Michael J. Tresca gave 5 stars to: Bones Fly Demon Miniature Reaper

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Bones Fly Demon Miniature Reaper by Reaper

Best Chasme Sculpt, October 22, 2016

This review is from: Bones Fly Demon Miniature Reaper (Toy)

Continuing my plan to paint demons as colorfully as possible, I decided the fly demon should be bright blue. The demon is clearly patterned after the chasme, who has gradually changed from a cartoony-looking fly-man to a fly with human-like arms. This has carried over to D&D miniatures, which waffles between portraying a chasme as a drab gray fly monster with closed wings to a bright blue critter with transparent wings. I don't like either of them -- Reaper's fly demon is much better.

I used a mix of blues and purples as the base, a blue shade, bright yellow for the eyes, and a blue drybrush. The base has some interesting detail as well, including bits and pieces of skulls. Overall, a great sculpt.

Michael J. Tresca gave 5 stars to: Nanoc, Spearmaster

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Nanoc, Spearmaster by Reaper

Excellent Inuit-style warrior, October 22, 2016

This review is from: Nanoc, Spearmaster (Toy)

As we were leading up to the session with ice hunters in the Sea of Moving Ice scenario from Rise of Tiamat, I realized I didn't have any miniatures that fit the bill. To my surprise, there are almost NO miniatures that fit the bill. Inuit-style miniatures are very hard to find. Nanoc is the best of the bunch.

This miniature doubled for the warrior, Orcaheart. Orcaheart is a tough fighter type, and Nonoc looks the part. He doesn't just wield a spear, he has two massive walrus tusks strapped to his back for some reason. He looks angry, which is just how a guy with two walrus tusks strapped to his back should look.

Michael J. Tresca gave 3 stars to: The Stag Lord - Reaper Pathfinder Miniature 60073

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

The Stag Lord - Reaper Pathfinder Miniature 60073 by Reaper

Wait for the Bonesium version, October 22, 2016

This review is from: The Stag Lord - Reaper Pathfinder Miniature 60073 (Toy)

I needed a miniature for the ice hunter tribe's chieftain, Barking Seal, in the Sea of Moving Ice scenario from Rise of Tiamat. He's not quite ice chieftain material -- he doesn't believe in wearing a lot of clothes -- but I thought he made for an intimidating figure.

Putting him together was a different story. He doesn't really have a face, just a bone mask that glues onto the top of his head, then the horns have to be glued to that. The horns came off several times, and the glue ended up making the few facial features he had a blurry mess.

Still, he LOOKS cool. He would be awesome in Bonesium.

Michael J. Tresca gave 2 stars to: Dark Heaven Anushka Female Fighter RPR 03061

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Dark Heaven Anushka Female Fighter RPR 03061 by Reaper

She may fall over any minute, October 22, 2016

This review is from: Dark Heaven Anushka Female Fighter RPR 03061 (Toy)

I needed a miniature for a generic member of the ice hunter tribe that appeared in in the Sea of Moving Ice scenario from Rise of Tiamat. Anushka is probably the most Yupik-looking of the miniatures. That's one of the miniature's few redeeming traits.

Anushka has a Russian-sounding name so presumably she's Yupik, not Inuit. That explains the curiously out of place axe she's wielding. But really her biggest problem is she's boring. She's listed as a "female fighter" but she's just leaning forward on her axe at an almost impossible angle such that it looks like she'll fall over at any minute. Unlike the other miniatures from Reaper set in cold regions, at least this one required no assembly (it's all one piece) and therefore easier to paint.

Michael J. Tresca gave 2 stars to: Nadezhda the White, Ice Witch Miniature

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Nadezhda the White, Ice Witch Miniature by Reaper

Impractical, October 22, 2016

This review is from: Nadezhda the White, Ice Witch Miniature (Toy)

I needed a miniature for the ice hunter tribe's shaman, Bonecarver, in the Sea of Moving Ice scenario from Rise of Tiamat. As frost-dwelling cultures go, this is a terrible example.

Beyond the fact that Nadezhda appears to be wearing a midriff-bearing top, she's a pain to put together. There are several bone decorations in her hair that were impossible to glue on right. Her staff is weak and prone to snapping. The whole thing is too delicate to use with any confidence.

Michael J. Tresca gave 5 stars to: Bones Babau Miniature Reaper

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Bones Babau Miniature Reaper by Reaper

Great sculpt!, October 22, 2016

This review is from: Bones Babau Miniature Reaper (Toy)

I'm a big fan of making demons colorful critters, or else why bother painting them? I used the Pathfinder color palette of this critter as inspiration, which is gray with red slime on its limbs. I then washed the whole thing with a red shade, which unfortunately turned the babau demon entirely red. I used a kindleflame dry brush to try to bring out the ribs, but for the most part it just turned the figure bright red.

All that said, I don't mind it. The sculpt is good, and the tail (absent from the Pathfinder version for some reason) is coiled in an interesting way. Sometimes miniatures don't separate out the tail as an interesting part of the form to make it easier to mold. Reaper rarely takes this shortcut, which is why their miniatures are great.

This miniature also has an interesting base with some stone for the demon to clamber upon. I'm not usually a fan of these kinds of bases because it fixes the sculpt in a physical place ,but in this case it's generic enough that you can easily paint it to match the terrain you plan to use it in.

Michael J. Tresca gave 4 stars to: Dragons Love Tacos

Michael J. Tresca reviewed:

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Mmmm, tacos..., October 16, 2016

This review is from: Dragons Love Tacos (Hardcover)

I received a review copy of this book, including an accompanying taco-eating red plush dragon, directly from the publisher. Someone knows my family pretty well, because we love dragons and we love tacos!

My daughter is a big fan of plush critters and I can determine how popular a plush is by whether or not she uses it as a her snuggle-buddy when she goes to sleep. The accompanying Taco Dragon (that's what we call him, I have no idea what his name is) has a taco permanently attached to his claw, some spiky black horns, and is basically not something you'd want to snuggle with unless you relish getting accidentally stabbed in the eye.

The book reminds me of Bad Kitty, in that it frequently addresses the reader to discuss why you shouldn't give dragons anythign spicy to eat. This is an existential dilemma when it comes to tacos, as you might imagine, since tacos can be spicy. The book exhorts the reader at considerably length to never, EVER give dragons anything spicy, even though they do love tacos. I've been there dragons, I've been there.

Of course -- SPOILER ALERT! -- someone doesn't read the fine print on the jar and something terrible happens. Given that this involves dragons and not kittens, you can probably guess what that is. Given that my son has a milk and egg allergy, this can easily be interpreted as an allegory for kids with allergies. Or it could just be about tacos. Mmm, tacos...