Wave 1 - round 2 assessment

[Paladin]

I just got done pawing through the 20-25 sets of the new Wave 1 minis of Exodus Road about 30 minutes ago.

My anal attentive assessment is as follows:

• Overall the "bug eyes" have been corrected, for the most part. There is still a bit too much white visible, and I would prefer they use a more muted color or no white at all.
• There was a much lower number of bent weapons and off kilter figures. There was one EFTF trooper with a bent gun in 40 minis, 2 bent in 80 PLA, 4-6 in the MEA were a little tilted, all of them were the kneeling gunner. Shockingly I didn't see a single bent one in the USMC
• The blue on the lens has been muted some and isn't as bright of a blue, but is still a tad too much for my flavor. I'd prefer a gloss navy or black.
• USMC - These showed the greatest level of improvement. The sculpt quality was MUCH better and the level of detail visible on the weapons and armor was much better. The camo has improved and the facial painting quality has improved.
• PLA - While the paint jobs have improved, I think the sculpt quality has dropped. 80%+ had no noses and mild depth of features in multiple places, which implies to me that the molds were too worn and needed to be replaced.
• EFTF - Much better on the camo. The colors seem to have greater contrast and aren't as sloppy.
• MEA - they are better, but still need a bit of work to rival the USMC or EFTF. There were some sloppy spots on a half dozen minis. The drybrushing looks a bit patchy. On the other hand the finer details like the headbands look MUCH better so it's a bit of a trade off.
• The bases seem to have a bit more depth/variety of color overall which is a plus.

Overall I'd move them from a 75-80 in terms of "tabletop quality" to 85-87 with a low 90 on the USMC and still around 75 on the PLA.

 

[Armchair_Marine]

Can we expect pics?

 

[Paladin]

Can we expect pics?

Since I was assessing minis in the package that I did not buy... no.

 

[Fanaticus]

This is only related to the figures, right?

The vehicles were not changed on the Wave 1 2nd Edition?

The boxes itself don't state anything indicating that is a 2nd Ed Wave 1?

 

[127th Angry Angels]

I think it's just a second production run. The vehicles have small changes, for example the warriors markings are much tidier. I think they just look a bit better after MGP complained to the factory ppl. Nothing on the boxes will tell you what run but they're all seeable through the packaging so it's not a big deal.

 

[Fanaticus]

The Warriors are Wave 2, I believe this was talking about Wave 1 stuff.

I have one of these retouched Warriors myself.

But in overall I have no boxes available to see through in my LGS, so if I resort to a online purchase of additional Wave 1 stuff, it will be a big deal.

 

[127th Angry Angels]

Well, i hear you, my local game store closed last year. So i mostly deal with online stuff too. I'm afraid there's no indication on the box. If it were me i'd order from Mongoose as they are most likely to have sold through the old stock and have the better run. I've noticed a better finish to last W1 infantry i got and i'm pretty sure they were ordered from MGP.

 

[cordas]

You could always jus try emailing the retailer and asking them....

 

[Sgt. Brassones]

Saw these at my FLGS today and they are, indeed, better. The USMC camo is more defined and a little darker in tone and the basic painting is improved. The PLA and EFTF camo is a little better and the googly eyes have been fixed for the most part. The MEA are much better with an additional layer of shading and a better job on the weapons. All the bases look like they have had a wash and additional drybrushing done and there were no leaning figs or bent weapons. Good job Mongoose.

 

[Paladin]

This is only related to the figures, right?

The vehicles were not changed on the Wave 1 2nd Edition?

The boxes itself don't state anything indicating that is a 2nd Ed Wave 1?

The only change I really noticed is the smoothness of the paint job on the M1 was a bit better (less speckled on the drybrushing) and one or two of the items in the cargo rack were a different shade of brown to add some contrast. But the gear in the rack was left unpainted for the most part.