So, I’ve been painting the Dark Age minis I picked up at NOVA, and it’s been frustrating.

I played the game once, liked it okay. It played fast and straightforward, was easy to learn and understand. The setting is evocative, and hyperbolic in its grimdarkness.

A lot of the minis are cool (you kind of have to see them in person, though, because it’s simply very difficult to find photos of them online). Although some are resin, I think they’re mostly metal, and that metal is shit.

It’s simply the worst metal I’ve ever interacted with. I’ve put together metal figures from a lot of manufacturers, and this is far and away the lowest quality material I’ve ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

It’s probably not any worse than the metal used by Warhammer.pl, except BF&S figures are small and solid. These are sculpted with incredibly delicate detail that really simply aught to be avoided, period, even without the chalky, crumbly garbage they passes for metal here.

I mean, really: look at this figure. There is no way this figure survives a day without a dang paper clip support being pinned up her butt.

I got through the first batch of five figures, and am satisfied with them. Of the next batch, though, four of the six figures have shattered, shattered I say, while being painted. Three of them have snapped at the ankles after being subjected to the trauma of an incredibly light dry rushing.

I can’t blame the two arms from repeatedly breaking off: that just glue and I should have known better and pinned them (but after going through the grievous hassle of drilling out the limp metallic noodles that passed for spears, who could blame me for wanting to be done with it?).

The sword’s been reattached six times. Fuck it: I’ll finish painting him and figure something else out.

This one, while reattaching a broken arm, snapped again at his ankles, and while trying to reglue those, simply came completely apart.

At this point I don’t know if I want to push on. Painting this figures, fighting this shit, is not bringing me joy. It’s not relaxing me. It’s just pissing me off. I don’t need to do this to myself.

I’m venting my spleen here to give me time to figure out if I push on, somehow, and finish this batch, or just say to hell with them and give up.

This has been incredibly discouraging.