Friday, September 26, 2014

Review: Kabuki Models Steamborg



Although Kabuki's Steamborg miniature has been out for quite a while now, I haven't seen any thorough reviews on it, so I figured I'd throw a few pictures and comments out there for anyone else that may be interested in purchasing this model. This is the first miniature I've ever purchased from Kabuki Models, but I am thoroughly pleased with it overall, so I assure you it won't be the last. This particular miniature is part of Kabuki's "21st Century Pin-Ups" line.



Although adequate, the simplistic blister packaging was nothing fancy. However, all the parts were present and undamaged when the miniature arrived.



Above you can see all the included parts that came with the kit. This picture and the other pictures below, with the exception of the scale comparison, show the parts just as they came out of the packaging before any excess resin, flash, or mold lines were removed.




As you can see, the detail in this miniatures is incredible. There was very little flash left on any of the parts and mold lines were almost nonexistent. Although the urethane resin this model is made of doesn't seem to be too brittle, I did feel like I had to be very careful when removing the excess resin from the feet. However, it turned out to be fairly easy to cut off without damaging the model.








I'm not sure what scale Kabuki Models considers this particular miniature, but as you can see in the picture above, she towers over the standard 28mm scale Space Marine. Granted, she is in a very upright posture and on her tippy toes while the Space Marine is in a lowered firing position, but she is obviously much taller.


 

There's always plenty of options for fielding a sexy cyborg chick on the gaming table. I think I'm going to use her as a psyker in my Mechanicus-themed Inquisition army. I think she'll pair up nicely with the miniature I'm using to represent my other psyker, Forge World's Renegade Rogue Psyker, especially since they're in a similar pose.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Knock Knock. Who is it? Landshark.

SHARKTIPEDE!!!



Clint Maclean, a freelance 3D artist, is bringing his awesome creation Sharkipede to life through his Kickstarter Campaign. As a fan of monster movies, Clint took inspiration from movies such as Sharknado, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, Deep Blue Sea, Croczilla, and Pacific Rim to create Sharktipede and other unique original monstrosities on his drawing board.

Clint has done work for other miniature games such as Hero Clix, The King's Armory, Warriors of Darkmyre, and Shadows of Brimstone, but now he is bringing his own designs and visions to the community starting with his Sharktipede Kickstarter, which is already fully funded with 19 days to go. At the request of backers, Clint has already added a second miniature to the campaign, Monktopus (appears to be an ape-octopus hybrid), and is teasing the idea of a third.

I am very excited about this Kickstarter and have already pledged at the "Creative Collector" level, for which I will receive both Sharktipede and Monktopus. If you are looking for some unique and original creations to add to your miniatures collection, I highly recommend checking out Clint's Sharktipede Kickstarter.




Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii Command Squad

This is the first unit I have assembled for my latest project, an Adeptus Mechanicus army  (Count as Astra Militarum with Inquisition allies). This squad is comprised of converted and kit-bashed versions of HiTech Miniatures' "Gearcult Bio-Tech Covenant".


They are mounted on "Dungeon Stone" bases from Back 2 Base-ix. However, instead of being glued permanently to their bases, these miniatures and their bases are magnetized to allow the removal of the bases. You can see in the photograph below that they are perfectly capable of standing on their own without their bases. This is something I hope to be able to accomplish with every miniature in this army so that I can display them without their bases or swap them with another set.


For closer views of each miniature, front and back, take a look at the Skitarii Command page.