Hello you all miniature freaks, did you miss us?
We decided to collect summer releases in one larger post, so we could only start working in autumn. And then it took more time than we expected due to the number of interesting miniatures released in that season. You’ve been waiting for this post long enough already, so without keeping you waiting any longer, let’s start!
Hero scale (heroic or sci-fi):
Sea.man: Let’s start with our usual Heroic Scale (which is around 28 -32mm) and a sexy looking troll huntress from Ax Faction is something I really would like to paint. She isn’t overloaded with details, has dynamic pose and comes with troll’s head, so you don’t have to think a lot what diorama to make for her.
Hellspawn: I must admit that the troll head is nice, but I think that the lady is missing something, the sculpt is too clean for me I think. But talking about clean, what do you think of those nice Asian styled warriors from Studio McVey? I really like those, without talking about the awesome paintjob.
But I also have something less clean in my pocket. Look at this cool standard bearer from BaneLegions:
Isn’t he cool?
Large scale:
Sea.man: Moving on to our next category, I must admit that there wasn’t much going around in large scale, so I didn’t have much choice but to choose Pegaso. This miniature doesn’t have this ‘wow’ effect, but it is a very solid one for historical painters.
Hellspawn: I have to agree, the number of releases in large scale wasn’t that great and they weren’t as you said giving the “wow” effect. The ones that I found nice were the ones from Knight Models again. Don’t you think that they did some really nice job on this Batman?
They worked just as well on a Bane mini and they arrived just as the movie was out across the cinemas so nice job on that as well. And if we want to talk about movies, everyone knows that “The Hobbit” should be out soon so look at this version of Elrond (also from Knight Models) I know he’s more present in The Lord of The Rings saga, but he’s still related to Bilbo and look at his character.
Busts:
Hellspawn: Like the large scale category, the number of bust released over the past few months hasn’t been good. You do already know that I’m not a huge bust fan, and amongst all of those who were released, the only one I found interesting was from Castle Miniature.
Proxies:
Sea.man: Those robots are way too obvious to tell what army they’re for, aren’t they? Puppet Wars keep trying to fill all Necron players’ needs. 🙂
Hellspawn: They are indeed, and on the other side, we have Raging Heroes who can’t stop thinking of our Dark Elves players. Check out this chick:
Conversions parts/Accessories:
Sea.man: In conversion parts, the number of Orks’ heads types is just insane. There are many types of Ork heads you can get (Pirates, Soviets, Techno…) but they’re all usually around those themes. If you would like to have something new, then Spellcrow made you some desert Orks heads.
Hellspawn: Indeed, it seems that while these days, for proxies, the love goes only to Necron and Dark Elves/Dark Eldars players, regarding conversion parts, the love goes mostly to the Orks players. And while you were talking about the desert heads, I couldn’t avoid talking about the punk ones from Spellcrow as well:
Don’t you think that they would definitely suit those bodies from Kromlech?
And while we’re still at it, Spellcrow released some cool Power Claws. They’re so very useful! But you’re gonna tell me, “yeah, but now, with all those bitz sites, we can get them for ‘cheap’ and in the right amount” but I’m going to simply answer that “yes you can, but they’ll all be looking the same while here, they’re all different which is a really cool way to personalize your army”.
And while I said that regarding conversion parts/accessories, only Orks players were getting some love, but it seems that I was wrong, wasn’t I?
Sea.man: Indeed you were! Want to convert you Imperial Guard army? Then those heads from Victoria Miniatures are something for you!
Hellspawn: Since Sea.man just proved me wrong, I of course had to look by myself if there wasn’t something else, and of course, after some digging I found these from Puppets War:
I’m pretty sure that this combi lasgun/plasmagun for a Razorback will be useful to many Space Marines players. But Puppets War didn’t only think about the loyalists, look at what they’re releasing for Chaos Space Marines players:
This is only an example for the shoulder pads as they’re releasing lots of them for the various main legions (especially the ones that Forge World should release in the Horus Heresy books at the end of this September). So if you would like to have some nice shoulder pads those might be a nice alternative (prolly less expensive as well).
Main release:
Hellspawn: Talking about those nice shoulder pads for Chaos Space Marines players is a nice transition for this category as we couldn’t avoid talking about the release of the new version of Warhammer 40k and the awesome minis that are included into the starter box by Games Workshop. So without speaking more, check out those minis:
This one is the limited version of the Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain Seraphicus.
Bases:
Hellspawn: Though, as you all must already know, it’s not only cool to have nice minis, but if you can put them onto nice bases, it’s always providing a freaking nice effect on the table and it seems that our friend at Scibor’s Monstrous Miniatures knows that. Check out those bases:
Sceneries:
Hellspawn: But having nice minis on nice bases to play with is not the only main important thing, cause playing on a superb table provides such another dimension to the games that it’s also really important to have nice sceneries to put on your table.
Look at what Tabletop World made:
I have to admit that they’re a little pricey, but I’ve bought some of their stuff and the quality is insane. You’ll be able to have a review of their stuff soon on our website, so stay tuned.
Scibor’s Monstrous Miniatures did release some stuff that is supposed to be bases, but considering the size of the items, I must admit that they would fit nicely as accessories on a scenery or as sceneries themselves:
Boobs of the month:
Sea.man: Yeah, all those things are important but what is better than nice boobs? A girl with nice ones and a big gun, like here from Miniature factory (JAG) . This country chick suits other rednecks sculpted by JAG very well.
Hellspawn: Oki, you got me on this one as well and I like the one you picked (she also has a nice butt but you’ll have to check out our forum to see it) but you’re calling these boobs? Seriously? Have you checked the topic of El Viejo Dragon Miniatures? Now this is what I call boobs!
And if you like boobs, you should definitely have a look on our forum, cause this manufacturer has plenty for you.
Worst miniature:
Sea.man: Alright, this may be a bit controversial, but what the hell… As for another debated thing, look at what we have in this category. For sure this miniature isn’t badly sculpted, but if you compare it with the concept art, it is completely different! What is worst, is that it lost all of its character and now she looks like a postman not like an agent. It is a pity that Anima Tactics guys didn’t take their time to make the concept art justice.
Hellspawn: Well, I’m not really surprised here, Anima Tactics isn’t known to respect the concept art on the sculpt they have. I still don’t understand why they keep providing concept art since all their minis are way different of the concept each time. They should just release minis directly, it would be less disappointing.
Talking about worst mini, check this one from Kingdom Death. I’m speechless. Human body, dog head on snake’s body and even worse, he’s playing with its Johnson and nutsack. I don’t really know what to say about this horror besides that it’s just a waste of resin.
Best paintjob:
Hellspawn: Thankfully, on the other hand some manufacturers can provide us with marvels. Look at this steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland from Guild of Harmony. Paintjob needs no words to speak for itself:
Interesting to come:
Sea.man: Cipher Studios is really doing great job when it comes to making new units for Hell Dorado. This crocodile is called Ashoka and fights for the Lost, a faction which is full of lizards, worms and dinosaurs. Don’t you think it will suit this war band well?
Confrontation may be dead, but some people like me keep playing it. That is why I was really pleased to see a Cartomancer from Anakron Miniatures. This miniature makes a great Fortune-teller Agent for the army of Cadwallon.
Hellspawn: I can’t wait for the crocodile to be available for sale (couldn’t get one since I didn’t attend the Gencon. My “Lost” minis are waiting for it. But these aren’t the only ones that are interesting in the upcoming releases.
Wreck-Age is preparing some nice minis that I’m sure could be used as proxies or just stand alone ones.
Wyrd is also reserving us some surprise for Malifaux with: a) switching from resin to new plastic (a review is planned for that, like for Tabletop World, stay tuned), and b) lots of minis planned and amongst what is planned, I picked those:
I just love the concept/3D Sculpts, so let’s hope Wyrd won’t follow Anima Tactics on this one.
At last, the releases I’m looking forward are the ones from Spartan for a brand new game called Dystopian Legions. It’s based on factions from Dystopian Wars, but as a game with 28mm troopers and little vehicles.
So this is it guys. As you may have noticed, the amount of releases for the past three months is pretty huge and trust us, it was tough job to pick up the best ones. Of course, we might have missed some but we can’t talk about ALL of them, but if you want to be able to see all of them, join us on our forum. Our active members always provide us with all the releases they can find all around the web.
We hope to read your opinions about this summer’s releases and see you soon for the ones of September and October!
— Hellspawn & Sea.man
