COMPLETED CAV: STRIKE OPERATIONS Kickstarter

[mistergreenwood]

Still stuck at customs :(

[Jasper_the_2nd]

Still stuck at customs :(

That sucks.  Mine sailed through for a change.

[wargamer]

inventoried mine, tyrant missing left arm, emperor missing right leg, two tanks not received ryoshi.  email to [email protected] sent.

[HornedTurtle]

inventoried mine, tyrant missing left arm, emperor missing right leg, two tanks not received ryoshi.  email to [email protected] sent.

My Emperor was missing his left leg, and had two sets of hips.

[Xauhaudoom]

Received my kick-starter yesterday.  However, one of my Ronin is missing a leg and a gun arm is damaged.

[Vil-hatarn]

Full inventory received. I only ordered a handful of models as I was skeptical of the material and don't typically play the factions featured in the KS. I was particularly concerned after seeing the softness of the details in a friend's early bird white plastic CAVs. The grey material is clearly superior, but on the whole I have to say I'm disappointed with what I received. There are few enough I'm just going to do a model-by-model breakdown with comparison photos:

 

The Kraken's are cracking--no bending issues and cleanup looks no worse than metal. Plastic strikes me as a solid choice here; the original true scale metals were quite heavy, making them both expensive (and therefore difficult to field in any significant numbers despite their low point cost) and difficult to base. On the whole I preferred the aesthetic of the original design, but the new version looks pretty good in its own right.

 

I was surprised to receive my Specter in white plastic. I was further disappointed on comparison to the metal version; in addition to minor scaling differences I assume arose in the mold-making process, numerous changes were made to the model itself, including the shoulders, 'nose', missile rack, back of the arms, and proportions of various leg components. With the Specter being one of the older models in the line, I'll acknowledge that some of the changes may have been for the better; but the fact remains that side-by-side, the differences are fairly striking.

 

Where to start on the Chieftains...the grey material worked great--the detail on these is every bit as sharp as the metal versions. The model appears to have suffered some small but noticeable shrinkage in the front-to-back dimension, to the point that at first glance I wondered if they'd been cast using the older below-scale Chieftain. While I don't have any of those to compare, they match up side-to-side, so I'm guessing it's once again an artifact of the mold-making process. Fortunately, I have some spare Centipede turrets on hand, so I'll be able to make myself a couple of En-35Rs with the underscaled bodies. My other issue is the absurd height of the hover base. At scale, this thing is hovering 10+ feet off the ground! I'm not sure if maybe they're intended to be cut down to a more reasonable size, but if assembled as-is, you wind up with a flying tank, not a hovertank...

[klarg1]

Just finished up my detailed CAV inventory.

Across my whole shipment (including an early-bird, white plastic core set), all I am missing are the two Ryoshis, and the lower right leg for my Ronin. (Actually, my Ronin came with an extra hip joint, instead of the right leg, so the part count is correct. )

 

Considering the number of minis involved, really not bad at all. I sent email to [email protected] to resolve it.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied here.

Edited March 13, 2016 by klarg1

[Sergeant_Crunch]

Full inventory received. I only ordered a handful of models as I was skeptical of the material and don't typically play the factions featured in the KS. I was particularly concerned after seeing the softness of the details in a friend's early bird white plastic CAVs. The grey material is clearly superior, but on the whole I have to say I'm disappointed with what I received. There are few enough I'm just going to do a model-by-model breakdown with comparison photos:

 

The Kraken's are cracking--no bending issues and cleanup looks no worse than metal. Plastic strikes me as a solid choice here; the original true scale metals were quite heavy, making them both expensive (and therefore difficult to field in any significant numbers despite their low point cost) and difficult to base. On the whole I preferred the aesthetic of the original design, but the new version looks pretty good in its own right.

 

I was surprised to receive my Specter in white plastic. I was further disappointed on comparison to the metal version; in addition to minor scaling differences I assume arose in the mold-making process, numerous changes were made to the model itself, including the shoulders, 'nose', missile rack, back of the arms, and proportions of various leg components. With the Specter being one of the older models in the line, I'll acknowledge that some of the changes may have been for the better; but the fact remains that side-by-side, the differences are fairly striking.

 

Where to start on the Chieftains...the grey material worked great--the detail on these is every bit as sharp as the metal versions. The model appears to have suffered some small but noticeable shrinkage in the front-to-back dimension, to the point that at first glance I wondered if they'd been cast using the older below-scale Chieftain. While I don't have any of those to compare, they match up side-to-side, so I'm guessing it's once again an artifact of the mold-making process. Fortunately, I have some spare Centipede turrets on hand, so I'll be able to make myself a couple of En-35Rs with the underscaled bodies. My other issue is the absurd height of the hover base. At scale, this thing is hovering 10+ feet off the ground! I'm not sure if maybe they're intended to be cut down to a more reasonable size, but if assembled as-is, you wind up with a flying tank, not a hovertank...

I'm planning on using the KS Krakens as Barracudas since I have a pair of the original metal Krakens. (Krakii? Krooken? Krakenses?)

 

I'm going to say I don't like the base that came with the models. The black plastic hexes just look too small compared to most CAVs and the flight bases seem a little cloudy and I don't want to see Reaper's stamp on the bottom through the base. If only I knew of some way to get different bases...

[Reaperbryan]

 

 

I'm going to say I don't like the base that came with the models. The black plastic hexes just look too small compared to most CAVs and the flight bases seem a little cloudy and I don't want to see Reaper's stamp on the bottom through the base. If only I knew of some way to get different bases...

 

We also make that hover base with a black Hex and clear post, although it is not released yet.

[ratsmitglied]

It is also quite simple to spray the clear base black (I normally do up flying bases to match the bases in the rest of my force anyway) :-)

[Maredudd]

I've completed my figure inventory and am working on the detailed inventory to make sure all the piece-parts are there. So far, besides the 32 gray ACE CAVs that are missing, I am also missing one Starhawk IV. For the piece-part inventory so far I have one Thunderbird that has two right shoulders. I have a while to go before I complete my piece-part inventory as I don't have lots of room to spread out but I will get through it. Once I'm done a final list will be sent to help@ with all of the appropriate info.

 

One thing I need to figure out though is what to do with the empty shipping box that all my wonderful BIG STOMPY ROBOTS came in . . . It's a lovely box, hand decorated and autographed by the Reaper folks, and I just can't let it go into the trash bin! It should be placed in a place of honor where all that come over can see it and appreciate its beauty!

[fishnjeeps]

It is also quite simple to spray the clear base black (I normally do up flying bases to match the bases in the rest of my force anyway) :-)

I do this as well which brings me to my only issue with the new flying bases. They are hollow bottomed and therefore cant be detailed as easily. I have a way to do it, but it would be nicer if they were like the hover bases.

[Sergeant_Crunch]

 

 

 

I'm going to say I don't like the base that came with the models. The black plastic hexes just look too small compared to most CAVs and the flight bases seem a little cloudy and I don't want to see Reaper's stamp on the bottom through the base. If only I knew of some way to get different bases...

 

We also make that hover base with a black Hex and clear post, although it is not released yet.

 

Good to know, but I'll just cut my own from clear acrylic.

[Maredudd]

Final inventory is complete and email sent to reaper.

 

In the end I was missing only the 8 ace models (x4 each) and one Starhawk VI while the detailed inspection identified one Despot with two right tracks and one Thunderbird with two right shoulders. :-)

 

I was also short three 1" bases but I'm not worried about those as I'll likely upsize the bases  to something that looks better

[NomadZeke]

So when do our wallets get to suffer at the hands of CAV next?