Have you ever wondered what other companies are out there? What bits might someone else produce that you just can't seem to get from GW? Well, here are some that I have found and would recommend:
Canada: Ultraforge Miniatures
If you're looking for alternate big daemons, I'd highly suggest this group. They have a couple for every Chaos god, which is pretty cool. I bought the Lord of Pestilence and painted him up. It was a simple, high-quality cast, with the following result:
Added some old-school Nurglings and he was done. I call him Mr. Pud.
USA: Secret Weapon Miniatures
This American company just fired up a kickstarter for 12"x12" gaming table squares. They look pretty good, along with their other items. They don't have a whole lot in the way of conversion bits yet, but what stuck out to me were the helmet crests.
These appeal greatly to me because of my Ultramarines! Previously, one would have had use Eldar helmet crests, but with these I can make my Greco-Roman themed marines even more so, or start something new and make them look awesome.
UK: Anvil Industries
They feature plenty of alternate weapons that look to be 40k-scaled. I'm not sure how I feel about their infantry designs, but prices are decent. If I were to pick one item from them that is absolutely awesome, it's this:
Because shotguns are awesome and hard to find, much less well-done double-barrel shotguns, much less a break-action one that's open! Totally cool; sometime in the future I hope to make an order for these for my Imperial Guard.
Poland: Puppets War
With a decently-sized and growing selection, this is the company to watch for new bits. Some of their models now grace the gaming tables in our club, simply because they are creative and high-quality. They have plenty of alternate models for units as well, which is nice. This is my pick from them:
I have made an order with them for these arms, and they couldn't have been nicer with questions and customer service. This is a company I highly recommend.
Poland: Scibor Miniatures
There are plenty of decent minis with this company, but what really got to me was how many shields they have. So many shields!
If you want a fancier look for your thunder hammer/storm shield assault terminators (and let's face it, every Space Marine player has at least one squad of them), look no further than this group.
Poland: MAXMINI
Yet another Polish resin-producing company. Makes one wonder if the whole industry over there is producing accessories for us nerds! They have a large selection, and having seen it on the shelves I know it's high quality stuff. It's unfortunate for me that I only discovered them recently, because I spotted this:
Riot shields and mauls! My friends and I started up some Necromunda last year and had a lot of fun, but I had to scrounge bits for my police team. I just might order a set of these at some point...
If you feel I missed a great company, let me know! I always like expanding my available pool of bits'n'things!
