Where are my manners? Let me get you a chair...

There are a lot of varieties of pro wrestling around the world. The Mexican version is known as lucha libre (”free fighting”), and features heroes (“technicos”) and villains (“rudos”) wearing colorful masks battling one another in action-packed and highly athletic matches. Lucha is much more popular and respected than wrestling is in the US, drawing immense crowds and press coverage all over the country. The most famous Mexican wrestlers or “luchadores” are pop icons and there is a whole subgenre of films featuring luchadores using their wrestling prowess to battle all sorts of foes from gangsters to vampires and even fending off alien invasions. Wikipedia has a whole article about it here.

Suffice it to say that a masked luchador mini is a long overdue idea, and when I saw El Diablo in Reaper’s catalog as part of their eclectic Chronoscope line I knew I had to have him. My first impression on seeing the mini in person is that Diablo is one beefy dude. Standing 25mm from base to eye (his pose is a bit hunched), his rippling muscles and aggressive posture say “Come get some!”

El Diablo comes in five pieces: a body and two optional hands for each arm. Depending on your needs, he can be bare handed (bare fisted actually), or wield a steel chain in his right hand and/or a crowbar in his left. I’m a big fan of customizable minis like this, and assembly was refreshingly easy thanks to the big holes and pegs permitted by Diablo’s beefy physique. The chair is a relatively big hunk of metal, so it might not be a bad idea to pin it in place if you decide to go with that option.

Regular readers know how much I love a mini that tells a story, and El Diablo certainly does as good a job of that as any I’ve reviewed. I could see him in a wide variety of settings as either hero or villain. Armed with either steel chain or crowbar he’s make an unusual and cool zombie hunter. In the spirit of the great Santo movies he’s could be a fine (if offbeat) superhero. Plus when playing him you get the opportunity to trot out your cheesiest “Frito Bandito” accent.

There really isn’t much to complain about on this fig. There are a couple of rough patches on the rear torso and the rear of his briefs, but they largely disappear once he’s painted and sealed. For true authenticity his ring boots should really have front laces, as just about every pair I’ve ever seen do.

This is a great, characterful mini that I really like a lot. I realize that I’m a bit biased given my wrestling fan background, but I think that El Diablo would be a fun and useful addition to many a gamer’s mini collection. Kudos to Reaper for once again filling a hole in the catalog that I didn’t even know existed.

Prepare to be defeated by El Diablo!

For those who want to try out some serious superheroic lucha action, Hero Games has fortuitously just released Lucha Hero. I haven’t seen it, but there’s a pretty favorable review on RPG.net. I’m just putting it out there because I love semi-quixotic RPG projects like this and want them to succeed!

[Editor’s Note: Trivia Challenge! I’ve painted El Diablo as a tribute to a famous old school luchador. I had to modify the mask a bit, but he’s still quite recognizable. First one to identity him in a comment wins…all the vast prestige of winning!].

Pros: Unique subject, Multiple assembly options, Characterful
Cons: Minimal
Final Verdict:4/5
MSRP: $6.99
Source: Reaper Miniatures (review copy)

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