Review Avian The Forest Witch - Produced by Massive Miniatures

[Gary_81]

Avian The Forest Witch​

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Concept by Luke Fitzsimons​

Sculpted by Stanislav Che​

Cast by Broken Toad​

Produced by www.massiveminiatures.co.uk​

Materiel Grey Resin​

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Packaging and contents ​

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Everything arrived in a sturdy brown cardboard box with foam tubes for extra added security. Inside the outer box was the black Massive Miniatures box with a nice metallic logo printed on the top, which was a nice finishing touch and looked very professional. Upon opening the box everything was well packaged between two pieces of foam and all the parts except the main torso was secured inside plastic bags. On the whole I would say the packaging is very well done and everything arrived in perfect condition.​

The contents of the box includes 13 resin parts which make up the kit plus an art card with the concept art printed on it and a massive miniatures logo sticker, I personally love little extras like stickers and art work as I feel it shows the producer has gone that little extra to make something special.​

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Kit components ​

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Torso and head​

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The model is sculpted in 1/10 scale and measures 7cm from top to bottom without the bird skull head dress. There is one pour spout situated at the top of the head and once clipped off this will be covered by the head dress. There is also one small casting line down the right side of the model but this will only take a scalpel to remove as it is so minimal. I would have to say for quality this is amazing, I have searched for flaws but I haven't been able to find any Broken Toad have really done an amazing job on the casting end.​

As for the sculpt details I just love the face with the subtle design on here forehead. And the little flowers in her hair are a really nice touch. The feathered cloak has been really well done and I think this will lend itself to some glazing to create some lovely colour shifts and variety on the feathers. I also thought the placement of the hair exuded a feminine feel to the model while still keeping it very classy and elegant.​

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Continued in next post​

 

[Gary_81]

Arms and Hand​

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Once again the casting is perfect with minimal clean up to do and only tiny pour spouts to be clipped off and sanded smooth. All the plug joints are so crisp and when I have done a dry test they fit together perfectly so assembly should be no problem at all.​

I hope the photos show all the amazing detail such as the ornate finger tip armour and the amazing bird skull on the shoulder. Every time I look at these pieces I'm amazed at just how much details has been packed in, I love that the shoulder skull even has tiny ropes holding it in place.​

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Headdress ​

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The bird skull once again has only one pour spout to be removed and a tiny bit of flashing to be scraped of and that's all. This is probably my favourite part of the model as I just love all the detail that has been packed in. I think this will be so much fun to paint and you could even include some runes or incantations painted on, maybe some bloody spell markings. I just think for something so simple that has been so well done there are a lot of possibilities to be really creative in how you would paint it up.​

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Staff and Final Piece of Headdress​

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The staff follows the rest of the kit in being top quality in casting and sculpting. I was amazed that such small and thin pieces arrived in perfect condition and also felt very sturdy. The small bird skull fits on the side of the hair and completes the headdress. Like the larger skull it really is so well sculpted and detailed even with the most tiny ropes to hold it in place on Avian's head.​

The staff and charms which hang from it really have a magical feel to them with the gnarled wood and the stone in the centre giving the staff a really nice and rustic feel, something that fits perfectly with a forest witch. I personally will probably use something like Milliput after I glue the pieces just to add an extra degree of stability because I'm sure during painting I will knock things about a bit and will probably have the delicate charms off a few times.​

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Final thoughts​

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For me I am very happy with what I received and at the price of £40 I think this represents great value for money. The casting is of a very high quality and I couldn't find anything that I would list as a fault, the small pour spouts and the odd bit of flash or casting line where so small that cleanup should take five or ten minutes before you're ready to assemble.​

As for the sculpt I loved it the first time I saw it and purchased it right away. And I would say if you're on the fence about this one it's worth getting there is so much details and creativity packed into this sculpt that I can tell it will be so much fun to paint.​

I also think that because of the versatility it is great for experienced painters and also less experienced or people like me who are returning to painting after a long break. I think over the months we will see some really creative takes on this piece and I can't wait to see them.​

A thought about Massive Miniatures. This was my first time buying from them and they seem like a really nice company, I also purchased Rosalind who I will review soon and I'm sure I will be buying A Moment of Serenity soon also. I think with there product line growing and the quality being so high they will get a loyal fan base and I'm already included on that list. I would have no problem recommending them to other painters and I really do hope they can go from strength to strength.​

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I hope my first review has been ok and of some interest to the other forum members and any advice will be greatly received. On that I will leave you with a final picture of Avian from the Massive Miniatures website.​

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Gary​

 

[franck edet]

great review Gary, i didn't know about this bust and i'm definitely on the line to go and buy one now !

 

[Gary_81]

great review Gary, i didn't know about this bust and i'm definitely on the line to go and buy one now !

I'm really glad you liked the review Franck. I think you will be really happy if you get it, there are just so many possibilities for how to paint it up and the service from Massive Miniatures was great.

Gary

 

[Forté]

Good review there Gary. I have a copy of this bust for a future review too. Only had a quick look so far due to time. Good to see her getting out there. I'll pop this review over to Massive Miniatures.

Look forward to see your thoughts of Rosalind and A Moment of Serenity is on my desk and you're in for a treat with that one.

 

[Gary_81]

Good review there Gary. I have a copy of this bust for a future review too. Only had a quick look so far due to time. Good to see her getting out there. I'll pop this review over to Massive Miniatures.

Look forward to see your thoughts of Rosalind and A Moment of Serenity is on my desk and you're in for a treat with that one.

Thanks Forte I'm glad you liked the review. I'm really happy I found Massive Miniatures they have a great line up so far and I can't wait to see it expand with new models. I look forward to seeing your review when you post it to. I do really like the look of A Moment of Serenity, it has a nice classic fairy tale feel and just seems to capture a story with the sculpt.

Gary

 

[atacam]

Hi Gary

Thank you for the kind words. It is great when you see customers like what you do. And especially enough to write things like this and show others.

Do you mind if I share this on our Facebook page please?

Luke.

 

[Gary_81]

Hi Gary

Thank you for the kind words. It is great when you see customers like what you do. And especially enough to write things like this and show others.

Do you mind if I share this on our Facebook page please?

Luke.

Hi Luke,

It is a great miniature and I'm glad you liked the review. I would be very happy for you to share it on your Facebook page. I hope either this week or next to also have the Rosalind review done, I still can't believe the details on those tiny fairies just hope I can do it justice in a review.

Gary

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Though not in my area of modelling interest Gary, I can definitely appreciate a quality product & the sculpting, casting & parts breakdown of this bust is superb. Thanks for presenting such a concise & informative review, & congratulations to Massive Miniatures for producing an incredible piece. It deserves to sell well.

 

[Gary_81]

Though not in my area of modelling interest Gary, I can definitely appreciate a quality product & the sculpting, casting & parts breakdown of this bust is superb. Thanks for presenting such a concise & informative review, & congratulations to Massive Miniatures for producing an incredible piece. It deserves to sell well.

Thanks Chris. I really think Massive Miniatures will do well if they carry on how they have started. It's also nice to see them using Broken Toad as the caster, building a nice community of local model producers working together.

Gary

 

[Jim]

Great review. But, doggone it, now I have to raid the grandsons' college funds to get this one and 'Rosalind'. Poor, pitiful me. Very nice sculpting and casting.

 

[Gary_81]

Great review. But, doggone it, now I have to raid the grandsons' college funds to get this one and 'Rosalind'. Poor, pitiful me. Very nice sculpting and casting.

Hey thank's Jim. With the way the education system is at the moment I think Avian and Rosalind are much better investments and certainly a lot more fun. I will be reviewing Rosalind very soon maybe today or tomorrow and honestly when you see some of the details you will be amazed. It really shows how lucky we are as collectors with the quality that is being produced.

Gary

 

[atacam]

Hi Luke,

It is a great miniature and I'm glad you liked the review. I would be very happy for you to share it on your Facebook page. I hope either this week or next to also have the Rosalind review done, I still can't believe the details on those tiny fairies just hope I can do it justice in a review.

Gary

Thank you Gary.

 

[Bone]

Lovely sculpt and very nice painting. Looks a little like Mrs Trump?

 

[Gary_81]

Lovely sculpt and very nice painting. Looks a little like Mrs Trump?

Hey Bone I never noticed the Mrs Trump aspect until you said it but I think it's those lovely high cheek bones.
The sculpt is really nice to and when you have it in your hands you notice so many amazing little details.

Gary

 

[atacam]

Lovely sculpt and very nice painting. Looks a little like Mrs Trump?

Mrs Trump. He he. Whilst Melina is an attractive woman. We used the art and used some pictures of Olivia Munn too.

 

[Gary_81]

Mrs Trump. He he. Whilst Melina is an attractive woman. We used the art and used some pictures of Olivia Munn too.

After looking up who Olivia Munn is I can see the likeness. I really do like the artwork a lot, that was the main reason I used it as the thumbnail picture for the review. And the sculpting captures everything I love about the artwork.

Gary

 

[atacam]

After looking up who Olivia Munn is I can see the likeness. I really do like the artwork a lot, that was the main reason I used it as the thumbnail picture for the review. And the sculpting captures everything I love about the artwork.

Gary

Agreed.

we have a few more sculpts lined up using the same artist.