WZR: Commander Dr. Diana Review

Edit (08/2014): Painted miniature can be seen in this blog post.

Alright, time for another Warzone Ressurection review! The first review was about a Cybetronic Troops selection, the Armoured Chasseurs; this time, let's look at a HQ choice - the stunning Commander Dr. Diana.

Important note: Miniature below comes from the Kickstarter reward and not from an official market release, therefore it is possible the final box set might be different. The model did not come in an official product package or with the gaming cards, so I cannot review these at the moment (though I will add information about the cards as soon as I receive them).

Let's look at the concept art / render first:

And now, at the actual sprue:

So, you get pretty much exactly what's on the concept picture - the only difference is the heads. The sprue includes two, one more cyberpunk-ish and the other more serious. Both look stylish and well detailed, though they are different from the concept art - which is possibly for the better, especially when it comes to the second head (the concept was very unappealing). Note the alternate head is the only optional bit, there is no choice of weapons or backpack arms.

Anyways, this is how the model looks assembled:

  

I think it's clear from the pictures that the model looks simply stunning regarding it's concept and level of detail - the menacing medical tools, the relentless yet feminine look of the face, the bit too tight laboratory coat, everything is finely detailed and helps to create an overall feel of a sexy pulp sci-fi movie female lead. It's true that the "artificial arms" thing has been done to death and the backpack must be damn heavy, but that just helps to build the campy B-grade movie atmosphere Warzone setting always had. Note the model can be assembled without the backpack as well.

Now let's get a slightly more technical look on the assembly and resin quality. The assembly wasn't hard at all if you don't mind superglue. The connection between arms and torso could be more exact in regard to shape, though it's hardly noticable from the outside (the upper ending of arms is slightly broader than the relevant torso parts). The arms can be assembled pretty much only in one way (without converting), the head can be turned as pleased though. Assembling the mechanical arms is more fun in regards to position, though be careful when cutting the bits of the sprue to not damage the joints.

Regarding the material, resin Prodos uses is very user-friendly. There are no bubbles and minimal warping, and any leftover flash is very easy to remove. The resin is rather soft which is good for conversions, but rather problematic when it comes to some parts of this model - especially the needles on the pistol and one of the mechanical arms. Not only do they bend, but they can actually snap off, which is exactly what happend to my needle pistol after making these pictures. Be careful when handling the assembled models!

On the picture above, you can see a size comparison of Commander Diana with a Games Workshop Chaos Cultist and a (slightly converted) Armoured Chasseur. Note that Prodos market their line is 28mm though the true scale makes it slightly larger; more on par with the Inifinity line than with Warhammer. Note the miniature uses a larger base than most other miniatures in the line - very useful for some scenic basing!

Conclusion:

+ easy-to-work-with resin material
+ great level of detail
+ true-scale proportions
+ huge base and two head options
+ fair price for a resin hero model

- material too soft sometimes
- more options would be nice

Verdict: Want a female variant of Dr. Octopus, or just looking for a hot, cyberpunk-ish scientist miniature? Commander Diana is a good choice for both! 4/5

WZR: Armoured Chasseurs Review

Edit: If you are interested in reviews of Warzone Resurrection products, don't forget to check out my review of Commander Dr. Diana, too!

I've received my package from the Warzone Resurrection kickstarter this week and so have decided to review the contents for anyone who is interested in this new growing wargame. I'll start with the Armoured Chasseurs of the Cybertronic faction.

Important note: Miniatures below come from the Kickstarter reward and not from an official market release, therefore it is possible some things might change in the final box set. It did not come in an official product package or with the gaming cards, so I cannot review these (though I will add information about the cards as soon as I receive them).

First, let's look at the concept art / render first...

...and now, let's see the actual content I have received:

In total, that is 5 torsos (all seem to be same), 5 legs (with different poses), 5 right arms with CAW2000 submachineguns (including underbarrel shotguns, how cool is that!), 2 right arms with PR5000 plasma rifles (each with a different pose), 5 left hands with electric gauntlets (of which 2 are closed fists), 5 identical pairs of shoulderpads, and finally 5 heads (each of them is different). All in all, the plasma rifles are the only optional bits.

Note: There is a missing place next to the plasma rifles, I'm not sure if that's on purpose or if something is actually missing on this sprue.

I have to say I was really impressed with the heads; these are beautifully sculpted and hold true to the concept art. The arms with SMGs were bit of a letdown though - all of them look identical or mostly identical, and to change the resulting pose will require some work with green stuff and files. I did not receive the arms on a sprue though, so this might simply be a logistics problem.

Regarding the resin Prodos uses, it seems to be of a very good kind indeed. There are no bubbles and the flash is very easy to remove. Warping is minimal as well. The material is rather soft, but naturally bends back and is therefore very easy to work with. The level of detail is very high, same as Games Workshop's or even above. The models can be easily put together with the use of square slots in the joints, though many of these slots are actually filled with resin and require cleanup (that is, if you really have to use the slots instead of just using superglue).

For testing reasons, I have put one model together with minimal use of files and no use of green stuff (and some excessive use of superglue), to see what you get right from the box...

...and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. The details are beautiful, the pose is not too static and the proportions are very realistic. I can't wait to paint this guy! Assembling the Chasseur together was not hard at all, the only annoying part are the shoulder pads, since they require quite an extensive cleanup on the inside.

Regarding the preliminary rules, it seems the Armoured Chasseurs are going to be the versatile backbone of a Cybertronic army, with their solid stats, good equipment and ability to "blink" (read: teleport) across the battlefield. The chasseurs can swap their SMG/shotguns for plasma rifles (two included in the set) and one can even equip a missile launcher, though that one is not included in the package (fun conversions ensured!).

Finally, for comparison, here is a picture of the Chasseur next to a Dark Vengeance Space Marine (both 28mm scale):

I guess the picture speaks for itself, especially when it comes to proportions.

Conclusion:

+ good, easy-to-work-with resin material
+ awesome level of detail
+ true-scale proportions
+ five multipose models for a good price

- only two optional bits
- torsos, pads and arms could use more variety
- pads are not easy to cleanup properly

Verdict: If you want cool power-armoured dudes in realistic proportions, you can't go wrong with the Amoured Chasseurs! 4/5

Genesis Chapter Vindicator

In too deep, against all odds brothers!

It has been some time since I posted an update for my main army, the glorious Genesis Chapter. So here is the assault gun of Index Astartes, the Demolisher-wielding Vindicator.

This is the first vehicle I painted mostly with Mephiston red instead of Mechrite red and Blood red and I'm glad the difference from Blood red is only minimal. Regarding the dirt on the Siege Shield, it has been done with Stirland mud and some washes. A picture from my (rather crappy) camera follows:

The model is not much decorated - and for a reason. I love the Vindicator kit, so I bought another one, which will serve as a command vehicle for the army (or perhaps for an Apocalypse formation). I want that one to clearly stand out, so the first one has been left rather bland. Therefore, the only decorations on this one are the ammo loader on the back, and an aquila sign.

I guess some additional scriptures or purity seals wouldn't hurt though. Perhaps I will revisit the model when I will have the "command" Vindicator finished. At the moment, I'm working on a Razorback for a Veteran or Command squad - I'm undecided on its function yet, though it will surely be much more decorated than this one.

Thanks for reading and for any possible C&C!

Alaitoc Farseer (updated)

The rulebook speaks clear - every army has to have a leader. For my Alaitoc Eldar, I decided to make the classic choice, and went for a Farseer - a female one, in honor of the Dawn of War series.

I didn't convert much on the model - mostly just replaced the helmet with a Dark Eldar female head. I was thinking of converting the chest a bit, but in the end decided against it, since the runic armour is bulgy enough as is, and guardian female torso is not nearly as impressive as the original one.

Regarding the Singing spear, my plan for the Eldar is to make their power weapons gloom with dark blue glow; still have to work on that a bit. The spear has actually broken during painting and so is held together with a green stuff scroll - I think that turned out rather cool.

Regarding the model itself, it was fun to assemble and paint, and I'm glad Games Workshop has released it in plastic, even though it is shame that the kit lacks any additional bits - a missed opportunity in my opinion. The scenic base is a neat boon though. The head conversion was pretty easy, though some filing was required.

Anyway, see you soon! I plan to update this post, as well as some older posts with new pics - thanks to a friend I have plenty of good quality pictures such as these above waiting on my hard drive.

Alaitoc Dire Avengers

 Shea nudh Asuryanish ereintha Asuryanat.

It's been quite some time since I painted Eldar, and I never finished any actual squad - that is, until now. Eldars were the talk of the month recently, so they got to my attention again. It was very motivating to find out that Dire Avengers have been boosted with the new Codex; on the other side, it feels bitter to see their price effectively doubled (and no, I don't mean point-wise). Good thing I got mine squad from the old Battleforce box, which was a fair value.

Regarding the models themselves, I enjoyed building them, though they definately get monotone quickly. That's why I assembled one of them holding a grenade - and that was even before it was known that the unit will have access to plasma grenades now. The squad was painted with white primer and Enchanted Blue (Caledor Sky) undercoat washed over with blue shade (and then highlighted with Enchanted Blue again). I wanted to tie the unit to my other Alaitoc Eldar, so I painted their weapons with Iyanden Darksun (Averland Sunset) and their helmet crests with blue and yellow.

The Exarch is a real fun model to build and paint - especially for all those funky weapon options he has. I went with the close combat setup for its iconic look (note that the Exarch can throw grenades now, so he can still do something in the shooting phase). I tried to paint the power weapon as if it is glowing with dark blue energy - that's why I painted the blade with gloss varnish. The shimmershield effect has been achieved with blue wash followed by a drybrush of yellow.

I added the picture above to show more of the bases and of the Exarch's flag, which was - I confess - done mostly with transfers, the result looks good though. I'd like to pay more attention to basing and this squad was a good start. The bases have been painted with Stirland Mud followed by a black wash and a sporadic XV-88 drybrush - I have to say I'm very pleased with the texture colour, it sticks very well to the base. I added some Eldar ruins to the base, mostly just pieces of sprue painted with simple freehanded runes. These little details really add a lot to the overall atmosphere.

Anyway, time for me to get back to work on the Farseer! And the Killa Kans, and the Bikers, Cultists, Warriors,... (head explodes)