RAPTOR RAGE

◗ para-bellum.com

◗ €45

In issue 457 of Miniature Wargames

you saw the new the W’adrhŭn figures from Para Bellum and in last month’s Forward Observer we mentioned that the boxed Raptor Riders were arriving. The W’adrhŭn are the latest faction for Para Bellum’s Conquest rules systems (both First Blood – the Skirmish game – and the Last Argument of Kings,

their mass fantasy battle system and remember that both are available for free download from their website). Having the actual models in my hands to unbox is somewhat of a treat and the first impression is... well I just didn’t realise how big they were! Having said that, the scale of the range is stated as 38mm so perhaps I shouldn’t be overly surprised.

Each box contains three sprues but they are not identical repeats of each other. Each of the big, Orc-like chaps is mounted on his own, very feathery Raptor (closely reflecting current thinking on real Velociraptors). The union of its rider and the beast is important to the system: apparently males commonly bond with herbivores, but it is female W’adrhu˘n who most often bond with the carnivores. The kits are not simple builds, with the beasts needing eight or nine components, but fit is good, once you’ve identified what’s what on the sprues which are laid out in the ‘modern’ high density style: the bits are certainly packed in! The riders – on top of that (literally) – are another eight or so pieces (and you have the option to build up to two command figures) and the boxed set comes with a printed Command card and some of their special two-part, 65mm square stands. The designers have stated that these are just the first of lots of ‘dino’ themed models to come.