Goatboy’s Model Review – Hordes Plastic Boxed Sets
Goatboy here again – doing a batch of model reviews for the new Privateer Press Horde’s plastic boxed sets.
I was lucky enough to get to Adepticon and had a chance to get a new Hordes plastic Battlegroup box. The ones they had available were Trollbloods, Circle, and of course Legion. I got lucky enough to get a hold of one of each and decided I wanted to paint them as a way to get me out of the GW whirlpool of death I am normally in. I am also looking at this from a model person instead of a game player. I wanted to paint these guys and maybe I will get a chance to play with them later on.
As usual I will start the review off with Build, Paint, and Value. Build deals with how the model goes together and the quality of the parts, Paint is based on how easy it is to paint, and the Value is if this model is actually worth it. The review scale is below. So let’s begin.
Goatboy’s Review Scale
1 – Why am I reviewing this? Oh yeah I am probably not going to be putting this on the site.
2 – Barely acceptable. In fact it better be cheap so the sheer crap factor of it might be covered up in savings.
2.5 – Needs more – well more!
3 – Fine – not terrible not amazing.
3.5 – Better then ok – but still just missing that final kick in the gonads.
4 – Good model and worth a look at.
5 – Wow – this kicks ass.
The first boxed set I painted was for Legion. These guys were a lot of fun and I tried to get some color in there with some different hair highlights as well as adding some bring color to the base. Getting a spot color on a model will help bring it out of the battlefield.
Build – 3.5 out of 5
I really like the peg system PP does for their models. This makes putting guys together so easy as they almost fit without glue. I know it limits the ability to pose the model but with the unit being made of plastic it, hacking and changing arms should not be an issue at all. The only thing I didn’t like out of the kit were the small gimpy monsters as their legs did not have peg options and it made for a somewhat weird look as I tried to pose their legs around there small shark like body. The big monster more then made up for it as well as the Caster who looks very good and went together smoothly.
Paint – 3 out of 5
These guys were fun to paint with a lot of craggy features to help drag the paint around. The models were fairly easy to get to the inner parts of and overall the experience was enjoyable. The small armor bits are a pain at times as they easily start to blend together a bit and create some issues trying to get them to look the best. Still these guys were fun to paint as they were a departure from tne normal smooth shoulder pads I get ahold of or the craggy ork stuff that looks rusted and broken.
Value – 4 out of 5
I only know a little bit about the game but these appears to be a great deal. You get enough models to start the game and at 50 bucks you have a nice little gift to test out different paint skills on. I am just happy they are plastic as it makes me look at PP a lot more closely now as a lot of locals play it and I can easily get a good beating/teaching to start me on my way into the world of big shoulder pads and crazy monsters.
Next I got a hold of the Circle boxed set from my buddy Mark. He was nice enough to give me the Werewolves to paint and I was excited to get some paint on these guys. I really liked the look of the werewolf.
Build – 3.5 out of 5
The werewolf itself is a 4.5 but the other options were kinda of meh and brought the overall down. The dogs were just not that dynamic and I thought they could have used some work. I had to cover a lot of gaps with greenstuff to ensure a nicer look. The werewolf and the caster though fit really well together and the big guy alone is a nice example of PP kicking ass with some of their new sculpts.
Paint – 4 out of 5
There is a lot going on with these models and it made painting a blast. There are different forms on the kit with changes from fur to muscle all the way to hard armor. It really makes for a fun model to paint as you get a chance to try out different techniques all on one model.
Value – 4 out of 5
Just like the Legion kit above I am sure this is a great deal at 50 bucks. You get enough to start playing the game.
Next I got ahold of the Trollbloods through a local trade. I gave up some WM models I had gotten in another trade for a chance to paint up some trolls. Thank you to Sarah for trading them to me. Way back when I was getting into wargames again after an absence (life, first marriage, life) this was the battlegroup I played a Demo game with. Gentleben tried to lure me away from the Grimdark and I had fun throwing spears at the Circle caster with the blue Trolls. So it was a nice trip down memory lane to paint up these 4 rowdy models.
Build – 3 out of 5
Everything fit well together I just thought it was odd the spear holders didn’t have a peg where the quiver needs to go. It was just one of those odd things that bother me as I look at a model and try to figure how they were created. It is just one of my pet peeves as I hope to one day create an interesting game.
Paint – 3 out of 5
The caster is the most interesting model in the kit as he has the most variations of form on the model itself. You have metal, fabric, stone, and skin to add to the whole kit. He has a lot of movement as well so he makes for a very striking figure. the 3 other models are rather static with their design and have very little differences between them to create a some what boring look. It is frustrating as the other kits had a cool big monster and this one has 3 rather broish looking guys to paint up.
Value – 3 out of 5
This is where my desire to paint different things comes in and I dropped the score a little as you basically have one guy with 3 of the same sort of kit. I would have loved to see a big fat super troll punching things. I know they have a plastic kit for it so I am not sure why this boxed set was designed this way. If I knew more about the game then I could give a better value if this is worth the 50 bucks as the others.
Right now I am just waiting to get ahold of the Skorne boxed set to complete my total paint of the Horde’s battlegroups. I might have to buy it myself when it hits locally. I really like the idea of painting pain elephants crushing their enemies. The review of the kit shows that it has a lot of options and I feel it is a really nice push in PP model design.
-Goatboy
