The New Hawt Is Not Quality Indictative

It should be no secret that I've backed many a Kickstarter with a miniature theme going on. Some I haven't backed not because the product didn't look good but because I simply didn't have the money. Damn you semi-middle wage earnings!

 

One of the things I notice though is that there is a lot of 'love' for miniatures that are new simply for no other reason than it's new. I can understand that. It's one of the reasons why role playing games change editions and why new editions of various old books come out with new covers, new introductions, new bonus chapters of the guy's next book, etc...

 

However, sometimes it's best to remember where things came from. For example, Danithal, Elven Warlord, is a little over ten years old. I've owned him for about that long. A great sculpt by Werner Klocke that has a lot of his tell tale detailing but unlike some of his Freebooter's Fate material, is NOT overburdened with it. He was a three piece figure, base, body, and right hand that I finally assembled and put together and painted.

 

I was getting a little tired of the angry elves of Warmachine as well as their round bases and wanted something a little more traditional. I used the painted image for some inspiration because honestly these days, choosing a color scheme takes me more time than it does to paint. Still, glad to have him done. He's a great figure. He's actually taller I think, that a lot of the Freebooter stuff.

 

 

 

Another miniature by Werner is Lurg. Right now he's listed at a ridiculously low price of $4.99. He has a little bit more of the 'fiddy' bits I was talking about that the elf doesn't have. Belt straps, buckles, and a host of other things like a body wrapping scrap. Must be an old Doctor Who fan or something.

 

 

 

This was another instance in which I used the painted figure as a quick guide. You can tell mine is old because that base there? That's sculpted onto the base itself and came with the figure. Now it's probably a bland plastic base while mine was metal. Adds a nice weight to the figure.  While I didn't have an urge to continue to stay away from Privateer Press models or anything, I did have him primed for a looooong time and figured while I was working on one Reaper Warlord figure, I might as well work on both of them since he was already out. I'll probably touch up the base a little more and he'll be good to go.

 

Anyway, my point is that while there are some fantastic figures coming out, and it seems there are more and more of them, don't forget your already existing collecting. Don't forget that some of the older figures that are already out there may be less expensive and better sculpted than the current or new ones coming out.

 

Good painting!

 

1650 and Mantic Second Wave in de House

My 1650 miniatures from the Indiegogo finally made it in. Expected September 2012 and well, not quite a year later but here we are. The figures look fantastic. Damnably fantastic. Like so fantastic I will actually be tempted to back anything else they do if it appears to be of the same quality.

On the other hand, my Mantic games second wave of stuff also showed up. I wasn't expected it and had completely forgotten about it so yeah, I'm good with that.

Both however, do showcase some of the weaknesses of supporting a Kickstarter. I've mentioned this before but... the person you are when you first place the order, is not necessarily the person you will be by the time the stuff arrives.

That new 'hawtness' that you fell in love with? Well it's probably going to be replaced by something else at before the material even gets to you.

Another thing to consider, is what is your time schedule looking like down that road? I know some people who were expecting and were like, "Oh my god! What have I done!" and some of that stuff has either gone into storage, been traded to friends, sold via blogs or gone into good old E-Bay.

There's a lot of great stuff out there. Just try to keep in mind where you're at in your life now, try to think where you'll be at in the future, and try to save a few bucks in case something that you're already playing decides to come along and offer numerous exclusive figures well before they hit the store shelves eh?

Reaper Bones In da House

A large 16+ pound package arrived the other day.

I still have no opened it.

I'm desperately trying to finish off some Warmachine Retribution and Mercenary figures as well as a few Hordes minions bits. This doesn't count the starter set for Hordes that I bought and remains unopened, the various Redbox miniatures from the first Kickstarter, and other bits.

The problem with things showing up late is the potential back log of moving onto other things in the meantime or having other projects that should have been out, also hit at the same time.

On the other hand, having too much to paint? That's a good problem. Maybe I'll do a video bit when I open the box and start the dreaded inspection...

July Sales and Kudos

I may have mentioned before that I've been collecting Privateer Press miniatures for years. Recently the company decided to release some of their classic units that used to be sold at minimum strength in unit sizes of maximum strength. Units like Greygore Boomhowler and Company.

I've had the six pack for years and well, it motivated me to assemble the miniatures for either RPG or future use one day. When I did so though, one of the guys was missing his battle axe. Privateer Press took care of it in a manner of days. Kudos to them for the quick no-hassle replacement.

Miniature Market is having a board game sale. I placed an order two-three days ago and it arrived already. I bought some more Privateer Press miniatures for reinforcements for my angry elves and mercs as well as the two Okko board games that were on sale. Great graphic novel series there on a fantasy style Japan setting for those interested in that vein. Solid art and good story telling.

One of the problems if you will, and it's a "first world problem", is that our hobby has so many niche specialty items, that even a great game store like Games Plus in Mount Prospect, doesn't have everything.  Mind you I was just there today and very pleased to see the new range of washes by Vallejo Paints.

Michigan Toy Soldiers though, is having a sale and they have some Andrea and Scale 75 and Lifecolor paints that I've wanted to test out.

Well, let me amend that. The Andrea paints I've used in the past are fairly solid if a little thick. You'd have to really thin them if you wanted to use them in an airbrush. The Scale75 looks like it's using a similar idea of themed colors and I've watched a few videos of Lifecolor and they look pretty solid. But you don't want to pay full price for these things right? But that's what a sale is for!

But with July 4th around the corner, we have other companies, like Fantization having a flat 20% sale. They also have some of the Andrea and Scale 75 paints as well as a good selection of materials.

In short, it's a good time to be a hobby painted so grab those brushes and batten down the hatches!

Anyone else getting in on sales while the getting is good? Leave a comment if so!