Model Review: Rahera, Swashbuckler and Powder Monkeys

It's model review time! Pirates this time! I love the theme and getting a new Warcaster is really exciting.

I'll start with the crazy model, the Powder monkey! I'm not quite sure how this little monkey lugs around a barrel of blasting powder which is much bigger than it... 

The sculpt for the monkey is crisp and full of character, its cradling a pistol which I imagine the knockback would send it flying!

It has a torch held in its tail... open flame and gunpowder - seems like a good idea....

The toes on its foot are curled to grip the edge of the barrel which gives it a solid second point of attachment combined with the peg on its other foot which fits in a hole on top of the barrel.

It looks like its shouting while shaking its fist, seems really angry about something

The barrel has great wood grain detail, and what looks like a label, I would like to find the ordic runes to write "blasting powder" on it. I like the idea of using the written language in the setting rather than english.

The Swashbuckler is a new light Warjack based on the same Chassis the Buccaneer uses.

The body is noticeable larger than the old buccaneer, and the detail is amazing. All the rivets are crisp, I had a buccaneer which had miscast trails of excess metal from each one.

Very light mold lines on the body, mainly running down the smoke stack.

Just like Scallywag the hip part is separate unlike the old Buccaneer kit.

This kit shares the same legs as Scallywag. They are quite thin which makes pinning them quite hard.

I do think its worth pining them even if it means accidentally drilling right through the leg. You can always cover up the hole with some greenstuff.
Pining them really ensures their stability

The mold lines running down the centre of each leg are the worst on the whole model, especially down the tubing on the back of the leg. They aren't a deal breaker, they will likely take only a few minutes to fix.

The arms use the same upper arm parts as Scallywag, which attach to the torso using a large ball and socket joints. This gives it some pose-ability that the old Buccaneer kit lacked.

The cutlass looks awesome! Just a slight mold line down the back of the sword here, its a great piece.

The clamp! I really like the look of this weapon, with its built in gun. 

The face for this Warjack has a menacing look which really suits it.

Rahera is a new Warcaster, she is both a Mercenary and a Cryx caster. I intend to play her as a Merc (not interesting in being the undead bad guys)

The sculpt for this model is incredibly detailed! Its a bit intimidating to think of painting this one... 

Her dread locks hang down the front of her armour and down the back either side of her arcane turbine. Hopefully I will be able to paint them so they can be seen.

I had not seen a view from behind of her before I got my hands on the mini, I had assumed that she would be wearing a great coat of some sort. When I saw the fur cloak I was pleasantly surprised, it will be a nice painting challenge to paint the fur, and to pick what colour to do it in.

Its hard to see on a bare metal mini, but there is a pistol in a holster on her hip

Her sword has some really nice rune carvings on it. I think I heard that she uses the blood magic used in Cryx

It has a lot of notches showing its wear or age.

Her axe has a wooden handle with nice grain detail and more runes carved into the axe head.

Her leg has a really interesting triangle type attachment point, doing a dry fit I really got the feeling this would attach really well and not need pinning.

Over all she has hardly any mold lines of note at all, and the ones she does have are tiny and easy to clean up. Awesome mini!

As a piratey bonus I also have the Mini crate Gastone model which fit the other stuff I'm reviewing so I figured I would add it in!

The hat!!! PP really should sell these separately they would make a ton of money. Look at TF2, people love hats!

I'm not a huge fan of his dinky little daggers, nor the fact that a model based mainly around his gun has a pose with him holding two daggers... thats just my issue though, it goes back to Siege1's sculpt with him holding his hammer instead of his huge rocket launcher.

Really neat skull and crossed bones on his shoulder armour, really like this addition it will make a nice contrasting detail when painting him.

The main body is really nicely detailed as well, as you would expect from a mini subscription service. I really think he will be a joy to paint!

His arcane turbine is pretty big! Much bigger than Rahera's by comparison. 

And here they all are all pinned and assembled!

I hope you found this look at these minis helpful and you found my thoughts about them interesting. I will be aiming to take a look at some Steelhead releases next!

I also made a video version of this review which you can find here.

Its a little experiment I'm doing to see which you all prefer so I can make better content for you all going forward!

If you have any feedback don't hesitate to contact me and let me know your thoughts, I value you taking the time out of your day to help me improve.

Riot Quest Reviewed

I finally got my hands on a copy of RIOT QUEST!!! 

I watched with envy as people got theirs at Gencon where it was pre released. Some of them even painting them up already.

So here is my look at the contents of the starter box and the minis that come with it, I hope you find it helpful.

Here is the game board, or rather paper. To keep the cost of the starter set down they chose to use a paper board. While I'm not super happy with paper boards for games as I find they get tattered quite quickly I have heard that they are selling neoprene mats soon.

I have also heard that there will be more arena's which will play differently released eventually which will be pretty cool to see. I've heard rumours of a ship and on the corpse of a dragon!

There is a lot of fun detail in the arena, I'm just hoping the gloss effect from the printed paper doesn't make it too glaring when I try to record/stream a game.

All the tokens are on one sheet, they are bright and colourful which fits nicely with the games 

Unfortunately one of the biggest tokens had some damage to the protective layer

The cards that come with the game are bight and colourful as well and being very well printed. The card stock they are made from does feel very thin to me and I will be putting them into card protection sleeves for sure.

They are exactly the same size as Warmachine stat cards.

The dice are specialist for this game, I have heard they are the same as used in Privateer press's other game Monsterpocalyse though

So on to the minis!

This is Sir Dreyfus, the storm knight. This is a really nicely detailed mini with very few minor mold lines, interestingly the arm holding the shield is made from resin (the only resin part in the whole box)

The model fit together very well, but as anyone who has been following my blog for any time will know,,, I will pin him anyway just to be sure!

As a Cygnar player I have been looking forward to getting him. Even if I had no interest in Riot Quest I would likely have picked up the set just for him.

Bamfist's sculpt is lovely and has really crisp clear details and I think it will be fun to paint.
He does have a nasty mold line running down the armour plates on his legs and through his raised arm, though these are easily removed with some time filing.

Everything will be pinned even the top knot of hair!

This is the 5th model of Eiryss PP has made, and I like how visually they are all tied together with similar equipment and clothing.
The cape she is wearing is very well done with the detail going deep behind her head and to her sides.
The back of the cape would be a great place for some freehand for those with the skill for that!

Gubbin,,, ah Gubbin the crazed little gobber. Such a characterful model with tons of little details, including a cartoon like round bomb which will be getting painted black (though this will be hard as its hidden behind his ear)

Great quality model this one and it will likely be the second of these minis I paint (Being a Cygnar player I sort of have to paint the storm knight first...)

The tiny zippo lighter is an awesome little detail which really finished him off nicely.

Dez is huge, as is her bazooka.
This mini has virtually no mold lines or issues at all. Its a really stunning mini which will be a joy to paint I think. I like how the back of the bazooka looks like it has recoil dampeners

Here she is next to a steelhead... she really is huge!

And here's Dreyfus. His hips and legs have weird proportions... in my "head cannon" he will be Cygnars first and only attempt at a voltaic powered clockwork solider.

Here they all are fully pinned and assembled!
I had a little trouble drilling into Gubbins and Eiryss's arms but I got there in the end. I imagine most people won't need or want to pin them, but I don't like the idea of them breaking mid game and ruining their paintwork.

Have you picked up Riot Quest yet?
I'm really looking forward to getting a game of it and will be featuring it on my various ways to share with you all (Twitch, Youtube and here on my Blog)

I will post pictures of them once I have them painted, which would you be most interested to see?

Hope my thoughts on the starter set were interesting and happy looting!

 RIOT QUEST!!!