Monday 16 December 2013

Old and new - LJ and her crew

The original LJ metal box was one the the main reasons I became interested in Malifaux in the first place. I was blown away when I saw the minis for the first time and the jumping Death Marshal became my favorite instantly. All the miniatures have interesting fluff and are quite unconventional. From a busty sword-wielding blind lady who is called Justice to half-alive, half-dead Death Marshals who use their magically enhanced coffins as weapons. The Judge nicely fit in with his hidden identity theme. Scales of Justice was an addition and unlike the new version, had to be bought separately. Anyway, without further ado, here's my take on the original and the new plastic box.


The new Death Marshals are more dynamic and probably even more over-the-top. While I like the subtle, slightly menacing feel to the old ones, these definitely look good too. The main drawback is the scale issue as the kneeling one is much larger than the other two. That wouldn't be a problem if his gear was the same size but it's bigger too. While the flaming skulls are pretty cool, I really like the grim expressions on the metal DMs.


I wrote more about the new Judge yesterday. It's definitely a different take on this character. He looks more mysterious and the addition of hat is a nice touch. The problem is that his glasses (one of his most characteristic features in the original version) are partly hidden beneath it and can't really be seen unless you hold the miniature upside down. The pose of the plastic version is more dynamic, which is nice. The problem, however, is that it's really hard to glue him to the base as his feet are too wide apart. It can be easily fixed with some basework but if you're not into this aspect of the hobby than it might be a serious issue for you.
I couldn't help but point to my favorite version of this mini - the one from Dead Justice set. While it no longer holds the dead/undead? theme, it nicely shows off the zombie in Judge.



The original LJ miniature is awesome with some fantastic details and a nice pose but she was was too large and towered over the rest of her crew. I would normally use the alternative metal version as it fit with the crew much better. The new version is in a very nice dynamic pose, though her hair has caused some controversy. Personally, I don't mind it. The main problem I see with this version is that her sword is glued only in one place where the blade meets the hilt and that simply isn't going to be enough if you plan to use it for gaming and that's the reason why I reinforced it by gluing the blade to her fringe.


In general I like both the old and new versions very much but Scales of Justice is a big improvement in comparison to the metal model. The plastic version looks much more serious, even though it is a bit of an overkill (cross, nails, fire).



So, which version do you like more?

3 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful collection you've got, all with superb painjobs and basing. :)

    I must say I like the old ones more. The only exception is Scales of Justice; I find the metal one just plain ugly.

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  2. Thanks for the comment Ana :)

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  3. Fantastic crews, both of them! And while the older models have a sort of wonky charm to them, I feel the new plastic ones out shine the metal counterparts in pretty much every way. They are better proportioned (well maybe not that giant marshal....) and more realistic. They also do a better job of being consistent in style to all the other new crews.

    I am probably a bit biased, but I stayed away from the game until the release of the new edition and their plastic kits because I did not really like many of the metal models. Now I feel almost every single new model is well sculpted, even if I do not necessarily love all the designs. I am pretty excited to finally be playing the game now!

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