Wednesday 13 January 2016

Blood Rage Fenris

I received my copy of Blood Rage in September, I backed the kickstarter project and it came in on time. Ironically, I then left it untouched for three months, treating it as a xmas present to myself. Over the holidays I managed to get in a couple of games and it plays really well. The rules are well laid out and easy to understand, there's even a youtube video to give an overview. It's quick to pickup but there are plenty of different strategies to try, so I reckon it could become a staple xmas game for the future.

As a boardgame then, it's pretty good, but the main reason I bought it was to acquire the miniatures. I knew upfront that these were to be pvc, not plastic or resin. This means plenty of value for money as pvc minis are cheap, but at reduced quality - the miniatures are less sharp than plastic or resin. I was keen to paint up a test figure and went for one of the larger monsters to speed up my test.

Cleaning was reasonably easy with a sharp knife - there are few mould lines to contend with. I was worried about the primer sticking to the mini as it seemed quite shiney, so I carried out a little test. The wolf I painted with some watered down liquid green stuff, the boulders I left bare, out of the box. The result? Absolutely no difference whatsoever - the primer and paints took to both sections in the same way. So for future painting I know not to bother with the extra step.

Painting I stuck with my usual techniques. On this model I did quite a bit of drybrushing on the fur and it worked well. Washes and glazes performed well too. The model does lack a little of the sharpness I am used to in quality plastics, but it doesn't worry me too much. Base coats, glazing and drybrushing have yielded a decent result. My next test is to try painting up the gods, a range of more typically man sized figures. Five of the six gods included in the game are shown here, primed and washed. To my mind these would also make excellent character models in a fantasy/semi-historical warband.

7 comments:

Lee said...

I also really enjoy playing this game and like you left it to Xmas and found the whole family enjoyed playing. Your painted figure looks great and I'd like to paint some myself. Especially the monsters since they have so much potential for other games. However, I'm concerned about varnishing and wondered if you'd experienced any problems with varnish failing to cure (remaining sticky). I painted some of the rubbery weeping angels for a DWMG scenario and made the mistake of varnishing them. They are still sticky more than a year after being painted! It has put me off bendy/rubbery plastics. I know others have painted and simply not varnished.

Engel said...

Excellent looking miniature. It reminds me that I should really start paintings mine...

Nord said...

Lee, this figure has a coat of matte varnish and it's not sticky. I use vallejo matte varnish - I use it all the time to make up glazes, it acts as a matte medium and flow enhancer all in one, so a lot of my figures get varnished as I paint. I sometimes also use it neat (painted on with an old brush) as a final coat, as here. No problems as yet.

Stuart Bannister said...

That's a really great result, on what I think looks like a fantastic miniature - I really can't see it looking inferior to a regular plastic sculpt at all. Must be the quality of your painting. Are the miniatures available to buy separately?

RogueMind said...

Looks great, for a speed paint. I think majority of the people bought this was mainly how good the models looked. Still waiting for mine!

Nord said...

Stuart, it's not inferior - it's well posed and nicely sculpted and the detail is there for all to see. It's the sharpness of the details that lack slightly. Not a problem to old timers like yourself, well used to the softer sculpts of yesteryear, but definitely different to the sharpness of modern day stuff.

Naiconn, surprised you are still waiting, I thought they had shipped everything several months back. Might be worth getting in touch with them. Hope it turns up for you soon.

astrochelonian said...

Loved it! Absolutely loved it. Now you made me want to buy Blood Rage minis. If I ever go bankrupt, it's your fault :)

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