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

Review: Assault on Black Reach Paint Set

So, on to the first review. That is, the infamous Assault on Black Reach Paint Set.



This set includes:

- 6x 4ml citadel colors (white, black, burnished gold, boltgun metal, mechrite red, mordian blue)
- 5x Tactical Space Marines (see below)
- citadel starter brush
- pallete
- booklet

The exact content on the sprue is:
- 5x Tactical Space Marine
- 5x Bolter (2 w. scopes, 2 w. belts)
- 5x SM Backpack
- 5x Shoulderpad (w. Ultramarine insignia)

Price: £15.00

Let's start with the booklet. It's a simple manual on painting ultramarines. It's more informative than the AOBR "Getting started" book as it includes information on drybrushing and basing. Alright. let's move on...

The palette is small but handy; I find it rather cool. The starter brush is good for coating but you'll definately need a smaller brush for detailing. I never liked citadel brushes anyways.

The color selection is very narrow. There is no green, yellow or brown so don't even think about using this set to paint your AOBR orks. I don't know why GW chose to include Mordian Blue instead of Ultramarine Blue; it's too dark for them so you'll probably have to buy Ultramarine or Enchanted Blue.

What really sucks is that colors included are in 4ml pots only, instead of standard 12ml! So basically you buy only 1/3 of the standard color pots... Be prepared to run out of black quickly! Even worse, the pots aren't of good quality so the colors dry out fast.

The real gimmick of this set is ofcourse the marine sprue. The models are not the same as the AOBR ones - they have molded ultramarine symbols and there's very little variation, so I wouldn't really recommend them for a dedicated marine player.

All in all, it's an ok start to the hobby but that's about the only use. Better get some real paint set for your AOBR box and skip this one!

2/5

Pros:
- quick start to the hobby
- includes a brush, foundation & metalic colors
- includes 5 simplified tactical Ultramarines

Cons:
- colors are only 4ml and dry out fast
- color selection sucks
- simple models
- low price