Let’s begin with a Vampire pun…Like most hobbyists with a pulse I was instantly interested in Cursed City when it was previewed on one of the Warhammer TV preview shows. There’s been a lot of negativity surrounding the release, but I don’t think that killed enthusiasm for the boxed set – whether you’re interested in the lore and back-story, the game side or painting the miniatures.
One of my favourite books – or series of books – is Necroscope by Brian Lumley, which has a lot of Vampirism and necromancy themes – think that’s probably why I fell so hard for this release. I’m also a big fan of zombies!
What do I think of the release?
I can’t speak much for the gaming content, I might give that a bash at some point but I haven’t had much time and it’s not really a priority for me. I’m enjoying reading the book, but have gotten a bit side tracked with Broken Realms so haven’t finished it yet. The limited edition hard back is a thing of beauty too, but is rather delicate. I’ve actually kept it in the cardboard sleeve it came in! The pre-order bonus key is pretty cool for a gimmick, it’ll look nice in the cabinet with the miniatures.
Speaking of miniatures – very impressed. The miniatures go together really well, and the way some of the push fit plastics go together is ingenious.
There’s a couple of common problems with the sprues – small breaks and bent spears mostly – but I was pretty lucky everything in mine was ok except for the long beard on Octren Glimscry. Easily fixed. Some of them are fiddly to put together though. I did have a few issues here and there; Glaurio lost an earring but he’s ok without it.
I did clean and glue all mine, but I think if you wanted to go glue-less for whatever reason they’d be absolutely fine. It’s apparent that a lot of skill has been honed creating Underworlds miniatures and it’s good to see it coming across to the larger ranges.
How am I getting on?
Before the box came, I made a start on the basing scheme I was going to use. I tend to use a couple of basing schemes quite exclusively so wanted to do something different and a bit more interesting. A lot of people I’ve seen using clay and cobblestone rolling pins, but after my last attempt at that I decided to spend a little more time on them and grabbed some 1/35 scale bricks to do some miniature paving.
I’ve finished one member of the Ulfenwatch and Dagnai Holdenstock so far!
I’ve also made a good start on the remaining Ulfenwatch miniatures.
What next?
I’ve decided to complete the box as my Armies on Parade project for this year, with the hope that I’ll actually get to display it in store – all pandemics considering. I’ve got an idea in my head for a WarCry sized board and have acquired myself some Sigmarite Mausoleum sprues to play with which look really nice. Ordered them from Hachette so got quite a lot for £30.
The rumour mill has been wild about what’s happened to Cursed City as a product, it went from pre-order to OOP within a week. I hope there’s some expansions to come though as I’ll be spending quite a lot of time in Ulfenkarn over the coming months. My week in Ulfenkarn has already gone on for more than three.
