A New Look at Some Old Friends

Friday, December 11, 2015

With the January release date for The Rusty Dragon Inn right around the corner and everything entering "pause" territory for the upcoming holiday, I don't have any new figures to show off for this week's Pathfinder Battles previews. I DO, however, have a few new images of some old friends to show off, so in the holiday spirit, I thought I'd share a look at actual final figures from December's Pathfinder Battles Iconic Heroes Set 4. (These figures hit the Paizo warehouse too late to go out with December subscription shipments, and will be fulfilled in late-December/January.)

WizKids has continued their tradition of providing amazing paint jobs for the entire Iconic Heroes line, and Set 4 is certainly no exception. Below, I've outlined the six figures in the set with "final" photographed images of the actual release figures. Sometimes, zooming in super close on figures like this has a way of highlighting some of a figure's minor blemishes, but overall I think these photos are a good representation of what you get in the box.

Let's take a look!

First we've got Crowe, Human Bloodrager, from the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide. Crowe puts the "show" in Shoanti. Did you know superstar Pathfinder artist Wayne Reynolds based the look of Crowe on his own Pathfinder character? While I have little doubt that Wayne could produce an absolutely KILLER paint job on a blank Crowe figure, I also have little doubt that there is only Wayne Reynolds, and we can't all be great at art. For the rest of us, Iconic Heroes Set 4 does all the work, resulting in a beautiful figure.

Our first crack at Lirianne, Half-Elf Gunslinger, came in the Skull & Shackles set. While I adore the attention to detail and fine points of the costuming on that figure, I was never quite satisfied with the way Lirianne's face sort of fell into the overall composition, leading to a somewhat compromised miniature altogether. I'm pleased to report that Iconic Heroes Set 4 does away with compromise to present a figure that is awesome from top to bottom.

Next up is Hakon, most famous for being the iconic skald in the Advanced Class Guide, but more beloved to me personally for being the brother of the greatest Pathfinder RPG character who ever lived, Ostog the Unslain*. Hakon's face tattoos and eye tampos look better in hand than under the unforgiving magnification of digital photography, and overall I'm very pleased with how he turned out. He works great for any kind of axe-wielding warrior, and I can see this piece getting a lot of use at my table fighting with or against the player characters.

By my eyes, this figure turned out the best in the entire set. Here we have Jirelle, Half-Elf Swashbuckler, again from the Advanced Class Guide. Jirelle has a remarkably complex costume, so I've always been a little concerned with how the final figure would turn out. I needn't have worried. She looks fantastic.

Although the straight-on angle of this photo makes it difficult to see, my favorite thing about the Shardra, Dwarf Shaman figure is its three-dimensionality. I think this is the best dwarf we've created for Pathfinder Battles so far, and the morningstar/censer combination makes her great for any kind of ceremonial dwarf—a race that always stands on ceremony.

Shardra would feel quite lonely without her spirit animal Kolo, a rambunctious rock lizard. Perfect for use as a familiar, animal companion, or even just a random lizard in a subterranean encounter, Kolo has a message on its little scroll that says: Beware! I kick ass.

And that's it for Iconic Heroes Set 4! I'll be back next week with one more preview for 2015, and after that, we'll all have visions of brand new minis dancing in our heads!

Until then, I remain,

Erik Mona
Publisher

*Not guaranteed.