Akara (mounted) and Troodon from The Drowned Earth

A few weeks back I took a look over the Bondsmen Faction starter box from The Drowned Earth miniatures game; but that was not the only thing that James Baldwin (owner and creator of The Drowned Earth miniatures game or TDE for short) had sent my way. But I didn't want to drop everything into one big article. 

For part two I thought I'd grab two of the four packets (yes... there is more to come) and take a closer look at some more from this original apocalyptic setting.

Persephone from Veiled Lamp Miniatures

Today on GMR we are taking a look at a new product from a new company run by a very well established artist in this hobby.

Sebastian Archer is up in the highest echelons of artists; when we think of inspirational characters, Seb is definitely one of them. I have known Seb now for what seems like an age. I started my Journey into the display side of the hobby way back in 2012 when I first found the WAMP forum which you can find at www.wampforum.com. Back then I was simply painting gaming miniatures and through meeting the guys on there I was shown a whole new world. Seb was one of the members always showing amazing paint jobs and sculptures and this was indeed inspiring. He has sculpted many of his own miniatures and lots more for other ranges more recently sculpting a lot of the Twisted Game range he started with Peter Overton.

Now Seb has begun a new venture launching his own brand Veiled Lamp and the sculpture that has launched the range is called Persephone Enters the Underworld.

Persephone if you do not know is the Queen of the Underworld and the Wife of the God Hades. She is known as the goddess of Spring Growth. Her parents are Zeus and Demeter which makes her husband her uncle as Hades is the brother of Zeus.

Hades drags Persephone to hell to become his wife but Zeus made Hades give her back. Due to Persephone eating a single pomegranate seed in hell it prevented her release completely, so now she spends four months in the underworld and comes out in the spring.

Sebastian has taken this Greek mythological character and produced his first bust for Veiled Lamp.

What does it look like?

Well let’s see...

Kuri from Black Crow Miniatures (updated March 28th)

Black Crow Miniatures are becoming quite a regular thing here at GMR. Yes, it is true there has been a couple of releases between the excellent Hlin Dwarf Shieldmaiden figure and this new bust. But we can't review every release from a company. But the new Kuri was just too good to miss taking a look over.

Manticore from Atlantis Miniatures

Here at GMR we often swap from display type products to gaming products and today is one of those days.

Atlantis Miniatures have been around a few years now but I don’t see many customers showing off their kits, so I contacted Dan Jacks, the owner and sculptor of the Atlantis Miniatures range and asked if he would like us to promote his brand. Dan being a very cool guys and a good friend in the community, he was all too happy for us to put a review together to aid in showing the community what Atlantis Miniatures is all about.

So today I am going to start by showing off the Manticore from the mythology range.

When assembled the kit stands and a very nice height of 125mm and a wing span of 160mm. Sculpted for the wargaming size of 28-32mm, Dan has not shirked on the detail. If you take a close look at the pieces you can see he has sculpted the fur really well, and this will translate into the paint work as he has left so much scope for any level of ability whether beginner or master level.

The scales and tail of the scorpion parts are perfectly done too and they are not just smooth they have texture too so again you can go nuts on the details if you wish. The bat wing membrane again is so packed with detail you will not be sorry to have purchased this kit.

I do not usually assemble review kits as I usually like to store them away in boxes. But for this series of reviews I want to show the kits on the bench and not just in parts so you get the full idea of what Atlantis kits are about.

Let’s take a look at the kit before we get the glue out...

Bondsmen Faction starter box from The Drowned Earth

"The Drowned Earth is a skirmish scale tabletop miniatures game where brave heroes and villains risk the dangers of the wilds for glorious riches and ancient technology!"

I met James Baldwin a few years ago at a painting class and our paths have crossed a few times. Each time we discussed getting a review together for his tabletop game and miniatures called The Drowned Earth. But every time, life happened, things drifted, and well...to put it simply it didn't happen. Until now that is.

A Moment in Time from El Greco Miniatures

Today I return with my first actual review of the year!

It has been a troubling time for us all recently with all the negativity going around the world, so it is very nice to be able to immerse our-selves in this marvellous hobby of ours to escape from the daily grind. I am happy to be reviewing my first ever purchase from El Greco’s own branded range.

If you have been living in a cave or just do not know about El Greco Miniatures, they are a store based down in Cornwall (I say down because I am waaaay up North) where you can find many of the awesome miniatures from all across the world. Especially historical subjects.

With Brexit hitting the UK, and it seems Europe too (specifically on shipping costs etc), I recommend you look at using UK based stores such as El Greco Miniatures and Mr Lee's Minis.

Today I am looking at the resin 54mm kit A Moment in Time 1755. The First Nations history is something I have a very deep interest in. I have a very dear friend over in Canada who is Full Blood Cree so I have an emotional link to this genre too.

While looking for a kit from El Greco, A Moment in Time was a clear winner. So let’s take a look at the kit and see what I thought about it.

The kit...

The theme of the kit is two scouting characters, which I assume are Iroquois warriors, that have happened across a clock sitting in a shallow brook. One of the characters is crouching down and looking at the clock and I can imagine he is pondering on how it arrived at its location and who it could have belonged to. The other is stood up looking into the distance with possibly the same thoughts on his mind.

The kit is cast in resin. Scaled at 54mm and is sculpted by Alan Ball with the box art painted by Marion Ball.

On opening the delivery package I can see that El Greco has put some thought into the presentation of this kit.

    

Painting Secrets for Fantasy Figures book from AMMO by Mig

Last year I took a look at the Encyclopedia of Figures Modelling techniques Vol.0 from AMMO by MIG book as a warm up to this; the first book in their range aimed at the fantasy miniature painting market. This isn't the most recent title in the range but it's still relevant to the subject of painting incredible looking miniatures for our collections.