowe Haha😄. I have little interest in sci-fi wargaming, but kitbashing warbands based on 60's alien conspiracy theories sounds like an awesome project😄.
@@borna1231 This is a very untapped potential honestly. We've got the Greys, the Nordics, the Reptilians, Lyrans which are basically space anthro lions, concepts such as guns that fire damaging implants, psychic powers, etc. I know that Copplestone Castings has some great Greys, I totally gotta buy myself some.
Everything you said is true: I adore these kits.
Bonus: they kitbash nicely with Wargames Atlantic kits too! Those are in the same boat - lots of extra parts, low cost, high quality.
Good to see you back with us man, Hope all is well and you took the time you needed.
For fantasy and historical ranges Fireforge has some great minis too! Wargames Atlantic, Northstar and Fireforge are the equal of Games Workshop in my opinion. GW have started getting really hard to glue because of small parts in my opinion. Merry Christmas everyone!
Definitely agree on WGA. I also love that they moved their manufacturing back to the US and have continued to ramp up production.
I just made a squad of "Moon Nazi's" with some Bolt Action late war Grenadier's, Star grave helmets and jetpacks from a company in England!
Love the Stargrave minis.
Going to start actually playing Stargrave in the near future.
I love these. They give off great vibes. The metal yeti, snow trolls, and specials are fantastic.
Big fan of games and figures. Nice relief from GW Fomo
Frostgrave and Stargrave kits are soooo fun for kitbashing. I've done 30+ scifi civilians using them and tons of other small skirmish teams and custom miniatures. Love 'em!
These are such great value! There's a ton of potential in each box. I use the Frostgrave soldiers in so many of my D&D games. They are characterful enough to be visually interesting, yet generic enough to serve as soldiers, mercenaries, bandits, rangers, whatever I need. The wealth of extra bits is very welcome too.
*grave ranges are so nice to work with. I really have to restrain myself from buying then just for the fun of building. Yes, they are that much fun. It's almost LEGO like. And so many extra bits like axes, lamps, torches, books, bottles... it's hands down the best value for money proposition that you can get.
Don't forget that Northstar does a single-sprue sale each year on their web store. A little more expensive than buying the boxed sets, but a great way to get lots of variety.
At under $2 per model, plus bits and modular design, these represent way better value than $5-$50 for a mono-pose GW mini. Once you get outside the GW walled garden, this hobby becomes much more creative and affordable. 👍
Soldiers, Soldiers 2, Wizards, Wizards 2, and the Cultists - all hovering around the 8.5 out of 10 mark.
Scavengers looks like it will be there as well.
And, yes, ALL about the kitbashing opportunities.
My son and I have crossed over to Star and Frost grave and haven't looked back. We are having a BLAST!
Love this. Honestly, the most valuable thing mini people can do for me is pointing out companies like this. Northstar, Victrix, Wargames Atlantic, etc. They're all great and it's so hard to find them because they aren't GW and nobody talks about them.
As a Travelller player, I love the Stargrave line. It's perfect for customizing all sorts of unique characters. Throw in the Wargames Atlantic stuff, and the options are infinite.
Blimey, I love them all. I do now have a bits box full of spare parts heads and arms, I am never going to not have a spare head for a headswap again
I was initially going to stop this video because I was like “I have way too many minis already I don’t need to know about more awesome ones” then Adam said ‘Frostgrave’ and I was like YES! They’re awesome - and surprisingly I’ve actually got through painting and building a lot of these. Really fun minis. Great games too.
Frostgrave Cultists and stargrave mercenaries are the best imo, especially when you mix them up.
You can make some very mean and rough looking sci fi bounty hunters
Hobby Lego for the discerning kitbasher. So good at inspiring and supporting crews, warbands and heroes of all kinds.
Thank you!! I knew that Stargrave existed, but I had no idea about the modular miniature kits! I'm testing out a ruleset of my own and these will come in super handy!
I could NOT agree more. Their products are wonderful. I also like their metal sculpts. I am hlad you did this review.
The Frostgrave fantasy sets are also compatible with Oathmark miniatures and Fireforge games historical medieval era miniatures giving you loads of kitbash potential.
I hope this video testimonial spikes North Star’s sales. These kits are the best thing to happen to my hobby and games in 20 years. Amazing!
I didn't know they had so many kits, and that North Star sells so many other kits for other games as well. The fact that the Xgrave kits are rather realistically proportioned is a huge selling point for me. Might have to grab some!
The kits work super well with the oatmark miniatures. Especially for beginners. The Frostgrave bodies are fairly complex with a lot of details. Pick a box of 30 humans for around 30 € - you can enrich them with the fristgrave bits and have a lot of fun building.
-Haven't seen the Scavenger set before. Looks like a must have, thanks for the tip.
I love this highlighting of other good plastic-minis manufacturers; please continue to do this! I really enjoy seeing all the stuff that's out there. So many good approximately 28mm minis from which to choose these days...
When I first got into the hobby just over a year ago, I went a bit mad on Frostgrave. I bought a box of every single available box. Built and painted a fair few, too. They’re fun to paint, decently detailed but not so covered in gubbins that it’s intimidating for a new painter, like GW models can be. Love them!
Love Frostgrave kits, starting to explore the Stargrave stuff. GW is getting so busy it is sucking the fun out of painting. NorthStar is a good balance - detailed enough to be interesting but simple enough to be fairly quick and easy to paint.
Discovered these about a month ago and I am loving these for Five Parsecs from Home. Painted a crew and I am currently working on a full set of Unique Individuals.
love the frostgrave boxes and the fireforge forgotten world boxes
so much diversity mixing all of them
Ive bought multiple boxes of the wizards and wizards 2 kit. The cultist box works great with the mercenary set fron stargrave to make enemies
Thanks!
Those and Oathmark are, in my opinion, the best hard plastic kits out there for fantasy. But if you are a kitbasher, they are amazing.
I recently bought the Frostgrave Cultists and Soldiers 2. As well as some of their Wizards.
My next steps will be the Stargrave Troopers and Stargrave Mercenaries 2 and Crew 2.
Add to this Mantic Games. I particularly like the GCPS troopers. And the Wargames Atlantic series Death fields. Their latest set, the Ooh Rah, are perfect proxies for Imperial Guard and stand ins for Colonial Marines.
All the sets are representing historical human military abducted by aliens to fight in gladiatorial combat. The British themed "Bulldogs" include troops that fought in the Zulu Wars right up to WW2 etc.
Outstanding quality and value for the price! I've been meaning to pick up a few of these boxes for a while and if I wasn't already deep into 3D printing I would be stockpiling the entire range!
I am a huge advocate for kitbashing in this hobby where it so common to paint miniatures in the _correct_ schemes, with the _correct_ paints, using the _correct_ techniques by simply changing a pistol or a sword on a miniature it can really help to give a unique sense of ownership and narrative immersion for any hobbyist, new and old, that might otherwise feel creatively stuck or burned out.
A GW purist may take some persuading but they'll find it worthwhile. I'd forgotten about swapping between Frost & Stargrave models. It actually works. Highly recommended.
So I just got Frostgrave Barbarians…. I really like them.
GW just didn’t have affordable options for my Heroquest game I making with my boys.
I just needed some hero proxies - dwarfs, barbarians and I could find anything from GW, especially affordable.
BUT…..
If you want them to fit with GW minis… they’re a bit small. The Barbarians I have decided to just call them Dwarf Warriors…..
Collector of every brand under the sun here. I find the Oathmark and Frostgrave miniatures have very smooth rounded details on all parts, up to the heads. So watch for that if you want your models to look more ironed linens over rounded cloth.
A great range. Such fun kits to mash together. The models have a universal quality that makes them innocuous enough they are a great fit for any game in any sci fi or fantasy universe.
Currently using Frostgrave heads and bits to weird up some Perry agincourt miniatures for Old World next year :D
I love the sense of humour of some of the sculpts one of my Frostgrave Knights is carrying a recently murdered chicken in his left hand.
I dig. It is great to see the options.
Definitely some of the best value boxes in the industry.. Using these models for my Majestic 13 crew and the alien Force team
Appreciate the heads up! The Stargrave Mercenaries look great for using my leftover bits from the Genestealer Cults combat patrol box.
Yes you should make that video
These are great kits. Recently i bashed the wizards and cultist kits together to make a couple of verrotwood warbands.
Those kits are awesome. I have all of the STARGRAVE kits and half of the FROSTGRAVE kits. I love them. Easy to swap parts between sets, the bits variety top notch, and they are dirt cheap when compared to other brands. Go out and get them. 👍
Oathmark kits are cool too, and compatible with the frost and stargrave kits
I put together the cultists for D&D campaigns, and was pleasantly surprised about all of the leftover bits which I’ve used for other bashing and basic purposes. Really great models.
I am a fan of North Star Military plastic kits.
I like and own many of those kits, they are great, especially the tribals... so many usefull bits
Fireforge games and Wargames Atlantic models work amazing together with these as well, those 3 companies form my holy trinity of kitbashing, as all the models fit together perfectly
Excellent video Uncle Atom!! I had NO idea as to just how many models Northstar had on offer and that they were that versatile. Thank you!!😊
Nobody does a better cyborg sniper mini with go-go gadget legs than Games Workshop.
I love these videos, bc I knew about the lines of minis but didn't know anything else, not even the option of posing them. Thanks, uncle atom! 😁
Frostrgrave and Warlord Atlantic - they are two pillars of my Broheim warbands kitbashing. I love the quality and their size. They work very well with old wfb bits (before GW started its size creep), thus possibilities are huge.
And there are a lot of female models - something that GW was lacking.
And - while the minis are well detailed there isn't overabdundance of tiny deatils - belts, straps, ribbons, scraps of paper, skulls. They are cool, but sometimes painting them is too time consulting.
I´m dying to know more about Broheim😄
@@borna1231 Mordheim, is a game GW abandoned and Broheim is a website for the pretty cool community of people who adopted it afterward and kept it going.
Frostgrave/Stargrave and Oathmark miniature kits have been my go to for a while now. Just been getting into Wargames Atlantic miniatures which are great, especially for Mordheim and Imperial guard. Im doing a Praetorian guard for Warhammer 40k 4th edition using the bulldogs kit and got cannon fodder for penal guard and the jungle guys for Catachans. Its been really great to return to kitbashing kits that naturally fit together like the old GW kits used to. Cost effective, great quality and kitbashers dream I always go to Wargames Atlantic and Frostgrave/Stargrave. 🤟👽🤟
Moulding the part numbers on the arm joints is inspired!
My favourite kits! They're also kitbash-compatible with older GW kits, like the old plastic guard, admech, gene stealer cultist and chaos cultists .
I have started collecting some of the FrostGrave for hoard/groups in my RPGs as well. The variety of poses/accessories/heads keeps them all feeling unique while still having a unified feel.
NorthStar surely made a big deal doing these excellent boxes, with a fraction of a GW single character you buy a lot of good looking minis, easy to convert, I 've Stargrave 's ones, and they're very flexible, excellent for kitbashing, and their arms are compatible with Wga's 'minis. They are also more economical than GW, the latter 's prices have literally skyrocketed in these yrs.
I had a buddy use a few while we were playing Anthems of War. Fantastic minis
Why I like why I like it: the unbridled enthusiasm is exactly the burst of positivity the world needs.
The Scavenger sci to out his cc my favourite, but all the kits are totally interchangeable, and most parts fit Wargames Atlantic minis too. I have created some Irish berserkers from wargames atlantic Irish into barbarian sci fi raiders. The best thing about the north star mini kits is all the extra parts you get for kitbashing. They also size well with GW Cadians and the original chaos cultists...
The Frostgrave kits are some of my favorite, I've gone as far as repurchasing the Cultist and Soldiers set. I've also picked up the Oathmark Dwarf Infantry set.
I bought a load of the Stargrave boxes purely for kitbashing purposes. Wargames Atlantic are also a good line. Boxes are a tad more expensive but a little more heroically scaled and a bit more grimdark so very compatible with GM stuff. Can't fault Stargrave sets for heads and pouches though. Brilliant value.
Yeah, these are great! Mixed some of the Stargrave kits (Mercs and Scavengers) with Dead Man’s Hand Gunfighters to make a space cowboy warband for Stargrave.
These kits are great - each box is a resource. I started with the Wizard/II sets, then the cultists. I'm using the Barbarian and fighter kits to mix and match forming a Northern Alliance Ambush unit for Kings Of War. There is so much spare in each box! So, I got the Scavenger set the other day. In the meantime, I'm currently building and painting a sort of Corpsegrinder/Chaos cult for Zona Alpha/Five Parsecs/Xenos Rampant/The Last War. They are borne out of an old Kahorne Berserkers box I got for Kill Team, mixed with some Cultist heads, wizard weapons and arms, Fire Forge fantasy archer torsos, an unused standard from a Chaos Warriors set and weapons from a free sprue of Warlord German WW 2 Grenadiers I got with a magazine...Anvil bits look like a good fit too. Invest in a few boxes - you won't regret it, much better value than anything G.W. do.
Have a couple of their boxes. They are fun and easy - great starters and quite versatile for many different games.
WOOOOO GOOD VID. Plz do make that video
Wargames Atlantic also has a great line of fantastic hard plastic kits, perfect for fantasy and sci-fi skirmish games. 😍
Totally agree. Wargames Atlantic has some great figures that mix well with Frostgrave. They also have historical figures that you can use for your fantasy games! A similar video could be made about their figures.
Absolutely! I picked up a box of Wargames Atlantic Halflings a few years ago, and use them all the time for Frostgrave, Mordheim, Sword Weirdos, and Song of Blades & Heroes. The 40-model boxed set was a bargain at only $24.95. @@johnmcconnell9979
Agreed that this line is a boon to kitbashers. The Cultists are one of my favorites, with spare bits from your bits box they can also fit pulp or scifi settings. Wizards II (the witches) is amazingly good. Wargames Atlantic boxes are also good, but they tend to come with less varied gear.
Big fan of this style of discussion
They are all superb and a great way of creating unique forces for the table top and many of the parts mix and match and even more variation with the Oathmark kits. Love them all and the price point
Also individual sprues can be bought off eBay if you do not want a full box
love em! my favorite are the cultists. the hooded options are full of character and a joy to paint. wargames atlantic and oathmark are also really good.
I have many boxes from the Frostgrave range and they pretty awesome! They can be easily mixed with Oathmark's range and also with the Wargames Atlantic plastic range too.
Thanks for the video.
And yes, you should do a video on the diminishing returns.
Great to see you back 👍 Hope things are better with you. These things take a lot of time to subside. Amazing difference in prices. It is absurd that GW can charge $30+ for a single figure. I am amazed at the prices of basic Space Marines. I was in a local game store yesterday and considered buying a box of them as a fun pastime while I am visiting my mum but when I saw the price there was no way I was going to pay it! A box of these working out at about $1.50 per mini seems excellent value and, as you say, you get all the kitbash extras too. Hope to catch you on Twitch later if you are doing that. Just one more thing - fez time? 😉
Yeah, I either need the fez or a haircut soon. Thanks for watching!
Because people will still buy it. They are the apple of the miniatures industry. The problem is that people keep in buying their products even if it's less there are people who are too addicted to the setting.
Totally agree! I have a few sets of Northstar miniatures and they are great quality. The sets that I have are modular and easy to kitbash.
I use Northstar plastics as the base for pretty much every warband I start. They mix well with wargames atlantic, Victrix, and Perry miniatures. Kitbashing galore!
It's the big mix and match thing I think is these models biggest advantage. All the kits "fit" across all the other kits, which fit across all the Fire Forge Games kits, so you can get bits from any of those and mix to your hearts content.
Im glad to see that you are brtter My man! And i absolutely love this types of alternatives to GW in plastic
Love them too.
Yes, definitely make that video. I’m just priced out of GW now.
Not related to this video, but I gotta say, I really love that your videos come out every Friday like clockwork. Friday morning I wake up, and on my way to work I can listen to the newest episode on my commute. Not too long, but always a good bit of fun to listen to, and comforting that it's so regular.
Frostgrave Gnolls/Cultists + Stargrave Scavengers = *Chef's kiss*
Absolutely love the NSF boxes, currently gearing up to play some Stargrave campaigns with my friends.
Ooh, scavengers! Had no idea they existed, nor the ghost archipelago sets. I'd looked previously at NorthStar but the models had always looked rather chunky on their website, so I'd got in my head they were more like the last plastic cadians. So thanks for showing a comparison, I'll be considering them afresh in the new year.
I deeply love them !
I have been buying 3-4 boxes at a time and make armies out of these. It has been an awesome way to kitbash cheap armies.
I love these models so much. Some ebay sellers even parse them by the sprue for 8 bucks a piece. Since the sprue repeat, you aren't missing out on too much and can get a lot of variety for little investment.
Love the Frostgrave line and have already kit bashed a few of the kits together to form some formidable warbands to field in the frozen city. Stargrave I just found interest in and this video pointed me to a few sets I need to pick up, thanks!
I have Frostgrave Soldiers and Soldiers II. They are smaller than I am used to, but I love them. Great price, lots of options and usable in any game.