Jarvis, Militia Sergeant

A nice simple fun figure. Easy to assemble, the parts go together quite well. The two tailed hood adds a certain playfulness to the character. Perhaps a whimsical aspect. The rest, ‘though, is a solid no nonsense affair. A large bulky fellow clad in thick armoured plates. The design of the plates is relatively historical. Not too many fancy flourished or extravagant details to show off. The various gouges and dents give the armour a lived in look. This, again, adds to the sense of character.

His girth has spread in recent years. He clearly doesn’t get out too much. Interestingly his face looks better suited to a thinner figure. It looks disconcertingly out of place atop his larger bulk. Perhaps inside his armour his sagging gut reveals an attempt to lose weight (or maybe he’s fallen on harder times and has been unable to maintain his previous diet). His fingers and thumbs are not covered by armoured plates. There are no sculpted fingernails so you can easily paint them as wearing gloves beneath the armour. That being said there aren’t many leathery glove-like creases on the fingers so you could also paint the hands bare if you wanted.

In terms of gameplay he’s a reliable back line support option. When he’s on the table the enemy essentially cannot disengage from your other militia members. So sit him on the back and allow him to exert his control only committing him to the action if you absolutely have to.

There are some scratches and cuts in the axe handle that give the impression of a cloth wrapping or leather grip but they are somewhat irregular and do not carry all the way around. The head of the weapon has lots of characterful nicks and notches and is very satisfying to paint. In fact, the only reason this isn’t getting a 5 star review is the irregularity of the markings on the axe haft (which look like they should be part of a more regular pattern) and the slightly out of place nature of the face.