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REVIEW - MAEVE: WARRIOR QUEEN
Distributed- Phebus Creation
Material- Grey Resin
Parts- 34?
Sculptor-
Scale-
Height- 11" (To tip of lance)
You know how it is; you leave the house with money in your pocket, a list of what you want tucked into that special corner of your brain, the intention of having a good look round, and a promise, that some how keeps slipping in and out of you awareness, not to spend too much.
I arrived early in Hartlepool (only because I was on my own), almost within 30 minutes of the show opening, and after forty minutes I'd seen everything! - checked all the stalls - purused the displays - and reached the informed conclusion that nothing on my wish list was available. But... I just can't bring myself to leave a show without having bought something, and if I go home with anywhere near the amount of money I left with, I somehow feel cheated.
So my second trall of the stalls was for the purpose of selecting those kits that had initially sparked my interest, and on my third go round I parted with the smoldering cash in my pocket. In the end I came away with a few kits that took my fancy, and pricked my imagination, and this piece was one of them.
I know nothing about it, although a search of the internet turned up the company web site - Phebus Creation. Its a French firm, which explains why the printing on the box is in French, that specialises in military, and fantasy figures. This piece falls into the latter category. But as far as the sculptor or the source or the inspiration is concerned I am totally in the dark.
In The Box
As it was secondhand some assembly had already been completed, with mixed results (i.e. the legs and one arm fell off, but I had to take a hammer and chisel to separate the warrior from her saddle).
Cast in gray resin, most of the pieces (28 in all, or perhaps 34 as I suspect the legs and horns of the buffalo were also separate) are of a good quality, totally free of air bubbles and with minimal seam lines. The detail is also good, with the clothes, hair (especially on the buffalo) and all the accompanying equipment being well realised. Given this attention to detail it is a pity that the warriors face is so devoid of character, which brings to mind the Amine style, which I have to admit, I don't like.
This is my first experience of a kit produced by a military miniatures firm, but I have been lead to believe that the quality is always good because of their experience, and the high demands made by their customers. On first inspection the quality identified above would testify to this, however problems were later encountered with the assembly.
Build-up
First the two swords were each constructed from three separate pieces, with all the joints being flat surfaces! To build them was like joining match sticks end to end with the hope that they are straight. It was the same for the lance, which appeared to have been originally cast with the right hand, but unfortunately the two lance sections had snapped off.
The only solution was to drill (a very small drill was used with a small hand held hobby drill) each piece and pin, this would allow some flexibility in getting the weapons straight and also create some strength. For the bed roll, saddle bag, water canteen, long sword, helmet and shield there were no connecting lugs of any description on the buffalo. Only the three former pieces had enough substance to be pinned, the remaining pieces simply had to be glued in place.
The above were all challenges, especially drilling the thin shaft of the lance, but it was with the figure that bigger problems became apparent.
There were no lugs at the arm or leg joints, and while for the arms was no real problem, for the legs it was a nightmare.
Both legs were jointed at the knee and were supposed to sit inside a shallow recess in the top of the boot, however because the leg was wider then the boot some reconstructive filing was required. Once joined the gap was filled with Winsor & Newton Modellers paste, then coated with Mod Podge Puzzle Saver to smooth and ensure that no sanding was required. The same process was used for the arms.
With the legs finally fixed the figure was test fitted to the saddle and the buffalo. But it didn't, at least not properly. Try as I might I could not get the figure to sit properly. Her bum did not touch the saddle when fitted to the buffalo. By paring away some of the saddle the problem was reduced to a point where everything seemed okay.
Painting
Once the small amount of clean-up was complete everything was primed ready for painting. As there were no assembly instructions, or references I had to rely on the two colour pictures on the box. These offered some clues to where all the pieces were supposed to go - and a potential colour scheme - which I ended up following quite closely.
For the buffalo a good coat of burnt umber, followed by drying brushing of Inscribe terra-cotta, Liquitex burnt siena, Anita's coffee and Citadel swamp brown. This was washed with Citadel chestnut and blue inks to add some depth, and finalised with a dry brush of coffee for the body, Anita's melted butter for the neck and legs and terra-cotta for the head. Coffee was used on the face plate, saddle and saddle blanket and dry brushed with Humbrol leather. The studs were picked out in Citadel brazen brass and shining gold. Citadel bleached bone on the horn was complimented by brazen brass and shinning gold.
For the figure - Liquitex red oxide, Inscribe terra-cotta and white were mixed for the shadows, then gradually lightened for the flesh highlights.
On the cover illustration the clothes worn by the figure appear to be black leather. Inscribe raven is ideal for this, and can be lightened with Citadel elf gray for the highlights. Unfortunately, for reasons I can't explain, the black didn't dry immediately as it usually does. I didn't notice this until I'd turned her a few times during the dry brushing, by which time the flesh tones were ruined.
Raven black was also applied to the helmet and shield, while the bed roll, saddle bag and canteen were treated in the same fashion as the saddle blanket. The whole thing was then coated in matte varnish.
Construction
With the painting complete, and the equipment placed as per the illustration on the box the final two parts, the Warrior Queen herself and her lance, were ready to be added. Unfortunately the problem described above emerged again.
The figure just couldn't be sited right. As it turned out the problem lay not only with the shape of the saddle, but also with the way it sits on the buffalo's back, this coupled with the lack of clearance between the figures legs means that she sits proud of the saddle (a flaw only noticeable from certain angles). But this caused an additionally problem. Because of the way the figure sits, the lance handle is too long as there is not enough space between her hand and the side of the buffalo, even cutting it down didn't really help, so now if you look at it from a particular position the problem is still obvious.
Overall.
In the final analysis this was an interesting challenge. The subject had initially sparked my imagination, but now with the complete piece on the shelf I find myself less then impressed. There is something about it, I can't put my finger on what, that turns me off and yet there are some touches, so unless something strikingly unusual catches my eye I doubt that fantasy figures will be featuring in my future projects.
