Author Topic: BT Mini Reviews Thread  (Read 7531 times)

beachhead1985

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BT Mini Reviews Thread
« on: 03 March 2016, 23:40:34 »
Can we have a thread for this, Mods?

Anyways I just want to say that I just finished putting together my Super-Griffin (ground-based version) and it is a really great miniature; excellent detail and appropriate proportions with just the right number of pieces. Great job IWM!
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Domi1981

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #1 on: 05 March 2016, 09:48:29 »
One of my new favs

« Last Edit: 05 March 2016, 09:52:46 by Domi1981 »

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #2 on: 05 March 2016, 17:21:51 »
indeed; I have not seen anyone take issue with the super-griffon.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Domi1981

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #3 on: 05 March 2016, 18:24:26 »
Well, I have to say there has to be a cool design before one can make a good 3D model. Horrible design equals SnakeMech [face palm]. Look for example at the two new Thunderbold designs. The primitive 1C looks boring and missing details of the printed version which actually looks pretty impressive. The Thunderbolt TDR-9M on the other hand looks even better than the printed version. The printed design has upper legs that are too thin and it looks too slim for a heavy mech. But the guy who made the 3D model really saved it made, imho, the best Thunderbolt mini in the whole lineup.

Scotty

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #4 on: 06 March 2016, 12:55:44 »
The Thunderbolt 1C is one of the best looking miniatures we've gotten to date and has the added bonus of being one of the easiest to put together I've ever had the pleasure of assembling.  Opinions are well and good to have, but recognize that not everyone (or even most people, for some) will share them.
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Archer77

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #5 on: 06 March 2016, 13:22:23 »
One of my new favs



I like the weathered look on that Vulture.

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #6 on: 06 March 2016, 13:33:01 »
Just finally built a PP Phoenix Hawk. I've built a few PP mechs now and i think if I take the extreme of some PP minis of having many-many parts and the more traditional 4-6 parts of most older Ral Partha minis the phoenix hawk is a very good compromise between flexibility, detail and simplicity.

The proportions are just about right as well.

if this mini has a downfall, it's the original art and how that translates to metal; mainly you can't help notice the propensity of the arm-guns to blow the hands off. The hands are very large overall and end up either fouling the Large Laser or getting in the way of the smaller upper-forearm guns.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

GRUD

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #7 on: 06 March 2016, 19:17:50 »
So, the "Over-Sized Hand Problem" is one that Mechwarriors can "Correct" on their own in the field then?  :D
To me, Repros are 100% Wrong, and there's NO  room for me to give ground on this subject. I'm not just an Immovable Object on this, I'm THE Immovable Object. 3D Prints are just 3D Repros.

Something to bear in Mind. Defending the BT IP is Frowned upon here.

Remember: Humor is NOT Tolerated here. Have a Nice Day!

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beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #8 on: 08 March 2016, 01:25:11 »
So, the "Over-Sized Hand Problem" is one that Mechwarriors can "Correct" on their own in the field then?  :D

Yeah; trim to fit your preferance; one finger at a time.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

GRUD

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #9 on: 08 March 2016, 02:14:09 »
Yeah; trim to fit your preferance; one finger at a time.

I meant by firing their weapons.  ;D
To me, Repros are 100% Wrong, and there's NO  room for me to give ground on this subject. I'm not just an Immovable Object on this, I'm THE Immovable Object. 3D Prints are just 3D Repros.

Something to bear in Mind. Defending the BT IP is Frowned upon here.

Remember: Humor is NOT Tolerated here. Have a Nice Day!

Hey! Can't a guy get any Privacy around here!

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #10 on: 08 March 2016, 08:11:29 »
I meant by firing their weapons.  ;D

So did I ;)
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #11 on: 11 March 2016, 15:15:46 »
Has my first disappointment from a BT mini in ages.

I picked up the otherwise excellent Recon Lance AS set in plastic and one of my favourite mechs; the Flea was suffering from some serious barrel warping. First time I have come across this in the new AS plastics.

Every attempt I made to correct it failed and while I'm keeping it for now, I finally found an excuse to put a Flea in my OPFOR line up.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Feenix74

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #12 on: 11 March 2016, 20:18:02 »
Can you post a photo of the Flea?

Have you tried heating (boiling water or even a hairdrier) and bending it back into shape?
Incoming fire has the right of way.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

Always remember that your weapon was built by the lowest bidder.


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Savage Coyote

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #13 on: 11 March 2016, 20:58:11 »
Has my first disappointment from a BT mini in ages.

I picked up the otherwise excellent Recon Lance AS set in plastic and one of my favourite mechs; the Flea was suffering from some serious barrel warping. First time I have come across this in the new AS plastics.

Every attempt I made to correct it failed and while I'm keeping it for now, I finally found an excuse to put a Flea in my OPFOR line up.

Have you boiled it yet?  I corrected some AS lance pack miniatures who were leaning a little too far back.  Boil them in water for 10-15 seconds then reshape them.  Then dunk them in ice cold water.  Worked for me at any rate!

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #14 on: 11 March 2016, 21:12:04 »
Can you post a photo of the Flea?

Have you tried heating (boiling water or even a hairdrier) and bending it back into shape?

Nope! I used FIRE! didn't work.

I heated a pair of tweezers and tried to mould the guns back into shape. Worked on the twins, not on the single.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Feenix74

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #15 on: 12 March 2016, 01:28:58 »
But you need to heat the plastic of the mini not just the metal of the tweezers to be able to bend it and once it cools it will hold its new shape. By heating the tweezers and using them on the mini you are just heating the surface of the plastic not the core of the plastic. Try the technique that Savage Coyote has suggested.

Just think of yourself as a blacksmith plasticsmith. Instead of a forge, you have boiling water. Once the plastic is heated shape it then quench it in iced cold water to get it to hold the new shape.  O0
Incoming fire has the right of way.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

Always remember that your weapon was built by the lowest bidder.


                                   - excepts from Murphy's Laws of Combat

beachhead1985

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #16 on: 30 March 2016, 05:45:44 »
Built up some custom omnimech configurations yesterday.

I definitely think IWM has a ways to go yet; just for one thing; put all the parts for all the omnimechs currently in production on the scrapyard. Let me buy the legs and torso for a direwolf and ad the arms want, for instance; have warhawk prime arms.

I think we'll get there eventually. IWM and Catalyst basicaly own fanservice as far as waraming is concerned IMO.

One PITA is the shoulders though; every arm is made for the omni it goes to to make a canon variant. Some are "Male" and some are "Female" So it can be hard to get them to work if you are making a non-canon custom configuration.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Heavyguard

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #17 on: 30 March 2016, 08:56:43 »
Built up some custom omnimech configurations yesterday.

I definitely think IWM has a ways to go yet; just for one thing; put all the parts for all the omnimechs currently in production on the scrapyard. Let me buy the legs and torso for a direwolf and ad the arms want, for instance; have warhawk prime arms.

I think we'll get there eventually. IWM and Catalyst basicaly own fanservice as far as waraming is concerned IMO.

One PITA is the shoulders though; every arm is made for the omni it goes to to make a canon variant. Some are "Male" and some are "Female" So it can be hard to get them to work if you are making a non-canon custom configuration.

Most of the Omni parts not in the scrapyard or omni parts store I've had no issues in requesting when I've done an order in the past. (Timber Wolf/Mad Dog legs & waists, sets of Mad Dog or Warhawk arms, Dire Wolf legs etc.)

They do offer 'modified' torsos as well that tend to fit more of the variant arms as well. (Timber wolf/Mad Dog that fit all the Summoner/Hellbringer arms much better!)

I think the only issues with male/female I've had is thus far have been with Gargoyle variants that I'll have to pin to get to work and a Nova variant.

I have done up a excel file using Dak's guide as a base with some changes to help in the ease of assembly.

JadeHellbringer

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #18 on: 30 March 2016, 10:38:38 »
I'll throw in a review... the XTRO Pack.

I don't know how you, dear reader, feel about these XTRO units. They tend to be at best limited-production, oftentimes one of a kind units. They range from the amazingly useful (Wolfhound) to the god-awful (Hunchback) to the bafflingly strange (Partisan), but one thing that I hope you'll agree with me about- the minis that have come from the series have been VERY good overall. This pack- soon to go on sale individually- is the crown jewel of it.

Down the list:

Wraith: This was the one I was most worried about- the art looked awesome, like a giant avenging angel, but winged miniatures are sometimes a little tough to fit together (see: XTRO Vixen, a great mini but a bear to build). This though? Both wings fit on nicely without any difficulty. Detail is good, matches the art nicely, a great addition to your shelf.

Victor: The original mini was good, and not much changed here other than being noticeably beefier. The obvious change is the new right arm, but even the torso has new sculpting to show ammo feeds and the like. I figured this was a throwaway 'nice bonus' to the pack- but this is a gem.

Rifleman: A bit difficult to build due to the heft of the new arms and the odd fit of the 'saucer' on top. I didn't like the look of this mini in the artwork, and continue to dislike it in miniature form, but it stayed very true to that art at least. If you're a Rifleman fan it's a must-have, but of the four minis in the pack this ranked a distant fourth to me.

No-Dachi: Probably the least-changed of the minis, most of this feels like the original still- it's a little heftier at a glance, but other than the shape of the missile launchers and the added details to the blade it's not a lot of new ground covered here. Good mini, as the original No-Dachi was- if you don't own a No-Dachi, get this version, but if you already own one and don't need a second this is probably one to skip (amusingly, this is my third No-Dachi somehow)

Pack overall: 4.5/5
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Psycho

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #19 on: 30 March 2016, 14:22:31 »
With the No-Dachi, the devil is in the details. The original is very stiff and has pretty severe limitations on arm posing (the only point of articulation aside from the head). The changes are fairly subtle, and may be missed at first glance. A wider leg stance offers a more dynamic pose while getting rid of the almost-squat of the original. A separate torso means that torso twists are possible without heavy sawing. Changes to the angle of the elbows gets rid of the dance-move left arm waving off to the side, and making the shoulders have more of a ball mount offers a much greater degree of arm poses. I guess those things got hidden too well!  ;)

JadeHellbringer

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #20 on: 30 March 2016, 14:29:02 »
To be fair, I also hadn't built a No-Dachi since 2007-ish, so a lot of those details escaped me through the mists of time. (Also worth noting, my XTRO pack had the Victor and No-Dachi's legs reversed, something I didn't realize until they were both built and primed already- which made for a really great pose for the No-Dachi and a still-decent one for the Victor)
"There's a difference between the soldier and his fight,
But the warrior knows the true meaning of his life."
+Larry and his Flask, 'Blood Drunk'+

"You know, basically war is just, like, a bunch of people playing pranks on each other, but at the end they all die."
+Crow T. Robot+

Psycho

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #21 on: 31 March 2016, 10:48:36 »
Oh yeah, it's not every day you need to be assembling a faction-specific, sword-toting 'Mech. Just wanted to highlight what could be a deciding factor between sculpts that otherwise are pretty similar.

RoundTop

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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #22 on: 31 March 2016, 16:17:52 »
I've modded up a No-Dachi -2KO, which involved reposing arms, cutting off missile launchers, covering the torso SRM launcher, and completely redoing the left arm PPC mount..... and this mini for the 3X would have made my life sooo much easier. It is already in my IWM cart.
No-Dachi has a counter-argument. Nothing further? Ok.
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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #23 on: 03 April 2016, 06:18:11 »
New model highlander.

The new model highlander is beefier all around then the old mini, everything from the neck down is redesigned.  Crisper and better detail all around.  The Jump jets when to rectangular shape other then a round port.   The arms and legs are redesigned, and the torso is two piece now. The multi-part design greatly enhances possibility, but I will suggest you PIN EVERYTHING!!! On the up shot the casting , and fit for the legs and arms where very well engineered and cast, with very few fit issues.  The LRM 20, and SRM 6 definitely have crisper molding on the missile tubes.    The LRM 20 also has 20 tubes versus the old minis 5 missile noses.   Not sure if its a production issue or just my mini but when I tried to cut the tab flash on the front of the center torso a small chunk of the actual torso underneath was defective, it had a air pocket.  I rolled with it now my high lander is sporting battle damage.    all in all I'd give the mini a 3 out of 5.
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Re: BT Mini Reviews Thread
« Reply #24 on: 03 April 2016, 14:57:19 »
I'd give the new Highlander a 5/5 but thats just me (and I admit I was working with a master and not a production model so there might be some casting issues.)  I'll know in a few weeks when i get my production copy :)