Dark Eldar Wracks

I'm literally wracked with guilt over this latest purchase .... (pauses of laughter.... no, ok). With that chronic joke out of the way, welcome to another bizarre side project.

I'd always loved the look of some of the Dark Eldar units, but particularly the Haemonculus related miniatures (these days we have the supplement Haemonculus Covens too for real fanatics!). Wracks have a really nice evil air about them and I'd be remiss in not mentioning that this is one of the best crafted and most detailed plastic kits I've ever seen. They're not cheap though at £22 for 5, but I really feel that the expense is worth it for miniatures of this quality.

The kit comes with a range of different options; plenty of fearsomely jagged cutting blades for the blood crazed masses to enjoy. You also get a full range of kit for the leader with Scissor Hands and Whips; plus a rather nice Venom Blade that I went with because it looked so cool. The only downside is that they all have their heads locked in a frontal position that didn't make them look too dynamic when I was posing them. To counter that, I cut two of them right at the top of the neck so I could turn their heads a bit. A little greenstuff in the gaps and hey presto; new poses.

I've started these as a bit of a fun modelling and painting challenge. I wracked my brain for inspiration (did you see what I did there?) and came up with a few ideas for the colour scheme and as I'm always looking to expand my horizons, I'll also be trying out a new technique or two,  so fingers crossed they work out (although if you look a bit lower down, you'll see an early first look at the scheme).

After getting the rest of the box built and suitably greenstuffed, I had a go at painting the first model up. He's still a work in progress and I'm trying to get a feel for the colours. At the moment, the only finished part is the high gloss red armour; although now that it's done I just hope the rest of the miniature can live up to it (well worth the 8 coats of paint it took to get that finish! ... unless we're counting undercoat in which case it's probably 11 or 12, what with the unintentional airbrush overspray)

Whether or not there'll be a whole army in a minute? I guess only time will tell. For the moment I'm just going to paint these up, and if that goes well maybe I'll add a Haemonculus or a few more bits to build a little kill team with.

Oh, and if you were expecting an update on Squaduary; I can only say that I've been distracted (luckily I was ahead of the game! but if this continues I'll be wracked with guilt for a second time!)

Anvil Industry - Regiments Review

Today, I'm reviewing the Regiments sets from Anvil Industry, so Imperial Guard players better be listening!

Introduction

Anvil are a small UK based miniatures company that make a range of resin wargaming miniatures. They have vast ranges of bits; heads, guns, combat weapons and many more interesting items in huge variety. They're made variously in scale for heroic "Exo Lords" (who may or may not resemble certain Marines from Space) and  regular human scale miniatures. They've recently produced their own game "Afterlife" too, which is a futuristic skirmish type affair, as well as these rather interesting Regiments kits.

The Regiments range are a set of modular infantry kits that are formed from resin. They offer a range of legs, torsos, arms, heads and weapons that can be combined in massive variety to make custom infantry squads. They also make heavy weapons teams and a range of officer parts and combat weapons are available. Anvil also have a kickstarter running for "Trench Fighters" currently that will add a large number of parts to the range including great-coats, more gas masks and all manner of cool bits.

You can really see the quality of the casting looking at the perfectly crisp hollow barrels on his weapon.

Why I'm Writing This...

At this point, you might ask what got me started on all of this business, well some of you may remember my recent article on Del'Ragio and the Desert Dogs. After reliving the magic and getting all nostalgic, I was stuck by a profound need to update them to my current standards. I really wanted to enjoy the process too and have a good old fashioned kit-bash-up, but also to start with some cool futuristic bits. After a bit of searching, Anvil were recommended, and well, the rest is history. As a spot of luck, it coincided nicely with Squaduary, so I had another excuse in the bag too!

As it was just a side project, I picked all of my favourite parts from the range. I wanted to go for a bulky armoured look. I went with Gothic Void Torsos, as I liked the gorget. Armoured arms and some Afterlife legs that weren't strictly part of the range, but were what I liked and handily Anvil let you pick them as an option (they did warn that the legs would take a bit of conversion, but I wasn't worried - It was just nice to be able to get everything I wanted). In the end, they didn't take a lot of work, But I think it might be a bit to do with the choice of Torso how well they fit.

A unit of fresh recruits; from a forge apparently located in hobby heaven!

Delivery

Receiving the package in the post, I was surprised how small it was. It seems Anvil use slim-line boxes to enable their stuff to be delivered through the letterbox. Worth mentioning for those who may be worried about delivery.

Customer Service at Anvil was also good - with free 1st class post on orders over £35, and only a day or two of processing time till my order was dispatched.

Resin Quality

One of the most surprising things for me was the quality of the resin; I'd heard it was good, but Anvil Industry may have the best resin in the business. As a long-time gamer, painter and man about town, I can honestly say that it rivals the quality of Forgeworld's stuff and may actually be better. The details are incredibly fine, but are all perfectly formed. I didn't see a single flaw, miscast or air bubble; which in 11 full resin miniatures is downright incredible. The details are so crisp too; with tiny vents, edges and points all perfectly formed. For a relatively small operation it really is jaw dropping quality and I can only recommend buying something cheap if you have any doubts so you can see for yourself.

Compatibility

I found that the resin Regiments parts are pretty compatible with normal 28mm heroic type human miniatures. By that  mean plastic Cadian parts, or a few bits I used from other kits of roughly similar scale. I even managed to fit a Space Marine flamer to one with only a minimum amount of work; which just goes to show how easily they fit into a 40k scale.

The Space Marine Flamer in question

 

The beret head is from some Tempestus Scions, but it fits just fine on an Afterlife body.

 

Size comparison with a dodgy converted Cadian I had about the place

Fitting

Perhaps due to the quality, I had no problems fitting parts - infact they lock together incredibly well. There's no warping or bending in the resin, its dreamy, like working with plastic.

Mold Lines

The other thing that struck me was the lack of mold-lines. the casts are very clean and take minimal effort to get ready for use. It sounds like a bit of a side-point, but considering that these are available as full units, it really is a strong selling point. Nobody would want to clean up 10 hairy resin figures, but Anvil's stuff handles more like plastic. A real pleasure to work with.

Pricing/Cost

Full regiments do cost more, but only about the same amount as most manufacturers; and you're getting a lot of customisation. The individual parts are really cheap though; with sets of 6 heads for only £3. If you were looking to spice up some units of Cadians, an investment of £20-£30 would probably outfit the whole force with fresh heads and accessories. Well worth a look if you want to do something interesting, or are looking to emulate one of the less well loved regiments (Chem Dogs I'm looking at you).

Ready for the battlefield? Come and get it Zombies!

Conclusion

Ultimately, it's all up to the design though and whether they appeal to you. Personally, I think it's a great range with a lot of cool parts and I'm very happy with the results I got. The quality is very high and it really isn't an exaggeration when I say it could be the best Resin on the market in terms of casting and detailing. Well worth a look for anyone looking for that extra punch in their army's aesthetic, or just some nice models in their own right. Full units can add up to be fairly expensive, but only about the same cost as any other resin miniatures. So if you like what you've seen from my test squad, why not check out Anvil for yourself, I can personally guarantee the casting quality is just as good as it looks in the pictures! (and basically the only bad thing I can think of to say is that I wish they were free! - although if anyone does want to give me any free models...).

I should probably note that I have no affiliation with Anvil in any way. and I didn't contact them to let them know I would be reviewing their products, so the quality of casts that I received is exactly what you'll get - with no special treatment. I'll add a link to Anvil below for anyone who is interested:

https://anvilindustry.co.uk/

Squaduary Challenge - Week 2

Another week of progress and I've managed to get half of the guys finished. I know that the official Squaduary thing is to base coat all of the models this week, but I prefer working in smaller groups till completion. This update is mostly pictures, so try not to be too disappointed by the lack of superfluous witty banter.

I'm happy with how they look as a squad. With any luck, I hope to finish the other 5 next week and then maybe do some bonus items or even a game in the last week!

I'm not sure why, but Captain Rikeroni kind of ended up looking like Big Boss' twin brother... 

A tide of zombies is already gathering to consume the still warm flesh of the new Del'Ragians. I guess some things never change.

Squaduary Challenge - Painting Test Mini

Surging forwards; I've finished the first test miniature. The colour scheme turned out to be more of a hassle than I had originally thought it would be. They were going to be blue to match the original Desert Dogs, but when I tried it they just didn't look right and half way through the test piece I started over. Luckily there were some white ones in the original force from 10 years ago; giving me the opportunity to reassess the colours and change plans half way through.

I've tried to really weather him and get a battered look; like they're fighting in an arid wasteland in the middle of a dust storm. It was kind of the idea anyway, but it is fun to have an image in mind sometimes. It can really inspire you and can bring up ideas that you probably wouldn't think of without that cinematic flash of inspiration.

 An example of this is how I used a bit of verdigris on the brass (same technique as I used on that Anime Figure); a colour I matched with green on the base to get some interest in there and inject a bit of colour into the scheme.

Ah, the originals. At the time they were revolutionary, not so much these days. The comparison is pretty funny though.

Like my Genestealer Cult (link to some pictures of the troops); I planned the painting process to allow for batching and to get in different textures and looks without having to spend too much time per model. These guys are bound for the tabletop, not a showcase, so I'm not going to be too precious with their paint as they'll see a lot of handling.

Anyway, I hope people like the scheme; here's hoping the rest go as smoothly. On a side note, I have problems capturing white with my camera. It seems to reflect the light back at the lens or something and the pictures aren't as good as they could be, but I think it'll be better when I have a few more of them in the shot!

Squaduary Challenge - Week 1 Goal Complete

The Desert Dogs ride again!

For those who might be wondering, Squaduary is all about building and painting a squad in February and is an event being run by the blog Stepping Between Games. The goal for the first week is to build your miniatures, so in this post I'm presenting the fruits of my labor; namely the recently reincarnated Desert Dogs (back due to popular demand after their 10 year hiatus). Gaming wise, I'm planning to use them as a faction in some games of Inquisitor (28mm scale) as a Planetary Defence Force turned police unit. We'll see if the can stem the waiting tides of mutants, heretics, plague zombies and ermm.... Mechanicus?

Parts wise they're almost entirely Anvil Indistry bits with the addition of some extra helms and odd parts from the bits box. Interestingly, the plastic helmets come from some Bot Handlers from a game called Malestrom's Edge that I got for free in my goodie bag at Salute! (I'd love to say it was because I'm so famous, or silver tongued and handsome, but everyone got them...)

Get to the Choppahh...

Space Marine Flamer? Seems to fit ok.

I'm trying out some texture paint for the bases too, but more on that later.

Until next time; party on dudes.

Gaming Memories - Bloody Organ Gun!

My series continues this week with another classic memory. This time I have my brother's Dwarf Organ Gun from about 20 years ago.

You might ask why a hideously painted cannon should evoke such nostalgia (The picture is overexposed on purpose to hide the horror a bit....). Well, it was the first Warhammer miniature either of us ever owned and for me it was the first I really saw up close. It also saw the battlefield in every game we played for years and I dread to think what its total kill count would be (probably a few thousand- it was incredibly powerful).

The other reason I think so fondly of it is because to me this Organ Gun represents the competitive spirit and rule abuse comes so naturally to children. The rules back then were really sketchy, with wide avenues that left them open to abuse; especially in the Dwarf book which was already a bit old when we started. In particular the rules for the Organ Gun were so unclear that using the thing was a real battle of wits, and as children I think we just interpreted it as the most powerful possible version.

Its rules issues were massively compounded by the fact that Dwarf Runes are the most broken system I've ever seen in any game. With the right combination of runes (and rules interpretation as it wasn't clear anyway), the organ gun was completely invisible and unable to be attacked in any way. When it fired, it became visible, but the problem was that it was possible to take the rune multiple times - leading my brother to believe that he could fire the gun for several turns running without it being able to be attacked as another rune would simply come into effect - and really there was nothing in the rules that stopped you!

It didn't help that when it fired, the thing had the power of 4 regular cannons, and no clear allowance was made for having to roll the misfire dice multiple times for every shot separately; meaning we rolled once for all 4 shots. It wouldn't have made any difference though anyway, as it had runes that stopped it from suffering any ill-consequences from a misfire, so it was basically unstoppable.

I think nobody would be surprised that his Dwarfs never lost a single game in their whole career. It does make me laugh though; ah, to be young again with an invulnerable weapon of war. Those were the days.

You might be tempted to think that this competitiveness was all his fault, but I had my fare share of Frost Blade wielding, Forbidden-Rod toting, Amber Amulet wearing flunkies that beg to differ! (the Frost Blade was instant death no armour saves, the Amber Amulet regenerated 1 wound a phase - so about 5 a turn, and the Forbidden rod allowed you to use one Total Power spell a turn).

Although his Dwarfs remained undefeated, it was largely due to the fact that most of our games were multi-player and they were so slow that they never made it across the field; that and nobody would approach the cannons willingly. I on the other hand was putting my most benderish of combinations to good use, but I suppose that's news for another episode of "Gaming Memories".

Anvil Industry Regiments - Squaduary Challenge Begins

I'm planning a full review of these parts in the near future, but I wanted to share the first few miniatures I created last night. I've been building them as a reimagining of a classic unit from my gaming past (Del'Ragio's Desert Dogs), and I'm hoping to put them to work in some games of Inquisitor (28mm scale) as a unique Planetary Defence Force unit (hence the different armaments).

They're made mostly with Anvil parts and I have to say that so far I'm loving it. The details are great and they've been fun to work on; for more info than that, you'll have to read the full review (planned to be up in a few days).

On a side note, I'm planning to build and paint all of these miniatures in February as part of the Squaduary (#Squaduary) challenge started by Rory at Stepping Between Games (http://steppingbetweengames.com/). The challenge is to build and paint a unit in a month; so it just seemed like the perfect challenge to combine with these guys, especially as they arrived on my doormat on 01th Feb!

I'll have more info on Squaduary later, but for now I'm just showing last night's progress: