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.