We all know there are a lot of gamers out there who, after reading about the wonderful variety of Imperial Guard, (Astra Militarum in new money apparently) end up disappointed by the current GW range available in stores (Cadians) and the cost (how much for a box of 10?). That basic troops cpost is possibly why for the first time since the 2nd Ed Codex that the basic Troop choice is a squad not a 25 strong platoon.
As such, there is a market out there for those who want to grab it. One of the new starters is Wargames Atlantic who have seen a niche and are pushing ahead with a range of plastic sci fi troops that potentially have a use for Imperial Guard players.
Their range is known as Death Fields. The concept being that powerful aliens love Earth's warlike history and sport. They are lifting troops from Earth's past to fight for their entertainment. They promise rules once they have a fleshed out range but so far the range consists of:
1. Raumjagers - WWII German paratroopers.
2. Les Grognards - Napoleonic French, Foreign Legion and WWI French all fighting together.
3. To be confirmed but possibly British Victorian era troops.
Do you see what is happening? It may be a coincidence but in their first two releases, you potentially have proxies for Steel Legion and Vostroyans (models below have the Bearskins of the Old Guard). Mix the heads from the first release with the greatcoats of the second and you have Death Korps of Krieg. As for release 3, what possible use could there be for a sci fi leaning Victorian era infantry?
Available in boxes of 24 for £25, I have constructed these as a 55 strong Platoon.
Others may carry out a full review but some facts and thoughts:
The set comes in small sprues containing everything you need for three models (and more).
Torso and legs are one piece and only have three varieties.
Rifle arm pairs have three varieties.
Special weapons are included. Each sprue contains a flamer, grenade launcher and a meltagun type weapons. Also included is a plasma cannon?
A limiting factor is other arms. For a sergeant/ character the pistol and sword are both held in the right hand. The only left hand option is a pointing hand or a grenade throwing arm.
When you view the photos, you can see that a big army could end up very samey. Not necessarily a criticism from me but others like a lot of variety.
Being plastic, convert. The only conversion I've done is through adding a GW IG standard for the Command Squad but the potential is there. They are slightly smaller than GW models though but likely match up nicely with a lot of the resin manufacturers.
I've just done my own review on these gents, however I haven't built mine yet, so this is very useful. I also noticed the issue with officers arms, which are very annoying, as I wanted to build the 3 models I have as officers.
ReplyDeleteThe conversion for the standard, did you change the while arm or just the hand?
Just the hand. I looked at doing the whole arm but then you have the issue with the cadian shoulderpad not matching. Conversions for these using Cadian parts will need to be minor due to a slight scale difference. Anvil and Victoria Miniature bits could be a good match however.
DeleteAdditionally, the Officer now has the sword in the left hand after I dis some snipping and swapping around with a spare heavy weapon arm.
DeleteI was turned onto Wargames Atlantic about 3 weeks ago. I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed that they do the Colonial English. Curious to see what variants they may have. Good review.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they may, just may, be approaching pith helmeted infantry from two fronts.
DeleteOne set for Death Fields, speculative based on a preview showing a dress uniform arm and another historical set for their Empires range.
I asked a question as to whether such sets could be very similar in poses with cosmetic differences for scifi/ historical uniform and weapons and received a reply that such sets would be completely different. Make of that what you will, it's not necessarily confirmation.