Download - Mega Miniatures

Bob Naismith’s Cobalt-1 figures may
not be exactly new to the scene, but new
enough to me, and hopefully to you also,
to warrant picking some up and doing a
review so here some are.
To the right are a group of three
Mercenaries that come in a single blister
for $6.00 USD. I have to admit that the
first thing that caught my eye was the
price. At $2.00 each they are really on
the affordable side of things.
This is actually a command blister and
they are wearing space suits, which is
certainly not power armor, but could be
painted up to pass for it. The three of
them are armed with a pair of Cobalt Pistols, a Defender Gun, and a Plasma
Bombard (from left to right) and also bear holsters for other pistols and a
knife. Each pack of mercenaries also comes with a set of three clear plastic
domes for their helmets so you can see their bald heads (all of them are
follically challenged). The middle figure has its gun as a separate piece and
you’ll want to dry fit the gun and helmet dome before gluing anything so you
don’t start using all sorts of foul language if they don’t fit perfectly. All
three also come with backpacks that fit easily on to their backs (duh).
There was a bit of flash on each figure, which needed attention, but it was
not excessive and it was just about impossible to detect the mold line on any
of them. You will need to be extra careful when cutting the clear plastic
domes away from the rest of the plastic. Take your time and do it right
because you don’t want to end up with just one or two out of the three with
the proper looking helmets. I shouldn’t have to say that you need to get the
whole figure fully painted before doing anything with the clear pieces other
than cutting them out to dry fit, but I will anyway.
All three of the specimens above are males and facial detail on two of them
was great and the third was ok.. They have sort of a retro sci-fi look to them
but not in a goofy or campy way. They look very different and are quite
cool. The concept of the clear helmet is just outstanding and while it will
require a bit more skill and time on your part to pull off it’s well worth the
effort, especially if you end up using a large number of them because they
will simply be stunning to look at. They definitely have a Buzz Lightyear
feel to them, and seeing an army of them might just be enough to make your
opponent run screaming from the table and, you win! All of them come on
hexagonal plastic slotta-bases.
There is a set of rules that goes along with the Cobalt-1 miniatures but we’ve
not been able to take a look at a copy of it yet, but it’s definitely on our list of
games to review for an upcoming issue of Fictional Reality. Outside of the
Cobalt-1 game I could see these mercenaries being used as Space Marines in
Warhammer 40K or in the Star Wars d20 role-playing game whose own
miniature line is not exactly bursting at the seams. I’m sure that they would
also be very much at home in games like Dragonstar or Travaller 20 also.
Very nice figures at an outstanding price!
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The second group of Cobalt-1 miniatures that we’ll be taking a look at is an
Armen (sort of like foxes or dogs in space) Command Blister, which also has
a retail price of $6.00 USD for three figures. Right off the bat another
bargain.
These three are all single piece miniatures with one being a pretty obvious
leader that is carrying a polearm and pistol with another pistol in a holster.
The other two are both carrying pretty hefty weapons, one looking like some
kind of huge flame cannon with an accompanying fuel canister on his back
and the other looks like a gattling cannon or some kind of rapid fire blaster.
All three are wearing significantly less armor than the mercenaries and they
are definitely not bald. The two with the heavy weapons are really wearing
more in the way of harnesses, but also have armored shoulder pads and
pouches here and there. The leader-type also has another smaller blade on his
belt and a high armored collar that probably doubles as some kind of
communications device, or could simply be ornamental in nature.
Cleanup on the Armen was about the same as with the mercenaries. They
needed a bit of work on some flash that was present but the mold line was just
a tiny bit visible and required just a minute to clean up. There is a lot of bare
fur on them and they should paint up both quickly, nicely and easily. These
guys have a bit of a pirate feel to them and could look really cool done up in
that manner.
The second that I saw these in the blister one word echoed in my head over
and over again, Vargr, the canine based race from Traveller 20 . Their tails may
be a tad on the bushy side but they will work great just the same. Of course,
they’re nowhere near being official in their use in that capacity but I don’t
think that anyone in your Traveller 20 group is going to worry about it. Other
uses would be similar to those for the mercenaries. If you’re planning on
playing in a d20 Future (when it comes out) campaign then these, and the
mercenaries, would fit in perfectly as PC’s and adversaries.
There are three other ‘races’ of figures available in the Cobalt-1 universe and
we’ll try to bring you reviews of those as well as more in these two lines in a
future issue of Fictional Reality. I am already smitten with these figures and
can’t wait to get my hands on some more, great stuff!