Completion Is Only Ever Temporary

In April, I celebrated the completion of my Infinity collection. All was assembled. All was painted. Then this “CodeOne” thing was released with my faction and, well, all good things must come to an end so I’m back in the thick of it.

I split the box with a friend and also picked up other figures to round out the models I’ve been eyeing for some time now. One of the first set of minis I tackled was some older models, a hero from the old Red Veil arc that my first starter came from and the TAG pilot.

I started with these two because I really don’t like the sculpts but I’m determined to try and improve them. With Xi Zhuang, the Red Veil hero, his sculpt has a lot of issues I won’t really address, like his roller skating action pose, but the main one that really gets me: the super roll cage backpack he’s sporting (ironically missing from the nice illustration art above).

Oof. That thing is terrible. And it looks like it has him all sorts of off balance. I decided it is mainly due to the big roll cage buffers on the sides, amplifying the silly profile. Luckily they were removable so I left them off and hope he looks better painted up.

I couldn’t figure out why they have him awkwardly landing on the knife edge of his foot (as a runner, that is a surefire way to turn your ankle) so I had him lifted up off the ground mid-stride. Fingers crossed he doesn’t still look as dumb as the original.

And now we get to this unfortunate model, the Guijia TAG pilot. Here we have the pilot of a super-sized mech that is all sorts of badass and the pilot behind it all? This stumbling, open chested bimbo that looks like she barely holding a ‘walk of shame’ together. From the knock-kneed, ankle stumble, to the blank stare that reads that the date rape drugs haven’t worn off yet, this model is a disgrace. Corvus Belli has “pin-up” models for the guys that haven’t gotten through puberty yet so I’m not sure why they decided to put that license here.

Without some good greenstuff skills, there isn’t much I can do but with a metal mini, I was able to at least turn the ankle and foot to a stable firing position.

The arms positioned into a reasonable firing position at least shows she is actively engaging in the fight now. I don’t have a lot of experience with firearms but I realize looking at the stance she is in, her supporting arms should bend at the elbow a little to help stabilize her firing arm. I’ll have to hope that my paint skills twist her facial expression from ‘dazed and confused’ to ‘menacing murder intent.’

Outside of those two travesties, the rest of the models range from nice to amazing. These two little MadTrap guys were the main reason I picked up Xi Zhuang (as they come in his set). These cute little suicide bots look fun and I want to try them out to see how they play.

While not a dynamic pose, I find this Pheasant Rank soldier smoldering with unstated badassery. This is a model that I’ve wanted to join the ranks for a while.

To round out the old stuff, I picked up the Beyond Red Veil set as well as a compliment to my original starter. The models are nice but nothing to get too excited for. The Daofei figure at the top is decent but I’m not convinced of his use on the field. It doesn’t help that I got his doppleganger in the Code One box as well.

Jumping into the new CodeOne material, here is the other Daofei, sporting a Spitfire weapon instead of the HMG carried by the other one. Notice the difference? Meh, neither do I. They are both carrying a sword (there stats show they really should not be swinging at things) and a rifle type gun that cuts people down (something they are a lot better at). I find the box art ironic as the stats of the two fighters on the box (one of which is this Daofei) shows this encounter to be the absolute worst idea the Daofei had. The PanO Knight in the bottom half will figuratively cut him in half.

A new Guilang Ghost skirmisher figure. I like the sculpt here and it looks like a fun figure.

Hundun Ambusher becomes my first decent Yu Jing sniper. I still have the Merc, Lunah and will likely use her most of all but there are some advantages to using the Hundun instead.

The new Jujak soldier seems interesting but I wonder how I’d use him. He’s not especially tough but a little on the pricey side to just dedicate him to babysitting. Cool model though with his Heavy Flame Thrower.

The rest of the main box is more Zanshi mooks (actually the same people as the Red Veil section except now they get winter coats. Who did they piss off to get sent way out to the Siberia of the Infinity universe?).

The hero of the initial CodeOne release is Adil Mehmet. This guy is a beast in close combat. I don’t know if they were trying for unassuming and understated but this is the guy that should look like he’s going to wipe the floor with whatever mess you base him against.

He’s protecting this Ambassador for the Yu Jing. I don’t need another useless prop figure so he’ll likely be painted last.

To finish off CodeOne, we have the exclusive Liang Kai, a merc Hero and all around fantastic sculpt.

Really excited to work on this one as the sculpt is fantastic and he seems like a fun model to field.

Last but not least is my favorite sculpt of the new models. This is not specifically tied to CodeOne but the ninja is just fantastic in execution.

I’ve read a lot of scorn heaped on Corvus Belli for integrating the model into the roof scenery base but I don’t mind as the rule of cool here overrides the oddness of him always standing on a roof top, regardless of where he is on the battlefield.

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So there we have it. A ton of new Infinity models to guilt me into painting again. I’ll show off them in more detail as I work through them in the painting queue.