A few weeks ago, I was in London for work and got a chance to stop by The Orc's Nest, a little gaming store just off Shaftsbury Avenue. Among the many fun items on the shelves, were a batch of the newest Bones releases from Reaper. I have only minimal experience with Bone miniatures. I have been somewhat put off by their kind of rubbery texture and that fact that the weapons within the packs often look badly bent. Still, I thought it might worth giving them another try. One figure, especially, jumped out at me, an Elven ranger who looked like he would fit in well with the Dunedain I had recently painted up. Considering the soft nature of the Bones material, I thought I might be able to cut the figure off its integral base and mount it on a GW base, so it would fit in with the rangers. Well, for a mere £2.50, it seemed worth the risk.I am pleased to say, working with this figure was a terrific experience. I was able to easily slice the figure off its base and remount it. Now they claim that Bones miniature don't have to be primed, that paint will stick to them just fine without it. I am curious if that's true, but in point of fact, I much prefer to paint over a black base instead of a white one, so I went ahead and primed the figure.
I took my time with the painting, doing my best to match the colours and treatments I used on my Dunedain. While white, rubbery bones material tends to make the detail on the figures look soft, I am happy to report that's not actually the case. The detail is very crisp - perhaps not quite as crisp as metal, but not far off. The only potentially bendy element on this miniature is the top of its bow, but it looked fine, so I didn't worry about it. (Apparently bends can be fixed by reshaping in hot water).
Anyway, I recently finished him up, and I've got to say, I'm very happy with results. The miniature really fits right in with The Lord of the Rings ones, a perfect Elven ally for my Dunedain. After this experience, I'll definitely be paying more attention to Bones.
Agreed a really nice figure and lovely subtle paint job.
ReplyDeleteWow! That turned out great!
ReplyDeleteWe've shaved a lot of bases off Bones figures to stick them on more appropriate bases - for a particular games or to fit in with a particular unit.
I've had reservations about the bones models for many of reasons you cited. After your review and having a look at your photos I think I'll have to give them a try. Nice looking model and a great match for your LOTR rangers.
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated note I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a question about Frostgrave? I'm eagerly awaiting the release and have started on a terrain project to represent the frozen city but was wondering what the architectural vibe is. Should I be trying to simulate medieval ruins or something else? I was considering something out of antiquity and would appreciate your guidance.
I am somewhat vague on what exactly Frostgrave looks like because I wanted players to feel free to use any terrain or design their version to suit their tastes. In my mind, it is mostly stone, with lots of towers and gothic architecture, but different parts of the city could look pretty wildly different.
ReplyDeleteThat figure was one of the stand out ones from the first Bones Kickstarter - your paint job is much better than mine though!
ReplyDeleteStu
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