Thursday 9 February 2017

A Visit to Knight Models


For the past few years, I’ve been working on a freelance basis for a pretty cool tabletop miniatures company called Knight Models, based in Madrid. If you don’t know who they are, they’re the masterminds behind the Batman Miniature Game, the DC Universe Miniature game, a host of awesome collectable miniatures, and very soon, the much-talked-about Harry Potter Miniature Game. I know, right?

The kind of office that could tempt
me back into office work...
This week, I paid them a visit, finally putting faces to the names that I’d known for so long. As it was my first time in Madrid, the guys whisked me around the beautiful city of Madrid for some evening sightseeing and a business dinner. Next day, I spent some time in the office, seeing where the magic happens – almost literally in the case of Harry Potter! I talked to the owner of the company, Jose, about the many projects and plans he had lined up – and he allocated some incredible jobs to me, including some rather tasty Batman expansions for release over the next couple of years. I then spent some time with games designer Gustavo Cuadrado, working on the Harry Potter game mechanics. It’s been a real privilege to be involved in this one from the start, bouncing ideas around for rules and cool physical gaming components. Not long now before we can share those ideas, but for now I’m afraid it’ll have to be a secret.

The Knight Models team is small but dedicated, working feverishly in an office directly above their factory (aka the Batcave). Figure-painters, graphic designers and writers work hard, surrounded by comics and memorabilia, and some out-of-this-world Harry Potter collectibles. The guys showed me the miniatures they’ve produced to date, and you’ll have to take my word that they’re gob-smackingly good. The best output I’ve seen from a company already known for its dynamic sculpts.
Finally, in-house painter Borja proudly showed me the office cabinets, full of studio-quality miniatures. I’m not allowed to show you all the pictures I took, of course, but a few sneaky shots managed to find their way onto Twitter. (Whistles innocently).

I left Spain with armfuls of new toys, some great new friends, and more work than a mere mortal should take on. But what a trip. Viva España!