-Review and photos by Scott Rubin

For many years WizKids Games was known best for HeroClix, though in recent years the company has expanded in a lot of directions and made a name for itself in board games, fantasy miniatures, and more.  One line that links multiple properties is their unpainted minis, frequently known as “Deep Cuts.”  In this series you’ll find things like Dungeons & Dragons characters, Star Trek ships, My Little Ponies, and Transformers, all pre-primered and ready to paint right out of the package.  Now, and many might say finally, WizKids is adding HeroClix to the mix with Marvel HeroClix Deep Cuts X-Men Unpainted Figures!  This initial offering consists of nine X-Men characters previously seen in the recent Regenesis set featuring unpainted minis on Switchclix bases with new dials, and we’ve got your first in-depth look at them.

“Regenesis” was an era of X-Men comics following the Schism in 2011.  The differences in philosophies between Cyclops and Wolverine over the future of mutantkind came to blows and the X teams split, some following Scott to Utopia and others staying with Logan at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.  This past summer WizKids offered a Wolverine vs. Cyclops: X-Men Regenesis Storyline Organized Play Event with exclusive single-figure boosters (see our review of that set HERE).  With new versions of favorite characters that set was very popular, and it featured a new mechanic with a boost to figures when they’re part of specific theme teams.  Notably, the figures in that set also came on “Switchclix” dials, meaning the figures could be removed from their bases.  And that ties into these new Deep Cuts unpainted minis.  Put simply, you can play these new figures (once you paint them, of course) as they come with their new dials, or you can use the models to replace the ones from the Regenesis set and use those dials (and vice versa).

It was very interesting to see which characters WizKids included in this first batch of Deep Cuts: Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Emma Frost, Magneto, Cannonball, Magik, Warbird, and Psylocke.  Looking at them in terms of the Regenesis set these figures cover the full range from commons to chases, while from a Wolverine vs. Cyclops standpoint these are skewed toward Utopia six to three.  It’s also noteworthy to see who didn’t make the cut, especially Colossus, Rogue, Gambit, and Beast (though hopefully we’ll see these characters in future expansions).

If you checked out our Regenesis review or got your own figures from that set you’ll be familiar with many of these figures, or at least their sculpts.  The set had a lot of dynamic characters and poses, and some of the best of them are presented here for you to bring to life with your own painting.  All of these figures have iconic “action” poses, from Cyclops crouching down to unleash an optic blast to Wolverine leaping headlong into his opponents with slashing claws.  As far as posing goes, you can’t ask for a better canvas.  As far as sculpted detail, there’s a lot, though it can be hard to see all of it with just the primer.  Once you slap some paint on there the details start to pop out.

Alright, let’s talk about painting!  First off, I want to point out my favorite part of these Deep Cuts HeroClix, what’s written in the middle of the back panel of the packages.  Rather than provide you with a strict painting and color guide WizKids says “Paint each character’s costume from your favorite era or come up with something completely original!”  You are free, and even encouraged, to come up with your own color schemes and styles for these figures, and that is awesome. 

As we’ve talked about above, Deep Cuts minis are “pre-primered,” meaning you don’t need to do that usual first step before laying down colors.  That’s great, especially for hobbyists who want to get right to it.  There are a couple things to think about, though. 

First off, some of these figures had pretty noticeable mold lines.  There’s nothing unusual about that when it comes to miniatures, but note that if you trim them (recommended) you will need to re-primer those areas.  In some cases, it may be easier or faster to strip the pre-primer and start from scratch. 

Or, invest in paint-on primer (I did that with Cyclops after cleaning mold lines from his head and arm).  Also, GW’s Contrast paint is pretty popular right now as it can speed up and simplify painting, but Contrast does NOT stick to WizKids primer.  All of that being said, for most people these minis will be fine right out of the box.  Note: I do suggest washing your minis with a gentle detergent soap before painting them to get rid of any residue from the factory or packaging.

The Deep Cuts X-Men look great painted up, whether you follow an existing costume design or make up your own.  As noted, paint really brings out the details in the sculpts, and that’s even true of the translucent parts which all minis have to some degree.  Any sort of standard acrylic paint (Citadel/Games Workshop, Vallejo, Army Painter, generic, etc.) will work just fine, and washes or glazes will tint the translucent details nicely without turning them opaque.

In the photos here you’ll see minis painted in a few different styles, as preferred by some artist friends of mine.  We’ve got Warbird by Roy McCarthy, Psylocke by Jirina Linnea, Wolverine by Oscar Casasola, Storm by Jonathan Wong, and Magneto by Naeem Stewart.  Cyclops, Emma Frost, Cannonball, and Magik were my work, and I’ll talk briefly about I approached them.

For Cyclops I knew I wanted to go with my favorite of his costumes from when I was young, the classic blue and white X-Factor version.  Before painting I had to do some pretty substantial mold line cleanup, after which I applied paint on primer to the affected areas.  The blue was pretty straightforward, layering GW’s Kantor Blue and Vallejo’s Andrea Blue, with GW’s Nuln Oil wash.  For the boots and gloves I applied GW’s Guilliman Blue glaze directly onto the primer, then Vallejo’s White.  Various paints replicated the mutant leader’s face and visor, with classic GW Baal Red wash tinting the optic blast.  Now, the “X” design on the costume was the hardest part, since there’s nothing in the sculpt to represent those areas.  I very carefully drew out the lines with Vallejo Light Grey, then finished it off with Vallejo White.  What do you think?

For Emma, I decided to go with a black costume inspired by her Marvel NOW! look.  The steps here were fewer than on her on-again/off-again lover, but just as painstaking.  Painting the black clothing while keeping her “skin” clean was a challenge, and was done with GW Abaddon Black and then gray edge highlighting (plus some other colors for accents).  Emma’s diamond skin was done with very light GW Asurmen Blue wash and equally sparse applications of GW Runefang Steel.  I used GW Guilliman Blue glaze on her energy effect hands.

Lastly, I did Magik and Cannonball as speed painting exercises.  The Russian mutant I gave a colorful, custom costume.  Mostly GW paints were used on the Soulsword wielder here, including Biel-Tan Green wash (with drybrushed Vallejo Light Yellow) on the portal base and Casandora Yellow wash on the weapon itself.  The colors and especially the costume scheme are different, but I think it all came out okay. 

For Cannonball, I wanted to do a throwback to his original costume colors rather than the somewhat boring black and white of his modern uniform.  The most important part was the purple/lilac which I did with layers of Vallejo Violet Red and Army Painter Toxic Boils with GW Druchi Violet shade.  Various brown shades were used on the collar and arms, Vallejo White on the gloves and sides, and the aforementioned Casandora Yellow shade came out brilliantly on the blasting and fist effects.

Did I mention that these Deep Cuts X-Men figures have new dials?  Would you like to see them?  WizKids made a very cool packaging choice, inserting the cards at an angle to that you can (mostly) see all of the details before you buy!  I was very pleased with this set’s dials, all of them being solid, if singular, interpretations of the characters.  They’re on the lean side with five dials under 75 points, and range from Storm at 40 to Cyclops, Wolverine, and Magneto all at 100.  Every figure has a trait shared by its Regenesis faction, and they’re variations on a theme.  “New School” buffs the defenses of Wolverine’s allies when one of them is hit, while “Extinction Team” increases the Utopia forces’ attack numbers after one of them makes a successful hit.  Beyond those most of the figures here have one additional special power or trait, though Psylocke has both and Warbird neither.  These figures are also great for team building with a good selection of keywords.

Whether you’re picking up these Deep Cuts X-Men for painting or for their fun dials, there’s lots of value in these figures.  This first set of nine hits stores later this month, and each will retail for $4.99 MSRP.  That’s a solid price tag for a non-blind figure that brings a new dial, ultimate customizability in painting, pre-primer, and added functionality with its doppelganger in the Regenesis set.  Naturally these figures are highly recommended for X-Men HeroClix players, fans of these characters, and anyone looking for cool superhero miniatures to paint.  The sky’s the limit when it comes to the way you paint yours, and the ones you see here are just some examples.  Make sure your local comic book/game store has these on order, and share with us your paint jobs when you get your X-Men!

Review and photos by Scott Rubin

Review samples courtesy of WizKids Games

[See image gallery at www.figures.com]