Ariadna have had a TAG in the fluff since N1, but the RM-100 never saw a profile or model. The quote is also from the TAG Raid trailer, seems strange to put a quote from a faction without a TAG in the trailer for a TAG game unless they're getting one with this release.
Iguana was done 2-3 years ago as CAD and is still a really good sculpt (the rules on the other hand.....), where as the Lizard was dated when the Pyramids were still being planned.
Closer to 7 years ago. It was pre-Icestorm, but not by much IIRC, but it's still CAD and holds up pretty well IMHO.
PVC glues fine with CA superglue. It’s polystyrene cement (“plastic glue”, thanks GW) that doesn’t work, because it’s not a styrene-based material. PVC cement does exist, but it’s mostly used by plumbers, not modelers.
Battletech did great in their funding around the same time as Defiance, so they're on a high note right now, but even they have been pretty financially close to being gone many times. They are probably a good reference point for what mini's would look like though.
Lizard definitely needs a resculpt and I hope it's amazing, it was one of my first models and I thought it was great cause Pi-well could blanket it in his ODF back in the day, fucking cool and OP AF! I hate the Oyoroi design. I'm just not a fan of evangalian and I'll never believe a pilot could fit in there. That design style is thematically not Japanese either. Sure it's a popular anime but it's the only anime that designs robots like that. I want something that matches the theme of the army, so futuristic version of ancient designs. I'll settle for Japanese folklore elements as well. A samurai head with Tengu or Oni elements would be perfectly menacing and convey the hard choices an opponent face the close an Oyoroi gets. If it plants a koala and then charges around a corner, are you facing burst 4, a template of fire or a sword. An angry demon face is perfect.
@wuji or simply stylised as a tengu / oni- shaped mempo. From what I know, awe-inspiring facial masks were not uncommon in the heavy armors of Japanese history. And I believe the actual shape of a TAGs head has no practical importance at all. Okay, it would be good if it be mobile enough to make for a sensible sensors platform (though not necessary, as I guess one could mount sensors all around, therefore eliminating the very need to move the head around), and definitely nice if there were no elemnts to get in the way of moving around. But that's it - there is no pilot's head inisde of the TAG's head. So it becomes open to purely stylistic choices. I mean, if the Blue Wolf TAG can have a gorram stylised wolf's head for a faceplate, why not a tengu...? I have a different problem with the JSA, however. CB is trying to pull three different aesthetic concepts with that army, as far as I can see: Samurai in Space High-Tech Cyber Superspies (GitS-style) Kawaii Manga Army (the new Karakuri design). For me, each of these styles would be fine (okay, the last of them the least) - but all of them at once, especially fluctuating due to different eras of the design, just don't work. That being said, I don't play JSA, so I'm not personally affected - it just my take on the JSA aesthetics, plus de gustibus est non disputandum...
So much this, and we all know Defiance had at least a truckload of naysayers, but well it turned out as an one of the best KSs I ever backed (to be fair with, I suppose I shouldn't back Obsidian protocol for good reasons :P). And since CB proved they can fulfill their goals pretty accurately and they did not compromised their model qualities, which built another layer of trustworthiness to their customers. I'll be waiting for the KS fairly surely. Looking forward to it!
much prefer jsa aesthetic to military orders who just look like 20 versions of the same thing jsa has separate sections such as the samurai families and the ninja, so the varied designs makes sense tbh, and karakuri are based on Japanese puppets which had complex inner workings it's literally just the o yoroi that doesn't match and that's because its an eva reference...but even then it basically looks like a robot tengu...
I tend to find these Kickstarters just too expensive to purchase given the limited opportunity for play. Their compatibility with the Infinity range means I'd happily be willing to fork out for rulebooks and other game material, even a cheaper version with cardboard minis, but the $100-200 extra in Infinity miniatures I already own a lot of puts them out of reach for me.
I gotta think that the plan here is plastic new sculpts for tags, following on the very successful megalodron model. The shipping alone would otherwise be bananas, and I suspect we are talking a dozen or so tags minimum (plus stretch goals) so the metal option would be pretty pricey, too. We also need to remember that CB really benefitted from having defiance finish right before covid started to smooth out the sales dip due to lockdowns, so having another KS before we go into the winter makes some sense if they are concerned we might get a seasonal rebound (fingers crossed we are done with this plague).
I guess shipping will be bananas either way. But yeah, making a number of TAG-sized models in metal as a game content is going to make the game, well, expensive. Assuming that TAGs at the moment do retail (CB online store) between 34 EUR and 45 EUR (in most cases, as there are single examples of more expensive ones. Like Avatar at 47 EUR, and Maghariba at 70 EUR), having "a dozen" of such models (~40 EUR on average), we're looking at 480 EUR entry price. Well... it ain't cheap. Of course, we could get down to 4 models (3 for the players, as it is "multiplayer", plus the TAG-sized "boss" - anything more would be included into stretch goals), which lands us at a more comfortable 160 EUR. That is, before we start adding rules booklets, gaming board, terrain and accessories. For comparison, let's assume it would cost as much as a Kaldstrom scenery pack (it has a gaming mat, terrain and tokens / rulers), i.e. 30 EUR. Still ain't cheap. And I don't think CB will cut the content that much. So, they're likely planning to get around this problem somehow. For years they were sticking to in-house production of metal miniatures, reasons for which, we were told, was the in-house quality control (also, the entry price and economics of scale plastic would require to be profitable. Which, in turn, meant such models would have to be made elsewhere, likely in China - and CB didn't wanted that). However, things have changed during the last 10 years. Maybe they decided it is time to start producing plastic models in China. From what the formus say, that's how Defiance elements have been made. Maybe they found someone to produce them in Europe (closer and easier to control for quality) Maybe they have some yet dfferent solution (I've been watching some 3d printed resin miniatures vids recently, and they looked good. While the amount of time and work it would require to 3d print a TAG model that way wouldn't make it a feasible solution in this case, these were desktop-sized printers meant for amateur users. I don't know jack shit about what an industrial model could pull!) I simply have no idea of! And besides... we don't have a lot of data to base our speculations on. So, I guess, we'll have to wait. And see.
When I said tengu or oni features, the mempo was what I meant and horns on the helmet. In the case of the tengu mempo it would mostly just be a long nose preferably over a bird's beak but I'd prefer the samurai Oni look complete with horned helm. I'd also like S6 because no EXP ARO... I agree with you about TAG heads though, just a sensor suite, the O12 TAG is just that but in the Oyoroi's case it just makes sense to have a scary face. What new Karakuri design do you mean btw? How does the current Oyoroi look like a Tengu?
This one: Presented by Bostria in yesterday vids. The old (dating back to 2ed) ones are fine with me - mechanical dolls stylised to resemble geishas - fitting first two "styles" I've mentioned.
Sadly Karakuri no longer resemble bunraku puppets, one of the best designs in the game just got butchered to cater to the 13 year old Otaku fanbois
Leaving aside that that age estimate is probably wildly inaccurate, this thread now resides in the TAGRaid subforum, so maybe take the Karakuri discussion to a thread where that's on topic?
I hope it is a way for them to invest in their company and ordering a machine to produce plastic in house. Plastic TAGs make so much sense. Mainly big slates of smooth armour plates.
