xNickBaranx
01-31-2013, 03:46 PM
Model Review: Wreck-Age Weathered Shipping Crate, Pack Boar, and Pack Dog.
In the last 6 months I’ve painted a few models from the Wreck-Age line by Hyacinth Games out of Chicago. They have been in the process of developing their table top skirmish and RPG system for a couple of years now and have run a couple of small Kickstarter campaigns. I could write a whole separate article about what they are up to and about their game but that can be saved for another time. What I want to do is review three of their generic models that could be useful for a variety of game systems – especially for 40K. What’s nice about these models is that they are very general in nature and don’t step on any IP, yet a whole host of hobbyists could put these models to use in their games or for dioramas.
I’m not going to come up with some sort of funky rating system like other reviewers. All of these models are worth owning, but I am going to discuss their successes and their faults.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOHXpwsuelc/UQCXTd0DU5I/AAAAAAAAA3U/Zghi9tgDUsU/s1600/wreckage+storage+container+right+side.jpg
Weathered Storage Crate
Material: Multi-Part Resin Kit
Price in USD: $16.00
This Weathered Storage Crate kit consists of a ceiling, floor, left and right wall, and 4 doors. The interior is fully detailed in a fairly sinister way with a hook and chains on the walls. The ceiling has a texture on the underside that I could see being flipped around or having multiple purposes. Each of the doors is unique and has little details on the inside, and the floor is textured with diamond plate. The whole surface has a deliberately beat up look that lends itself well to the grim dark or other gritty environments. It is scaled for 28-30mm models so it is possible to put a human sized model inside. There is a lot of modeling options open to you with this model. You can glue the doors closed but leave the top separate so you can move models inside during games. Or you can glue the top in place and either glue the doors open or you can shave the corners of the doors, do some creative pinning, and make them open and close. Or you can glue it all together, dry brush a bunch of them up, and add it to GW’s existing collection of barrels and jerry cans and be done with it. Another idea I had was sticking one on the back of an Ork Truck instead of the normal flatbed. That could look really cool if you elect to enclose it, or razor saw the Storage Crate in half midway up and convert it into two flatbeds. The more I think about the versatility of the model, the more I like it.
So what are the drawbacks? As a guy who owns a lot of FW resin, I can see where this sculptor was a bit of a novice. Details like the rods that secure the doors closed have daring undercuts that seem to lead to sloppy casting and annoying bubbles. The texture on the inside of the doors didn’t easily lend itself to either washes or dry brushing, and that was sort of frustrating. Essentially each raised divot is concave, so if you dry brush it and then wash it, you lose the effects of your dry brush as the wash pools in the divots. They are scattered just wide enough that if you try to do a heavy dry brush, you end up with highlights in the recesses. Honestly, diamond plate or a dozen other options could have been better. But honestly it’s a minor matter. The only other issue I ran into was that several of the pieces had resin that had taken on an almost crystalline quality that didn’t sand well. Those areas always had a rough texture kind of like tooth decay – if you scraped or sanded the area there was just more of the same underneath. Luckily this only seemed to happen on edges that were not plainly visible.
Overall, it’s a really versatile kit that I can see a lot of cool scenery and conversions coming out of. I think it’s definitely worth the $16 price tag since you can do so much with it.
http://images.ecwid.com/images/1073214/36268965.jpg
Pack Boar
Material: Single Piece White Metal
Price in USD: $10.00
When Hyacinth Games set up at Adepticon last year, the big buzz was around their boars. They make two kinds, a Pack Boar and an Exploding Boar. I painted up a Pack Boar last year and it was an enjoyable break from my Angels of Absolution. The guy they have sculpting their animals does a good job of capturing the shape and feel of his subject, but my major complaint about this model was that the fur was too subtle for really good dry brushing and washing, but wasn’t quite definited enough for meticulous highlighting like you could find on a GW boar. Despite my complaints I feel like I got a good enough look out of the model. I will note that the eyes are sculpted differently on either side, so he has an unintentional slightly mutated look about him if you look at him straight on from head to tail, but either profile looks great. The Pack Boar is kitted out with cans and canteens, and has a definite modern or sci-fi look about him. I think he’d look great in an Ork or Imperial Guard army, or running alongside some Chaos Cultists.
http://images.ecwid.com/images/1073214/48457662.jpg
Pack Dogs
Material: 3 Single Piece White Metal Models
Price in USD: $10.00
I love dogs so this pack of models was an easy sell. They sell a pack of 3 basic dogs, scaled to be more akin to familiars and companions than guard beasts, but they wouldn’t look out of place in an Empire, Bretonnian, or Imperial Guard army. I feel like they have a good shape but run into the same issue with the fur that I mentioned with the boars. Still, this model was a blast to paint because dogs come in so many color combinations and I was able to lavish some detail on the model without spending a month working on him. If you want to add some dogs to your WFB, 40K, or historical armies, this pack gives you a solid selection of mutts to choose from.
Hyacinth Games are one of the underdogs of the current wild-west state of miniature gaming so they aren’t widely distributed. If you want any of these models I suggest going direct. http://www.wreck-age.net
-Nick
In the last 6 months I’ve painted a few models from the Wreck-Age line by Hyacinth Games out of Chicago. They have been in the process of developing their table top skirmish and RPG system for a couple of years now and have run a couple of small Kickstarter campaigns. I could write a whole separate article about what they are up to and about their game but that can be saved for another time. What I want to do is review three of their generic models that could be useful for a variety of game systems – especially for 40K. What’s nice about these models is that they are very general in nature and don’t step on any IP, yet a whole host of hobbyists could put these models to use in their games or for dioramas.
I’m not going to come up with some sort of funky rating system like other reviewers. All of these models are worth owning, but I am going to discuss their successes and their faults.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOHXpwsuelc/UQCXTd0DU5I/AAAAAAAAA3U/Zghi9tgDUsU/s1600/wreckage+storage+container+right+side.jpg
Weathered Storage Crate
Material: Multi-Part Resin Kit
Price in USD: $16.00
This Weathered Storage Crate kit consists of a ceiling, floor, left and right wall, and 4 doors. The interior is fully detailed in a fairly sinister way with a hook and chains on the walls. The ceiling has a texture on the underside that I could see being flipped around or having multiple purposes. Each of the doors is unique and has little details on the inside, and the floor is textured with diamond plate. The whole surface has a deliberately beat up look that lends itself well to the grim dark or other gritty environments. It is scaled for 28-30mm models so it is possible to put a human sized model inside. There is a lot of modeling options open to you with this model. You can glue the doors closed but leave the top separate so you can move models inside during games. Or you can glue the top in place and either glue the doors open or you can shave the corners of the doors, do some creative pinning, and make them open and close. Or you can glue it all together, dry brush a bunch of them up, and add it to GW’s existing collection of barrels and jerry cans and be done with it. Another idea I had was sticking one on the back of an Ork Truck instead of the normal flatbed. That could look really cool if you elect to enclose it, or razor saw the Storage Crate in half midway up and convert it into two flatbeds. The more I think about the versatility of the model, the more I like it.
So what are the drawbacks? As a guy who owns a lot of FW resin, I can see where this sculptor was a bit of a novice. Details like the rods that secure the doors closed have daring undercuts that seem to lead to sloppy casting and annoying bubbles. The texture on the inside of the doors didn’t easily lend itself to either washes or dry brushing, and that was sort of frustrating. Essentially each raised divot is concave, so if you dry brush it and then wash it, you lose the effects of your dry brush as the wash pools in the divots. They are scattered just wide enough that if you try to do a heavy dry brush, you end up with highlights in the recesses. Honestly, diamond plate or a dozen other options could have been better. But honestly it’s a minor matter. The only other issue I ran into was that several of the pieces had resin that had taken on an almost crystalline quality that didn’t sand well. Those areas always had a rough texture kind of like tooth decay – if you scraped or sanded the area there was just more of the same underneath. Luckily this only seemed to happen on edges that were not plainly visible.
Overall, it’s a really versatile kit that I can see a lot of cool scenery and conversions coming out of. I think it’s definitely worth the $16 price tag since you can do so much with it.
http://images.ecwid.com/images/1073214/36268965.jpg
Pack Boar
Material: Single Piece White Metal
Price in USD: $10.00
When Hyacinth Games set up at Adepticon last year, the big buzz was around their boars. They make two kinds, a Pack Boar and an Exploding Boar. I painted up a Pack Boar last year and it was an enjoyable break from my Angels of Absolution. The guy they have sculpting their animals does a good job of capturing the shape and feel of his subject, but my major complaint about this model was that the fur was too subtle for really good dry brushing and washing, but wasn’t quite definited enough for meticulous highlighting like you could find on a GW boar. Despite my complaints I feel like I got a good enough look out of the model. I will note that the eyes are sculpted differently on either side, so he has an unintentional slightly mutated look about him if you look at him straight on from head to tail, but either profile looks great. The Pack Boar is kitted out with cans and canteens, and has a definite modern or sci-fi look about him. I think he’d look great in an Ork or Imperial Guard army, or running alongside some Chaos Cultists.
http://images.ecwid.com/images/1073214/48457662.jpg
Pack Dogs
Material: 3 Single Piece White Metal Models
Price in USD: $10.00
I love dogs so this pack of models was an easy sell. They sell a pack of 3 basic dogs, scaled to be more akin to familiars and companions than guard beasts, but they wouldn’t look out of place in an Empire, Bretonnian, or Imperial Guard army. I feel like they have a good shape but run into the same issue with the fur that I mentioned with the boars. Still, this model was a blast to paint because dogs come in so many color combinations and I was able to lavish some detail on the model without spending a month working on him. If you want to add some dogs to your WFB, 40K, or historical armies, this pack gives you a solid selection of mutts to choose from.
Hyacinth Games are one of the underdogs of the current wild-west state of miniature gaming so they aren’t widely distributed. If you want any of these models I suggest going direct. http://www.wreck-age.net
-Nick