Plastic Warjack Kit Review
I’ve always liked Warmachine by Privateer Press. I mean, how can you beat a bunch of steam-powered machines pounding the hell out of each other? But alas, I dropped out of the game a long time ago when the Warjacks were reduced to the role of mere support, and the game basically became focused on swarms of infantry. This was lame - so I left.
Now Warmachine has been re-released, with rules that bring ‘Jacks back to the front of things - where they damn well should be - and thus, I have taken a very serious interest in the game that hasn’t graced my table in years. I dusted off my Khador models, got the new rules (which I will review later), and picked up one of the new plastic Warjack kits that Privateer Press has released. At first I was a bit weary - plastic?… ‘Jacks?… Warjacks are supposed to be heavy metal - not light plastic! Not only that - but each kit costs 35 bucks! But because each kit lets you make your choice of 4 different models, complete with stat cards, I thought I’d at least give this new kit a day in court. But to be realistic - if you want to make this kit worth it’s cost - get some magnets. (I’ll post a tutorial on that later as well.)
Upon opening the box, you’re greeted with this… What - no sprues? No clipping? No trimming? Now this is something I could get used to! And check out those nice stat cards! So far so good.
After unwrapping all the parts, you end up with this lovely pile of bits. Everything you need to make any of the four jacks shown on the box. You’ll notice right away if you have some of the classic metal ‘Jacks, that many of the proportions are quite different. I mean, check out those heads! Looks like some head hunters got to them or something. Other than that - So far so good.
Then I start to look closer… What the heck is with this torso piece!? First off, it’s completely smashed and crooked - slanting down the right. There’s a big friggin’ vent tab front and center - getting that off should be fun. Then I flip it around - and notice that all the smoke stacks on the right side are all crumpled in and shitty looking. Wow, look at that boiler! Looks like they used a 3-part mold here, so naturally, you’ll have to trim of 50% more flash! Of course, they ran the mold lines right over the rivets.
Then I find this piece of shit staring me down… What am I supposed to do with that? All the fingers of this hand are all screwed up, and have a nice mold line across the details as the cherry on top. Hey Privateer Press - this is “unusable”. You need to do better, or go back to metals. Some of the other bits were great as well - like the cannon arm that looks like it’s giving birth, and a head so thin and tiny, I thought the blade on top would snap if I looked at it too hard. (no I did not squash that pic.)
OK - so now lets see if Privateer Press has a good replacement service - seeing as how their “request form” offers up no confirmation of delivery, and since as of yet I have got no response, my guess would be it’s about worth as much as the “Fist o’ Flash” up there. I’ll let you know if I have any luck.
So here’s the rub. I can’t recommend this kit - especially at 35 bones. 35 dollars should buy you an all metal starter with a caster and 2-5 jacks, not one plastic model. If you manage to get it magnetized, so you can field any of the 4 Warjacks as you see fit, then maybe it’s worth the scratch - but not at this quality.
Privateer Press- this isn’t going to cut it - stick with what you know, and that’s kick ass metal figures. And for the love of god, don’t pull the classic metals and leave us with this garbage. And while you’re at it, stop trying to be GW’s mini-me. You must know that people flee from these prices and into your waiting arms everyday - you’re begging for them to bounce right out just as fast if you start gouging them.
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DEACON
I was really excited to see this model when you mentioned that you picked it up. Once I put my hands on it I was very disappointed in the results. It does look like they’re using a new technology which is kinda cool in one regard if only to see where mold making technology is going, but it does still look like it is a technology still in its infancy.
What personally gets my goat though is the new warjacks that they came out with for the factions in Mk.II are only available in that kit. Personally I plan on sticking with the metal jacks myself wherever possible.
Well one thing you should be able to do to get those newer jacks is to look around ebay - I bet there will be tons of bits and cards that people cant use. Just take the newer jacks bits, and them slap them on a classic metal chasis.
I’d rather see the newer jacks in metal also.
“…stop trying to be GW’s mini-me.”
This is EXACTLY what caused Target Games/Heartbreaker Hobbies (The Mutant Chronicles and Warzone folks) to go under.
Sad to read this. My friend is trying to get me into Warmachine, but I really, REALLY don’t want to spend 35 bucks a model on what, like a 42mm fig?
I don’t play GW games specifically because of the price premium on them, which makes me sad. 200 dollars for a “battle army” box of plastic is insane. At least with GW, you’re getting pretty decent quality figs.
Also, long time lurker, first time poster. Great blog, I check it out frequently.
Warjacks are pretty big, but yes, wargames are going crazy these days - course so are board games.
If you want to play this game with your buddy - shop online. You can usually find this kit for about 26 bucks, which is were it should be retail.
The molding quality that I have seen is unacceptable. The mold technology is there to produce intricate parts, take a look at what DML/Dragon has been doing with their scale military models. If they cannot produce a single complex piece to those standards the solution is simple… Simplify the pieces so that a high qualty 2 piece mold can make a better product. From what I have seen these issues are ’standard fare’ for this kit at least. My reccomendations fot this box? Use it for battlefield scrap since you get all kinds of extra bits anyways and it would be easier to make it look like scrap than a good jack.
I’ve never seen those models before - check out the detail on this Nashorn:
http://www.dragon-models.com/html/6386builtup.htm
Pretty awesome - I can see what privateer press was going for - but they should have perfected the techniques before releasing this quality of product.
Nice writeup, as always. Thanks for the heads up!
I used to be a fanatic PP player, in fact I was the one who started the Battle College if you’re familiar with that. It’s been years since I’ve played the game, which is why I abandoned the site and let other fans turn it into a wiki. I wasn’t in a position to pontificate on the rules when I wasn’t playing the game a few or more times a week.
Despite my rules obsessions I prefer to think of myself as a modeler and painter, and on this front PP has gotten increasingly bad at their jobs. I know someone who works for a miniatures foundry that PP had to subcontract fixes to their own screwups to. My personal opinion of the newer models is that they’re getting more and more derivative and ugly. The whole of the new elf faction is just terrible.
PP has always had issues with casting and production; even their metal models are poorly done. The old metal heavy warjack torsos always took a great deal of putty work and filing to get assembled just so. I know that at least one sculptor has been upset at them, because the metal models don’t look anything like the greens that were sent in. The “Mister Hoppy” poses of Kovnik Grigorovich and the Behemoth being the worst. They’re supposed to be in running poses, but the mold makers fluffed it, and had to improvise afterwards.
In great part, the issue is caused by their overwhelming arrogance. Doug Seacat told me that they had the best casting department in the industry; while standing within spitting distance of the Reaper booth at Origins! I just laughed in his face. Tactful, that’s me.
I knew that they were going to get the cheapo low grade plastics from China when they first announced their intention to go plastic. The outlay for proper plastics production is enormous, and requires a lot of in-house expertise, which is why GW is so good at it. With the capital they’d already had to sink into monsterpocalypse there was no way PP were going to have the spare coin for proper plastics.
Goodness a lot of Privateer hate. I’m a lurker over on their forums, so I guess I mostly hear a lot of bias love for them. I still haven’t gotten a plastic kit. Although I still absolutely love the game, even more so with MKII. I have to say that most of their new metal minis look awesome, especially the re-release of the old ‘casters. ‘Jacks are definitely a bit more usable, but as before, often get bogged down by troops. This is my first mini game however, so I wasn’t just in it for the ‘jacks. In fact I think I prefer a lot of their infantry. Also I got pretty into the world they created, as I’ve never been a standard fantasy or sci-fi fan. Hopefully they put more money into their casting department and get the quality up to par with the price tag.