We're now less than three weeks from the January 23rd release date for the new Shattered Star set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted fantasy miniatures! So far we've revealed nearly 40 of the set's 55 figures, but a little math will tell you that from now until the release date, we've got to reveal a decent number of figures to show them all off before you can buy them yourselves in the store.
So let's go off to the races!
We've previously revealed the Medium and Large Fire Elementals, and the Medium and Large Water Elementals. This week, it's time to reveal two more elementals, leaving only two more for future previews.
First up we have the Medium Earth Elemental, a rocky bruiser erupting from the ground to smash some hurt onto the heads of your player characters. Painted in dark browns and grays and with glowing red eyes, this figure is a pretty typical example of its kind. Cool green crystal formations along his arms give the Medium Earth Elemental a distinctive look. The whole figure is sculpted in clear plastic because we originally wanted to leave the crystals completely clear, or slightly greenish tinted to match the colors on the original art for this creature, which first appeared in the Bestiary Box. Much to our surprise, versions of the figure featuring a pearlescent coat of green paint over the crystals actually looked much better than the clear plastic, so as in the case with some of the other elementals, we decided to go with paint over clear plastic. This surprised me (I thought we'd prefer clear), but in this case a huge consensus of Paizonians agreed that the painted crystals simply looked better.
But all was not lost for lovers of clear plastic! We used the mold for the Medium Earth Elemental as the basis for the Lava Lurker figure that's part of the ongoing Pathfinder Online Kickstarter Campaign. That figure is very much clear, with red tints that make him look like, well, he lurks in lava.
Bigger is often better, and that adage is certainly true when it comes to earth elementals! Behold the Large Earth Elemental, a dude you definitely don't want pounding you into the dirt (but whom you may wish to summon to pound someone else!). The coloration on this figure is very similar to his Medium counterpart, only at a size pushing the very top of Large, he's significantly more intimidating. I love this figure's wide jaw and expressive face. You can almost hear him shouting "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"
The Medium elementals in this set are at the common rarity, while the Larges are rares.
I'm going to hold on to the Large and Medium Air Elementals until a future preview. They are also awesome, but I don't want to over-elementalize you guys in one sitting. I'll leave that for when you open your own boxes of the Shattered Star set and start assembling your own elemental armies!
Instead, let's take a look at two more Large figures from the Shattered Star set!
Up next we have the Glass Golem, a figure with such a complex paint scheme that it was one of the very last to be completed (and thus my cruddy iPhone photo will have to suffice for the moment). As the Shining Child from the Rise of the Runelords set and this set's elementals have taught us, "clear" figures are among the trickiest to get right in the painting stage.
Simply casting the figures in clear plastic never works, as important sculpt details vanish without proper shading. Painting over the clear plastic completely has proven to be the correct option in a few cases, but it always seems like a bit of a disappointment and a copout. The best solution, as Goldilocks certainly knew, was to get the paint balance JUUUUUST RIGHT. In the case of the Glass Golem, we wanted not just a neat clear effect, but something that actually looks like glass. After several tries, we finally got the balance right.
Last up this week is the cantankerous Fire Giant, a mean old brute ready to hack you apart with his crude sword. Thanks to drybrushing (and a little bit of clear plastic peeking through here and there), this guy looks like he burns with an inner fire. His face and fiery beard are very expressive, and will make him stand out among his other giant kin.
That's it for this week! Next week we'll take a look at some more key NPCs from the Shattered Star Adventure Path!
Also next week, we'll reveal additional details about a special convention-season promotional repaint goblin figure that we'll be distributing throughout 2013! Backers of the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter Campaign at the Goblin Squad level and above will get a certificate to receive this figure FREE at Gen Con. So come on back and check it out, this is definitely a figure you will not want to miss!
See you in seven days!
Erik Mona
Publisher
