Friday, June 5, 2009

Retribution of Scyrah

Greetings,

I really don't get a chance to follow the big boards at Privateer all that much. To many things to do and not enough time. I usually hit the Press Gang section to see if I am missing anything and I can follow up on any tid bits that are shared there. With Malific in Japan posting the pics of the August Retribution releases I guess it has caused quite the stir. The PP cycle is currently in squarely in the 'Doom' phase for many players that feel that the new stuff is just right out. I can see that, but then again, I also can see how a race that has extracted themselves from other races for nearly 1000 years would have developed different technology and different approach. An Ironclad and a Destroyer are the same basic 'Jack, with cultural emphasis modifying the fringes... More armor here, bigger axe there, leaner and faster here... but in the end, it is the same technology for all intensive purposes. Not so with the Retribution.

Here are some happy snaps:

First up the light 'Jacks or Myrmidon's as the Ion's call them. My guess is that these guys will be cast metal.


The Chimera appears to be a two open fist light. My guess is that either the blades under the arms or the funky vents on the shoulders do some sort of range attack. Just a guess.


Here is the Gorgon. Another light with two open fists and arm blades. This guy looks to be lighter in the armor chest area and doesn't have the funky vents on the shoulders. Arc Node? Something completely different... Most likely.


The last of the lights is the Griffon and it is the only one with a reach weapon and shield for the lights. Seems to be the same body style as the Chimera, but without the vents.

The coolest thing to date from the Retribution is the Heavies. These are plastic and they will be convertible between the different types. Hydra, Manticore, and Phoenix will have all the parts in the kit so you an choose the one you want.


I am hoping, at least looking at the Hyrda and Mantiore that a bit of mini magnets will allow for some swaps of weapons to give greater flexibility in the kits. The Phoenix's extra vents on the back (range again?) could be an issue with the magnet options. I am hopeful that this experiment will carry over to the rest of the WM range!

What remains of the pics are a warcaster, a solo from the IK range, and a unit.


I like the Warcaster. Kaelyssa has that 'Don't piss me off human' look to her. Plus she highlights the different takes I think we are going to see from the Retribution, in this case the shadows/mage hunter types. One of my favorite items is the armor on this particular model. It seems to carry the best part of the units we have seen while tying in what we have had in the past with Eiryss.


The Dawnguard Invictor are the first full unit we have seen. These guys appear to be medium armored range troops. The do suffer form Inflated Thigh Syndrome (ITS) which seems to be common theme for the Ions, but I think it fits them fine. What I really like are the two bare heads. I think that they help bring out the detail in the fig.

Some last thoughts. I really do not like the white paint job and glowing blue iconography. I hope that it is doing a dis-service to the miniature sculpture's efforts. Like many paint jobs, pictures can sometimes distort the truth of the miniature. It is my hope that this is true with these as well, but only time will tell.

So what do you think?

jp
I'm past Doom!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll also reserve final judgment until I see the final models.

The heavies are great looking in my opinion, but those lights and their freakishly tall shins just don't do it for me.

I'm thinking a gray paint-job, some free hand and less "glowing teal orbs" would do these miniatures a lot of good.

- Adam

P.S. I didn't even think about the "shoulder vents" being for ranged attacks. I immediately thought they were arc nodes. Hmmm...

Unknown said...

Adam - I thought Arc Nodes too... But I don't see a 'gun' on any of the Myrs... Or they just don't have any...

Hey Bart - I get that. Their are some items that overlap a bit from those two races. Hard to do elves of a higher technology and be 100% unique... Elves are elves after all. ;-)

jp