Shadowforge Miniatures

Ever hear of Shadowforge miniatures? I'm guessing most of you haven't. Shadowforge has been in production for a little over three years in Australia. Its only recently they've taken to the Net and word is beginning to spread about their miniatures. Quite a shame they are not more well known since the company has a lot of offer miniature fans.

What separates Shadowforge from all other miniatures manufacturers? Well, to begin with they make only female miniatures. That's right, not a Y chromosome in site. That alone should be enough appeal for the male majority of miniature hobbyists. Before you start drooling I'd like to point out Shadowforge female miniatures are tastefully sculpted. No buck naked beaten or submissive women in sexually explicit poses like you'll find with other female miniatures manufactures like Phoenix Phollies or Mascot Models. Those who've seen Phoenix or Mascot figures know what I mean. And those who own Phoenix or Mascot figures should be ashamed of themselves! :)

Rarely do I order miniatures over the internet since quality is a big mystery. They may have photos of their miniatures looking all spiffy in a fresh coat of paint, but its impossible to tell how much work when into preparing the miniatures. How much flash is on the miniature? How big are the mold lines? What's the exact scale? All these questions cannot be answered until I have them in my hot little hands. I decided to throw caution to the wind and order a few packs from one of their retailers in the US. I ordered a squad of special ops marines and a bunch of Dark Temple archers and warriors. A week later my miniatures arrive in the mail and crossing my fingers I opened the package. Upon inspection I could only say "WOW!"

Beginning with the packaging the miniatures come in individually carded bags. This is a big plus in my book. With a plastic bag instead of a standard blister pack you can inspect all sides of the miniatures for defects before purchase. Next came the close inspection for casting defects. Considering Shadowforge is a fairly new company, and from previous experience with other fledgling miniature manufacturers, I expected to find lots of errors, mainly pot-marking, over the surface of the miniatures. There wasn't. No pot-marks, no missing details, no evidence of worn molds, no strings of metal from vent holes. There was a tiny mold line running around each miniature, but this is expected and it was smaller than I could of hoped.

The casting was good, but what about the sculpting? Another nice surprise. The proportions were good and the detail was sharp. No evidence of cutting corners by not carefully sculpting those " nobody will look THAT close" areas. Another plus was some of the miniatures were multiple pieces. Generally multi-piece miniatures mean more dynamic poses than what you get with a one-piece miniature. My special ops marine communication officer even came with a bit of wire for her radio antenna. Now that's a nice touch of class!

Now for that all confusing question; what scale is the figure? Shadowforge claims call their miniatures are 28mm scale. Placed in a line-up they measure right up with Games Workshop 28mm, actually 30mm, miniatures. One important thing to note is Shadowforge miniatures are not sculpted with bulging muscles and other exaggerated features like you'll find with Games Workshop miniatures, for example. The miniatures are sculpted with more realistic female features, so while they may be the same height as a GW miniature they are not a perfect match structurally speaking. I choose to call them true 28mm.

A 28mm Shadowforge Dark Temple guard (center) next to a 30mm Reaper Warlord miniature (left) and a 28mm Games Workshop Dark Elf corsair (right). Keep in mind the Shadowforge figure is slightly crouching.

Shadowforge miniatures my critical tests with flying colors. Ready for the best news? Most miniatures from the Shadowforge line cost under $2.50 American, pricing them far below the average cost of a single miniature. Considering the quality of these miniatures that is a GREAT bargain. 

One slight word of warning. Some of these miniatures are not for beginners. Some of the multi-piece miniatures will need pinning and considering the delicate feminine pieces it takes a steady hand with a tiny pin vice to build them properly. However once assembled anyone of any skill will enjoy these miniatures.

Keep up the good work Shadowforge!

Shadowforge Special Ops Marine Squad Leader

Shadowforge Special Ops Marine Communications Officer

Shadowforge Special Ops Marine Sniper