knightnday's page

Well, an automatic 3 stars just for not being unrelentingly dark in color. There are nice silvers, greens, blues and golds on this mini.

This is all the good.

The sculpt isn't one of my favorites. The sword is, of course, a flimsy noodle that stays bent up. The shield is .. serrated? I'm honestly not sure what it was going for, but it didn't work for me. The mini is in a black body stocking, near as I can tell, that goes all the way up her neck. That or her skin just wasn't painted there. The face doesn't look very nice to me.

Overall, it stays at 3 stars and is just OK.

More fascination with dark colors do no favors to this mini. It is an OK sculpt marred by a muddy paint job. Her sheathed sword was a bent noodle against her side. A black bow and dark brown violin just add to the dark colors of her clothing, leaving much to be desired. It is an OK mini, but I'd love it to be brighter.

Do you like black and bluish grey? Well that is what you get with this mini. An average to poor sculpt along with a dark (yes, again) paint job means a dark mess on the table. The dagger and skulls on its outfit give minimal pops of other colors, but not enough to drag this beyond a meh rating. A 2 1/2 or so mini.

Not a great sculpt but not bad either. Mine isn't hunchbacked as described in another review, but rather the bard has a lyre strapped to his back in case he loses his drum. The problem is the lyre should be painted another color as it is the same color as his vest.

Overall the face isn't bad, although as a dwarf his facial hair means there is less face to judge by; that said, his eyes and nose and mouth seem to be in the right places. An average paint job overall, and an average sculpt, that could have been better with a little love.

A nearly five star mini (let's call it a four and a half) that shows off a great sculpt and a simple but gorgeous paint job in silver and black. This mini shines -- literally! All the spikes are sharp so be careful. The only thing that would make this sculpt even better is if it were dynamic instead of just sitting quietly, like you might see with the gargantuan chromatics. Nevertheless, this is a great piece and I'm glad to have a good dragon in my collection.

I like this mini, despite the average rating. I'd have liked to have seen the armor a little more bronze so that it pops and the dark legs and loincloth (or whatever) don't do it any favors. But the weapons are not floppy messes and are actually meaty and substantial. The face is OK -- nothing spectacular but gets the job done -- and overall the piece does it what it needs to do. A good job with a bad paint job.

I'm very happy to have this miniature available and my only real complaint is one that has cropped up on this set -- it is just too dark! A shade or two lighter on the fur would have made this a five star mini; it is darker than the image on this page would indicate, nearly as dark as the saddle. Still, this is a great riding dog and a sorely missed piece that I am glad to have in my collection. A great sculpt that just needs a little lightening up.

A three and a half star mini that can sub in for any number of characters -- I'm not sure I'd immediately think "cutpurse" if I saw him. The sword and dagger are a little floppy and need to be straightened, and his face is adequate. His hair is a bit too dark which tends to draw the eye away from his face and you lose some details, but thankfully he wasn't clad in all dark clothing. It is an OK utility piece that can sub in for PCs and a variety of NPCs and isn't bad, but isn't extraordinary either.

A three and a half star mini, really, given that it can easily sub in for a player character or Varisian. The sculpt itself starts out good, but is a little weak in places near the face and hands. The gold of the earrings and bracelets gets lost against her skin tone. However, the face isn't bad and the miniature is actually tasteful and well colored. A good utility piece.

An average mini that manages not to be too dark. The pink on the inside of the mouth is a nice touch, as is the holes/tears in his shirt. The face is a little hard to make out, which is sad because the miniature is very dynamic, looking as if it is rushing the party. The grey skin as well as light colored shirt make it easy on the eyes and allows it to stand out a bit on the table, especially in a tomb-like setting.

A four and a half star mini really, brought down by dark colors again. Still, the sculpt itself is very nice and the tattoos on the arms and chest are amazingly well done. The shading on the blues is nice and it is a shame that the clothing is just blobs of black. And his staff -- see how it isn't a floppy mess? -- this is what I'd like to see on all characters who have weapons! A nicely done sculpt with a bit of a dark problem but overall still well done. The tattoos are an added bonus.

A good piece that I'd have actually pegged as a rogue rather than a wizard. It suffers from the "we have a lot of dark paint, let's use it all!" style of painting that seems to be going around. The eyes are fine on the mini, although the mouth is hard to see. And for a gnome is sure isn't very colorful! Hair is mundane, robes are dark and so on. The sculpt and pose are fine, and its utility give it an average rating.

Well, the good news is that the skin color is a shade lighter so I can make out details on the face, which looks fine -- eyes and mouth in the right place and all that jazz. The rest of the mini that isn't skin is a mass of dark, with only the quiver not being a shade of black. It just all blends into an unpleasant mess but the mini is functional and I can see its face, so it gets to get an average rating.

I wanted to like this piece but I really can't. The face is a mess, and the eye patch doesn't do it any favors. You get two colors for this mini -- blackish armor and brownish skin in very few cases. Not to go on like a broken record but there needs to be more than DARK as a color. The mini just sort of does nothing on the table and is a lump. To round out the cons is the limp french fry thing of a sword -- far too thin, it bends and doesn't come across as a sword but more like a flag or something. It's not a good look. Overall this is a one and a half star mini that needs some serious repainting, resculpting, and a real sword.

Another nice piece that gets an extra star for being able to fill many roles, including that as a player character. His face is not too bad, although his mouth isn't strongly defined but the muttonchops are a nice touch. The colors are alright, although I could use a bit less dark browns -- seriously, lighten up the colors! It' OK! In any case, a good utility player for your collection.

Overall not a bad piece, but not wonderful either. A very limited selection of colors -- blue, silver, whitish, flesh -- and that's all there is to the piece. Most of the head and face are hidden but what you can see doesn't look too bad. That thing on his back over the cloak -- not sure what to call it -- but it is ugly and should go. It looks like he's got a weird growth. And he suffers from Floppy Sword Syndrome, as another noddle-like weapon is included. I'd have preferred it a bit thicker and even connected to the base so that it wasn't bent. An OK piece, but nothing extraordinary.

A solid three and a half star mini. The colors are nicely applied and the silver on the tankards pops out well. The face on the mini is well-done and there is nothing wrong with the mini, it's just an average piece. Worth having for your bar though!

The march of dark on dark on dark painting continues with the ghoul champion. The skin color is a little lighter than the ghoul monarch here, but after that we've got little else to liven up the mini other than the white on the skull. What I can see of the mini is fine, nothing remarkable, and instead of one very limp stick-thing that minis often have, he has two. These seldom work out well and tend to look all bent up. I'd love to see things like spears and staves slightly more rigid so they don't come out like bad noodles. An average mini brought down by a dark on dark paint job.

*sigh* Can we get a moratorium on dark on dark on dark minis? While I realize that some characters wear black and have dark green skin tone, you've got to give us something to focus on. What you can see of the mini is OK, but the face is hard to make out any details on at all. The three silver pops are a good start but this needs something else to help it. And to wrap up, the right arm is at a weird angle -- I though it was broken till I looked it over better. If dark colors don't bother you then this is an OK mini, but otherwise you're players are going to wonder what they are facing.

An overall average to good mini that gets an extra star due to utility; this mini could easily sub in for an alchemist NPC or PC for example. A decent job on the sculpt and painting, although I wish the vest and belt/pouches were in two less similar colors so that each was distinct. The face is done well and has no problems.

Ratfolk rejoice the kirrix is here! While it loses a half a star mostly for not having the exaggerated whiskers mentioned in its entry -- although in fairness they'd have broken off in the box -- this is a good entry and perhaps indication that a rat mount is on the way? This mini is mostly black with color on the muzzle, paws, ears and tail and a burst of dark red in the open mouth. I'd have liked to see some highlights done in the fur to relieve some of the overall darkness of the piece, but it is still well done.

A HEAVY miniature, I'll say that right off the bat. I could tell when I got my second one by the weight of the booster. Don't drop it on your foot! The colors are very nice, with shadings of browns that make it less of a lump on the table and allow it to stand out. There is a brushing of white from the bottom of the head down the chest on the feathers, a nice touch there. Like others I'd have preferred a different pose, but not enough that it bothers me overly. the face is very detailed, better than most humanoids that we see. A great owlbear mini!

Another average mini with OK but not stellar paint and sculpting. What is there is fine, with the eyes appearing in the right place and the colors nice and whatnot. It does its job and nothing more.

The is the definition of average in a miniature. The sculpt is OK and there isn't a lot to it. It could use some other color besides orange, although there was some shading and dirtying up on the robes. The mystic chose an orange cloak to go with their orange robes; I assume bugbears aren't good at fashion choices. The face is OK, although some detail is lost. I got four of these in my purchases and they all are the same, so the consistency is there, it is just average is all.

A well-done mini from the mold to the colors, with no bleed at all. The details are picked out well -- the skull and crossbones on his head really stand out and the parrot is distinct and well colored. His face is a delight, with a demented smile. No problems at all with this one, and he'll fit in with any pirate crew.