Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Other Adventures => Topic started by: Brandubh on December 19, 2017, 01:27:59 AM
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enable rant mode:
Who decided that the new Malifaux minis needed to be composed the way they are?
That they need to have been split as many ways as they have? That they should be this fiddly?
I just recently started getting back into Malifaux and got a bunch of the Gremlins and some others...
Lenny, a decent sized miniature: 13 parts. It went together okay-ish I guess. The Swine-Cursed? Not
so much. Bad gap issues, even after trying to adjust. And heads composed of 4 different part? Really? Seriously?
Alt Barbaros for the Neverborn was painful: very small connection points for the sword/hands to connect to
two separate arm pieces. th wings just don't seem to sit right and again with very small connection points.
I'm not even going to talk about the Alley Cats from the nightmare edition Curiosity Killed the Cat set. At least
now I know why they are titled "Nightmare." (edit: the top right mini in the picture is 7 pieces)
I do feel sorry for any newbies that are trying this for their first miniatures gaming.
rant mode off: They are good looking minis once they are together. I do like the game, maybe not as much
as V1.5 but I do like it.
-B
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With you bro.
Hate having to put figures together. Especially when there is no good reason to
have them in so many parts. One giant pain.
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Malifaux really lost me when they went to plastic. Their old metals had so much personality and I have found none of that in their plastic kits. The people look like dressed mannequins & I agree that they keep getting more and more unecessarily complicated. And maybe it's just me but I think the details keep getting softer as well.
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I have so many broken gremlin/goblin models - love attaching models at the ankles when the joint is larger than the tip of my glue bottle. There is no conceivable way to get a drop of glue that small on some of those joints.
Ninja gremlins (Moon Shinobi?) - 2 have broken.
Rooster Riders - 2 roosters broke at the ankle, and after a quick fix to make them look like they were wearing chains and shackles, then a gun broke off the 3rd.
Wong - can't keep his hand attached.
I have simply given up buying any more Malifaux at this point.
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I don't play Malifaux, but have bought some of their plastics for other uses, and even though I found them no big hassle to put together (a box of Hoar Cats(?)), I too was wondering about the unnecessary splitting of parts which could just as easily have been moulded in one piece.
This, I suppose, is the result of doing all design work in 3D software. There's no (actual) gravity when creating 3D models, so parts bending or being impossible to hold up through tiny connection points is not an issue.
Also, when the model is ready to be broken up for casting, mould considerations only come apparent then, and certain parts will not fill properly, unless they're seperate pieces. But it could also be that the cutting up of the model for casting is automatically done by a program.
Either way, I suppose there's a learning curve to find out what is practical or not. And maybe the designers just need to let go of the idea of making as small and detailed as possible parts. ::)
Again; just because you can, doesn't mean you should!
I'm almost starting to believe I'm well off with my Infinity antenna's, fins and other assorted small parts... lol
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Some of the miniatures can be insane to assemble, yes. Several times I stared at sprues thinking "whaaaaaaaaat?". But some fine tweezers, a good glue applicator and a BIG serving tray on my lap to catch any falling parts made sure assembly went fine. And yes, the final miniatures are great.
But I am still amazed by Wyrd's choices in plastic models. They have been doing plastic for years now and you'd think they would change it so new gamers can start playing faster and with less hassle. I just don't see new gamers getting into this game if they don't have a lot fo modeling experience.
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Fiddly multi part minis are the bane of my Wargaming existence. I gave up my attempt at Bushido as soon as I had the minis in hand.
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I agree 100% with you sir.. I despise little fiddly parts especially with my fat fingers.
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I have a running joke with a friend of mine -- we're curious how long before Malifaux comes out with a model with individual teeth on the sprue.
The models look absolutely amazing, and I love them ... when I can actually assemble them, and when they stay together. Makes me miss the metal gremlins.
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By Yan Lo's Beard!
"By Yan Lo's Beard!" is a common expression of frustration. It is named after Yan Lo's beard, a very difficult part to assemble.
https://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/M2E+Yan+Lo (https://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/M2E+Yan+Lo)
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(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJ6OG_DNPvI/WL3nd-K2toI/AAAAAAAAB-8/B7JNxuLwq4cmZmqlXvtXrvK_fuJS2jKMQCLcB/s1600/punkzombiehead2.png)
Two part head...
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The ones I've done have certainly been complex and often a bit fiddly, but the online assembly instructions made what to do clear enough (as well as letting me know in advance what I was getting in to) and they've all been solid once dry - albeit a bit fragile-looking due to the thin plastic bits. Despite that the plastics are more durable than many of the multipart metals in the old days were. Their contact areas were frequently awful and far too small to drill and pin. Maybe I've just been lucky in my choices but so far I haven't any real complaint with the plastics, where I absolutely hated some of metal stuff for being too fragile for use.
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yup, when malifaux first went plastic i knew i was not a fan. I left the game for a few years and when one of my buddies said he wanted to play again i told him i'll only play with the metals. Which surprisingly aren't that hard to find and cost less than the newer stuff.
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Most of them are just unnecessary complicated but there are few that are impossible to do in sustainable usable way.
Yan lo beard you glue and never touch again..
But Zombie Chihuahua its impossible to handle without damaging.. Dead doxy hat is glued by half a mm fingers.. and its mostly taken by that hat in the hassle of the game.. and so on..
And I play Ressers - not that fidly faction.. :)
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While a few models have tempted me, I've been considering their wild boars for other gaming uses...how are they in comparison to the pile of parts stuff?
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This is my first point of call: http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.co.uk/p/unboxing-malifaux.html (http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.co.uk/p/unboxing-malifaux.html)
The instructions for most of the figures are available on the Wyrd [edit: damn you autocorrect] website, finding them can be frustrating. https://www.wyrd-games.net/build-instructions (https://www.wyrd-games.net/build-instructions)
You do need to know if the figures are in a starter set if you are looking on the GMortisChaotica site as they only appear once (Guild Guard are from the "Bound By Law" starter set so you need to look there).
Normal Internet caveats apply.
Oh, and I managed to assemble one of my Ice Dancers with the wrong face, so I think the other one might be a write off.
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I completely lost interest in Malifaux as a result of the fiddly assembly - a shame as it's a really fun game, interesting setting and once assembled the miniatures are quite nice to paint, but as somebody with a new baby in the household, I just can't justify spending so much time on something so frustrating!
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@SotF, sorry if this is way too late, but I see the Wild Boar question has gone unanswered.
At any rate, I have built three of them and I did not find them particularily fiddly or problematic to build (not in comparison to the gremlins, at least). And the models themselves are really nice as dynamic and angry boars.
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Malifaux was my gateway game back into the hobby after a 20 year absence, and unfortunately I picked Gremlins... Having 3+ part microscopic heads, multi-touch-point hands/arms/weapon assemblies, ultra-thin parts that snap when you clip them from the sprue... just a nightmare. And if assembling isn't hard enough, the joins are often in the worst possible places too - very obvious and hard to cover up without obscuring detail. For me, assembly ranks as my least favourite part of the hobby, and thats a big reason why Malifaux was probably not the game for me.
The game itself - I like the basic mechanics, but too many unique characters and rules. I don't play enough to know what my opponent is setting me up for, so most of my games turned into "gotcha" lessons on what not to do, and I haven't touched my minis in a year or so.
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I don't have any experience with malifaux, but I do have wyrd's criminally underrated boardgame puppetwars.
I must say I was very impressed with their plastic, but yes, there where some very fiddly bit.
I don't think this helped the popluarity of the game, as I've read several reviews of people beig frustrated with having to model, especially on that level.
Really a shame, as the game is really crying out for an expansion, but due to it's lack of popularity I've given up hope for this a long time ago.
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the main reason I've cut back on buying Malifaux is all the fiddly bits.
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Maybe the Hanged in front of me will argue otherwise once I get onto them, but I don't see the problem after assembling GW's Morghast kit and a few of Iron Winds' online exclusives. Although, how is the guy with his tongue hanging out supposed to stay upright on the base....?
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I'm mainly an old school guy, but of the stuff made today, the Malifaux figures are my favorite. They scratch an itch no other miniatures do. They are polar opposite to, for example, the Talisman figures I've been painting lately. I wasn't interested before they went to plastic, and steampunk turns me off, but I love the refined 2e designs and the engineering of the models is awesome. Now that the steampunk has been smoothed into the overall aesthetic, I'm on board. I love the character designs and the backstories. I even like the rules, although the way it's played is much more like chess than I would like, as I need immersion. Same rules, totally different social approach with a campaign behind it would suit me.
Of course I know why the fiddly nature of the figures isn't for everyone, but I have loved every minute of assembling and prepping 2 and a half master boxes and a few minions. And I need to say I really don't like putting together a fiddly or complex metal figures. For example, something like the metal Hordes carnivean for a big complex model, or an Anima tactics figure for tiny metal bits that need to be pinned. This and all the grunt filing. There is no comparison for me. I love the experience of putting together complex plastic figures. They are little puzzles. And the ones I've put together go together perfectly. The only problem I've seen is with the Vengeful Spirits Onryo, where the mold had a problem in the face that left these weird artifacts, like digital artifacts but given form. It was tricky to discern what was supposed to be there from what wasn't, and file them smooth, and it gave me pause. But overall, still not a bad experience. Another time I snipped the sprue connection points in the wrong order and snapped an anchor that a drowned was holding, but replaced it with wire.
You can't ship them and expect them to survive, that's for sure. I bought some painted, because I wanted to play and didn't want to rush my own, and I only play with painted figures. Neverborn young nephilim broke at their tiny attachment points, but I was able to get creative with a metal pin, and now they are much stronger than they were when new, and you wouldn't know the difference.
I chuckle at Wyrd's uncompromising approach, and am surprised and happy that it worked out and they are successful. Most companies play it safe. Not Wyrd. Things like Kirai's scissors and the way she is balanced on the toe of one flip flop are flaunting it.
Anyway, I appreciate both perspectives on the matter. I love it, but there are plenty of other games and ranges for those no so inclined. I'm about to share my first Malifaux figure here in a new thread, BTW.