Relic Knights: Model Extravaganza Pt 2

More Relic Knight models, assembled!  Some of these were assembled last time but I either had horrific photos of them or forgot them in the first batch.  This time I had an actual camera to take photos with and I can tell the difference. See you after the jump!

Relic Knights: Quality of Miniatures

Just a quick post here, folks, to talk about the quality of the miniatures.

I'll be blunt.  I don't care for the resin-plastic hybrid material that Soda Pop used for Relic Knights.  It is a royal pain to clean mold lines, correct curves, and fix positions.  But my dislike of it originates from when Privateer Press started using it, so take that as you will.  The resin-plastic stuff just eats fine detail for whatever reason.  And looking at Kisa's ridiculously thin staff and a finger on one of the Novitiate models, it's also not good for thin details.  But neither's metal or polystyrene at the thicknesses we're discussing here.

That said, I've seen worse miniatures and I've seen better miniatures.  Heck, with any large miniature line you're going to get amazing gems and real stinkers.  It's like Ted Sturgeon said: 90% of everything is crap.  The models that were converted over from metal/resin seem to have fared the best though, having assembled Iron Chef and Princess Malya in both plastic and metal/resin.

Do I wish Soda Pop and CMON used a different company to produce the models?  Yes, I wish they'd gone with Wargames Factory because those guys do amazing work in polystyrene (just check out the plastic models for Malifaux), even if I'm paying a little bit more.  Because let's face it; gorgeous miniatures in plastic are still going to be cheaper than paying for gorgeous miniatures in metal.  Oh and let's not forget that plastic is far easier to customize than metal or resin.

The only real complaint I have with the sculpting is that sometimes anime faces turn out looking like little gray men.

Edit: I erroneously attributed the production of Malifaux's plastic models to the Plastic Soldier Company.  It is actually Wargames Factory, though the Plastic Soldier Company produces some nice stuff too!

Relic Knights: Model Extravaganza Part 1

Well, I figure I should share some models I've completed since receiving my Kickstarter goodies.  I apologize in advance for the photos; my phone's camera was all I had available to shoot pictures with.  It's image heavy, so see you after the jump.

Relic Knights: Some Assembly Tips

Well, having gotten into some of the small and complicated models (particularly Ameliel the Void Herald and the Royal Wrecker), I'd like to share some important tips for assembling Relic Knight models.  Because they're not exactly simple models and rival the Infinity model line put out by Corvus Belli in terms of complexity and madness.

• Test out the fit before you glue anything.  I don't mean just testing what needs to be trimmed to make it fit.  I mean clean off all the obvious flash and test fit things to understand how the model goes together.  This is extremely important for the Royal Wrecker model because you have to assemble it from the inside out to get things to fit correctly and you can't glue the pilot in before you get to the suit's arms and legs because you risk making it impossible to fit those parts on.
• Search for reference pictures when assembling and cleaning the model.  This is because there are some seriously non-obvious parts that get used in a few of these models.  You'll be wondering where something goes until you see it on a picture.  For example, I forgot the Broadside model had a lower jaw for the cannon's skull face until I looked at the box art again.
• There are parts that are not visible in the photos that you will need to use.  Examples: the Broadside has a control post that's generally hidden from view that goes between the handles in the gunner's hands, the Royal Wrecker has a part that links the suit's lower legs to the main suit body, and Relic Knight Candy has a small airfoil that goes on the mecha's rear thruster.  I only figured these out by examining everything and checking where the parts go.
• Plastistruct PlastiWeld is invaluable for cleaning up those tiny burrs and bits you get with this material.  It also has a general smoothing effect on rough areas like ones left by filing.  It only really works for very tiny bits, but it works to smooth things out.  Don't expect it to glue the resin-plastic hybrid though.
• Epoxy your models to the bases if you are using the base inserts, because the bond between the model material and the styrene of the base insert is not very good.
• Above all, be patient and work in good lighting.  Some of the mold lines are extremely subtle and you'll need good light to spot them and work them out.

That concludes this short blog post.

Relic Knights: First Impressions

First of all let me apologize for not putting anything up here in awhile.  I've distracted the last few weeks, whether that be illness or new shiny things.  One of those shiny new things is Relic Knights, which arrived (for me) back on June 20th.  It's been almost two years since the Kickstarter ended and I know a lot of people are very upset it's taken this long. My own enthusiasm waned over time.

Strangely when I got the shipping notice, I found myself checking the status of delivery every morning.  Clearly I was more excited about it than I'd thought I would be.  I'm still assembling everything and will be for some time since I had put in for five out of the six factions plus a lot of extras.  Granted, one of those factions was the one my brother wanted, but I'm still left with four out of six.  Anyway, I thought I would share my thoughts so far.

Review: Double Cross

This will be first of a series of reviews covering Japanese RPGs that have been translated to English.  The second will be Tenra Bansho Zero, and the last in the series will be Golden Sky Stories.

When Double Cross was first published in English, there was a limitation from the Japanese publisher that there would be no PDF version.  Only printed copies.  I'm glad to say that when I was researching this review that I found out that the core rulebook is now available in English Language PDF (the first supplement is also available in PDF).  I am happy that F.E.A.R has allowed the PDF to be made because it means the game is now accessible to a wider audience.

And wow this was a long and complex review to put together.  I am going to space things out a bit by reviewing the Double Cross Advanced Rulebook and Public Enemy supplement before getting to Tenra Bansho Zero, which looks like it'll be just as long of a review...

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition

Another post I dredged up from my game store blog.  With 5th Edition looming, it seems appropriate to look back at what people consider a disastrous iteration of the biggest name in RPGs.

Review: Mystic Empyrean

Mystic Empyrean is a role-playing game produced by Level 99 Games.  There is an iPad app, but I wasn't able to review that since I don't own an iPad.  It's available in hardcover and PDF as well, though I'm not really sure on the availability of the hardcover.  The game itself is fairly interesting, but you'll have to read the review if you want the dirty low-down on it.  There is a lot to absorb, and I'm only covering what I feel are the important points.  You can find the free demo rules at DriveThruStuff.

Mongoose Traveller

I actually wrote this for my game store blog back in May 2012.  I'm reposting it here because I need filler at the moment.

Use It Or Lose It

I guess I should actually use this thing.  For what purpose?  Well, I have about 2000 tabletop RPG books between PDF and print editions and I should do something with them besides let them collect dust.

So how to review things that encompass a wide variety of stuff?  Rules should be judged by how character creation works and then using the example characters as a way to look at how the system works.  Plot and sourcebooks are going to be arbitrary, since they're very much a 'Your mileage may vary' type product anyway.  All I can really do is talk about the good parts and bad parts as far as I can see.

To a lesser degree I play miniature games, and those might pop up here once in awhile too.

Stay tuned.