My experience with Warmachine

I just wanted to do a quick post today to inform would-be consumers of some of the issues I have encountered so far with my new Warmachine 2 player battle box. None of it is terribly serious, and all can be... somewhat corrected (aside from the swords IMO, which I'll talk about later on.)



My first and main beef with the set is that the plastic is low-grade (think board game tokens) and has a lot of flash. I don't think I've ever bought a kit with so much flash all over the place that needed to be trimmed. This is really just a work issue, as the flash itself won't ruin the mini. They put that in your hands, so just be careful not to nick the plastic or trim too close.

While the assembly may look neat, it's shoddy, often times the pieces fitting loosely. A bit of glue will help to hold them together. This is the same sort of assembly that the Super Dungeon Explore set had, with the tetris-shaped male/female joiners. The mold lines here don't need to be trimmed, they'll be hidden underneath of more components.

All of the pieces come loose in separate bags (so you know what comes with each mini.) They have not been carefully clipped off of the sprue, they have been plucked, so you will see some marring along certain parts where the vent hole was... it sucks. I would much prefer to clip them off of a sprue myself than have someone leave ripped and twisted plastic for me to clean up. Small pieces of sprue leftover aren't too much of a problem (as in the picture above,) they come off easily. Look at the amount of flash on this shoulder pad though!

Here's another one of my biggest complaints... due to the parts being crammed into bags which are crammed into a box about as tall as a Space Marine, some components come bent. Like this sword. I spent a while attempting to use hot water and bending it gently back into place. It's somewhat straight now but I don't think it's possible (due to the material) to get it perfectly straight.

The Warjacks are perfect for practicing pinning, with plenty of odd ball joints that need to be carefully held by hand while glued or stuck together with a rod. As I go through this set, I am feeling like, "Man, I hate to be a Games Workshop fanboy, but I would never experience this much modelling work with one of their products..." Eventually all is put together, aside from Zni's Khador warjack, and we will be giving the game a go soon enough. Looking at my assembled Menoth force, I just can't bring myself to want to paint them. Maybe that will change with more cleanup... and more cleanup... and more cleanup.

I want to take up the last bit of this with some news. From the Warp's blogroll has gone the way of the dodo, but meanwhile we have been accepted and listed at House of Paincakes! I am also awaiting action or reply from Bell of Lost Souls, which is a miniatures gaming news site I frequent. Links have been added/updated at the top right of the page. I hope you guys enjoy the posts!