Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Review: Reaper Miniatures Skeleton Guardian W 2 H Sword


My back issues continue to prove problematic. Thankfully I can still paint in some degree using a breakfast tray and laying down. I say thankfully because when you're out of commission, a hobby like painting can help pass the time.

Another three pack of skeletons I picked up at #Adepticon2015, was this figure, Skeleton Guardian w 2H Sword. Note, at this time, the figures does not appear to be on sale.

The figures are lanky, which makes sense considering the subject matter.

The Bones, the plastic these figures rom Reaper are made of, are not necessarily the greatest for some things. In this in-house studio image for example, you can see the warping at the tip of the sword.

The figures may also need heating and cooling as they may be warped. My least favorite part of a figure being warped isn't the weapons. Those are small and worst comes to worse, I can snip off the weapon and put a new one there.

It's the base itself. When the base is warped you have to make sure that you've got it straightened out correctly. What's worse than that is sometimes the warping will return.

Bones also has potential problems with mold lines. While the material is easy to cut, it's not easy to scrape. I'm always worried about applying too much force and doing damage to the figure.

This figure in terms of sculpting, is fairly good save for a few minor issues. The left arm is just all sorts of out of whack. I don't know if it's the angle, that I'm in need of glasses or what.



You'll notice on these, I did not glue them to a seperate base. The bases are stable enough to stand.


I went through my usual stages here. The primary difference was that I used Army Painter Black Matt to prime them.

Then it was a shade and a few layers of highlights. Because of my lighting conditions and brush use, I did more of an 'overbrush' than anything on those layers. These are meant for the tabletop after all.


Here you might be able to see the bendy parts at the ends of the swords a little more.


And done.

If I was trying to be more accurate, I would have done another wash to dirty things up on the weapons and bones while at the same time went lighter on the clothes and leather to show advanced aging.

In terms of use, outside of the numerous role playing games and table top games that use Undead, I think that these skeletons are great to introduction someone new to painting.

They have no assembly. The bases are integrated and they stand well.

They have a minimum of items. I could have not used the gold at all and just went with steel/silver but I wanted to try and break up the monotony a little.

They are durable. While they are easy to cut and physically destroy, they will NOT be harmed by dropping them and they will not be harmed by game play.

They are inexpensive. Starting a new hobby can be very costly. A good brush can costs over $10. Hobby paints vary and can be $4-$7 a bottle. Having figures that you can practice on and not worry about dropping them? Unlike say Gale Force 9 whose miniatures are FAR superior to these in terms of detail, depth, items, complexity, flash, and cleaning, these figures will not break the bank and unlike Gale Force 9 thin joins on its resin, you will have to work really hard to break them.

Anyone else working their their Kickstarter pledges? I suspect for the next week until my second follow up to the doctor, that I'll be pecking away at it here and there.


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