Well it's true that a lot of sets can be used for different things ( i never understood why sometimes syracusian hoplites are wished, they aren't different to other hoplites - but at least it offers new poses/outfits and details like helmet styles different to the well representated corinthian, crest-brackets/helmet-decoration and the shield apron, missing till now) but that there has to be done a lot of converting meens there are a few gaps.

By the way, hoping that i don't make me unpoular :grimacing: , i'm mostly an ancient collector but don't need figures for the byzantine range; i'm mixing late roman legionnaries, auxiliar troops, carolingians and vikings for this purpose. But for sure you're right, it's very very strange that there's no real byzantine branch.

In my point of view, mostly all classics are done, now the manufacturers could get braver and more creative. Some "sub"cultures with special peculiarities aren't representated and single figures without 100% historical accuracy shouldn't harm the sanity of a manufacturer, e.g. my Trierarch has a boiotian shield instead of the aspis - it's not clear that the shield-gaps are a worsening of the effectivness, especially in single combat, which can be happen to an officer e.g. (thinking at the round shield for the Significer) etc. etc.

If you think about the ancient and medieval range, this covers a long time span, and a lot of interesting periods are not real covered.

... and please take into account, that not everybody want to convert figures (this is an argument valid for every period ...).

I'm always pleased if a company came up with a new (and interesting) period. e.g. when Ceasar starts the Bronze Age range, not covered by 1/27 plastic before (that's just one example) or Strelets extended crusade range.

I hope you haven't misunderstood me. I'm also really no fan of converting in a mechanical way and also not good in that, but in some cases i'm too sure, there will be nothing done - so alienating is something which works when the histoical circumstances gives you the chance to have the army you wish. That's why i hope, if the companies see that there is a theme for which the potential buyers convert etc., they'll see their opportunity for future sets.

I'm also a big fan of Caesar for their ancient and fantasy sets but began too late with collecting and so missed a bunch of sets and bonus figures, that's mostly the reason why i "convert" from other sets.
The point with Strelets crusades is what i meant with doing more than the classics (here standard europeans and saracens) so it's good to hear we're thinking in the same way.

I think there is still plenty of potential for new Ancient-Medieval sets -as mentioned Byzantines as well as some of their opponents such as early Ottomans, Vandals, early Islamic armies from Arabia. We could also do with some decent set of Huns as the existing sets are quite poor and flawed. Wagons for some of these steppe nomad armies would be useful too.
And some new Picts/ Irish /Scots as these are quite poorly represented to date.

Yes, new sets for themes with "nice tried but bad success sets" like the Indians, 'Gaelic', Huns etc. and for the since today in every sector underestimated nomads would be very good. But also what about more realistic sets about Vlad III.? Some more civil or maybe even some more mythologic? And i'm a fan of the Codex Manesse - would just be helmet-crests but maybe even nice.
Maybe my answers seem a bit desperate, it's just about the bad end of Linear-A's croudfunding - a whole elector-army, but apparently almost no one buying; one reason more why i have to alienate, which isn't easy for a lot of cultures...

I certainly would love to see some Irish, Picts or Scots done properly as these are definitely nations that looked very different to your standard Dark Age warriors and there is very little that could be converted.