Weekly WIP 2022-04-10

by Tyler Provick · April 11, 2022

For anyone who took “two weeks” on the “how long will he update the blog for” pool, you came close, but better luck next time.

This week screamed past, but I did paint nearly every day, so that’s good.

Ariadna Para-Commando

Para-Commando front
Para-Commando side
Para-Commando back
Para-Commando Flatted
Para-Commando green rendered
Para-Commando armour and weapon rendered

I finished the Para-Commando, the last miniature from Corvus Belli’s Operation: Crimson Stone box. All that’s left is to paint the bases with their obnoxious “tactical rocks” and varnish everything.

I did enjoy painting the Para-Commando. He was a relatively simple model so I spent some time detailing the paint chipping on his armour panels.

Conquest Konungyr

Konungyr finished, front
Konungyr flatted
Konungyr skin, pants and blue rendered
Konungyr fur rendered
Konungyr cape rendered front
Konungyr cape rendered back
Konungyr leather rendered
Konungyr gold rendered

Splintered Brush gave me this model for a Secret Santa but I needed a break from Conquest so I only started it now. Conquest is an interesting line of miniatures. It’s a mass-battle game which some very interesting mechanics but the sculpting is a bit crude, a fact made more obvious because the miniatures are 38mm.

I find it hard to speak about the quality of these miniatures. It feels like if I don’t say they’re the best I am saying they are the worst. However, they are suitable. Even that sounds overly critical but it is the truth. They are ok. Some are better than others and there is a clear improvement from their earliest miniatures to their current miniatures. These miniatures are the work of young journeymen, not masters.

Conquest Trolls

Since I’ve painted everything I had purchased recently, plus something from my backlog, I had the pleasure to purchase my next box of minis: Conquest Trolls for my Nord army. I’ve only just assembling them but they are certainly reinforcing my views on Para-Bellum’s quality. They’re ok but they have a few areas where a really competent company would have made different choices.

Generally these are “multi-pose” kit in name only. Heads and arms can be swapped but the way the arms connect to the body is pre-determined. This gives a worst-of-both worlds where the separateness of the arms is apparent without creating a wide variety of posing.

The standard is the worst part of the kit. It’s 4 pieces if you don’t count the arm it connects to, with three parts connecting to each other without positive registration to make sure they fit. The 4th part, which doesn’t need to connect to another else, does have positive registration but doesn’t need it due to the shape and large connecting surface. The hand sculpted on the staff is so high on the staff that it’s impossible for the standard to be held straight. Instead the top must be canted far from the body, making it prone to tripping and interfering with the tight basing of the game, or, if you are clever, it can be tilted towards the body, with the butt sticking far off the base.

Like much of what Para-Bellum produces they are fine but could be much better.

I’m looking forward to getting these Trolls assembled and painted so I can return to painting Infinity