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Absolutely

you should be able to pick one or some or all factions but the KS should be designed so each faction gets an equal amount of 'stuff' by the end (more or less)

@SS

I was with you from the beginning asking for the swapping and they drove me completely out of the comments section. I wish I could freely swap as I'd likely keep a single rebel for painting and swap the rest for FF but since that was a no go. Which is sad because it cost them money from me in the long run.

Oh well, the Hulk shot has saved me about $30 since it was going to be the one reason I went with the bundles instead of just ordering the artillery pieces for the Marauders. Thanks I guess??

Customer service of a sort I suppose there Hulksmash...

I do wonder if the "no swapsies" was because after the DreadBall debacle they had some very pointed words with their supplier and all the Strike Team boxes are really being shrink-wrapped in China this time. This would make swaps a lot more complex especially since, with all respect to people who do a hard job for probably not enough money, their supplier doesn't seem to be the best at taking care of things. It wouldn't be impossible to swap them out of course, but I can see where the logistics and so forth made it an undesirable option.

I do agree with those saying its unfortunate that Mantic didn't take the "free" market research on board. While I'm sure some people would be upset if the aesthetic of an army (like say, the Marauders) changed from DeadZone to WarPath, if an army completely underperforms in DZ sales it would probably be a smart to revamp them before one of the flagship products gets rolling. Allowing swaps would have really shined a light on this, and also gotten them feedback about what sculptors they need to have a pointed discussion with as well.

All that said, I've liked what I've seen of the Rebs and Enforcers so far. That works out well for me since those were the ones I was planning on getting the most of anyway.

I thought they had done market research and had been told that buyers generally didn't like the 'fantasy models in space' feel of the original mauraders

which may be why the new stuff is so distinct....

I guess they'll know if they went the right or wrong way when the KS pledge manager numbers come in

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I thought they had done market research and had been told that buyers generally didn't like the 'fantasy models in space' feel of the original mauraders

which may be why the new stuff is so distinct....

It's not. If you want to make your models look less like fantasy models in space, you change the equipment, and give them poses appropriate to the new gear. You don't turn them into badly proportioned hunchbacks.

 AlexHolker wrote:

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I thought they had done market research and had been told that buyers generally didn't like the 'fantasy models in space' feel of the original mauraders

which may be why the new stuff is so distinct....

It's not. If you want to make your models look less like fantasy models in space, you change the equipment, and give them poses appropriate to the new gear. You don't turn them into badly proportioned hunchbacks.

That would be the way to go IF you think the complaints are about equipment and poses,

If you think they're about the whole thing you change the whole thing

(personally I don't like the new direction, but I can see why they went that way)

Is anyone else out there having this issue with the survey: My zip code starts with a zero. When I get my survey summary email it doesn't display the first digit of my zip code (I believe) because it treats the zip code box like it does a quantity box. I have written to Mantic via the Kickstarter and hope they can figure it out as I wonder how many other people this particular bug effects.

Email Stew as well: I moved to a new town that also has a 0 as the first part of the zip code, and he had no problem adjusting it for me. Just got my first of two large KoW shipments, so I know it'll work from firsthand experience.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Email Stew as well: I moved to a new town that also has a 0 as the first part of the zip code, and he had no problem adjusting it for me. Just got my first of two large KoW shipments, so I know it'll work from firsthand experience.

Good to know. I'll send out an email. Thanks!

Latest Update:

Progress is being made nicely and nearly all of the sculpts have now gone to our manufacturer to be tooled, including the Rebs booster!

The rebs look ace. Cant wait

Love the rebs... very cool! Lots of conversion potential and possibility to use other models in conjunction with them, too.

Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?

Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?

Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

Looks like she's pressing a button with her thumb. Maybe some reload button, while the other dude holds it steady and slides the missile in.

 judgedoug wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?

Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

Looks like she's pressing a button with her thumb. Maybe some reload button, while the other dude holds it steady and slides the missile in.

That would be a really bad launcher design then.

The zee on the left has Battle Nun ape arms, whereas the one on the right doesnt. They need to fix that...

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?

Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

My guess would be, someone put the mini together wrong. The hands look like they'd be a better fit on the front grip.

Carry this heavy gun puny human, i'll load.
I'm a terrible shot, you fire it.

Are conversations I can see that alien muttering.

The grey's don;t look much different to the greens shown recently, so I'm guessing they're far past the 'feedback' stage with things.

i just realized mantic made perfect kroothawks. lol. The rebs look outstanding. I cant wait for the warpath kickstarter next year, i want to see 75-100K main stretches that would add plastic transports for the 4 initial races, with mini stretches built in. If mantic is smart, they would start on the 3d models now in excess, that way when the warpath KS comes around they can show the actual 3d models. that would increase the pool imho.

The rebs are looking amazing, everything I hoped for from the concept art. I hope their playstyle is fun since they were my favourite faction style wise. The fem trooper looks really well proportioned (that sounds seedy...). Dat Kraaw... *meme face*

 CptJake wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?

Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

Looks like she's pressing a button with her thumb. Maybe some reload button, while the other dude holds it steady and slides the missile in.

That would be a really bad launcher design then.

But it makes for great romantic tension. Read Doug's description again, but this time, the lady is Rene Russo and the reloader guy is Kevin Costner.

Hot.

Lady still has a huge head, and the left Zee is unacceptable.

What do you mean, "still"? Has Mantic ever listened to feedback and actually corrected some of their work? I think not.

Well if they do not deliver a decent product this time it might be the last time I support them.

Their call, frankly I do not get it, they can produce decent and good models, their consistency is lacking and their quality control is puzzling at best.

 Agamemnon2 wrote:
What do you mean, "still"? Has Mantic ever listened to feedback and actually corrected some of their work? I think not.

Yeah, they didn't change the Orx at all when people when clamoring about them. They look exactly like the very first greens we saw.

You still may not like them, but there were some fairly obvious changes.

And for the folks thinking the head is off........just paint her hair black. There are a LOT of asian and hispanic women with fairly large noggins compared to their shoulders versus what most caucasians look like. The first thing I thought was "Cool. I guess they made an Asian chick" when I saw that model.

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?
Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

You're right! That does look awkward. The loader figure works alright with it as posed, but when they're mounted on 25mm round Mantic bases, the loader's "holding it steady" hand is going to be in mid-air.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?
Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

My guess would be, someone put the mini together wrong. The hands look like they'd be a better fit on the front grip.

That would make sense, but on closer inspection, it looks like her left hand has a pistol/firing grip sculpted/moulded to it.


With the alien having elongated arms... I wonder if it's the same sculptor who did the nuns? It's an issue, but not as pronounced as with the humans, since you can "lol alienz" it to an extent.

 Azazelx wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?
Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

You're right! That does look awkward. The loader figure works alright with it as posed, but when they're mounted on 25mm round Mantic bases, the loader's "holding it steady" hand is going to be in mid-air.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Why would the chick with the missile launcher be holding it that way?
Even assuming she is left handed, not using the front grip/handle makes it very awkward looking, and the weight of the launcher would make that pose less than desirable, even while reloading.

My guess would be, someone put the mini together wrong. The hands look like they'd be a better fit on the front grip.

That would make sense, but on closer inspection, it looks like her left hand has a pistol/firing grip sculpted/moulded to it.


With the alien having elongated arms... I wonder if it's the same sculptor who did the nuns? It's an issue, but not as pronounced as with the humans, since you can "lol alienz" it to an extent.

That and they ARE apes. Though, as others have pointed out, why aren't the arms between the two models matching up? I thought they were all clones, so it be better to do all the Zees on the computer versus hand sculpted anyway. I also thought that was the direction they were going, so the zees are a little a bit of a shocker they look a bit funny.

The Zee are still are not apes, or monkeys, or monkies.

 Cyporiean wrote:
The Zee are still are not apes, or monkeys, or monkies.

They were at one point, but Mantic have somewhat backed away from that aspect.

The latest update confirms that the minis have already been sent for tooling (confirming what BN posted earlier in this thread), so no chance to make modifications unfortunately.

I'm pretty happy with them, Rebs are what I'm focusing on, and they all look great IMO. Plague aren't too bad, it's just the mortar crew that look a bit goofy (the 3rd gens do as well, though).
Marauders seem to be an improvement overall, I think the hulk might be in 2 pieces which is why it's looking odd.

As always, throw your feedback into the KS comments if you're a backer, it all helps them to get a good idea of the majority opinion.