Guijia Squadrons: The Remake

N3 came by and with it, the perfect excuse to re-sculpt lots of classic miniatures from the Infinity’s range, and if there was something with potential to dazzle in its new incarnation was the Yu Jing TAG.

The Guijia Squadron is a basic TAG profile with the quirk of being better in Close Combat.

Its aesthetic peculiarities? Some humongously thick thighs and a big weapon with a tendency of getting out of the picture’s frame. A quite iconic miniature for the Yu Jing faction, of which we did not want to go too far from its original concept design.
When redesigning the beloved Guijia, Carlos Torres, lead concept artist, wanted to take the new TAG to the aesthetic level that the new Yu Jing armors have, like the Yan Huo Invincibles or the Terracotta Soldiers. But first there must be a thematic idea behind all of this.

Every designer hast to conceive “a film” that makes sense inside their head while working. This background foundation is based on the Guijia design coming from the same place where all the Yu Jing military engineering comes, from the same moment on which the heavy infantry units like the Yan Huo, Hsien Warriors, Hac Tao units…were created.
Using the previous super heavy designs as reference, the drawing started to take form. After some necessarily powerful legs the pilot is placed, and she has to be protected: “More volume, more volume… and now add the shoulder pads, and add extra armor plates on the chest…” And like that, layer after layer the design grew and became bulkier.

The final design is impressive, and a real challenge for the sculptor. Fortunately Javier Ureña is not only an excellent sculptor, but also a big Infinity fan, he receives the concepts with a great deal of enthusiasm. He huffs and puffs knowing that it is going to be a lot of work, but tackles the issue willingly and that means a lot.
One thing that Javier Ureña confesses to us is that for him the layer system designed by Carlos Torres is very handy. Ureña designs the TAG layer by layer and this way he can solve the disassembling, collision and filling problems step by step.

The final pose is very well realized and I like it, especially because we can see how the pilot’s body language is the same than the manned armor.

Alex Quinteiro, that anonymous CB hero whose job is to get the company’s level of detail, receives the 3D print and works on the pieces and molds until he gets the first metal copies.
Then Ángel Giráldez swoops in and spreads his magic. After painting a Tiger Soldier (who sports similar colors) this will not be a difficult task. A big canvas to make it look good.

And finally we have here the Guijia, big, orange and powerful. Furthermore… he is crushing a filthy PanO. Seriously, what else can a Yu Jing player ask for?