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Review Seige Giant from Galapagos Miniatures

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, Oct 30, 2014.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everyone,

    Its the storyteller here so pull up a mushroom , sit down and let me tell you the tales from the North......

    The Galapagos name holds many wonderful things in its title none more so than the creations coming from the the resin laboratories of the fantasy world of the company that has taken the name of the islands , giving us the chance to let our minds go into their world .

    We have had both good and bad stories and characters from them , all forming part of a mythical world but in that world there are those that want to conquer amongst these are the beasts from the Army of the North attacking in a "clap of thunder and a muderous and choking Black Smoke" .......

    Like the siege machines and or battering rams of old they attack and besiege the fortresses of the kingdom in which sits the Imperial college once safe now a staging post for the armies who go ashen faced and scared to meet these agressors ...they are controlled by something as equally as dangerous but evil beyond all thoughts ..Goblins :nailbiting: ....these together with the Siege Giants :nailbiting::nailbiting: can mean only one thing .....

    .....Death to all that stand in their way.


    So after that little chapter lets see what Galapagos Miniatures have let loose on us .....a Siege Giant

    01.jpg
    0.jpg


    Before we delve into the darkness of the fantasy world from the title it sounds like you get a single model but in fact we are treated to 2 :) in the same box so that is how I am going to do this review as 2 separate posts one looking at the giant the other at his "master" the Goblin.

    Actually Galapagos have treats in for both the bust and full figure modeller with this release (y)

    Lets have a look at the details:

    Title: Siege Giant

    Sub Title: 90mm Goblin + Bust

    Reference: GP B005

    Scale: 90mm

    Material: Gray Resin

    No of parts: 14 (resin) 2 chains, 5 rings and 1 insert total 21

    Sculptor:Ju-Won Jung

    Box Art Team: Sang-Eon Lee(Goblin)

    Ju-Won Jung(Giant)

    As is normal from this company we have the distinctive dark red/brown box colour with immaculate colour representation of a painted model , packed well inbetween foam pieces held in cutouts
    The box art is amazing and what a team to bring together that produced it ......the best Korean painters IMO

    Giant 001.jpg Giant 003.jpg Giant 002.jpg
    Parts consist of the Giant , his jaws guard, the goblin's torso ,head ,his teeth!, the 2 arms , 2 feet , 2 weapons , 2 rein pieces , a base, a chain , some rings and a story card.(The golblin's legs are sculpted on the giant)

    The chain and rings can be put where you wish , wrap the chain round the golbin's arm maybe or attach to the giant as reins with the jaw guard being an optional piece to use if you want to , use the rings as earrings perhaps , nose rings or part of the bridle ..plenty to work with.
    Giant 004.jpg
    On now to the larger of the pieces the Giant:

    Super smooth casting particularly notable at the back with just a casting plug to remove , well positioned for ease to do so Giant 005.jpg

    We also have the legs of the Goblin sculpted onto this piece , you can see the work that is included on these in the pictures..........lovely work from Ju-Won

    This is the bust part of the model and in one word AWESOME absolutely full of fine details from the teeth grinding together in anger the staring eyes wide open looking for the next victim, his mouth clamped open by a bridle that is worn like a apron by its rider., skin texture is great of note being the skull area...with veins crawling all over like a map of a river system , we see a heavy brow line a nose that is battered from many a siege.

    Not being unkind and hoping I never meet him but this guy is well putting it mildly ...UGLY!!!!

    All this adds up to a fantasy painters dream piece.

    Let the pictures show all :
    Giant 010.jpg Giant 007.jpg Giant 008.jpg Giant 009.jpg Giant 011.jpg Giant 012.jpg Giant 013.jpg Giant 014.jpg Giant 015.jpg
    We also have a wicked looking mouth guard , if you choose to use it ...and why not then a casting plug is needing to be removed , the guard is like the jaws of a great white shark , very sharp , the sculptor has taken as much thought in this piece as as , nice surface details are evident , fit is easy but paint this before you do so.
    Giant 016.jpg Giant 018.jpg
    Well thats the Giant now for the Goblin...

    Continued in next post:

    Nap
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Now then lets look at the figure element of the release:

    The Goblin , consisting of a total of 7 parts , the head, feet, arms, torso and teeth , no prep needed ..after dry fitting the torso and feet to the bust I found it to be spot on no filler needed in any area .

    Looking at the head first

    Boy this is no beauty contest for sure, little bit of prep by carefully removing a casting pug from an ear , fit into the torso is very clean , the face is a horrible piece of work in every good way , hooked nose , pointed ears , witch like chin , everywhere I look I see shrieking noises ..its me !!!! the mouth is wide open shouting abuse no doubt urging his "steed" forward.., great details everywhere , beady eyes , the mouth are is great the top set of teeth are sculpted , individual pointed ones are the order of the day ...no bottom set as these are separate to alow for the painting of the tongue and mouth inside ..nice thought ..I can imagine green slime coming from this . , his hair is flowing in with the movement of the piece, nice surface work and definition.
    Giant 023.jpg Giant 024.jpg Giant 025.jpg
    Giant 027.jpg
    The lower teeth ...like dracula , pointed and fearsome , tiny points with a small plug to remove ......they really look the part but boy this pair need to visit the dentist!!!
    Giant 030.jpg
    The torso ..., just need to remove a plug from the left arm ( there are 2 perfectly shaped lugs that correspond with the arm locating area's, our goblin is well muscular again excellent skinwork , muscle tones are very good , he wears almost gladiator like a "bib" which is the tether for the goblin (bit like the mums have when they carry a baby in front...except this is no baby!!!) , the retaining straps are well defined , worn and cut about ..straining at the back offering some support to the fury he has infront of him.
    Giant 017.jpg Giant 021.jpg Giant 022.jpg
    Giant 019.jpg
    Giant 020.jpg
    The arms now , both have small plugs to remove , when done so fit is very good minimal filler if any needed. , very muscular for a goblin well defined skin texture , the lower left bound in cloth , great folds on these , he is holding the sword handle , nice work here , just look at the hands ...evil and pointed looking fingernails as well .

    The right one has a armoured like protection held by ties on the underside of the wrist , really fine details here again
    Giant 026.jpg Giant 028.jpg
    The feet ...these certainly brought a smile to my face they are large but in scale and a really lovely pair , individual toes are done , small plugs to remove but that is all , fit into the giant is good on both , nice features include veins and those nails again ..pointed ..lethal !!
    Giant 031.jpg Giant 032.jpg
    The final pieces now...

    The weapons , we have 2 , a dagger , Arab in style , a small plug to remove from the handle, looking at the scabbard we have nice surface depicting an eagle style bird with swirls coming from it ...lovely detail .

    ...the other piece is the scimitar sword blade , 2 quick snips remove the casting plugs from the top and bottom , be careful its that good you could almost cut yourself on the blade , fit might be a bit delicate but I would as always say pin it ,
    Giant 034.jpg Giant 033.jpg
    Now the bridle pieces these are formed well and fit well into the mouth sides after removing 2 small plugs ...no doubt straining at the power it is trying to harness.
    Giant 029.jpg
    Finally we have the base a very smooth addition , no prep needed apart from pinning it , should you choos not to use it then to the spares it goes .
    Giant 006.jpg
    Final thoughts:

    This is something that fits all the needs for both the bust and figure painter , something very different in concept and a great idea , extremely well sculpted , well thought out in casting and as always well presented .
    This is without doubt a painters heavan ...so much to enjoy both in the prep and the thought process when starting painting

    If Fantasy is your thing or you just want a great challenge and that distinctive piece which of course sits well with others from Galapagos then this is for you

    For more box art pictures :

    http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...ember-release-siege-giant.66576/watch-confirm

    For more details go to:

    www.galapagos-miniatures.com

    or contact by e mail to :

    galapa.jj@gmail.com

    Thanks as always to Galapagos for the Review model and to you all for looking in

    Nap
    yeo_64, Funky50, samson and 6 others like this.
  3. swralph A Fixture

    Great review Kevin.
    Ralph
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  4. Eludia A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Great review Kev, this is a very nice piece (y)
  5. pmfs A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    The owner´s of small and big brands in this hobby have to be grateful (surely they will be) to you Kevin for your big effort of spreading his new figures and busts. If I was owner of a company, new kits are free for you for what you done always for this community.
    Myself as a buyer I have bought many figures and busts over these years thanks to your excellent reviews.
    A big thank you Kevin, always appreciate what you done mate.(y)
    Thank you so much for another outstanding review.:joyful:

    Ps: This is not just flattering words to a fellow planetter, this is what should have been said long ago about this actions.

    Cheers,
    Pedro.
    Funky50 likes this.
  6. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Pedro ,

    Thank you for your kind words I am humbled by them .

    I have always tried to showc the review items in true and accurate light , honest and direct .

    I am pleased that planeteers find the reviews useful ...there are many more to come from various company's large and small, new and old.

    Thanks again

    Nap
    pmfs likes this.
  7. yeo_64 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Singapore
    Excellent review, my friend (y)(y)(y)(y)(y)!
    I second the motion: all new figure kit releases should be Free for you from henceforth :LOL:.
    Cheers!
    Kenneth.
    napoleonpeart likes this.
  8. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Thanks to you all for the comments I am lucky in that sometimes they are sent free but other times I have no problem buying for a review as I have done many times.

    I think it's only right and fair it's hard enough for companies and we see far too many great company's close down

    Keep an eye out for more reviews from moi.

    Nap
    housecarl likes this.
  9. Stelios Demiras A Fixture

    Country:
    Greece
    Hello Ken and everyone in planetfigure,
    Excellent review!
    In case you do not already know a detailed article of the box art of this awesome creation has been published in Scale Model Handbook 14, Figure Modelling 14 (6-pages article). Ju-Won Jung sculpted the whole piece and paint the Giant and Sang-Eon Lee painted the Goblin. Learns the secrets of the two masters!!!

    Regards
    Stelios COVER_14_WEB.jpg SALONI_38_39.jpg

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