Reaper's Craft Corner

Reaper Miniatures is such a great company. And their website really reflects that. Not only is the website a great place to buy their great stuff, it is also home to a great community forum for their customers.

They post their own spoilers, and by looking at the Greens link you can see what products are coming long before they appear in the catalog. There is a great wish list feature where you can window shop and keep a running tally of what your metal dreams will cost you when your lottery ticket pays out.

Perhaps best of all, they have a section of their website devoted to helping you learn how to paint, sculpt, build terrain--in essence, how to get the most out of the products you buy from them and therefore the hobby you are addicted to.

The Craft is a treasure trove of articles and tips and I really recommend you check it out: http://www.reapermini.com/TheCraft

03225 : Eilluvasheth, Succubus Queen

I really love this miniature, which is sculpted by Patrick Keith. I'm not always crazy about minis based on things that include terrain features, because she will have to drag that railing with her wherever she appears. But, Patrick has thought of that, and the basing is actually in two pieces so you don't have to glue her to the railing if you don't want to. You could rebase her on something else very easily.

The detail on this figure is wonderful and I think I can probably use her in two different ways. In fact, I suspect that Patrick had this in mind. The mini is designed to be flexible and comes with two different hand options. One holds a sword and the other a long whip.

I'll use it as intended and swell the ranks of my succubus swarm, putting her together exactly as the illustration.

The place on the back where her wings come through her hair will be very easy to fill with epoxy and repaint her not as a succubus but a powerful drow matron mother. She'll get the whip and I'll probably rebase her with epoxy cavern floor details.

Delicious.

I can also always find uses for the spare wings and horns from the second model. Great idea to make a mini that automatically makes you want to by several more of them because of the kitbashing variety they inspire.

Patrick Keith is a great guy, by the way. I met him at ReaperCon this year and his website is really nice too. He's a very talented sculptor and I'm glad that Reaper is going to be presenting more of his work. Kudos!

03185: Bergun Sunblaze, Sun Priest

One thing that I wish WOTC would do is put out more mythoi specific priests in their mini line, but since they are geared toward the rpg improbably tabletop skirmish game, there isn't a lot of point to it for them from a business model. If they do one, they do one. Not much sense from their point of view of having 6 different poses for priests of Lathander.

Reaper really helps fill in the gaps. They can't do exact representations of mythoi specific priests from the trademarked Forgotten Realms, but each of the gods in that setting have portfolios that can't be trademarked...like the sun, for example.

This sculpt by Bobby Jackson will make a nice addition to the priests of Lathander in my world. Right now, my PCs are exploring the ruins of a temple to Lathander in Dagger Falls. If they end up taking the relics from that church, soon to be dedicated to Cyric, to a temple of Lathander for safe keeping, I'll need some Lathanderites to accept them and bestow blessings. Bergun Sunblaze will likely be there.

01420 : Pirate Sophie

Speak of the devil...or in this case, the succubus, and there she is.

I mentioned in the previous post the collection of pirates by Reaper that I've been amassing. I got this mini in a boxed set of pirate monsters, but Reaper has started selling them seperately in blisters. If you don't want the boxed set, I really recommend this miniature, sculpted by Julie Guthrie. The sculpt is magnificent in fantastic detail and a really nice pose.

As I said, I'm getting a particularly nasty mixed race pirate crew together which will be captained by Sophie here. I haven't decided if she'll have Razig's undead pirates incorporated into her crew, or if Razig and his undead pirates will be a seperate menace on the high seas. Probably the latter.

I remember seeing, some years ago at a hobby store in Staunton, Virginia, a 25mm resin pirate galleon. At the time it was outrageously expensive. I'm sure it is even more expensive now, if I could track it down, but I've got a little more disposable "hobby money" than I did 5 years ago.

Maybe I'll do a little web searching and see what I can find. If anyone out there knows of a 25mm-30mm pirate ship that is made of wood or resin or even plastic (no Playmobil, please!) then post a comment with a url or product name to search, would you?

Help Sophie and Razig get their boats floated.

02144: Eric Swiftblade, Swashbuckler

Back to reviewing Reaper Minis from my most recent shipment so that I can delete them from my wishlist at the online Reaper store.

This pirate is sculpted by Sandy Garrity and is in a really nice, dynamic pose. He's got a puffy poet shirt with some sort of amulet swinging on his neck. I love the cutlass and his pirate boots. He could just as easily be a vistani/gypsy as a pirate.

I can't really tell if he has a bit of an overbite or if that is a moustache, though. I think I might go with moustache when I get to painting him.

I don't know if my players will ever spend any time crossing the Sea of Fallen Stars, but I've started getting a pretty nice collection of pirates, so they better watch out. First time they put to sea, they're likely to get set upon by a nasty crew of pirates both living and undead all commanded by that really great Sophie the Pirate succubus mini. Arrrr.

Reaper 03239 : Krug, Hil Giant Chieftain

One thing Reaper really does right are giants. I've almost got enough of the big buggers to run the Giants series of 1E modules, and I'm really looking foward to it. This sculpt by Tre Manor is not as massive as the earlier hill giant done by Jason Weibe (14205), but they might be brothers. The club is huge and deadly looking. All the parts fit well together, but you might want to reinforce the joints with greenstuff after the glue dries. There are gaps that could use filling, especially under the right arm. I noticed very little flash, only a small bit under his fur dress.

With these really big arms, the mini is fairly top heavy and if he falls over, the arms are going to pop right off (yes, that just happened to me, which is why I mention it). You'll definitely want to reinforce with green or brown stuff, and possibly rebase him on something wider.

I just can't say enough about how cool this miniature is though, even with the minor problems mentioned above. Can't wait to use him on the game table.

At $35 he's got a fairly gigantic price tag, though. I'd strongly suggest this be one of the future plastic releases. I'd probably buy several of them if they were a $10 plastic that was pre-painted.

Man, could this guy kick Billidum's butt.

Reaper 03221 : Barrow Warden Keeper

I love this guy! Kevin Wiliams has really created a spooky contrast between the huge and powerful set of armor and the tiny skeleton wearing it. I think that this miniature would make a great centerpiece to a side bar adventure. If you knew that down the road your PCs would be facing some awful dragon or an extra-planar creature and they needed a little extra help in the form of a magic weapon and enchanted armor--instead of just letting them find it, have them kill the beastie wearing it!

Normally, I'm not that big a fan of expressive skeleton heads...bones don't move around to have facial expressions...but I don't mind that this guy has a brow ridge that makes him look really evil. It's only a hint, and mostly conveyed by shadow. To anticipate how the shadow will play on your sculpt is the mark of extraordinary talent. Kevin Wiliams, hats off!

03173 : Lirris, Female Demon

Another in the Jim Johnson demon series. Lirris is very similar to Vareesh, but with fewer clothes. They have the same thigh high boots and exactly the same wings. I found the fit of the wings on Lirris to be a little more difficult than Vareesh, which makes me think they might have been originally sculpted for the other demon. This same set of wings is in the demonic wings pack by Reaper.

At any rate, she's still a fine sculpt and I like the heads tied to her staff. The detail is very good.

Reaper 03167 : Kazael, Male Demon

This sculpt by Jim Johnson is interesting. I like the strange weapon and the pose he's in. I'll have to think a while in order to come up with a new type of demon for him to represent. Kazael doesn't look much like any of the established 2E demons already on the books.

A nice problem to have, though, too many demons. I've got a real soft spot for the Lower Planes and its denizens.

Reaper 03184: Vareesh, Female Demon

Can you ever have too many succubi? Probably not, judging by the sheer number of sexy bat-winged demonesses out there on the market. This sculpt by Jim Johnson is a little lackluster when you compare her to the many poses we've seen Reaper's Sophie in over the years.

She isn't bad, but the fact that I toyed with the idea of leaving her wings off and just making her a female fighter tells you a little something about how little this particular sculpt inspires. In the end, I decided to leave the wings on her because I didn't want to deal with a female fighter doing a Janet Jackson with the one bare breast. I have enough to explain to a feminist wife and my one female player.

Somewhere, deep in my dungeon Errtu's succubi harem are getting tired of waiting for the PCs to find the door to their room. I just hope the Pit Fiend is enjoying the delights these sultry mavens have to offer when the theif picks that particular lock and the door swings wide.

Reaper 03208 : Brass Bull

Reaper's version of the Gorgon is a joint scuplt by Bob Olley and Kevin Williams. I don't think I've ever actually run one of these monsters in a game. It might be time. They certainly are a scary looking beast. While the WOTC Gorgon from Night Below has a nice fluidity of motion implied in the sculpt, Reaper's goes for sheer bulky power and in that fight, it wins hands down. The big loser in the battle of the gorgons would be the old Ral Partha sculpt which is puny by comparison to either of the others.

Reaper 02544 : Barrow Rats

These nasty specimens were sculpted by Jason Wiebe. They are really excellent giant rats, and compare very favorably to the WOTC dire rats...I don't have a lot of use for dire creatures. In my world, dire creatures all have the same basic ecology:

While no one is certain how dire creatures come to be, whether they emerge from some extra-planer existence, are created by some kind of conjuration or alteration magic, the prevailing theory is that they were once, in fact, normal creatures of their kind but were unusually susceptible to the emanations of evil. This theory has weight given that these types of creatures are almost always encountered in areas where evil rites and magic has been practiced for many years, although it is possible that these creatures are simply drawn to such evil and not created by it. If the theory is true, it is suspected that their solitary nature is a result of having driven off or eaten the other creatures of its kind as the changes were taking place.

Regardless of how these creatures come to be, they are always a sign that not only is there evil in the area in which they are encountered, but that evil is deeply rooted and long-standing, of at least 5 years duration. The greater the number and variety of creatures in an area, correspondingly, the greater the power and scope of the evil.

As a result, I only need one dire creature of any given type.

Giant rats, on the other hand, my sewers need lots and lots of those. These guys are pretty good. The nice thing about them is that their tails are easily bended into a variety of shapes, so although the two basic bodies are going to be the same no matter how many I have, when you see them swarming, and all those tails going every which way...it is truly unsettling.

Reaper 03204 : Battleguard Golem

Sometimes I think Reaper likes to see just how close they can get to WOTC's product line without a Cease and Desist order. This is what Iron Man would look like on Eberron. Ben Seins has done a very nice and very dynamic pose for an iron or steel golem, but the head is very much influenced by the Warforged in the Eberron campaign setting.

The sculpt is not a golem in the traditional sense. This guy doesn't stand around waiting to be activated, kick butt, and go back to sleep until needed again. This miniature is designed to be some kind of player character, and not a monster. Again, as the Eberron Warforged are. You can tell because not only does it have a sword and strike a heroic pose, on the back he's got a chain belt with pouch and a little bag for loot. Only Player Characters accessorize with pockets for change...your average golem doesn't collect treasure or a paycheck, they are the perfect night watchman.

Nice miniature, all around, excellent detail--though I am not sure what I'll use it for. I think I'll have to put him in with my Warforged, and I suspect that most other people who buy him will do the same thing. Get them now if you think they might not be available later.

Reaper 02751 : Stone Golem

This figure was scuplted by James Van Schaik and runs $7.99.

It is a very solid piece of metal and looks like Frankenstein's Monster on steroids after losing a blinking contest with a medusa. There isn't a lot of detail on it, nor should a golem be a particularly detailed mini. These guys are built for their ability to guard, not aesthetic beauty. I've never understood, though, why you'd bother building a golem with a skirt. It makes little sense to me, as the mobility of the golem would be drastically reduced as a result of that solid hunk of scuplted "clothing". It seems to me it would be better to sculpt the golem nude and put some sort of ceremonial garb on it after the fact.

I'm glad to have the figure, but the more I think about it only being able to walk by swiveling at the hips and bending at the knee, the less attractive it is to me. Although, the Ral Partha Stone Golem was also wearing a skirt. What is it with these kilt wearing statues? Maybe when they activate the stone skirt becomes flexible. Weird.

Here's a question which came up in my most recent gaming session, though. If golems don't actually have eyes...are they affected by illusions? What about illusions cast through a Wand of Perfect Illusion?

Reaper 02657: Lardgulp, Two-Headed Troll

Of the two-headed trolls that are available, this Reaper miniature (sculpted by Sandra Garrity) is probably the best of the lot. I wish it looked more trollish than ettinish, but I decided that once I get it painted it will probably look ok. For me, the only true troll is the Ral Partha one from the Official AD&D collection.

The old 1E Fiend Folio describes the giant two-headed troll as a ferocious troll/ettin crossbreed. It is possible that the giant two-headed troll maintains more trollish appearance but gains the ettin's height, while an alternate outcome is that the standard sized two-headed troll doesn't get the height but has more ettinish appearance in the heads. Why these things mate in the first place, that's another mystery.

This item is no longer sold through traditional distribution channels, though it is still available online at the Reaper Asylum, and by special order from your favorite local gaming store.

Reaper 02917: Bird Man

The Reaper Bird Man by Geoff Valley, is an excellent mini to use for the Aarakocra. The 2E Monstrous Compendium entry describes the wings of the monster as being more like a bat, but I've always seen them as being feathered, so this is the miniature I use for them.

Again, one of the things that I love about Reaper is that the parts fit together so snugly. You don't need any filler on the wing that you glue to the body. It fits so snugly that you almost can't see the seam.

They are a really nice sculpt, and the metal is just pliable enough that you can actually get the wings in a variety of positions without breaking them. I've got four of them, and wouldn't mind a few more for the flock.

Reaper 02644: Boar Demon

Bob Olley's other demonic offering is the Boar Demon, which is Reaper's answer to the Nalfeshnee. I really love this sculpt. Someday, I might find a good figure of a kangaroo and use the head from this miniature to replace the head of Skippy to make the male version of a Catoblepas. Didn't know that the male catoblepas looked like a kangaroo with a warthog head? Well, its true. There was a Dragon magazine with an ecology of the catoblepas in it and I have to say...if the male looked that silly and the female looked that ugly...no wonder they are so rare.

One of the best things about the reaper figure is how well the wings fit into the back of it. The slots fit perfectly with no need for filing or filling. There was a little bit of a gap where the head glued on, but that wasn't much of a much. I have two of these, so for a little variety, I cut the sword off and replaced it with a diffferent weapon from one of the Warlord Weapon packs Reaper puts out. A really nasty mace. I had to clip the pommel off as well, but it looks nice. I'll post pics when I get it painted....sometime in 2044.

I've talked about the nalfeshnee in the past, and told you that I think that Reaper's version is hands down the most frighteningly demonic you can get, although I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Minifigs Dungeons & Dragons line Type IV demon.

Minifigs was the 1st company to have the official TSR license to make minis for D&D & call them as such. They went out of poduction at the beginning of the 80s. Their Nalfeshnee looks nearly identical to the old 1st edition illustration...except that it has batwings instead of feathered wings. I'm not changing mine, though. These minifig versions are super rare. They are very fragile and if you find one, 9 times out of 10 the legs will be broken. This one is a really prized gem in my collection...even if he is more silly than scary compared to the Reaper Boar Demon.

Reaper 02532: Skalathrix Vulture Demon

Bob Olley's version of a vrock is about the best one there is. I'll be embarrassed to ever put the WOTC one up on my shelf, partially because their vrock is so awful and partially because of what I'll have to pay for it since I didn't get one in the Archfiends case I bought. Oh, the woes of being a collector as well as a gamer...

On most things, the Official AD&D Ral Partha line is my gold standard for what monsters should look like, but Olley's vrock is so much more demonic looking than the Planescape one done by Ral Partha.

The only thing that is a little tricky about this mini is that the wings don't go on the way you expect them to...they lean back at a steep angle and don't go straigh up like a lot of the batwing demons Repaper puts out. If you try to put them on the way you intuitively think they should, you'll think the piece doesn't fit and you need to clip and fill in with putty. Don't. Play around with it before you put the glue on until you see the way it should actually fit, and then you'll probably need to bend the base a bit to get it to balance correctly.

I liked it so much I got two. They are a little pricey at $12.99 each, but, man, are they worth it. They are super cool, super detailed, and super scary.

I offer the other two choices for comparison.

The Ral Partha Vrock. I remember when I got my vrok in the Planescape boxed set. It was missing the tail feathers, so I wrote to Ral Partha and told them I was missing the part...and they sent me both the tail feathers and another vrock...which was great, but now I still have a vrok on my shelf with no tail feathers. As my friend Scott Taylor used to say, "Aw, you'd cry with two loaves of bread under each arm."

DDM Archfiends Vrock

There is no comparison. It would be nice if the Rreaper one were holding the kind of weapon (what is that thing? Scythe?) described in the Monstrous Compendium on the Outer Planes, but you can't have everything...and you might be able to cut the sword off and replace it without too much trouble.

I"m not going to bother, I think they look pretty freaking cool as is.

Save yourself a lot of dough, take what you'd spend on eBay trying to get an Archfiends vrock and just download the stat card and use this fig. There won't be any official DDM 1.0 tournaments anymore anyway, so if the game is what you enjoy, why bother getting the official figs?

And yes, I said "fig".

:)

Reaper 03190: Blacktongue, Gnoll Ranger

This is an interesting sculpt by John Manor. This gnoll is dangerous, and that bow looks like it takes an 18 strength or better just to try to get a shot off. It is a very dynamic pose and it is easy to understand why this is one of the minis that they chose to be in the next edition of Legendary Encounters pre-painted plastics.

I glued my bow so that it crossed in front of the body rather than along the side. Either way, the pieces fit easily.

Reaper 02961 : Angel of Darkness

This miniature is sculpted by Julie Guthrie, is rich in both beauty and detail. I really love this miniature. It is listed as Angel of Darkness on the Online Catalogue, but the package I have says Angel of Shadow. If pressed, go with the product number, that's the same either way.

I plan to use her as a Lantern Archon in my world. I realize that Lantern Archons are just balls of light, but I already have a will-o-wisp figure and the trumpet archon isn't just a trumpet floating around, right? If the trumpet archon can be a green skinned bald angel with a trumpet, then in my world lantern archons are going to be some sort of angel carrying a magical lantern. All the lantern archon powers will be the same, except the rays of light will come from the lantern, and though they will shun combat, my lantern archons will be able to swing a sword when they need to.