River Set

You get 2 of each piece in the River Set

This River Set is by Pegasus Hobbies, and comprises 6 pieces; 2 each of 3 different items.

The set is made from hard plastic and comes pre-painted. The pieces snap-it together with lugs, meaning it can be assembled and disassembled easily, and that individual sections won't slide around. When disassembled the set sits neatly in its box, so is very easy to store.

The 6 pieces when connected yield a river of approximately 43 inches in length. The bend pieces are 45 degree angle. The model used for scale reference is on a 30mm base.

Prices in the UK vary between £16 and £18 (I got my two sets a few years ago and paid £13 for each at the time).

The Technobridge just about sits across the river as shown. Looking at the Pegasus Hobbies site there is the suggestion that there may be additional pieces in the future which add modern and older style bridge options with integral river sections, I think I would pick them up if they appear in the UK.

For the price I think it is a reasonable set, although it is just shy of 48 inches, which may be intentional by PH given many gaming tables will have width or length of 4 feet in inimitable GW style. With a four foot table you are really looking at getting two sets. Despite that, I do think it is good value and I would recommend it.

Cargo Crates (Pre-Painted Hardfoam)

I have a couple of these packs and I think they have been a very useful purchase.

Each pack contains two small pieces and one large piece. The smaller pieces are approximately 160mm long and are 25mm high arranged in a row. The larger piece is approximately 160mm long by 50mm wide. There are a range of variants for each piece so with a couple of packs that gives some varied options. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that the top and bottom row pieces from each set of three are different.

The crates on the right are two small pieces stacked together

The pieces are available as a pack for £13 GBP from Tablescape's website. They are made of hard-foam and come pre-painted. Given the range of gaming periods they would be suitable for, I think they are a tremendous little set for the time-strapped gamer. From a quality and value perspective, I am very happy with these and would thoroughly recommend them.

The minis used for scale reference are all mounted on 30mm bases and are nominally from ranges between 32mm and 35mm.

Rorschach

The first mini on the blog in a while! This was a 'quick and done' type of paint-job, intended to fit with my BMG minis, but not taking ages to complete.

I was talking with main gaming buddy Rob a few days ago about not getting much done and painting a couple of quite fiddly minis recently, so he suggested doing something easy like a dog. While I had a couple of things in mind, my first thought was this mini, since it would require a relatively simple colour palette, was a one-piece cast (quick to get ready), and was a change from the recent focus on Anima Tactics minis. This was prepped and undercoated the probably took around 2-3 hours of painting in 3 sessions over 2 days. I am happy with the outcome for (for me) such a short turnaround.

The mini is simple enough and nicely evokes Rorschach, although hands in pocket seems a cop-out sculpting wise, since he could have had arms out ready for a fight, and the drapery on the trousers could have been a lot better I think. So far I have painted stuff in very random order for BMG, and this is no exception. I suspect it will be a while before I get a Crew together. Although I love the Watchmen minis, so that could be the first Crew I finish possibly.

I am still a long way off playing the game, and I hope that Knight Models produce a printed rule book (preferably hardback), and that they rethink their game cards. The game cards are an unwieldy size I feel, and do not fit any typical game card sleeves. Worse still, the trimming of some leaves them larger than the standard KM size, meaning they are bent when used for packaging, not a good thing when paying a premium price for a mini in my opinion.Small criticisms, but relevant ones I think.

Quarter 2 2014 Painting Summary

Well, I almost forgot about the Quarter 2 painting summary! Better late than never I say!

It looks like I will be lucky to manage 40 minis this year, which with my coursework workload is 'okay' although I would rather paint more.

May was a poor month, with just one mini painted.

Top row (l to r); click names for links to posts:
Kyler (Anima Tactics)
Lillian Virgil (Anima Tactics)
Tiamat (Anima Tactics)
Aurelius (Pulp City)
Alis Testarossa (Anima Tactics)

Bottom row:
Clayface (Batman Miniatures Game)
Shinobi (Anima Tactics)
Raziel Archetypum (Anima Tactics)
Al-Djinn (Anima Tactics)
Janiel (Anima Tactics)

Tooth & Sword

With a little over 9 days to go, Tooth & Sword is 80% funded on Kickstarter. If any readers have an interest in anthropomorphic fantasy minis, then I heartily recommend taking a look.

Rock Outcrops

Rock Outcrops (BB 545) from GF9

Another recent terrain acquisition, these Rock Outcrops are by Gale Force Nine, and like other Battlefield in a Box stuff are ready to play straight out of the box as they come fully painted.

The set includes 6 sets of rocks and two types of static grass to add as desired. This set is BB 545; there was an earlier set of Rocky Outcrops (BB 521) which had 8 pieces included.

It is easy enough to create rocks etc with foam, but for me, as I have said before, that would take away from the little time I manage to focus on painting my minis. The price is around £16-£18 and for me that is reasonable value as a trade-off for time and materials to do something similar.

One useful advantage of these over a foam alternative that is not immediately obvious however, is that they have a certain heft and weight and so are less likely to get displaced on the tabletop.

As is evident, I like the GF9 Battlefield in a Box range. The quality is consistent, so I know what to expect when picking up a set. Consequently the pieces I have picked up have been good value for me. I like that certain sets go nicely together to allow an expandable range. All in all, highly recommended.

The volunteers used for scale are:
- Crimson Oni (Pulp City)
- Azriel (Anima Tactics)
- Red Skull (What The? Miniatures)

Tooth and Sword Kickstarter (Meridian Miniatures)

Another KS I am backing, and I really hope the project makes it as I love the Chibi meets anthropomorphic fantasy look of the line.

I am in for the resin bundle and will top up if Stretch Goals are met - check it out. :)

Click the image below for the link.