Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I thought that the Dust minis came primed only?

They are pre-primed but when new models are released Dust Studio will paint up a bunch of sets for premium edition sets, I think they come out to a little less than 2x as much but they're painted very good, just like the models you see on the stat cards and in the rulebooks. They're in Hong Kong though, so they are one of those chinese painting companies too I guess Or at least when I ordered decals they came from hong kong... Personally I think the premium models are a really nice deal if you want a great looking army but can't paint. I think they tend to sell out quick though.

While I love 40K I couldn't resist Dust Tactics. WW2 theme with weird thrown in appealed to me greatly. I will admit that the rule set needs more tweaking but they are just about to release a revised core rule base set and I could see another one coming as more units types join the fray and the rules mature.

I will probably pick up a copy of Dust Warfare when it comes along although I am quite happy with the current game as it plays quite quick (much quicker than 40K) which is good when you don't have bags of time.

On price. Dust Tactics is very good value in my opinion and the sculpts on all the products are very good. Check out boardgamegeek.com if you want to look at an extensive picture gallery. The walkers really are the stars of the show model wise.

Considering you could pick up the current base game and the the new one when it comes along in September for circa £110 in the UK. This will get you 6 squads, two heroes, 2 medium walkers and one light walker for each faction. This is more than enough to get someone well into the game.

Add a command squad + observer/sniper box set for each faction to the deal for another £40 and you pretty much have the bulk of what you need to play the game for a long time.

I think once you see the minis/walkers close up you will be sucked in to buying everything out there i.e. other walker types, expansions and units currently available all in for under £300. Thats good value in my opinion and I think people would be surprised at the stack of stuff they will have for that spend.

If people are interested in DT. Check out the link below and especially the new section on the right hand side of the page that opens. The Gencon report will give a brief on upcoming product and state of the game is also another worthwhile read.

One thing that makes me very happy is British Paras are arriving in the game before Christmas

Lastly I am not advocating DT over 40K or saying the models or price is better. What I am saying is if you would like a change as we all do from time to time, you like the theme/setting of WW2 with weird thrown in & plays quickly. Dust Tactics could be for you & especially as there isn't an outrageous spend to get into the game at the moment.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=123

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36367/dust-tactics

IMO you also have to figure in the value of the game system in any debate over the true 'cost' of a miniatures brand.

I think that the 40k rules system in general is more than a bit rubbish which makes it un-fun for me. I find the opposite with the PP systems for WM/H.

As a gamer, primarily, I don't care nearly so much about the 'quality' of the sculpt (as long as it's in the same relatively high quality ballpark like most of the bigger minis companies these days are) as I do the enjoyment I derive from the game system.

If DW is comparably fun to 40k, then I won't get it, cheap models or no. If it's comparably fun to WM/H, then I probably will get into it in a big way (if I can convince a few other friends to join in) regardless of how expensive the models are.

One good thing about convincing your friends, is the core sets come with models for both armies, so your friend can leech off your collection till they play a few games and decide if it's worth buying or not. Then you could sell them the army you don't want

sourclams wrote:You cannot get fully assembled and painted GW miniatures for anything near retail box price.

DUST minis are not pre-painted. There are limited edition painted packs available and they're a lot more expensive.

They also have bent guns which you can't straighten by warming and bending them. (I really like the minis but the bent guns turn me off. I have three squads and more than half of the weapons are bent)

A hairdryer and bowl of ice water will unbend them.

As a busy father with less and less hobby time the pre assembled and primed models are a real time saver. I actully can't believe I ever glued together entire regiments of fantasy figures. Painting is the fun part for me and you can start that right out of the box. Whatever small cost pre primed and assembled adds to the price is worth it IMO. Plus it's two of my favorite things, WWII and sci fi!

As far as the miniatures themselves, I love the style. They do seem more like fine scale models and I like that.

Just for those of you who are thinking of giving Dust Tactics a whirl. Gamers Daily News have done an 3 page review and given a rating of 8.5 out of 10 for the new core set (due for release over the next 2 weeks). Considering it costs less than a Battleforce it's not a bad deal and a good way of trying out the game.

http://www.gamersdailynews.com/articlenav-3008-page-1.html

You can also check out the rules on FFG's support page as a download.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=123&esem=4

jedi76 wrote:A hairdryer and bowl of ice water will unbend them

Been there, done that. They unbend and then very slowly over time they return to the old shape.

To be honest I have only noticed 4 out of the whole 32 models in my Blue Thunder set that have slightly bent weapons. To be honest I haven't even tried bending them back to dead straight as I see it as a bit of a non issue. I bought the set to play with it, not look at how exact each model is. I can understand though that it may annoy some. Maybe I am lucky and my models weapons in the set weren't too bent?

The 4 Walkers in the set had no issues and were superb.

Agreed, the walkers are excellent - completely different type of material.