The Most Dangerous Game - Kingdom Death Pinup Great Game Hunter

Kingdom Death: Monster is the game I think I've most anticipated, period.

In retrospect, that should be an ellipsis. ...Not only is it the game I've most anticipated, but the one my wife has, too. Actually, this has been the only game about which she's ever bugged* me for updates.

* in the most positive sense

Mini-review

(not to be confused with Mini Review... which I guess it also is)

Everything about Kingdom Death speaks of not only perfectionism, but a similar taste in games to mine. So, I was really happy to see a few pieces on sale for Black Friday as some painting practice to hold me over before diving into the Kickstarter when it arrives (despite there being some sort of mess with the USPS that resulted in them getting here nearly a month late, an issue responded to well by their customer service guy).

I bought three different kits, none of which disappointed. All of them are at least the standard of any high-end resin kits, with the Dung Beetle Knight (certainly my favorite of the three, if not the entire line) being spectacularly cast, even before considering the fact that the mold lines didn't disrupt its texture.

Most of the mold lines consisted of the faintest flash that I'd barely call residue, with only a few spots where molds didn't line up perfectly and a few bubbles, mostly on inner edges in both cases, which seemed to give them a little trouble in casting.

Along with Studio McVey's resin casting and sculpts, I'd rank these among the best I've worked with for display material. They'd probably be a touch fragile for gaming, but that's what you (or at least I) expect in this sort of mini.

Speaking of functionality, the minis come on 28-ishmm bases about the thickness of a quarter, that you can set into secondary lipped bases at 30mm (or 48-ish and 50mm for the Dung Beetle), which drop in and fit just slightly loosely if unpainted and snugly if both elements are primed. The minis are definitely on the large size, a little big but not noticeable at a glance for Malifaux (one of the other larger mini sizes around 30mm), and far too large for GW, Infinity, Sedition Wars, etc. Of course, monsters will just look more impressive if oversized, so scale doesn't really matter in that department.

Suffice to say, the minis did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for the game or the miniature line, and I'm looking forward to a few more resins I'm already trading for, and the KS's plastics, which again (from the production photos, in this case) look closest to what Wyrd has been using for Malifaux (my current high water mark for any plastic line), in both material and casting process.

Execution

The first of these I painted up is the above Great Game Hunter. I actually made this base for the Savior pinup I got, but decided the space and dimension would better suit this model, since she came with the servant/slave, so it would create a better scene. Not only were the minis great casts, but at least the first one was lovely to paint- I think this has been one of my best.

I slightly modified the standard colors to get a more natural emphasis on the softer materials, and added the blue to the metal, like my Sonnia crew for Malifaux, to make it slightly unnatural/mystical. Coincidentally, when not waiting around in the display case for KD to come out so she can take down hapless survivors (or, at least, that's the gist I got from the Great Game Hunters), she'll be hanging with my Guild crews as an Exorcist who doesn't believe in a dress code, though agrees to at least wear some red.