Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lego Lord of the Rings Mines of Moria


So I got a Lego Lord of the Rings Mines of Moria set.  This set like all the Lotr sets is pretty pricey.  It is probably better called Balin's Tomb since that is the part of the Mines which all these parts are from.


Here are the fellowship members for the set.  Pippin, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas are found here.  With the currently available Lotr/Hobbit sets Pippin and Boromir are still only found in this set.  The picture did not really capture the printed details but here is a close up of Gimli.

You can see that the helm has some nice printing on it.



One of the main construction features is the barracaded door.  Pretty interesting construction but like the rest of the set uses to many stickers as opposed to printed parts.


Here is a Moria Orc leading the Cave Troll through the door.  The troll has adjustable arms and turning wrists.  You also get 2 Orcs to fight with the fellowship members.


This is the other main piece.


It can separate into parts and has levers for crashing down the columns along with revealing the treasure chest in the center part.


The set also includes the well and skeleton for Pippin and Balin's coffin which has lever action to knock the top off.  You get two skeletons but they could have used helmets or beards or even armor to make them more interesting.


This set along with a Gandolf Hobbit Polybag completed my fellowship of the Ring so they can defend the tomb as a team.   Ofcourse I am very short of enemies with just the 2 Orcs and Troll though.  The scale of the set is actually pretty good.  The battle was in a pretty tight space.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Reaper Bones Images


This is a picture heavy post showing off the Reaper Bones Miniatures that I got for Christmas as a sort of example for my real present which was the kickstarter.  So I got 11 minis shipped for about 27 dollars.  They are not probably finecast level of detail but 11 finecast models in these sizes would probably run like 200 dollars.


Here we have a size comparison against a standard GW Black Reach Sergeant marine.  You can see the knight is smaller than the marine but the Bugbear is larger and probably more terminator size.


Detail on the knight is pretty good.  Sword is slightly bent.


Backside of the knight.  Lots of chain.



Here is a dwarf.  I think that his head is very big which makes the scaling vs the knight sort of strange but GW has these problems also.


Here is a minotaur.  This a multiple piece model that they have already assembled before shipping.


This guy must lift weights.


The detail on the ogre's belt is sort of weak.  Not really clear that this is a mammoth.


Werewolf Face.


He might want to shave that back.


Bugbear has fair facial details seen here.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Reaper Bones First Impressions

I got a pack of reaper bones minis for christmas as a preview of my real present which was their kickstarter package.  I got most of the models available as individuals getting 11 models shipped for like 27 dollars so about 2.50 each.  Most of the models are man sized or larger so if you are comparing to Games Workshop finecast you would be at the 17.50-20.00 dollar price point.  The pricing is lower than the Wizards of the Coast Chainmail mini line from the early 2000's which were generall 4-6 dollars for minis these sizes.

Some of the minis are multiple part but they are already assembled which I would say is a slight negative.  I can see some shiny spots where glue has leaked out of the joints which may cause issues in painting.  Also some people like to paint parts separately then assemble them after to get best access to certain areas.

In terms of detail level I do not have any finecast to compare them to.  The plastic is much softer than Games Workshop plastic kit miniatures.  It may even be softer than that used for the prepainted minis in the recent D&D miniature games.  I have some unpainted ones of those from the cooperative games and I would say the details on the bones appear as good or better than the good models I have from the Legend of Drizzt game whose models looked better to me than those in the Ravenloft or Asheradolon game.  Ofcourse all these comparisons are tough since it depends on the sculpt and personal opinion.  For me they appear quite reasonable for the cost and am looking forward to my box of them in the future.

I will take a couple of pictures in the near future and post those.