Spinespur Kickstarter Models Review Pt2: The Dark Faith

   TokenGamerChic once called me “The Queen of things that go bump in the night.” So, when our little group fell in love with Spinespur, it was no surprise to anyone that I ended up fielding the Dark Faith. There are corpses being animated, blown up, and infected with plagues that affect anything that gets near them. My kind of people. And, in classic Spinespur fashion, the models for this faction show their necromantic creepiness in beautiful, and sometimes offbeat, ways.

   For my personal collection, I got the core characters of the faction: the Antipope, the three Dark Cardinals (Anhelitus, Inferni, and Falcifer), and a pair of Sisters of Obscenity, affectionately referred to as Stun Nuns because of the giant clubbing tasers they carry. When painted with a common theme and standing together, they make a great class photo, kind of like some warped super-villain squad.

Okay, TECHNICALLY these models were available BEFORE the Spinespur kickstarter, but they were available on the kickstarter, and that’s where we discovered Comfy Chair Games, and that’s where we bought them, so they are still Kickstarter minis to me.

   I started with the cardinals, because I knew they’d take the longest, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. The cardinals are, basically, giant drapery studies. Think of what you want to do with the robes, because they are virtually all robe- like spectres. For my part, I was doing a red and gold theme (which, believe it or not, has some nice ecumenical precedent), so, naturally, the robes became a flame study: deep blue in the deepest recesses, fading out to red and eventually yellow at the highlights. The multitudinous, billowy robes lend well to any shading, but even better to creative shading. My only peeve with the cardinals is that Falcifer was obviously sculpted at a different time and in a different style than the other two, so he ends up looking like the step-brother. But he is still gorgeous, and he’s your biggest combat badass, so one learns to overlook it.

   And the cardinals are HUGE, by the way. Especially Inferni- he’s so tall you wouldn’t realize that the character card says “Coward”. Big and beautiful, spend the $8.99 a piece ($9.99 for Falcifer), and lose yourself in the painting of the folds. You’re getting more than the average square inches of painting surface for your money, and you get some classic, ghost-like horror for your Spinespur table.

   Next I moved onto the Stun Nuns. For $8.99, you get two of them, which is not shabby since (at only two points more than regular thugs) these girls are like faction-specific thugs, only better. Let’s put it this way. Take a look through the Spinespur models on the Comfy Chair website, and tell me how many female characters you see. Yeah, there’s a reason for that. Spinespur is full of horrible, terrible people. Sure, there are some commoners (who become the Broken or the Torn), but the faction fighters are almost all male. Why? These are the kind of people you find in maximum security wards at prisons. And since violent offenders are mostly male, it makes sense. And these broads in sexy tights and distorted nun’s habits can hang with these guys. That should tell you something.

   Visually, the nuns are rather simple. And, admittedly, the big stun batons are a little clunky, and look like they would weigh 30 pounds at full size. But we’re working with metal here. Overall, the models make a great contrast to the larger, more detailed cardinals and anti-pope, and really round out the overall picture when you stand the Dark Faith together. And, let’s face it, there’s something awesome about those gas masks. Very Spinespur. They really make you wonder, even with that obviously nice-looking body, … what’s under those masks? Sure, they MIGHT just be for safety (Dark Cardinal Anhelitus is so putrid that any living beings near him take a penalty), but maybe there’s some other reason? Do you really want to know? You won’t have a chance to find out anyway. If they hit you with that baton, you won’t be doing much of anything.   

 Last, but obviously not least, I took a deep breath and started working on the Antipope. You wouldn’t think a miniature of a hunched-over crusty old fake pontiff would make for great painting, but he can come out real nice if you take the time. The details on his vestments and staff are small enough to be annoying if you don’t have a steady hand, but if done up well, they combine beautifully with the drapery study in the figure. And the fact that he’s all hunched over and leaning on a staff that’s taller than he is was a great design element.

   Don’t let the wrinkly old guy fool you, by the way. If you love pyrotechnics, you’re gonna want your faction leader on your team. Exploding corpse tokens? Yes, please. A distance attack with guaranteed hit and damage in Spinespur? If you have even the slightest doubt of how awesome the Antipope is, read Second Class Elitist’s battle report on our Sin City game. But yeah, $9.99 for an awesome looking model that, with proper tactics, is a true terror on the field.

   So, there you have it. By the way, Dark Cardinals Falcifer and Anhelitus are on the Fire Bucket Games “Tile City”bases, painted up to look like the marble that tiles the ground in the Dark Faith’s version of the Vatican… wherever that is.