Anvil Industry

I took a trip to Anvil Industry at the weekend. Or rather, Joel invited me over for lunch to chat about his product lines and to show me his new pressure chamber for faster resin casting.

Yes, Anvil Industries are currently based in a garden shed in sunny Hertfordshire, England. Much like in the same way that most successful US businesses start in a basement. We don't have basements here. So a shed or garage is the next best (and very British!) thing.

Prior to setting up Anvil Industry to help pay for his kid, I've known Joel for about 6 years now. In fact, I met him at a 40K tournament and managed to blag a lift home!

He's a fantastic painter and modeller. Sure, he sucks at the game, but he's really in it for the hobby and that's why he's offering a slowly growing range of generic 28mm accessories for people who play sci fi wargames.

So far the range consists of shoulder pads, cloaks, loin cloths and other small accessories. However there are a number of new things on the way, such as a tripod mount with a variety of heavy weapons as well as riot shields, energy packs and there has been talk of a jetbike of some kind.

A range of bases are also in production, made of a very special material with cleverly designed undersides as well! I would never have thought of this, so I was particularly impressed when Joel demonstrated what the first batch of Anvil Industry bases would be capable of -both for painting and for playing games.

Although personally, I can't wait for the missile pods (mounted on the tripod in the picture) to be finished and available. Just think of all the tanks and heavy infantry you could use them with.

But before Joel can create any more new products, he's busy trying to get his casting process as perfect as possible. Currently 1 in 5 products aren't casting correctly and are thrown away, which has prompted him to invest in a pressure caster and air pressure generator.

Also, the quality control is taking a lot of his time. It probably doesn't help that Joel is particularly fussy, but that definitely does benefit his customers.

He also showed me some products cast in regular resin and products cast in 'special resin'. The special resin products were a grey colour, exactly the same colour as Citadel Finecast and Forgeworld products in fact.

When I asked what made them so special, he laughed "Nothing, I just added a grey colour!"

But we could both clearly see the details in the model and most importantly the white/cream coloured resin looked very cheap in comparison. So there's an interesting perception of value for you! Now we know why so many manufacturers produce their model parts in grey resin.

Before I left, I caught a glimpse of some interesting steam punk style rocket packs. I also placed an order for the forthcoming Anvil Industry 'special' bases, which I'll explain more about when they're released. And I also picked up a selection of studded shoulder pads for my next batch of pre heresy Space Wolves. Aren't generic 28mm sci fi bits wonderful?

Anvil Industry is small right now, but has a heck of a lot going for it. Joel seems to be better on price, faster on production and ships from the UK, so for UK and US residents his popular shoulder pads are certainly more affordable than the European alternatives.

So if you've got a minute, check out Anvil Industries for yourself and see if your little plastic dudes need some extra accessories.