Today we're having a look at something a little different. Like a lucky little boy patiently waiting for Santa's sack (no euphemism intended), Para Bellum Games were more than kind enough to send over this great big model for me to paint up.
In case you've had your head under the proverbial Warhammer rock for the last few years, then you may not have heard about Para Bellum Games, and their war-game, Conquest. This war-game is playable in two forms; a rank and file type game, as well as a skirmish type game. All of their miniatures are playable in both, allowing a lot more versatility than is often offered by the ringleaders of this hobby. And whilst I will let you do your own research into this pretty cool game (I am a painter and not a player, so my opinion probably isn't the most valid), I will say that the factions created for the world are really quite cool. From orcs riding dinosaurs, to an undead ancient Roman Empire, there's enough rich lore and narrative to keep you interested. As a painter, this also allows for some pretty cool sculpts to get involved with.
That brings us here, to the specific model that Para Bellum Games have sent me. This big chap is from the faction City States, who are somewhat inspired from Greek mythology. This model comes as a dual kit, allowing you to build either the Promethean or the Hephaestian. The box itself comes with two sprues to build either choice, the instructions, a round base, as well as a tray for it to fit in, and two command cards for either choice of model. I'm not entirely sure on what the command cards do, but it's a really nice touch to have a card of the model you've bought. The two different bases are there to be used according to the game version of Conquest that you choose to play. I also must note that the box quality is so much better than the quality of boxes that Games Workshop use. I know this isn't a very important feature, but you always feel like you're getting better value for your money, when every element feels high quality.
Getting onto looking at the model itself, I found the quality of the plastic itself to be pretty good. It feels a little more heavy duty than a lot of other brands, and the detail and quality is very much reminiscent of Games Workshop, though maybe from a few years ago, as the newest sculpts they are coming out with are really very good. A very helpful but subtle detail about Para Bellum when it comes to building, are directional arrows with the numbers, allowing you to pick out the right pieces much faster. This is absolutely something Games Workshop could learn from. I chose to build the Promethean version of the model, as I much preferred the merging of flesh and stone, than that of fire. He was pretty easy and straight forward to build, with very minimal amount of mould lines. My only real problem was with attaching his stone arm to his body, and I think the joining part could definitely see a little bit of an improvement. Otherwise, I was very happy to find it easy to build, as this was always my concern with the smaller companies of the wargaming hobby.
In terms of his size, he really is massive. I believe the scale of Conquest is a little larger than the average anyway (lucky them), but this model is bigger than anything else I have painted so far. For some size comparison, here is the Promethean next to a Cypher Lord I'm currently working on. He's so big, that he's the first model I haven't based to paint, because I can hold him far more comfortably by his legs to work on him. This in turn has also made the process of painting him a true joy, both in terms of comfort and scale.
And just to also show you the level of detail his sculpt contains, here is the model after he has been dry brushed, which always elevates all of the details. He looks great just at this stage, and the notion of stone really comes through. This is how I prime all of my models before painting, as I use it as a guide in knowing what should be highlighted, and what should naturally be in shadow.
I was very unsure of how I wanted to paint him at first, really spending a little while deliberating over it. But then, I was hit over the head with a brainwave, that I should employ my Cities of Sigmar colour scheme, as I spent far too long coming up with it.
So with the greens of the Living City in my mind and palette, I got cracking. Once again, the sheer size of this model made him an absolute joy to paint, in both the brush but also the comfort of holding him. Having mostly painted small miniatures, I find I usually forget how to breathe when I'm trying to tackle all those tiny details. However, I can safely say, that when painting the Promethean, I'm not at risk of death via lack of oxygen. That's my guarantee that you can take away with you, and perhaps, it's something Para Bellum Games can write as a slogan on their products.
Once I had finished painting all of the cloth and metals, I wanted to move on to tackling the skin. I hadn't spent much time with human skin (painting it, not wearing it... my own, just to clarify) and had only really recently started to practice. So going for something as grand in scale as this, with lots of flat areas of skin, I was a little worried. However, I really did enjoy the painting process, challenging myself to adapt on the fly when things started to go wrong, and learn to not pat myself on the back too early when things momentarily go right. The big lesson to take away, of which you can clearly see my mistake, is not to go so heavy with the wash. I think the size of the model caused me to get a little carried away with my quantities, and so there's a little more staining than I would have liked, but overall, I'm happy with how it's ultimately come out.
After finishing painting this model, I can truly say how fun the sculpt was to paint. Obviously the size factor has something to do with it (context, please), but the sculpt itself had enough interesting details and mixture of textures to work with, that no part of the painting process felt like a drag. It does really help that the quality of Para Bellum Games' sculpts are really smooth and crisp, but ultimately it's the creativity behind the design, that keeps me as a painter, enthralled for every second I spent brush in hand. It also helps that I think this might be one of my better paintjobs, which is either down to the sheer size or the enjoyment of the model. His massive base also allowed me to really enjoy the basing work too.
To conclude my review on the Promethean, I just have to say how almost every element of the process, from building to painting to basing, was pure enjoyment. There are plenty of times you get down to painting a model, and your motivation and enjoyment runs dry. But this guy kept me gong all the way through until the end.
Para Bellum Games' 'Conquest' also looks like a pretty cool game to get into, and whilst I am just a painter and not a player, from the rich lore that has been created, to the fact you can play the models between the two game types, clearly this is an alternative to Games Workshop that you should absolutely be paying attention to. From a painting perspective, if you're worried about branching out from Warhammer, then Conquest is the way to go, with a very similar quality in sculpt and material, and a huge variety in models, you'll quickly feel at home.
If you've never heard of Para Bellum Games or Conquest, then now is the time to check them out. If you have heard of them, why aren't you painting up this big boy right now!?
Visit https://www.para-bellum.com to be introduced to the game, world and factions. If you want to check out the Promethean himself, then you can find him HERE.
A massive thank you to Para Bellum Games for sending me this huge model to paint up, you have my eternal gratitude for being a wonderful company who rightfully so take pride in their work. And a big thanks to you for reading this article, I hope you like the paint job I came up with! Please go check out Para Bellum Games and Conquest and let me know what you think!
I have since been lucky enough to be invited to become an affiliate for Para Bellum Games, of which I cannot thank those wonderful guys enough. If you would like to get your grubby mits involved with Conquest, you can get a discount by using my code 'PP10' at checkout to get you started. Head to their shop via the link below.
I'm in love with the models this company has been producing. These models are very high quality and far cheaper than their wargamming competitors. It's finally gotten me into minipainting!