Wednesday 4 April 2012

New Gears and Paint

  
  


So it's that time of the month when... no not that time of the month, no nor that time of the month... wait... just... let me finish!!! No, it's that time of the month when we get to see new Heavy Gear stuff. In case you've been living under a rock or just not reading my Blog (if not why not) you'll have noticed I have a bit of a crush on giant... erm... miniature robots. No that doesn't sound right to me either, but hey it's the phraseology the English language has lumbered me with! So what delights have Dream Pod 9 dropped on us this month? Well we've got some reboots of old sculpts if you will, namely the Tiger and Sidewinders. These basically optional upgrades to Gears like the Jaguars and Hunters if I'm reading it right. It seems the original geriatric sculpts have been given some hip replacement surgery and given ball and socket joints to allow for more dynamic poses, which is nice. No one wants to see Gears shuffling around the board using a Zimmer Frame do they? I will say though that actually they look quite nice, whether they're old sculpts or not! Here have a look yourself:

This is a Sidewinder. As you can see the hip replacement surgery went well, look at that mobility!

Another Sidewinder taking it easy this time. You know, just shooting the breeze... or your FACE!!!

This is a command Sidewinder. You can tell because his helmet is red... that doesn't sound... right.

This is apparently a Tiger. Except it has no orange fur with black stripes. The cats aren't impressed.

They were even less impressed after I told them they weren't those sorts of Tiger.

I thought it best not to show them the Sabertooth! But look how dynamic he is with his new hips!

I myself am collecting NuCaol forces, and that means that these bad boys aren't for me. That's a shame because quite frankly if I could I'd like to own every Gear DP9 make. Alas money and a distinct lack of time to paint them all has put the breaks on that particular desire. If your a P.AK. player though you're laughing as all of your robots are belong to us!!! Southern players can take the Sidewinders, while Northern players get to take the Tigers. Now I've been reading up and dipping my toe into Gear Garage and I have to say from this n00bs perspective I think the Tiger represents a good upgrade option for the Hunter in a number of cases. The Sidewinder I'm not as sold on as a Southern player but I can see them in P.A.K. forces, but hey I wouldn't listen to my advice just yet because honestly it's all new to me! Don't worry I'll get to a point sometime soon where I'll be dispensing my own dubious pearls of wisdom on the system and its options.

It even comes in a specifically designed hard plastic case! Yeah OK so I'd make a crap salesman.

But wait, that's not all DP9 have to offer us this month! Oh no, like Games Workshop they've released some new paints. Unlike Games Workshop they're not trying to claim they've had top scientists locked away in a broom cupboard with a calculator and a Bunsen Burner perfecting an acrylic mix. No they've taken the eminently sensible solution of going to a company who have a track record of making very decent paints, in this case Reaper, and asking 'would you mind doing a paint range for us?' Turns out Reaper were delighted to oblige. Now I'm going to have to admit to being slightly envious of those who live across the pond. I'm a bit of a paint magpie and I'm forever buying paints from different ranges, but Reaper paints have eluded me thus far. That annoys me because I know a good number of talented painters in the States who swear by the Reaper Master Series Paint (MSP) range.

Here you can see the delightful range of colours you get.

Perhaps if I ask really nicely DP9 or Reaper will send me some to review... wait... my spider sense is tingling... it's telling me somewhere in Canada a man called John is... oh... flipping me the bird! The RRP is $119.99USD or in real money £75. It'll contain 36 colours, 8 of which are from the High Density Range, which are kind of like Vallejo's Extra Opaque range, or the Foundation paints in the Citadel range. So it works out to roughly £2 a pot of paint, which isn't too bad. I also have to say that they get the thumbs up from me for using the dropper style pots. Flip top caps are so last year darling and screw on caps are just bloody irritating, are you listening Tamiya? The good thing though if you're a HGB nut and aficionados is that these colours are specifically designed for use within the Heavy Gear universe. Hardly a surprise I guess given they're the official paint range, but nevertheless I guess it's cool to be able to use the exact same colours as the studio paint jobs.

Dropper bottles are FTW. While screw tops are WTF!!! I'm looking at you Tamiya.

On a serious note I can pretty much give my fellow hobbyists advice on pretty much any paint range out there. I've used the latest Warpaints from Army Painter, I've used Coat D' Arms recently and I've seen how good the Foundry Paints are. I'm a fully signed up fan of all Vallejo paints and I love what's actually inside the Tamiya pots... if not the pots themselves. I've even got the full P3 range, which I also really like. But, on Reaper paints I'm totally in the dark. So if any of my Canadian and America friends have any experience with Reaper paints I'd be very grateful if you could just take the time to jot your thoughts down on the range in the comments section below. However, that's it for now on DP9's releases this month, so I'm off to sulk about the fact I still have no laser cut Hex bases or bloody magnets to put my own Gears together. I might even stomp about the house pouting while saying it's not fair like a toddler. Peace out!

29 comments:

  1. Two things:

    First: as a NuCoal player, you have access to PAK forces, which means you can get both Tigers and Sidewinders. Also, Tigers are upgrades to Hunters, and Sidewinders to Jagers. And Sidewinders in Southern forces are probably THE best 5 TV upgrade you can spend in a GP Cadre!

    Second: Reaper paints are the BOMB!!!! Never dry out and you never have to thin them out of the dropper.

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    1. Arggh your right. That'll teach me to write an article too quickly. As for the Sidewinders, I'll have a look again at them.

      So as a NuCoal player can I just drop any P.A.K. forces into my list? I got the distinct impression it didn't quite work like that. If it does oh God that's too many hover tanks to choose from!!!

      Thanks for the info on Reaper paints too. Now I'm even more annoyed you don't see them in the UK.

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    2. It all depends on your army build, but my understanding is that you would pick Port Arthur as your city-state to unlock the tanks and gears they have access to. Re-read the field guide to double check!

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    3. Ah, yeah... but I'm going a different route. Partially because I know a few peeps who are thinking of going the P.A.K. route and I don't want to step on toes!!!

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  2. I've always enjoyed using Reaper's paints. Was happy to see that you get a good amount of paints for a pretty respectable price with everything considered. I don't have many PRDF minis left to knock out, so most likely won't be purchasing the set right away. Sometime though I could see it as a good purchase in the future.

    As for the gears, I really hope we can expect more dynamic sculpts like the Sabertooth and Sidewinder. They look excellent, and having more options in terms of looks is always good.

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    1. Yeah I really liked the Sabertooth as well. Looks really cool. So you do PRDF then? I have a friend eying up the PRDF starter set. Would you advise him to pick it up? Bearing in mind he'll want to grab a rulebook too.

      So you're another +1 for Reaper paints... bugger!!! o.0
      I don't want to miss out on good paints if they're good paints.

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    2. The starter isn't bad for PRDF, and it does come with the Field Manual and Locked and Loaded rulebooks included. The Fire Support Squad has always proven to be a strong member of my force, and the Strike Squad does a decent enough job at performing a wide range of battlefield needs. It'll certainly work for ~800ish TV values to learn how the PRDF works. It is a good launching off point for the price, especially given the fact both main rulebooks you need are included.

      If the rulebooks weren't a primary factor however, I would suggest messing around with the Gear Garage force builder and see what floats his boat and order piecemeal. I have already found that my Fire Support Squad got a Cataphract lord upgrade, a Warrior was swapped out for a 3rd Crusader IV gear, and a few other purchases.

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    3. I'll tell hin to get the starter box I think. He'll have a good starting point and won't have to borrow everyone elses books... which is so what he'll do if he doesn't get the starter set!!! :P

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  3. I really like the new Sidewinders, I'll grab a couple to drop into my Cadres I think :-) Much prefer the new poses to the old ones.

    I've never tried Reaper but I've also heard good things about them. Wonder when these will be available?

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    1. Got to agree on the flip-top/screw-top/dropper bottle debate as well!

      After ruining carpets, wearing paint and staining tabletops numerous times over the years (I'm surprised my mum didn't kill me when I was a teenager!) I'd hate to go back to flip tops.

      I never bought the old GW screw lid stuff, the pots made the range worthless, even if they hadn't reduced the colour choice to the point it was ****.

      Since using VMC dropper bottles eight years ago I've had one spill, and that was my own fault for squeezing the bottle too hard because I didn't have anything to hand to clear a blocked nozzle X-D

      Dropper bottles, quite simply, are full of win!

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    2. Tamiya screw tops are the worst piece of design I've seen in a bloody long time!!! You have to use a vice and adjustable an adjustable spanner to open the damn things IF you get any paint on the corkscrew. Stuff sets like concrete! Such a shame because many of the paints in the range are totally amazing and there's nothing else like them on the market. So they're vital to my paint collection as far as I'm concerned. If they'd just invent a better pot...

      I too use predominantly the VMC, VAC and VGC ranges. I have the full P3 range and Tamiya ranges too. I have a sizeable chunk of older GW paints too. Not having used dropper bottles before the VMC range I was a bit dubious about them... then I used them and then I realised all other paint pots were inferior. It's as simple as that!

      As to the mini's, yeah I like the look of them too.

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    3. Tamiya, VMC and VGC are the main ranges I use for reasons already described. I only recently discovered the Tamiya clear range. Now I can't imagine painting lenses and the like without them.

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    4. Have to second the clear range.. had bought one of the clear red for blood effects long ago, but just picked up the orange, yellow and green.. for lava/fire and slim/poison.. absolutely brilliant paints.. but vice grip to open bottles is an understatement there.

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    5. If you're both using the the Tamiya clear ranges, then you really ought to pick up some Tamiya X-19 Smoke. Arguably one of teh best paints ever made. Truly amazing and very versatile for all sorts of different effects. Love that paint to bits.

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    6. Tamiya Clear Red is great for blood effects as well if you want to spill some claret :-)

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  4. Not much of a Heavy Gear fan, however I might be getting a chance to play a demo or 5 at the next convention here in Turkey this month.

    As far as reaper paints go, have used them many years ago when living in Canada, and they were great. Was an easy move over to Vallejo from there due to the bottles. With this new set out, might have to order one up to the parents place and get them to bring it over with them when they visit us next time. Save on shipping and what not ;)

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    1. Have you played HGB? If you get the chance to have it demo'ed you should definitely give it a blast. I think overall it's a damn fine game. Not perfect, but what game is? Overall it has a good degree of tactical balance and choice and is fun to play. Quick too.

      So you're another +1 to the whole reaper paints debate then are you? Bugger!!! I might have to contact Reaper and ask about UK distribution and stuff and maybe ask for some samples for review! I only ever hear good things about them. No one has ever said to me 'hey those Reaper paints are crapola'.

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    2. Never played, so will give it a go at MetuCon then, and see how it goes. I don't like the cost, however I do like that you don't need many to play, and that they are tiny enough to paint up quickly it seems. Will see how it goes, and see if this means more money to other projects once more.. :)

      Oh and indeed try the Reaper paints out.. even if you have to order from other companies like TheWarStore - http://www.thewarstore.com/reapermasterpaints.html - well worth it for some colors.

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    3. I've got hundreds and hundreds of paints so it's not like I 'need' them. But I would like to give them a look to see what they're like as a range.

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  5. I have North and i'm doing a leagueless so i can have both. This is the reason my last order from wayland was cancelled. I had an order of two sidewinders and two tigers. But they said they were not getting any more in. And had none in stock, now i see why. Loving the Gears.

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    1. Hey! But at least you now get the sexy versions right? That's got to be good news. I completely forgot about the leagueless option! Are you off to Salute this year?

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  6. I LOVE Heavy Gear. I just played my first game a few weeks ago. Now I've got another game coming up on Tuesday. I'll be recording my Heavy Gear gaming on my non-commercial blog, Terminus Omega. My mate Mecha Ace ( a regular opponent) also has a great deal of Heavy Gear material on his blog.

    http://terminusomegamass.blogspot.co.uk/ for me if you're interested in taking a look.

    http://hangarbay.blogspot.co.uk/ for Mecha Ace.

    It's having something of a revival at our club now. We have a Southern Player (me), A North and Black Talon Player (Mecha), an Earth/PAK player and a Peace River Player. And one of the other guys is talking about Nu Coal. So it's all good.

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    1. Absolutely I'm interested. Always glad to have more stuff to look at.

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    2. Had a look at your Terminus Omega blog, nice South stuff! Work filter wouldn't let me comment though. Good to see a close up of the wrecked Jager piece as well!

      Looking forwards to actually getting the game on a table and throwing it around!

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  7. Thanks guys. It's a truly brilliant game. Not perfect, but very close. If only I'd let the other guys persuade me to start playing years ago...

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  8. I was going to salute,then money and the fact i have none ruined my plans. But it looks like i may be able to go. So fingers crossed.

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    1. Might see you down there then. I'll be there with my camera and note pad covering the show. So the week after Salut you can expect to see a load of rubbish salute based articles written by me!!! Huzzah. Just planning my itinerary out now.

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  9. A while ago the Reaper paints caught my attention, in particular the fact that they do convenient triad sets. It seems that there is a UK retailler, as follows:-

    http://miniature-heroes.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=487_492&zenid=c5062e61067a5eac3b1a118a6b084d00

    I've never ordered from them myself so can't comment on their service.

    I'm flying in for Salute again this year and am intending on picking up some HGB bits from Wayland when I'm there (although I'm intending to pick up a fair few bits so it depends how far my pennies stretch...)

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