Christmas Time, Missile Launchers and Whine

Nailed it. Wonder if it will be a permanent product or by a Christmas time only one.

 

So, nothing known about a Christmas special product? The Three Wise Men Joan, Mushashi and Uxia on a bike?

A new NA2 without prior notice, like Druzes back in the day?

Anathematic ugly sweater?

 

The sweater, please

 

According to the CB store, considering the mention: "LIMITED UNITS!", it seems that mega Pano and Yu jing boxes, are the Christmas specials.

In the new support pack article, I saw that this guy with his life jacket was passed doctor :
https://infinitytheuniverse.com/blog/ariadna-support-pack

Spoiler: My Dozer doktor

I guess think that the red crosses of the kazak were not big and red enough... ^^

 

Are you effing kidding me!!???? I haven't gotten any Kaldstrom stuff at all. Waiting patiently for a Yu Jing Army pack that has all the Yu Jing stuff, and instead they come out with this that has tons of stuff I already effing have?!!! WTF CB?

 

Corvus Belli, finding innovative ways to disappoint.

 

Look, it's not like CB sat down to have a brainstorm about "how do we screw Space Ranger over as much as possible". This is a product specifically targeted at people who want to start either Pan-O or Yu Jing but didn't want to go through the hassle of flogging off the other side to someone (which reminds me, I've got Pan-O Kaldstrom miniatures to get rid of) and in terms of value it's not a bad deal.

While it is annoying to some people who are already bought into either side and want the Kaldstrom stuff, you need to realise it makes no sense what so ever to release this holiday deal simultaneously as the regular box because the audience who wants the Action Pack, specifically, is fairly small at this time.

So yeah, nah. This isn't an innovative way to disappoint. Seems like more people are excited about this holiday deal than are disappointed by it.

 

Well, you were waiting for a pack with all the stuff and got it, I was waiting for a YJ Action Pack with just the Kald+BKald stuff and my only option to get it is to scour the second-hand market or hand over a big bag of money. Thanks for the consistency in your releases, CB! /s

 

And here I am, still waiting for a Taqeul...

 

Yep, Christmas releases this year are kinda disappointing. Was hoping we'd have another TAGmas and see the last old sculpts redone

On a different note, I updated the release schedule that once existed:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_AoW7arvXwwSNGDf_GtAJHE0_-YyFNfsPpQy84Mla8o/edit?usp=sharing

Looks like Aleph is becoming the new Tohaa :(

 

Last year TAG month was because Code One Factions needed their TAGs... Not in the same situation this time. And was November. Not X-mas

 

I kinda anticipate a wave of resculpts next year - another Operation: Something being likely Aleph vs Haqq (as these are the two vanilla armeis of N4 still missing their Code One representation*).

* no, I don't really expect Tohaa and NA2 to appear in Code One.
Tohaa are on a weird hiatus in general, and they were designed around Firetam:Triad & a ton of unique rules, so it would be very difficult to make them into a sensible C1 faction without these.
NA2 are just a bag term for a number of very diverse armies mostly buildt out of mostly pre-existing other factions' units put together in new and interesting ways. Though the original outlier NA2 faction, the JSA, could perhaps make it: "space Japanese with samurai swords" do sell, from what I hear.

And as such, Aleph will warrant new models: while OSS are generally up-to-date, most of the ASS are late N2 / N3 era, and generally pre-digital sculpt. IIRC, new siocast REMs have been announced for Aleph this year (no specific slot, though).

 

I agree that Haqq and Aleph are the most likely candidates. An action pack could lean into QK and SP respectively, both of which are crying for an update. JSA vs. DBS would be the next one after that, I guess.

JSA needs quite a few things updated to N4 standards still:

- O-Yoroi
- Domaru
- Neko
- Yuriko
- Support Pack
- Rui Shi/Lu Duan (which are needed by several factions)
- Maybe another Daiyokai with actual ranged weapons

DBS could do with an expanded/Overhauled roster to put them on the same level in terms of faction identity and make them the merc sectorial. There have been discussions about a dedicated Druze HI or LI (depending on who you ask), so there seems to be some design space left untapped there. There are also some units that still need the N4 treatment:

- New LI/HI unit
- New Arslan
- Alternate Druze sculpts (Combi Rifle/GL/Panzerfaust)
- N4 Scarface/Anaconda
- Valerya Gromoz
- New ABHs
- Wolfgang

 

Stop lying, shill.

 

That would be nice, but OS Still have a quite a number of outstanding (re)sculpts too.
>Shukra MR (the most useful option...)
>>Asura Spitfire
>Trisha
>>Support Box/Netrods/Sophotec
>>Maruts
>>Chandra
>>Dasyu x3-5
>>Deva + Devabots (bots already done for O12)
>Deva MR
>Arjuna Shock Marksman
>>Post humans 1-3
>>Probots
>>Naga x2
>Garuda FO/Combi

 

Personally, I don't see that happening. NA2 lack the variety CB use to pull C1 armies, They also tend to rely on fireteams. After all, they are essentially a bunch of sectorials without a vanilla, more or less.

Alas, we'll see in two years what CB are going to pull out after the (expected) Aleph vs. Haqq box. Assuming they want to continue the tradition of releasing a new Operation every year (said to be a very successful line, indeed).

Regarding JSA, I guess we'll see a siocast O-Yoroi sooner than later, and I guess the Rui Shi box will go the same way. I'd expect a lot of REMs and TAGs are going to be swapped for Siocast sculpts over the next two years: they are large and heavy, taking up a lot of material - so, most cost-effective for CB to redo in nylon.
This applies to Scarface & Anaconda as well, BTW.

...that is, unless the whole Siocast idea crashes and burns. I hope what we're seeing in the related topic - issues with Vostok Zond models, and even some Jackbots - are essentially teething problems that CB will have worked out soon. But at the moment it doesn't look that good.

The DBS, well... they could use a whole new idea. Just like PanO in N3 needed to be reimagined and reinvented. Now, I believe there is nothign wrong with the current Arslan miniature. I can't say anythign about current Druze sculpts (I don't own them, still using the N2-era ones). Nothing wrong with Valeria either - sure, she's tiny, but why shouldn't she be tiny...? ABHs... I'm using whatever odd model I get as an ABH. including Domovoi and Anaconda Pilot (since Beba is serving as my Anaconda's operator). So no, not really a necessity in my eyes.

Wolfgang is basically bound to have a general release in a year.

Again, I can imagine JSA making for a vanilla-ish roster that could go into an Operation + Beyond box (though I don't see it as a probable outcome), but I can't say the same about DBS.
For the sake of a discussion, would you care to write down what could end in a C1 DBS roster, and what out of that could make it into the Operation box?

 

What's wrong with those?
The Domaru sculpts, for example, are pretty new (although the size difference between male and female models hurts) and cover many profiles. Rules-wise they also seem fine, and got dirt cheap, while getting lots of Fireteam options.

 

Oh, I'd absolutely love for all the armies have all their profiles represented, and of that, with completely up-to-date, modern sculpts.

But the way the release schedule works, and the way CB operates, and the way retail chain works, I find such a course of action to be absolutely unrealistic. Therefore, I don't ask for that myself...