Hi All,

Introduction
For most of us the mention of the word Mongols brings up names like Genghis Khan, Ogedei, Batu and Kublai Khan and images of short, stocky but very hardy men who were inseparable from their fantastic recurve bow as they were from their ponies. Indeed the Mongols were nomadic people whose conquests which history remembers the most. The Mongols did indeed create the largest known empire which spanned from Egypt to Russia, to Korea and to China.

Our image of a Mongolian warrior is one of a lightly armored archer riding fast on a pony using both shock as well as cunning tactics to subdue their enemy. Their primary weapon the recurve bow was a powerful weapon with its 45 kg pull and composite construction, which far exceeded any European bow at that time in terms of penetration power and distance. However, the Mongolian army also had a lesser known but equally effective heavy cavalry element. Unlike the archers these men were more heavily armored and carried shields as well as lances, maces and swords. They were often used to deliver the coup de grace. It is this heavy calvary element that Elite Miniatures has decided to portray in their excellent sculpt….Mongolian Warrior, 1380.

The Set
This 54 mm., white metal set is casted in only 7 pieces including a small base. The kit comes in an adequately detailed box showing various sides of the figure for painting and assembly purposes. All parts were well packed sandwiched between 2 foam sponges. Flash was present but manageable. As you can see from the boxart below the figure comes in a very good action pose.




Personally for a lazy person like me, the lesser parts to assemble the better provided the kit is detailed and believe me this figure does not disappoint. Elite Miniatures another Spanish based figure maker has been given extremely high ratings by some and looking at the kit up close and personal I can see why. As you can see from the closeup shots below, the detail as well as the molding is just simply amazing for this kit. Just look at the detailing of the hand holding the scimitar in the overall shot and the bow casing, helmet and chainmail in the close-up photo below it.





The next photo featuring the back is further proof of the excellent level of detail. Just check out the buckles of the quiver as well as the hair decoration on the helmet.



The bow is not stringed but it should be easy enough to attach a bowstring using either thin copper or fuse wire. I guess it was just too tricky to cast the bowstring. The other tiny imperfection was that one of the rivets was missing from the shield but should be easily replaced with epoxy putty if noticeable at all. The 1-page instruction sheet was very basic and did not give any history of the Mongols.

Although the kit states 54 mm. and Mongolians are suppose to be on the stocky side I believe Elite Miniatures has sculpted this figure on the larger end of the 54 mm. scale. It’s also a pretty heavy figure for a white metal figure of this size. No stinging on material here.

Comments/Recommendations

At this point prior to assembly as I hard as I tried to I can really find no faults. In fact for its price which is approximately RM 20++ below a similarly sized Pegaso, makes it a bargain. The good action pose and the incredible amount of detailing along with the quality of molding makes this set an excellent investment even for figure modelers who are not fans of this period.

All comments welcomed.

nice piece there CK. Planning on building them anytime soon?
I assume this is a recent acquisition? At RM20++ its a steal!

Very funny my most esteemed co-moderator, if it was RM 20 it would be a practical giveaway. You are right in it is a recent acquisition and I ordered it from US at around RM 88 (today's exchange rate) without postage.

Given the amount of detail I'm saving this puppy for the last of the 3 metal figs I've invested in over this last month. I'm going to work on a fig which I've not done the in-box review yet as it it much more straightforward for painting. Have to build up my painting skills in order not to embarass these beauties.

Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who has painted a white metal cast before here locally. Build log is now compulsory from you.

There are some modellers in KL that does Roman Miniatures from white metal. However, they are in low visibility.

As for you CK 'The White Metalist,' you have definitely got yourself another good figure here, and it is comparable to Pegaso. May I be the fortunate one to see it in real life on Sunday?

BTW, your shield is much easier to handle compared to mine. Not fair!

P/S: I polish a white metal piece two days ago and it got oxidized by yesterday night.

oiyoh..! Loo....
i was jumping to your reply before finishing Mr.Bum's conclusion... and that makes me
"RM20++!!!! im gonna get it right away"...

CK, so u are saying this white metal flashes easily be cut away using art cutter??

:D No problemo showing it, just keep your gasmask on. Come to think of it the gasmask will make little difference once you set your eyes on how detailed this chap is.

I read over at Timelines that right after polishing is to apply a coat of clear. Not gloss. The clear should maintain the shine without the fake coating look. Haven't tried it though. (Off topic) I'm just itching to start on my other figure if I can just clear everything on my workbench.

:D Got tricked by my sneaky co-moderator I see, Williams. To answer your question yes cutting the flash will be similar to removing flash from styrene as the white metal flash is equally thin.

Off topic ...

I will polish it again tonight if possible and apply a clear coat. I hope it looks OK.

CK, are you intending to borrow the sheen of the metal itself for the armour or planning to redo the shine in acrylics like a mosochistic maniac modeller?

Its a tough call. The metal on my earlier Viking figs (under the 'Varangoi' post) were done with automotive chrome and washed with a diluted india ink-gunmetal combo. It look okay to me but I'm not sure how it looks to everybody else who's seen it.

Kenny is experimenting with burnishing it which I'm keen on to but the trouble is preventing oxidation which dulls the exposed surface.

I have tried coating clear on burnished metals. Just doesn't wotk as the sheen goes after some time. Reconsider this.

I had coated my natural metal finish model with SnJ metallic colours before..It really shone after giving a good buff, but the shine is gone after i sealed it.

So, Loo CK is right.

sllim

Hope this is not off topic, but since you guys are discussing metal finishing, can I suggest using Bare Metal Foils for it? It really gives the chrome look as well as shines and it won't fade after some time. Applying clear coats on it also will not affect its shine.

Just a suggestion...

To get back on track, I would also like to see the build log... hehehe... Me and my brother used to paint white metal figures but not this big. The figures we painted is of civil war soldiers with each soldiers measuring 1.5cm including their hats and nearly 2cm with their rifles on the side.

Many thanks Gentlemen for the suggestions. Druid when you mentioned bare metal foil did you mean coat it with a foil like in aluminium baking sheets or it that a term for some metal coating that Automotive modelers use?

If its foil then its a suggestion but a bit tricky to stick it especially given its a 54 mm. figure. I appreciate the suggestion though.

Interesting to note that you and Xamel used to paint metal figs. Who makes them just out of curiosity?

The idea to burnish it with fine steel wool came from Andrea's book on painting Medieval figures. I'm afraid it will be some time before I get to this figure as once things quiet down I plan to work on another white metal figure which came together with this one.

Well, Bare Metal Foil (BMF) is a thin foil that is usually used to replicate chrome linings in automotive modeling (usually). It comes with a few colours such as chrome, super bright chrome, gold, metal black (this is actually semi-gloss black) and other colours that I can't recall.

The foil is very thin and it has its own adheshive. The thin foil makes it easier to conform to curved areas. I bought mine the other day to HQ during the competition but maybe you're not there at that time. It resembles the chrome foil on chocolate wrappers so, it will not dull if clear coated. An example of the foil used is on my Alpine A110 model car where I use the BMF for the linings on the front bonnet and side linings.

I'm not sure which company makes the figures, maybe Xamel can recall.

Mr Pegaso is jealous CK. Anyhow, if all clear coats fail, I am gonna use Alclad. Hopefully the shine would last.

The white metal figures that we've painted was a commissioned work. They actually belong to an American guy, maybe some of you guys have met him before; Franklin Miles. He works at American Embassy.

Sorry, I could not recall who produce those figures, but they are really small. I believe they're at least 1/72 in scale.

Ck..

I never work on a white metal before, just wonder what kind of paint does it take, similar to the plastic one?

Thomas actually I haven't worked with them either as I was telling Silantra. This one of 3 white metal figs I've invested in. As far as I have read its primed like any plastic/resin fig using whatever primer we are comfortable with after given a light polishing with steel wool and normal washing. Toothpaste is also pretty good for washing as well.

Me I'll probably use my regular auto primer. Painting for white metals can be done mediums similar to that used for plastic/resin. I'm going to go with acrylics since its something I'm using now.

Well, what me and Xamel used to do is we spray a coat of Mr. Metal Primer prior to painting the white metal parts.

Beachbum,

What about glue on white metal? Supaglue or epoxy?

I'm going to use 2-part epoxy for metal. Superglue/CA will unlikely be strong enough.