Nightwing
Publisher: Knights Models
Cost: 14.88€ ($18.16 US)
Release Date: December 2012
Get it Here: Knights Models’ Website
So why on Earth am I reviewing a figure that came out nearly two years ago? Well, for two reasons. The first is that I just discovered the official Batman Miniatures Game a few weeks ago and picked up four pieces to let me try out the system. I have a Batman warband of Nightwing and Frank Miller’s Batman, and a bad guy team of classis Deathstroke and Classic Harley Quinn. They both add up to within 3 points of each other, so it’s an even team without a lot of investment. Well, it’s seventy-two dollars for four little pieces of metal, which is INSANE – even compared to games like Warhammer which is extremely overpriced. I mean, you can just pick up Reaper metal figures for between five and ten bucks a pop. Why are these guys so expensive? It’s not a question I can answer, save for licensing and importing. The other reason is that the Batman Miniatures Game is woefully undercovered. Very few people seem to know it exists outside of a web website covering it. Not even Bell of Lost Souls or DakkaDakka cover it, so I figure any coverage of this game will help get the word out. I mean, the Facebook Page for the game has less than 2,500 likes, the game just had its first ever tournament this month (more than two years after creation) and it will finally be getting a physical rulebook in English in 2015. So again, ANY coverage is going to help this game. I decided to paint Nightwing first, and so here are the results, along with my commentary on it. Remember you can click on each picture for a larger version.
Here is the packaging NIghtwing came in. It’s very similar to Warhammer finecast pieces. One thing that I noticed right away is how TINY Nightwing is compared to other miniatures. Usually I paint 28-32mm figures. The Batman Miniatures Game figures are listed at 35mmin size, so in my head I was expecting something larger than say, a Space Marine or a Reaper normal figure. NOPE. I was a little worried about my ability to paint this. Sure it’s fine for me, but the ulnar nerve damage and the fact that I just started painting this year meant this would be my biggest challenge yet. Still, Nightwing is my favorite Batman character (although in this game, I really want to get Lobo!) so I wanted to at least give it a try. Besides, if I did a really terrible job, I could learn from my mistakes. At eighteen dollars a pop though, that would be a very pricey mistake.
A front view of the assembled Nightwing. He had a lot of extra bits on his neck that I had to cut away to make it fit on the body. Otherwise he’d have looked like a member of the Kayan Lahwi tribe (look it up). The arms weren’t too hard to glue on, but I’m not a fan of the pose. It doesn’t look dynamic – it just looks awkward. Like Dick is doing aerobics or something. I hope they eventually make a version of Nightwing with a different pose or a classic/New 52 version rather than an Arkham City video game version. Still, it’s fun to see Nightwing in miniature form.
Side shot of the unpainted assembled figure.
So here is a mostly painted version of Nightwing. This isn’t my finished version, but I wanted to show Dick from all three major angles so you can see how the figure looks. I ended up using seven colors on Nightwing. The core was a Chaos Black spray from Citadel. Nightwing is 95% black with a bit of blue or red added to the costume anyway (yellow too if you count the disco outfit he originally had) so colourwise, this wouldn’t be too hard to do. I then added two Reaper paints and four Citadel paints. The Reaper paints were Fair Skin and Flesh Wash (for lips and some darkening). The Citadel paints were Abaddon Black, Dawnstone (for the rock he is sitting on), Runefang Steel (escrima sticks) and Caledor Sky. I wrestled with New 52 Red or the classic blue. I have thought about getting a second Nightwing to paint one of each, but until there’s a drop in price, that probably won’t be happening. I’d rather get Nyssa, Adam West and a few others before I duplicate.
Side view of the nearly finished Nightwing. I painted the base the same colour as the rock Nightwing is resting on for uniformity. Once I have all of the figures for the Batman Miniatures Game paints, I’ll go back and work on the bases to make them all similar in tone, color and design. For right now though, basic grey is fine. I’ve never understood the joy of detailing a base anyway.
Back view of Nightwing. I’ll leave the jokes about Dick Grayson’s butt up to those of you who know them. I love the detail on the figure and this back shot really shows it off. From the individual hair to the various muscles, I’m shocked and impressed such such a smaller figure can have such detail. Great job whoever sculpted this. Alas, the website for Knights Models didn’t say.
Here’s a version of the finished Nightwing alongside a cobbled together Snake Eyes from Reaper Miniatures figures (on left) and a Space Marine Captain (on right) so you can get a feel for the sculpt size. Look at how small Nightwing is compared to figures from other lines. Tiny hands! Tiny feet! Yet the head is almost the same. Yes, Nightwing looks a bit Hydrocephalic in comparison to the other figures shown here, but I wanted to show that he is a lot smaller than pieces from other brands. It doesn’t seem like a lot if you don’t paint but a few millimeters makes a word of different. Nightwing saw a lot of my 10/0 brush to ensure I didn’t screw up, especially in regards to the hair and eye slits of his mask. Yeesh.
So there you go. Nightwing, like all Batman Miniatures Game pieces, is smaller and thinner than minis from other companies, but is also quite detailed. I can’t honestly say that he’s worth the $18 price tag unless you know a lot of people playing the game or you just want to paint Batman figures, but I’m happy with how he turned out and had a lot of fun painting him. Most of you will be better off saving your money, but if you’re looking to try the Batman Miniatures Game, Nightwing isn’t a bad choice for your first piece. He’s mostly a single color (black) so you just have to worry about the blue (or red) on his costume and the face. I’m looking forward to doing Classic Harley Quinn next. The size of these guys has me terrified of doing Deathstroke though.
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