Reaper Bones

yxalitis

yxalitis

New member
Got ,my first Reaper bones mini delivered...the Kraken.
Possibly a bad choice, but it appealed to me from the images online.
Thoughts?
Junk...utter trash...
Reviewers are creaming their pants over these models, maybe the smaller ones are ok.

To me the plastic is way too soft, this has two significant side effects.
They don't hold shape, the kraken droops over it's base, which itself is so squishy it won't even sit flat. Note this is at room temperature, if it gets hot in my house, I can imagine the tentacles all flopping down.
The plastic cannot hold sharp details, spikes, points, etc. everything just looks flat and sad. Add a couple layers of paint, and you've lost any detail there was.

I thought I could at least use the tentacles on other models, but they are very poorly modelled, with varying random thickness, and again,m no detail at all!
Really just tempted to toss the box...it wasn't expensive,..now I know why.
 
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Yuggoth

New member
No, the smaller ones are even worse. Some are missing noses, others fingers, weapons are bend, flimsy and riddled with flash. I totally regret this Kickstarter (the first one) and I have begun to hand them out to friends as RPG fodder. There are some random exeptions thou. The female cloud giant came out ok, as did the Pathfinder red dragon and a few others. I can see no method to this madness, it is probably just an awful material combined with a lack of quality control.
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
I wasn't every impressed. I keep seeing Bones models being dumped in miniature exchanges, which is why I no longer participate in them. I even received a few - they all uniformly went in the trash. It's great for practice, say, if you run classes for kids, and need models in bulk for cheap.

For practice, I'll stick to metal models, and that great big tub of acetone I always keep handy, for when things reach the point of no return.
 
KruleBear

KruleBear

Active member
I think the big issue on reviews is the perspective of the reviewer. bones ar great for what they are...inexpensive minis for gaming at are really easy to modify and kit bash. HOWEVER, they are pretty crappy if you are looking for a quality display piece. Detail can be ok, but the material sucks for mold line clean up. Generally the quality is better with bigger models and newer versions tha were designed with the material in mind.

I enjoy them for playing around with and trying new techniques, but have no illusions that I will be able to create a great display mini with them. I also don't get heartburn letting my toddler play with them...i hope they will be like a gateway drug to the hobby for him ;)
 
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supervike

Super Moderator
Yep, not a fan of them either.

I can see the appeal of being more affordable, especially for those bigger kits....but the lack of quality makes them very expendable.

I agree it's a good thing to practice with, or mess with swapping, but I'd take metal every day (and twice on Sunday) over Bones on almost all occasions.

When I paint a metal miniature (even with my cack-handedness) it feels like I have something special. When I paint a cheap plastic toy, it just feels like a cheap plastic toy, despite the paint.
 
Crudelus

Crudelus

New member
Took part on the first kickstarter and regretted it.. miniatures are way too soft and without detail for display painting purposes.. i managed to work some model out (there is an orc who came out nice in my gallery) but i think for most models, if i'll ever want to paint them, i'll buy the metal version.

Bones are great for rpg purposes or speedpaint in my opinion.
 
A

Aerlith Kinspirit

New member
What is the *purpose* of the Bones line? To create inexpensive figures for use with RPGs and other games. As the price of metal has continued to rise, paying $100 for monsters for an adventure is not economical for a new play group. Spending $30-$40 on the same monsters in Bones plastic is a better alternative.

If you are creating a diorama or single figure for a competition, metal or resin is still the best option.

When I am putting on an RPG group, Bones figures are my first choice for price and durability.
 
KruleBear

KruleBear

Active member
Aerlith Kinspirit said:
What is the *purpose* of the Bones line? To create inexpensive figures for use with RPGs and other games. As the price of metal has continued to rise, paying $100 for monsters for an adventure is not economical for a new play group. Spending $30-$40 on the same monsters in Bones plastic is a better alternative.

If you are creating a diorama or single figure for a competition, metal or resin is still the best option.

When I am putting on an RPG group, Bones figures are my first choice for price and durability.
Click to expand...

Yup, it is a good business model and fills an important need in the hobby. They also seem to be playing with the PVC mix which should eventually leed to better quality.

My observation also suggests that models designed with the Bones process in mind are higher quality than old mini lines transferred to Bones. In the meantime my 4 YO has a lot of cheap in scale bad guys to play with and paint if he desires.
 
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WendigoNasty

New member
The Bones line is definately NOT meant for serious painters! At least not the small ones! I ordered a Sekmet one to paint for my friend's birthday gift (she picked it out) and I was so disappointed when I received a melty white thing with a bent glaive and a face that looked like she had lost a fight with some bees. I tried to salvage it but it was just too far gone and I threw it away, fortunately I was able to make a run to the local hobby shop and pick up a different mini (this time I made sure it was a white metal) and paint it up in time for my friend's party.

And that is why I will never buy another Bones figure, they wasted my money and almost ruined a childhood friend's b-day gift! I get why they have these figures, I really do, but they are far from the quality I consider acceptable for painting. I do know that my boyfriend's dad (who has painted since the late seventies) has painted a couple of the larger Bones figures and he says that the bigger models are fine (he painted a kracken too, and it actually looks very good!) so I suppose that the line does have some merit in the hands of an experienced painter.

All in all, Bones are meant for folks that just need some quick figures for an RP campaign, they hold almost no value for even the most novice painter (in fact, they are probobly totally unadvisable for new folks since the material is so different from the industry standard metals and plastics). I think Reaper should be more explicit about Bones vs the rest of their lines, since their metal minis are actually quite fun little things.
 
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StarFyre

Active member
Wappelious does a good job with the big ones.

i get in on them for the big ones. some are quite nice. ya the smaller figures aren't very good IMHO.
 
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thornwiegraf

New member
Ah Reaper bones! I love them. I hate them.

The bigger , solid bones ones are great. By this, I mean for example - their Great Worm. A bones piece, that's solid through and through. Cheap, wont bend, easy to paint and is just as good as a hard plastic.

Anything with a sword, appendage, or skinny piece that sticks out just looks quite funny, though. I have some bones giants, and the swords are bendy, and the skinny pieces just do not stick weird... And its worse on the smaller ones!

I only get them for quick paint jobs - Like making Constructs or statues, or animals. Just base them, wash them, then drybrush highlights and done. They become Non important monster characters, or NPC miniatures for D and D or Frostgrave.
 
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