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If you are like this reviewer, you have neither the desire, or space, or cash, to ?collect? traditional miniatures. Yet, with the tactical combat systems used in many game systems these days, being able to bust out the battle mat and a set of minis is often necessary. Thus you find yourself looking for a practical and inexpensive option for your miniatures needs. Paper miniatures meet this need. When they are packaged as a PDF, you are provided with a readily available source of minis for your games. You are able to print as many of a particular figure as you need, without having to invest too much money in them, or time and effort, in the case of those who paint their minis. It also saves you from being upset if one of your minis ends up misplaced or lost after an overzealous player bemoans his defeat by sweeping the table in a rage. In short, paper minis are an attractive option for their low cost and convenience, and are also logical options for collectors needing a particular miniature, or several of them, for their game.
The figures in Arion Games? miniatures sets come in 3 styles, ?A-frame?, ?Flat?, and ?Triagonal?. The ?A-frame?, and ?Flat? figures can be constructed from the same sheets, depending on how they are cut-out. The ?Triagonal? minis are constructed from a separate sheet. These construction choices provide additional options in preparing your minis for use in the game, major characters or monsters can be constructed as the ?Triagonal? versions to provide a more visual flair, and to emphasize their importance. Other figures can be done as ?A-Frame? or flat versions to make them easier to handle or distinguish them from each other, thus providing a functional use beyond their graphical characteristics.
The instructions are easy to follow and assembling the minis is quick and painless, just requiring a bit of work with scissors and some glue. There are also instructions provided on how to prepare a custom sheet of figures to meet your specific needs. The minis look good, even when printed on plain paper. Each figure is drawn from a 3D rendering (done in Poser using figures provided by DAZED, according to the credits), providing sharp detail and life-like shading, even when printed.
This 5 page PDF (6 with cover) provides a set of 19 paper miniatures featuring Science Fiction Soldier/Trooper figures. The figures feature dark grey BDU style uniforms with reinforced sections of ballistic type cloth. Their weapons are bulky bull-pup style slug-throwing ?pulse? rifles, evoking an Aliens feel, no lasers or energy weapons here. The figures most evoke the feel of the soldiers from aliens, with a more ?futuristic? body suit style uniform. The figures include eight Space Marines, 4 male, 4 female, carrying a basic ?pulse rifle? type assault rifle, two Space Marine Heavy Weapons figures, carrying large machine gun type weapons, one Space Marine Sergeant figure, one Space Marine Officer figure, one Space Marine Driver (driving the APC presumably), one Space Marine Pilot figure, and one Space Marine Sniper figure. The figures look good with a fair amount of detail and a variety of interesting poses.
Also included are four ?vehicles?, 2 Exoskeleton figures, a direct derivation of the loaders in Aliens, two Armoured Personnel Carrier figures, again inspired by aliens, two
Dropship figures, and two Troop Carrier figures, roughly inspired by aliens and similar SF sources. All of the vehicles look good, with the aerial units looking sleek and uncomplicated.
Overall, this is a solid product, providing a nice selection of well-detailed figures in a variety of poses for your miniature needs. Adding in the fact that you can print as many as you need, and prepare your own figure sheets, this is excellent value as well. I recommend it to anyone looking for some more ?realistic? style near future science fiction units; they could also serve as police or para-mility units in a more futuristic SF setting.
LIKED: details and textures, Good looking weapons and variety of figures.
DISLIKED: colors a bit on the drab side, no insignia or other details to add visual interest
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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