Hobby Diary 11/12/16

An interesting week for me, I'm now up to six frigates for my UCM and more or less have my colour scheme nailed at this point. It's still not perfect and it's not what I had envisioned by any means but overall it's about as good as I'm going to get and I'm looking forward to getting the fleet done at an increased pace right now.

There has been so much vitriol levelled at Dropzone Commander recently. Disgruntled backers are something that I am certainly used to having backed my fair share of Kickstarters some of which have gone spectacularly awry, but this is a level of toxicity that frankly makes me ashamed to be a part of the community. Let's remember that this campaign, although running late, (I am still awaiting one of my pledges after all) finished barely a year ago. That's a brand new range and game produced and (mostly) delivered in a year. I'm sorry, but in comparison to many Kickstarters that is damn miraculous. Still, it must be said that Hawk have NOT covered themselves in glory here, their organisation and communication has been sub par and as with so many companies it seems that they have woefully underestimated the shipping process. Really six months was a VERY optimistic timescale and it is no surprise they didn't meet that target.

All that said, I would like the game to succeed and look forward to facing Lee in orbital combat sometime soon. Though I don't think he has done much with his fleet, I think he has been focusing very much on Heresy stuff recently.

Which I should be really, and I can assure you that that time IS coming, I have made some progress on my Contemptor but a road bump or two has somewhat curtailed my progress.

The Contemptor was looking really good, Though I am still but the most novice of airbrush users I have to say I am incredibly impressed by the way that  you can build up layers of  paint, both as a time saver and for the finish you end up with it just cant be beat. I'd added some Ultramarine Blue Vallejo Air, improvised some highlights and I was feeling pretty good about the way it was looking.

Until I compared it to the captain that I had already done. Upon comparison the Contemptor was SEVERAL shades lighter, far too many to get away with. I had two options, either lighten up the Captain or darken the Contemptor.

Anyone who has seen my painting (hell the picture of the UCM frigates enough is illustration enough) will know that my 'style' as it were is NOT bright and colourful. No, I tend to paint things very dark, sometimes I think too dark. So I opted to try to bring the Contemptor down a bit. It was the wrong decision. I tried to add a heavy wash of Drakenhoff Nightshade to bring it in line with the Captain a bit more. However, it collected and pooled and overall ruined the nice clean finish I had. Damn and Bugger. I tried to fix it by adding a mid tone and blending the colours a little but it didn't really work. That is the main reason the Contemptor is not finished yet. A shame, I had got it looking really quite nice, I particularly liked the Gold Trim. I'll be doing some heavy weathering to it to hide my painting sins and mistakes.

So with the Contemptor put to one side for now I did what I should have done all along, tried to lighten up the captain.

Really all it involved was trying to bring it up to the Ultramarine Blue through a number of midtones, I was at least partially successful, it's another one of those where I'm just going to leave it before I make it any worse, It's in the it''ll do' category. They at least look like they belong to the same army now. I'll look to get the Contemptor finished and then compare them again, providing I can live with the results I'll be in the position to proceed full steam ahead with the Ultramarines.

So overall this week I'm fairly happy with my progress, I have never been the fastest or most proficient of painters but as long as I am painting something it's gotta be worthwhile right? Christmas is just round the corner but my main plan is to get a cruiser and three more frigates done for the UCM as they are half done already and to get the Contemptor done as well. On the side I have the Silver Tower stuff undercoated and ready to be worked on. I have made a start on some Screamers but I'm mainly going to focus on the stuff actually being used in the game at the moment.

Speaking of games I played some Silver Tower with my Girlfriend. We already had one amulet piece so the choice of challenge was up to us and we got our arses handed to us as we chose one of the harder ones (can't remember which one). Next time round we played a different one and succeeded in securing another amulet piece. I really hope  that GW do an expansion to the game at some point, the base game will only last so long.

The other game we have been playing a lot of is Formula D. I do intend to do a full review of the game for the Conclave at some point but I will say it's a lot of fun. I'm grateful to Wil Wheaton's Tabletop for making me aware of it's existence. Vroom Vroom!

So what has Lee been up to then?

Well Allen is absolutely correct with his comment that I have been concentrating on my Heresy stuff and here are the results, two more completed units! So far this month I have completed the plastic Contemptor from the Calth box and a Rhino to transport my Tactical Veteran squad, or as is more likely once more units are painted, my Heavy Flamer unit.

I've gone heavy on the blasphemous script as I don't want these guys getting mistaken for Blood Angels! How embarrassing. With the Contemptor I had considered adding horns above the head but decided against it once I added the missile launcher. As mentioned before my Word Bearers are lacking in heavy weaponry in their infantry selections in my army as the majority are close combat oriented so I have maximised the amount of fire power I can get out of this model.

I could have replaced the close combat weapon with another gun but I like my dreads to be able to punch back in a fight and the two units I am currently working on, a Deredeo and Leviathan, both lack close combat weaponry so leaving this one gives me a walker with flexibility. Plus I want to see mine and Allen's Contemptor's go head to head at some point without me being at a disadvantage. Of course I could always sic a Mahra Ghal on it but that is overkill.

The Rhino is a Deimos pattern with some Word Bearer brass etched icons attached. I didn't do very much to this. I could have really chaos-ified it but I have been giving that a bit of thought and decided not to.

-

During the Heresy the Word Bearers were beginning their journey along the dark path. Only the highest ranking and most devout legionaries were manifesting real signs of change. Therefore I will be adding more chaos iconography to the officers and elites and keeping the additions to the line troopers more subtle. I hope that way to show a transition throughout my army. 

Although I also intent to use these models as Chaos Space Marines in 40k I didn't want to just be using Chaos Marines for Heresy games. Still, with the new Legions Codex that has just been release my Word Bearers will be pulling double duty.

Now for the bad news. I broke my airbrush. I was just cleaning it, nothing too rough but when reattaching the fine end nozzle I turned a bit too much and it broke off. This has put a dent in my plans to get on with my Scourge fleet however I have found some £10 airbrushes in China so will be picking one (or two) up after Xmas to get back on track. Till next time.

Wasteman Kickstarter review.

It’s nice when Kickstarter works you know, when it does exactly what it is supposed to, what it was designed to do. In this instance, Kickstarter has done that. It has given Jason Fairclough the opportunity to turn his modest range of post apocalyptic styled miniatures into a full fledged game, to realize a dream he has had for many years and hopefully give birth to something that will grow (mutate?) and go from strength to strength.

The Mutant Maestro - Jason Fairclough

This is the Age of the Wasteman.

The Kickstarter was unremarkable and that perhaps is a good thing, a well though out campaign (maybe a little light on the pledge levels but that's about it) with some modest stretch goals saw the KS fund with time to spare. From then on Jason did a very decent job of keeping people updated and although there has been a slight snag with the larger resin models and bases he was upfront about it and made the (much appreciated) decision to ship in two waves so that Wastefans would get their goodies in a decent time. This meant from completion of the campaign in April, Jason had product in his backers hands by late November, a mere 8 months. Whilst admittedly he had less volume to contend with than most Kickstarters it's an impressive feat nonetheless. All I am awaiting now is the bases as far as i am aware. 

A veritable horde of goodies!

So, towards the end of November i received my pledge, and i'm not ashamed to say I've been having so much fun with it that i have only now got round to writing a review!

This is what has turned up.

Rulebook
2 x Posses – I opted for Kritters and Bandits. Each comes with activation tokens and dice
2 Titanatrons
Lowbot
Xam
Bagman
3 X Hazmatadors
And of course the KS Exclusive Radical Trevor
MAD Cards
Blank Stat cards

Now a fair few of these are already painted and I must say I have not had so much fun painting in quite a long time. It’s actually been a pleasure to get on with these models. I've been solidly working on them for some time, sadly this has something to do with a couple of legends that have passed away recently (RIP Mssrs Bowie and Kilmister) but nonetheless it has been a lot of fun. But before we get to the models, lets have a look at the Rulebook.

The Rulebook.. your guide to the wastes.

We’ve seen pages from the rule book a few times already, particularly Jasons striking and unmistakable artwork, now though we can finally get to grips with it and having read it i cant wait to get a game in against Lee, who also backed the KS (Cybjorgs and Lunar Coalition if memory serves).

The first thing you will notice about the book is that it is not a hefty tome, being more codex size in thickness (not the old 3rd pamphlet codexes, a proper codex) this is no bad thing as Wasteman is a fairly simple game (albeit one with a nearly limitless hidden potential depth) and designed for large skirmishes at best (well at the moment at least)

Take a seat, get ready for a ride into the nuclear wastes...

One thing i would have liked to see an increased page count for though would be the fluff. In my interview with Jason (LINK) before the KS launched I made sure to have a bit of a chat about the world in which he has created and if i am completely honest i was a little bit disappointed not to see more of that present within the background section of the book. Of course what Jason has presented does do the job, being a brief overview of Earth from present day to the irradiated wastes it is in the game, but then i'm a self confessed fluff whore. I love it, it adds to the immersion and is one of my main reasons for investing in a game. So a bit light on background but certainly not on character, the whole book has that in spades....

Sweet but short.

The rules are next up and overall very well presented, there is a sense of irrevence present here that i love, a knowing nod to the reader that this is an OLD school game for the modern age, more than a little reminiscent of Rogue trader. In fact the whole vibe around Wasteman is old school GW and it filled me with a pang of nostalgia even as it stoked the fires of enthusiasm.

However, to write this off as halcyon days Warhammer 40k would be doing Wasteman a massive injustice as it is very much its own thing (though of course inspired by many sources) for a start its a D10 based game, with an alternate activation action point system, allowing for great freedom of tactical choice on the part of the player. Special rules add the meat to the framework of the rules mechanics and although the rules do suffer just slightly from a lack of clarity in places and the odd grammatical error they are more than passable and this is a first edition after all.

The book is wonderful... 

The game mechanics may not be GW in nature but the feel of the game certainly evokes the very best elements of the games we used to play, with a fast and furious pace and the possibility for all sorts of crazy events (just look at the Youtube gameplay vid) it will be an absolute blast to play and i cant wait to get stuck in. Jason has been putting pics up of his playtesting for a while now and it is clear that he has had a lot of fun developing the game. Further mixing things up are the M.A.D (Mutually Assured Destruction) cards, a hand of cards that either player can use to wreak havoc, be it taking control of a robot temporarily or a random whirlwind displacing a player, allowing of an easier shot they are sure to make sure that no two games play exactly the same and are one of my favourite elements about the game, encapsulating everything zany and nuts about the game. MAD cards indeed.

Another thing that really must be mentioned is the depth of scenarios in the book, given the relative brevity of the other sections I certainly wasn’t expecting around eight different scenarios to be presented, but there they are and each one looks like loads of fun. What’s more, there is plenty of scope to create your own (I have a few ideas myself) and it looks very easy to come up with bespoke missions. Add to that the 'Mods' that you can use to well, modify your game and it is clear that this book can yield a LOT of playtime. 

I love the M.A.D cards, detailed like B-Movie posters....

So it might not be the thickest or most comprehensive of books but it does everything it needs to, it serves as a great introduction to Wasteman and the character of the game is thick on every page. There is a great sense of humour to it, (I mean one pages extra space is taken up by a joke - in binary naturally) even the whole idea of the game is seen as a simulation, (Geometric Amalgamation of Malicious Events), designed to allow you to survive the wastes. It's wonderfully characterized,a mix of Troma, Fallout, Mad Max and many other influences with a heavy dose of 80's/90's culture and rock/metal harking back to the early days. There is a knowing tongue in cheek feel to it that is pure joy, If by the time you have gone through it you don’t want to play you are probably dead.

So to the models! I don’t have the proper bases yet with the condition tokens that i found so intriguing but can talk about the actual figures themselves.

That may or may not be a new play mat from the starter set the models are on ;)

Firstly a word about Jason’s sculpting style, personally i love it, i think it oozes character and is perfect for the game. The uncharitable might call it crude and certainly from a technical perspective they are not as clean cut or detailed as some figures available from other manufacturers but each and everyone has been created with a care and enthusiasm that is impossible to deny. Just wait till you start to paint them, i've not enjoyed painting anything so much in an AGE. So many little quirks and touches abound on each model. Everyone has a character of its own and personality. A world away from the sterility and dullness of many of today's CAD offerings. And of course absolutely in keeping with the rough and ready coarseness of the world that Jason has created.

Stat cards.

It also just works in metal, they feel refreshingly old shool and working on Wasteman miniatures has reminded me how much I miss metal as a medium. I've been spoiled of late by plastic figures that are more model kit than miniature. Even my abrasive fingers are countered by plenty of brush on varnish with spray to dull down.

The bandits were the the first to catch my eye, part of this may well have been due to Jason's Metal Band T –Shirts paint scheme, maybe I've always secretly had a thing for nurses uniforms. Either way this was the posse that first grabbed my attention. From the buxom Valkyrie-ish Olga to Otto's sneering face and Molotov cocktail i saw most potential with this warband, the only one i am not a fan of really is ... the big brute 'BBQ' 'holding the flamer, i'm not sure why, maybe its the lack of dynamism, its just not doing it for me, love the other models though and a fair few of them have received paint already.

And one has been converted! Following the loss of Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister from Motorhead, I decided a tribute was in order, of course I had no idea i'd be doing another tribute a week later and indeed planning another now in my head for once I get the correct components) and I decided Otto was the best basis, muttonchops and moustache, a bullet belt, a pumpernickel hat to reflect old Lemmy's fascination with World War memorabilia and of course the converting of the Molotov into a bottle of Jack (refilled with petrol i presume – Lemmy would never waste JD) He’s not quite painted yet (the Motorhead logo is startlingly difficult to paint at 32mm scale) but i'm looking forward to getting him sorted.

RIP Lemmy....

Next up is the Kritters, im not really sure why i went for these over the Manglemen, in fact i'm probably going to pick up the Manglemen separately, maybe i'm a sucker for an octopus (sorry) but again something just drew me to them. Jed is painted (as Tom Araya from Slayer – Thankfully NOT DEAD) the octopus has seen the barest amount of paint, other than that not done much at all, Early days though! Pretty cool models, looking to get them painted, looking grotesquely mutated and maybe a bit of an OSL glow on them too. Tom and his animal friends will see the field of battle sooner rather than later i hope.

Hell awaits.....

And then there are the extras, i don’t recall ordering two Titanotrons but clearly I did, maybe I had a robo heavy scenario in mind but they are great figures, lumbering forward. Posing potential is limited as they are practically one piece models but the right arm is separate and you can move this to make them look a bit different as you will see from the photo. Big heavy pieces that are prone to topping but should be fine once their big bases turn up. Awesome figures, had so much fun painting and weathering them.

As an aside the sponge that comes in the packaging is great for stippling paint for rust.....

Hazmatadors (who presumably handle the moo-tant bovine - i'm sure you can see what Jason did there) are next, dudes in radiation suits, nice and varied – not much to say, much approval. Look great. Actually the first model i painted and immediately regretted using 20 year old sunburst yellow as the base colour.....

Radical Trevor is i believe a kickstarter exclusive model, a fully suited up astronaut that is clearly a veteran of the wastes with skulls on his staff and shoulder. He bears the Confederate flag in Jason's vision but once David Bowie died i knew there was only one thing i was going to be doing with him. Union Jack and an Aladdin Sane zigzag on the visor (as well as a couple of other Bowie references – points if you get them both) and Major Tom was born.

Not finished but he will be soon....

And (if i may digress a moment) this is the wonderful thing about Wasteman. The creativity is has ignited in me is supreme, you can convert your Warhammer 40,000 minatures but they are always going to be part of a normal set universe. If you wanted you could make a space marine Bowie tribute i suppose but its just not going to fit like Wasteman. 40k and universes like it with their constant war mantra are too staid too serious. Wasteman invites nay DEMANDS your imagination, your creativity. The character creation section is there for a reason as are the blank data cards. Use them, make Wasteman your own.

Ahem, anyway, back to the models. Another epic figure i picked up was Johan the Slayer (i'm not going to lie, this is probably going to become Jeff Hanneman (RIP) Brandishing his guitar/axe its another archetypal classic Wasteman figure. Lots of potential there. One thing to bring up quickly is the quality of the casting, very few mold lines and flash to be found here. I did notice that a few areas of the Titanotron were a bit pitted but tbh this just added to the weathering.

\,,/

Xam is a great little model, i think its a bounty hunter, heavy armour, chinese looking hat, futuristic rifle. Awesome. Really suits Jason's sculpting style. Then you have Bagman, a mysterious figure in a suit with a bag on his head. Bit of a Ronseal model there, and of course Lowbot, a little stunted version of the Titanotron and my girlfriend's favourite, i think she described it as 'cute' and tbh i would find it hard to disagree. 

And though thats all I have for now there is so much more. There are loads more posses, a myriad of different robots and monsters and other denizens of the wastes, that's not even to mention the behemoths, huge wasteland creatures that are cast in resin due to their size. Jason has even designed some scenery pieces to supplement the range.

these are 35mm models. .That Rad Dragon is HUGE!!

So that's Wasteman, a crazy fun post apocalyptic skirmish game that harks back the the very best ideals of what wargaming is all about. It will easily sit alongside my very favourite game systems and Jason is to be congratulated on running and fulfilling an excellent Kickstarter campaign. In fact he is currently planning another for a starter boxed game which is certainly something that i will be interested in. In the meantime the rules and models from the Kickstarter have already started to be released on Jason's website so go have a look! 

There's your URL....

Of course it's early days but this is a very promising start for the world of Wasteman, with a great miniature range to back up up a zany and hectic game, I can only see Wasteman being a great sucess, there is already a burgeoning community on the official facebook page. Come join us, it promises to be a blast of Atomic proportions......

AVP: The Hunt Begins boxed game review.

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 years have passed since I backed the Prodos Games Kickstarter AVP: The Hunt Begins, an ambitious project that was to be both boardgame and tabletop wargame featuring the vast majority of the characters from  the Aliens and the Predator Films and even a few of the computer games. It was something the fans of both franchises have been waiting for for some time. I myself pledged for a full army of each faction and multiple copies of the boxed game along with a load of Battle Systems excellent Sci Fi terrain (which delivered a full half a year ago). It was a massive license and should have been one of the biggest gaming Kickstarter campaigns on record given the scope. The bug hunt to end all bug hunts.

The models we were tempted with

Unfortunately it wasn't, due partly to Prodos' bizarre reticence to interact and answer backer queries and a lack of hard and fast facts or allaying of peoples concerns, the Kickstarter underperformed.With just over 2000 backers Prodos did not even gain the numbers to satisfy the minimum production run for the Resin 'backers only' special Kickstarter edition of the boxed game. Thus the exclusive version was made available to all whereas originally the retail version was to be plastic with only backers receiving resin.

The actual game ended up being fair superior to this mock up in all honesty

This would be but the first in a series of concessions, delays and set backs in the delivery of the campaign, which included at one stage the deleting of the Kickstarter page and near total silence for many months from Prodos. Delays were blamed on Fox and the licensing process and the project floated in a frustrating limbo for an age, Nonetheless the finished product has finally been produced by Prodos which is much more than i can say for another project i backed which is looking like a Total (Extinction) loss.

Now i could easily pen an entire article (or perhaps even a series) on Prodos's failings as a company over the course of this campaign. Their customer service, attitude, transparency, integrity and dare I say competency has been called into question more than once over the last year or so. Damage control measures were implemented but it is safe to say that the vast majority of backers are FAR from happy, this one included.

One of the add ons yet to come, there are also cloaked Predators in clear resin and of course an Alien Queen

This was only compounded when the final approval from Fox was finally given and the games release was set and production began. Of course Prodos found a way to run afoul of backers here too by fulfilling retail wholesale orders before shipping all the backer copies (apparently a contractual obligation). Suddenly backers were in the position of being the LAST to play the very game that they were responsible for funding in the first place! A ridiculous and disgraceful position to be in.

This is also the only reason I am reviewing the game now, as I have bought a copy from Chaos Cards (who's excellent service i can only commend) having STILL  not received a shipping notification from Prodos a full two weeks after the games release date (i'm not expecting to receive the game before August at this point). This is not even to mention the second wave of products and the rulebook for the wargame which apparently are still awaiting final approval from Fox. Nonetheless I got fed up of waiting and at least now have the boxed game in my hands to review.

It is a mightily impressive box

And what a box it is! It weighs an impressive 6.5 kilos and is pretty big too. The cover artwork is quite nice, even if the rear presentation leaves something to be desired being surprisingly low resolution and a bit sparse on detail. It does feel like a quality product however and even the cellophane around the box is thicker than that that normally encompasses boxed games. Once the lid is removed you can see the contents and the foam in the upper lid keeping everything safe (just a sheet of foam, not any good for storing the figures)

Your first view of the inside of the box...

I could only manage a cursory look through the rulebook, so much too see!

The models are in a box as are the cards, so the first thing you see is actually the rule book. This is quite the beast too. It is very thick and jam packed full of rules. oddly there is a marked lack of shots of the actual models and those that are featured are inexplicably poorly lit, making it nearly impossible to see the paint jobs or the details. This is a real shame as in my opinion the miniatures are definitely one of the major selling points of the game.

The layout is quite nice but there is a hell of a lot to assimilate

That's not my camera, The photos of the models are THAT dark. 

The rules are fairly well laid out with lots of diagrams and the book is well presented overall although the fluff that was promised at the start of the Kickstarter is absent, having been apparently nixed by Fox. There is a great deal in the book as it talks of basic and advanced rules and it makes even the most complex Fantasy Flight manual look simple in comparison. There are one or two spelling errors that may betray its Polish authors origins but i have seen much much worse.

There are plenty of missions and lots of ways to play the game. Content is not an issue here. 

One gets the feeling that perhaps a quick start booklet separate from the main rulebook might have been a good idea as the main book seems a little overwhelming. It is impressive how much is crammed in though with the aforementioned advanced and basic rules, survival mode, full stats for all the unreleased wave 2 products and a set of 10 missions. Certainly it will take a while to read it all and assimilate the rules for the game and i suspect that the best way to learn would be to just play the game referring to the book as needed. Overall i do suspect that the ruleset is too complicated for a board game, coming across as an insanely complex and convoluted Space Hulk.

AVP tiles on the left, Space hulk on the right

The AVP Tiles are ever so slightly thinner... 

and lack the finish and embossing of the Space hulk Tiles. On the whole though they are rather good.

And like Space Hulk, AVP comes with quite a lot of card floor sections. .In fact it comes with a hell of a lot. The card stock is slightly thinner than that of GW's game and lacks the veneer and embossing but it is still of a high quality. It is also all double sided although once again the suggested additional rules for these alternate designs have not transpired. Still it can be used for a nice aesthetic change and the design work is pretty good overall with only the weapon templates looking a little second rate. All the floor sections and tokens come away from the card quite nicely as well and overall the quality is very high. The sheer volume of tiles is quite staggering and although there are many duplicates there are some nice infested or 'hived' tiles to add a little variation. There is also a bit cut out of the boards so that you can get them out easier. A nice touch by prodos

...and double sided!

Though the difference at this stage is purely aesthetic

There are tokens galore, at least some of these are being reproduced in resin a little further down the line. 

The weapons templates are the only place where the design is a touch lacking. Alien acid spit is on the other side of the flamethrower template. 

The actual cards themselves are also quite nice and thick. Though the design work on them is satisfactory it falls someway short of amazing, merely serving the purpose. Event cards, stat cards and mission cards are all presented in three small separate white boxes, in total there are a lot of cards split across many decks (some are only utilised in the advanced game) and they are pretty nice if unremarkable, though the backing design is a little odd,One of the few areas where the AVP/FOX branding hasn't been used with generic Giger-esc (RIP) bio mechanical designs being used instead.

The cards within are of decent quality. Everything is readable and you cant ask for much more than that

The environmental cards are used in the basic game. Advanced rules incorporate additional decks. 

Which leaves us with the models. Though eventually these are destined to be moulded plastic sprues, at present they are fine resin models, and i mean fine. These are without a shadow of a doubt the most finely detailed models that I have seen in a boxed game, bar none. The detail that Prodos have manged to get in to the figures is insane. what is even more impressive is that for the most part the models are comprised of few pieces. Truly Prodos are revealing themselves to be masters of their craft here.

Getting to the good stuff at last. 

The Ten Alien infants (the standard creature from the AVP films and 'Alien Resurrection) are just two pieces, a one piece body and a separate tail. In addition the models are not quite all the same, there are slight variants in poses. the only issue that i can really see with the alien infants is that the details are so fine that i can see some breakages if the models are not looked after. The tails in particular are not brittle but will likely snap under a little duress. I will be heating and rebending them to add more variation to my horde so ill let you know how that goes. The fingers are also another weak point.

Exquisite..

It's structural perfection is matched only by it's hostility....

It is quite the feat of casting, props to Prodos

Cannot wait to get some paint on these. The quality bodes well for the extra models in wave 2

The Alien Stalkers (Alien 3 'Dog' Alien) are a little more compact and not quite as detailed so i see these being a bit more robust, they come in three pieces with an arm and leg being separate. The tail is moulded with the body and is actually a lot stronger than the infants, being stockier and less sinuous. Being on all fours also aids with stability, they still look nice but not quite as eyepopping as the infants. There are five in the box

The colonial marines are also excellent, given that they are a true 28mm scale the detail captured is exquisite and they are going to be a real pleasure to paint. With just the arms being separate they again are a triumph in design if perhaps a little fiddly due to them not being heroic scale (a welcome change). There are five marines in the box, Two grunts with Pulse Rifles, a Sergeant with Pulse Rifle and tracker, a Medic with flamer (saddled with a slightly silly running pose) and a SMART Gunner.

Absolutely BAD-ASS!! If armless (Arf Arf!)

In scale. Yautja SHOULD be much larger than humans. Well done Prodos

Finally, the Three Predators, these are almost certainly the cream of the crop each being pretty much a character model in their own right. One is armed with a Throwing Disc, one with a Spear and the other rather delightfully is keying into its wrist mounted control pad in another triumph of miniature design. They are a fair bit bigger than the marines (about 32ml ) and look fantastic, packed with detail, cleverly designed with again just the arms being separate and a surprising amount of dynamism packed into the figures. Again, these will be a joy to paint and i cant wait to get started. The blades and spear are however bits i'd be worried about snapping and the throwing disc is wafer thin and bendy, not sure how it will take paint.

So detailed, but lets see if that spear stays in one peice

Each Predator is a character in its own right

Overall its a quality package, all the components are of a very high standard and the care that Prodos have put into the product is clear for all to see. I do think the rules are too complicated to be really considered a boardgame and i don't think The Hunt Begins is really something for a casual gamer to pick up, even the resin models will require superglue to assemble and are somewhat fiddly and fragile. I'm not sure that they will stand up to the rigours of gaming and although the plastic versions will naturally lack a little detail im sure they will serve the role of board game figures much better. That said the miniatures ARE the talking point of the box and they really are of the very highest quality, rivaling and beating into the dirt many other manufacturers. Though i have yet to get a game in (i only opened it 3 hours before writing this review) it is certainly a case of so far so good. It's just a shame i had to buy the game from a shop in order to find that out.

In short, although i would not back another Prodos Kickstarter I can find little fault with the product. It is of a high standard and has been produced with obvious enthusiasm and care. It looks to have a lot of replay value and the amount of gameplay and ways to play coupled with the outstanding minatures make it worth its premium asking price.  Look for a game report on the Conclave website in due course.