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I’m a Reaper Vampire Now! Reaper Bones Review

By Rob Baer | August 15th, 2013 | Categories: jstove, Product Review, Reaper, Tabletop Gaming Products

Sup Spikey Bits, JStove here, and as of April 16th 2013, I’m a Reaper vampire.

 A lot of us have been following that kickstarter for a long time, and if like me, you were one of the supporters who had a really simple order consisting of only vampire level miniatures, then your box went out first, and you either already have yours in your hands, or can look forward to having it soon. 

To recap for Reaper’s sake- All of the models are in house and shipping out, orders that were simpler took precedence. Orders that involved paint and model cases are the bottom of the pile, so cheapskates who were only in for a vampire box are getting their toys first.

    So how are the models?

    

First, let’s talk about what they’re made of- Its a polyvinyl. There are a lot of different polyvinyl plastics, like polypropylene and Polyvinyl Chloride, which you’re already familiar with in everyday life. PVC is of course the ubiquitous white plumbing pipes you’re familiar with, and PP is a flexible plastic that is used a lot in the medical industry- You see it in those little days of the week pill counters, the little hinged plastic cases dentures and retainers go in, that sort of thing.
    
So yes, the material is durable. As far as a miniature goes, this stuff is unkillable. They bend but do not break, and oh boy, did a lot of them come bent. Flaccid sword syndrome seems to be a serious problem in this box, but the good news is, just like GW’s Finecast resin, this stuff bends back into shape under hot water. If you throws these models on the ground, they’ll bounce… Can’t say the same for the paintjob of course, because I haven’t gotten that far yet, but for a gaming model I’m pretty enthusiastic about the idea of my toys not shattering when they drop.
   
    How are the casts?

The casts themselves are uniformly clean. Some models have gratuitous mold lines, but most of them came out alright. Some of the more detailed models need to be significantly de-flashed, but I’ve unbagged and de-sprued every model in the vampire box by now and I can say pretty safely that this stuff is a lot cleaner and more well behaved than the resin we’ve been used to getting from Britain lately. Good work, Texas. (Ahem, China)

    The detail of the cast is hit or miss- Several factors are making it harder to judge.

     First of all, the plastic is bone white. You can probably tell from my garbage quality iphone photos how frustrating that is. I apologize for that, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about it, having misplaced my real camera.

    Second, the material holds certain details better than others- Organic detail is pretty much perfect. Inorganic detail with hard edges suffers. This is pretty typical with most miniature materials though, so I’m willing to allow a little grace. The details that the casting does capture are immaculate. The monsters, the barbarians, feathers, flesh, scales, fur… Its all gorgeous. You can see every muscle form in the giant’s body. If you bought these models to have a lot of toys to paint, you won’t be disappointed in the organic detail.

    The screwier plate wearing warriors, golems, and dudes with sharp sticks are less forgiving, but again… Pick your battles. I haven’t seen any error so horrifying that I’m disenfranchised with it.
    How do they convert?
   
    The polyvinyl is a soft material and doesn’t put up a fight against your drill or your knife. This stuff slices like butter when you chop it off. The nicest thing about it is that it grabs pins. When you drill it, the hole naturally sucks a bit, so its easy to drill a good, deep pinning hole and sink a rod in there nice and tight. The polyvinyl bonds well with superglue, and I’ve already been frankensteining some of these guys.

    Here’s a bossy space marine I’m working on- He has parts from every major casting material on the miniature market. Pewter, 2 generations of GW plastic, and a forgeworld marine helmet. None of the other materials had significant problems bonding to each other, everyone behaved themselves with the Reaper stuff.

    Am I satisfied with it?

    It’s still too early to responsibly say, I’m still dealing with a lot of the kid in a candy store sensation. The biggest problem is consistency, but not consistency on the part of the casts, consistency on the part of the sculpts. Reaper employs the widest range of freelance sculpting talent in the miniature business, and some of these models are incredibly detailed, while some of them are literally just tiny little rats. It is difficult to evaluate the model quality over the wide range of models provided.

    The models with a lot of organic detail are flawless and beat finecast all day. The models with hard edges need love, but are serviceable. Bending the swords back into shape and the filing the edges to make them crisp again looks like it will fix the worst offenders.

    What I can say pretty convincingly right now is that this new Bone material is a winner for the horde army enthusiast who needs to buy a lot of nameless mooks. I traded in my biker Sophie and bulked up on sci-fi style helmet wearing rifle toting goons to use as Imperial Guard allies and chaos cultists, and I’m very pleased with that decision. The “obligatory low level dungeon garbage” monsters like goblins, bugs, zombies and skeletons also pass mustard and I’m pretty sure there isn’t a D and D player alive with a dry eye when he opens that box.

     One of the most significant features of the box are the gryphon’s wings- Since all the material is flexible, lightweight polyvinyl, Reaper has opened up a whole new arena for those of us who need flying monsters like greater demons, big bugs, and dragons. The organic detail is clean, the parts are flexible and impervious to damage, and pin easy. 

If you’re into converting stuff like demon princes, then I have to say that ripping the wings off of these Bones models is going to be a regular thing for you, as they have the ideal qualities for converting. As a matter of fact, if anyone from Reaper is watching… For the love of god, start selling these Bones wings separately in the online store, they’re a gold mine monstrous creatures and Marine armies that have “Angel” in the chapter name.

That’s it guys, i’m outta here, BUT checkout my other fun and exciting articles by clicking this link right HERE. -Jstove

About the Author: Rob Baer

rob avatar face

Rob Baer

Job Title: Managing Editor

Founded Spikey Bits in 2009

Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X

About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.

Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls. 

Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.

Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.

With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.

While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.

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