Batman (the Miniature Game) Beginnings

It's tough to say which superhero in the current twenty-first-and-a-sixth-century-pantheon-of-superheroes reigns supreme.  One thing is for certain; Batman is on the Mount Rushmore of superheroes.

Batman's resurrection with Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy has kept Bruce Wayne in popular culture while previously popular heroes have languished.

I'm looking right at you, Superman.

Catwoman, Damian Wayne Robin, and Batgirl from Knight Models' Batman Miniature Game.

For about five years now, a small Spanish company known as Knight Models has been manufacturing DC miniatures for a skirmish game set in the Batman universe.  The models are in 35mm scale, and all are cast in a white metal.

I should stop now and say that Infinity has spoiled me.

I struggled for hours with Catwoman's round face.  I never could get her face to be worthy of the sexy Selina Kyle.  In fact, I decided to just leave her without makeup in my final attempt.

As great as the Infinity models may look, all of the details on Infinity models are exaggerated to make painting easier.  I have always found it surprising that folks coming from Games Workshop games struggle to deal with the details on Infinity models.  Now I understand their pain.

Batgirl from Knight Models' Batman Miniature Game.  I love this sculpt, and a happy accident made it even more awesome.

BMG models are wonderfully detailed.  Look at Catwoman's suit, it has two textures.  The underside of Batgirl's cape has a very subtle texture intentionally applied to it in order to help the cape have more sheen.

But all of the details are shallow.

Damian Wayne.  The least popular version of Robin.  Still, this is a wonderful job by a superb sculpter capturing so much of his character.

These are not models you rush.  Too thick of a base coat and the details are gone.

And now I feel spoiled by Corvus Belli's line.  Even when the Infinity line is considered difficult to paint, the details on BMG sculpts are so tiny that they're easy to lose.

That's not to say that the BMG figures aren't fun to paint.  Quite the opposite.  It's an exquisite experience having so much character emerge as you paint them, something that Corvus Belli's sculpts often lack.

These three models took about a week from assembly to completion, and I'm excited to dive into more.