Droohan Taff

by Adrian Hopwood Company – Draconia Price – £18.50 Scale – 54mm Material – White Metal Code – DR-FAN14 Sculpted by – Not known I’ve got to be honest, this is one of Draconia’s recent releases that I’m not over-keen on. The idea is good, a warrior posed in a threatening and extreme manner, and I think painted up, it’s probably going to work better than it does when I put the unpainted components together in a dry run, but it just doesn’t look quite right to me. The sculpting of the kit is every bit as good as any of the other releases, the face is full of character and will paint up well, the musculature will benefit from paint too, and the addition of scars and tattoos will really bring him to life. Details are sharp enough, the weapon has some nice detail on its sides, although this could be filled in if you wanted to, or even the hammer head removed and something sharp and pointy substituted. So where’s my problem ? Well, the extreme twist of the upper torso is part of it. It renders the whole main casting flat and laterally compressed, the hips are rendered thin by comparison, and the drawn in nature of the right leg that is integral to the main casting looks strained. That’s not too bad I suppose, but the large shoulder guard on the left shoulder throws the head to one side, so that he appears to have a neck which is not centrally situated on his shoulders. O.K. micrometer time…..The base of the neck, underneath that beard might be offset a couple of mm, but it’s not far off being right. I think it’s the stance that is giving a partial optical illusion. However, continuing from above; add the left leg, and the appearance of lateral compression becomes even more pronounced. Again I see what the sculptor is attempting to do, and the pose does ooze threat and the sense that he’s stalking someone he’s facing off to , awaiting the perfect moment to strike, but looked at from the side of the piece, the compression undermines the width of the shoulders and the over-muscled credibility of the figure breaks down. Casting is, as with all the Draconia range that I’ve handled, not a thing to worry about. There are mould part lines, but these are well within acceptable parameters and a minimum amount of work with a file and a scalpel will rid all the components of them. I’ve yet to see one of these painted up ( apart from the box art ) and I’m perfectly willing to be proven wrong about the laterally compressed look to the model. If you can get past that single fact, then I reckon that the model could paint up well, and be a nice addition to any display. Thanks to Matt and Celine at El Greco Miniatures for sending this along for review, the model is available from them at the address below, or by visiting their website. Adrian.