+ inload: Dead Earth Miniatures' Piscean review +

+ A tin of Saharduins + 

+ Dead Earth Miniatures' Piscean review +

+ Who? What +

+ Dead Earth miniatures, run by ex-GW sculptor Stephen May (@stevepaintsandsculpts on Instagram), is an indie producer of exquisitely characterful miniatures, which you can buy here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The growing range is mainly Necromunda-adjacent, with figures that would be ideal for old-school Ratskins and Brats, amongst others. While it's clear May has a real love for the 40k universe, these figures would all also be perfectly at home in many other skirmish games. +

+ Long-time inloaders will know my fixation on fishy little aliens, so will be utterly unsurprised that I recently supported Dead Earth Miniature's 'The Piscean' Kickstarter, which featured the charming and slippery fellow pictured above. +

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+ Materials and constructions +

+ The figure arrived packaged in a bubble envelope as four separate sprues along with a 40mm base. The resin it's cast in is high quality, with a good balance of strength and flex. Given the sculptor's pedigreee, I'd be inclined to guess that if it's not the same stuff Forge World use, it's certainly something very similar.  +

+ There was little flash and no mould slippage on the copy I received, which is always a relief for short-run resin figures. Likewise there was no distortion or reshaping necessary, with the minor exception of one of the cables above – and given the very fine nature of these parts, I think that's virtually inevitable. +

+ Given the sinuous nature of the figure, it's unsurprising that it's had to be cut into a few pieces. These cut are well-judged, with joins largely hidden in naturalistic ways, such as the neck under a cable, and the sleeved arm joining at a shoulder strap. The parts have been well-cast, with little or no warping, so there are only very fine gaps – you can see one at the shoulder in my assembled version below, but as you can see the neck and foot joins are almost invisible. +

+ There were no instructions included, which can be tricky for non-human figures (it's not always obvious where alien anatomy goes!) but there are handy guide structures on the components meaning that they only fit together in one position. Construction is therefore straightforward, and aside from having to fish out a pair of tweezers to get the pipes on either side of the head, was very swift. One set of these pipes required running under hot water to bend into place, but that's well within the wheelhouse of anyone likely to be building them. +

+ The assembled Piscean, pictured alongside a couple of Knightmare Games Fishmen, and GW's original Saharduin +

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+ Painting +

+ Still WIP at the time of this review, I wanted to include a few notes on painting the figure – which is proving a treat. I couldn't resist working up the face a little more, and you can see character and detail apparent in the sculpt even at this stage. +

+ One of the lovely aspects of weird one-off aliens like this is the absolute freedom for colour schemes. There's no set expectation for them. I toyed with a brighter colour (as I'd used for the Knightmare Miniatures ones above), but since this sculpt is far more salamander-esque, I decided to go for a more muted, earthy tone. He's got a bit of a Star Wars feel at the moment, which is no bad thing – as noted above, while the Piscean would fit in nicely with the 40k universe, he'd be equally at home in other universes, like Gates of Antares. +

+ Having opted for green skin, I decided that battered brown-black leather would help set it off, so I'm using that for the straps, and a more neutral grey for the rest of the clthing/armour. This low-key scheme is at an early stage, and I'll be working it up before adding some contrasting markings to provide some eye-catching highlights and a flash of exotic colour. +

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+ The good, the bad, and the fishy +

+ Overall, I'm delighted with the figure. Partially that's down to my enthusiasm for retrohammer-flavoured fishmen models, but even objectively this was a real treat. The sculpting is top-notch, and as one might expect of an ex-FW sculptor, fits into the aesthetic of my largely GW collection really naturally. Happily, the production quality – often the weakpoint of indie studios – is also excellent. +

+ On the downside, I've heard a couple of comments from other backers that their model arrived broken, so hopefully for future projects Dead Earth Miniatures will consider using small cardboard boxes for packaging to help minimise damage on figure(s). +

+APPENDEDIT: I've just been informed by another backer that her model turned up in a bubblewrap envelope within a cardboard box, so looks like this issue has already been resolved – good show, DEM!+

+ The pricing – £22 Kickstarter, £24 retail – is in the same ball park as Forge World's kits, which I think is fair for a figure of this size and quality, even if it squeezed me out of going for the variants and options that formed part of the Kickstarter. I think Dead Earth Miniatures might have run out of time on getting pics of those options up before the Kickstarter finished, but have offered backers a freepost option, which I thought was a nice touch – and means that I may well pick up a variant if the bits catch my fancy. +

+ In summary, this is an extremely well-sculpted and thoughtfully designed figure that I'd have no hesitation in recommending. Quality-wise it's doing everything right, packed with interesting detail and a treat to the painter. I'd not have blinked if you'd told me it was an official Necromunda Hired Gun figure, and given the high quality of that range, that's a compliment. +

+ inload: Project completion +

+ Showcase: Isorian 8854th Kleisoura: Karba's Huntsmen +

+ Karba's Huntsmen +

+ 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' 'What should you do if you meet the Buddha on the road?' To these immortal koans, we might* safely add 'Is the army complete?' +

* On consideration, let's not.

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+ The shelf of shame and the cupboard of opportunity +

+ Finished or not, I've painted all the models of my Isorian force, so thought I'd pop 'em up for a little showcase. + This army came about through little more than giving the garage a tidy-up and stumbling over some C3 sprues, bought long ago and sat in a box since. On a whim, I pulled them out, built them and got them painted. Something as simple as 'finishing' an old kit that had sat there for years made me really pleased. As a Christmas treat to myself, I bought a few Isorian kits in a Warlord sale, and set myself the challenge of painting them all over the Christmas break. As you can see from the date, I rather missed that deadline – but that's part of the pleasure of a hobby: you set your own expectations. My advice? Set them so that it's a continual reward, not another pressing duty. +

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+ Part of the pleasure of collecting is knowing that your collection can expand – but that can become malignant and counter-productive, and leave you feeling like you've got a mountain to climb – the proverbial 'shelf of shame'. +

+ Regular inloaders will have seen previous finished forces pop up every so  often. These range from little groups, like my Astral Claws Kill Team or my Blood Bowl team, Chaunterwick Unathletic, all the way up to entire armies of Iron Warriors or more 'high concept' stuff like my retrohammer Blood Angels.  However, it's only in the past few years that I've jumped over to considering things complete. Previous forces, like my Ultramarines or Imperial Guard, for example, I've never seen them as 'done' in the same way. I think that's comes down to little more than a bit of a shift in priorities; and a realisation that I quite like having a stage where something is finished (even if temporarily). +

+ How you pursue and exercise your hobby is down to you. I know a lot of people get a great deal of pleasure in cataloguing and drafting spreadsheets to plan their work, while others are far more instinctive in what they do. For myself, I find painting most relaxing when I vary things. Sometimes building for a deadline is exhilarating; other times I find the idea paralysing. Sometimes recording everything and sharing it is fun; other projects I keep to myself. The important lesson, I guess, is to try to keep things interesting for yourself, and ensure that you see your leisure time as enjoyable rather than another pressure or duty. Having an ambition – even something as simple as 'I want to have these models painted and take a picture of them all' – might help you change your attitude to those kits and materials hanging around: they shouldn't be a burden on you. If you feel they are, why not start chipping away at them with a small and achievable project like the C3 squad? If you enjoy that, chip away further – or if it sparks your imagination, like mine did, then why not enjoy that collecting. Just make sure you get it painted! :) +

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+ Last touches +

+ The past few inloads have concentrated on this Isorian force, but if you've missed them, I'd just finished the X-howitzer (that's the big organic-looking gun at the back left of the shot above) and the spotter drones (the floating eyeballs). New in this shot are the  Tsan Ra command squad troopers. + 

+ These are amongst my favourite sculpts in the entire Beyond the Gates of Antares range – you can read the inload on building the kit here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – and they were an equal pleasure to paint.  With hindsight, I'm glad I left them 'til last, as it meant that I'd had the experience of experimenting a little more on the Tsan Ra Phase Troopers (the basic troops). These warriors have already given me some idea for expansion. I'm going to see if I can order some of the Tsan Ra Phase Trooper heads to replace the more ornate Command Squad ones. That will allow me to get some more variety in poses, by using these Command Squad troopers in standard squads (and vice versa). +

+ As a point of comparison, here's one of the normal Tsan Ra Troopers (normal being a relative term for these eight-limbed aliens!) Besides the helm, there's very little difference, allowing for some greater variety through simple kitbashing rather than conversion work. That's been important for this project. It's easy to go down rabbit holes with this hobby, and I've certainly been guilty of converting for the sake of converting in the past. Sometimes it's good to build as intended and get to painting. As always, follow your own muse and inclinations!+

+ I do hope that the previewed new Isorian sculpts – and the second edition of Beyond the Gates of Antares – comes out at some point soon. I'm really hoping to get to a couple of gaming events this year, and I'd love to get Karba's Huntsmen on the field. +

+ That's not to knock the existing sculpts, of course. The Phase Troopers above were a really peculiar experience to paint – modern and unfamiliar, but nostalgic. I'm surprised that the running squad (pictured above) seems to have been withdrawn from sale – perhaps a victim of too many stock-keeping units for shops? – but at least they are still available from Warlord directly. +

+  One thing that I never used to do was varnish figures – but I think these will get a protective coat as soon as the weather warms up a bit to help them stand up to the rigours of gaming. +

+ All the above having been said, I hope that finishing a project comes with a sense of achievement rather than relief. This force certainly has; it's spurred me on to my next projects, and I've already got plans for how this force could expand. Apart from anything else, it seems odd not to have Karba – apparently famous enough to have lent their moniker as a regimental nickname – represented. I'll have to have a think of how I can create him or her. +

+ In the immediate future, however, I have a copy of Strike on Kara Nine, the beginner-friendly starter set, to unpack... Keep your dials attuned to this signal if you'd like to follow along with opening it up. +

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