(from the left) Werner Klocke’s Isabeau, MIKH’s Isabeau, and the C:CoT Isabeau
A little over a week ago Legacy Miniatures, in conjunction with CoolMiniOrNot, released three more sets of models formally produced by Rackham: Nobles of Cadwallon, Bodyguards of Cadwallon, and Griffin Pack 1. The pattern for this release followed that of the others: each set was comprised of models previously available from Rackham (and still ubiquitous in the aftermarket) and one or two rare or never-before-released models. It’s the latter that usually makes the sale (it has been in my case, anyway).
I’ve been hesitant to buy any of these three sets. My gut tells me I’ll eventually give in and buy the two Cadwallon sets, but I’m not quite there yet.
During some downtime, today, I checked the CMoN site to see if there were any reviews of the models, as some have no doubt been delivered by now. In the announcement for this release, one customer wrote the following:
There is a problem with this release.
The Isabeau miniature that is provided is neither the original sculpt (thats shown) nor the WK…. Instead it appears to be a recast of the pre-paint figure thats available in the Cadwe FFG hero set.
Really? I began in investigation immediately. It didn’t take long, because as fortune would have it the customer who wrote that comment on CMoN posted a comment here when I was in the thick of my search. After a brief exchange via email, he pointed me to his post on the UK:CORD forum, which included a photo of the model in Legacy’s Nobles of Cadwallon set. Sure enough, it is indeed a resin cast from the same sculpt used to make the board game piece for Cadwallon: City of Thieves.
I’m not entirely surprised to learn this. Sculpts and masters, especially if they’re resin, are prone to breakage unless they’re cared for properly. The only reason I can think of for including this sculpt in the set, is that the others were lost or damaged beyond repair.
As to why they advertised the set with a photo of a different sculpt, I blame this either on human error, or because painted models lead to better sales and they had access to a great studio photo of Isabeau. Why not just use a photo of the model in the set with an updated paint job? Because Legacy Miniatures is a side project for Dust Studio/Games, and their resources are largely devoted to the game universe they’re currently developing (Dust) as opposed to one from their past. And thank god for that. Artists create, they don’t dwell. Ever forward, boys–ever forward.
NOTE: MIKH’s version of Isabeau was released in 2006. Werner KLOCKE’s version (together with Rafal ZELAZO) was released in 2007 as a free promo for subscribers to the French edition of Cry Havoc!.
