Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Malifaux in plastic!


A week or so ago a nice brown box landed on my doorstep. I was unsure what it was, but as it was addressed to me I figured I should open it. Turns out it was a cool preview/review package from the guys at Wyrd Miniatures, makers of the very popular Malifaux and its lesser-known cousin Puppet Wars. Inside the box were some samples of their cool new plastic models (above), alnog with some packs of their new colored bases. While not really my style, these bases could certainly work well for many gamers when basing their particular factions. Oh, and did I mention they're plastic? Hard plastic, not plastic resin, in a similar style to the plastic sprues from Mantic and the latest sprues from Wargames Factory.



Like many of you, I like big robot suits too, so the first box I broke open was LAZARUS.


Inside I was pretty surprised to see how it was all packaged. The hard plastic sprues were unlike any I've seen before and certainly not what I'm used to (surrounded by a plastic frame, for a start). Also included in the box was the unit card for the game, and a set of assembly instructions.


Four small sprues of hard grey plastic pieces, and one sprue of soft blue plastic cables. I assume you could save these until after you've painted the rest of the model and glue in the "glowy" bits, much like the green rods on Necrons. Or you could just as easily include them in your build an paint them another way.



The second box I opened was Willie the Demolitionist and there he was, all on a small sprue, much like the way GW are offering many new plastic character models. Also included were his base and unit card.



There is no doubt that Willie is nice and finely detailed. Check out those small bundles of dynamite!


It seems the sprues are also designed to be stacked in the warehouse, much like the sprues from Wargames Factory.


The Willie model was just so dynamic and characterful I just had to put him together.



Finally I took a look at the Dark Debts box. After the two different sprue presentations in the previous boxes, I was unsure what to expect (although I thought there might be multiple sprues), but upon opening I found all the parts of the Dark Debts models on one sprue.





The sprue certainly had the feel of a GW special box set (like Dark Vengeance and Space Hulk) about it. Obviously everything has been digitally sculpted and then digitally sliced apart to be arranged on the sprue in the most efficient manner. As each model really only goes together one way (although there are a few options for one of the Illuminated), it was cool to see what could be done.


I couldn't help myself, and had to clip a couple of my favorites from the sprue. Jakob Lynch (on the left) consists of seven parts, and a full ten parts go into the making of the Illuminated model on the right!

Initially I feared that the detail might be a bit too soft, much like the first few offerings from Wargames Factory a few years ago. It seems, however, that Wyrd have been able to push past that initial learning curve and jump in at what I would consider the "quite crisp" segment of the digital-sculpting-to-miniature spectrum. The details aren't as crisp as you'd expect from GW, but then again, GW have invested vast amounts of time and money to get to where they are now. For first offerings these are certainly some VERY impressive pieces.

Even if you don't play Malifaux (or aren't interested in playing) then you can always pick up a few of these sets as they release and incorporate them into your other gaming!

EDIT/UPDATE: Here area couple of other reviews of the Malifaux plastics
Viruk's review on Independent Painters
GentleBen's review on Bell of Lost Souls

Cheers
Dave

18 comments:

  1. I've got to say they do look rather tempting, pretty sure I could think of a use for the Demolitionist at least.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to see what you did with Willie, Mr Awdry.

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
  2. Dave,

    You mentioned the similarity to Wargames Factory's offerings of plastics in your post a few times.

    According to the Dreamforge Leviathan Kickstarter main page, "Wargames Factory’s parent company is also responsible for the sculpting and manufacturing of the new plastic Malifaux line by Wyrd Miniatures."

    They are the ones doing the Leviathan kits for Dreamforge as well; so, it looks like the quality should be there for those kits too.

    I have a few of the kits that you reviewed and concur that the quality is outstanding. I am really impressed with them. The difference in quality from the big players to the small is quickly vanishing.

    I look forward to the day when I can by the design and/or license and print them at home. That day is not too far into the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi CBH,

      I missed that comment on the Dream-Forge Kickstarter, thanks for clarifying. I wonder how many years it'll be before that first mini license is sold?

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
  3. I've also recently put together a few of the new plastics (wrote about it on my blog yesterday) and I do like them, really great stuff. I'm currently working on Hanging Trees and Miss Terious (11 parts counting the coffin).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Viruk, if you don't mind I'll link to your review from mine. Seems our reactions were pretty similar.

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
  4. Not at all, feel free to share it. I'll also add a link to yours since it has some excellent pictures too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great unboxing article!! I love plastic!! ... so another brand to follow.
    Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  6. Do you know what plastic in these miniatures are made? ABS? polystyrène? other? same as GW plastic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They appear to be very similar to the GW plastic. Slightly lighter in color, but otherwise...

      My Testors Model Master polystyrene cement works on them just fine.

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
  7. They are ABS plastic, just like a Lego :)

    You should give the game a try Dave. It is alot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Geoff, I barely get enough time to play the two games I do know. Starting another might just be a bit beyond me. However, the success the Wyrd folks have had with Malifaux shows that it is filling a void in the market very well. More power to them, I say.

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
  8. They are polystyrene, ABS will not glue with testors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the clarification Mark. And congrats on the Kickstarter!

      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
    2. I got the information from Eric John's Blog on the Wyrd website (He is one of the Malifaux creators.) Johns later 'fesses up that it is a mixture of ABS and high impact polystyrene, instead of pure ABS. He also discusses the reasons for the switch from white metal and the search for the right material to take its place. An interesting series of posts. Take a look.

      Any solvent cement will work to some degree on ABS. it is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene after all ;)

      I feel the time pinch Dave. Getting the band together for a gig...not as easy as it used to be. Malifaux is a blast though. Keep it in mind if you decide to look for something different from the grimdark.

      Delete
  9. Dave, how about showing us Lazarus once he's assembled up against a GW mini?

    ReplyDelete
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