Phil from Osprey kindly sent me a box of the new Frostgrave plastic cultists - so I obviously had to immediately throw a few together to see what they were like
I'm using these to further build out my plastic painting pile for my Game of Thrones project.
Although the styling of the components is more outright fantasy than I’d normally be interested in, I like the Cultists set very much.
The poses are a bit more interesting and dynamic than the first Frostgrave Soldier set; the components (including a generous 16 different heads) are more sharply sculpted and cast, and although the five bodies included (there are four identical frames in the set, giving 20 figures) still suffer from a certain softness of detail and one or two ugly undercuts, overall they’re a pretty handsome and versatile kit of parts.
Only one slight downside for me: Because (for extra versatility, so you can make dead / undead cultists) there are two different zombie heads and a couple of different skeletal heads included, plus assorted arms to accompany these, there are rather less ‘regular’ arm and weapon options than in the first set. Although, that said, there are several separate hands clutching assorted evil-looking daggers, which can be grafted on with minor surgery.
The slightly holey, tattered clothes, plus the various dead/undead options, mean that this set lends itself particularly well to GoT conversions - eminently suitable for kitbashing White Walkers, Wildlings / Free Folk of various denominations, and the Night’s Watch, as well as Northern houses like Starks, Boltons and so on.
So here are my first few test mash-ups using the Cultists set…
Stark bowman and Bolton banner-bearer.
This is the first of the bodies on the cultists’ frame. It’s upright and nicely done. I’ve used it twice here.
The Stark bowman has a GB Dark Age warrior head with added Green Stuff long hair. His arms are from the original Perry WOTR set.
The Bolton bannerman has a Coppergate-style helmeted head from the GB Saxons set, plus a pair of armoured sword and standard-bearer arms from the Perry WOTR command frame.
This being the North where it’s chilly, both have added Green Stuff fur capes.
The next two are both built on body number 2. This one has a very nicely modelled padded jerkin, which (as you can see on the longbowman) allows it to be neatly paired with a variety of Perry arms clad in similarly quilted armour.
The bowman is going to be another Stark. His open bascinet and longbow arms are from the Perry HYW set. Note the very nice new quiver of arrows which comes with the Cultists set. Again, this is rather better than the one included in the original Frostgrave Soldiers set. The wooden targe is from the Perry Mercenaries set.
The second figure is a Bolton - or possibly even a Frey crossbowman. Maybe one of those villains from The Red Wedding… He’s got one of the (many) hooded cultist heads, and a pair of Perry WOTR crossbow arms. The quiver full of quarrels is another nice new piece from the Cultists set.
The next one is a Bolton or Frey (TBC) swordsman. This uses the third cultist body – a nicely detailed outfit and a great lunging pose. The arms are also from the Cultists set, although I’ve swapped out the OTT fantasy scimitar for a more proportionate WOTR broadsword blade. I’ve added a scabbard and an Italianate barbute helmet from the Perry Mercenaries set.
Note the raised left arm – there are several variants of this arm included in the Frostgrave Cultists set. I think they’re meant to be scary claw-like hands. They’re very finely done, and work for fighting poses like this one.
Number 6 in this batch is a Bolton armoured spearman.
This is the fourth of the cultist bodies – again, a very well done and dynamic piece – a strong, legs-braced stance, without too much of the slightly odd bandy-leggedness that characterises some of this sculptor’s other work for Fireforge.
I like the Monkish rope belt on him (because rope belts always paint up nicely), and the stance lends itself to an aggressive spear defense, using a pair of armoured arms from the Perry HYW English Army men-at-arms frame, plus a Perry WOTR great helm for that slightly sinister, businesslike look…
For some reason, the fifth and final cultist body hasn't inspired me so far, so instead, for the last character in this group - another rascally Bolton - I’ve used a Perry HYW longbowman body with a pair of the cultists' arms.
The axe is slightly fantastical, but one of the few weapons options in the Cultists set which looks reasonably realistic in its proportions.
His head is one of several open-faced, hooded heads in the new Frostgrave set. The faces themselves are all a wee bit exaggerated, GW-like / pseudo-Orcish. But a couple of them will pass muster for real human faces. Again, it’s very finely done - as are all the heads. This one reminds me of an Enid Blyton evil goblin - so just about right for a Frey or a Bolton...
There are even a couple of heads in the set wearing skull-like masks - one of these is a dead ringer for the ‘Lord of Bones’ from the HBO series. (Purely co-incidental I’m sure).
The shield is from Fireforge. The large pouch and dagger combo is another useful component included in the new Cultists set.
So, all in all from my point of view (not being all that interested in Frostgrave – sorry Nick and Joe – but hopelessly addicted to kitbashing plastics for A Game of Thrones) this is another excellent new set with a serious amount of potential when it comes to modelling in general, and breaking for spares.
I think it’s also a step-change improvement over the original Frostgrave Soldiers set – which was nice enough anyway. So well done and thumbs up to all concerned
Followers of this thread will note that I now have around 30 recently built figures to paint
So probably no more builds from me for a while, 'cos I really do now need to see some of these through to finished, painted figures
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May 01, 2024, 08:28:46 PM
April 15, 2010, 04:09:08 PM
