Gary_81
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2019
- Messages
- 483
Project Valkyrie Siggi
Concept & sculpt by Drew Palies
Produced by www.mrleesminis.com
Materiel Pink resin
Packaging and Contents
Everything arrived very safe and very secure with no problems during shipping at all. I really like the box Mr Lee's Minis has chosen to use. It's a black strong card box which might seem nothing special but it has a magnet on the lift up lid with a nice little fabric tab to use for opening. I think this box is so well made that I will probably use it to store so of my hobby supplies once the model no longer needs it.
On top of the box lid is a really nice picture of the digital sculpture along with the name and the Mr Lee's Minis logo. This really does have a nice professional finish and the image is printed on very high quality gloss paper that feels like a sticker to me.
Upon opening the box everything is packed in black shredded card which is more than enough protection for the pieces and saves on using any plastic, with the pieces being so big there really would have been no point in putting them in plastic bags.
The contents of the box consisted of 5 resin parts a Mr Lee's Minis logo sticker and a nice thank you card which was hand written, a very nice touch I thought.
Kit Components
Torso and Arms
The torso really is an impressive piece designed to represent a devastating piece of power armour, I think all the people who say they are bored with scantily clad women warriors will be happy with this battle outfit 
. There is only one casting block situated on the back behind the neck area, having since cleaned the casting blocks off my copy I can say that they all really do come off easily with not much effort at all which was great news for me.
. There is only one casting block situated on the back behind the neck area, having since cleaned the casting blocks off my copy I can say that they all really do come off easily with not much effort at all which was great news for me.I think due to the size of the model it can be easy to miss all the great subtle details such as the many panel lines on the armour or the vent under the neck area on the front, not to mention all the rivets and bolts and the amazing intake and exhaust section that goes from front to back. The designer has really given a lot of thought to how this armour would work and for me that gives it a more believable look about it.
Shoulder Armour and Backpack
Like the torso these parts had casting blocks that came off very easily with not much effort at all and the parts fit together perfectly once this was done. The shoulder armour really is massive helping to create a very imposing look to the model giving it some real bulk. As well as the nice panel lines and rivets and bolts there is also plenty of free room the the shoulder pads. For someone who likes free hand this is a great place to go wild and be as creative as you want with all that room to paint, and if you aren't so comfortable with free hand you could add some transfers or even use the space to play with some battle damage.
The backpack has a nice design to it but the best part has to be the jet engine looking part at the bottom. This really looks like some super powered turbine and makes me think of the chest area of Gipsy Danger from the Pacific Rim movie. It would really look amazing painted up with some objective source lighting making it look like the suit is running at full power.
Head
Ok technical parts first, once again there is a casting block that comes off easily and once it is removed the head fits perfectly onto the torso into a groove that fits the base of the neck and the hair perfectly. This really is a great piece of engineering on the sculptors part as it makes life so much easier when everything fits together how it's meant to with no messing around.
For me the head is spot on for a female power suit warrior. There is femininity but also the strength of a soldier. It reminds me of Emily Blunt in the movie Edge of Tomorrow or Sigourney Weaver in the Aliens movies, they just looked ready for a fight and you knew they could handle themselves when they did. And that's the feeling I get from this face, the scar on the left near the eye is nice and subtle but you can still tell it's there. To much and something like this could make the model look comical like a caricature of a female warrior but here it's been done with class and control. I also love the nose ring and the gauge looking earring, they really help to build the character of the face and add some extra interest to it. And now to the hair which for me is just making me think viking warrior maiden all the way. I love the flat side of hair covering one side of the face that is then contrasted by the shaved head on the other side and to offset this we have that wonderful braid going down the edge of the hair all the way down the back of the neck. This really does have some lovely details in it and beautiful hair texture especially on the braid, added to this you have some little pieces of jewellery in the hair which once again pushes me into the viking theme.
Overall I love this face so much. It could have easily gone wrong and looked like a long haired man but the sculptor has managed to make a strong looking woman without making her look masculine and retaining that womanly femininity in my opinion.
Final Thoughts
For this model I wanted to include a photo of a dry fit next to a coke can to show the size of this model. From shoulder to shoulder it measures around 9.5cm from front to back it is roughly 8cm and top to bottom is also around 8cm. It's only when you add all that up that you realise just how big this kit is and even then you really need it in your hands to get a true feel of what you are getting, oh and I should add you are getting all this for the grand sum of £35 yes really £35. Maybe someone can correct me but I'm not sure of many models this big or well sculpted that retail for that price anymore, add to that the great box the thank you card and the stellar service from Mr Lee's and I think this is one of my best bargains in a long time.
I know this might not be to every ones taste but it got me thinking how many people out there go into this hobby painting tanks or planes or maybe even trains, and this big piece of armour gives us such a great opportunity to treat it like that. You can experiment with so many different techniques, maybe a super clean airbrushed finish with lots of freehand or how about a heavily weathered and battered version painted with just a brush and some classic tank painting techniques. Added to that you also get the opportunity to paint a really characterful face with plenty of detail that can be added to in many ways, how about a tattoo or two or maybe war paint or if you want add some more battle wounds.
I think this model at first might look straight forward as a big space warrior but once you think about it for a while it offers a multitude of possibilities to the painter to do whatever they want and not to worry about if it's right, I personally would love to do a clean version and then a battered dirty version and have them side by side on display.
I really respect what Mr Lee's Minis have done here as I know they wanted to get a large model made at an affordable price while retaining high quality and originality and they have done that and so much more. I really hope this review will bring this model to some more peoples attention as I think it's a little gem that maybe has been overlooked for all it's potential and all the fun painting it could be.
Oh and yes I would highly recommend this model to anyone as well as Mr Lee's Minis if you haven't checked them out yet .
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Gary
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