Reviewing miniatures is tricky - I've read a few and there seems to be a lot of talk about 'lines'. 'Clean lines', 'mould lines' etc. I don't care about lines. I did once, but that is another story. One man's wotsit is another man's bad thing, I suppose. Next to no point in reading other people's miniature reviews. Certainly not mine. So move along, casual browser.
Prodos Mutant Chronicles Minis
(2.5 out of 5)
A massive box awaited me when I got home the other day. The sort of box that holds things of great value. A bit disappointed to find it 95% full of polystyrene bits with a couple of small tubs of miniatures in it. 'Aha!' thought I, 'my long awaited miniatures from that kick starter I backed many moons ago.' Unlike other ks-backers I am quite relaxed if it takes awhile for the goods to arrive. Partly because I have plenty of metal and plastic to ruin with bad painting already. Also because the arrival of miniatures in the post (particularly such a large, expensive looking, box) can cause a certain friction with the significant other, who angrily lists all the imminent or overdue household expenses that existing budgets won't stretch to, whilst commenting rather unflatteringly about my intellectual capacity.
The miniatures themselves are for some sci-fi universe I don't care about. There are some zombie-mummies-types, some Russians-with-swords types, some corporate-or-maybe-mafia-types-with-dogs, some other people with armour.
The first thing which struck me was the various bright weird plastic colours they came in. The second thing was that these brightly coloured suckers were big. Much bigger than the AtDE miniatures, or the Bolt Action types or, indeed, other 28mm miniatures. Probably should have measured them, but in my opinion - too big.
EMP Nuns with (big) Guns
(3 out of 5)
I got these four at the wargames show I went to in Wolverhampton. Can't remember the name of the show, big room with other people playing games and lots of shopping. Whilst in the tiny minority of humanity that finds wargaming interesting, I am also in the more sizeable minority (men) who finds shopping tedious and slightly unnerving.
Anyway - the figures are great. Nuns with Guns (flamethrower, rocket launcher, massive sniper gun, and two hand guns) - genius. A little troop of mercenaries for post apoc AtDE campaigns or the start of a new gang (all I need is a priest, a few altar boys and a cardinal). My only reservation is the relatively identical nature of each of the nuns - no 'old scary nun' (Blues Brothers), no 'dull but vaguely hot nun' (awful American nun detective with fat priest dad from Happy Days series), no man dressed as a nun (Nuns on the Run), no worldly black nun (W. Goldberg), no sex-deprived nympho nun (re popular catholic secret fantasy), no avenging angel nun, no fun-sized nun etc. If you are going to produce nuns with guns, surely there are comedic avenues worth investigating?
Across the Dead Earth Engineers
(4 out of 5)
I'm a bit of a fanboy, which probably further invalidates this review. But these are great minis. Hick-sniper guy is a favourite, and I feel a Deliverance-style gang coming on if our next campaign is across the pond. The older leader guy - oozes personality. Each mini is great.
I've been eagerly awaiting the women with the RPG to serve in my current campaign gang. Now I've got her, I'm not completely convinced. Her hand on hip pose is a bit too, umm, adolescent. Ok, granted, some women naturally stand at ease with their elegant hand resting upon their thrust out hip. Just none of the ones I know. And, ok, I appreciate that a skin-tight cropped vest is entirely practical for an RPG-operator, but the pose and the clothing choices AND the impressive and aesthetically pleasing upper torso? As I consider the world around my daughter, I find myself less impressed with things I would have once only noticed in a good way. So only 4 out of 5.