Disclaimer: This set of miniatures was sent for review by Northstar Military Figures.
Are you tired of painting countless grim dark/high fantasy action-themed figures? Looking to branch out for a different game? Hairfoot Jousting is a cute little game to checkout if you’re tired of holding objectives and killing your opponents in war themed/space battle/high fantasy skirmishes. These little miniatures by Northstar Military Figures are excellent steps into a slightly less brutal game where you play as little halflings riding unreliable steeds in a game of jousting.
Material Quality: These miniatures are made out of cast metal, so the material is sturdy and hefty. I actually dropped these guys a few times on accident while cleaning them up and they were completely unscathed.
Assembly Complexity: These are completely casted as is, so there is absolutely no need for assembly besides attaching them to their bases (which are provided in the box).
Cleaning/Prep: A minimal amount of cleanup and prep is required. There are noticeable mold lines on some of the animals, particularly around where the halfling bodies meet the steed body. If you are into building miniatures, you probably don’t need any additional tools but if you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to get a sturdier set of nippers as the denser metal may damage more delicate/thinner nippers. A couple of rasps, if you have them, would be ideal as well as getting the mold lines can be a bit of work around tight corners. Overall expect to take approximately 5-10 minutes per miniature.
Instructions: There are no instructions as it is not necessary since they are already completely molded in their final state. The box just tells you to glue the minis to the bases which can be done in a couple of minutes (faster if you have accelerant). Though! We accidentally glued the dummy to a base and so we have an unmounted duck steed. We can fix it, but that being said… Just pay attention folks… You just get into the flow of things and suddenly you need to provide your own base.
Sculpt Detail: Excellent for the theme. These are cartoony, simple and whimsical models. They have cute little faces with amazing detail on feathers and fur. There isn’t a lot of detail on the little halflings, but they don’t need it. They are armed with simple tools for jousting and do not have a lot of extra details. Don’t expect extra crisp armaments or tools on your little halflings. The sculpt detail on the mounts are amazing, feathers have excellent detail and they hold paint really well due to the textures. So if you’re a big fan of slap chop, these are excellent to use as they have a lot of detail that soaks up the contrast paints really well.
Scale Compatibility: Really, the only game you can use these with is Hairfoot Jousting, but if you mount them on a different size base they can be used for anything that uses animals or halflings.
Pose Variety: None. These models are made of metal and are fully cast in their final positions so unless you want to clip parts off, bend some hoes or add extra things, these have absolutely no variety in their poses. That being said, each model is completely unique and have different animals and halflings on them.
Paint Accessibility: Easy. These models are pretty easy to reach and all parts can be reached by your brushes as long as they are the appropriate size.
Customization: You can paint these as whatever you wish, but you cannot customize them much besides painting and basing.
Durability: Amazing. These are made of metal and are hefty and dense. I dropped them multiple times and they were unscathed. That being said, one painted metal miniatures are notorious for chipping so make sure you do a layer or two of varnish to protect these cute little dudes.
Readability: Amazing. The mounts are extremely easy to read before and after painting. Some parts on the halflings torsos blend into the mounts but a quick coat of paint changes it drastically, making this point a bit moot.
Basing: These come with 60mm round bases which seem WAY too big for their size but it’s the appropriate size for the game. The upside is that you can base some crazy stuff on there as there is more realty to work with.
Price Per Mini: Approximately $6.50 USD per mini. Metal minis are generally more expensive and this set is enough for 2 people to play a full game.
Genre Hopping: You can technically use them for any high fantasy or animal themed game that requires minis. Toss them in for a game of DND or something similar and they’ll fit in just fine.
Time to Table: Ready to play with right out of the box if you want to just mount them and get to playing. Painting and basing are all a matter of how much you want to spend on them, but for a quick slap chop and single layer of contrast paint, you can get the entire set done in 2-4 hours.
Sushiball Games 