For some reason there have never been very many tabletop miniatures of children on the market. The schlock-meisters down at M.J. Hummel eagerly offer ten thousand variations of apple-cheeked mutants doing punishingly cute things, but try to find a 25mm kid to fight some zombies and you’ve always been in for a long slog. That’s never made any sense to me, given how often kids are at the center of adventure stories, either as protagonists or imperiled moppets for the heroes to save.

Thankfully, masterful UK makers Hasslefree are doing their part to redress this state of affairs by adding Peter and Katie to their already-great lineup of Adventurers. I’ve always presumed these two are brother and sister, though I suppose all it would take would be differing hair colors to make them unrelated classmates, or even young paramours. They are dressed in English-style school uniforms, though Peter seems to have doffed his jacket somewhere along the way. Both have shrewdly armed themselves with improvised weapons, a crowbar for him and a clever bat-and-trashcan-lid combination for her.

I liked these minis right from the beginning because they each have so much character. Just a glance gives you piles of backstory. Peter’s determined snarl and fiercely-swung crowbar mark him as the hotheaded one, determined to protect Katie from whatever threat they face. Katie’s pose is more thoughtful and deliberate, and she has wisely chosen a protective shield for herself as well as a weapon. The unmistakable care and attention to detail of Kev White is once again on full display here.

Even the smallest things are considered. Peter’s crowbar is a bit too big for him, which is why he’s forced to swing it with both hands. This makes perfect sense given his age and small stature, but I know an awful lot of sculptors who would have given him a nonsensical micro-crowbar without considering the scale issue. The two kids are even supplied with appropriately scaled-down slottabases to fit their small stature, which is a genius touch that I don’t know would have occurred to ne.

Just as the expressive faces are a Kev White trademark, so too is the impeccable modeling of the children’s clothes. Peter has his sleeves rolled up to his elbows because he’s clearly ready to go to work with his crowbar. Katie’s pleated skirt hangs beautifully like cloth, and her blazer wrinkles perfectly along the arm she has thrown back carrying her shield. Even their knee socks have appropriate little cable-knit tops, sadly a bit obscured in my examples by an over-thick coat of white paint that could have used a bit of thinning.

The only gripe I have is that there are only the two kids available in the Adventures range. I would love to see a whole class, or at least a few variously-armed playmates for Peter and Katie. Given the overall lack of modern-era kid minis, I wager they’d sell pretty well.

There you have it. These are some exceptionally fine minis, I’m so taken with them I’ve written a major part for Peter and his sister into my upcoming zompocalypse campaign. Whether you’re looking for zombie-hunting kiddies or fearless survivors of some other kind of crisis or disorder, I think these two scrappy kids belong in your collection.

Pros: Very characterful, amazing detail on faces and clothes, perfect scale

Cons: There are only two of them

Final Verdict: 5/5

MSRP: ₤4.50

Source: Hasslefree

Popularity: 20% [?]

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