First Grenadier completely finished...

Orcnar Unmann Product Review

I am Unmann, You are Unmann, We are Unmann 

Hot from the forge and on the trail of the splendid Britanans comes the first of the Orcnar releases - The Unmann. 

I got 6 of them a few days ago and they're already assembled with their first coat of paint :P A clear indication of how easy these guys are to get to grips with.

The models themselves come in packs of 3, 3 different poses and 3 different left arm variations giving a total of 9 possible variants. Minimal clean up work on these with only a few noticeable mold lines. One chunky pin in the armpit and a bit of green stuff and jobs a good un(mann). Admittedly some of the arms work better with certain bodies than others but they all definitely fit nicely. I would definitely say that you have to pin these models, glue alone wont hold the weight of their chunky arms and if ever a model deserved the word chunky as a description its the Unmann. When compared to a GW ogre the Unmann have much larger arms and hands and considering thats a comparison between a 30mm model and 40mm its pretty damn impressive.

The paint job of these will be a lot more straight forward than the brits due to the power of the dry brush to really bring out the fleshy tones. I will be using a very limited palette with these starting with scorched brown and working upwards. Thats not to say they lack detail... oh no... the Unmann have real character and dynamic poses and give off a superhero-e gremliny caveman type persona. Take a look yourself here - Unmann Pics

Gamewise  - For Relics the Unmann are the main bulk of all initial Orcnar armies and work in units of 3 - 6, Il cover more on the details in a future battle report...

Outside of Relics the Unmann is useful in loads of different games, sci fi monsters/aliens/ mutant experiments/ superheros/villains / you name it - and they definitely have the poses to fit into any sports type game - like Bloodbowl ;)

Il post some pics of em when they're done and Ive acquired a camera... soon hopefully. 

Just over £3 per model - £9.50 a pack - Worth the money in metal as well as quality -

Treat yourself to a pack - Here

Cool bits from the web, Exclusive Tor Gaming preview

Two questions keep popping up this week - both of a different nature but both arguably equally important -

1) Why is it perfectly acceptable and believably real in a dream to be aboard an alien spacecraft being chased by demons, yet as soon as I realise that I don’t happen to own the kettle in said dream I am rudely awoken? (the mind is very strange)
2) Where do all Barbies clothes go?


Right so now your wondering what the significance of those questions are right?

Lucky for you there isn’t any! That’s just a small insight into my head (Be careful poking around in there…)

Anyway lets get back to the topics at hand - minis! In short a few cool things I’ve spotted on the web this week -

- Scibor minis have a nice looking 28mm war bear out - very mean looking
- Dwarven Forge have an up and coming Ruins Terrain set that looks very tasty ( will look ace with Relics ;) )
- The SS Hell hound from Darkson Designs is just too cool
- Iron halo have some great new base insert sets out that are perfect for Relics, Malifaux and PP Games
- World works games have teamed with Malifaux to produce the Terraclips scenery range - these look brilliant and very well priced too
- Oh yeah and the best bit so far this week - My Unmann just arrived in the post!! I'll be drilling and greening later for sure… (full review coming soon)

Thats the cool stuff in short as judged by me... oh the Hordes expansions are looking incredible, do I expand my Skorne or my Orboros? My wallets having a good sob at me... Damn you games producers.... /me shakes fist

If you've read this far you may have noticed I'm having a bit of a random day, I'm rushing to be honest , I can barely contain my excitement... Im not even gonna explain - here he is....

I bring you the greatest threat mankind has ever faced ( well sort of) - meet the Orcnar Eotan! or the big lad as I like to affectionately call him, hes available soon from Tor Gaming and your gonna love him - I'm not saying to much yet just enjoy this exclusive preview of him. pssst 40mm base!!!

Im taking a break now to assembly my Unmann models - I'l be back shortly with more exclusive previews from Tor Gaming... and also some stuff from Soda Pop minis... all exclusive... all here... 

Enjoy... Geronimo! 

Britanan Troopers and Grenadiers Product Review

 Being one step ahead of all things minis related I was obviously going to have my name on the pre - order list for these bad boys.

Initially impressed with the greens and then fully wowed by Atacams superb paint job I knew I had to have some. I managed to aquire 9 troopers and 6 grenadiers all at just under £2 a model - at such a reasonable price I was happy already. But what was in the packs? Were the models really as detailed up close as they looked in the picture? Anything not quite right about the casts?

OK first thing all the models came carefully packaged in packs of 3. You get 3 bodies, 3 heads on sprues and 3 gun arms on sprues for the troopers - the heads are completely interchangeable but the arms are all set poses - so all in all your left with 9 possible variants straight out the pack (handy that I got 9 right?) - The Grenadiers are slightly different - 3 bodies, 3 seperate heads, only 2 guns (ones already attached) and a really fiddly looking bit of cloak for one model (Don't worry it does initially look awkward to attach but on closer inspection its perfectly cast so only a minimal amount of greenstuff required), so again 9 variations available for the Grenadiers.

the number 9 will be very significant in Relics one day... they're coming...

Oops I nearly said too much... again. 

Anyways lets get down to the assembly part. The metals good quality, soft and easy to work with and the casts have minimal mold lines. The heads of all the models have got a fair amount of weight to them so definitely require pinning, I drilled mine down about 1/2 inch each way so Ive got a nice sturdy join. A small amount of green stuff was used to fill the few gaps in the join but its not entirely necessary, its a matter of taste and how thorough you intend to be with the paint job.  The arms are a little different and you could probably get away with just a bit of super glue, still theres enough room to get a pin in there so you can make them all pretty hard wearing if you want. The cloak is the only fiddly bit really but again super glue alone should hold it, there ain't enough room there for a pin so I reinforced mine with green stuff.

On to basing - the tags on the Brits are pretty large and at first I was a little unsure as to how well they'd fit the bases, I decided on building up green stuff around the base to give it more depth so the large tag actually became an advantage. You could always remove a chunk of the tag but I wasn't brave enough to do so as I thought I might weaken the peg legs.

So thats the assembly part over... well not quite... a models never really a model until its based and undercoated! :p

 OK a bit of sand and a spray and we're ready to go.

I opted for a slightly alternative colour scheme, replacing the tan "skin" that Atacam used with a light jean like blue ( Red , White and Blue) and missing off the yellow details ( not my favourite colour) on the trim.  Be warned these models are incredibly detailed and painting the stitching can be a real ball ache, Im lucky to have my good friend Paulius EL Fliddo Majic Fingers Esquire on hand to help out with the fine detailing, if not for his assistance I might have opted for a simpler scheme to cover any mistakes so its worth being aware of your own abilities before you put paint to brush.

Game wise - Having played a few games of the quickstart rules I am favouring the grenadiers over the troopers as they are the heavy hitters at the moment, the troopers make up more the bulk of the force. This is all reflected in the points so if you want a fair pointed army straight away id go for more Grenadiers than troopers, although if you prefer horde type armies then bulking out on troopers is the way to go. 

Outside of Relics and alternative uses - well the size of the Brits makes them an obvious candidate for alternative dwarfs/ halflings , Rhulic Warmachine players could make a tasty looking unit from Brit bits :p you could easily swap out the heads and add in whatever you fancy from any range, also the heads themselves fit comfortably on larger more human sized models so the possibilities are only limited by your own twisted imaginations:P Also another possible use is for alternative Malifaux pieces, I may even make some Bayeux Gremlins using Britanan bodies myself...

Well I think Ive covered everything so far and to sum up they're basically just cool to have in your mini collection whatever game you play, the minis are well priced and they're on the same level as PP's high standard, these are the first of many options for the Britanan forces and will be the main foot soldiers for the majority of armies, there are plenty of other goodies on the horizon to really expand the range properly...

Time for me to Hush Hush for now... I do believe my Unmann are in the post right now and Il be sure to mention all the little details about those here soon.

Thanks for reading and be sure to head over to the official Tor Gaming Page for more info on Relics and the puppet army of mad King Jorje... yh thats right mad King Jorje...

An Introduction

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, interplanetary creatures of all ages, lost time travelers, tyrannical warlords and their minions, tree dwelling spirit folks and everyone else I may have overlooked. Welcome to my random thoughts and perusals on the fine art that is Tabletop Wargaming - In this blog I will be covering everything from rules systems through to fine painting and conversions as well as world building and the effort that goes into plucking a concept from thin air and turning a lump of metal into a piece of art for you to paint and game with and possibly spend hours staring at (before and after paint is applied).

Don't be confused - I'l try and make it as simple as I possibly can.

First up I should explain that my intentions are to promote all the things that are cool about our hobby covering a wide range of minis lines and rules systems -

It should be noted though that my main topic of conversation initially will be concerned with the brand spanking new, cutting edge whimsical world of RELICS by TORGAMING 

Relics Main site

Relics Forums

If you haven't heard of it the links above provide a wealth of information to get started with, if you already know then good for you. your already aware of the next BIG THING!

Relics really is a passion for me right now and I am a contributor to the fiction available as well as having a tiny prodding stick in the development area. One could argue that this makes me somewhat biased in my fan boy gushing and maybe that is so, however be fully aware that I am first and foremost a hobbyist and I'm not afraid to speak my mind when it comes to promoting or bashing any aspect of the hobby. Basically just trust me... ok?  

Also note that Ive never blogged before so this is a learning curve for me and apologies beforehand if I appear to waffle on...  

As a final thought for any existing or would be games designers out there, I love writing fiction and the process of creating worlds and settings, so feel free to PM me with any upcoming or existing projects that require fiction writers - I will always reply to every mail received -

Thanks for reading the first chapter of my new journey into the world of blogging - lets hope I make it good ;)  Cheers - Dangel