Return of the Opinions/feedback on IWM sculpts

[worktroll]

Short form - I again spent the last couple of weeks assembling a bunch of IWM minis, most of which are quite recent - last couple of years, or so. In this case it's mainly going to Hastati Sentinels, so it was an excuse to buy these newer minis. Hit some good things & some bad things as I went, thought

a) might be interesting for the sculptors, and IWM folks, who visit here to see some feedback, and
b) opportunity for others to chip in with their experience/opinion.

Transparency - while I've been building Ral Partha, then IWM, minis for decades, I consider myself 'regular' skill, not veteran or elite. I'm using superglue gel with moisture assist, comfortable with using blu-tak to support drying joints. I will pin if I feel I have to, prefer not. YMMV.

Also, my thanks to the good people of IWM, and all the sculptors and artists, that have worked to make it possible to buy BattleTech minis despite our less-than-stellar market size. Without you all, we'd not have anything to complain about ...  O:-) Seriously, every interaction I've had with IWM has been more than I expected. They're good people.

That said ... I felt it worth sharing my thoughts.

Lament
Oh boy, this one is the turkey of the bunch. It's accurate to the artwork, which is probably why it's a pain. Bad points: The feet are separate from the totally unposable legs. And there's just a flat connection - no post or dome. The arms are virtually unposable, and the little dome bump on the arms is inadequate. Details are good and clean, but you're forced into the pose thanks to those legs.
8 parts - 2 feet, 2 legs, waist, torso, 2 arms.

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.

Vulture Mk III
Still under assembly. Legs will have to be pinned to tiny waist, a downside. Feet went on really well, and good poseability options. Massive torso, with massive side torso missile banks - waiting to see it in place. Not entirely sure why the side torsos had to be separate, because they and the CT could have been done as a single piece. Depending on how disproportionate the torsos look on the legs, could be good. 2 feet, 2 legs, waist, 3 torso pieces, chin gun, 2 arms.

Phoenix Hawk IIC 8
Liking this one, even if it's a bit big. Good contact points; the backpacks had me confused at first, but they went on easily. Leg & torso, leg (for running or walking pose), torso, 2 arms, 4 jetpacks

Ryoken II
Weird mini, but goes together well. May be a little small, but nice details. Strangest legs since the Blood Kite! I modded for the UAC-10 version, so didn't have to worry about fiddly autocannon barrels. 2 legs, waist, torso, 2 arms, 2 LRM launchers, 4 squitty gunbarrels.

Triskelon
Not a lot of posability options, but didn't matter. The 3 legs go on well, done one at a time; they and the arms have great contact points. 3 legs, one body, 2 arms, and you're in tripedal motion! Could have used a little more detail, but still happy with it.

Jade Hawk
I love this! Very easy to assemble, despite looking potentially fussy. One piece feet/legs/torso, body, backpack, 2 arms, 2 wings. Went together like a dream. Great details, too, and looking forward to painting it! The only quibble is that the arms aren't greatly poseable, due to the backpack & wings; it would be a lot of work to replicate the arms-wide stance of the TRO art.

[MarauderCH IIC]

I bought two Hierofalcons when they came out and those were fabulous to put together. I am not a fan of multi piece metal minis because sometimes they are just terrible to put together. My Lament might not be finished. The Jade Hawk was good to put together. The Hierofalcon went together good. All the joints fit together good and stayed together as it was assembled!

[worktroll]

Well, I completed the Vulture III, and I'm a fan. Now I had to pin the legs - drilled right through the tiny waist and slid a single wire down the middle. But the body looks great on top, and it's surprising how much dynamism I got in the pose, even with those stubby little arms. Very nice end product!

Thor II (aka Grand Summoner
I love this mini! Okay, it's separate feet & legs, but the ankle cylinder joints are well sized and allow for dynamic posing. The waist connects to the legs with a flat post arrangement, so there's no problem with wonky hip alignment. There are a ton of spare parts in the pack, but the A model is easy to make. Good mini, folks! 2 feet, 2 legs, waist, torso, 2 upper arms, 2 weapon lower arms, missile launcher, and bits!

Loki II (aka Hel)
Another great mini! Not sure why they have different waist pieces, but feet & legs the same as Thor II. Again, upper & lower arms & missile pack separate from torso. Went together very easily, and I have a nice running pose out of it.

[Stinger]

Loki II (aka Hel)
Another great mini! Not sure why they have different waist pieces, but feet & legs the same as Thor II. Again, upper & lower arms & missile pack separate from torso. Went together very easily, and I have a nice running pose out of it.

So the Waist difference actually comes from MWDA, the waists were different there as well!  There are also subtle differences in the legs (pistons on the knees) and feet (very slight).

And thank you!

[God and Davion]

Stinger, you did a good job with the Loki II. It is a great sculpt and I hope to show soon ^TM what it can be done with it and a bit of imagination.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I'm hoping that the Vulture Mk III has separate side torsos is for the possibility of some of the variants (specifically the D) getting released in the future.

[God and Davion]

They are separated pieces

[Kerfuffin(925)]

The Phoenix Hawk IIC, you mean 7 rather than 8?
Cause I’ve been looking at the 7

[Stinger]

I'm hoping that the Vulture Mk III has separate side torsos is for the possibility of some of the variants (specifically the D) getting released in the future.

One of the things that we try to do with IWM sculpts is make them more mod-able.  The Torsos were made separate for the exact reason of variants, whether they be modded or official.

You'll notice on many of the recent sculpts you could have easily made the weapons just part of the arm, but we keep them separate for modding purposes.

[CranstonSnord]

I appreciate it  :thumbsup:

[worktroll]

Weapons on arms - right with you there!  :thumbsup:

Multi-part legs? Not a fan. Although I do appreciate how you made the feet/legs/torso connections on the Hel, and the Grand Summoner. Really good.

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.

Some more comments.

Shrike
Now this is a good looking mini. One piece base/feet/legs/waist, then torso, 2 wings, 3 arms - two left arms for the AC or PPC versions, always love spare parts! Goes together well; the wing contacts look smallish, but no problems gluing them in place.

Onager
Big one, here! A solid mini, almost. One piece base/right leg/waist, torso, backpack, wings, two arms, and a finger! The finger isn't a problem, and gives a good claw-hand. Apart from the waist connection to the left leg, easy to assemble. Only problem is the left leg isn't in the best pose for anything except extreme running/jump landing. This is my second Onager, the first one I die spend time to repose the leg to a more ground-based movement mode. Just that poor waist connection - required pinning, stopping it from being really good.

Flamberge
Nice mini when assembled. 2 legs, waist, body, backack, wing, 2 additional fins, arms. Assembled without need for pinning. My only quibble here is that this mini may have suffered from "the squeeze" during mastering - the legs seem a little short, and the missile packs seem flat for the size. But it looks good and didn't give problems.

Yes, you may notice a thematic trend here ;)

Side comment - looking at the Vulture III, yes, it could be allowing for future variant parts. But they'd have to be long - the separate side torso pieces run the full length of the mini, which is much longer than the old Mad Dog. Arm attachment points are on the shelves off the centre torso, so that'll work well.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

One of the things that we try to do with IWM sculpts is make them more mod-able.  The Torsos were made separate for the exact reason of variants, whether they be modded or official.

You'll notice on many of the recent sculpts you could have easily made the weapons just part of the arm, but we keep them separate for modding purposes.

:thumbsup:

[worktroll]

Pendragon 3R
These are the legs I've been waiting for! Now I no longer need to use MW:DA Raider torsos for Templars! IWM, drop the boring, static, undersized Templar legs & use these!

They're two part - foot & lower leg, and upper leg. Really solid cylinder connection, with sideguards. Heck, I'd even have allowed separate feet, also with cylinder connections like the Hel/Grand Summoner. Works so well.

And as a Pendragon works well. Good mini!

[Cache]

Pendragon 3R

I'm coming up empty on searches, have a link to one?

Never mind, must have been a glitch.

https://ironwindmetals.com/index.php/product-listing/product/battletech-bt-354/category_pathway-2

[abou]

Pendragon 3R. There is also the 1R.

https://ironwindmetals.com/index.php/product-listing/product/battletech-bt-354/category_pathway-2

[Daritus1988]

20-5183 Locust
20-5182 Catapukt

Love both of them and like the concept of putting multiple Variants into the Blister.

I hope we can expect more of this nice Classic Mechs in the following Years. My Favorites would be:

Warhammer WHM-6R
Marauder MAD-3R

It would be also nice when the Blister Paperback could get an Rework with the new BT-Logo.

[Stormlion1]

Only two mechs need a partial or full resculpt in my opinion. The Vanquisher is just too damn wide! And the Devastator needs new legs. It needs a non-running pose. I'd even fan fund better legs for it at this point!

[Colt Ward]

I am not a fan of multi piece metal minis because sometimes they are just terrible to put together.

I hold the same position when it comes to the TRO Phoenix and 3067 minis- the Celestials might have been that method's last hurrah really.  But the ones in the last 5 years, mostly around TRO3145 and later have been fine as multi-part.  After experiencing a MAD IIC 3, Scylla, Solitaire (why I am sad it got cut from KS), and Phoenix Marauder . . . I am not buying any of the older minis that have more than 5 parts- unless we are talking about something like the Starslayer where you glue weapon barrels.

But 3145 & the Primitive TROs were designed using CAD IIRC, and it shows since the designs have the pieces fitting together so much better- and cleaner.  I forget how many pieces the Juliano had, but it was easy to put together before I had my gripper set up even.

[Sartris]

the goliath C is a B I G B O Y. heaviest chunk of metal in a while. on the bright side it looks like it will fix on a single hex

[Luciora]

Just got the Sojourner, Goliath C and Archer 9W along with the Typhoon. 

I bought 3 of the Archers because I already had some new kitbashes planned, but now I am considering getting a few more, I am so impressed by it.  Haven't had time yet to assemble the others as I started making my 1 vanilla 9W, then set on kitbashing the 2S.    I really want to make a 5S and the 9CS using it as the base.

[worktroll]

How did you find the Soujourner? It has the looks of most of the older Omnis I'm not fond of ...

[Sartris]

Good sculpt. It’s 8 pieces - torso, x2 arms, waist, x2 legs, x2 feet. The ankle joints are rounded so you can position the feet how you like and give it a variety of moving poses. Glued together quickly

[Alex Keller]

Just got the Sojourner, Goliath C and Archer 9W along with the Typhoon. 

I bought 3 of the Archers because I already had some new kitbashes planned, but now I am considering getting a few more, I am so impressed by it.  Haven't had time yet to assemble the others as I started making my 1 vanilla 9W, then set on kitbashing the 2S.    I really want to make a 5S and the 9CS using it as the base.

Cool, how does the Typhoon scale with the older ASF sculpts like the Chippewa and Riever?  Is it small like them or larger like newer sculpts such as the Eagle, Vulcan, Thunderbird?

[Luciora]

I'll probably assemble it and have comparison pictures this weekend.  Been working on another project to semi-magnetize a 1/12 Mospeada kit that transforms. 

Cool, how does the Typhoon scale with the older ASF sculpts like the Chippewa and Riever?  Is it small like them or larger like newer sculpts such as the Eagle, Vulcan, Thunderbird?

[Luciora]

So....it is small.  Does not feel like a 90 ton craft at all.  Opted to make the 3A version, but it feels very fragile and the weapons are extremely tiny and prone to getting lost if you are not careful.

Cool, how does the Typhoon scale with the older ASF sculpts like the Chippewa and Riever?  Is it small like them or larger like newer sculpts such as the Eagle, Vulcan, Thunderbird?

[Alex Keller]

So....it is small.  Does not feel like a 90 ton craft at all.  Opted to make the 3A version, but it feels very fragile and the weapons are extremely tiny and prone to getting lost if you are not careful.

Thank you!!

[worktroll]

Apropos of nothing, I've just discovered there are two Canis sculpts. One has the airfoil on top as a separate piece; the newer one I got from IWM earlier in the year has a solid loaf on top. I shall have to paint the underpart darker.

[Luciora]

One more thing on the Typhoon.  The twin tail is shaped like a [, and very prone to being deformed when removed from the sprue.  It is also difficult to attach to the body because of the tiny size and possible bending of the center vane.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Apropos of nothing, I've just discovered there are two Canis sculpts. One has the airfoil on top as a separate piece; the newer one I got from IWM earlier in the year has a solid loaf on top. I shall have to paint the underpart darker.

The Canis has an airfoil?

[Blackhorse 6]

The Canis has an airfoil?

I’m thinking he meant Savage Coyote… at least I presume that… well… he is getting older…  8)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Savage Coyote has an airfoil?

[Jal Phoenix]

Apropos of nothing, I've just discovered there are two Canis Savage Coyote sculpts. One has the airfoil on top as a separate piece; the newer one I got from IWM earlier in the year has a solid loaf on top. I shall have to paint the underpart darker.

This has been known for quite some time. There are a few minis with sculpt variants like this, such as the Defiance, which is available with either a single piece torso or a split three piece torso. Examples of both Savage Coyote variants are on CSO.

https://camospecs.com/?s=savage+coyote

[Alex Keller]

The only Savage Coyote sculpt on sale at IWM is AR20-960, which has a solid top (no "airfoil").  If I remember correctly, the CamoSpecs artist noted that he had to drill through the base to create the "airfoil" look. 

Please let me know the variant torso part number if I'm wrong...

[Cache]

The only Savage Coyote sculpt on sale at IWM is AR20-960, which has a solid top (no "airfoil").  If I remember correctly, the CamoSpecs artist noted that he had to drill through the base to create the "airfoil" look. 

Please let me know the variant torso part number if I'm wrong...

Changes like that usually were not given a separate number. Ral Partha or IWM just replaced the original part or sculpt without fanfare. The original "tall" Scarabus is another example. They shortened the sculpt and added a "backpack" for detail, but it's the same stock number.

[Jal Phoenix]

The only Savage Coyote sculpt on sale at IWM is AR20-960, which has a solid top (no "airfoil").  If I remember correctly, the CamoSpecs artist noted that he had to drill through the base to create the "airfoil" look. 

Please let me know the variant torso part number if I'm wrong...

A sculpt variant is not a separate saleable unit. Stuff like that is done to correct some kind of problem with the original. My guess would be that the variant with the spoiler came first, because that piece is such a pain in the ass to keep straight, does not connect well, and is easily mistaken for a piece of sprue.

A good example is the Goliath 2H, the one with all the rocket launchers. The sculptor only looked at the art, not the stats, and created a mini with four boxy rocket launchers, because that's all you could see in the art. However, the stats showed six. Clearly, the art was at an angle where the other two were out of sight on the far side of the 'Mech. IWM discontinued the four launcher model, and corrected the mini to have the proper six launchers. It did not get a second stock number, because it replaced the first version. This is what happened with the Savage Coyote.

[worktroll]

Well, today I learned the Canis is called the Savage Coyote ...  :wheelchair: Got a couple of builds going, and obviously had a senior's moment :)

[speck]

I have talked to Mike about this and he said some of the changes (excluding the Goliath issue) happened when the mold was worn out. Odd are the savage coyote mold ripped at the airfoil or is was a pain to cast (to many mis casts) so it was filled and new mold done.

[Stinger]

Well, today I learned the Canis is called the Savage Coyote ...  :wheelchair: Got a couple of builds going, and obviously had a senior's moment :)

Well, the Canis is there, it is just a different mech...

[abou]

I just put together my Ostwar. I've been really excited about painting this mini because I think it looks good and has a neat place in the universe history.

Pros:
1. the miniature closely adheres to the artwork AND includes three varieties of missile launchers
2. the many parts can initially be a turnoff, but allows for multiple poses that only require pinning rather than cutting (which I am fine with, but others may not be)
3. the independent feet allows for more options when basing, which I think is very cool
4. mold lines were minimal and fairly easy to clean up, except for one

Cons:
1. the need to pin every joint can be a negative if you are not prepared for it; however, you sacrifice something for posability
2. the one mold line that was a concern was the socket in the torso for the waste -- I needed a 5/32" bit to drill that out

Finally, the big concern:
3. Something that I have noticed is that many of the newer miniatures have fairly shallow details. I don't know what the cause of this is, but I wonder if it has to do with the 3D sculpting tools and printing for the master. I compare the Ostwar and Highlander to older, hand-sculpted miniatures and there seems to be a clear difference. Panel lines seem to almost disappear and I am concerned that once I primer and paint, these lines will disappear. I'm not sure if this is something lost with the mold-making process or if this is from the master itself, but I did want to point it out.

[StCptMara]

Finally, the big concern:
3. Something that I have noticed is that many of the newer miniatures have fairly shallow details. I don't know what the cause of this is, but I wonder if it has to do with the 3D sculpting tools and printing for the master. I compare the Ostwar and Highlander to older, hand-sculpted miniatures and there seems to be a clear difference. Panel lines seem to almost disappear and I am concerned that once I primer and paint, these lines will disappear. I'm not sure if this is something lost with the mold-making process or if this is from the master itself, but I did want to point it out.

I have been using Army Painter brush on primer almost exclusively, and find it goes really thin, but has good teeth. Maybe that would be a solution? (I live in Florida, where spray primer sucks: either it is too humid, or, since we only get non humid weather when we get the NW Florida Winter, too cold, for spray primers to be reliable)

[Crackerb0x]

It doesn't matter which medium the model was sculpted in, light details are light details. Most of the models made in the last 6 or 7 years that have light detailing, I believe, were hand sculpted, such as the Dragon II and Templar III that I can name off the top of my head and, from the look of the torso missile launcher and arm panel lines, so is the Ostwar.

[Sartris]

the zibler turret  :(

this required the full breadth of my experience, patience, and modest skill with tiny bits to not toss the teeny bits and go with the HPPC config

NOT recommended if you have problems with tiny pieces that have to be glued into very small holes

[Sartris]

I come in praise of the most recent pre-KS highlander sculpts. What a fantastic mini. They're very parts-heavy - the 738 was 19! More than the Atlas III! But if you are ok with that, they're hugely customizable and posable (as long as you clip that pole in the back of the knee). I picked up a second one because each of the kits allow you to build the SL era HGN-732 as well.



fantastic.

[Luciora]

I love this version of the Highlander.  So posable and can even do a very good superhero landing pose!

I come in praise of the most recent pre-KS highlander sculpts. What a fantastic mini. They're very parts-heavy - the 738 was 19! More than the Atlas III! But if you are ok with that, they're hugely customizable and posable (as long as you clip that pole in the back of the knee). I picked up a second one because each of the kits allow you to build the SL era HGN-732 as well.



fantastic.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Yeah, it's a fantastic mini.

[Kibutsu]

The re-sculpted Highlander may be my favorite IMW sculpt. I don't mind a lot of parts, especially when the fit is as good as this one.

The shallow details have been an issue since the switch from lead to pewter in my opinion. I remember when the 3055 era minis were coming out that the differences were noticeable when compared to most of the older minis. No idea if the change in materials has anything to do with it, or if it's just a sculpting/sculptor thing or what, but I do find that I frequently need to either re-scribe some panel lines or paint them in to make them stand out, but that's par for the course. I do wish they would key the ball and socket joints to eliminate the need for so much pinning. I seem to remember a couple of years ago that they were going to start doing this, but to be honest I have not really gotten into the post Jihad era stuff yet so I don't know if this is common practice or not.

[Stinger]

The re-sculpted Highlander may be my favorite IMW sculpt. I don't mind a lot of parts, especially when the fit is as good as this one.

The shallow details have been an issue since the switch from lead to pewter in my opinion. I remember when the 3055 era minis were coming out that the differences were noticeable when compared to most of the older minis. No idea if the change in materials has anything to do with it, or if it's just a sculpting/sculptor thing or what, but I do find that I frequently need to either re-scribe some panel lines or paint them in to make them stand out, but that's par for the course. I do wish they would key the ball and socket joints to eliminate the need for so much pinning. I seem to remember a couple of years ago that they were going to start doing this, but to be honest I have not really gotten into the post Jihad era stuff yet so I don't know if this is common practice or not.

Shallow Details come and go and depend greatly on sculptor, and even from sculpt to sculpt. 

If you were to buy a Thor II (my first mini, so I like to rag on it), you'll see some details on the sides of the head and on the arms that is just... not really there.  You can kinda see it on the cast, but as soon as you prime the mini it just disappears.  That was because I, as the sculptor, didn't make the details deep or big enough. 

There are some processes and standards in place to make sure that this doesn't happen.  The latest thing has been consumer grade 3D prints for verification, but before that, it was quite hard to determine if detail was deep enough until the cast was... cast.

IWM is improving processes every release.  That I can personally attest to.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Just put together one of the new Atlas II minis.  Very good, love how it looks and the way that everything fits together.

Working on a Viking IIC.  Good, but it's got a serious design flaw: the way that the legs are attached to the leg sprue makes it way too easy to accidentally rip off one of its toes when trying to remove the legs.  Be very cautious when removing them.

[Sartris]

Got a pair of the new BattleMasters, regent, and stormwolf

some slight shrinkage on the battlemaster compared to the plastic. nothing noticeable unless you put them side by side and look closely. One gripe - the rear-mounted lasers (1G) or plates to cover those sockets (1Gb) are VERY small. i am a veteran of getting tiny pieces in the right spots but i could see how this would be a turnoff for many.

regent was seven pieces (torso, head, hips, arms x2, legs x2). after cleanup, assembly took less than five minutes

stormwolf isn't together yet but doesn't look too bad.

[Luciora]

I agree on the tiny bits being a risk for assembly. May be difficult to remove and to refine to place correctly.

You can also make the 1D using the supplied parts too, which is a nice bonus.

[Alex Keller]

I too have noticed that the metal versions of the kickstarter mechs are smaller than their plastic bretheren.  Do we know why this is? 

[Luciora]

Serves me right for not checking sooner, but the Battlemaster 1D does keep the MGs.  Serves me right for not checking sooner, so you actually do have 3 possible variants in the package.  Might almost be worth magnetizing the SRM launcher to have both the 1G and 1D now.

[Scotty]

I too have noticed that the metal versions of the kickstarter mechs are smaller than their plastic bretheren.  Do we know why this is?

The process of creating a mold for metal casting includes some inherent shrinkage.  It is effectively the cost of doing business in metal.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Putting a Battlemaster together right now.  I really don't like the legs on this mini.

[Sartris]

you have to clip the U bit at the top to get better range of motion

[Kibutsu]

I picked up a new metal Black Knight Clanbuster from the IWM booth at Gen Con. It is a thing of beauty.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

you have to clip the U bit at the top to get better range of motion

Which leg is supposed to go on which side?  Is that little square indentation supposed to be on the outside or the inside?

[Sartris]

flat hexagon on the outside per the art

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Thanks.

Also put a Regent Prime together.  The connection between the feet and the sprue they came on was absurd.  I actually did some minor damage to one of the feet trying to remove them: took metal cutters to finally accomplish it.

[sadlerbw]

I went through some of my assembly backlog recently, and the War Crow A and Prey Seeker were super easy to assemble. They looked great when completed as well. I also did another Ursus II, and ran into the same problem with that sculpt that I had the first time I did one: I have a tough time getting the right arm into a position where it doesn't interfere with the 'flap' attached to the back of the mech. The left arm is fine, it's just the right that causes trouble, and I usually end up cutting/filing a significant amount of metal off before I get them to both line up nicely.

I also put together a Leviathan I picked up at either Origins or GenCon at least a year ago. It didn't feel like it was up to the usual IWM standards. The attachment points for the engine nozzles were vague and not aligned all that well with each other. I got them all on, but getting them oriented so at least one of the four didn't look wonky wasn't happening. The fact that the engine nozzles are oval instead of round made it even harder to get them all to line up and look of-a-piece. The arrays of tubes that mount towards the front of the ship were OK, but again the mounting point for them was very vague on the main body of the ship and it took some adjustment to get them both to mirrior each other in position and angle. The detail on the main body was a little fuzzy in general, but that is as much the fault of the source art as anything IWM did. Lastly, there was no way in heck the included post was going to hold the mini up with just superglue or simple pining. The ship is too heavy and the attachment points are too small. I ended up throwing the included post away, drilling a hole through the included base, drilling a hole about 1/4" deep into the belly of the mini its self, and using a ground down roofing nail going through the base and up into the mini to support it. The Leviathan could use a re-think on the attachment points on the body, and the way it mounts to the included base.

[Sartris]

put the stormwolf together. separate feet and legs was a throwback to the DA stuff, but at least the legs weren't multipart themselves. biggest issue was the TINY AMS. i dropped it and took 15 minutes searching the floor with my phone flashlight to recover it (no parts left behind in this workshop). definitely recommend placing it with a tweezers

11 parts - x2 feet, x2 legs, hip, torso, RAC, laser, x2 arms, AMS

[jwt708]

Today I assembled the Regent and Orca.

Regent was a breeze. I did pin everything but I'm still suffering from not pinning the DA Black Knight. Zero issues with the Regent, great model.

Orca is a beast! I pinned everything on the Orca and had some issues with the side torsos sticking to the center torso and ended up pinning the arm through side torso into center torso. Sadly the mould line ran right down the center and required quite a bit of filing to smooth it out. On the reverse of the center torso there is a casting void that will need to be filled with green stuff before I prime. All that said I really love this model.

[Prometheum5]

Putting a Battlemaster together right now.  I really don't like the legs on this mini.

Just putting together my first new Battlemaster now and want to second this. The design of the hips is terrible. Why go with this bizarre, sloppy joint design?

[worktroll]

Just assembled an Osteon, two Septecemias, and a Cephalus.

Firstly, kudos to the legs on these guys! They come as one piece base/foot/left leg (IIRC)/hip, and one loose leg/foot. Really easy to get a range of motion options, and great contact points! The range of extra parts for the torso mounted weapons is also great, albeit fit sometimes needed trimming the plates.

Downsides? The arm connection points to shoulders are tiny. Had to pin the Osteon's arms, will see how the Septs last. And the Osteon's foot covers? No actual connection point, you just lay them down on some glue on the foot, and hope.

But overall great minis, not for beginners.

[Colt Ward]

So Savage Wolf shoulders?

[Sartris]

Not nearly that bad

[Alex Keller]

I've recently assembled and painted some IWM sculpts.  Here are my impressions:

Prime Mover This big boy is easy to assemble (main fusalage, 6x weels, turret), looks proportionate to all scales, minimal mold lines/cracks.  Happy with this one.

Wheeled Scout BT-466  Really impressed by the level of detail on these.  Assembly was minimal (fusalage and turret).  Scale was appropriate.  No cracks in metal.

Cyrano VTOL This mini is perhaps the best VTOL in IWM's catalogue at the moment.  Parts included main fusalage, rotor, and turret/laser.  Details were crisp and symetrical.  No cracking/warping.  Size was appropriately scaled. 

Black Knight BTL-9KNT 20-5207  Definitely meant to be a showcase miniature for your ComStar forces!! This mini is slightly smaller than CGL plastic mini, however not as notable as others like the Battlemaster, Griffin, Wolverine, Stormcrow etc.  So great news on that.  Mini assembly was not difficult, but the mini does not offer much posability options other than choice of running or standing using leg selection and positioning of head.  I was able to cut and drill magets into the torso and waist to allow for torso twisting with no rubbing, so that was a major positive.  The parts included head, torso, waist, 3x legs, 2x arms, sword.   Unfortunately, the head has a laser on it and the BL-9-KNT is not supposed to have a head mounted laser.  But it was not difficult to swap with a plastic head from the CGL BL-6-KNT and cut the laser off and re-sculpt. 

[Kibutsu]

I just put together the Awesome 8T and there is both good and bad. The sculpt itself is great. Nice detail, great fit and very little clean up required. Unfortunately it is WAY smaller than its plastic counterpart. Height wise it's just a bit shorter, but it is much narrower and less bulky. The difference is drastic, and has, unfortunately put me off including him in my next group to be painted. Your mileage may vary.

[Prometheum5]

Hm, I didn't think to compare the metal Awesome to the plastic one, but I still feel like the metal version scales well against other recent IWM assaults on the lighter end.

[Alex Keller]

Yeah, its a real shame that the scale isn't matching up quite right.  I LOVE some of the latest IWM sculpts but the scale on some of the GoAC mechs has prevented me from obtaining more.  I wonder if its best to just kitbash the plastics to the variant you want and maybe take some parts from the IWM sculpts? 

[Luciora]

I include alot of IWM parts in my kitbashes, they generally work out well, especially to see the part and mini side by side.  My latest batch is a pair of HGR toting mechs and a Blazer Zeus that use all IWM parts for the weapons.

Yeah, its a real shame that the scale isn't matching up quite right.  I LOVE some of the latest IWM sculpts but the scale on some of the GoAC mechs has prevented me from obtaining more.  I wonder if its best to just kitbash the plastics to the variant you want and maybe take some parts from the IWM sculpts?

[pokefan548]

Slight aside, can I thank whoever designed the Minotaur sculpt for not just making it look good, but making it all one piece. I breathed a sight of relief that I wouldn't have to spend time assembling nearly a dozen of the little squirts. You know, unlike the other nearly three points of Procyons and Sprites I picked up, though thankfully those are still quite simple to assemble.

[Colt Ward]

Pretty sure all the Gen 1 Protos were single piece . . . wasn't the later Gens during that 3067/PP tons of parts craze?

[Sartris]

can confirm all 3060 protos were once piece

[pokefan548]

I will definitely bear that in mind next time I'm tempted to go Proto shopping, thanks :P

[Alex Keller]

How many pieces are the Sprite protos in?

[CranstonSnord]

Three pieces; each arm is separate, the body and base is one piece.

[pokefan548]

Yep. Same story for the Procyon.

Putting them together won't be the end of the world or anything, just convenient to not have to go through an assembly phase for a whole bunch of swarm units.

[abou]

I finally got around to painting my flatbed trucks. I have always wanted to use more of those support vehicles and am excited to finally paint up the wheeled scout and prime mover; however, the flatbed truck is... not good.

I am one to quickly defend IWM. Looking at the work they do for Dark Sword, it is hard to top. The flatbed truck though is rough. The details do not seem to pop, smaller bits like the sideview mirrors are deformed, and there are artifacts from the 3D master. Similar problems are noticeable on the recent Catapult. I am not sure if the mold making process or the 3D printer was the culprit, but I am glad to see that problem is absent from sculpts after it. It is just unfortunate that the truck is so poor in quality.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Flatbed Truck mini is pretty old by now, isn't it?

[abou]

The Flatbed Truck mini is pretty old by now, isn't it?

2019. So not that old -- at least by our standards in BattleTech.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Huh, I thought it was from back in the late 90s/early 00s.

[Luciora]

Mastodon:

Torso parts are a bit loose when attached to the body and molding seems to make them want to lean on itself, making the tops kind of triangular instead of an E shape.  The arms to the weapon connection feels more rounded than a half circle, so when you are attaching the weapons to the arms, take the body into account so you don't skew them into the legs or body upon assembly.

Marauder:

Seems to be a molding issue with the arms and legs.  Found crystallization and flash on the right side of the arm weapon ports on 2 Marauders so far, have another 4 to check when I get home.   There seems to be some slippage on one of the legs as well. 

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I'm putting a Mastodon together right now.  Didn't have too much trouble getting the torso into an E shape, but getting the arms put together has been a real pain- the upper arms do not want to stick into the ports in the PPCs at least.

Also, interesting idea making the arm sprues one PPC and one missile pod each instead of one sprue of PPCs and one of missiles.  Guess that does mean half the number of different sprues to produce.

[Kibutsu]

I built and painted the flatbed trucks pretty soon after they were released and didn't see any of the problems posted here. Mine were beautiful little castings. Sounds like you got a bad blister or maybe the molds have deteriorated.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Got a Mastodon Prime assembled.  Looks pretty good.  Working on a Jade Phoenix now.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Got the Jade Phoenix together and I have to ask: what the heck is going on with those legs?

Also, I do wish that it had been designed with the one-piece wing part like the Gyrfalcon 4, though the wings do fit together reasonably well.

I will say that it looks very nice now that it's assembled.

[Sartris]

legs were tricky, yes. i used the foot with the flexed toes on the right leg that extended back and the left leg forward into a stride. i then glued each foot onto opposite edges of the hex base.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I have the left leg flat on the hex base with the right leg and flexed foot coming off it, trying to simulate it being in the middle of lifting its foot.

[Luciora]

I keep forgetting to make one lifting the foot forward.   The plastic one does have a differently angled leg.

[Sartris]

where do those two little bits go on the marauder?

[Luciora]

Directly under the knees along the back.  It has a really kind of guide, split at the top and step at the bottom

where do those two little bits go on the marauder?

[Death_from_above]

Hah, an OG Glaug^©™ paintjob !

[Sartris]

Directly under the knees along the back.  It has a really kind of guide, split at the top and step at the bottom

ah, that's it. thanks. at first i thought they went on the back on the "jet pods" but they were too poor a fit for that to be it.

[Sartris]

also the marauder is now my favorite classic iwm sculpt

[Luciora]

I should have a picture of the finished magnetized marauder tonight after work.

[speck]

where do those two little bits go on the marauder?

Sorry, I meant to have pictures up after GenCon and then was distracted by life and other things that came up. I will add some to the product page soon.

[Sartris]

put together a couple of the wasps and a valkyrie today. valk is five pieces - legs (one piece), arms, torso, and head. arms are on ball joints so they can be positioned in more dynamic ways. the wasps are four parts - legs (one piece), torso, and arms. the weapon sprue has three additional pieces - the two-tube part for ether the srm-2 on the 1A or the dual small lasers on the 1K, the flamer for the 1K, and the MG for the 1D. pretty quick assembly and no serious casting issues.

the one recommendation i might make is if you plan to build the 1K or the 1D, glue the weapon onto the little slanted plane at the bottom of the torso before affixing to the legs. it's not a huge issue if you don't, but it makes life a bit easier.

[worktroll]

So I got my Black Friday order of IWM goodness; some stream-of-conciousness while assembling some of them.

- Lightray. Not the newest sculpt, and a bit weird looking. Only 5 parts - legs & hips on base, torso, two arms, chin turret. The chin turret went on fine - I'm afraid the only bit that did. The waist socket had no relation in size to the ball under the upper torso; ended up having to pin it. And the arms sticking out & up made it hard to fix them in place; did not drill, used blu-tak support to do one at a time. Nice looking overall.

- Gestalt. Four pieces - head, torsos & legs on base, two arms, and the "backpack". The backpack took a lot of widgeling to get into position - it had probably warped a little, but fit well enough when pressure applied. Only problem is, it's very featureless, when the rest of the mini is well detailed. Left arm no problems, right arm with the HPPC - the contact point is a little small for the weight, again used blu-tak to support until set. Overall looks very nice when assembled (from the front ;) )

- Celestials. Man I love these! Lots of bits, but great big contact disks make for easy positioning & firm setting. Have assembled the Grigori & Deva so far. Each has upper torso, lower torso, two legs, head, and then two upper arms, a few choices for lower arms, and multiple bits to fill four bays in the torso (omni done right! :D ) Easy to do one leg to the lower torso, then when set, add the other leg. Did I mention those glorious big contact patches? Did the Deva Invictus out of the blister, and the Grigori Numinous with an left-over HPPC from earlier Celestials. While I would love plastic Celestials, the ease of modding different configs won't be the same, I imagine. Plus lots of left-over missile launchers, the odd gun, hatches, erc. Highly recommended, will buy again ;)

- Toyama. Only flaw in this one is the static pose - the plastics have spoiled me for no-assembly dynamism. Conversion to the 2C easy - replace the LB-X barrel with something beefier, file off the three lasers, leave the ERLLs (which aren't very large) to sub for the MVSPLs. 5 bits - head/torsos/feet/base, two arms, two shields. Good contact patches for all, great looking mini.

- Raptor II - weird looking but I'll go with it. Mainly two pieces - feet/lower torso/waist, in running pose, and body which looks like a small craft. Then there's bits for the two SSRM-6s (hatches going on the torsos) and two ERMLs. These would probably go on well, but I wanted a 2X - two MVSPL, and a 'Mech Taser. So I glued the laser barrels on the dimples in the torso hatches, and used bitz for my taser. The mini came with a weird one medium/one small barrel piece, which I suppose was meant to be the taser, but I went with something more greebly. Arm mounts on this thing? Tucked it under the right wing. Easy to assemble, what it looks like on the tin.

BTW, all look like they'll fit in nicely with the nuplastics!

Still to assemble for this unit - Seraph, Preta, Nexus II.

[worktroll]

Okay, some more.

Lightning (the Thunder bro) - almost ideal. Two lower legs, two upper legs, two arms, lower torso, upper torso, iHGR barrel, and head. Everything goes together well ... except the knees. Bad contact patches - low relief, not great fit. You'd have gone better with simple cylinders like the Hel or Grand Summoner. And beware - one of the feet is skewed forwards, so despite the potential for posing, you're more or less committed to one pose. The head's on a ball joint, but there's not a lot of room for turning it. But looks right.

And if you're looking for something to mod into a less static Thunder, and are prepared to do some sawing & filling, this should do you nicely!

Emperor EMP-1A (the primitive) - gorgeous. It''s my go-to for all Emperors from now on. 5 pieces - right leg & lower torso on a base, posable left leg, torso, two arms. Goes together easily, looks magnificent.

Dola. Two legs (separate feet? Can't recall), lower torso, upper torso, antenna, two arms, two jetpacks, antenna for the head. I question the ball mounts on the jetpacks - all examples seem to show them mounted straight up. I suppose one could experiment, but I didn't. The left arm went on easily, but I had to hack a bit at the inside of the right arm at the shoulder to get it mounted in a good position, as shown in pics on the web.

Lao Hu - it's an old sculpt, and it shows - it's in an old-man shuffle. But it's authentic to the art. Base/feet & legs/lower torso one piece, upper torso, two arms. What it says on the tin, and quite easy to mod if needed.  It's also the first mini I ever dry-brushed, and it's got great details & relief.

Nexus II - what it says on the tin. 3 pieces - body, two arms. Simple, small.

Raven 5X - two feet, two legs, lower torso, upper torso, laser arm, MML pack, TSEMP (I guess?). The ankles are not luxurious contact points, but they work well, and the rest just goes together. For your sneaky ECM needs :)

Lu Wei Bing - two feet, two legs, lower torso, upper torso, optional MML pack open or closed, two arms. Ankles have good contact patches, goes together well. Good details. Unfortunately, is going to look small next to a nuplastic Victor, which it theoretically outweighs. Will probably mount it on a tactical rock to give it some "lift" :)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I just picked up a Lightning mech and I have to ask, is there a way to put it together without having to pin the legs?

Because the knees are not going together.

[Sartris]

huh. didn't have that issue.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Got it assembled.  Required gluing the feet to a hex base, then gluing the knees.

At least it's a good looking mini.  Really puts the old Thunder to shame.

[worktroll]

Schwer has two now, intending to convert one to a Thunder. Should look great!

[Schwerpunkt Prinzip]

Schwer has two now, intending to convert one to a Thunder. Should look great!

I do hereby confirm this rumour.

I also confirm that I pinned everything. I managed a few swearwords assembling the legs of the Lighting/Thunder but the hassle was worth it. Such a gorgeous model.

[worktroll]

Post pics!

Meanwhile ... the Nisos.

Now I'll say the mini is an excellently accurate representation of the art. But I'm not a fan, and unlikely to buy more.

So it comes with six pieces - two turrets (one for SRM6, one for ELRM10 versions), body, tail, front foot, and support cone. Problems:

- The front foot has a poor attachment lug - very shallow, and provides no support while gluing it in place. A simple post & hole would have been superior.

- The tail unit does fit on in place, but it's very loose. Would it have hurt to make the underside of it fit more snugly into the gap in the main body?

- And the dimple into which the support cone is meant to fit is ridiculously small & shallow, and provides no support at all. I ended up drilling out the hole, snipping the point off the support cone, drilling, and fitting wire. The provided connection is likely to break with normal handling.

I'd also comment on the turrets - they're small. They match the art, true. But looking at the new plastics, and the new larger metals, the plasma rifle looks like a small laser, and the 10 tubes on the ERLM plate are cramped & crowded. Okay, too late to go back, but something to consider in future, please?

So very faithful rendition, annoying to assemble.

[Schwerpunkt Prinzip]

Post pics!

]

Schwer has two now, intending to convert one to a Thunder. Should look great!

The Lightning is a wonderful miniature but I agree with worktroll and MoneyLovingOgre4Hire about the knees. I tried to vary the poses but really struggled.





The separate head and heavy gauss were really useful.

[Prometheum5]

Woah, those are gorgeous. How much work did converting the Thunder take? I haven't grabbed a Lightning yet because I'd probably want to do the same thing!