West Wind - Empire of the Dead - An Invisible Man - Review and unboxing

The invisible man arrives contained within a standard clamshell pack.

West Wind kindly gave this pack as a gift for review, I posted an unboxing video here:

Content:
1 Invisible man
1 round 30mm diameter base

Quality:
The invisible man is well sculpted, mold lines are intelligently placed and will require little work to clean up. Details, such as the rags over the face, are crisp and should paint up well.

Appearance:
The invisible man depicts a man who, in a direct reference to H G Wells' novel, has somehow become invisible. Rather than just an empty base, which would be very boring, or casting the model from translucent material, which is very expensive, West wind have chosen to sculpt a man desperately working to make himself visible.

Table top usage:
Until the supplement is released the invisible man has no official rules for EotD. I suspect that he will use a form of hidden deployment.

Scale:
The invisible man is clearly sculpted in 28mm heroic scale:

The invisible man next to a 28mm heroic model

Cost per model:
The Invisible man retails for £4 - for a single metal miniature in 28mm scale this is highly competitive.


Conclusion:

Similar to Raphael the invisible man is a great miniature at a solid price. He will work well as a roleplaying character - porting easily to other universes. The forthcoming supplement for EotD will add rules for him to the game. In the meantime he could easily work as a lightly armed gentleman or thrall. Overall 10 out of 10.

West Wind - Empire of the Dead - Victorian Servants 2 - Review and Unboxing

The servants arrive tightly packed into a standard clamshell pack - this seems highly indicative of their lot in life!

West Wind kindly gave me this pack to review, I have posted an unboxing video here.

Content:

1 butler
1 governess
1 maid
1 house boy
4, 30mm round plastic bases

Quality:

Each servant is cleanly cast in white metal, flash and mold lines are minimal. The maid has one across her face that you'll want to be very careful when removing.

Appearance:
Each servant is clearly distinguishable, with an element of their role indicated in their sculpt. The butler stands rigidly at attention, the governess holds a candle to shoo wayward children back to bed, the maid clutches a mop whilst the houseboy's insignificance (house boys would serve other servants without ever being seen by any of the house family) is indicated by his relaxed stance.

Table top usage:
The Victorian servants are non combatants in Eotd. They can take part as targets in the civilians scenario described in the core rulebook. They also lend themselves to general use in scenarios as either objectives or bystanders.

Scale:
The servants fit neatly into the 28mm heroic scale.

To the left a 32mm scale model, to the right a 28mm heroic scale model.

Cost per model:
At £12 for a pack of 4 the servants work out at £3 each - highly competitive for metal models in this scale. The 4 models for £12 are actually the best value packs West Wind sell being slightly better than the 8 models for £25 of the starter packs. The exception to this is the zombies box which is £25 for 10 models.


Conclusion:

I like the servants a lot, they have a strong visual theme and lend themselves to a great number of game systems. I feel significant improvement could only come from moving away from metal into resin or hard plastic. Overall 9 out of 10

West Wind - Empire of the Dead - Infernium Hound and Handler - Review and Unboxing

The hound and handler arrive together in a standard clamshell pack

Westwind kindly gave me this box for the purposes of review, I have uploaded an unboxing video Here

Content:

1, handler
1, hound
2, 30mm plastic bases

Quality:
The hound and handler are neatly cast in white metal. The hounds legs are very close together, not however, to the point of being fused into a single lump. This is an indicator of quality and will allow the model to be posed less statically if it is freed from the tab. I recommend using a jewelers saw if you intend to do this.

Appearance:
The handler has a different hat to regular bobbies, this seems a little random as special branch don't. Maybe it is to clearly mark him out as a non-combatant. The hound strikes a nice balance between being overtly mechanical and still resembling a dog. Whilst the pose is too static for my liking, with both pairs of legs posed identically, this does lend the model  an air of robotic unnaturalism - which may have been intentional. 

Table top usage:
At time of writing, the the hound and handler have no published rules. I anticipate that the hound will be a strong melee combatant whilst the handler will be weaker than a normal bobbie. There will also I expect, be rule for what happens to the hound if the handler is killed.
Personally, I would have the hound require both line of sight to and being within 12" of the handler in order to be given new orders. Otherwise, it would simply complete its current order and then act only in response to being attacked. This seems 'realistic' given the level of technology in Eotd and it rewards tactical play in terms of both protecting and attacking the handler.


Scale:
The handler is 28mm heroic scale.

To the left a 32mm scale model, to the right a 28mm heroic scale example.

Cost per model:
At £7 for the combined pack the models retail at £3.50 each, this is highly competitive for metal models.


Conclusion:

I think that a pair of hounds in individual stances could be a good seller, they'd have a wide range of appeal. The handler ties this set to the Eotd universe, for which they currently have no rules. If that isn't an issue for your group then I think this set is good buy to expand your bobbie force. Overall 8 out of 10

West Wind - Empire of the Dead - Order of the Dragon Masked Thugs - Unboxing and Review

The thugs arrive packed tightly into a clamshell pack; this might explain their angry demeanor! 

Westwind kindly gifted me this box for the purposes of review, I have uploaded an unboxing video Here

Contents:

4 metal 28mm Thugs

4 30mm round bases 

Quality:

The thugs are cleanly cast in white metal. Mold lines are few and intelligently placed. Westwind are very good at sculpting and casting which is highly in evident here.

Appearance:

Similar to the thralls included in the Vampire starter box, the thugs are individualistic yet linked in appearance. I like this, as it allows the painter a chance to experiment, avoiding the monotony of uniforms, yet tie all the models together as a single force. I feel this suits the fluff of a vampire group, which, is likely made up of disparate individuals - who while likely to have made some effort to resemble the vampire leader haven't been issued any sort of full formal uniform. The opera masks are the obvious example, however the cloaks tie them to the thralls in the vampire starter box.

Table top usage:

I was very excited at the release of the Thugs, as possessing both the Vampire starter box and the order of the dragon starter box I have a lot more heroes than I can legally field at once. This is due to the rule imposed by Empire of the Dead's core mechanics, which requires three henchmen be fielded for every hero.
Outside of allowing a Vampire player field more vampires (all vampires are (anti?)heroes) the thugs act as standard henchmen: grabbing objectives, attacking enemies and acting as human shields for their vampire masters. 

Personally I tend to equip thralls with heavy pistols and swords, this gives them a strong melee attack and keeps them cheap enough to be fielded in large numbers.

Scale:

The thugs fit neatly into the 28mm heroic scale

To the left a 32mm scale model to the right a 28mm

Cost per model:

The Thugs retail for £12 this works out at £3 per model. For metal models of this scale this is highly competitive.

Conclusion:

The Thugs are a neat little pack, allowing vampire players to expand beyond their starter box. I would have liked to see a female Thug or two for verity, variety and inclusivity however. Overall 9 out of 10