When I did my long review of Super Dungeon Explore (SDE) last time, I deliberately did not show any photos of my painted figures from the game. But for now and the foreseeable future I'll be posting lots of reviews and photos of my SDE figure collection. I wanted to paint all 50 figures from the boxed set before playing the game as I do not like playing any game with unpainted figures. I have painted all 50. My painting style changed as these were completely different to anything I have ever done before. Chibi miniatures have a style that is unique. I thoroughly enjoyed painting them and I put a lot of effort into making them as good as possible. I do like their dungeon tile bases and I decided to paint all of the bases for the Heroes in light grey and the bases of everything else in dark grey. One other thing I had to do was make a new backdrop to photograph my SDE figures against. I used a set of printouts for the floor and wall from the WWG Castles and Keeps set. They have a suitable dungeon feel to them and they work well with the figures.
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From left to right are the Royal Paladin, the Hearthsworn Fighter and the Claw Tribe Barbarian. All three excel at melee fighting. Normally when I post pictures of my painted minis I show the front and back views. The photo above was the very first SDE photo I took and I swiftly noticed a flaw with just showing the front and back. The designs on the shields would be hidden from view. So, I decided to take photos of their right and left sides as well. Let me know if you think I should adopt this method for all my figure photos. I'm very tempted to, I must admit.
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The Royal Paladin is my favourite Hero out of the basic boxed set. He is a human Hero, a Holy avenger and a Healer - an extremely powerful combination. From the high citadels, the worshippers of light are champions against the spreading darkness. Powerful warriors and healers, the Paladins have been at the front of the great confrontation with the Consul. I think he is such a cool figure and he reminds me of Sir Pelinor, my much loved Paladin character from my old AD&D campaign. Indeed, when I use him in SDE, I call him Sir Pelinor.
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The Hearthsworn Fighter is a Dwarf Hero. Resilient and unflinching in the face of combat, the Dwarven Hearthsworn are warriors without peer. Able to withstand injury that would fell any of the lesser races, the Hearthsworn cleave through their adversaries bellowing insults and challenges to any foolish enough to face them. He is a typical rock-hard Dwarven Hero. Whilst he is a very nice sculpt, I must admit to not being a big fan of Dwarves.
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When I first saw the Claw Tribe Barbarian I immediately thought of Red Sonja the legendary She-Devil with a Sword. She is definitely NOT Red Sonja but she does have quite a few similarities to her. Born of fire and hardship, barbarians come from the edges of the Dragonback Peaks. The hard lives they can scrape out of the rough earth and fiery landscape is meager at best; it is no wonder that many take to wandering Crystalia. The black claw tattoo on her right cheek indicates that she is a member of the Claw Tribe Barbarians. She is human, very tough and she can control her berserk fury and fiery rage in battle to great effect. I am a big fan of the Red Sonja comics (but not the awful Red Sonja film with Brigitte Nielsen) so I instantly fell in love with this adorable mini.
There is very little to choose between the Hearthsworn Fighter and the Claw Tribe Barbarian. Both are better fighters than the Royal Paladin. However, the Royal Paladin is a better all-rounder. His healing ability cannot be easily overlooked.
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The comic book Red Sonja with unfeasibly large axe - clearly the inspiration for the Claw Tribe Barbarian.
There is very little to choose between the Hearthsworn Fighter and the Claw Tribe Barbarian. Both are better fighters than the Royal Paladin. However, the Royal Paladin is a better all-rounder. His healing ability cannot be easily overlooked.
