SL Command Lance pre-paint!

[Fin-man]

I picked up the new Star League command lance, and I have to say I'm impressed with the quality of the Alex K. pre-painted Orion.  I, for one, would LOVE CGL to offer entire lances / stars of pre-paints, preferably in common schemes.  (Like the SL camo of the Orion, or 'camo grey' for the clans.)


Have no idea if that's feasible, but I'm putting that out there for Catalyst to at least consider.  Pre-painted options would be a great way to get new people in the hobby who maybe don't enjoy the painting aspect as much. 


Fin-man

[worktroll]

The trick with the Orion-K is that it basically isn't painted - the olive drab is the raw plastic. Only the occasional details and panel lines are painted.

Now I'm not saying this isn't possible. We know that they're making demo-oriented packs in various colours of plastic, for Grinder purposes. Not clear at this point if they'll be just red, or blue, or purple, or what, or whether they'll be detailed to the same level as the Orion-K. But as it's done at manufacturing time, it means CGL would have to guess the factional scheme and how it would sell ahead of time, before committing to the minimum production run involved (eg. at least thousands, I'd guess - Liya won't handle batches as small as hundreds without charging booyah for the trouble.) Which means only getting Davion Green and Wolf Brown produced 

What might be feasible is offering generic-ish packs - eg. the 'Mechs from the GoAC box all in brown, or all in green, or all in sand, with the Orion-K level of detail. So beginners and people not into painting can pick up a force playable out of the box, as is the plan with Leviathans. 

[Fin-man]

That would be incredible!  (At least I'd buy them)

[worktroll]

While I wouldn't as such - I get too much fun out of painting & modding the minis, and it's so much easier with the new plastics than with metal minis - I know I'm not the target market. I'd love to see the box sets in colours, as long as we can get the unpainted ones somehow ;)

At the end of the day, I just pray the current KS fulfilment gets 100% of CGL's attention, and once that's cleared then they can look at options. But again, that's me.

[GRUD]

Here's an Idea, that I JUST thought of after reading the first post.

Are they making at least 4 different Lance Packs, each with 1 pre-painted mini?  I think they are, but can't remember.     How about sell a LP of those?  That way, the people that want them can get them all in one LP, while the people that cry about how they'll "have" to repaint them won't have to cry about it?   

Note, they'll STILL cry about it, but we'll care even less.   

[Church14]

Here's an Idea, that I JUST thought of after reading the first post.

Are they making at least 4 different Lance Packs, each with 1 pre-painted mini?  I think they are, but can't remember.     How about sell a LP of those?  That way, the people that want them can get them all in one LP, while the people that cry about how they'll "have" to repaint them won't have to cry about it?   

Note, they'll STILL cry about it, but we'll care even less.   

My understanding is:
SLDF Pack - Painted Orion (A. Kerensky)
2SL Pack - Painted Dire Wolf Prometheus (Victor's)
3SL Pack 1 - Painted Savage Wolf (presumably Alaric Ward. Hard to imagine anyone else)
3SL Pack 2 - Painted Lament (I'm assuming a new character in iKEO)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I don't think there's much point in selling a pack that's nothing but minis from previous packs.  If you want them but not the unpainted mechs, I'm sure you can get them from eBay.

[Church14]

I don't think there's much point in selling a pack that's nothing but minis from previous packs.  If you want them but not the unpainted mechs, I'm sure you can get them from eBay.

Counterpoint: Urbanmech company box and the KKon bug company box. Also, personally, a 55t trio box with a fourth mini like a hunchback or vindicator would be something I'd buy.

Counter-counterpoint: I don't think a pack with nothing new would sell as well without meme/viral edge to it.

[Ruger]

Counterpoint: Urbanmech company box and the KKon bug company box. Also, personally, a 55t trio box with a fourth mini like a hunchback or vindicator would be something I'd buy.

Counter-counterpoint: I don't think a pack with nothing new would sell as well without meme/viral edge to it.

Personally, I’d like a force pack with the most common variant model of the classic 55 trio (say, a WVR-6M, SHD-2D or 2K, GRF-1S), along with either a Gladiator, Alfar, or Phoenix.

Ruger

[GRUD]

My understanding is:
SLDF Pack - Painted Orion (A. Kerensky)
2SL Pack - Painted Dire Wolf Prometheus (Victor's)
3SL Pack 1 - Painted Savage Wolf (presumably Alaric Ward. Hard to imagine anyone else)
3SL Pack 2 - Painted Lament (I'm assuming a new character in iKEO)

Maybe call it the SLDF Prime Pack?  Premium Pack?   


If we're dreaming about a new Lance Pack, I'd LOVE one with 4 different T-Bolts!   

[nckestrel]

My understanding is:
SLDF Pack - Painted Orion (A. Kerensky)
2SL Pack - Painted Dire Wolf Prometheus (Victor's)
3SL Pack 1 - Painted Savage Wolf (presumably Alaric Ward. Hard to imagine anyone else)
3SL Pack 2 - Painted Lament (I'm assuming a new character in iKEO)

I'm not sure the 3SL packs will have prepainted.

[Rob Bendig]

Notes from KKon were for a pre-paint in each pack:

3rd Star League Striker Star (Q3 2024) - ForcePack
Lament (prepainted), Jackalope, Kintaro, Hammerhead (2 or II ?), Havoc, J-27 Ordnance Transport

3rd Star League Battle Star (Q4 2024) - ForcePack
Savage Wolf "Wepwawet" (prepainted), Excalibur, Wendigo, Peacekeeper, Malice, Savior Repair Vehicle

[fishfoode]

Even if they weren't pre-painted, I think using more colored plastics would be a cool thing to do. Having the mechs in the Beginner Box or AGOAC in contrasting colors could be useful for new players; they would seem even more ready-to-play straight out of the box and contribute to the board game feel.

[Colt Ward]

Notes from KKon were for a pre-paint in each pack:

3rd Star League Striker Star (Q3 2024) - ForcePack
Lament (prepainted), Jackalope, Kintaro, Hammerhead (2 or II ?), Havoc, J-27 Ordnance Transport

3rd Star League Battle Star (Q4 2024) - ForcePack
Savage Wolf "Wepwawet" (prepainted), Excalibur, Wendigo, Peacekeeper, Malice, Savior Repair Vehicle

Savage Wolf has to belong to Kyle Wolf, the Natasha Kerensky of his era.

[Hellraiser]

I'm thinking that stuff like the Intro Box & AGOAC etc etc stays unpainted.

BUT, that said, I do think that there is a place for painted lances.

IE.  The ones that have the Faction in the Name.


Give us a couple of Purple Plastic lances in Marik Militia highlights.
Albatross, Awesome, Orion, Hercules
Anvil, Wraith, Hermes-II, Hammer


Draconis Red Plastic with Sword of Light Highlights
Wolftrap, Venom, Spider, Jenner
Naginata, Dragon, Catapult-K, Komodo


A couple new mechs, some alternate poses or exhaust smoke, etc etc.


Death Commando Black Plastic w/ Green Highlights
Menshen, Vindicator, Raven, & Huron Warrior
Thunder, Goliath, Striker, Charger-1A5


I'm not even a fan of the above factions & I'd be hard pressed not to want to pick up some of those potential new sculpts.

[Teejay75]

I have no idea the relative costs but is the PVC method that Liya uses cheaper than doing a frame of styrene like GW uses? I definitely wouldn't complain if I could put together my own mechs. It would be much easier to do conversions/customizations and it feels like the hard plastics would be easier to remove mold lines. If it pushed the prices up to the prices of 40K boxes, I'll pass.

[BrianDavion]

IE.  The ones that have the Faction in the Name.

no no no no no and NO.

And let me demonstrate why.



THAT is a FWL mech (1st FWL Legionarries)

So this this


5th Orinate Hussars



As is this (rEGULAR HUSSARS)

(all sources are from Camo specs)

the various houses paint their mechs a wide varity, and salvage exists. Grey plastic takes just about any colour of primer and paint a lot easier

[worktroll]

To be fair, I prime even the CGL minis (ironically enough, with light grey paint), so it wouldn't bother me overpainting the coloured plastic versions. I'll probably keep one K-Orion as such, but if I get any others, I'll be painting them.

Having the Kuritan lance packs in red plastic with some details would be great for those people not into painting, but who want to put something recognisable on the table. Likewise Davion packs in olive drab, Capellans in jade green, Steiners in blue, and Mariks in purple. But I'd expect people would have to pay a small premium for such packs, which would be extras, not base product line. Those who are bothered by the colourations could still get grey versions, or paint over'em, as per their preference.

[thedancingjoker]

I got two of the Star Leauge Lance pack and only needed one Orion done up as Kerensky, so I just primed over the other one with a grey primer, went fine, didn't clog any details.  While I still don't find these pre-painted mechs a draw they aren't as big a deal as I worried they might be.

[Hellraiser]

the various houses paint their mechs a wide varity, and salvage exists. Grey plastic takes just about any colour of primer and paint a lot easier

I don't disagree with you BD.

I was just pointing out an opportunity where those that WANT pre-painted might be able to get them.

You'll note that every single box pre-SLDF Orion is Grey,  and I did NOT suggest changing that.

Having the Kuritan lance packs in red plastic with some details would be great for those people not into painting, but who want to put something recognisable on the table. 

My point exactly.


Me, I'm buying minis to complete my collection of the few I'm missing in metal.  IDC what color it comes in, either it will match what I'm doing or it wont & I primer it.

But I know there are a LOT of folks out there that actually DON'T care for the build/assemble/paint part of mechs.

[General308]

Personally I would prefer whole lances prepainted over just one mech. 

[GRUD]

But I know there are a LOT of folks out there that actually DON'T care for the build/assemble/paint part of mechs.

*Raises hand.*

Except for the TWO 'Mechs I've painted since I started playing in '86 (a Raven back around '88-'90, and an Unseen Ostroc in '08), all the painted minis I own I either bought pre-painted in a scheme I liked, Commissioned someone to paint for me, were given to me, or were painted when I bought them off of eBay.  I'm a Collector, NOT an Assembler/painter.

It brings ME No Joy. 

Also not "Wildly Thrilled" about the new plastics, so I'd MUCH rather have them pre-painted (or produced in the main color, then highlighted, or Whatever) in a scheme I at least semi-like/am "Ok" with, rather than getting 1 out of 4 that I like, and the others I could care less about.   

I currently have or plan to buy ZERO of the packs with 1 pre-painted mini, as I think I like AT MOST 2 of them of the 4-6 other minis in the Packs.     Looking at the listing for the 3rd Star League Striker Star, I can't even pick out a #2.  And yeah, NOT going to buy an LP for ONE mini.   

[Hellraiser]

I see both sides of it.

Some folks LOVE the painting of it, they are artists.

I consider painting & assembling somewhere between a chore & a labor of love.
It's a total pain that I hate doing,  BUT,   I do enjoy the satisfaction when I'm done with something I've "worked" on.
And yeah, to me, its totally WORK.



Outside of the Death Commandos (Black w/ Green) I'm having a really hard time finding a "quintessential" Cappie unit, that is not either RED like the DC SoL Regiments, OR, is a former Merc unit (MAC).
I was hoping to find some unit that is a nice "Jade-Light Green" as it's primary color that would be good for CC Plastic, but outside of St.Ives, I'm failing in really finding something that jumps out at me on camospecs.
The closest I can find are a couple warrior houses, Hiritsu & Ma-Tsu Ka,  but I was hoping for a large combat org w/ brigade+ of mech regiments.


I feel like between Davion Guards, Royal Guards, Lyran Guards, FedComCorps, and many others you can pull off Blue Plastic for both halves of the FC with the only variation being the highlight/trim.