I'm very happy with the way he came out... great figure to paint!



If you care to vote: http://coolminiornot.com/259053

There are a ton of details on this figure, fun to paint but it takes up a lot of time.

Once again I am faced with the exceptional detailing on this figure: the leather book case for example has a very fine texture to it, nearly impossible to capture during painting.

I repainted the orb after my first attempt: the purple sparkles I painted on it reminded me too much of a christmas ball :) So I decided to paint it black, as it suits the figure more I think, like it's holding some dark energy. I will paint all the gems on the figure black, like the one on the pendant.

Finished the cloak of The Keeper earlier this week, and today I tried to introduce some color into the figure with some glazes. Since I'm not a glazing expert, I somewhat failed to achieve what I had in mind, but it made some of the blendings a bit smoother. I know the cloak still looks rough, but I like the effect anyway.

The skin got some glazes of the base coat with some violet and bright skintones mixed in, the cloak got some burnt cadmium and beige. Yeah my glazing skills really need work, I should use the technique more to get more practice.

Got some more work done on Myrianna, the rest of the cloak is finished, as well as the hair and I did some basecoating on other areas. I'm now probably going to continue with The Keeper, he's mostly done but has a lot of tiny details left.

I'm currently enjoying my holiday with my family at the seaside. I planned to work a bit more on the reviews I promised, but the internet connection we have here is really terrible.

But anyway I did quite some miniature painting already, for the first time in 3 months! I'm working where I left off: Red Box Games. Did some more work on Yrsa and The Keeper, and started on Myrianna, the figure you see below.

I decided to experiment with a technique I never really used before: wet blending. For those who don't know this method: it's basically mixing your shades and highlights on the figure itself. By doing this your blends will be very smooth, but it's a hard technique to master. But I feel I am improving very rapidly so maybe this will be the painting method I will use in the future.

So far I did the face and the back of the cloak. ..

Red Box Games is Tre Manor's own company, but he's probably better known for his work at Reaper Miniatures. The somewhat simplistic website offers links to an out-dated greens gallery and the shop. The shop itself offers only pictures of the greens, don't expect any casted figures or painted ones.

There are five factions to choose from, all of them pure fantasy. Aelfar, the elves, has quite some armored fighters, but also some spearmen, a rogue and mages. The dwarves are called Dvergr, in my opinion the least interesting race. Most of them look alike: covered in fur, heavy helmets and big shields. But there are some nice surprises, such as Dodgy Drexel, a small rogue, probably the tiniest figure of the range.

Yes they are tiny. This is true 28mm scale, a rarity in most modern miniature ranges. I will talk about this more, but first I'll take a look to the remaining three races. The Helsvakt are savage warriors which remind me a bit of the old Drunes by Rackham, complete with some druid mages. The fourth race are the Njorn, a bit similar to the Helsvakt, but they also contain some features of the Aelvar. Their overall theme reminds me a bit of the ancient vikings.

Finally there are the goblins, Red Box Games' most recent race. This also contains the huge Bloodmaw and Horsebane figure: a goblin mounted on a bear, probably one of the most spectacular figures of the entire Red Box Games range. Now that we have got to know the company and its miniature lines a bit better let's get a closer look at some actual minis.

The minis are got are these: Yrsa the Accursed, Olsvalter the Aged, Myrianna of Aelfheim, The Keeper. All of these are priced at 8,99 USD, which is fair price I think. All figures are shipped in their own zip-lock plastic bag together with a base. The figures I got were all one-part, except for Olsvalter: the owl on his back should be glued on. The bases are quite small, a lot smaller than the average round base actually. Once a figure is mounted on there's hardly any place left for basing, except for some regular sand. I strongly advice to base them on a bigger base for additional room.

I already told you the figures are small, and they are extremely detailed as well! Actually the sculpts are some of the best I have ever seen! Each figure is full of character and the entire figure has received a lot of attention. Just take a look at the closeups below and I hope you understand what I mean. And yes, that's my index finger in the background :)

There is a lot of detailing on the figures: weapons, scrolls, familiars, trophies and a wide variety of magical items, they are all sculpted on with the same amount of care. Sometimes this can make a miniature look busy, but here it just looks right. There are plenty of bare areas left, don't worry.

Casting was very good. Some mold lines here and there of course, but nothing really serious.

Here are the figures lined up, ready to be primed. I'm really going to enjoy painting these for sure!

Pro

• great, dynamic sculpts with a lot of nice details
• good price
• no unnecessary assembly
• true 28mm

Con

• supplied bases are small
• only a few races
• 28mm, they might look small when you want to use them in a game with other figures
• online store only shows the greens

Conclusion

• Some of the best figures I have ever seen. Characterful, extremely well sculpted and very detailed. These gorgeous miniatures are really made to paint up nicely, and they're a challenge to do so too. Money well spent.

I decided to start painting the two figures which belong to the 'HelsVakt' race. I think they are perfectly suited for an alternative skintone, so I used a mix of medium skintone and dark grey. And like I thought those Red Box Games figures are a blast to paint!

A while ago I got some Red Box Games figures, and I remember being almost speechless when I opened the envelope and studied these small wonders one by one. These are some of the finest figures I have ever seen... I will not spend more time praising them now, you will get a full review of them soon.

In the meantime, here's a very early work in progress of all four figures I got, ready to be primed: