I loved Malifaux. I like how it uses cards instead of dice and that it is a skirmish game with multiple objectives to achieve during the game. But most of all, I ADORE the miniatures. Wyrd produce miniatures with exceptional character; just by simply viewing a Wyrd miniature it tells a story.
My favorite faction was the Neverborn and, in particular, Pandora's crew. These guys are, essentially, demons that walk amongst people, disguised as innocents. In reality, they are twisted evil natures of innocence lost (typified by Pandora herself - Pandora's box, anyone?).
Actually, the Neverborn are misunderstood; almost 'noble savages' if you will. They do not like the fact that the humans are encroaching on their territory and they want to scare them away (or outright kill them...).
Anyway, enough fluff, lets see some models!
They are actually computer rendered models, rather than hand sculpted. There are pros and cons to this, of course. Lets ignore the loss of things done wholly by human hand (this is happening through all walks of life) and instead focus on the models themselves (though, it still takes a lot of human skill to render a model...).
One of the problems of this method is that the detail is not as deep and, actually, they had some early problems with featureless detail. Fortunately, this has now been mostly sorted out and the detail is good (still not as deep as hand sculpted, but it is not an issue unless you paint with crayons..!).
However, the models look gorgeous! The scale is much easier to control using this method and you can get some superb poses and some much better definition to fingers and other thin parts. This is a double-edged sword though, because it makes the models very brittle in places.
Anyway, lets take a closer look at some models.
First up is Pandora herself. This model is so much slimmer than the previous model (and I like it a lot more). Her feet are a small surface area to attach to the base, which I anticipate as the problem area here. Overall, a massive improvement on the old pandora (which, to be honest, was a bit manish...).
Candy was a great miniature before, if a little flat. This new mini solves that as it is not flat at all (in fact, none of the new miniatures suffer from flat appearance that plagues some metal ranges). She has lost a little of the evilness though (the original had a pair of scissors behind her back) but the miniature is still brilliant. As Pandora, her legs are thin (though totally in proportion) and the contact with the base is small.
Baby Kade is quite a bit different from the original, though no less sinister. The original was carry his teddy and had a knife behind his back and a truly evil look on his face; a great mini. This one is not as overtly sinister but is equally as disturbing.
This one is more baby-like with excellent proportions. He has pinned his teddy to the floor and looks like he is about to start performing an autopsy on it using a knife. This is a fairly robust figure with only the knife looking like it is able to be broken if not careful.
The original Sorrows were great figures. These are better. The poses on these are brilliant and very dynamic. They are robust too, with the only possible problem being the fingures (look at those fingers, though!). The only thing I am a little dubious about is the 'swirls of power' around the bottoms of the figures - these were extra bits that glue on and they look a little out of place from certain angles. However, I am confident that once they are painted they will look fine.
This poltergeist is a HUGE improvement over the original, which was, frankly, awful. However, I acknowledge that this one just looks like a large Sorrow, but I am fine with that as it fits into the crew better that way (and, to be fair, it acts a little like a large Sorrow in the game).
I like this model, particularly the pose; really looks like its screaming at you and reminds me of the librarian from GhostBusters... GET HER!
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| "Coooey! Come on boys! I will take you to... HELL!" |
These are Beckoners; a sort of Demonic Hooker...
The models are really great, if a little dainty with some possible snapping issues (particularly on the cane).
But, again, overall great models.
To sum up, I am really happy with the new Malifaux plastics, despite some issues with brittleness. I cannot wait to see some of the other plastic redesigns and how they can continue to improve.
I especially need a plastic Teddy as the metal one is awesome (see: http://whogoesfirst.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/where-does-he-get-those-wonderful-toys.html)
See you in the next update.
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