Epic is Epic

With the impeding release by a certain company of some really small soldiers it’s easy to be mistaken in that the Epic game system has been on hiatus for the last quarter of a century. 

Someone looking upon the system as a nostalgic flash in the pan, or an antiquated game that a few people just haven’t stopped playing, may be pleasantly surprised to find that it never really went away. 

Say hello to Netepic. Currently in its Gold edition (with Platinum awaiting translation from French) Netepic has been in existence since the original releases of the GW game. Originally a yahoo chat group from way back in the dark days of the early World Wide Web, it has since developed into its own full game system. Although Netepic is firmly the same game, it has been lovingly and carefully tweaked to deliver the best 6mm grimdark gaming experience. 

That’s all well and good but let’s talk minis. Do people really take the time to scour eBay and 2nd hand sales looking for original sculpts, taking the time to strip and repaint hundreds of tiny soldiers? 

Well, yes some do, but there is also a huge 3rd party manufacturer and 3D printing scene to support

Like most other game systems there are 3D prints for pretty much everything for epic. Those who already have the hardware can print an army over a weekend. Those without, well there’s a thriving market on Etsy and eBay to purchase the prints. 

Miniature manufactures of metal miniatures also have their place in the market. The outstanding Vanguard Miniatures are the absolute gods of producing incredibly detailed proxies for a multitude of armies. There really is no barrier to scoring the goods 

Many people are put off with the thought of painting and collecting 6mm. There seems to be a misconception that it’s difficult to paint compared to 28mm. 

Quite the opposite. Of course if you try to paint a 6mm miniature the same way you would approach a 28mm model then, well you have my best wishes and sympathies.

The main wow factor of 6mm comes from clear, bright paint schemes with minimal details and clutter. It’s pretty much blobs of paint and some tidy basing. Once this is arranged en masse and you stand 6ft away you won’t notice what colour you imperial guards webbing is. But it will look magnificent. 

As with the ease of painting, is also the speed of getting an army on the table. It’s easy to get a company of troops done in a day. That’s an army in a month (or less if your lucky enough to have fewer responsibilities than myself) 

Another big plus is storage. A stacker ‘Really Useful Box’ can easily house one or two full armies depending on your game points limit. When you compare this to 28mm the footprint is hardly noticeable. 

And the game itself. What a game. Netepic has everything. Detailed list building, crazy strategies and psychic powers, space marine chapters, chaos mutations, Titans, dropships, orbital bombardments - it’s truly splendid. Although the combat and shooting is as savage as it comes, the level of tactical thinking is a bar higher than its 28mm counterpart. This isn’t mathhammer at a smaller scale. This is carefully considered deployment, cautious advances and full use of terrain and cover to advantage. As there is no pre-measuring if your attack falls short and you are left in the open…. Kaboom. 

So the new game is coming out. And very tempting it is. Apparently the system is fairly true to form and will no doubt garner lots of new fans of the small(ish) scale. But regardless of the hype, it’s good to know that Netepic is already well established, well supported and well cherished. Thank god for the internet.