Well, I’ve had a review of a Leviathan (and then the evil Leviathan), an APC, two different heavytroopers squads, but that still only came out to 13 total models. Time to bulk up my numbers a bit. So I’m going to more than double the number of figures I’ve got put together by assembling a Valkir Heavy Troopers box.
The kind folks at DreamForge-Games once again supplied me with a set.
So I hope you brought enough gum for everybody, it’s time for another TGN Review. This time it’s the Valkir Heavy Troopers box set from DreamForge-Games.
Having recently put together those Assault and Support units, I’ve sort of gotten a “taste” of what DreamForge kits are like. I also had the whole squad that went into the back of the APC. So I figured I knew what I was getting into. I’m happy to say I was right in what to expect. There was just more of it.
The set comes with 7 sprues. One’s for the 20 bases. The other 6 are three sets of two. So basically, it’s a Squad of 10 that you get, but they just double the sprues so you get 20. You can see the sprues above. Lots and lots and lots of pieces.
Just how many pieces? Well, there’s about 17 per trooper, as you can see there. As such, that means at least 340 pieces will be used when assembling this squad. I mentioned in a previous review that I was happy that, when designing the sprues, DreamForge had most of the pieces attach to the sprue in only one place. It’s easier to cut them off, I’ve found. It also means fewer spots to clean. It might not seem like a lot, but if you’re cleaning off 340 pieces for your squad of little mans, the difference between cleaning a little more than 340 connection spots, versus cleaning 680 or more can really give you a new appreciation for the DreamForge approach.
As with previous kits, a lot of the figures are subtly keyed. There’s no obvious “this tab will only fit in this particular hole” like other brands, but just “these legs don’t work with this pelvis” style. Thankfully, I only had one instance of gluing a leg in the wrong place and not being able to fix it. Also, the cloth hanging around the troopers waists helped cover up the offending legs not matching up as well. Above you can see the different ways the legs go together. Also, the torso heap. Because everyone needs a heap of torsos.
The way I put together these figures was a bit different than previous sets. There, there were specific arms that went with specific legs, so I’d assemble a full figure at a time. With this set, you can theoretically put any arm set with any leg set. So I assembled all the legs and I put together that torso heap into their proper form. Then I’d pick a set of legs, grab a torso, and put them together, then put arms on it. I did my best to not have two figures exactly the same. It shouldn’t be too hard to make sure, since you get 8 different leg types and 3 different weapon types.
Here you see finished troopers with those three weapon types. There’s the standard rifle, a heavy rifle, and a grenade launcher. The heavy rifle reminds me of the heavy blaster rifle carried by that one storm trooper in A New Hope in Mos Eisley. Since the helmets also remind me of storm troopers, it went together well.
Another thing a little different from the previous squad boxes is the sheer number of pieces left over. The previous sets had different heads, and here, too, you get a choice of 4. But this one has extra arms and weapons that you won’t be able to use. There’s also extra “detail” pieces in the form of holsters, ammo, and pouches that you can trick your guys out with. You can see just how much is leftover above.
Just like the other DreamForge kits, I enjoyed putting together this set. It was nice to have all the choices for posing, since before I’d been locked into certain looks. Just as before, though, you have to make sure you pay really good attention to where you’re clipping pieces from. Certain arms are made to go with certain weapons. Certain armor pieces are made to go with certain legs. With the sprues being so “dense” with pieces, you can cut off a piece and not realize it’s the wrong one until things don’t fit together. But, in general, as with the others, I was very happy with the kit.
Well, that’s the last of the DreamForge kits on my desk. I look forward to getting a chance to review more of them in the future, hopefully along with a set of game rules to go with them.
The Valkir Heavy Troopers squad box is available in the DreamForge-Games Webshop.