Wizkid’s range of Unpainted TTRPG miniatures is an easy and interesting way to build a collection of models for tabletop gaming. Typically, all of these models are available in a pre-painted form, and it’s quite interesting to look at the commercial paint jobs and see how your skills compare.
The latest wave of these toys for the Critical Role range is a mix of monsters, heroes and villains. All of them are at a scale suitable for playing Dungeons & Dragons and most fantasy table-top miniatures games, and they all come ‘pre-primed’, which means there’s a (very thin) layer of grey paint on each model to make them easier to paint. They’re all fixed-pose, which means that if you have multiples of each model, you may want to give each one a different paint job.
First up in this wave is the Cobalt Golem, which is the large robot-like monster that Grog kicks out the window in the Vox Machina. It’s quite a simple model, essentially being a vaguely knight-shaped robot with a huge sword. Its ‘skin’ is detailed in a rippled and cracked way (much like the finish you get on worked cobalt). It’s a nicely done piece with enough detail to be fun for anyone looking for a painting project without too much of a challenge.
Another golem is the Halas Flesh Golem, a nightmarish melding of corpses that the Mighty Nein faced while journeying through the ancient arcane labs in the Folding Halls of Halas. It’s a very nicely done abomination of the sort that will delight collectors of horror-themed miniatures and looks corrupt and terrifying. Limbs and faces just out of a muscular form. The build is perhaps the one that will require the most work in terms of cleaning and painting, simply because of the nature of the sculpt.
Sticking with the monsters, the Naga Abomination is a large six-headed snake monster, with each head having a slightly different sculpt, giving it quite a lot of personality for what is essentially a giant snake monster. The central head has a cobra’s hood, and the other two have some sort of hair. You could also paint this in multiple colours to make it a little bit Tiamat-like. The Naga Abomination is a callback to the first aired episode of Critical Role, and it’s a fun and straightforward project. You may want to add some sort of filler to smooth the areas where the serpentine heads connect, but beyond that, it’s a pretty simple build.
The wave includes one blister with a Xhorhasian mage and a prowler. Xhorhas is mostly full of drow elves, and these models reflect that. They are dressed in functional finery. The prowler is posed as if they are about to attack someone sneakily. The mage looks austere and angry. Nice, if delicate, models.
The next blister features Lucien Tavalle & Cree Deeproots. Lucien is a major villain from the Mighty Nein Campaign and is posed in a conciliatory way, open-handed and about to deliver a monologue. His companion, the cat-person blood-priest Cree, is posed casting a spell. The spell effect takes up the model’s right hand and is made of translucent plastic. These are well-sculpted plastic pieces.
Finally, we have one blister pack for two terrible siblings: Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III & Cassandra de Rolo. The former is the gun-slinging hero from Vox Machina, and he’s posed donning his plague mask and holding a pistol. His sister is posed with crossed arms, looking very much the diplomat. Both pieces are well made and paint well.
Wave Five is a solid mix of useful monsters and character pieces and a fun project for any Critter.
