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All of my metros are Statuesque miniatures... eh. Great minds think alike. Or at least that's how I kid myself.

All of my Metros are Statuesque except for my Metro HMG. Rosa didn't exist yet.

If I built the Resistance squad I want (8 fighters, all special characters and officers, two head swap sprues, two weapons swap sprues) it would cost me over $120 (roughly) shipped at around $6.80 a figure. (16 total figures) which is why I haven't done that yet... much as I love the minis, they wouldn't be for a game, they'd just be fun.

Come on, give Andrew your money, he's honest and upstanding bloke, plus fast shipping and no bs.

I've given Andrew a fair amount of change already, he even air shipped me a part that was missing for one of my girls (One of the snipers from the S.O.E) at cost.

I strongly recommend his products to ANY ONE.

All Statuesque aside... can we also expect a 2 months wait between this update and the command boxes reveal? That would mean around April 2014 for Wave 1 minis, at an absolute minimum.

I was going to say March, which was the original kick off month of this whole ordeal, but ehhh, April does sound better.

Re-posting my feedback comments;

Having had a chance to digest the images, it's constructive criticism time. I'll be blunt since I know we're not all native English speakers, so don't hesitate to ask for elaboration.

First general points, and probably most important from a consumer point of view: shots of what the models will actually look like before assembly. "On-sprue" pictures is what I would be talking about if these were being made in injection molded plastic, but as these are renders, pictures of the parts that one will actually be receiving.

Related to that is the issue of stances: while it's nice that you have mixed things up with a number of action poses, the pictures shown seem to indicate precious few practical shooting poses. Almost everyone seems to be in mid-sprint or striking an "I'm awesome" pose, with only a very few that, if one squints a bit, are in the standing braced pose of an actual shooter.

Second, directed to individual kits/models;

-The Iron Empire Heavy troopers have some serious problems: first, they are actually LESS armored then regular troopers. That is, while regular Iron Empire troopers have an articulated piece of armor that covers their abdomen, "Heavy" IE troopers have only an armored breastplate, pauldrons (shoulder armor) and, most bizarre of all, a segmented armor codpiece.

Which leads to the second issue: the pauldrons on the IE Heavy troopers are almost comical. They are SO bulky and unwieldy, yet they don't manage to cover and protect as much as the counterpart on the Kurg heavy troopers (which are no example of good ergonomics). Combined with the lack of armor over the vital organs of the abdomen, the overall impact of the IE Heavies is of a strange caricature of fascist pomp.
To that point, the overall effect especially from the pauldrons is of the 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sly Stallone.


A final point on this is that even if parody is the point, the pauldrons are almost shockingly under-detailed. The Kurg Heavy troopers may have their faults, but their shoulder armor at least features detailing. They have articulation or laminated plates, the look of something that might be wearable at least. The IE Heavy shoulders just look like squared-off blobs on either side of the breastplate.

-The Iron Empire Regular troopers: While a good deal less confused then the their Heavy version, there are some odd things going on here as well. First, are the shoulders on these models meant to be epaulettes (ornamental boards attached to the coat) or armored extensions of their breastplate that are poking through their long coats? The former would make much more sense on a uniform, the latter though would seem to be how you solved the issue of hiding the arm-body join on the model. Again, without seeing the figures in a not-yet assembled state this is only conjecture (another reason why we need to see these).
A second issue is there seems to be some clipping between the breastplate and the coat lapels. The lapels of their jackets do not flow around and over their breastplate as a coat worn over body armor would, rather the edge of the coat simply disappears into the the sides of model's breast cups.

-Kurganovas Heavy troopers: The Kurg heavy troops fare a good deal better then their IE counterparts. They managed to not forget their abdominal armor when they picked up their shoulder armor, which is a more sensible looking spaulder the the massive and unwieldy pauldrons that the IE are using. That said it does seem rather off that their shoulder armor continues so far beyond their shoulders. The shown images give the impression of how limiting these are in terms of possibility, since they basically foreclose lifting the arm to the side or any higher laterally.

That's probably a good place to stop: there are other comments to make (Doctor Von X in particular I feel needs some polishing, especially her ridiculous gogo boots) but for the most part, this is a pretty good effort for a first look. Really the only things that are in dire need of a second pass are the Iron Empire Heavy Troopers; the combination of no torso armor and absurd, under-detailed shoulders is a real miss.

Otherwise, I'm actually growing cautiously optimistic about things!

I am willing to wait for the prints first.

They said printing slims the model a bit, it might change them a bit.

edit I was referring to the pauldrons thickness.

 Buzzsaw wrote:
Combined with the lack of armor over the vital organs of the abdomen, the overall impact of the IE Heavies is of a strange caricature of fascist pomp.

I think "fascist pomp" is the intended aesthetic.

Fascist pomp. We like this term. It's a good description of I.E.'s neo Prussian with a side of Hugo Boss style.

 Valhallan42nd wrote:

 Buzzsaw wrote:
Combined with the lack of armor over the vital organs of the abdomen, the overall impact of the IE Heavies is of a strange caricature of fascist pomp.

I think "fascist pomp" is the intended aesthetic.

The problem lies in the caricature element: in Judge Dredd it works (to the extent that it does) because he's a policeman (sorta). The IE heavies are... well, heavy infantry.

Of course there is also the problem that the concept art doesn't really read as parody, but of a fantasy minimalist version of Prussian aesthetics... which I liked. If I wanted Judge Dredd, well, I would have bought Judge Dredd.

All of that is of course irrelevant to the other major problem: whether meant to be caricature or not, the pauldrons are shockingly under-detailed. They are practically boxes used for shoulderpads.

EDIT: Also, just as a thing to mention, what is this project? I certainly didn't feel during the campaign that the IE was meant to be a parody, but a design aesthetic to differentiate the otherwhise somewhat similar Kurganovas from the other heavily armored troopers.

Is the Egyptian theme also a parody? Are we going to find the creepy zombies have been reinterpreted into Ork-style shenanigans?

Is the creepy zombie pregnant woman a joke on a movie I didn't see? A French thing, perhaps?

See, my problem is if seemingly silly design decisions are to be explained as a joke, that needs to be... a bit more prominent. There doesn't appear to be anything indicating that 2/4 infantry boxes are meant to not make sense...

EDIT2: Not to be totally humorless about it, but seriously now, check out how the pauldrons have ballooned from... well, not being pauldrons but slight overhangs of armor into... well, that. They go from part of the breastplate armor to the dominant element of the figure.

Interestingly, the un armored torsos have been there all along apparently.

I was thinking they were maybe trying to invoke the 'Brotherhood of Steel' from Fallout, as I had seen that kind of style before someplace. But they look completely different. - Maybe something a bit like the Enclave armour?

I think you're being a little overly critical of something that seems to rely very heavily on "rule of cool." Most of the aesthetics in this line don't make a whole lot of sense from a practicality standpoint. Look at the mechs and motorcycles for that. I think in terms of just looking kind of neat, they did exactly what they set out to do.

Now, with regards to the unarmored abdomens on the heavy troops, I'm just going to assume the heavy infantry is made up of their zombie/mummy class of citizens and they'll just shrug off whatever damage they get anyway.

 Barzam wrote:
I think you're being a little overly critical of something that seems to rely very heavily on "rule of cool." Most of the aesthetics in this line don't make a whole lot of sense from a practicality standpoint. Look at the mechs and motorcycles for that. I think in terms of just looking kind of neat, they did exactly what they set out to do.

If you need to cite the rule of cool, it does not apply. It certainly doesn't apply to the motorcycles - which are overpriced, nonsensical crap only because they abandon any semblance of reality.

 Barzam wrote:


Now, with regards to the unarmored abdomens on the heavy troops, I'm just going to assume the heavy infantry is made up of their zombie/mummy class of citizens and they'll just shrug off whatever damage they get anyway.

Hey! Now THAT is a cool potential piece of fluff. Heavy troopers aren't even alive any more, the heavy armor on the joints is to keep them upright and mobile.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

 Barzam wrote:


Now, with regards to the unarmored abdomens on the heavy troops, I'm just going to assume the heavy infantry is made up of their zombie/mummy class of citizens and they'll just shrug off whatever damage they get anyway.

Hey! Now THAT is a cool potential piece of fluff. Heavy troopers aren't even alive any more, the heavy armor on the joints is to keep them upright and mobile.

It would be (well, not really, it would be head slapping stupid, but we're grasping at French straws here), but it's instantly undermined by the non-helmeted heads for the Heavy Troopers which are... the same kind of attractive female faces they have for everything.

Not to pile on, but an in-universe explanation is not all that useful given, and let's be brutally honest here, the number of people that will be playing these in RH's eventual game will be a tiny fraction of the people using them in other games.

You make some really good points. I'll second a desire for pre-assembly pics. I can also get behind changes to the IE heavies. Can't back you on Dr. Von X's boots though. The high heels are, I think, vital to the delicate aesthetic of the model, and while I might like them a little slimmer, I think they're going to be snap-prone enough as it is. I certainly wouldn't want them any shorter!

Still, constructive criticism indeed. I hope we see some kind of response to the feedback.

Quick question in regards to that: I know that plastic and resin are both pretty snappable. Is restic better or worse in that regard?

 AlexHolker wrote:

 Barzam wrote:
I think you're being a little overly critical of something that seems to rely very heavily on "rule of cool." Most of the aesthetics in this line don't make a whole lot of sense from a practicality standpoint. Look at the mechs and motorcycles for that. I think in terms of just looking kind of neat, they did exactly what they set out to do.

If you need to cite the rule of cool, it does not apply. It certainly doesn't apply to the motorcycles - which are overpriced, nonsensical crap only because they abandon any semblance of reality.

Oish, I had forgotten about the horrendous motorcycles... that will be a fun update.

The other problem with saying "Rule of Cool, YOLO", is... there really isn't much in the concept art to signal that the IE is anything but a deeply grim faction. The concept art doesn't read as "goof on Prussian militaria", it reads as Prussians in space. Which is what I wanted.

 AlexHolker wrote:
If you need to cite the rule of cool, it does not apply.

The Rule of Rule of Cool. Excellent.

Can I please get a faction that has thigh armour on its heavy troopers? Please?

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Can I please get a faction that has thigh armour on its heavy troopers? Please?

You know, that points out another problem with the IE Heavies: in the concept art there appear to be armored plates hanging down over their thighs, in addition to the obvious swish of... uh, what is that supposed to be on the heavies? It's clearly cloth, and bears a remarkable resemblance to the tails of the longcoats on the regular troops, but it doesn't seem to correspond to anything. Is it a reverse loincloth?

Thigh armor isn't grim dark enough.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Can I please get a faction that has thigh armour on its heavy troopers? Please?

Nope. The T'n'A exception extends to the thighs.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Can I please get a faction that has thigh armour on its heavy troopers? Please?

No.... exposed thighs are critical to the success of all cheesecake property. Essential even. And lets be honest...we are here for cheesecake.....to some extent

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Thigh armor isn't grim dark enough.

Haha. Honestly, though, this is what's keeping me away from the heavy troops - not enough armor where there should be, and too much where there shouldn't. The regular KST and Jailbird troops even have a bit too much going on below the knee, but I'm not too concerned about that really.

~iPaint

From the concept art, I was sure I needed to go for heavy infantry. Now though... I guess I'll just go regular. And as much as I'm not a big fan of the pickelhaub (spiked helmet?), I'm not super impressed by the KST heads.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
From the concept art, I was sure I needed to go for heavy infantry. Now though... I guess I'll just go regular. And as much as I'm not a big fan of the pickelhaub (spiked helmet?), I'm not super impressed by the KST heads.

And I was originally going to go KST until I saw the first round of helmet renders in one of the updates, then decided to go IE. Then I saw these latest renders, and (providing the side breast armor and coat lapel issue isn't resolved) have switched back to the KST. I still may do 1 box of IE, though.

I did a quick photoshop on the lapels to see how it'd look.


Full size here:
http://i.imgur.com/vIUuPxy.png

It really makes the breast cup armor pop less, and look less pronounced in turn. Much more realistic, as well.

~iPaint

I like those lapels, I'd email RH with them paint.

Aren't you a raging herald?