Mystic Wargames: Angron (gamer scale)
This is the second 3D printed figure from Mystic Wargames I am reviewing (and the third Angron version...) - this time it is in a smaller scale. Essentially, everything is the same with regards to detail, material and quality.
The resin used is incredibly strong; not at all brittle like the "normal" polyurethane resin. The "horns" on Angron's knees, for example, were not damaged at all, despite of being in the same bag with the rest of the model. (Normally these sort of delicate parts require separate protection.) It makes the figure very durable, so if you use it for tabletop wargames, handling and transportation is less of an issue. The resin is also very smooth and shiny, so in order to appreciate the details you need to prime the model first. (See assembled photos.) 3D printing is an incredibly powerful technology which is getting on the level where it can seriously threaten the "traditional" figure market. The barriers of entry are much lower (you need some some skills in 3D design, some good ideas and a printer), which really helps the customer at the end. My favorite alternative parts, for example, are folding chairs as close combat weapons for Space Marine Terminators available as 3D files.
The quality of printing is excellent. I could not find any visible "tidemarks" -the layers produced by the printer. When I did the post-processing of the photos, I found some on extreme magnification taken using my macro lens, but they are not visible for the naked eye at all.
The pose is pretty dynamic, true to the character, and the ornamental power armor looks very good. The face is very expressive (although the range of expression in this case goes from angry to very angry in the case of this character). One of the chain-axes have a chain wrapped around it, demonstrating the capabilities of 3D printing -this would be very difficult to replicate using traditional resin production. (Another cool little detail is that some of the chains holding the skulls on the cape are separate from the cape -they are not connected to the "fabric" as they would be normally on figures. The gap is incredibly tiny but it is there.)
The level of detail is very high for this scale, but again -the very same model can be ordered in larger versions, so they need to be. If you are a painter mainly, the larger models would be a great choice; for gaming this scale is an excellent option.
I am only a painter/collector (although not a professional one as it is evident), and enjoyed the painting of the model. (The assembly took about 2 minutes so not much to comment on that.) For the armor I used mainly AK Interactive's True Metal paints, which I highly recommend for metallics, and the rest was done using different acrylics and oils. (The face in this scale is somewhat of a challenge for me.)
All in all this model is absolutely recommended for WH40K painters/World Eater players; I prefer this figure to the "official" version. (Which is admittedly an entirely personal thing.)
Do not talk to me or my little brother again.