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First off what this book isn’t, it isn’t a guide to how to make, sculpt or design fantasy figures nor is it in any way a painting guide. What it is a lavish book of various figure manufacturers figures with a little text on the concepts behind them. It covers 11 ranges with lovely full colour photos, concept sketches and artwork with the figures being painted to a tabletop to good standard but not outstanding.
Pros
It is a visually impressive book; the artwork is very nice and the photos of figures in over 230 pages are a treat to the eyes. Some of the background text is interesting on the history of the companies covered is fascinating on what inspired figure ranges or how they evolved. A wide range of figure costs is covered from some very expensive collectors sets to more gamer pieces.
Cons
Sadly the interesting text is very scant , in fact any text is scarce in this eye candy book. Many of the figure ranges (and companies) shown are very hard to get or are no longer produced and most are obscure game systems from tiny companies with only Mantic , TT Combat and Privateer Press being big successful companies covered , this leaves out several massive players in the market who would probably not have helped the author but it does leave the book a little outdated and very limited in scope.
The book is also a reflection of the fantasy figure scene from a few years ago and only very briefly touches on (a paragraph maybe two at most) on 3D printing which is changing the face of design and production with a little more on 3D modeling but I would have liked to have seen some discussion of the pros and cons of digital design to traditional sculpting and casting
Overall an interesting eye candy book easy on the eye but with very little discussion , information or insight in this fascinating subject.
Chapters
1 – Aradia Miniatures
2 – Alkemy (Alchemist Miniatures)
3 – Avatars of War
4 – Guild Ball (Steamforged Games)
5 – Relicblade (Metal King Studio)
6 – WARMACHINE and HORDES (Privateer Press)
7 – RUMBLESLAM (TT Combat)
8 – Drakerys (Don’t Panic Games)
9 – Godslayer (Megalith Games)
10 – Freeblakes (DGS Games)
11 – Kings of war (Mantic Games)
Author: Jamie Kendall
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Year: 2020