Crooked Dice – Goblins, Townsfolk, Island Priests, and Deathtraps

An assortment of metal miniatures from Crooked Dice to enjoy here, and some resin cast scenic pieces too. All are appealing in their own ways, and the variety is the first impressive thing, followed by the quality of the metal casting with minimal clean up required on the miniatures. All come with slotta bases, somewhat reflecting the more esoteric nature of the sculpts – these are aimed a little more at painters, rather than gamers, perhaps.

Townsfolk 1

A great pack here that should prove very versatile, with models that can be used in all sorts of games – from fantasy to historical. Each model costs £4 ($5.50 US) or you can get the full set at a slight discount and they’re 28mm scale, though the Merchant – probably our pick of the bunch with great details and lots of character – seems much larger. His bulk and headgear are largely the cause of that – put him next to the Sheriff (a cruel one, we suspect, taunting the folks whilst holding bags of coin) and there’s a fair difference. Which is fine, people are different sizes! Noble and Ranger models finish off the set.

Goblins

Two sets here from a sizable range of greenskins that are bursting with character. There’s a hint of classic goblinoid to these small (though still rather imposing) minis but with some lovely details.

Goblin Warriors 1 is a set of four models for £12 ($11 US) and the shields are the only separate parts. They wield assorted hand weapons and we reckon they’d be a lot of fun to paint with some very clean lines in their clothing and robes, contrasted with their slightly grotesque faces.

Goblin Command (at the same price) brings more character to proceedings. The sentry, more focused on the contents of his nostril than on what might be sneaking up, is very appealing and the only one-part model. The mage looks wonderful and has a separate ragged cloak that animatedly flows behind, matching the dynamic pose. The champion has a separate heavy shield to protect himself and wears mail, the leader has a separate sword piece and wears a stylish horned helm and furred cloak.

Island Priests

We suspect there will be two types of people seeing these Island Priests – those who can’t help smiling and those who are yet to watch the TV show Father Ted. If you’re in the former group we are happy to report that the detail on each of these models, clearly inspired by the comedy classic, set in a parochial house on the remote Craggy Island, is superb. The look and mood of each of the four characters is great and while all are good Father Jack, in his armchair, takes the ‘best looking priest’ crown (in his own awful way) but also costs £1 more so well worth getting the set for £15 ($20.50 US) to save yourself a bit of money. Except for Mrs Doyle’s tea mug bearing hand they are one-piece figures.

Deathtraps

Onto the resin cast Deathtraps set, which very much fits the style of Crooked Dice’s 7TV game, looking like the sort of gear you would find in a Bond villain’s lair. It costs £20 ($27 US) and includes the following:

• 2 Laser walls
• 2 gas wall vents
• 1 shark tank (125mm x 75mm)
• 1 shark fin
• 2 steps
• 2 square floating platforms
• 1 long platform

The pieces are a decent size and while they could work individually, they have the feel of a set that should, at the very least, fill a room and its nearby corridor, rather than be scattered around too sparsely.

The design feels right, the shark fin is a perhaps rather obvious favourite piece, but we do feel duty bound to mention that there are some air bubbles present in some pieces – most notably the tips of the lasers and the water of the shark tank. Nothing too bad but perfectionists will need to get the filler out.