Dawn of the Lead

Dun-dunt-dunt-du-dunt, dun-dunt-dunt-du-dunt.

With my love for Aliens, Predators and the like, it might come as a bit of a surprise that I haven’t been that much into Terminators. Sure, I own the movies (even the dreadful Salvation), but they’ve never risen to the same status as the extraterrestrial nasties. Lately, however, I’ve been taking a liking to Skynet’s little chrome cronies. A large part of this comes from watching the wonderful Sarah Connor Chronicles on Netflix. Naturally this lead to me wanting to get some killer robot miniatures and paint them up. I’d long been eyeing the em4 skeletal robots so I decided to get them.

But wait, wasn’t this review supposed to be about minis by Forlorn Hope Games? Yes!

In addition to the em4 miniatures, I also bought some new ones by FHG, who to my understanding work closely with em4. These new miniatures expand the skeletal robots line, effectively doubling it in size. Are they any good?

FHG produces five skeletal robots of their own, pictured below. They are sculpted by Martin Baker.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

As you can see, three of them are armed with assault rifles, one has a rocket launcher and one a flame thrower. The two special weapons add a nice bit of variety to the skeletal robot arsenal.

Stylistically, the robots are closely modelled after (what I assume to be) Mark Copplestone’s original robot designs. Very Terminator-like, that is. There’s not a lot of extra  on the models, as these are basically just armed endoskeletons. The rocket launcher one has something like a shotgun strapped to one thigh and a pouch with a few rockets strapped to the other.

Sculpting is decent. The models do suffer from softness issues, which of course is a big minus when the subject matter is robots. The edges should definitely be more crispy and sharp. I did take a file to some edges as a part of my cleanup routine, which helped. Castings were of good quality, with not much mould lining or flash present.

Compared to the em4 originals, the difference in sculpting quality really shows. The FHG minis have much bigger heads and more shallow detailing.

That might sound like a bit of a bashing, so do I consider these minis a poor purchase? Definitely not. With their flaws, they’re still a very good buy. They take paint nicely, and once painted, mix well with the em4 originals and the new weapons and poses add much needed variety to your killer robot squads. I also really like the idea of expanding the line with new sculpts, and definitely wanted to support FHG by buying these new robots as well – despite the horrendous pictures on their website. As the Future Skirmish line is one of my all time favourites, I definitely hope FHG keeps expanding it with new releases.

It bears noting that these miniatures are quite cheap, as the whole set of five minis only cost me £7.35 including shipping, which amounts to £1.47 per miniature. With  regular shipping prices to Finland, the actual value is something around £1.10 or £1.20 per miniature, which is definitely not expensive.

Overall verdict: While not as excellent as the em4 original skeletal robots, Forlorn Hope Games’ offering is a welcome addition to a not-Terminator force. Their character makes up for their sculpting deficiencies, and they come at a very good price. If you’re only going to buy one set of not-Terminators, go for the em4 originals. If you’re looking to build a force, however, I recommend adding these to the fold as well.

You can buy the skeletal robots directly from FHG’s webstore.