Hello, and welcome to one of many Island of Blood Reviews you have probably seen already. Well, as you know, too many cooks spoil the broth and as I don't eat Broth I thought I'd add something.
Firstly, don't be put off by the weight. The box is VERY light, and makes you wonder whether it is worth the £60. It is and it isn't, as I'll explain.
As you open the box, you become incredibly excited. the sheer level of detail on the models is amazing, and my favourite one in there has to be the High Elf mage, just for it's sheer wonder. But all of the models, especially the Elves, are full of detail, and I spent a good few minutes just turning over the sprues to check them out.
The Templates are nothing to write home about, they'll do the job ok but not much else. Same with the little starter guide, while nice, is still just ok. But the rulebook is amazing, better than the normal rulebook just for it's portability (Although it's still not that small.). And being in colour, you don't even feel like it's second best.
The snap fit models are ok, but are quite tight and in some cases I just cut off the snap and glued the arm on, which was a bit annoying. You also have to look around a bit for some of the components, the rat Ogres in particular, but that's not much of a problem.
Having only seen the models in pictures, when you see them all in the flesh (Well, Plastic.) they all seem so... big. The griffon is particular is HUGE. The wing alone is the width of 3 rat Ogres (A useful new form of measurement, I know. 10 Rat Ogres make 1 Hell pit Abomination.) As I said before, the mage is easily my favourite model, followed by the griffon and Reavers. The Skaven models are good but aren't as good as the elven sculpts, in my opinion.
Now, the clinching question: Is it worth the price tag of £60 (Or $99 for you Americans (I think (I like brackets)). My answer would be... no. It just doesn't feel like it's worth it. Maybe £50, but for a starter box it's just too expensive. Maybe the sheer amount of models in Skull Pass spoiled me.
BUT!
I'm not saying it's not worth buying them. I think, just this once, forget that sensible voice saying "Well, it's quite expensive....". Give it a go. The models are beautiful, they are indisposable parts of an army and it would entrance even the most sceptic of hobbyists. I would really reccomend this to the less sensible portion of the community (Which is probably most of you. I know I'm part of it. ).
4/5