Warlord Games - Zygons

Warlord Games
Released October 2016

Tom Baker’s seven year reign as the Doctor undeniably produced some of the most memorable villains to have appeared on the television show, with Robert Banks Stewart’s Zygons being somewhere at the very top of that list. Indeed, despite only (initially) appearing in the 1975 four-parter “The Terror Of The Zygons”, the shape-shifting extra-terrestrials are apparently David Tennant’s ‘favourite monster from the show’.

Roll forward a staggering thirty-eight years to the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor", and the refugees from the planet Zygor finally made an indelible mark on the science fiction programme by joining the likes of the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors and Sontarans, as one of the travelling Timelord’s repeated foes… and subsequently also the subject matter of another of “Warlord Games” 38mm scale metal model sets for their “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” miniatures game.

Clearly sculpted to capture the likeness of the “shape-changing humanoids” as they appear in the 2015 episode "The Zygon Invasion" as opposed to their Loch Ness encounter with the Fourth Doctor, these incredibly detailed miniatures only prove to be something of a slight disappointment in the fact that there are only two figures per box; as opposed to the three models found inside the Nottingham-based company’s Judoon and Silence sets. Admittedly, this does mean that the orange sucker-covered aliens can be purchased at a lesser price to those aforementioned expansions, but due to the nature of their stances, I certainly found it hard to significantly ‘bend’ any arms in order to create even a semblance of variety with additional Zygons.

Fortunately, “Warlord Games” have apparently listened to fan feedback on this tiny issue, and are hoping to produce a third pose in the future. In addition, the two sculpts currently available are absolutely spot-on, and are simply packed full of deadly menace and disconcerting viciousness; especially the one whose arms are slightly raised as if it’s about to launch a devastating electrical discharge attack.

Painting-wise, these miniatures are an absolute joy to pigment, with the standard ‘layer/ink/dry-brush’ technique making them arguably tabletop worthy within a matter of minutes. For those who apply a more ‘considered approach’ towards the painting of their miniatures however, “Warlord Games” do provide a detailed palette guide for the Zygons on their “Into The Time Vortex” website. Although quite interestingly, these instructions do suggest that hobbyists might wish to apply some black/dark grey to the aliens’ feet and hands. Not a colour choice which has ever actually appeared on the televised versions, but with hindsight possibly makes some sense for an extra-terrestrial race who can apparently use electricity as a weapon…

As with the Judoon and Silence sets, non-collectors wishing to use the miniatures with the “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” rule-set, may become a little disappointed that the faction’s official Recruitment and Adventure cards can only be found within the miniature game’s starter box, and don’t actually accompany the models. Abilities such as “Poison Barbs”, “Call For Help”, “Friend Of Foe?” and “Conceal Identity” really help imbue a Zygon force with all the menacingly stealthy tactics of their television counterparts, so, at least until “Warlord Games” finally manage to post PDFs of them on their website, it really is worth investing in the game’s main boxed set in order to get your hands on these cards.