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Review Velaf (Dragon Hunter) from Galapagos Miniatures

Discussion in 'Reviews , Video Reviews and Open Book' started by Nap, May 17, 2016.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everyone ,

    Its been a while since we have seen a release from a.jpg so its with much pleasure to be able to receive this and be able to share with you all.

    Those that know Young miniatures stuff will recognise this original release from them and the face sculpting style , originally by called Dragon Hunter sculpted by Ju-Won , this was received back by him who added details and changed it slightly to fit into the Galapagos scenario.

    Galapagos would like to show their appreciation to Young Miniatures and Young B Song for providing this wonderful opportunity to launch this meaningful bust.

    Why so long you might ask well after the so sad passing last year of that great sculptor Greeny Ahn his good friend decided to take a break ..quite understandable and our thoughts were with them all ,

    I would like to dedicate this review to Greeny Ahn , a great guy sadly missed by all.

    Gentle folk I present :

    Velaf


    aa.png


    Setting the scene

    ....From the stinking sulphuric gases of the gaping craters that spew lava and fire alongside choking dark sinister ashes out of the mountain called Zigba there is a hero called Velaf , a Dragon Hunter roaming the mountain , muscular and contented in his work , the mountain had reveled its secret one of many on the Galapagos continent...with more horror and legends still to be awoken.

    image.jpeg


    Lets see what we are looking at

    Lets have a look at the details:

    Title: Velaf The Dragon Hunter of Mt Zigba

    Reference: GP-B007

    Scale: 1/10th

    Material: Resin (gray and beige)

    No of parts: 18 plus insert card

    Sculptor:Ju-Won Jung

    Box Art:Ju-Won Jung

    A special thanks to Sang-Eon Lee from Young's Miniatures


    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 between foam pieces held in cutouts
    Galapagos 001.jpg
    Box Art is great with colour on the top and one of the sides ( more views on the website of course)
    The parts consist of the Torso , a choice of 2 heads , arm , a skull helmet and the back of the helmet , 4 horns , the pieces to fit to the jawbone ( x6) the weapon blade , and a base.
    Galapagos 002.jpg
    There is also a card with the story on it , perhaps a little hard to read due to font and colouring but it all adds a something extra to the presentation , one side has the concept drawing which is always nice to see.
    Galapagos 003.jpg
    Prep
    Torso...Small casting plug to remove from underside
    Arm... Small plug to take off from upper arm
    Head#1(with headwear) ...Casting plug to remove where horns fit at back
    Head#2 (bareheaded) ...small plug to remove from lower neck edge .
    Skull helmet and back piece ....tiny casting plug to take off from edges
    Horns..Casting plugs to take away from ends and fit in place
    Helmet pieces ..remove from formers and fit to cutouts
    Weapon Blade...Remove remnant and bridging piece and fit to handle in the hand ( I would pin it) .Base...Cut round lower edges to remove excess
    In this part of the review I will look at the main body only the remaining pieces being in the follow up.
    Note: The gray resin has a slight mauve colouring
    Torso the first thing to note is that the surfaces are all super smooth Galapagos 014.jpg as with previous releases , the torso is sculpted at an angle which is nice to see , the body is well muscled and extremely well done , with the muscle shapes being very good .
    Galapagos 004.jpg Galapagos 008.jpg
    The left arm is cut a 1/4 way down with a triangular cutout ready to take the actual arm.
    Galapagos 005.jpg Galapagos 006.jpg Galapagos 007.jpg
    Velaf wears a furs cape around and over his right shoulder , suffice to say the texture looks very good sweeping around and defined well .

    Around the neck he wears a necklace this is full of Runes and charms , the runes have a wording on each , all together a magic spell protecting him from the dangers he faces.
    Across his chest there is a belt again with really nice details , a skull clasp and straps , all with good undercuts.
    The belt holds in place an awesome looking bit of shoulder armour , heavily studded hanging from this we have some mail links , some missing , obviously lost in the battles he has fought, the actual links look like they are all joined ...nice details.
    Moving down the arm we see the veins straining with a arm band around , finely worked with a horned skull in the middle.
    Galapagos 005.jpg Galapagos 006.jpg Galapagos 007.jpg Galapagos 009.jpg Galapagos 010.jpg Galapagos 011.jpg Galapagos 012.jpg
    Galapagos 013.jpg


    Continued in next post
    Nap
    ALTORES STUDIO likes this.
  2. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Now to the remaining resin

    The Arm fitting into the cutout perfectly the lower arm screams strength with muscles again straining at the wrist we have a very nice protector over a fur base ( protecting his skin then a leather surround all held in place by straps well done worn and with cuts , nearer to the hand we have a bracelet with decoration sculpted around .
    The hand also has the veins straining well defined with with the fingers looking really good and he has pointed fingernails as well !!!, in the hand there is the handle of the sword nicely done with designs on it
    Galapagos 027.jpg Galapagos 028.jpg Galapagos 029.jpg Galapagos 030.jpg

    Now to the Blade this is not a little weapon to say the least , a great shape , and the edge is sharp!!! the cutting edge is distinct with the remaining areas having various sculpting work on it .
    Galapagos 031.jpg

    Now to the Head with the helmet the larger of the 2 choices you are given , its s horned skull ( the horns are separate to be fitted , the work that has gone into the skull is very very good , eye sockets look fearsome and deep set , teeth erupt from the upper jaw various shapes , some damaged , some pointed , the jawline continues to his cheeks where it ends with a razor sharp pointed incisor .
    The back of the headwear is a mass of writhing snake like lengths , the box art has these painted as snakes but obviously the choice is yours!!
    The face is smiling in anticipation of another slaying of a dragon , as expected the features are really well done , a strong jawline , eyebrows raised , a slightly upturned nose, well formed nostrils as are the eyes themselves...all making painting easier and enjoyable
    . Galapagos 015.jpg Galapagos 016.jpg Galapagos 017.jpg Galapagos 018.jpg Galapagos 019.jpg Galapagos 020.jpg Galapagos 021.jpg Galapagos 022.jpg
    Fit into the neck area of the torso is very clean a tiny bit of filler might be needed (this goes for both heads)

    Now to the Head #2 this is just the head itself ready to receive the skull and jawbone helmet , suffice to say the same high quality of the features are there .

    Galapagos 026.jpg Galapagos 025.jpg Galapagos 024.jpg
    Galapagos 023.jpg

    The Skull and Jawbone these are in a beige resin this time we have a different style skull , you will need to fit the horns the skull is sitting on a fur base which peeks out the lower edge , teeth are pointed and piercing , eye sockets are more beady looking but just as sinister, nasal area is also showing good detail.
    The other piece is the back of the helmet , this fits well into the cutout at the back of the head after which you will need to fit the hanging pieces (these have blade like edges well done) to the cut outs, there is also his hair in pigtails , nicely shaped as well and sitting well onto the bust
    . Galapagos 032.jpg Galapagos 033.jpg Galapagos 034.jpg Galapagos 035.jpg Galapagos 036.jpg
    These are the horns and the pieces for the helmet backpiece Galapagos 037.jpg

    Now to the Base as this is an angled bust , the base has been carefully engineered and when in place looks good the surface is slightly textured .
    Galapagos 038.jpg Galapagos 039.jpg

    Final Thoughts

    This has been a real interesting bust to review packed full of details well sculpted and well presented , it is a fitting tribute to Ju Won and his sculpting and indeed the painting , all I can say is if fantasy is your thing ...get this and have a look at the others previously released by Galapagos .....

    A BIG WELCOME BACK to Galapagos Miniatures

    For more box art pictures :http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/galapagos-miniatures-special-edition-velaf.77718

    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

    Happy Modelling

    Nap
    ALTORES STUDIO likes this.
  3. Jimbo A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Great review Kev as always, nice one mate
    Cheers
    Jim(y)
  4. MalcC A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Agree with Jimbo , another helpful review.

    Cheers
    Malc

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