Colonel Marbles Miniature Masterworks - JULY 2003

15/07/03

Wow, whats up at Reaper? Got a new digital camera? More green pics, including that sci fi dude and a real nasty werewolf...

There is also new painted pics at Anne's Showcase including a Banshee that I didn't know they had. Maybe its new.

I hadn't seen that banshee before either. Looks interesting.

I like the motion in that death knight green too.

The banshee is nicely painted. -PeteB

The minis has "issues". but if you don't look to closely at the hips it's ok. -PeteB

I don't see a problem with the hips. I've seen several women who had small waists, and then some disproportionately large hip bones. I think they're called "child bearing hips". Maybe someone was sculpting their idea of the perfect female? -nudspinespittle

She looks more like she's shouting than wailing, and far as my knowledge of mythology goes I thought they were always seen washing bloody clothes, not floating about half naked (maybe she left hers at the launderette?).

Still, I'm just being a pedant and like I siad, nice enough fig all told.

Its ok I suppose, but not really my thing.

I think the pose could be much more dramatic. The arms raised comes to mind. While the paintjob is excellent, the bit of fog she's perched on is incredible, I think that a stronger contrast on the drapery would have been better. Any strong primary color would have been better than the lavender.

It's not going on my list of things to buy, but I do like it.-The Imp

I'm sorry, but this mini does nothing for me. Which is quite suprising as I normaly really like Reaper's output. Not one of their more interesting productions.-Marquis

Not another werewolf, how many can one man need?

Ah come on, you can never have too many werewolves. Look at 'Dog Soldiers' (then scale it up a bit).

16/07/03

New Phigs. Almost makes me wanna play Elf Ball. What IS Elf Ball? -mancha

Why not check the 'elfball' page, where the rules are freely available? 0:-)

Can't help thinking he could do with expanding a few of the ranges rather than bringing out new ones. Still I expect elfball only needs 4 players, so no reason to try and capture the blood bowl crowd by expanding beyond that eh..?

16/07/03

Remember those grays UncHex has been threatening us with?

I sort of like them, but don't tell Rosemary...

Those look pretty good. Best Grays to date, I think. Don't seem to be up on their site yet, though. -hundvighong

I agree, these are the best greys to date. they have a real malevolence about them, and the guns are sweet! -NudeMonster

They've been added to the site now, with the promise of upcoming flying saucers and big green men.

What I like most about them is that they have a well defined musculature and anatomy. Most grays out there look like unfinished armatures with big heads.

Nice range of greys. Interesting alien weapons too. Looks kinda big though. Maybe I can introduce them to my Victorian Sci-fi/horror/exploration range. If the UFO looks nice I might mount them and make tripods too. Keeping an eye out for this range.

There are also conceptual designs for some mechanical weirdness in the sci fi page. At least the aliens look alien.

Sorry I didn't post that link myself but I have been real busy having a holiday (hence my absence from cyberspace of late!)

I'm really happy you all seem to like them, especially you WK!

The grays are 35mm to the top of that big head of theirs, when stood upright. -UncHex

19/07/03

More of the upcomming miniatures for AU by Monte Cooke.

Some okay, some not so. -DemonEtrigan

Some good work here, i like the lion beastman thing alot. hope the castings are as nice, some of this stuff looks alittle 2 dimentional to start with. -PeteB

The litorian could be interesting, but it's hard to tell. From these pictures he kind of reminds me of these old toothless circus lions...

I like the feathery cape on the female hawk totem warrior, but the mini itself is kind of dull.

But anyway, the skill is there and it's still a promising range.

These greens display some really good sculpting but the tension is a little off in nearly all the poses. For example the lion guy looks like he's in a tug'o'war contest, which is a shame because I really like them otherwise. -UncHex

22/07/03

Some nice new figs now out from Warmachine- here's a couple :

I may have to get that Magnus figure.

Both cool figs, but in very different ways...

I like the paint jobs too. Nicer than the older models somehow.

Yeah this is more good stuff from that gang - OK thats it I am going to get that rulebook later this week!

22/07/03

This just in .....

Dear Colonel, at your command!

Thank you very much for your news about WarCrow.

I enclose a picture of another WarCrow miniature: Malik al-Saher.
The first Elf will be avalaible next week.

WarCrow will be a range of characters rather that troops, so you could find very different miniatures in the line. Perhaps the beginning will be a bit slow, but we are not stopping!

Best regards from Galicia, Spain

-Fernando Liste

www.warcrow.com

Very nice! very very nice.

Jep it has to be said these are really good. Good colouring and nice shading. I also like the style, but how would you describe it?

Looks a bit like a Fantasy Arabian Nights sorcerer type with familiar.

Oh boy !

Those Warcrow boys are sending me some free samples !!!

If only other manufacturers would follow this fine example....

And your true motivation to keeping this site functioning is revealed!

I rather like the little servant in the turban. -The Imp

Now you know why I write book reviews...

Be sure to clue us less fortunates in on the size of them compared to others when they arrive. Definitely something interesting if the arabian look expands.

My sample are here - they're 35mm scale -Sylvain

ack! Why didn't they make them 28mm like their historical line?

There are a couple Spaniards over on Coolmini that have indicated a strong Confrontation following exists there. Perhaps the fellows over at CorvusBelli are trying to reach that market? -The Imp

Totally different style though. What's the point in copying the scale if the minis aren't compatible? Better stick to the more common 28-30mm. Not sure I'll be getting a lot of them if they turn out too big (luckily they're characters, so I can stretch it a bit).

Size is fine. Style is fine. Hands look like a packet of Wall's sausages. Will still get em tho, and graft on some Perry appendages. -sumo

Just got these.

Excellent minis - very nicely sculpted. Definitely Rackham scale, but the dwarves are not humungous like Rackham & would fit with GW etc.

I also got some Corvus Belli medieval mounted crossbowmen. Again, high quality but perhaps a little large to fit in with some other historical ranges.

I love free stuff!

What do they look like in the metal? Would they fit to a Norse army theme?

Are the war crow and corvus belli range compatible?

Definitely compatible, altho has such a small selection its hard to see where you could mix & match at the moment.

Anyway they have an elf out soon apparently !

23/07/03

L'Abberation - A new Confrontation mini in the pipeline :

I want one, and I want one NOW!

Isn't just precious? It will look lovely following up behind the two Dasyatis clones and my three Tigers of Dirz.

...or within the ranks of a mutant horde....

Arghh! Too much anime! Too many memories of The End of Evangelion...

C'mon everyone...

Like an angel that has no sense of mercy,
Rise, young boy, and come embrace the legend...

Oh, it's nice, very nice. But now I've got the tune in my head for another three weeks. -Jakar Nilson

25/07/03

Looky, looky, actual production versions of the upcoming D&D minis.

Aren't those...special? -frotherGuest

My that owlbear looks..... butch? Ahem. Also, that second orc looks like he's taking a dump. And the wolf skeleton looks like he's tap-dancing, and the kobold looks like he's just been barbequed!

They're not quite as blobby as I was expecting though, and some aren't much worse than what WizKids have been churning out. I did mention the quality to a friend who works at WotC, and he just said "Well, *some* of them aren't that bad..." tsk. -Dead Deputy

#puke#

Gad that is HORRIBLE.

Well, I'm sure they're not so ba...OH MY GOD!!! #retch#

I like em - I havn't laughed so much in ages. And they want people to pay money for a random selection of em. That is a good one.

*LOL*

I especially love the Owlbear. He looks like a kid running to meet his favourite Aunt at the train station - "Ooo, Aunty, give us a big hug."

These figures are shit.

Now its official. :-D

Oh my god, they are hideous, should be illegal. -frotherGuest

This must be a joke surely? -frotherBaz

Good Lord! Now I have truly seen a sign of the end times! -Marquis

25/07/03

WK has successfully beaten me around the head until I agreed to post this info to all of you

I’m pleased to announce the launch of my own miniatures range, Spyglass Miniatures.

I’ve started out with a range of three fantasy subjects in 32mm scale. These are Kage Dar: Barbarian Adventurer, Katalin: Succubus and Shae: Half Elven Archer. More figures will follow soon (must get sculpting)

The range is now available for ordering at www.coolminiornot.com

If you go to the front page of Coolminiornot

-Steve Buddle

Just doing my job. :-D

Those are nice I really like the half elven archer, a nice pose. I am deeply curious about where you got the concept for the she devil, anyone you er.... know? -frotherbAz

Bloody hell, I wish... -Steve B

 I agree with bAz about the elf. Her face reminds me a bit of the CMON ltd. edition mini you did recently. Are they related?

Best one has to be the succubus though. I LOVE the way you posed the wings.

The young barbarian's nice too of course.

To conclude, I'll probably get all three of them.

I guess the Half Elf's face is a bit similar to the Amazon. Maybe she's the Amazon's mother -Steve B

Very nice, will definitely be buying them.

Where can I see the amazon you guys are talking about? -gloria_invictus

You can see the green here and if you browse CMON, you'll come across pictures of painted versions.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/go.php?go=contest2php

Its the green you can see on the Spyglass page... we featured it a Mworks or two back.

That half-elven is gorgeous! I'll probably get all three if I can figure out how much they cost to ship them to the other side of the world. Plus I can finanly get some of the Freebooter minis I've always wanted. Best news I heard all week.

26/07/03

New precasts of Foundry's Sassanids (all infantry) can be seen here:

http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/PRECAST/15/index.asp

Maybe the Colonel will be interested... :-|

Can't they do some decent Moors instead? Or just re-release their old Perry-sculpted Polish range?

I made the moulds for these over 4 years ago, sculpted by Mr Michael Perry. Lovely as they are I doubt that there are any more in the pipeline, I never saw any Cavalry (and the Sassanid army is 80% mtd). So unless there’s a newbie working on the range this looks like another unfinished range from Wargames Foundry. -PeteB

I wrote to the Perries asking if they had ever done any cavalry, and they didn't answer (sniff). So I am assuming they are indeed all the Foundry have. Even so, I shall buy 'em. Can you imagine those cavalry though.... Mmmmm. -sumo

Two of those four "precast" packs were available about two years ago as "preview" packs. They were indeed Perry sculpts, so don't expect more.

However, they do go very nicely with A&A Sassanid cavalry and infantry, helping to fill out the A&A range a bit. -aecurtis

There's a great new goblin (and I don't usually like goblins) from Freebooter:

Someone should start a toadstool/mushroom showcase. -Mancha

Yep pretty good.

Go well with the old Reaper(?) mushroom men...

Sweet! Imagine a village full of these with huge patches of fungi.... heaven.

30/07/03

Some new figs from 100K at TMP.

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=140734

Much better than the goofy dinosaurs IMO.

They are definitely better than the dinos, but still not that good for my money. They all seem so stiff! Proportions seem a little odd too, but thats not as bad.

I like the lion youngblood on the left, but other than that these are pretty mediocre I'm afraid.

Well, I didn't say I was gonna buy them...

Agree on the youngblood.

I like the goofy face it has, very characterful. Unlikely I'll buy though...

No more monkeys though. }:-(

I'd also like to see the first one (with blowgun) without the paint to make a proper evaluation.

I thought the Lion dude was excellent. -Marquis

There were two lion dudes, did you like them both or just the one we liked too?

The one on the left, who looks like Aslan, but with a big f***off sword!

Yea, thats the one. We're all agreed then, I shall make a note.

30/07/03

VOID plastics- Viridian Interdict Marines -Mr Ed

Oh, YEAH!! -nudspinespittle

Not very original in an already stiff market though, eh? -UncHex

How stiff can it be? I know of at least four companies with new sf lines in development. Hell, if I'm not mistaken you're responsible for the Gray Aliens from Griffin's new sf line.

The Interdicts look better painted anyway. Note the convenient size comparison with the plastic Junker.-The Imp

I think you have a different interpretation of the word 'stiff' than I intended...I meant to say the competition is stiff in this market, not dead!

There's only about one other company doing modular plastics, though, and the EE figures aren't a dollar a piece. Well, maybe they are, if by "piece" you mean "torso" or "left arm" or something. I think I-Kore might make room for themselves in the market on cost alone.

Besides, the riot shields are kind of novel. I can't think of too many other modern figs with shields...EE Judge Dredd clones, some Foundry SWAT guys, and that's about it. -frotherGuest

I will conceed the shield point and I have to admit the quality is excellent....but when I squint (just a little) I see a bandwagon of plastic. Personally, I like my minis metal and inventive...but that's just me.

30/07/03

Anyone seen the Bronze Age Battle Orges in the flesh? If so, how's the quality? Might be a good addition to an Ork army. -nudspinespittle

http://www.bronzeagemin.com/miniatures_html/25mm/sci-fi/battle-orges.htm

Those look very GW-esque. Like orc spacemarines.

#blerk!#-UncHex

Privateer/Warmachine pics (GenCon 2003)

Courtesy of New Wave

30/07/03

New Wave's Gencon pics: loads of new goodies to see here :-

http://www.newwavegames.com/minis/eventscoverage/gencon03/

All very good Colonel! -frotherBaz

Forgive me if the following comments are a touch disjointed.

Holy crap! The Wargods stuff is unbelievably good! I love the Spartans and the titans/daemons/whatever they ares.

The lifesize Asphyxius from Privateer looks pretty cool, but the rest of their coverage was less than I could have hoped for. I guess that is a downsided to having such a huge web presence. No surprises left for the trade shows.

Am I mistaken or are there a couple Griffin Miniatures pieces tucked into the Excelsior section? Are they involved with each other some how?

Dark Age's Brood figures are pretty nifty. I may have to give them some of my money after all.

That's a nice new angle of Rackham's Abberation too.

....

Courtesy of New Wave

...

Well the first one appears to be the cyclops, any guesses on who the others might be?

What in the name of the Gods? These look worse than Disney's Hercules. How about adding some Minoian/Mycenian elements/props/clothing to give them a better feel.

If that's their Titan minions, I shudder to think what their Centaurs will look like.-Jakar Nilson

Hmmmm....I...err...quite like these. Is it me? -UncHex

Not just you. I like 'em, too. Quite reminiscent of Harryhausen's big fella in "Clash of the Titans", especially the second one, thanks to the more subdued color choices. If the other two weren't quite so garish, and perhaps a bit more in focus, they'd look better. -aecurtis

Yeah I have to agree the middle one is the best - I think its a cousin of the cyclops 'cept where the eye should be it grew a horn instead.

I also agree that the colouring on the second one is also the best - the other two are potentially very interesting. The biggest problem I can see with them are the feet, especially on the third. But then I think how else would you do that side of things for these figures? -frotherBaz1

I kinda like them. Very reminiscent of those Saturday matinee stop motion films.

Another vote for the middle one's sculpt and colour scheme.

I like the bits of broken pottery, etc on the bases. Hopefully these bits come with the models like the extras that come with the Aegyptus range. -Sihook

You guys should know better than to be put off by a paint job by now!

I agree the skull necklaces are silly, I mean they couldn't have made them in their Arts & Craft lesson surely, far too fiddly with claws that big. Otherwise nice figs I think.

I like the third one best for posing and sculpt, barring the paintjob I think the middle one might be the worst in fact. Though might revise that if I get to see it from a different angle (wait, someone else posted pics of these didn't they?).

Is the Harryhousen chap you're thinking of the Cyclops from the Sinbad movies?

Look if you are a War God and can make stuff wouldn't you put a nice little collar around one of your pets???

I mean to say have you no imagination!??? -frotherBaz

Hm, I can just about imagine the scene... Ares trying to tie a skull to a titan.

Ares: "Hold... still... bugger!"
Aphrodite: "You need to be more patient with it..."
Ares: "I am f***ing p... right... got it, hold on... damn it bit me!"
Aphrodite: "Maybe it doesn't want a collar?"
Ares: "What!? Shut up you daft cow, its a titan not a cat."
Aphrodite: #sulks "I'm only saying..."

It just occured to me that as big as those titans are they most likely have lots of different parts. My mind boggles at the conversion potential!

I also like them very much. Can't wait to see more of the Gods and Goddesses. -fourcolorfigs

For your edification gentlemen, The Creatures of Ray Harryhausen.

...

A lizard taking a dump? Just what we need...

Good stuff, and a little something for fishfans from Excelsior!

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Excelsior pic (GenCon 2003)

Courtesy of New Wave

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...isn't anyone really interested in this one? #LOL#

He's wearing a pig! I'm so buying this when/if it becomes available!

Yeh that is a brilliantly characterful sculpt! #LOL#

Bags of fun.

Reaper pic (GenCon 2003)

Courtesy of New Wave