After ‘Rogue Pirate, La Española, 1670‘ from FeR Miniatures, we wanted to review another pirate from their catalogue, this time one with a more fantasy-like aesthetic. And this is because the artist behind this bust that we show you today is no other than Raffaele Picca, a very well known painter and sculptor of the Fantasy miniature scene. Like other artists in FeR Miniatures, he has his own line of miniatures in the catalogue of the company. We found similarities between the concept of both busts (pirate theme, an animal on the shoulder…) that would make for an interesting insight article.
REVIEW
Without further ado, let’s review the pirate bust from the series ‘Forged Monkey‘ from FeR Miniatures: ‘Thornley & Ratch’.
UNBOXING
All products from FeR Miniatures come inside a hard plastic blister. We are really happy and satisfied with this kind of packaging. Again the boxart photograph is a sticker that goes on the outside of the blister. We see the scale of the bust is 1/16, considerably smaller than ‘Rogue Pirate, La Española, 1670‘, which makes also a great choice for a more relaxed and quicker paintjob if we so wish.
The bust comes in just two pieces, wrapped inside a plastic bag.
Actually, the bust itself is just one piece. The other bit is a pirate hat that is optional, and this is a great addition to create our own unique version of this already versatile bust.
Let’s see the bust without the hat.
Quite an interesting face and expression. The caricaturesque features of the pirate are exaggerated of course, but still believable, so I see the possibility of painting the bust in a realistic way, as well as a more cartoon-like painting. The clothing is simple yet clean and easy for texturing, with no carved volumes to let the imagination of the painter go wild. Surfaces are clean and very versatile for a painter of any level.
A quick look from underneath shows us the only flaw we see in the casting.
There is just one small bubble that appears in the beard. This is very easy to fix with some putty. Apart from this, the cast is clean, just a few mold lines easy to remove. The resin shows good quality, and since the bust is fairly simple, it won’t be difficult to prepare.
The hat is a great addition. It does not exactly fit the head, and that is actually a great feature because you will have to tilt the hat slightly in the direction you prefer, so that no two Thornleys will be the same in the end, it all depends on how you pose it!
It also comes with a pipe on the side, and slightly textured if you don’t want to go wild too much with just paint.
Finally, the guys at FeR Miniatures dropped some goodies on our package. The official bag from the company and some stickers (that we do collect from everyone in the industry, so this was great). Such nice details!
CONCLUSIONS
Simple concept, great sculpting and a lot of personality in this bust. Raffaele is a great artist that is producing some of the most interesting miniatures out there. Meant for painters of every level, this bust is a great purchase because it also comes at a great price. It does not have the downside of being a big bust, which usually mean higher costs. Being smaller will also be better for people coming from wargame painting, trying to transition into busts.
PROS:
- Top quality sculpture: Raffaele shows a lot of personality in all his busts. The Forged Monkey line in FeR Miniatures is a must!
- Simplicity and versatility, aimed at painters of every level.
- The ferret! We just love small animals, such great addition to miniatures.
CONS:
- That small bubble on the beard is our only flaw for this one. Probably just our copy though!
You can find the very extense catalogue of FeR Miniatures on their website, in particular this bust is part of the Forged Monkey series, all sculpted and painted by Raffaele Picca, and the bust is sold here.
Just as with our last review, one final note before you go on to FeR Miniatures website. The company celebrates a single offers’ day every year, they call it ‘Miniatures Day’ and it is conveniently taking place soon, on Friday August 19th. Everything ‘FeR Miniatures‘ bought on that day can be purchased at 20% discount!! Read all about it here.
