Inspired by a recent episode of the Strike Better podcast, I have been thinking about what I consider the best and worst models in the vast and growing field of Marvel Crisis Protocol minis. I quickly discovered that a lot of the stuff from the early days suffers by comparison with more recent models, while on the other hand how do you even pick a top five with so many gorgeous sculpts to choose from at the top tier?
So I thought about different evaluation criteria, and chose the best and worst from each of the categories I came up with. (I am also limiting my opinions to models I've assembled and/or painted myself, which to be fair is nearly all of them at this point). Without further ado, here are my picks for various categories, counting down to Best/Worst Overall Model.
5. Best Human: Bullseye. The long-delayed CP10 box (Miles and Gwen) is a masterwork in a sea of early participation medal-caliber minis, but Bullseye (ironically the worst human being) sets the standard for a simple, representative and easy to sculpt regular people. There's just enough anatomic detail to guide highlights, and a well-sculpted face that is small but paintable. His pose is simple but evocative of his character: smug, sneering confidence. (God I hate Bullseye so much)
Baron Zemo, one of the original ten, is also a triumph of simple, evocative design, positively screaming that he is a baron, after all.
4. Best FX: Really it's Lizard, both for the water effect and the explosive lunge. The flying sewer cover really sells the kinetic action of the scene.
But I want to shout out Amazing Spider-Man for great use of an explosion, debris and terrain to nicely fill out a base that would look awfully naked with just a Spider-Man on it. An absolute redemption for Peter Parker as well, since the core box model is unremarkable.
Worst FX: Green Goblin. The clamshell design of the exhaust leaves unsightly seams when assembled, which are very difficult to correct given the smooth, bubbly 'smoke' surface it's supposed to represent. The model itself looks pretty nice, but it is a design failure in my opinion.
3. Best box: Yondu/Nova, but this is at least in part due to the fact that I haven't finished the runners-up boxes yet: Klaw is an astonishing realization of an artistic vision that should not be able to work, while M'Baku proves that AMG have nailed the naturalistic asthetic that they struggled with in the early days. Same with Squirrel Girl, who is an amazing model packaged with the very best model in the game (no spoilers!)
Yondu and Nova might be peak MCP in terms of model designs, though. Just great, evocative, characterful minis, FX on both of them, and a good level of detail that doesn't overwhelm or dictate the painter's brush.
Worst overall box: I remember being so disappointed with Hawkeye, one of my favorite comic book characters. He's perfunctory, but specifically the bulk of his upper torso concedes too much to the z-axis challenges inherent in creating a mold for 3d models. Meanwhile Black Widow 2 is one of the few models that I stopped painting midway - my brushes just got too sad to touch her inelegant, mis-proportioned sculpt.
Ebony Maw/Black Dwarf also get a shout-out here; I remember being so disappointed by Black Dwarf in particular, he just looked like someone had scaled him up from a smaller original size.
2. Most characterful: The Blob. As if we needed more proof that complex isn't necessarily better, The Blob is an absolute slam dunk in terms of visual communication. You get that he is solid not just from his bulk, but from his hunched, forward stance and jeering smile. Meanwhile there is just enough detail on him to catch paint with, while staying out of the way of areas that need painted-on detail. Just a joy to paint and a great achievement.
Least characterful: Ms. Marvel - another rare disappointment once we get past the teething stage of MCP design. Little Marvel is just one piece! I will say that the plate that Big Marvel is crushing underfoot gives a good sense of the character's mass, but they both feel lazy and uninspired. I feel like there was an attempt here to play to Kamela Khan's youth and naivete, but while she is the same age as Miles, she is portrayed as a child while Miles ia shown as a young man. Borderline misogyny, and a really cool character done dirty.
1. Most gratifying to paint: Cable. Not a fan, I consider him a parody character, thought he would look stupid with big dumb muscles, but he turned out great! Everything about this model works. His big dumb chin works. His stupid muscles work (compare to Hawkeye's huge pipes, on a guy who is meant to be lithe). His FX are really cool, and he gets the rare smoke AND laser combo.
Most disappointing to paint: Doctor Voodoo. Voodoo HATED my brush. Disappearing detail, hard to reach places, FX that don't sell, too many colors, and a mediocre pose just resulted in a meh, uninspired paint job. He was just a big chore; normally I will paint a miniature in a single sitting, but this guy took me an entire weekend of sighing and teeth gritting.
And finally:
Best model: Gwenpool. Just exquisite in every respect, masterfully characterful with comic-book debris, a pet and explosion on the base, well-represented details that are a joy to paint, a well-proportioned anatomy, etc. Just a tour de force.
Worst model: Venom. A standout from the soft-soap era and not in a good way, he is very difficult to paint with any dynamism. He looks like a balloon filled with potatoes. His costume logo is at once too soft to paint nicely and too prominent to correct with freehand. Even his eyes are crooked. Moreover nothing about his pose feels at all threatening or deadly. He looks like the family friend you call 'uncle' leaning in for a hug. His one redeeming feature is that this model is caked up, rivalling even Rhino's bubble butt.
Honorable Mentions:
The Original Human Torch. This model should not exist. How the sculptor managed to capture something as ephemeral as a body made out of licking flames is beyond my comprehension. Here again, though, you've got a model with plenty of sculpted detail that still gets out of the way in a few places to let the painter get to work instead of just doing a 360 edge highlight.
Blade. An easy contender for 'best FX', he is wonderfully dynamic and balanced, and there's a lot you can do with the clawing hands at his feet - my interpretation here is only one example of many.
Nebula. If you needed proof that you don't need FX to make a model feel dynamic, Nebula is Exhibit A. The model looks like it is defying the likes of physics, but somehow it is perfectly balanced on the base. Just gorgeous and one of my favorite all-timers. Guardians as a whole release were a bit of a redemption for MCP, and really presented a new standard of quality that subsequent releases would be compared against.
.
