Mantic Games Deadzone Kickstarter - An Unboxing

Today I would like to post a few pictures from the new Deadzone Kickstarter Strike Team Rewards Box. First of all, I was truly surprised on the size of the the box - 18 in x 12.5 in x 4.25 in. This box is huge!

This is the back of the box with the listed items to be included in the 2-Player starter Box. Now please remember the count of sprues and figures are higher than listed due to the bonuses earned for the stretch goals during the Kickstarter.

The first column of box contents and the corresponding pieces are shown below. The number of Scenery, Accessory, and Connector sprues are double the amount due to the many stretch goals achieved on the Kickstarter campaign.

The bottom of the box is lined with the rulebook, dice and cardboard counters. Added to the box are the signed lithograph and postcards as a stretch goal for the Kickstarter Backers. I had thought there should be 10 eight-sided dice (stretch goal) and sent a message to Mantic to confirm this.

The two standard Faction Decks include the Enforcers and the Plague. Marauders and Rebs are added as a Kickstarter Stretch Goal.

The rubberized Gaming Mat was folded in the box. I immediately took it out and rolled it to be stored in a gaming tube. I do plan to use this mat and the scenery structures in other skirmish games.

8 x Terrain Sprue 1

4 x Terrain Spure 2a

4 x Terrain Sprue 2b

 4 x Terrain Sprue 3 (Accessory Sprue)

2 x Terrain Connector Sprue

The second column lists the contents for the Enforcer Faction. From my judgement of the sprueless bags of parts, it looks to be the right amount of figures.

The last column lists the contents for the Plague faction. The Kickstarter stretch goals include additional Plague figures which is why there are more bags of plastic figures.

Again, as more strech goals for the Kickstarter, the backers recieved 3 additional factions: Marauders and Rebs were included in this shipment. I chose the Forgefathers as my fifth faction which will be delivered in a second shipment. I truly like the Rebs Faction as their figures and races are unique. They may be similar to certain PC Game characters but I have not seen these races in any other miniature lines of recent gaming companies.

The last two parts of the stretch goals include a bag of special characters and a random MVP (in this case Forgefathers) for the Dreadball Game also from Mantic.

As an add on to my Kickstarter package, I added the Chovar special character and all the Forgefather special charaters for Warparth (another game from Mantic).

Lastly, the gratuitous picture of the bases included for the starter box. By the count of all the figures, I doubt that there is enough bases for everyone. Maybe just enough for the starter box figures.

So, in short, a huge box with a huge number of figures in a well constructed starter box. The size of the box is more likely to allow the storage of the terrain even when pre-contructed. Based off of the last starter box I reviewed (Hawk Wargames 2-player Starter Box), many companies are learning to include a full game with terrain. I cannot wait to assemble the figures and put the to brush (hopefully before Adepticon 2014). Any comments are much appreciate. Thanks!

Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2-player Starter Set - Assembly UCM Tanks

Continuing my review of the Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2-player Starter Set, we present the Sabre Main Battle Tanks and Rapier Anti-Air Tanks.

Again looking at the sprue layout and instructions, you will get three sprues for each faction. One spure will have a Dropship, a personnel carrier, 2 tanks and 2 infantry bases.
  

The instructions for both versions of the tanks are the same.

This tanks comes in 6 parts each - main body, 2 tracks, turret, armature and main weapon. The Sabre gets the UM-100 'Avenger' railgun and Rapier is armed with the UM-28 'Vindicator'.

The actual assembly again is very easy and again no mold lines to worry about. The tracks glue to the body with contacts to the side chassis and top armor. With the contact areas hidden, you can easily over glue with out any overflow getting on the models exterior surface.

The rail gun is thin and may have a little warpage but a quick hot water bath will make it straight. The 'Vindicator' gatling gun is solid BUT the contact to the armature is a single ball joint. It was a challenge to keep the gun alligned with the body and armature while the glue dried.

I chose three configurations when assembling these tanks: no extension, low extension and mid extension. I decided not to go with the full extension due to storage and the height limitations when using foam trays I used. At the end of this series, I will show you the storage tray I used for the whole starter set armies and I was able to fit all models on one tray.

Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2-player Starter Set - Assembly UCM Bear APC

Continuing my review of the Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2-player Starter Set, I will start my assembly of the armies.

Today, I start with the Bear APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier). The starter army only needs 2 Bear APCs but due to the sprue layout, you will get one extra Bear APC. Now the plastics used were real easy to work with. In comparison to other plastics, when you clip the parts off their sprue, this plastic comes off clean and without any difficulty. The other companies usually result in some sort of "pinch" or deformity when clipping them off the sprue. (Note: as a bonus, no mold lines!)

 

The instructions were easy to read and understand.
 

 

This vehicle comes in 6 parts - main body, under chassis, right and left wheels, rear door and gun turret. Simple enough and upon dry fitting, I found that the model held together even without superglue.
 

The simple assembly compliments the starter set so you can go from box to table top in such a short amount of time.
 

 

Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2-player Starter Set - An Unboxing

Hawk Wargames did an amazing job in putting together a 2-player starter set. This box has everything you need and more to start the Dropzone Commander miniatures game. From the two factions included in the box to the full sized rule book, dice and measuring tape, we can only hope the other miniature companies would follow Hawk Wargames lead. I have purchased 2-player starter sets in the past but this is the best value in a box.

This box is packed with 2 faction starter sets with the terrain tiles, buildings, full-size rulebook, templates, dice and measuring tape are considered freebies in this set. This starter will give you enough to learn the game but leaves room to want more. I plan to get some Gunships to bolster the UCM side of this box.

On top of that, each faction comes with a bonus Bear APC and Invader APC due to the sprue layout. The 10 mm scale will be a challenge to paint especially after I gave up on the 15 mm Flames of War infantry figures. Saying that every inch of the box is packed is an understatement.

The buildings are simple enough to put together but I do recommend using a little PVA glue on the inside lip of the building roofs. For those who would rather fold up their building for easy transportation, the cardboard is thick enough for the wear and tear of doing this. 

Most of the 2-player starter sets will either come with a mini-rulebook or digest sized rulebook and even other with just a quick start rule sheet. They could not even make the quick start a book. This starter comes with the full sized rule book. Other companies also include a piece of cardboard they call a ruler or a long red stick. Well, this starter comes with a proper retractable measuring tape.

This is the best 2-player starter set currently on the market that money can buy. I do not usually make a purchase like this unless I can see true value in the box. For the price of one faction starter set, you will get an equivalent of 2 faction starter sets and everything else is icing on the cake. I was planning to get into Dropzone Commander and this just made it so much easier to finally dive into the game.

Important Announcement (GW Coverage)

Dream Pod 9's Badlands Rally Show Your Colors Competition Entries

Contest Details
"In advance of the Heavy Gear Badlands Rally preview release at Gen Con this August, Dream Pod 9 is announcing the Show Your Rally Colors rally gear painting and rally gear persona contest. Paint up what you would like to see as your personal Rally Gear, with racing strips or a flashy paint scheme,  go all out on it.  This is not a conversion contest, you only need a stock Gear miniature which must be from either the North, South, PRDF, NuCoal  or Leagueless factions and it must be a Gear,  no striders, tanks or other vehicles. The entry deadline is Monday morning  October 7th, 2013.

Also, we want you to create your Rally persona as well to post with your miniature photo, with a Rally Gear name and its "call sign", Pilot name and "nickname", and Pilot Byline "what they like to say".

Here is an example of the Rally Jerboa  which is included in the game box:

Rally Gear Name: Rally Jerboa "Booster"
Rally Pilot Name: Sam Yatani "Skyhigh"
Pilot Byline: "Every cockpit equipped with a big red button labeled 'booster'."
(Please nothing inappropriate, we reserve the right to make any changes required.)

All entries will have their Dream Pod 9 Forum Title changed to their Rally Gear name and its call sign as a reward for entering. There will be two winners of The Show Your Rally Colors, the first will be for the best Rally Gear paint job. The second winner will be for the best Rally Gear Persona, including the gear name, call sign, pilot name, nickname, byline and rally gear painted with your matching personal  paint scheme (this is not judged on the painting quality).
Each winner will receive a special set of terrain to place on top of the Badlands Rally Map for a full 3D racing feel. Set includes 4 stoneheads standing, 4 stoneheads submerged in the sand, 1 small stoneheads trio, 1 badlands tower, 1 badlands shed, 1 destroyed hunter, 1 destroyed jager and 1 barnaby gear transport wreck."

Entries posted on Dream Pod 9's Forums

Here are my entries for you viewing pleasure! Let me know if they have a good chance against the other entries. Comment below.

Rally Gear Name: Rally Pitbull "Wrecker"
Rally Pilot Name: Jack Andretti "Wheeljack"
Pilot Byline: "If you're trying to ruin my day, you're gonna have to try harder."






and

Rally Gear Name: Rally Pitbull "Reaper"
Rally Pilot Name: "Kid Death"
Pilot Byline: "If you pick a fight with a god of death, I can't guarantee your soul's safety."