Arena Rex Gladiator

Finally got around to painting up another Red Republic Games figure from the Kickstarter I backed a few years ago. I really do need to get on with these as I really like the figures and it will be great to actually play a few games. 

This figure is Marcus Furius sculptured by Patrick Masson and is a resin 32mm Figure. Whilst the game is mostly based on Roman Gladiatorial combat some of the factions are more at home in a mix of fantasy and mythic genres this figure is actually mostly a historical one.

Not the best photo's really as the detail looks a bit soft but in reality the sculps are very detailed as you would expect from resin. At $17.50 obviously you would expect good quality and Red Republic do deliver.

I continue to base on a plain black base but wanted to be a bit funky so trimmed the shield and stuck it to the base to look like it had been wedged in the sand of the arena, despite the lack of said sand.

Unlike many Kickstarters from fledgling companies Red Republic Games have continued to release more figures to the range growing the possible combinations to the range and looks to be a stable supplier. Having not actually playing the game post playtest I can't really comment on how the rules shake out. Hopefully when I get a fourth figure finished I can give the rules a try, you never know it might even get me painting more of the figures I have waiting to get on the painting table.

Arena Rex Vargr

I continue to have little painting to show as my output is either slow or can't be shown due this time to being mostly my Santa Clause present for my target. But I can show you the latest finish from my Arena Rex collection. I had hoped to get one finished a month but that looks like it's not going to happen but still from an enjoyment point of view its a real blast.

This is Vargr, rather smaller than Aquila which was the first of the Arena Rex figures I have painted up. Not that Aquila is the largest of the Arena Rex figures I own. I selected this guy as my second model as I really liked the look of him.

Red Republic Games have used quite a few different artists to sculpt their figures but from what I have seen all are top flight sculptors and like all the others this one does not disapoint.

Great detail which makes the painting so much easier, though I have to say that I am extremely happy with the skin tones I have managed to get. Lots of layering and I think if I keep pushing myself I will really grow as a painter. I am more well known for my 6mm work so it's a lot of fun to show off something a little bigger. I think this figure is closer to true 32mm than many of the others, Aquila is 42mm toe to eye. This guy if he was standing straight would have to stretch to get to 30mm.

Unfortunately I was a little careless on cutting him off his sprue, snapping his ankle and pinning was not an option with the ankle being so thin. The fix ended up being a bit of glue and painting a leather band around his ankle to match the one just under his knee on the other leg. 

The action poses are only possible due to these models coming in multipart kits, in this case originally four, that is until I made it five part!

It's now possible for me to play a game with a couple of real models. It won't be much of a game but I am sure The Boy will be only to happy to hand me my ass on a plate.

Arena Rex, Finally Started.

The first Kickstarter I actually backed was Arena Rex by Red Republic Games which is a mythical Gladiator game using very high quality 32mm resin miniatures. It was like many kickstarters delayed a fair bit and by the time it arrived I had lost much of my drive to get these figures started. I also did not want to rush them and so put them to one side as the Analogue Painting Challenge was around the corner (more worries about rushing).

In the end I waited even longer before I finally got started properly. The first figure I choose to paint actually turned up before the kickstarter was funded as a gift for mentioning the project on my blog. I had started it when I received it but was unhappy with my progress so it sat unfinished for about two years!

The figure is Aquila and was the face of Arena Rex in the pre-production days and remains for me the figurehead of the range (pun intended). For $23 you get the multi part figure, base, activation token, stat card and art card. The figure was sculptured by Sebastian Archer and the detail is incredible, and far beyond my skill to truly do it justice.

I copied the shield metal finish from the fine work by Benjamin Williams, the first finished Aquila I saw and probably the first one done professionally. I originally was going for a sand effect finish on the base but changed to a totally black finish as I feel it brings out the colours of the figure better. The white flecking you can see in the images does not show up quite so much when looking at the model but I will be going over the black again as it looks to be the varnish having a bit of fun.

The cloak for me is one of the best painted parts of the model but was the easiest to get done. I went with a wolf pelt look and layered the successive lighter colours via the old and trusted drybrush method.

I also followed Benjamin's lead with the metal rather than leather armour look, it is Fantasy after all. I used five different metal finishes and added washes to various parts to give further variance. One mistake was to cut the end off the swords hilt thinking it was just a run off, shows how important it is to look at lots of images of the model before getting out the scalpel.

Overall I am quite pleased with the finish and it has me fired up to paint up more of these figures. Next Arena Rex model will be Vargr which is again sculptured by Sebastian, I hope to get it started in the next few days and finish it rather quicker than I managed with Aquila. I can see me buying more of these figures when I have the ones in my collection all finished and a few games under my belt.

Arena Rex Kickstarter Arrives

About 7-10 days ago Red Republic Games announced it was starting to ship the backers first wave products. I did have one item that was second wave and was given the option to change the item for a first wave item. I took this option and they also allowed me to swap one other figure as I was no as happy with the damage tree that gladiator had. Great news for me so I was happily waiting for this to land which happened today!

I was lucky enough not to get hit with any tax or the dreaded collection fee. I backed to the value of £120 so under normal lead terms this would be over 100 figures or in 6mm thousands of the devils but these are 32mm resin figures so came to a total of 11 figures and as you will see other things as well.

The pictures don't do them justice but they are VERY nice and shows what you can do with resin if your not throwing out crap but charging for gold! The detail is very crisp and the tallest figure will be just over 55mm tall so much for 32mm LOL.

The figures are a real mix of sizes, some tall, some tall and well fat, others are slim and closer to the 32mm scale mentioned above. I have gone through a few different attitudes to this kickstarter since pledging. One of worry as it failed to meet deadlines (my first experience of kickstarters) then onto should I have committed as much money when I did not that much spare and how much MORE I could have got right now if spent elsewhere. Finally to indifference and regret that it was a project that would not live up to expectations or desire once it arrived.

As such when the news of imminent dispatch was received I hardly mentioned it to Cath, nor have I blogged about it. However as the days have ticked by I have started to look forward to receiving the parcel but not to the point of looking for it when I came home and as such when a box was sitting on my chair I did not connect to what it was and did wonder what someone had sent to me. When I realised I was happy but not excited. Indeed I did a few bits for the kids before taking a look at the figures. The quality got me roused up but I had tea to cook (Cath has Tuesday evening out to herself, she calls it grocery shopping but an evening out is an evening out LOL)

11 figures and 12 bases and tokens, nice touch in case something goes wrong or missing! Only after the kids had their tea did I sit down for a good look and I have to say wow. The top quality production does not stop with the figures. The tokens were originally going to be resin as well but were changed over to plastic after issues cropped up in pre-production and I have to say it makes no difference as these are fine. I have a resin base and token already so I can judge them against each other.

The rule book and faction card continue the high quality production. I have yet to read through the rules to see how they have developed from the playtest versions released to the backers but they certainly look impressive.

The stat cards with the damage trees are of high quality and look like they will withstand a good bit of use. The artwork shown is the concept artwork that pulled in many a backer so it's great to see it here.

Art cards are also included and are about the size of A3 or half legal paper size and whilst they add nothing to the actual game as such are a very nice touch. All in all I have to say that my interest has been re-fired and I am really looking forward to getting this project back on the front burner. Even to the point of thinking of getting Brigantes Studio to paint them up for me but I really want to do them myself but it's something to consider.

That though is the rub, these need a good amount of time spending on them to get them right and I don't have that time here and now. Instead I will have to wait till next year until 1. I have Project Waterloo finished and 2. finished the figures for Matt. So I doubt I will get them started till after the Analogue Painting Challenge has finished. Still it's a target to aim for.

Experiences of Kickstarters and a lot of Coincidences.

I backed my first Kickstarter almost six months ago today, this being Red Republic's Arena Rex and more recently I also threw money in the direction of Baker Company for their Winter War.

By some strange coincidence I backed both to the value of £120 each. The castings of Arena Rex are excellent, I already have one figure given to me by AR and the other figures they have shown are also fantastic. Though they should be given the cost of each figure. By comparison I think the Winter War figures I have seen so far look OK they are not to the finish of the AR figures but then not only do they not need to be but indeed the fact most of them are wrapped up for winter makes it impossible to try and match the two against each other even without mentioning the difference in scale and material.

Another coincidence happens to be release date, both have been chalked up for November, yes even the WW that only finished Oct 8th has set the following month as when products will start to ship. In fact Baker Company have already started to ship the low level pledges.

From here on in though they have started to diverge and share less and less in common. The biggest difference seems to be direct communication. Since I pledged to WW I have had more updates than I have had for AR, not that I needed many a update but AR seem to go into periods of silence which was explained away to an extent last week when I received notice that shipment will be delayed till some time in the first quarter of next year. Fortunately for me it's not so big a deal as I have plenty to keep me active and through the year I tend to paint about the same speed but for some I imagine the delay and the start of end of painting season will be a double blow. The reasons for the delay is that two of the partners have started new jobs whilst the third has had a baby (well their partner has) so their lives are under a lot of disruption. I think the level of success has had a big effect on the time line. Still a possible 33% increase on release time must have been on the horizon for some time, I think waiting till the month before release to extend the time line was not a smart move, worse still they were not saying the release WILL be by March, the door is open for a longer delay. The good news though is that a good chunk of the figures are either now ready or working towards it.

On the other hand Baker Company have a good chunk of the first wave of their figures all ready and have stated the first wave will be going out next month in order of subscriptions so I hope that I will get my first Russians and Finns before the first snows fall. The second and final wave will be with us sometime in March so it's possible I could have all the WW figures and vehicles before I get any from Red Republic. Again it's not an issue, more a highlight on how great Baker Company seem to be. They are also advertising their next date for a Kickstarter, this being April, just after we all should have our lead. The subject is still up in the air as they allowed backers to vote on which will be next. I am glad my birthday is in March!

Another reason Baker Company have a good reason to get their product out on time is that Warlord Games are intending to release their own Finnish infantry and a module for Axis Allies including the Finns also in November (mid to late) with a price ticket of £29.50 for 21 figures. Sure makes the WW kickdstarter seem an excellent deal. The £60 for one Finn Rifle Platoon ended up supplying over 120 figures, a HMG, a large mortar, an AT Gun, an artillery gun, Field Kitchen, AA Truck and a very cool Areosan. Warlord give you 5 sky mounted infantry whilst I get ten so the same amount with a double purchase of the Warlord pack to spend the same value.

Not that it stops here. I am also getting ten guys on bikes and six on horseback, though these are included in the 120 figures. So for my £120 I will have over 240 figures and a lot of vehicles including two AA Trucks and two Aerosan's a T26 and a BA armoured car. I think Warlord must have been cursing as the Winter War kickstarter gained momentum. But on the bright side both Chain f Command and Boltaction now support the period and scale these figures cover. I see a lot of future for this period of warfare.

Strange Purchases - Well it is Wargaming

I have been on the look out for a couple of things for wargaming that I have managed to get over the last week but at first glance they may seem a little...........odd.

Wilton Cake Stands?????????

So have I tipped over into Cake Decorating battles? Actually that sounds kind of fun.......

File for the Cake?

Now I have wanted a file for awhile, I was given the tip that using a large file to flatten the underside of bases really speeds up prep time. Got this one from B&Q for about £5, it has yet to see action though that will change over the weekend.

Mythical Columns

I was looking for Columns to be added to my Arena Rex set up as it recommends obstacles and pits to be included in the arena so that you can push other gladiators into these causing damage. Arena Rex have some great looking pillars but they are quite expensive and I thought of cake columns as being a good idea. I then came across these and felt they really fitted in with the fantasy side of the game, what could be better that crystal pillars?

And for scale we have Aquila a 32mm figure.

Each pillar is 7" tall and a pack of four on Amazon was just over £4 so a really good price in my book. I do think they are a little too tall so may cut some in half, I will try them as they are first though. Well first I will base them so that they will be a bit more steady.

Paper playtest figures.

I also have the card player tokens to try the rules with. Once I have tried the rules I should be able to have a good idea which figures I want to pick from the kickstarter and then all I have to wait for is the delivery of the figures. I hope to get a few games in sometime over the weekend with the kids, the rules are simple enough and I think they will like the idea. Not sure I will let them play with the real figures when they have arrived and been painted up though ;-)

Kickstarter Kicks In

I have had the rules and the cut out figures in PDF for Arena Rex for a couple of weeks now. I have not even got round to looking at them as yet, though this will happen this weekend.

I have pledged a fair old amount to this so really I should have dived straight in but it's been a busy couple of weeks and yes I am making excuses up as I go along.

However I have started the one resin figure I already own and I hope to sort out a trial of the rules as soon as I get some card in the printer to print out the figures.

However I did get up to an e-mail from Red Republic showing some of the greens that are ready and I liked what I saw. I am not so interested in the over large or fay out fantasy Gladiator types but I do like very much the two I have attached to this post.

These have great movement and look really good. I think they will be a joy to paint and add something a little different to my table. I keep having urges to start painting up Fantasy figures but at the same time I know I will have trouble getting a Roleplaying group together which is a shame as I really want to GM again. Maybe I can think up a solution that will allow me to paint up the figures even if I don't get to use them, just seems a waste though.

Anyway look to see some kind of report on the rules and mechanisms in the near future. Today though I have no time, I'm off to try out the Quatre Bras scenario, won't look to fancy as it's more to test the playing area and not be a visual game. If all goes well we can then start work on the terrain, if it's too cramped we may have to build a bigger boat  ;-)

One useful point has come out of the playtest already though. I NEED a lot more command bases painting for my French, so much so that I will need to buy more figures, exactly when will Baccus have their new ones ready? I also fall short by seven battalions of French Infantry for the battle and a Lancer regiment which at least I have the figures for both. Strictly speaking I am short by the two Guard cavalry regiments but I am not to worried as these should be supplied by Lee when the big day comes round.

Blog-Con Under 100 Days

In just one week it will be less than three months to Blog-Con, already it's less than 100 days. Up to now it's been going to happen sometime in the future. Now it's not as far away as you might think. The blog devoted to it has a surprisingly low number of followers at the moment, given the interest shown in it. 

Part of the massive playing area.

So keep 9/10th November in your mind folks as I mentioned on the site, once the kids are back at school it will be here like a flash and all those brownie points you need to accrue still a work in progress. 

Not only has a lot of interest from Bloggers been shown but also from some of the Nottingham based suppliers so we should have plenty to see beyond the games we take along. It's probably the best Con to take a virgin display or participation game to given the lack of pressure that will be in play. Yes the weekend is skewed to skirmish but bigger games are most welcome. 

Talking of Skirmish games, I have received the PDF rules, card figures and stat cards for the basic gladiators for Arena Rex. The figures will not be ready for Blog-Con but armed with the rules and card warriors I may just bring this along to give it an outing. Well it has got me to pull out the figure they supplied me and so after a very minimum clean up I have put it together. OK the top guys paint it THEN put it together but that's not me. But more on that in the future

Red Republic Games Giveaway Winner

Last of the original giveaways but no means least was for a unpainted copy of the figure shown from Red Republic Games.  Arena Rex will be a gladiatorial combat game that has one foot in history with the other leaning on fantasy and allows far more scope than keeping it factual. So far (I am glad to say) no sign of magic has been raised so I do not expect it to become a factor of the game.

So who has won the figure, well that would be Derek who runs the blog Lead and Paint. Looking at some of his work I can't wait to see what he does with this figure. Well done Derek and I hope you love the figure as much as I do.

So all the current giveaways have ended and a 24 hour break is now in place. Again many thanks to all the companies that have supported me in this venture and I hope that I have helped bring to attention of other gamers companies and a fruitful relationship for all will develop.

Arena Rex Giveaway

The Ides has passed! The Kickstarter for Arena Rex has begun, and all of us at Red Republic Games are really excited about the support we've received. We also want to support The Blog With No Name and their great historical content! All you have to do is

Add a comment below to be added to the draw. As in all the giveaways you can enter this one as well as any of the others.  Winning one giveaway still allows you the chance to win any of the others.

We'll ship it out with a resin base, an activation token, and a 4"x6" art card. Good luck

The image above is a painted version of the 35mm resin figure up for grabs, you will of course have to paint it! A tutorial is here.I am actually rather excited about this kickstarter and plan to be in on it. The first stretch goal is less than $5000 away which will entail an extra free mini included in two of the commitment levels (five figure and ten figure levels). If you buy into the kickstarter you get to pick which mini's you get so straight from the off you get to customise your gladiator school. Backers get the rules including a sneak preview via the playtesters version as a PDF. I think this will allow you to make informed choices on which Gladiators will suit your style of play. So far they offer fourteen basic level glads (Field of Mars) four Fields of Jupiter and a pair from the Fields of Titan's. Each higher field comes at a higher price but this is due to the size of the figures rather than a pay more to have a better chance of winning play. Though I would say that if you were the only one to have a higher level Glad I would expect you to have an advantage. As further support is gained more choices are released. 

It's also possible to select more figures beyond your level of support (as well as any stretch goal rewards) and other extras are being offered and added to as time goes on. The dice at $10 for ten is calling me as they look cool and since when do you have enough dice. 

So you have a week to get in on the act for this giveaway and 22 days left to join the kickstarter. As for the other giveaways they are starting to tick down, the Leven Miniatures offer is drawn in two days so if you fancy those 6mm and 10mm buildings you had best get your skates on and the others will sfollow suit quickly.