031 - Malifaux September Releases Review

The September releases are due to hit the shops on the 15th, so I thought I'd give a quick review of what we're going to see. The big release this month is of course Twisting Fates, the second expansion book for the game, but I haven't had chance to fully digest all the contents yet so I'll post a review of that separately in the near future.

Onto the models:

Raptors

Underwhelming is how I'd describe these. Maybe it's another case of raised expectations, but it seems to me that Wyrd missed the opportunity to make something unique and Malifaux-esque here. Instead we get very generic looking birds that don't really stand out compared to the same sort of model produced by many other companies. I haven't checked, but I'm guessing this is a case where people will have lots of proxy options should they want different bird models.

Soulstone Miner

It's a bumper release for Arcanists this month, although in fairness they have the largest number of unreleased minions from Rising Powers. I really like the look of this model. Very dynamic sculpt and just like the artwork. Those spinning blades look especially nasty! One downside to it that I can see is that it's just made up of pieces of metal, so it will be hard to make it really stand out painting-wise, but if anyone wants to practise their Non-Metallic-Metal painting techniques, this is the model to buy!

Large Steampunk Arachnid

One guy on the forums with a fear of spiders said this model creeps him out, and I can kinda see why. It's very spindly, not at all like the more compact regular Steampunk Arachnids. I don't really understand why it has what looks like a crown on its back though - that looks a bit out of place. Arcanist players are happy that it appears to be on a 50mm base, which means that it drops additonal scrap counters when dying, meaning Ramos will be able to get extra SS of value out of killing it and summoning smaller Arachnids.

Pigapult

Absolutely love this model! The sheer size of the thing hanging off the edge of the base, the expression on the pig's face, the pirate gremlin lookout, it all comes together to make a really cool minion that perfectly captures the spirit of the gremlin faction. I'm not convinced yet about it's game-worthyness, but if nothing else it can be played in friendly games for comedy value! Various customisations and conversions of the pig have been suggested, ranging from top hats to monacles - I'll definitely have to do something interesting with mine!

Sonnia Alt

A big improvement on the original Sonnia sculpt, which I never really liked. She always seemed to me to be one of the most boring master sculpts, not really doing anything interesting and not oozing character like most of the other masters. She does look to have a slightly weird expression on her face, but that might be the angle of the photo. Apart from that the leaning back stance and raised sword is a cool pose, and the fireball looks great. Between this and the Avatar I'm no longer writing off Sonnia as a master I'm not interested in ever getting!

Sonnia Avatar

Such a incredibly dynamic and unique model, this was one of my favourites of the GenCon preview releases. I believe it's a combination of metal and resin parts. Sonnia herself looks suitably possessed and is nicely posed, although I can't help but feel that her hair should be spread out a little wilder than it is as she swoops through the air. The majority of the model is made up of swirling fire (Mike's Painting Hint: Fire should be highlighted the opposite of other materials, lightest colour in the recesses blending to darker red at the extreme edges), and it looks great, especially the dragon rising behind Sonnia. Perhaps things are a little cramped, even on a 50mm base, but the overall effect just works really well, for me anyway!

Mike