Looking Back... At The 2nd Century AD

Taking a break from the modelling desk, I recently decided to take a visit to the British Museum in London.

Wandering through the various ages I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the Roman section, I'd wanted to look at some of the Roman armour that is on display there. However while I was there I made an interesting find, some ancient Roman miniatures which I thought I share.

Mars

Mars, un-armoured

Moorish cavalryman

Now if these pieces were listed on a well known internet auction site I'm sure they'd be described along the lines of, LOOK!!! RARE Roman Miniatures LONG OOP (Incomplete, see description).

The two figures of Mars would have originally have been carrying a spear and shield. Made from bronze they're both beautifully detailed pieces. The Moorish cavalryman, identified by his hairstyle and beard, has of course has lost his horse but again has some really nice details.

And finally, before Iana dragged me off to look at one of the museum's jewellery collections I managed to grab a photo of some early Roman figures. Not as detailed as the ones above but they still have a certain charm and remind me somewhat of the lead miniatures of the early 1980s!

Anyway these rather tenuously leads back to the present day and a game and range of figures that I've been watching. I've always wanted a collection of Roman gladiator figures to paint and when I first saw Arena Rex back in early 2013, featuring detailed resin gladiators, I was blown away by the initial sculpts.

In the end I didn't actually pledge for the initial release as I didn't feel there was enough detail on exactly how the final miniatures would look. I've been following the project ever since and as more information came out I'm kicking myself for not committing. General release looks to be mid-2014 and I'm hoping I can get hold of them here in the UK. Until then I might have to dig out an old Citadel pit-fighter...

Kickstarter: Many Ways To Spend My Money - November 2013

I've recently been spending a bit of time searching Kickstarter for a miniatures or gaming project and thought I'd share a few finds.

In my experience when looking at in the games category there tends to be a mix of smaller companies and indie projects and then there's the established companies who are using the platform to generate pre-sales for a project they would have done anyway. While there's nothing wrong with this I want to focus on those smaller companies and their projects.

First up is Journey: Wrath of Demons a first time game by a Hong Kong based company, Marrow Production. Now I have to admit the subject area isn't something I'd normally go for but seeing the resin miniatures they had to offer certainly got my attention.

It appears that these miniatures will be 1:35 scale and the resin models will feature in the higher funding options, they really do look good! However in the standard game option the miniatures will be plastic although Marrow Production did post that they would be similar in quality to models produced by Dragon, who will be familiar to the military modellers amongst you. I don't know if that means they have an arrangement with Dragon or not, but it certainly sounds promising.

Next up is Aliens vs Predator, the Miniatures Game  by the English company Prodos Games. What can I say, Aliens, Predators, Colonial Marines, in resin. Who could say "no" to that?

They're 28mm scale models and as with the previous project, they look outstanding. For the purpose of this Kickstarter the figures will be polyurethane resin before switching to plastic for general release. However this Kickstarter seems to have had a shaky start. Numerous complaints about being overpriced, too little in the box, all stretch goals being paid for add-ons and so on. But I have to say, £75 for (at the time of writing) for 20+ aliens of various sizes, 3 predators, 5 Colonial Marines, all in resin would seem like a good deal for figures alone!

So which to choose? I've been going back and forth between the two, the one thing I do know, my model budget is only going to allow for one.

If I want a complete product, both miniatures and game then it's probably going to be Journey: Wrath of Demons. Marrow Production have a done a fantastic job of showcasing both the game and the miniatures in such a way that I want to play it. I want to learn more about the setting and experience a game that I wouldn't have normally considered.

Prodos, sadly, haven't yet showcased their game system (although they say they will soon) and so I can't say it feels like anything more than a collection of miniatures. But what miniatures they are! As an Aliens fan I've been waiting a long time for figures like this.

Tough choice...