I just added some new Predator miniatures from Predastore to my Predator miniature review. Click here for the updated version.
Archive for the ‘Miniature reviews’ Category
Colonial Marine miniatures – a review
March 25, 2011Let’s see now. I’ve already done reviews of Predators and Aliens in 28mm. To complete the holy trinity of science fiction kick ass, we need one more player: the Colonial Marines.
Mostly known for their bravado and for being mercilessly slaughtered in Aliens, the CM have nonetheless become a fan favourite with scifi enthusiasts, cosplayers and of course wargamers. I’m in the first and third groups (cosplay? heavens, no), and have posted a fair few times about Colonial Marines (from here on referred to as CMs). With lots of people out there looking to do a bit of Aliens-inspired gaming, it’s time to take a look at what’s available in miniature. Just like the Alien miniature review, I’ve split the review into three sections: licensed products, almost matches and DIY stuff. There’s a whole lot of size comparison pictures after that, with other troopers, Aliens and Predators. Let’s go.
Licensed products
There’s only one set of licensed CMs that I know of, and that is of course the Leading Edge set by Bob Ridolfi. I couldn’t get my hands on them, so I turned to the community for help, and this is what I got – thanks TMP users Thieses and Only Warlock!
The Leading Edge Colonial Marines miniatures are the most complete line of figures produced. The figures are true 25mm sculpts, are on the “cartoony” side, and small. However what the figures lack in detail they more than make up for in diversity.
LE has unique sculpts for all 13 marine characters with integral bases. LE also has sculpts for “support” characters such as, Burke, Newt, and Ripley.
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Leading Edge Colonial Marines are true 25m figures, matching well with Ral Partha Battletroops and GZG 25mm figs, except tending to slimmer figures with less overall detail.
Additionally I received a few wonderful size comparison pictures from Akula. They can be found further down with the other comparison pictures. The photos below are taken from Stuff of Legends, and show all the Leading Edge CMs.
The set pops up quite often on eBay, and is almost as often massively overpriced. If you, however, for some reason want the licensed stuff, this is your only choice.
Not-Colonial Marines
The miniatures industry has a tendency to give the public what the public wants. Luckily the public has wanted CMs. There’s a slew of miniatures available that are an almost perfect match for the troopers in the film, and this section is devoted to those.
Denizen Miniatures Mid-tech assault team
When I received the Mid-tech miniatures, I was blown away. These miniatures, sculpted by Chub Pearson, are something like 20 years old. Compared to a lot of stuff from back then, they’re pretty excellent and have stood the test of time very nicely. I pondered for a bit before adding these miniatures to the review, since Denizen advertises their models as 25mm. With the scale creep that’s been going on for years, these days “28mm” can mean anything between 28mm and 35mm, so I wondered whether Denizen’s miniatures would be far too small to include in a 28mm review. After doing some comparison work, however, I decided that they were worth including. It would’ve been a cardinal sin to drop such a range from the review. Do note that the miniatures are indeed slender and realistically proportioned compared to many others in this review, so see the comparison pictures to find the best match for your needs. They go very nicely with the smallish Reviresco Homophages, for example.
There are 14 different Mid-tech troopers, with most armed with ACRs, a real-life assault rifle with a scifi look to it. The poses are varied and a good combination of static and dynamic. There are shotguns, a flamer and smartguns available as well as a bareheaded female smartgunner obviously based on Vasquez in Aliens, so you can easily recreate a CM squad pretty much straight out of the film. The models come on small hexagonal integral bases. The miniatures are amazingly cheap for their quality. Guess how much? No, really. 90p each. That’s 1 EUR or 1.4 USD at the time of writing, which is cheaper per miniature than a lot of plastics out there. Casting quality is great, with no flash and very little mould lining. Some of the minis have a separate arm, and the parts fit together nicely.
You can get the Mid-tech troopers direct from Denizen Miniatures.
A selection of Mid-tech troopers - click for a larger version.
East Riding Miniatures Colonial Marines
ERM produces a pack of four CMs sculpted by Tony Yates in their Mythic Worlds line, and there are three more on the way. The models come on small integral bases. They’re very obviously CMs, as shown by their gear with helmet cameras, body armour and weapons: two are armed with pulse rifles, one with a Aliens-style flamer and one with a heavy pistol. Casting quality is fine, with minimal mould lining and no flash to speak of.
Stylistically these miniatures resemble the ERM Aliens a lot, and share the same pros and cons. The models are very cartoony, with exaggerated proportions, large heads and big guns. Not to put too fine a point on it, the sculpting leaves much to be desired. Detail is soft and the puttywork sloppy, basically. If you’re willing to look past these points (although they are major to some) you’ll find a nice pack of characterful Marines. As with the Aliens, the ERM CMs somehow capture something of the essence of what they’re depicting – the combination of gung ho and panic, which for me is the iconic aspect of CMs. These miniatures will obviously be a horses for courses thing, but I like ‘em and can’t wait for the extra packs. The price for four miniatures is £5.00. It’s competitive, but the price/quality ratio does leave a bit to be desired.
You can get the miniatures direct from ERM.
Click for a larger version
1st Corps Miniatures Colonial Troopers
The inclusion of these minis in a CM review was something that required a bit of pondering. Why? Well, despite the name these miniatures are obviously based not on the Colonial Marines of Aliens fame, but on the Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers. However, there are enough similarities to justify putting them in, and with a suitable paintjob these little fellow will fit right into an Aliens setting. The range is large and comprehensive, consisting of 17 packs including smart gun -style and heavier support weapons, recon teams, vehicles and even a news theme. Again, they’re very SST, but adaptable. Stylewise the 1st Corps stuff slots somewhere between the previous two entries. The style is a bit cartoony (which, to be honest, most 28mm minis are) but not as over the top as the ERM CMs. The minis come on small integral bases and are sculpted by Rob Baker. The quality of the sculpts is fine. There’s some softness here and there, but all in all they’re clean sculpts and simple in a good way. The models are sold as 25mm, but will fit ok with 28mm. Again, see the comparison pics for yourself.
As with the previous packs, the price is very competitive. 1st Corps’ infantry packs retail at £3.00 for three miniatures, with the support weapon packs a bit more expensive. All are available directly from 1st Corps. And while you’re there, check out their Aliens (see Alien miniature review) as well.
Regular troopers - click for a larger version.
Recon troopers - click for a larger version.
Hasslefree Miniatures Adventurers
Hasslefree miniatures stocks a wide range of individual characters that draw from a variety of pop culture sources. Luckily for us, there are several in their Adventurers line that suit the need for CMs: KJ (HFA053), the two versions of McKenzie (HFA049 & HFA054) and Debra (HFSF001a). As far as kit goes, the models aren’t quite Aliens, nor are they quite SST, but a good mix of the two to create the style we’re looking for. The most obvious CM aspect to the miniatures is the excellent Hasslefree Pulse rifle, which is a 1:1 match for the iconic gun in the original film. With the exception of the first version of McKenzie, the models are armed with that, and the weapon instantly gives them that CM look. It’s worth mentioning that the guns are available separately for your own CM conversions. The poses are nice, with McKenzie the first being a particular favourite. In terms of size the HF stuff is nicely in line with the miniatures reviewed above. The style is realistic, although with a hint of cartoony look thrown in. All models stand on standard slottabases, and are sculpted by Kev White.
As models not intended to be purchased in large quantities (I think), the HF miniatures are more expensive than most ranges in this review with prices between £3.50 and £4.50 per model. While not too steep a price for quality miniatures, these are still at the high end of this review’s price scale. However, if you’re not looking to build a full army out of these four models, they’re well worth the investment as the sculpting is top notch. You can get them all direct from Hasslefree.
Hasslefree also sells other miniatures suitable for Aliens gaming, and I will cover these in a later review. The facehugger-like head crabs can be found in my Alien miniature review.
L to R: McKenzie 1, McKenzie 2, KJ, Debra - click for a larger version
Fenryll Science Fiction Troopers
French resin miniature manufacturer Fenryll has six more or less obviously not-CMs in their science fiction range. It has to be said right at the start that these miniatures are very big. While the Fenryll site lists them as 28mm, the models actually measure 33-35mm from top of base to top of head. The size is a real shame, since the miniatures are very nice. The sculptor Dominique Seys has done a nice job with the troopers’ faces and gear, and resin produces beutiful, crisp detail. There is one thing about the first pack that bugs me a lot, and it’s the way the troopers hold their pulse rifles. They’re all holding them one-handed (two of them are holding a grenade in the other hand), and the guns look entirely weightless. This gives the troopers of the first pack a very action figure-ish look, which I’m not partial to. The troopers in pack 2 hold their guns much more sensibly with two hands, and I prefer this pack to the first one. The models come with separate guns and backpacks, and they’re all on square integral resin bases, with some sculpted detail and texture. There were some casting flaws, with quite a lot of flash and mould lines/misalignment.
The size of the Fenryll troopers will probably put a lot of people off. As the comparison pictures below show, they’re very tall, standing head and shoulders above most other miniatures in this review. While this might make them unappealing to a fair few gamers, their large size does mean that they’re a perfect match size-wise for the Horrorclix Aliens or the Heresy Hurn, which tend to be pretty big compared to most 28mm miniatures. In terms of price the troopers are at the higher end in this review, with a pack of three models costing 10 EUR, which amounts to £8.40 at the time of writing, or £2.80 per miniature.
The two packs of troopers are available direct from Fenryll.
Pack 1 - click for a larger version
Pack 2 - click for a larger version
Copplestone Castings Troopers
Mark Copplestone has sculpted loads and loads of futuristic not-CMs, and they’re sold through at least three different companies. Copplestone’s own company has a wide range of around ten packs of five miniatures each. All kinds of troopers are available, with different gear options and weapons. There’s a pack of five female troopers for a nice piece of variety, as well as specialists and officer types. The sculpts are clean and paint up nicely, and the casting quality is fine as well. The models stand on small, thin integral bases.
There are some differences between these models and those sold by em4 and Mirliton (see below). One is the bases. Copplestone Castings minis have an integral base, whereas the others have slottabases. The Copplestone Castings minis are also a bit bigger and bulkier. If minis from em4/Mirliton and CC are placed next to eachother, you can tell the size difference. If the models are mixed in a unit, the difference isn’t very noticeable. Check out this post to see what I mean. The other difference is in the weapons. Some of the weapons have been changed from the original ones which are very pulse rifle-ish. Longer barrels have been added, the underslung grenade launchers removed and so on. The smartgun has also been altered to look more like a regular machine gun, which of course is disappointing when you’re looking for CMs. These are fairly minor quibbles, though and can be quite easily fixed.
All the Copplestone Castings packs retail for £8.50, which amounts to £1.70 per miniature. They’re available direct from Copplestone Castings.
Click for a larger version
em4 Miniatures Troopers
em4 is the second company in this review distributing the troopers sculpted by Mark Copplestone. As far as I know, these are the Future Warrior minis originally sold by Grenadier. Everything that was said above is true with these as well. The CC models are largely the same as these with minor changes, headswaps and so on. As mentioned, these are a bit smaller than the CC ones, and carry more Aliens-y weapons. The range, however, isn’t as large as the one produced by Copplestone Castings. There’s also a pack of sentry guns available. As with Hasslefree and Denizen, you can order single miniatures, which allows you to pick just the ones you want. The em4 troopers are £1.28 apiece, which gives you great value for your money. See em4′s online store for these.
Click for a larger version
In addition to their Copplestoney goodness, em4 also manufactures some cheap multi-part plastic troopers sculpted by Bob Naismith. While they’re not as similar to CMs as the Copplestone figures, I still thought it would be appropriate to mention them here, as they could easily be used for that. There’s a good example from Germy, who has combined the plastic troopers with Hasslefree’s pulse rifles for very nice almost-CMs. There are five basic bodies, with separate arms, chest and extra kit on the back. There are also metal conversion sets available from em4 that allow you to turn the minis either into a command squad or a heavy weapons squad.
The miniatures themselves are moulded from silver-coloured plastic and come with their own 25mm round slottabases. There are two pairs of arms holding a heavy futuristic pistol, one pair holding a large combat knife and a SMG and two pairs holding something that looks like a cross between an assault rifle, laser gun and heavy combat shotgun. Detail is not bad, although it is softer than newer plastic sets from Games Workshop or Mantic for example. The sculpts themselves are quite nice. My biggest complaint is the heavy mould lining present. There was a lot of cleaning up to do, which is always a chore. Then again, you still get a very good value for your money, since the plastic troopers retail for £2.50 for five miniatures (£0.50 apiece), making them by far the cheapest choice in this review. They’re available direct from em4, you can find the link above. There’s a more detailed review here, in case you’re interested.
Click for a larger version
Mirliton Future Warriors
The Italian company Mirliton picked up the old Grenadier moulds for the Future Warriors line. As far as I can tell, these are exactly the same models that are sold by em4, so the above reviews apply. They’re marginally more expensive (+£0.15 per model at the time of writing) than em4, and come in pre-selected packs of five miniatures each. They’re available direct from Mirliton.
Scotia Grendel Nexus Colonial Marines
Part of Scotia Grendel’s old Kryomek range, the CMs are a nice varied bunch consisting of three packs of three troopers, plus one pack of casualties. The funny thing is that I could detect no damage in one of the casualties, so he would pass for an intact marine easily. The Nexus Marines bear some resemblance to the original CMs, although it’s mainly due to their bare arms and their weapons. Some of them also sport a familiar helmet design. They’re armed mostly with very pulse rifle-ish weapons, although there are three sporting pistols or submachine guns. Two models have pretty neat shields strapped to their arms. All in all, it’s debatable how much the Nexus Colonial Marines resemble the Aliens ones, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The models are pretty nice sculpts, although some of them suffer from overly long arms. A few also succumb to the action figure syndrome by firing their rifles with one hand. As with the Fenryll troopers above, I find this more than a bit silly. The sculptor Chaz Elliott has managed to pose the troopers in good, dynamic poses, so they really look like they’re in a combat situation. They’re quite bulky and heroic in style, resembling the Copplestone Castings range for example. There are some multipart models, and the pieces fit together okay. All the models stand on fairly thick integral metal bases and due to the wide stances some of them have, basing them on standard 25mm bases will require some cutting and filing of the bases.
The casualties are a nice addition to the range. While I’ve never really understood the function of casualty miniatures, I guess they could be used as markers or tokens. The sculpts are great and characterful with gruesome wounds. If you’re looking to do some scifi zombie action, the casualties could easily be painted as zombies.
The Nexus Colonial Marines can be ordered directly from Scotia Grendel’s webstore. They retail for £5.00 for a pack of three models.
Click for a larger version
Casualties - click for a larger version
Woodbine Design / Gripping Beast SciFi Marines
These CMs, sculpted by Rob Baker who also did the 1st Corps stuff mentioned above, have steadily grown on me. I was first put off by their cartoony look, which I’ve begun to like more and more. For me the selling point of these miniatures is their kit, however. With the exception of their pulse rifles (which are the same guns carried by the 1st Corps troopers) their gear is an exact match for that worn by the marines in Aliens. There are pulse rifles, flamers, smartguns, a shotgun, motion trackers and even an automated sentry gun. All the main characters from the movie are depicted in the range, including Burke, Gorman, Ripley and Bishop – all of who will be discussed in detail in the upcoming Aliens gaming review.
As said, the models are quite cartoony as well as bulky. While the sculpting style will not be to everyone’s liking, I find that the cartoony features give the models a lot of personality. There’s a variety of expressions ranging from panic to intense concentration to anger. Again, the spirit of the CMs has been nicely captured. There are six packs in the range, with one being the aforementioned characters from Aliens and one a pack of support weapons – a marine with an RPG and one operating a sentry gun. All models come on thin integral bases. There is one irksome thing, though. Some of the models have a mould line running right through their face, and this can potentially cause the whole face to get wrecked by a casting flaw. On my copies of the minis there was some flash in the middle of the face which required very delicate cleaning so as not to disfigure the face. This becomes doubly important because of the great facial features mentioned above.
With the exception of the support weapons, all packs consist of four miniatures. Each pack retails for £5.50, and is available through Gripping Beast’s webstore.
Click for a larger version
Overall verdict: Oh boy. That’s a lot of miniatures. The great variety means there’s something here for everyone, and what I recommend depends a lot on what you’re looking for. Authentic CM gear? Go with Woodbine. Not cartoony enough? Turn to ERM. Too cartoony? Try Denizen. Too small? Check out em4. Still too small? Copplestone. STILL too small? Fenryll. Want to do Starship Troopers as well? 1st Corps. Need more generic scifi types? Scotia Grendel’s your uncle. Want to do it on the cheap? em4 plastics. Looking for premium sculpts? Hasslefree. And so on.
The size comparison pictures should give you a pretty good idea of the miniatures’ size differences. As you can see, they’re not too bad. Note that some height differences depend on the models’ integral bases, which I’ve simply slapped on top of a 25mm slottabase. The pictures should function as guidelines, but keep in mind they’re not The Truth. They weren’t taken in laboratory conditions, after all. It would’ve been too much work to photograph every single combination of different manufacturers, so I figured you can simply compare different images. There are some Aliens for size reference in the last two pics. You can click on any picture for a larger version.
L to R: Denizen, em4, em4 plastic, Hasslefree, Woodbine
L to R: Scotia Grendel, em4, Fenryll, Hasslefree, Copplestone Castings
L to R: Scotia Grendel, 1st Corps, Fenryll, ERM, Copplestone Castings
L to R: Hasslefree, 1st Corps, em4, Copplestone Castings, Woodbine
L to R: Hasslefree, Reviresco Homophage, em4, Horrorclix Alien, Woodbine
L to R: Scotia Grendel, Reviresco Homophage, Denizen, Horrorclix Alien, Fenryll
These next two comparison photos are by Akula, so much thanks to him. They show the OOP Leading Edge CM size.
L to R: Hasslefree, Woodbine, Leading Edge
L to R: Hasslefree, Denizen, Leading Edge, Woodbine
Conclusion
Like in my Alien miniatures review, I’m not going to stuff my own choices down my readers’ throats. Besides, I like all the models in this review, and will be using most of them. It’s very much a horses for courses thing, like I mentioned above. If you can’t decide, just buy a bit of everything. A matching paintjob will bring it all together regardless.
Again I must thank all the companies in this review for taking part. All of them deserve your support for what they’re doing for the hobby. My part is making their products easier for you to find. Your part? Buying them, painting them, gaming with them. Being miniature gamers, that should come naturally.
How do you see your Colonial Marines? Are they strictly the guys and gals from Aliens? What about the rest of the franchise? The comics and the books? The way I see it, it doesn’t really pay to be too much of a purist in some cases. Maybe you like your CMs with experimental laser rifles, railguns, tanks and whatnot, regardless of what’s in the movie. Definitely don’t let that stop you. These are toys, depicting fictional people in a fictional future. When you find yourself thinking “oh, but this isn’t accurate, this isn’t right!” it might be time to take a step back and think again.
Why do I say that? I used to be a real nitpicker. I couldn’t combine miniature ranges if one was 28mm and another 30mm. Different style weapons and gear made me weep. After a while I found this all a bit stressful. Now as I’m writing this, I have most of the miniatures mentioned above sitting on my desk. They’re going to be made into units, with their various weapons and gear. They’ll be painted using a consistent colour scheme. When they’re on the table – all those ranges – will people be going “how can you combine those? The horror! Different weapons! Inconsistent gear! Have you even seen Aliens?“? No. If they’re worth spending time with, they’ll be going “ooh, Colonial Marines! Awesome, I love them!”
I suggest you do that, too.
Zombie Apocalypse! – a review
December 18, 2010
Anthologies, even themed ones, are usually a mixed bag. This one created by Stephen Jones is no different.
Zombie Apocalypse! is a definite tip of the hat to H.P. Lovecraft, who is explicitly mentioned in the credits section. The book is basically a continuation of Lovecraft’s – and Bram Stoker in Dracula, for example – fake-documentary, first person style (see The Whisperer in Darkness for a prime Lovecraft example). There are letters, police and doctor reports, Twitter, IM, and SMS logs, blogs and so on. They detail the eponymous zombie apocalypse that starts off in the UK and before long spreads across the world. Sounds great this far, doesn’t it?
I’ll be very blunt with this next comment: a fair few of the 19 authors in this book aren’t very good writers. As always in anthologies, there are some gems in there, a lot of OK stuff, some that are a bit “meh” and then some that are a bit rubbish. Where a lot of these stories fail is subtlety. Whereas Lovecraft and Stoker manage to tell just enough to leave room for the imagination of the reader, many writers in ZA! fail in this respect. I mean that instead of ending, say, a logged phone call with “ummn..are you ok?” they instead end it with “oh my god, you’re really not ok! You’re a zombie! Oh my god, and now you’re taking chunks out of my arm! There’s blood everywhere! Now I understand, this is the way the plague spreads, through bites! Arrrrgh, I’m losing gallons of blood and my intestines are on the floor, and yet I keep on talking on this phone, I don’t even know why! Please, oh god no!” Catch my drift? The same flaw can be seen in another way as well, as the writers often pretty heavy handedly insert plot elements into stories which should be very realistic in style, such as police or medical reports. This greatly detracts from the whole suspension of disbelief thing. Why would a police officer write in his report that a church has a “strange aura” or that it “feels Gothic” or suddenly describe his female police partner as a “glamorous [...] tall, striking blonde”? Sorry, but that’s just plain poor writing. Sometimes less is indeed more.
There’s another major problem. Basically, while the book tells a chronologically pretty coherent story, at times it doesn’t know whether it is a bird or a fish. At times its Dawn of the Dead, at times Return of the Living Dead, before becoming 28 Days Later and segueing to Army of Darkness. Sounds like a very wide spread of different styles, and it is. The book also becomes a bit repetitive at times, as it’s basically “now I’m writing, now I’m depressed, now I’ve been bitten/scratched, now I’m turning into a zombie/committing suicide” over and over again, told through various media sources.
Despite those flaws, the book is mostly a very entertaining read, and I found it difficult to put down quite a few times. A lot of the stories are very short (often thankfully so), and some of them are really rather good, so even at over 500 pages it doesn’t grow wearisome. It could just be the zombie enthusiast in me, but I’ll definitely give this another read, although I might skip a few of the B-grade stories. There’s a fair bit of humour in there as well, with some being hit and miss but others downright hilarious.
Overall verdict: Make no mistake, this is no World War Z 2. The stories vary a lot in quality, and at times the book’s styles and themes are all over the place. It’s still a good way to spend a few evenings or quite a few bus rides, if you’re into zombie apocalypse and the fake-documentary style. I just wish they’d all read their Lovecraft.
As usual, I got my copy from the Book Depository, where the book retails for €7.54.
Alien miniatures – a review
October 19, 2010(Note: This is a part of a three-part series of reviews. For suitable opposition, see my reviews for Predators and Colonial Marines)
“I want to do Aliens/Xenomorphs vs. Colonial Marines vs. Predators in 28mm, who makes suitable minis?”
I can’t recall how many times I’ve run into a topic like this on various internet forums. I’ve even started a few myself. Trawling through these, the thought has every once in a while crossed my mind, that it’d be nice to have a fairly comprehensive review of different options available. Then it struck me – why not do one myself? I started with the Predators. An easy choice, since there aren’t too many different minis available, and I already had them.
The Aliens were another story altogether. There’s a lot more variety out there. In addition to the licensed stuff, all sorts of Alien-inspired biomechanical beasties can be found in various miniature lines. Getting them simply for a review purpose would cost me if not an arm and a leg, but at least a fair amount of cash better used elsewhere. With some encouragement from fellow hobbyists I did what a real reviewer would do: I contacted the companies directly, asking for samples. To my surprise, the response was very positive with most companies gladly shipping me stuff to review. The companies taking part will get all the praise they deserve later in this post.
I suppose this is enough with the introduction, and it’s time to get on with the review itself. For ease of reading I’ve decided not to split the review into smaller parts, so all will be found in this post. While it’s going to be a pretty heavy read the first time, it should also provide a fairly comprehensive view of what’s available at the time of writing. You have been warned.
Licensed products and 1:1 matches
Fans of Xenomorphs will be happy to hear that there are not only one, but two lines of miniatures modelled right on the creatures of the various films (Aliens and Alien vs. Predator to be exact). They will then be devastated to hear that both lines are discontinued and usually fetch a fairly ridiculous price on eBay and the like.
Leading Edge Aliens
Leading Edge did a whole range based on Aliens sculpted by Bob Ridolfi, and naturally the line included pretty much every iconic thing from the movies. The line is long gone by now, but the kits do come up on eBay every now and then. Stuff of Legends has a very good overview of the line, which I recommend taking a look at. I have only two figures (picked up from a convention for a pittance) so I’ll base my review on those. Both minis are from the Colonist’s last stand pack.
Click for a larger version
Even today the old sculpts look very nice, if a bit dated. The warrior is a good reproduction of the movie’s creatures, and suitably sized too, being the size of a 28mm miniature even with the knees bent. There is good, crisp detailing. As you can see, the Alien warrior’s head sports the ridged dome from Aliens as opposed to the iconic smooth one. The second miniature I have depicts a hapless colonist getting a hug and a kiss from one of those pesky Alien kids. The miniature nicely shows the “right” size for facehuggers and eggs in 28mm. Both models come on integral metal bases with some detailing.
Horrorclix Aliens
Considered by many to be THE miniatures for Xenomorph gaming, the Horrorclix Aliens are pre-painted plastic miniatures based on the ones in Alien vs. Predator (and are probably the best thing to come out of that movie, come to think of it). There are seven different variants, with two of them sporting specialties from the movie – the Alien with a Predator’s net-grid in it’s dome and another with its tail spouting acid. Three of the models are attached to different pieces of architecture, two different columns and a piece of wall. There’s one human miniature in the pack as well, unfortunately oversized.
That brings us smoothly to the size of the Horrorclix stuff. They are much bigger than 28mm, the tallest one standing at roughly 45mm. For some this might – and will – be a problem. I don’t mind. In the original Alien film, the guy inside the suit, Boladi Badejo, was 2,18 m – that’s 7’2″ to those not into metric. While this still makes the Aliens oversized, it also gives them a very menacing presence.
The architectural bits may cause some headache, but they’re also quite easily dealt with should one not want to use them. The Aliens can be removed with a little work, and mostly the poses are not too bad on normal bases. If you don’t mind doing some extra work, the scenic elements can be modified, see my example.
They come on plastic clicky bases, but are easily removed by using a sharp craft knife, which can be used to simply pop them off the bases. Even the prepainting is not too bad, comprising of a motley combination of dark blue and black, with a glossy black head dome and some detailing in silver. I’d say these models can definitely be used as-is, if you’re not in the mood for painting.
The range also includes a queen with a scenic base. You can see a picture here and some better ones sans the scenic base here.
Click for a larger version
Click for a larger version
And here are some of my Horrorclix Aliens rebased and repainted:
Click for a larger version
Overall verdict: What can I say, these are licensed products. As such, they are a perfect match for Xenomorphs from the movies. Their limited availability and consequent silly prices make them a not-really-valid option for most people. If you can get your hands on them, do so. The Horrorclix Aliens might be too big for some people’s tastes. As mentioned above, not an issue to me but worth noting.
That’s the official miniatures covered. Nice, expensive, out of production. Let’s take a look at alternatives, shall we?
Not-Aliens
The Xenomorph being such a classic as far as scifi-monsters go, it should come as no surprise that there are quite a few alternatives for the models available. While these are not 1:1 matches, they’re definitely close enough to use as Xenomorphs and bear an obvious resemblance. The one guys missing here are Eureka’s rendition – the Chaos Weasels – which I believe were pulled off the market due to IP concerns.
EDIT January 11th 2011:
Blog reader John contacted me with the following information on the Eureka Chaos Weasels:
The Eureka Chaos Weasels are towards the smaller end of the 25-32mm spectrum. They are multipart, and came with metal slottabases. Some of the ones I picked up had them, and some needed plastic bases. They have great grinning smiles that I rather like. The tails in particular are bendy and poseable, if a little fragile. Chaos Weaslings, I believe, were not-facehuggers.
I’ve got some Leading Edge eggs and huggers. They have integral bases with some moulded details- creepy tendrils under the eggs, and metal decking beneath the hugger. I’ve rebased them on 25mm washers and hidden the detail. The eggs are a good size, but the huggers are a little weedy.
John was also kind enough to provide me with a few photos, and there’s one in the size comparison section as well.
Click for a larger version
Click for a larger version
Rather nice stuff, as you can see. Alas, out of production. Thanks a lot for the information and photos, John!
East Riding Miniatures – Mythic Worlds Sci-Fi Aliens
ERM’s Mythic Worlds scifi line includes a bunch of aliens, which are obviously Xenomorphs. The important development phases are represented, as the range includes warriors, facehuggers and a queen. And what interesting miniatures they are!
I must admit that when I first received these models, my thoughts were in line with the company’s name: “erm….”. Make no mistake, these models are a rather cartoony take on the Alien theme. The models are oddly proportioned even in regards to each other, the facehuggers are massively oversized, the detail is soft, the sculpting a bit crude…to sum it up, these models really don’t convey the sleek elegance of the biomechanical killing machine we’ve all come to love. And yet the models have grown on me. Why on Earth, you may ask. Let me tell you why.
The ERM Aliens to me manage to perfectly capture the nightmarish quality of the Xenomorph. When I think of Newt in Aliens, I feel that this is how she might have viewed the Aliens. As truly being alien and monstrous, covered with weird tubes, sporting ridges and spines and extending jaws and barbed tails. I might even go as far as to say that these models are a kind of an impressionistic take on the Xenomorph. While they’re not perfect depictions, they manage to capture the feel and the essence of their subject. It’s worth noting that the Alien with the inner jaw extended is pretty huge. See size comparison down the page.
Getting back to everyday stuff, the range includes four different warriors, a queen and three different facehuggers, all designed by Tony Yates. There are also facehuggers with guns available, if you should feel the need for some. The queen comes in four pieces – head, tail, body and arms. Like the pictures show, the facehuggers are oversized (although nicely in scale with the Dark Arts Miniatures birthing pods) being the size of a regular 28mm miniature. The facehuggers are in my view the weakest of the sets, as they’re a bigger departure from their subject matter than the warriors and the queen.
All the sets retail for £5.00 each and are available on East Riding Miniatures’ website. The queen (Alien Mother) especially is an impressively sized model, and at only 5 pounds a real bargain. All models are on integral metal bases. The Alien Mother needs filling with greenstuff and I suggest pinning her together as well. The photo has her on a 40mm round base.
Warriors - Click for a larger version
Alien Mother - Click for a larger version
Facehuggers - Click for a larger version
Reviresco - Alien Homophages
Starguard is an ancient (from 1974, which amounts to the same thing) scifi miniatures game, which is still supported today. To my happy surprise, the miniatures line includes some wonderful xenomorphs under the name “Alien Homophages” (homophage translates as man-eater), with extra stuff to go with them.
As with the ERM ones above, these are by no means perfect renditions, but are still appealing – especially to two kinds of gamers:
A) Those on a budget. The homophages are very cheap. The pack with five different warrior poses, eggs and facehuggers (with one hugging a separate head) costs all of $7.50. That’s €5.60 or £4.78 at the time of writing. That’s even cheaper than ERM’s stuff, which in itself is cheap already.
B) Those gaming with 25mm to “true” 28mm miniatures. The homophages stand at exactly 28mm from the base surface to the top of the head. The scale creep that’s gone on for years has seen a lot of miniatures touted as 28mm go up in size to 30-33mm. Compared to most current 28mm ranges, especially those at the heroic end of the spectrum, the homophages are small indeed.
The models themselves? I’ll be blunt: they’re fairly crudely sculpted, and the figure quality matches the price. There are separate spines supplied with the models that are a pain to glue on. The detail’s soft. There’s a bit of flash there, too.
That’s not to say that there’s nothing to recommend, though. These miniatures are by no means rubbish! As with the ERM Aliens, the Reviresco homophages manage to instantly convey that Alien feel. Even if they’re not the best, crispest miniatures, the moment you see them you know you’re looking at Xenomorphs, no mistake. A mass of these guys painted up and gloss varnished will make for a very nice horde of Aliens. Also, I really like the dynamic poses.
The homophages come on thin integral metal bases. A few have separate heads and arms whichs are easy to attach due to handy pegs that fit corresponding holes in the torsos. They are available directly from Reviresco’s online store.
Click for a larger version
Eggs and Facehugger - Click for a larger version
Pendraken - Facehugger and egg cluster
Pendraken is a manufacturer focusing on 10mm miniatures . What on earth are they doing here?
In their 10mm Sci Fi range they have a beautiful line of Aliens, Colonial Marines and accessories (if you’re into 10mm at all, get them!). The line also includes Facehuggers and eggs, which are way oversized for 10mm. Of these, the Facehugger is a perfect fit for 28mm. The eggs are a bit too small, and unfortunately not a match size-wise for the Facehugger. The ‘hugger itself is a nice, clean and simple sculpt and comes on a small integral base. The sculptor is unknown and they come 10 in a pack for £1.45, making them an excellent choice for those looking for Facehuggers. As mentioned, the eggs are a bit small for 28mm, but could have their uses as well. They are of similar size to the Reviresco ones shown above. These miniatures are available from Pendraken’s website.
Click for a larger version
Overall verdict: There are some worthy not-Aliens manufacturers for those not willing or able to procure the OOP licensed stuff. They have their little flaws in terms of style and quality, but are definitely a viable option. The Pendraken and Reviresco facehuggers are top notch, and should definitely be on your shopping list if you’re looking for those little babies. These not-Aliens are a cheap and easy way to bulk up a Xenomorph horde for a fraction of the price of the OOP ranges.
That’s all the official miniatures and not-Aliens (as far as I know, of course) covered. Let’s see some size comparison pictures. You can click on any photo for a larger version.
From L to R: ERM, Horrorclix, Reviresco, ERM Facehugger, ERM
From L to R: Reviresco, LE, Horrorclix, ERM
L to R: Horrorclix, ERM Alien mother, Reviresco, ERM
From L to R: Copplestone, Horrorclix, Reviresco, Hasslefree, ERM
L to R: Horrorclix, Heresy, Reviresco, em4, ERM
L to R: Hasslefree, Heresy, ERM Alien mother, em4, Copplestone
Pendraken and Reviresco facehuggers with Heresy
Eureka Chaos Weasels with an old GW Space Marine
Aliens-inspired
Going a bit further from the franchise, there are ranges of scifi-miniatures that have clearly been influenced by the Alien films. They have a biomechanical thing going on, with an elongated domed head here, a spike-tipped tail there…you get the picture. Or they might just be in some way Aliens-y. While there are several of these lines available, I will present a few that come up often in forum discussions, and review some others that don’t quite qualify as a not-Alien one. Due to the first two being large ranges, I’ve settled on showing some examples of them and leaving you to your own research.
EDIT Februray 19th 2011: 1st Corps and Hasslefree added.
Games Workshop Tyranids
Ah, the Tyranids. They are basically GW’s Warhammer 40,000 universe’s version of Xenomorphs, and have served a similar role with the most obvious example being Space Hulk, a WH40K version of Aliens.
The Tyranid range is very large and offers loads of options for different Xenomorph-style creatures. I present a few examples here, that I could easily get my hands on. They should give you the general idea. I’ll point out that these are old variants and as such not fully representative and so on. As said, general idea. The fact that a lot of the Tyranid range is now available in plastic makes them ideal for Xenomorph conversions. More on that later. The range also sports some very large beasties, so if you want to improvise on your Alien universe, there’s loads to grab here.
Pictured below is an old Lictor next to an old Genestealer. The Lictor has had some spiky appendages removed, hence the greenstuff on the chest. The Genestealer has been photoshopped to bring out the detail.
Click for a larger version
The Tyranids are available directly from Games Workshop’s online store and from various retailers, naturally including GW’s own stores. The prices vary a lot, so I’m not going to list them here. Knowing GW, the information would be outdated in a month, anyway.
Scotia Grendel Kryomek Aliens
An older range stylistically very similar to the Tyranids mentioned above. The long heads and spiky tails typical of Xenomorphs are present, as well as that biomechanical look. Pictures are taken from the Scotia Grendel website and used without permission. Naturally, they will be taken down on request. I was going to get my hands on some samples for review, but due to problems of my own it was taking too long and I wanted to eventually publish this review.
Click to got to Scotia Grendel webstore
Click to got to Scotia Grendel webstore
See here for Matakishi’s effective use of Kryomek Aliens as Xenomorphs.
1st Corps Parasite Adults
The 1st Corps scifi line includes a pack of two Alien-inspired beasties. There’s the bipedal stance, the elongated skull and the prominent ribs. The models lack the biomechanical look, but I believe that with the right paintjob they’d make for passable Aliens. The models come on integral bases and the arms are separate, allowing for some variation in poses. There are two critters in a pack, costing £3.00. They’re available direct from 1st Corps.
Click for a larger version
L to R: Horrorclix, Reviresco, 1st Corps, ERM
Hasslefree Head Crabs
I thought for a long time whether to put these in the not-Aliens or the Aliens-inspired section. In the end they ended up in the latter. The Head Crabs, sculpted by Kev White, are obviously inspired by the Facehuggers in the Alien franchise. They’re however different enough in their anatomy to not quite be not-Aliens (how’s that for a sentence). They’re beautiful nevertheless, and well worth adding to your games. You could always cut off the second tail to make them even more Facehugger-ish. They’re quite pricey at £1.00 each, so the price might be a point for consideration. The Head Crabs are available direct from Hasslefree.
Click for a larger version
Hasslefree Head Crab with Heresy
Overall verdict: Yes, alternative ranges do exist, and there’s quality stuff there. It pretty much depends on how much of a purist you are, or in other words how far you’re willing to stretch your vision of Aliens. If you’re okay with “Alien-ish”, there’s definitely a good supply here for you.
Making your own
All this choice, and still not happy? How about some Do It (Almost) Yourself, then? There are manufacturers producing nice conversion bits to turn other models – such as the Tyranids mentioned above – into something a bit more Xenomorph-y. With a large part of the Tyranid range being plastic, this isn’t really much of a chore. No, you won’t get a perfect match, but as mentioned before, for me at least it’s more important that the model conveys the look and feel of the Alien, even if it’s not a perfect match. As this article shows, converting Tyranids into Xenomorphs isn’t a huge task even without using conversion parts.
Chapterhouse Studios Xenomorph heads
Chapterhouse Studios is a company producing resin conversion parts for GW’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40K lines. There’s one set that’s particularly interesting, that set of course being the Xenomorph heads. They have the long, smooth-canopied head (sometimes lovingly called the death banana) and let’s face it, that’s what makes us immediately think of Aliens. The detailing on the head is a bit more organic than in the original Giger stuff, with little tendrils and things like that. They are a bit big for the smaller creatures, but perfect for the larger ones. There are two different variants, and the detail is nice and crisp. The resin castings are of good quality, and there were no air bubbles or other blemishes. The price of the set is $5.85 for a pack of six, and they’re available directly from Chapterhouse’s online store. There’s a great review of them here, courtesy of the wonderful people of the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts, whose blog is well worth reading.
Pictured below are the two Tyranid models shown above, this time with Chapterhouse heads.
Click for a larger version
Heresy Miniatures spare heads
Heresy is a maker of multi-part miniatures, and that means their range includes some spare heads that are definitely suitable for Xenomorph conversions.
First up is an eyeless/lurker head for the Heresy Hellhounds. I don’t know if the heads are available separately, but I’m sure that if enough people request them, the demand could well be met. Shown below is a shot of the head on the GW Genestealer shown before. As you can see, the head definitely has the smooth Alien look. The full length canopy isn’t there, but it’s still Alien enough to work.
Click for a larger version
Heresy also sells a separate sprue of Lurker heads, although let’s face it: these are Alien heads. They’re lovely, and I must say I was a bit disappointed when it turned out they were a bit on the small side, especially on a bulky plastic Tyranid.
If only I had something smaller…and then it hit me. I tried putting the head on one of the Reviresco Homophages, and what do you know, the combination produces a very, very authentic looking Xenomorph. Death banana head? Check. Spiky tail? Check. Bipedal? Check. See for yourself, and ignore the blu-tack.
Click for a larger version
Casting quality on all heads was very good, although there was some mould lining to scrape off. The Lurker heads are available directly from Heresy, and you get three heads for £1.00. Ask Heresy about the Hellhound heads.
Overall verdict: If you’re not afraid to do a bit of easy converting, DIY is definitely a viable route to building your own Alien horde. Quality conversion bits are available for cheap. The Reviresco Homophages + Heresy Lurker heads combination receives a special mention here, as it results in a very authentic looking Alien, albeit a smallish one.
Conclusion
There you go, dear readers. As comprehensive an Alien miniature review as I was able to pull off at the moment. I have to give my sincerest thanks to the companies participating and posting me – a humble blogger – samples for review, often providing me with an abundance of extras. A special tip of the hat goes off to John at Reviresco. Apparently he noted my nationality, and threw in a pack of WW2 Finns. How’s that for customer service! I will also point out that the willingness to participate and amount of samples provided did not affect the review one bit.
Some might view this review as too positive, since I mostly praise the models reviewed. I disagree. People’s tastes vary, so I’ve tried to provide an honest and objective view. Some people value quality, others simply want loads of miniatures for as low a price as possibly. Most probably try to find a suitable balance between the two.
I don’t see the point in labeling something singularly poor – except when talking about casting quality and such. Reviewers and peers (often the same thing in this small hobby) have a lot of influence. If someone tells you that a particular line of miniatures sucks, maybe you won’t see for yourself and end up passing up on miniatures you actually might have liked. I also think that there is an intrinsic value in focusing on the good points in something first, and focusing on the negative second.
I’d also like to appeal to you readers: if you saw something you liked, click on the manufacturer links, show your support and buy stuff. Manufacturers big and (especially) small really need, and more importantly, deserve your patronage. Show this review around to people interested, too. And no, I’m not making any money out of this through ads, clicks or anything like that.
I’ll try to update this review if and when suitable ranges appear and I get my hands on samples to review. I hope to be able to keep this post current, so if there’s something I’ve missed, definitely let me know.
Now get on with infecting the galaxy.
Alien birthing pods by Dark Art Miniatures – a review
September 2, 2010With my Predator miniatures review receiving a lot of positive feedback, I’m planning a comprehensive review of different miniatures that can be used to represent the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. I’m fairly certain that it will be awesome.
While I haven’t got all the miniatures that I need for the review, here’s another, related one: Alien birthing pods from Dark Art Miniatures.
The eggs in the Aliens movies are not only fairly disgusting, but very iconic as well. Ever since Alien we’ve known that once one of those babies opens, you’d better get moving or you’ll get hugged. What Aliens gamer wouldn’t want a few of these to provide that lovely feeling that something’s amiss?
Click for a larger version
I ran into the Alien birthing pods on Matakishi’s wonderful site, and immediately knew I had to buy them. Now, usually I don’t buy a lot of scenery unless I really have a use for them. Otherwise they just tend to collect dust and wait for me to A) get some gaming in and B) actually finish some scenery. Luckily I have a perfect use for these in (surprise, surprise!) my Space Hulk project, where the eggs will be used instead of the purple arrows provided with the game to denote the Alien entry points. Nifty! A pack of six eggs costs £5.00.
On to the models. There are six resin eggs in the pack, and they’re all sculpted by Klaus Teschner. Two of them are open, one is opening, two are closed and one is closed but ruptured and has a poor baby Facehugger hanging out through a hole in the side of the egg. All of the eggs are based on integral, irregular patches of ground with all kinds of nasty tentacle-like roots creeping around them.
The eggs are nicely detailed. While close examination shows some fairly crude sculpting (e.g. you can clearly see indentations left by sculpting tools), it doesn’t bother me as the overall effect is very nice. The models look organic, soft and icky. While words like this would often be condemning in a miniatures review, when you’re talking about Alien eggs, they’re high praise.
Size comparison with Heresy inspector and Horrorclix Alien
As the size comparison pic shows, these eggs are much bigger than the ones in the films. To those looking to build a perfect 1:1 Aliens-setup, this might be a detriment. I don’t mind. Just like above, the overall effect is what matters.
Casting quality is nice. There are some air bubbles, but not so many as to be annoying. There is a bit of flash along the edges of some of the bases, but they’ll take approximately 15 seconds to scrape off.
My only real point of criticism is about the packaging. The eggs were loose in a plastic bag inside a padded envelope. This had resulted in a few small chips as well as one bigger one that I had to superglue back together. With a quality product like this, it’s a shame that they’ll be at the mercy of gentle-handed post office personnel all over the world.
There are some very positive things I have to point out – always lovely to do in a review. The first is the speedy delivery. I made the purchase on August 25, and they were shipped on the same day, arriving here in Finland on August 30. Not bad, especially since there was a weekend in there too.
The second one is a broken freebie sample that was added. Now, this is simply a brilliant idea and a nice gesture. I guess all resin producers end up with loads of stuff unsuitable for selling. Resin is fairly brittle, and there are bound to be breakages as well as miscast pieces with air bubbles etc. Why throw them all away? DAM added a sample of their Alien Wall terrain in the form of a battle damaged section piece. The “towers” at the ends of the wall section have both snapped, but other than that the wall is definitely usable, especially since it’s even specifically a battle damaged length of wall.
There’s certainly a use for things like this. Gamers who don’t necessarily need grade A stuff, scratchbuilders, frugal gamers and so on. Being a bit into recycling, I find the idea of giving away second hand (and grade) stuff for free very, very appealing. Major thumbs up to Dark Art Miniatures for this! The sample also serves its purpose as a commercial sample, as it really showed me the casting quality and the level of detail in the piece, and has made me consider ordering more.
So a tip from a loving blogger to resin model makers: sell your failed castings in cheap grab bags or add them as freebies. Much better than throwing them away. If you don’t want to sell them, you can even ship them to me, I’ll kindly take them off your hands.
Overall verdict: These eggs have their pros and cons. While the detailing could be sharper and they’re a bit big compared to the eggs in the Alien movies, they still manage to serve their purpose wonderfully. With a price of £0.83 (that’s 1 EUR at the time of writing) apiece, these are a quality purchase. I got a £4.50 wall section thrown in as a free extra, even if it was damaged. I’m sure to return to Dark Art Miniatures for both their quality product and their quality service. And in the future, for their quality packaging too, I hope.
The Alien birthing pods cost £5.00 for a pack of six, and are available in the Dark Art Miniatures webstore.
Predator miniatures – a review
August 11, 2010(Note: This is a part of a three-part series of reviews. For suitable opposition, see my reviews for Aliens and Colonial Marines)
Update August 16th 2011: Predastore’s Spear-Hunter and Bone-Hunter added to the review.
Update February 18th 2012: Predastore’s Jungle-Predette and Chasing-Hunter added to the review.
My reviews usually center on a single model or a group of models from a single manufacturer. With this one I wanted to do something different. I recently ordered a bunch of 28mm Predator – or rather, not-Predator – miniatures from three different companies, and decided to clump them all in the same review. Web searches for Predator miniatures crop up fairly often on the blog’s stats, so apparently there is a demand.
Keen-eyed readers will spot right away that there are some models missing, of which the most common are the Horrorclix Predators. I deemed these too big for me, however. They’re not really even close to 28-32mm, but rather 35-37mm. Yes, Predators are big, but not that big. They’re nice minis, though.
With that one explained, here it is – the grand Predator miniatures review.
The Hurn with twin wristblades. Click for a larger version
Hurn Headtaker by Heresy Miniatures is great. The model is large (see comparison pics later) and well detailed and comes with a variety of weaponry, and you can choose to have him wield either a spear (with the wristblades concealed) or extended wristblades. You can even go for total overkill, and have him carry a spear in one hand and have the wristblades extended on the other. If you go for double wristblades, there is a contracted spear that you can put on the model’s back. Additionally, there is a shoulder cannon you can attach.
The Hurn is in a very dynamic pose that manages to convey a sense of movement nicely. He’s turning to his left with his dreadlocks flowing and the shoulder cannon tracking movement. The miniature is bulky and thickly muscled and this combines nicely with the pose to create the sense of a true predator (note the lack of the capital P).
There is nice detailing on the model. There is no helmet, so the iconic Predator face is there and is instantly recognizable. The Hurn has a patch of armour on his left shoulder, with three skulls hanging from the strap. It might just be me or a glitch in the sculpt, but to me the middle skull looks like it might not be entirely human. He also wears an armoured loincloth and codpiece and leg armour. The wristblades are barbed and thin, and there is nice detailing on the other weaponry too.
While I think this is THE Predator miniature to own, there are a few things I must point out. Firstly, the wristblades are indeed long and thin. This means that any rough handling will make them bend and possibly break. Secondly, the shoulder cannon mount is a bit too long, and what applies to the wristblades applies here too. I cut it down a bit, making it not only more sturdy but also more in line with the shoulder cannon from the movies. Thirdly, the model’s size means that it either needs to be mounted on a base bigger than 25mm or the slotta tab needs to be cut down. This was helpfully pointed out on the Heresy website, and I did the latter with no trouble, so it’s not much of a problem. While I paid £8.00 for the miniature, it currently retails at £12.00, which might be too much for some.
Overall verdict: While challenged by Predastore’s recent offerings, I still think the Hurn is the best Predator miniature on the market. Needs to be handled carefully, might need a bit of tweaking and is a bit costly, but still pretty awesome.
As mentioned, the Hurn retails at £12.00, and it is a limited prototype at the moment, with 1000 castings. There are promises of more Hurn to come.
You can order the Hurn on Heresy’s website.
Update June 26th 2011: The Hurn reviewed here was sold out. There is another available from Heresy, though. It has a masked head, but is otherwise the same model as this one.
Click for a larger version
Hunter Aliens by Copplestone Castings are obviously not-Predators. Two of the four models have helmets on, while two are bareheaded, and the looks of the faces and the helmets are instantly recognizable. While not as bulky as the Hurn, they are still tall and beefy in 28mm. The models are armed with a variety of weapons familiar from the movies.
Alien #1 is bareheaded and has an extended wristblade – only one blade though – and he’s looking down with his arm raised. There is a shoulder cannon on him, and he’s armoured almost exactly like the Hurn, with the exception of some armour on the top of his foot. There is a skull on his belt. This model just oozes calm menace.
Alien #2 has a helmet on and is looking to his left, holding his glaive-like double-ended spear. Along with his helmet he wears armour similar to #1, and there is a shoulder cannon on him as well.
Alien #3 is very similar to the previous one, except the posture is a bit different. There is armour covering the tops of his thighs, and a throwing disc hanging on his right hip.
Alien #4 is bareheaded and wears no body armour. He holds aloft a skull in his right hand in an obviously gloating/challenging pose, and his wristblade is extended. He holds a spear in his left hand, with the tip resting on the ground, and there’s a throwing disc on his right hip as well.
The detailing on these models is what you would expect from a Copplestone mini. Simple, cleanly sculpted and very adequate, but nothing fancy or fiddly. Like all Copplestone Castings minis, they come with thin integral bases and fit nicely on 25mm bases. A pack of four costs £8.00, which is great value.
I can’t really find much to fault in these miniatures, although the Hurn tops them in size, detail and ferocity.
Overall verdict: The Hunter Aliens are solid Mark Copplestone stuff. They’re simple, clean and characterful sculpts that come four in a pack and are a joy to paint. While not as big or detailed as the Heresy Hurn, they’re still very nice Predators and the price – £8 for four miniatures – is very, very nice. The lack of fine detail and the simplicity of the models may put someone off, but as a painter and fan of Copplestone sculpts I love it. I will probably use these with the Hurn functioning as a senior hunt leader.
You can get the models for £8 on the Copplestone Castings website. There’s another pack named Hunter Aliens with Guns which you might also want to pick up.
The photo was intentionally left unedited to demonstrate the clear resin effect. Click for a larger version
INAPs by Ainsty are starting to look pretty dated. The resin models are not very detailed and the weapons especially are pretty simplistic, often just simple tubes and rods. There is however one amazingly cool thing to these that pretty much knocks all criticism right out: they’re invisible. Well okay, not completely, but cast in clear resin. The effect is just amazing, and works brilliantly on these minis. INAP? No idea what that means, but It’s definitely Not A Predator.
INAP #1 is something I haven’t seen before: a Predator female. She’s fully armoured, looking down to her right and carries a three-barreled weapon on her left arm.
INAP #2 is firing the wrist-mounted weapon on his right arm. His left hand is on his hip, and he seems to have claws of some sort on his hand. The website calls them cyberspurs, whatever those are. There is a tube going from his mask to a device on his belt.
INAP #3 continues the Predator tradition of holding aloft skulls. His entire left arm has been replaced with one big gun barrel and he has both his arms raised, as if he’s roaring in victory. Other than that, he’s armoured just like INAP #2.
Yes, these models have flaws. INAP #3 wasn’t a very good casting, as there are some air bubbles (one which has chipped the end of the gun barrel, I believe) and the resin is more cloudy than in the other two. The models come on very bulky integral resin bases, which are a real pain to get off, especially since the resin is very brittle. I snapped INAP #1 at the knees and INAP #2 at the ankle doing this. Superglue came to the rescue, luckily. As mentioned before, these models are very simplistic. The poses are fine but the designs leave a lot to be desired.
The big thing here, however, is the clear resin. Not only does it offer a look you simply cannot achieve no matter how good a painter you are, it also captures the feel of the Predators’ cloaking device perfectly. It also serves to divert attention – and the eye – from the simple design of the models. There’s also the point that INAP’s don’t really need painting. Some people have advised giving the models a thin blue wash, but I think I won’t bother. It will be more in line with the source material anyway, see for yourself:
Maybe just the yellow eyes, and that’s it. Not being the world’s fastest painter, it’s nice to get away with only painting a few eyes and doing the bases. Of course the INAP holding the skull needs to have the skull painted. I’ve also been thinking of trying to paint parts of the model to create the feel of a de-cloaking Predator.
The clear resin INAPs will set you back £3.00 each. It’s not too bad, just be sure not to break them. They are also available in opaque resin for £2.00 apiece, but since the same price buys you the much superior Copplestone stuff, I wouldn’t bother.
Overall verdict: The INAPs are not very impressive models that rely on the clear resin effect to pull them through. It does. I suggest that every Predator fan picks up at least a few. Predators without cloaking? Pffft. You can get the INAPs for £4 apiece from Ainsty’s webstore.
Spear-Hunter and Bone-Hunter. Click for a larger version
Jungle-Predette - photoshopped a bit to bring out the detail. Click for a larger version
Chasing-Hunter - same Photoshop treatment. Click for a larger version
Predators by Predastore are a collection of four limited-run resin models. They’re all beautiful models and exquisitely detailed. In fact, they boast some of the most intricate detail I’ve ever seen in a miniature.
Spear-Hunter, who is sculpted by Remy Tremblay is a fairly classic view of a masked Predator holding his spear aloft. The model is tall, lean and well-proportioned. The anatomy is very nicely sculpted and the details are crisp. The webbing covering his torso must be mentioned especially, as that is indeed some stunning stuff, as is the small animal skull hung on said webbing. In addition to his spear, the Predator has half-extended wristblades on his left arm.
The Spear-Hunter comes in three parts, namely the two wrists and the rest of the model. The pieces fit together quite nicely. There was some miscasting on the left arm of the model, which I had to work with files and blades. The model doesn’t really come with a base, there’s just a casting tab. As far as I can tell, you’re simply supposed to pop the model off and rebase him.
I have a few minor points of criticism about the model, as well as one major one. The major one applies to both of Predastore’s offerings so I’ll save that until later. The minor ones? I think the model is a bit too lean. This is of course a personal preference, I just like my Preds a bit more cartoony, bulky and muscular. This one would have no chance armwrestling with Dutch or Dillon. The delicate detailing is also a double-edged sword, as the speartip and the wristblades are very, very thin. Even with those minor niggles, this is a very impressive miniature.
Bone-Hunter by Allan Carrasco is a refreshingly different Predator, a primal one. Whether he’s just been stuck too long on a planet or represents a piece of Predator history, the model lacks the usual hi-tech trappings of the species. Instead he’s armed with a bladed bone club and a single wristblade which also seems to be crafted from bone. Additionally, he sports some armour plates of either metal or hardened leather. The model’s pose is just excellent, as he is stepping forward and seems to be calling out a challenge.
As with the previous model, the detailing here is crisp and clean. Resin allows the casting of thinner, more delicate details than metal, and this has been put to great use. From the individual dreadlocks to the chipped blade of the club, it’s almost as if you’re looking at a HD version of a miniature. As previously mentioned, this is not without its downsides, and butter-fingered hobbyists should take care not to mangle all that nice detail. Luckily the resin used is not the most brittle stuff in the world.
The model comes on a scenic integral base. This is something that tends to divide collectors. Personally, I’m not that fond of integral bases, especially large ones. I base my models almost exclusively on round 25mm slottabases, and anything overlapping is a pain. As it is, I cut off the scenic base and managed to fit Bone-Hunter on one of my regular bases. It needs to be said, though, that the base was very nice. It was also easy to remove due to it being resin. You can see the scenic base here, for example.
I have nothing much to criticize about Bone-Hunter. It’s a great miniature and an interesting take on the subject. There is however one thing I must point out about both of Predastore’s miniatures: their price. All models cost 14 EUR including postage. This is by no means exorbitant, and Predastore has actually lowered the initial price, but it will still obviously be an issue for some customers. Granted, it’s cheaper than the Hurn for example, but then again the latter is a pretty hefty hunk of metal with optional weapons and the like.
Jungle-Predette is another interesting new concept. As the name suggests, what we have here is a female Predator. Sculpted by Gael Goumon, the model is in a hunting pose, perched and alert on top of a fallen tree and holding a large knife in her right hand. All comments above about quality are again applicable.
The Jungle-Predette is quite obviously female. Goumon has a good grasp of anatomy – this isn’t just a male with breasts added on, but the shape of the body clearly indicates a female. I must applaud the sculptor on this, since this is something you don’t always see in 28mm models. The sculpting skill is also apparent in the Jungle-Predette’s posing. While she’s standing still, the miniature manages to wonderfully convey a feeling of an alert and agile hunter.
The model does stumble into a few minor pitfalls. In my opinion, the breasts are too large. This is all too common in 28mm female miniatures. The Jungle-Predette’s breasts aren’t massive as such, but they still look a bit too full for an obviously very lean and muscular frame. To see what I mean, do a Google image search for female ufc fighters. All that muscle will eat up body fat – breasts included. The same theme is also present in the clothing. Instead of the fairly functional armour worn by most Predators, the Predette is dressed in a bikini with a few armour plates covering her rear and shoulders. I can only wonder why, as it seems the only reason for this is catering to a male audience. “Sexy” is not really a word I associate with Predators, so this unnecessary sexing up baffles me. As the sculpt is so good, it’d take a lot of skill to sculpt on some additional armour. It doesn’t ruin the model, but I just find it a bit pointless and tasteless. I’m of two minds about the base. As mentioned above, I’m not much of a fan of scenic bases. Then again, this is one pretty base! The tree is sculpted in great detail, and the model and base form a seamless whole. I was happy enough to deviate from my standard procedure, and base the whole thing on a 50mm base.
Chasing-Hunter is another miniature by Remy Tremblay. This is one of the most dynamic models I’ve ever seen. The Chasing-Hunter is apparently going full-tilt, and is vaulting a fallen tree or another obstacle, steadying himself with a hand on a tree stump. As with all the other Predastore models, the detail is very impressive and crisp, from the mandibles down to the flying dreadlocks of the Predator. The sense of movement is conveyed brilliantly and fits my idea of Predators 100%. Whoever this hunter is chasing doesn’t have a lot of time left. The model is again on a scenic base. As you can see from the pictures, I cut away the excess material in the base in order to fit the tree stump on a round 25mm base. What I said above about the Predette’s base applies here too, and I was happy leave the base as-is.
There is a downside to the model’s posing: such things and intricate details don’t come for free. In the case of the Chasing-Hunter, the flowing dreadlocks came in three separate pieces. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a perfect fit matching them to the Predators’ head. The arm connects to the hand on the tree stump at the wrist. There is a very small surface in the join, and I felt that it was necessary to pin it. This required some delicate work in order not to destroy anything in the process. Other than those two things there’s not much to fault.
Overall verdict: Predastore’s resin models are wonderful stuff, even if at 14 EUR apiece they are a bit pricey. They are very accurate renditions, well sculpted and intricately detailed. If you can afford them, I strongly suggest adding them to your games. They compete with the Hurn for the title of best Predator around. All are available directly from Predastore, although you must be advised that at the time of writing (February 18th 2012) all the models apart from Chasing-Hunter are out of stock.
No miniature review is complete without some size comparison shots. They’re especially useful when models from several manufacturers are handled, so the next pics might be useful. Click for larger pics, as usual:
L to R: Chasing-Hunter, Hunter Alien, Jungle-Predette, Hurn
L to R: Hunter Alien, Spear-Hunter, Hurn, Bone-Hunter, INAP
L to R: Hunter Alien, em4 trooper, Hurn, GW Imperial Guard, INAP
L to R: Hunter Alien, Hasslefree Ray, Hurn, Copplestone trooper, INAP
L to R: Hunter Alien, Horrorclix Alien, Hurn, Leading Edge Alien, INAP
L to R: Horrorclix Alien, Spear-Hunter, em4 trooper, Bone-Hunter, Copplestone trooper
And this, dear readers, concludes this mammoth of a post. I admit it kind of got out of hand, but at least it should shed light on the topic of not-Predator miniatures. Thanks for making it all the way to the end!
Ghouls by Mantic – a review
March 14, 2010When it comes to plastics, the zombie collector isn’t really spoilt for choice. There are the GW plastic zombies and the Wargames Factory ones, and that’s about it. Of course you can use pretty much any set of plastics and make quick conversions: a lolling head here, a twisted ankle there makes for a nice zombie. Apart from this there are no real zombie plastics that I’m aware of.
Mantic is a fairly new miniatures company catering to fantasy gamers and producing miniatures mostly in plastic. Their Undead army includes plastic ghouls described as follows:
Ghouls are devolved, cannibalistic creatures that tear and claw at their prey’s soft flesh, ripping it from the enemy before gorging themselves in an unearthly feast. Before battle, Ghouls impale themselves with vicious spikes and deadly barbs, working themselves up into such a blood frenzy that they can shrug off most fatal wounds.
Now this sounds really fun, doesn’t it? They’re not really zombies, but the potential is there. I was lucky enough to be contacted by fellow blogger and DotL reader sho3box suggesting a trade between his brand new set of Mantic ghouls and a sprue of my Wargames Factory zombies. We made the trade and here’s my take on the ghouls.
The sprue contains two ghouls, with two different lower and upper bodies. There are three optional heads and three hands with different weapon options – a long dagger, a cleaver and a Freddy Kruger-ish claw thing – plus a bag with a hand and foot sticking out. Sorry for the picture quality, these were a bugger to photograph so I settled for less than perfection.
Click for a very large version
Click for a very large version
The two torsos are very similar to each other, with raised hands and tattered clothing. The clothing pretty much looks like a shredded toga, so those of us looking for contemporary stuff will have to get creative with either greenstuff or painting. There are the spikes and nails mentioned in the description, which are jutting out from several places around the bodies. I’m of mixed opinion about these. Some of them, especially the nails, are wonderful while others just look a bit silly. Luckily it’s just a quick flick of a hobby knife to rid myself of those. Detail is fairly crisp and looks nice, somewhere between GW plastics and WF, although definitely closer to the former.
What was said about the upper bodies applies to the legs as well. The two variants are quite similar with the main difference being that one pair of legs is more bent at the knees than the other. There are the spikes and nails as well, and what was said above could be said again. But I won’t. There is one major gripe however, and that is that the toes on the more bent pair of legs have been mangled by the casting process to the point that the right foot has no toes to speak of. It does not ruin the model by any means, but isn’t a pretty sight either.
The three different heads are very crisply sculpted and characterful, and I simply love them. The three alternative heads provided means, that there are always spares and if I end up buying more ghouls, the extra heads will easily find use in conversions. The looks on the faces are wonderfully malicious.
And now for the important question: are the Mantic ghouls suitable for use as zombies? That’s both a yes and a no in my view. The intelligent faces and dynamic poses render them unsuitable for classic zombies of the Romero variety, but on the other hand make them excellent picks if you’re looking for 28 Days Later style ragers. The overall look of the ghouls makes them suitable for other uses as well. They’ll naturally be great ghouls, but won’t look out of place as mutants, crazies or feral vampires either. Incidentally, Mantic is producing a set of zombies later on, and I can hardly wait for those.
The Mantic ghouls are sculpted by Bob Naismith and come on integral round plastic bases that fit into square “unit” ones supplied with the models. Of course if you’re like me, you’ll just ditch the squares and glue the integral bases to slottas.
The ghouls currently retail at £8.00 for ten models or £20.00 for 30 models, so the price is alright. They’re available direct from Mantic or from various retailers.
Overall verdict: The Mantic ghouls have their uses depending on what you’re looking for. If it’s zombies you’re after, I suggest you look elsewhere or wait for their zombie release. If, however, you want rage zombies, degenerates, cannibals and mad vampires, you should already be placing an order. The miscast toes on one pair of legs is the only real point of complaint here. It isn’t a major one, but still worth noting.
Werewolves by West Wind – a review
February 20, 2010My review of the Reaper werewolves is one of the most read articles on Dawn of the Lead, which would suggest that there is an interest in werewolf miniatures. Another thing leading me down that track is the fact that I have a bunch. It’s time to put three of those under the looking glass and see what some of West Wind Productions’ lycanthropes are all about. Two of them are from West Wind’s Secrets of the Third Reich WWW2 (Weird World War 2) line. The line includes all sorts of fun things, with nazi zombies, vampires and the like adding to the chaos of war. The line has several werewolves, and I bought a few for use in my Underworld miniature project. The third one comes from West Wind’s Gothic Horror range.
All sculpts were very nice, and almost completely devoid of flash or mould lining. Big thumbs up to West Wind for this, since cleaning up bad casts is one of the aspects of this hobby that I hate.
Jager Werewolf “Wolfgang” looks vicious. His head is tilted up and his teeth are bared. His posture suggests that he’s either going through a painful transformation or simply howling at the sky in fury. His pants are torn and his whole upper body is bare. I really like this model except for one thing – and this holds true for all the WW werewolves reviewed here. The model has lost one finger and two toes in the transformation process. While I’ve no qualms about the shapeshifting altering the number of digits, the three-toed feet look birdlike. Combined with an almost scaly texture, Wolfie and his buddies look like they’re walking around on chicken feet. Other than this, he’s a wonderful wolfman. Wolfgang comes with a round 25mm slottabase, and is sculpted by Andy Cooper.
Click for a larger view
Jager Werewolf “Mondheulen” translates smoothly as Moonhowler. Whereas Wolfgang looks very much like a wolf, Mondheulen looks like a werewolf in mid-transformation. His face/snout is almost rat- or bat-like, a little bit like this fellow or his friend. His proportions are weirdish, with an improbably slender waist and long limbs. These don’t really bother me at all, but simply add to his menacing presence instead. Mondheulen looks very bestial and bloodthirsty, and his pose suggests he’s charging after some unfortunate victim. Like Wolfgang, Mondheulen has torn pants and chicken feet. Doesn’t mean I don’t love him, bless his little heart. Sculpting and basing as above.
Click for a larger view
As the comparison pic below shows, the two werewolves are slightly larger than your average 28mm humans, making them just a bit more intimidating.
From left to right: Foundry, West Wind, Hasslefree, West Wind
Loup Garou (Great Werewolf) is a solid chunk of metal. He’s as big as the Reaper ones and even bulkier, a big beast. He’s a multi part casting, with the arms and the head being separate components. The parts fit well enough, but you’ll have to fill in gaps with greenstuff if you want a smooth finish. The werewolf itself looks pretty nice – again apart from the notorious feet (how hard could it have been to google some info on the subject?) He’s reaching forward with his left arm and his face is locked in a ferocious snarl. In my opinion it’s not quite as good a model as the Reaper ones, but comes close enough to be lovely nonetheless. The Loup Garou comes on a fairly thin integral metal base, and I unfortunately have no idea about the sculptor. If some reader knows this, do drop a comment. (Note: Thanks to reader Joel, I found out that this one – and apparently all of West Wind’s stuff – is also by Andy Cooper. Thanks!)
Click for a larger view
From left to right: Foundry, West Wind, Hasslefree, Reaper
All the models are available through the West Wind Productions online store. The Loup Garou retails at £5.00 and the Jager werewolves at £4.00 each. This isn’t that bad a price for quality models, so I had no qualms about paying, even if £13.00 for three models sounds a bit steep.
Overall verdict: The West Wind werewolves are well worth buying. While they’re not quite as good as Reaper’s offerings, and if the chicken feet don’t put you off, you have some nice wolfmen in dynamic poses, and that’s always a good thing, isn’t it? Also, the Loup Garou is large enough to become a centrepiece model, if you put some time and effort in his painting and basing. All in all, these are a fine offering and well worth adding to your collection.
FU-UK 2009 Sculpting Competition – review part 2
February 18, 2010Welcome to the second part of the Frothers Unite! UK 2009 sculpting competion review. If you missed the first part dealing with the winning entries, read it here.
Just because the competition had its high quality winners, it doesn’t mean that the runners-up weren’t great as well. Let’s have a look at the minis that didn’t reach the highest podium, but were considered good enough to cast up.
Model #1 – Cosplay Zombie is a young cosplayer. To those not familiar with the term, cosplaying is where you dress up in a pop culture character costume and play him or her. As any hobby, it has its good and its bad sides. Anyway, this cosplayer’s excellently cosplaying a zombie now, with a brutally injured knee, classic pigeon toe posture and a vacant stare. And to satisfy the gaming crowd, her petticoat has ripped, revealing her panties. The model comes on a metal oval slotted base, and is sculpted by fellow Finn Vesa Mäkelä, mostly known for his amazing painting skills. Multi-talented, isn’t he?
Model #2 – Rising Zombie is in a fairly large scale (30-32 mm). This doesn’t matter too much, though, since he’s only visible to about chest level as he climbs out from his grave. He looks like a fairly chunky fellow, with a torn burial suit. I love the expression on this miniature’s face, with one of his eyes bulging and his tongue lolling out. The model has no separate base, but I’ve mounted him on 25mm plastic slottabase as usual. The Rising Zombie is sculpted by Sjoerd Trouwee.
Model #3 – A Shambler with a Snack is one happy zombie. Why? Because he’s got a nice, juicy leg to chew. He’s barefoot and his clothes have some rips and tears, but other than that he’s doing pretty well for a zombie. This model wasn’t really one of my favourites, but mainly just because he’s a pretty basic, simple miniature. He’s not bad by any means, I’m just not very into him. As is the norm with the FU-UK sets, this model comes with a oval metal slottabase. He is sculpted by Snuurg, who also did the next two.
Model #4 – Tank Zombie 1 is immediately familiar to anyone who has played either of the two Left 4 Dead games. What he basically is, is a zombified version of the Hulk, with huge bulging muscles all over his body. This particular tank is wearing lovely tighty whities and looks like he’s about to bring down a world of hurt upon some poor survivor-until-now. The tank’s jaw is distended and his slavering tongue is hanging out. There’s huge damage to its abdomen, with entrails coming out and ribs showing. I absolutely love this model, as it captures the L4D tank image perfectly. Basing as above.
Click for a larger view
Model #5 – Tank Zombie 2 is another rendition of the same theme. This one’s wearing shorts or ripped jeans. The model’s hunched over a bit, and looks like it’s charging. The arms are two separate castings. Tank #2′s face makes it perfectly clear that he’s one of the undead, as it’s emaciated with one of the eyes hanging on his cheek by the optic nerve. This tank’s just as nice as the first one, and a worthy addition to any zombie horde. There is, however, one tiny detail. Namely, this model is a terrible, terrible example of how to do a multipart metal miniature. The fit of the arms is more than a bit dubious, and once you have them glued on, you will notice some glaring gaps which need loving greenstuff treatment. I really would’ve settled for a different pose and a single part casting, like the first tank zombie.
Model #6 – Zombie Raven looks just like a regular raven, actually. It’s still very raveny, in a raven kind of way. If ravens are your thing, you’re on to a winner. No base included, and sculpted by Ben Parker.
Model #7 – Reporter is a young female. She’s holding a large news mic in a dynamic pose suggesting that she’s talking into it. She’s apparently reporting direct from a hot zone, as she wears a bulletproof vest. Biteproof clothing and covered arms might be a better alternative here. Since there’s nothing here to make this model specifically zombie related, she’s a fine civilian reporter to be used in any modern game. A beautiful sculpt from Andrew Rae, one of my favourite artists. Standard slot tab on the mini.
Model #8 – Cameraman is the reporter’s trusty companion, keeping that camera on rec even in quarantine (groan). Like the reporter, the cameraman is wearing a bulletproof vest. He carries a camera on his right shoulder, and I assume it’s running and capturing whatever happy situation these two find themselves in. This is a very smooth, clean, no-nonsense sculpt that complements the reporter perfectly. What I said about the reporter holds true here as well.
Click for a larger view
Unlike the first batch, this set was riddled with heavy mould lines and plenty of flash. The models took a lot of filing, and I know that I didn’t get all the trash off.
That’s it, folks. Let’s start crossing those fingers and hoping that these minis come out through one company or another. Anything else’d be a crying shame.
FU-UK 2009 Sculpting Competition – review part 1
February 2, 2010Note: At the moment these miniatures are not available to buy. I still wanted to review them for the simple fact that there is some brilliant stuff here, and some – hopefully most – of these will be picked up by one manufacturer or another.
The competition held by the Frothers Unite! UK web community, which was open to professionals and amateurs alike had Zombie Apocalypse as the theme. Needless to say, I couldn’t have been happier with the choice. While my own humble entry didn’t make the podium, I was more than happy to not only buy the winning sets but also pimp them. Actually receiving the miniatures turned out to be a bit more difficult than ordering them, with the sets finally arriving some two months after the ordering date. For all that juicy drama and gossip, feel free to browse through this thread.
Waiting for minis for two months instead of the usual week or two didn’t really get on my nerves that much. FU-UK is primarily a hobby community instead of a “true” miniature manufacturer, and I honestly have too many zombies on the painting backlog as it is. Even with that long long wait, I’m happy to say the models were worth it. There are lots of minis to review, so I’ll get on with it. This is the first part of the review, and includes the winning set as well as a few extras.
First up is the Winners set:
Model #1 – Intensive Care is a continuation of the popular theme of hospital zombies. These seem to have popped up all over the place, with companies such as Recreational Conflict and Studio Miniatures producing their own sets. However, I don’t think I’ve seen this good a take on the subject yet. The miniature is of a bald zombie in a hospital gown, leaning on his IV stand. The IV line is still attached to his arm, while a rat sits on top of the stand, adding to the feeling of corruption. The zombie is very zombie-ish, with a very emaciated – almost skeletal – appearance, an exposed spine, a missing cheek and strange pustules on his shoulder and buttock along with injuries all over his legs and arms. I almost forgot to mention, that he carries the severed head of a doctor in his left hand. By the poor doctor’s eye socket, no less. To make some room for the zombie’s fingers, the doctor’s eyeball is hanging on his cheek. Wonderfully gross! The model comes on a separate scenic base depicting a hospital floor with a rat crawling out from the floor drain. I unfortunately had to ditch the base to keep the basing consistent with my other zombies. The model is sculpted by Filin.
Model #2 – Zombie Girl is creepy, like children (and circus folk) in general. Child zombies are luckily making their way into miniature lines in growing numbers, which is a fine thing since their small stature helps to create a more varied zombie horde. This girl has pretty pigtails and a somewhat tattered dress. These combine with a seriously vicious look on her face to make a miniature reminiscent of Vivian, the horrible zombie girl from 2004′s Dawn of the Dead. The zombie sports very light injuries to her arms, legs and face. The model comes with a small oval slotted base, and is sculpted by Sylvain Quirion, who reigned in this year’s competition.
Model #3 – Male Zombiehunter with Axe is…well, a man with an axe, who I assume from the name hunts zombies. This model is one of those that manage to deliver a lot with very little. It’s very plain, with the man standing in a fairly neutral pose, wearing an open shirt with the sleeves rolled up, trousers and shoes and carrying an axe. There’s no extra clutter. No generic belt pouches, canteens, bags, bedrolls, anything. Just a regular guy with an axe, looking very very determined to survive a zombie apocalypse. In this case, less is more. The sculpt is wonderfully crisp and characterful and deservedly won the category for survivor miniatures. Like the zombie girl, the zombiehunter is sculpted by Sylvain Quirion and is similarly based.
Click for a larger view
And the extras:
Model #4 – Colonel Marbles with Chainsaw is the favourite fat little fellow of the Frothers community. In his tweed jacket, waistcoat (complete with pocket watch) and deerstalker hat and wearing a monocle, he’s the perfect picture of an English gentleman. This makes an excellent contrast with the large chainsaw he’s starting up. Some zombies are really going to be sorry that they wandered on to the good Colonel’s estates. I absolutely love this miniature, it’s probably one of my alltime favourites. The model is really characterful and brought to life by the fine sculpting. Even the herringbone pattern on his tweed jacket has been sculpted. Colonel Marbles comes on a small integral base and is sculpted by Kev White of Hasslefree Miniatures. This model wasn’t originally a part of the ordered deal, but I believe it was added to compensate for the long wait. Since this model has been – and still is – available pretty exclusively, this is a very nice way of saying “sorry”.
Model #5 – Zombie Marbles is an unfortunate debunking of the myth of a chainsaw being the ultimate zombie killing weapon. The poor Colonel is staggering around with his entrails pouring out from his considerable belly, and his left arm has disturbingly been twisted around. There are rips and tears in his clothing and mild injuries to his face – which I assume is still keeping a rigor mortis stiff upper lip despite all this living dead tomfoolery. A wonderful, wonderful miniature. I also like the fact that while this miniature is by a different sculptor (Mr. Quirion, again) than the living version, it is easily recognizable and as such a skillful zombification of a model. This model is based just like models #2 & #3, above. The zombified Colonel was a special miniature offered to people who ordered both sculpting competition sets.
Click for a larger view
This concludes part one of the FU-UK 2009 sculpting competition review. In part two we take a look at the runners up, and let me tell you, there’s some really good stuff up ahead. Stay tuned, dear readers!
Oh, one more thing. I’ve been thinking about my practice of splashing black ink on the models to bring out depth and detail. It sometimes tends to obscure some detail, however. From now on, do you want to see the reviewed models in clear metal, inked, or inked, but more carefully?
