Showcase - Ron and Bones

Hey all,

So i got a snow day today and didn't have work. Early update! No game review yet (that will probably be next week with regards to "Ron and Bones") but i can say with confidence that i painted up some pretty cool miniatures for the game. Thought I would show them off since my classes got pushed back a week.

First of all the four miniatures i will be showing are all from the Tales of War Miniatures.
These guys make some pretty cool minis. They are certainly not limited to their Ron and Bones Pirate line. They have good selection of many different genres. Just keep in mind that some of the really cool looking minis are 54mm scale and not suitable for most table top games (unless you still play "Inquisitor" but then who really does...?)

So first up are the two figures you will only find in the Ron and Bones starter set, Melinette and El Antillano. All bases on the miniatures i created with simple basswood and Elmers glue.

One thing about these miniatures is that i didn't want to paint them at first. They have been sitting in my drawn since November. However, once i started painting these guys i had a TON of fun painting them. Particularly on these two i tried a variety of different techniques. I used a different skin tone composition than i usually do and i also used a new non metal metallic technique i learned ( i will put up a separate post on these techniques when i research them more and get some test pieces).  Sadly i could not get a good picture of El A's sword which is what i used the NMM technique on. Melinette actually comes with the Barrel.

Next up is Toruk-Te:

Toruk-Te here was a lot of fun to paint. He was the first one i used the new skin technique on. I also used another blending technique i only use when i try really hard, both techniques were taught to me by Brushmistress (once you see HER blog you might not come back here...). I wanted to do something unique with his shark so i painted it up to be a tiger shark. I'm decently pleased with the result. Toruk wears the shark because his tribe believes it makes them invisible and stealthy, you don't see the man, only the shark.

Finally we have my favorite one, Erika Crabby.

Talk about a dynamic miniature. She was amazingly fun to paint and had so much going on she really defied pictures. Shes one of those miniatures you don't appreciate until you see it in person. Erica is put on board a ship and comes with a cache of hand trained ninja crabs, which, in my opinion, is pretty frickin' cool.


Tales of war Miniatures: my impressions. 

These guys make some solid miniatures. They pic a theme and they do it up. Best pirates for your buck, you can find any type you want and quite frankly i want a few more... They are great fun to paint and go well with relatively simple bases since each one has so much going on.

There are a few drawbacks to how these guys do things. The first and most aparent to me came while cleaning the models. The mold lines are NOT in good places. Erika had one across her face, Melinette had a few across her hair ( a personal bane ), they just seem to pop out at you when you don't want them too. Also since the miniatures are so dynamic, there are a lot of fiddly pieces. Stuff that is hard to glue together and stuff that will easily break. You can't really pin it either since the joints are so small. Finally these guys are based overseas. Thus the miniature prices are a little high and its tough to get em.

Problems aside you definitely get bang for your buck with these guys. Good solid dynamic sculpts that make you remember why you started painting. I definitely recommend this line.

Coincidentally my benefactor seems to have accidentally ordered two of everything i have painted (starter set plus Erika and Toruk), so if anyone has any Relic Knight stuff i would be more than happy to do some trading (I really want to paint some of those guys from Soda Pop Miniatures).

A plan of future of reviews:
So a week from Sunday i hope to review the Ron and Bones game proper. And within the next few months i will review a new game that is being released by a personal friend of mine will be reviewed: Pocket Kung Fu (I am this games biggest fan-boy so be excited about this!).

Peace out till next time,
Steve (MDX)