Paulson Games Mecha Front NorAm Raptor review (Part 1)

So, as a long-term mech-head (I'd be a member of MechAddicts Anonymous if there was such a thing!) I jumped at the chance to get a couple of these models in advance of the planned kickstarter. After pulling the trigger on the order, I eagerly waited about 10 days for the international post to arrive.

So, here it is;

Bags o'parts and bases!

Here's the parts laid out –

A note on bases - they look like the ones from Proxie Models – though I'm yet to confirm this - and if they are I'm favourably impressed. I've been hemming and hawing on whether to take the plunge and order some from over the pond (I always need more unslotted bases for GW figs, there never seem to be enough) , and after seeing these I think I will!

Look at all those parts!

Resin Quality – The parts are all cast in a good quality resin, light grey in colour. It feels more like Forgeworld resin than Finecast or Mantic's 'plastic resin', which is a good thing, in my opinion.

Score: 9/10

Cast quality – there's a lot of mould ventings, meaning very few air bubbles and a very clean cast. There is some mould slippage – very minor, but it is there and it's in a couple of noticeable areas, mainly along large flat plates, as you can see in the pics.

Mould vents on the back of the torso (from beneath)

The dreaded mould slippage!

Nothing a little liquid green stuff and sanding won't fix quickly, however. Overall though, the parts are very well cast and strong.

Score: 8/10

Components – The only thing that would complete the job would be cast-in holes for magnets, but I'm stretching here to find problems. Two lots of each the triple laser mount and two of the larger cannon. I will come out here and say that I really like the more realistic barrel size of the cannons.

Score: 10/10

Build time – once you've completed the usual resin cleaning (sanding, washing, filling, sanding again etc), these will build up very quickly with standard cyanacrylate super glue. You could pin them if you wanted, but I really think they'll stand up to normal handling quite nicely. Again, if you wanted to magnetise them, you'd be looking at a little more time but I doubt it would take long to do.

Score: 8/10

Final thoughts

In summary, I like these a lot. Given that these are both from the Nor-Am military forces, I've got a few thoughts on colour schemes in mind (one suggested on Dakka, an ace's black-and-flames hot rod style job, the other more strictly military) and I can't wait to get started and see how they look. I'll keep posing simple for now, but I have a few spare 15mm infantrymen from some other projects (of which news soon) who I might use to give a sense of scale to the bases. There are now a few weapon variants in the line, all of which, in my opinion, look great, and the NeoBloc (main enemy of the NorAm faction) light mecha has also now been added to the store.
As a fan of all things big and stompy, I am really looking forward to the kickstarter for these, and will be watching this line with great interest!

Overall so far – 9/10.

Get yours here - Mechafront
Next – Paint!

Posted by the Doc