Sigrun by Black Crow Miniatures


With the new release of Black Crow's scaled down Uther I thought I would take a look at an earlier release, Sigrun.

Sigrun comes in 9 parts cast in grey resin and a packaged in a very sturdy printed box so on face value it looks like a well packaged piece.


This makes a change from the tins some of the previous pieces are packaged in.

The price for Sigrun is €54.45 (including vat) and comes in 1/9th scale which is about right for this price range and is available direct from here.


Out of the box we see the main torso, 2 wings for the helmet, a spear head and separate shaft, shield, and a piece of cloak which will require some prep when glued in place.

The pose of the design is quite static but still has a commanding presence as she is in a stance like she is stood to attention with a far away gaze giving the piece little mystery to it and room for interpretation when looking for a story in each piece we choose to paint.

I have had this piece since it was released and had not reviewed it; but I have had time to process what I have seen.

Ok so... I have not had the pleasure of a Black Crow piece before so I have nothing to compare this piece to. I have been told however that their usual standard is quite good so I have kept that in my mind while I review this piece.

Let’s start by hitting the sculpt...

It is very obvious this piece was sculpted by Pedro Fernandez Ramos as he has used his signature facial features as he does on all his female sculpts so it is very easy to recognize his work.


When I first saw Pedro’s work I thought "oh wow, such nice pieces" but now as I see many companies use him for their work I see a very uniform look to his female sculpts. This piece is no exception.

The theme of this bust is styled like a Valkyrie; the warrior angels who choose those Vikings worthy of a place in Valhalla.

But I’m afraid this piece is not Valhalla worthy as perfection has not been reached.

The cast itself is nice. It's sharp and crisp, the lines are clean, there are no mould lines and the details are really well done so on that I cannot fault but something has gone awry during the casting process.

There has either been no mould release or chalk dusting of the mould or the mould its self has been run to its limits as the surface of the cast is far from smooth and this will translate in the finish of the paint so I will need to do some buffing of the resin before I even attempt to lay paint on it.

In the photo above and the one below you can see light hitting the surface of the helmet but you can also see it is very dull and flat. A metal helmet should give off a brighter sharper feel when light hits it so you can see how rough the finish actually is and to the touch it feels very much like a smooth grit sand paper.


The parts are a different story, they are smooth and will require no buffing or sanding and the details are perfect, so these were cast well which baffles me why Black Crow would let the rough torso go out to a customer when they clearly can see the difference between the finishes of all the pieces.


Why haven’t I asked Black Crow for a replacement? Too much hassle? I know I can fix it? But mostly it’s probably never gonna see paint at this stage in my hobby schedule. A waste of money? Possibly. But when we all get that “oh shiny” moment we don’t see the long game do we.

So from sheer laziness I have condemned myself to a long period of preparation on this bust.

So to summarise this bust; I can say it could have been a very nice piece but the final texture of the torso has let it down a great deal and is now destined to be a fixture in my grey mountain till the day I decide to make an effort with it. It won’t take much of an effort but right now I'm just not prepared to sit and sort it when I have much nicer pieces attracting my attention.

If anyone buys this bust and it is in 100% perfect condition they will not be disappointed but sadly I was.

If this bust does appeal you can keep up to date and see more at the Black Crow Miniatures Facebook page.

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