Sunday 28 April 2013

Godslayer Miniature Review

I ran across Godslayer by Megalith Games while they were running their Kickstarter recently. Unfortunately I wasn't able to seriously back them, but I was so taken with the miniatures I had to get a couple to paint.

Godslayer is a fantasy minatures skirmish game, that is set in their own world of Calydorn. To steal from their website:
"The world of Calydorn is the stage upon which plays the epic drama of GODSLAYER; a bronze-age world of sword and sorcery; steeped in the ruins of ancient civilizations, where the borders of myth and reality blur. Classical empires clash, spear and shield, in contest for cultural dominance; brutal barbarians command the skies astride the backs of giant avians while slave-caravans wend their way across endless deserts with their cargos of the conquered."
 What particularly interested me were the Halodyne faction, a basic port of Ancient Greek warriors into their world. I've always liked the look of the classical Hoplite infantry, and I like to branch out now and again to keep my painting varied.

So, I backed the Kickstarter enough to pick up the Halodyne Demarchon and Sanctum Priestess.

I'm pleased to say they arrived recently, and I thought I'd put together my thoughts on the models, in case anyone else was interested in buying some.

Both models came in ziplock bags, one with the model and parts, the other with the relevent game cards. While not as fancy as the clam shell blisters that most other companies use, I had no problem with the packaging, as lets be honest most of it goes in the bin. The models came well protected in a padded envelope so the lack of additional plastic blister wasn't necessary.

On opening them up, what was promised in the online pictures became reality as the models were as beautifully sculpted as the pictures implied. The models were a bit smaller than I expected, they are advertised as true 32mm scale, but I think I'm so used to painting "heroic" scale 28mm models that I lose touch with realistic sizes. Don't let this detract you from the models though, as they are wonderfully dynamic in their sculpts.

The models are in metal, something that is becoming a bit of a rarity these days. Personally I don't have a preference between plastic, resin or metal, but I realise that some people do.

Both models came in a number of pieces, and they went together well, with no more preparation work than you would expect from any other company. Mould lines were obvious, and for the most part in areas making cleaning easy. A couple though were in areas of small detail, which was unfortunate, but just took a bit more concentration.

Because it seems I am slower at writing blog posts than I am at painting, I've managed to finish the Demarchon in time to show you a finished model!

  

I am really pleased with the final result. I had intended to try non-metallic bronze, however I didn't feel confident enough so instead used a combination of traditional metallic paint and NM shading. The skin toning isn't quite as smooth as I'd like, but it is better than some of my previous attempts. I also want to put a few more touches to the base, but I'm not sure what yet!

I certainly intend to take a look at the Godslayer Quickstart rules when I get a chance. I'd like to pick up a few of the other models in the range as well, but my painting pile is big enough right now, it might have to wait.

Anyone looking to buy into Godslayer, from the quality of the models you would be daft not to. Not that I do ratings on my reviews, but if I did they'd be up there with the best.