Warlord Games - Nightmares In Silver: Cybermen Collectors Set

Warlord Games
Released May 2017

Whilst some fans might argue that the dreaded Daleks have had their own share of physical ‘upgrades’ during the course of their time on “Doctor Who”, few would surely disagree that it is actually the ‘look’ of the Cybermen that has both changed the most and the more often. In fact, one of the genuine thrills of “Warlord Games” Nightmares in Silver: Cybermen Collectors set, is that as the ten-figure pack features all of the cyborg’s “key designs from over the decades” it quickly becomes abundantly clear just how markedly different the first Mondasians appear when compared to the modern-day chic design of those which featured in Neil Gaiman’s 2013 televised adventure.

Equally as evident from these “finely-sculpted scale pewter” sculpts is the silver giants’ journey through the past fifty years and the productions canny evolution from a staggeringly complex attire which was seemingly “tacked together from anything the costume designers could find at the time” to one which relied upon “converted flight suits for their bodies” and “spray painted cricket gloves.” Each and every one of the miniatures is discernibly different from its counterparts, with even the superficially similar 2006 Cybus Industries Cyberman and its Twelfth Cyber Legion contemporary containing detailed divergences such as the removal of the Cybus logo from the later cyborg’s chest.

Unsurprisingly, painting these “emotionless space-faring” creatures to a table-top standard could not be easier, as the majority of the soulless automatons pigmentation can swiftly be achieved courtesy of a silver-coloured prime, a simple black wash and a subsequent silver dry-brush. However, those hobbyists who fancy trying to patiently ‘pick out’ all the cybermen’s tubes, tear-drop eye rings and rectangular mouths, will arguably be in for a much tougher time, on account of the detail being rather ‘soft’ in certain areas; most notably the models’ faces.

Indeed, just how the “Warlord Games” resident painter managed to achieve the sensational results shown on the boxed set’s packaging is absolutely mind-blowing and surely involved the witchcraft of a Machiavellian Carronite. Their brush-work on the likes of the 1967 “Tomb of the Cybermen” miniature is particularly impressive, with all the cyborg’s various flashing light-emitting diodes being individually highlighted, and proves to be an incredibly comprehensive painting guide to boot.

Pose-wise, this Collectors Set really does contain it all, from the rather sedentary stance of the 1976 “Revenge of the Cybermen” ‘hand-on-hip’ variant, through to the somewhat controversial mid-running sculpt of the 2013 War Cyberman; which is actually a direct copy of the silver giant depicted on the 2013 “Nightmare in Silver” advertisement poster. There’s even a thoroughly menacing version of “The Wheel in Space” Cyberman from 1968, who only seems to be missing a dejected Zoe Heriot with which to loom over, and a Legion Cyberman carrying what can only be described as a big freakin’ gun…

Sorrowfully, anyone wishing to use any of these models within the “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” table-top game itself, will have to stick to simply using the statistics and cards found for the Cyber Legion Cybermen in the starter box, as “Warlord Games” have not currently produced any Recruitment or Adventure cards based upon any of the different incarnations. True, the Nottingham-based company are planning on producing a future boxed set focusing upon “The Tomb of the Cybermen” which may well contain game cards relating to the 1967 television classic. But as to whether additional expansions concerning “The Tenth Planet” and “Earthshock” will follow depends upon sales figures.