As mentioned previously the first Batman Miniature Game items I decided to paint are not character figures. I wanted to start with these so that I could examine the casting quality without being concerned about messing up one of the expensive character models. It was also my thought that once I started painting characters I wouldn't want to go back and paint more mundane stuff like objective markers.
The objective markers all come as a single pack complete with bases. The sculpting and casting quality are not as good as I was expecting, having heard most folks rave about the actual characters from Knight Models. Let's get into each marker in a bit more detail!
The loot marker is probably the best cast of the bunch. The detail of the bag is complete with some stacks of cash, jewelry and gold coins spilling out. There was a mould line around the edges but wasn't obscuring any of the content or fine detail and was easy to file off. There was a small pit lacking metal in the inside of the bag but it wasn't worth filling in with green stuff, as I was pretty sure I could cover it with a little paint. Mixing up a custom colour for the pearl or diamond necklace sticking out of the bag was quite fun.
The ammo crate looks good until you get up close to it. There is an obvious fingerprint in my casting on one of the bottom boxes, there are some pits and the details of the handles on the sides is very soft. Most of the hard edges are not as straight as they could be either but once painted up, like the loot marker, the model looks quite good. I looked up some reference images for ammo containers so that I could paint some realistic markings on the sides of the boxes.
I had a tough time taking a decent photo of my markers.
The riddle marker is the model that I liked the look of the best. It has plenty of fine detail on it around the gears and other gribbly bits. There is a finger print visible this casting as well, and some of the details on the ends of the bottom-most component are a little soft. I found painting this one to be the biggest challenge. Trying to emulate a sort of glowing light source. I've never tried to to object source lighting on my painting. It looks ok on the table, but I'm less happy with my paint work than the actual model itself.
The Titan container was the biggest disappointment to me. It's a cylinder of metal with two smaller cylinder bits on top. Without some creative paint work there's really nothing interesting to look at here. I ended up adding some little details from my bits box to make it look like it had some functionality to it. The washes I used turned out to be too heavy (my fault), so I had to try bringing some detail back up with a few highlights. I'm happy with the result, even if the basic model is a bit of a disappointment.
I suppose I sound rather down on this set of models, and in a way I am. The objective markers are a required component if you want to play any of the scenarios from the book. In fact, both players need at least one full set each so I'll likely have to purchase and paint a second pack of these. On the other hand it's certainly possible to create your own markers with a little time and effort. I considered doing so myself but will likely focus on character models and scenery instead. If you've got sculpting skills or a decent bits box I would recommend you make your own objectives and save your money for more character models instead.
Next up I'll be tackling the three lamp post / sewer pack. Stay tuned!
The objective markers all come as a single pack complete with bases. The sculpting and casting quality are not as good as I was expecting, having heard most folks rave about the actual characters from Knight Models. Let's get into each marker in a bit more detail!
The loot marker is probably the best cast of the bunch. The detail of the bag is complete with some stacks of cash, jewelry and gold coins spilling out. There was a mould line around the edges but wasn't obscuring any of the content or fine detail and was easy to file off. There was a small pit lacking metal in the inside of the bag but it wasn't worth filling in with green stuff, as I was pretty sure I could cover it with a little paint. Mixing up a custom colour for the pearl or diamond necklace sticking out of the bag was quite fun.
The ammo crate looks good until you get up close to it. There is an obvious fingerprint in my casting on one of the bottom boxes, there are some pits and the details of the handles on the sides is very soft. Most of the hard edges are not as straight as they could be either but once painted up, like the loot marker, the model looks quite good. I looked up some reference images for ammo containers so that I could paint some realistic markings on the sides of the boxes.
I had a tough time taking a decent photo of my markers.
The riddle marker is the model that I liked the look of the best. It has plenty of fine detail on it around the gears and other gribbly bits. There is a finger print visible this casting as well, and some of the details on the ends of the bottom-most component are a little soft. I found painting this one to be the biggest challenge. Trying to emulate a sort of glowing light source. I've never tried to to object source lighting on my painting. It looks ok on the table, but I'm less happy with my paint work than the actual model itself.
The Titan container was the biggest disappointment to me. It's a cylinder of metal with two smaller cylinder bits on top. Without some creative paint work there's really nothing interesting to look at here. I ended up adding some little details from my bits box to make it look like it had some functionality to it. The washes I used turned out to be too heavy (my fault), so I had to try bringing some detail back up with a few highlights. I'm happy with the result, even if the basic model is a bit of a disappointment.
I suppose I sound rather down on this set of models, and in a way I am. The objective markers are a required component if you want to play any of the scenarios from the book. In fact, both players need at least one full set each so I'll likely have to purchase and paint a second pack of these. On the other hand it's certainly possible to create your own markers with a little time and effort. I considered doing so myself but will likely focus on character models and scenery instead. If you've got sculpting skills or a decent bits box I would recommend you make your own objectives and save your money for more character models instead.
Next up I'll be tackling the three lamp post / sewer pack. Stay tuned!
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