Return of the Opinions/feedback on IWM sculpts

[Hellraiser]

Uraeus
A good-un! Capable of being posed, good connections, good details. Recommended for your Blessed Order or RotS needs! Feet are particularly well done, and I usually hate separate feet. 11 parts, unless like mine you're missing the vibroblade in the blister - 2 feet, 2 legs, waist, torso, 2-part right arm, left arm, bombast laser, and vibroblade.

Just found this thread, and glad I read this.
Its one of the few minis from that TRO that I want to add.  Need a ROTS lance :)

Multi-part legs? Not a fan.

It's things like the Lament - that really give you no options, have no dome or post on the feet to leg points, and excessively small connections from leg to torso? Or the infamous Reseen Thud "bag of random sprue offcuts"? Not so good. 

SO VERY AGREE.

I love metal but man, I'm just not that equipped to glue a bunch of tiny bits together.

[Hellraiser]

This is mine. (Wow, does that paint look terrible close-up. In my defense, this was painted almost twenty years ago.)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/327pPwgVQc7PoxLd8

The bay doors are fiddly, but not bad if you have good glue. It doesn't get handed out to random people at demo games, though. My only issue with the sculpt is that some of the small parts cast separately were done so not for poseability but, rather, because that was the only way to get the molds to work. IWM has learned a lot since these, and now parts are often sliced in such a way that they can actually go together in a variety of orientations.

What faction scheme is that?

[Hellraiser]

* Joel47 stares daggers at Marauder 5L...

I never got the Mad, & after hearing about it from you I never bothered w/ any of my Re-Seen.
I think 3 Locusts/Locust-IICs, along with a Griffin-IIC & ShadowHawk-IIC & all still blistered & won't see that kind of effort till I'm retired.

I'm really more 1 piece TRO-3025 kind of builder, LOL.

[worktroll]

5 pieces. Feet legs hip in moving pose, torso, head, two arms also bent. Optional missile or weapon bits. Th Reseen Archer is just about perfect bar the bay doors.

[Joel47]

What faction scheme is that?

In the original MechWarrior RPG (1st ed), the color plates section shows both a Kurita Battlemaster and a Steiner Crusader in versions of this scheme. No particular unit is given; the description says it's designed to reflect the sky on the upper half while the bottom half blends into the terrain. The art looked cool and the concept (in typical FASA fashion) sounded almost plausible, so I whipped up a couple.
If I ever do more I'll experiment first with some of the super-reflective metallics.

[Hellraiser]

In the original MechWarrior RPG (1st ed), the color plates section shows both a Kurita Battlemaster and a Steiner Crusader in versions of this scheme. No particular unit is given; the description says it's designed to reflect the sky on the upper half while the bottom half blends into the terrain. The art looked cool and the concept (in typical FASA fashion) sounded almost plausible, so I whipped up a couple.
If I ever do more I'll experiment first with some of the super-reflective metallics.

Ah yes, I see it now. 
It was the Red on the missiles that was throwing me off.
I did a pair of LAMs up in something similar.

[Joel47]

It was the Red on the missiles that was throwing me off.

I figured once it's firing missiles all thoughts of camo go away, so at that point we want more of the "frilled lizard" effect.

[willydstyle]

I honestly don't get the hate. This is one of the better minis released in the era, and is cooler looking than the large majority of old school IWM/Ral Partha minis.

[GRUD]

Nice paint job! 


I liked it when it was new, but the more I've seen the Reseen MAD the last few years, the more I DISlike it now.    Give me the Original "Unseen", or the new Classic ANY day. 

[Hellraiser]

I honestly don't get the hate. This is one of the better minis released in the era, and is cooler looking than the large majority of old school IWM/Ral Partha minis.

I think its clear the hate comes from building it as noted above.
Not Everyone likes a 14 piece tiny bits mini build, lol

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Especially given that in spite of the number of pieces it was very limited in its pose options.

[Luciora]

I didn't care much for the Phoenix designs, even though I understood why they were used.  I found them very unlike the spirit of the mechs they were meant to represent, and thought , especially the heads to skew more to overly simplistic 80s robot designs than something that would make sense for  walking tank.   The Marauder to me was just too gangly and stretched out, in the wrong ways. 

[Hellraiser]

Sadly the Phoenix Designs HAD to be very different looking while not being another mech entirely.

This was before they got that court ruling on "redrawn" v/s "copied" artwork or however it went.

Something like me looking at a picture & then drawing/sketching it is OK now, but just photocopying a picture is NOT.

Inspired by is OK basically is how I recall reading it.

Which now that I think about it, means basically the entirety of Pinterest is "legal" and could be used by someone as long as you don't try to call it the same name.

[worktroll]

No problems with the look of most of the Phoenix 'Mechs; it was the tiny contact points, spindly limbs, and (in the case of the Thud) unnecessary complexity in the legs which couldn't be freely posed without saw work. I love the Reseen Archer and Battlemaster in particular.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

No problems with the look of most of the Phoenix 'Mechs; it was the tiny contact points, spindly limbs, and (in the case of the Thud) unnecessary complexity in the legs which couldn't be freely posed without saw work.

Yeah, that was a serious flaw, especially since the Phoenix mechs were things that a new player would normally want to have in their collection due to being so ubiquitous.

[worktroll]

Compare them to the first resculpts of the Clan Omnis, that got it right IMHO - pretty uniformly bulked up, with good sized contact patches, and far less fiddly.

[Luciora]

The clan resculpts were awesome.  I'll still use parts for kitbashes.

[worktroll]

Starting a new batch!

First, just adding the love for the Primitive Emperor. It's everything the old metal one wasn't - great looking, easy to assemble, posable, and did I mention how good it looks? Until I have a chance to see the new plastic version, this is my go-to Emperor. The sculptor gets full marks on this one! 5 pieces - hips & leg one piece, other leg one piece (which means you can easily do standing or running pose, with no work); 2 arms, at right angles, but easily bent with a suitable pair of smooth pliers; torso, with all the fiddly bits moulded in. 10/10

Second, the Marsden - I don't know how old this sculpt is, but it does look a little like the mould's getting old. Great representation, two parts (hull and turret, with all weapons). Still, doing this for a Periphery power, looking a little old & shabby is ok. 7/10

And last for the moment, JES I. This is an odd unit, which is why I got some. It's a great sculpt! Size is right (the DA version was grossly oversized), very sharp details, looks great. A bit fiddly - hull, three SRM-6 packs, two paired SRM-4 packs, and laser turret, which is inevitable; just not the easiest mini to assemble on a cold wet day with cold hands. 9/10

[willydstyle]

The clan resculpts were awesome.  I'll still use parts for kitbashes.

As much as I like the new CGL sculpts, the IWM resculpt timber wolf and mad dog are my favorite sculpts for those mechs.

[Spirit Cat Refugee]

I've been picking up IWM sculpts here and there to fill in gaps the plastic doesn't have. I haven't found a single sculpt was difficult to put together yet. I've liked them all.

Atlas III. Wooh boy, lot of parts, but fairly obvious how to build them. Heavy arms were a pain to get to stay, but a day of drying while the Atlas laid on that side did the trick.

Hellstar - Wish it was a little bulkier, it's a tall lean Assault.

Cave Lion - Same thing, wish it had a little more arm bulk.

Arbalest Excellent pose and size.

Ha Otoko, Very cool looking Standard Clan Mech.

Crimson Hawk I just wish there was a Standard variant, as the only available one seems to be the 4. I just want normal hands.

Spider Looks very cool, but maybe a bit too big?

Fireball Fast 'Mech goes BRRRRR, it's a great pose.

JES I Missile Carrier A LOT of little parts, but looks GREAT.

Epona Hover Tank, I did not realize the little round spikey bits were bases, so I made my own bloated ones, ugh, wish I knew. But they look cool.

Targe This is the only one I wasn't happy with. It's HUGE, bigger than most IWM Assault 'Mechs. It reminds me of the old Dark Age sculpt size issues.

Daimyo I could not get the legs to fit perfect with the torso, maybe this was just user error.

Salamander BA Wish the pose was a little more dynamic, but great size.

Kopis Battle Armor Looks cool, good size.

Grenadier Battle Armor Maybe a little too big, but lots of detail.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Targe is a victim of IWM's "Scale?  What's That?" phase.

[Sartris]

My impression of the Targe is that they took the MWDA sculpt and didn’t scale it

[worktroll]

Cyrano - this is a lovely VTOL. Very clean, futuristic looking. Body, rotor, chin turret. The base is great - a metal hex base with a solid metal post, which fits really well into both the base and the body of the Cyrano. Highly recommended!

[Luciora]

I love the Cyrano so much.  When I first read about it in 2750, it really didn't catch my interest.  When the mininwas finally released, I bought several. 

[Alex Keller]

Some of my more recent IWM minis:

Sprint VTOL - Great detail for the size.  The front has a very thin spar (almost like a lance) coming out that was not uniform in size with the second Sprint I assembled, and needed to be replaced with a plastic component, but otherwise very satisfied with this mini.

Avatar Resculpt - Miniature is a bit thin/narrow for a 70t compared to the CGL plastics but otherwise holds up.  Pairs very well with IWM's line of I.S. missile launchers to make a "B" configuration.

Jade Phoenix A - Great sculpt, has the scale and size to match other 85 ton miniatures.  Details is mostly crisp.  Easy to assemble.

[Guardian11]

Just got done putting together the new Phoenix Hawk, Savage Wolf, and Regent A that IWM just released to stores. They all were quite easy to put together, and I don't foresee them falling apart easily, unlike some other metal miniatures.

The Regent A really is an Awesomemann, having put it together it really does resemble an Awesome-8Q. Other than filing off a bit of flash there was no need for any prep work before assembling the mini, and all the parts went together well with good posts and holes. The only annoying part was removing the legs from the sprue, which required a bit of work from some metal clippers to get them to come loose.

The Phoenix Hawk 3K was highly anticipated, and didn't disappoint. The first thing I have to praise is the arrow on top of the hip piece so you know which side is the front, this is not always apparent on Battletech minis, and often I will have to look up a picture of the Mech and compare details to figure out which way it goes. This arrow helped avoid that or possibly guessing wrong. This is definitely a feature I hope IWM continues in future minis. The mini went together quickly and easily, and there was very little flash to clean. The only fiddly bits were getting the legs mated to the hips, and putting on the pauldrons, the arms have a very nice ball and socket join which makes it very easy to attach them to the torso, and the pauldrons help to make the arms even more securely attached.

The Savage Wolf resculpt is a huge improvement over the original in terms of assembly. The only thing that could be criticized about this sculpt over the previous sculpt is that this one has more parts to put together with 12 parts compared to the originals 5, however even with it having more parts all the other improvements to the sculpt make it easier and quicker to assemble those 12 parts than it takes to assemble the 5 parts of the original Savage Wolf. Like the Phoenix Hawk the Savage Wolf has an arrow on top of the hip to indicate which way is the front, which is great. All the parts have great post and hole or ball and socket joints that make the pieces fit securely and keep them from coming apart, which was the biggest issue with the previous sculpt. Also, the additional parts means that this sculpt has much greater poseability.
Also, I greatly appreciate that it comes with the option to make the Prime or the A variant. With the way that the variants are handled, it would be very easy to create parts for the B and C variants in the future, in fact the most difficult would be deciding what to do about the post on the sculpts right side and the B's lack of a missile pod to go there, however it could be easily handled if the right HAG arm is sculpted to be bulkier in a way so as to cover that post considering that gun takes up both right arm and right torso critical slots. The C would just be new missile pods and new arm gun pods.

[Luciora]

I second the difficulty in removing the Regent feet from the sprue. 

Personal nitpick, kind of wish the weapon ports on the Regent A were a bit bigger but otherwise no other other issues from me.

I like that the Phoenix Hawks arms actually have the large lasers customized for the standard -1 and the-3K.  Also like the additional venting on the legs that you don't have on the plastic releases.  Definitely one of my new favorites. 

[Prometheum5]

Would love to see a comparison of the plastic, "Premium", and metal Phawk built next to each other if anyone could.

[Luciora]

I'm working on that as part of the generational pictures.

Would love to see a comparison of the plastic, "Premium", and metal Phawk built next to each other if anyone could.

[Sartris]

really like the new phoenix hawk. very clean assembly