Return of the Opinions/feedback on IWM sculpts

[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.