So this box of awesome arrived. Everything comes packed in tissue paper wrapped around the baggies which helps protect everything in transit.
I went in at the Commodore level of the Kickstarter which got me 4 each of the Tan, Gray and Black MTF figures and accessories as well as 1 each of the Stretch Goals. I added on 1 of each of the Stretch Goal figures (2 of the White because arctic figures rock) and 2 of the Field Ops solid green figure that was offered after the campaign closed. I also picked up extras of some of the accessory Stretch Goals. This photo amounts to a $400 investment in the Kickstarter bringing my per figure average to $17.39 for 23 extremely well equipped figures. Not a bad investment at all I think.
In the production process the Tactical Vests had some issues with the modular accessory holes being just slightly too big. When MJ went back to do the rerun of the figures he had the Tactical Vests redone as well. Rather than toss out those "bad" vests he included them in the package. For every Tactical Vest you purchased as part of your pledge/add-on you should receive one of the "bad" vests at no charge. This is one of those little things that MJ and his team do that makes him one of the best online retailers in the business. They could have easily scrapped the vests and no one would have cared. But they tossed them in because that's just how MJ rolls.
Also as part of the Kickstarter each figure purchased included a Marauder IDS Figure Stand and 1 random Marauder Inc. weapon. I received a nice mix of older weapons and new ones. A couple of the giant "man-cannon" Barret sniper rifle, some combat shotguns (one of my favorite Marauder weapons) some of the classic MP5s, some of the "Dusty" rifle, M16s with molded grenade launchers, some combat rifles I can't identify this early in the morning and a single "Aliens" style flame thrower. A very nice mix of weapons that go well with the figures and boost my armory a bit.
One final piece that was added to the Kickstarters was an exclusive skull mask balaclava head. Its the black balaclava head with an exclusive face paint design available ONLY to Kickstarter supporters. Here I put it on one of the black figures and armed him up with a tactical vest, various pouches and holsters, the black beret and a rifle that came with my package. This is going to be my Marauder Task Force mascot figure.
Overall I absolutely love these figures. I do have a couple very minor quibbles. First on the desert tan figure the lower legs appear to be made from a different color tan than the rest of the figure. Its not very noticeable in photos but the tucked portion of the pants, above the boots/armor is a lighter, brighter tan than the upper leg it is attached to. I'm not sure if a paint app was missed or if they were molded from a different color plastic or what. The camo is there and looks great and it is just the small portion of the pants at the knee joint that is visible. Honestly I didn't catch it at first but once I started moving the figures around I caught it and it is on all 4 of my figures so I'm thinking its a production issue. Doesn't affect the playability at all and the aesthetics aren't affected much either. You probably won't notice it unless you're looking for it and it disappears quickly after playing with the figure for a bit.
The other thing is the knees feel a teensy bit soft. They aren't nearly as bad as some of the 50th Joes but there is a little more give in the material than I expected. I don't see this being a breakage problem or anything like that. Just an observation based on my experiences with the figures.
The construction is amazing. All the joints are tight and move well. The hands are really slick with the swivel-hinge joint that is nearly invisible to the naked eye. The waist joint I can see possibly becoming floppy over time with a LOT of play but for us adult collectors it shouldn't be a problem at all. The shoulder armor from the armor vest restricts the shoulder joint vertically but you can tell that's going to happen just by looking at it so that's not a surprise to me.
I was honestly surprised at how small and detailed the pockets and pouches are. Seeing the photos blown up on a computer screen skews the scale of these in you mind. It isn't until you open the baggie and there are these tiny little squares that you almost need tweezers to pick up that the scale hits home. The modular pockets and pouches all work really well with the vests, at least in the few that I played with. As recommended on the included "tip sheet" if you find a combination that you like go ahead and dab a little glue to hold the parts in place. They won't pop out if they are just displayed but you could knock something loose if you're handling the figure.
The helmets, specifically the tactical and half-shell helmets have a modular piece as well. The forehead connector where a lamp or nightvision goggles would be attached on a real life helmet is a separate piece that comes bagged with the pouches and pockets. Again from the tip sheet, it is recommended to use a little glue to hold this in place on the helmet, until some helmet accessories become available *coughValkyriesKickstartercough*. The mount pegs in tightly but you need to make sure you get it pushed through all the way into the helmet. And glue will definitely keep it in place as the peg sticks through the inside of the helmet a bit and could be pushed out when putting it on a head.
I haven't taken a lot of time to play with these yet. I've only put together the Marauder figure above. But when sorting and checking off my order I really liked the look and feel of the figures and accessories. There are
so many options that I can't even imagine trying to put them all together. I have some ideas for figures and purchased a few things during the Kickstarter specifically for a couple customs. But I have more ideas brewing now that these are in hand.
Marauder John, Boss Fight Studios and the entire Marauder team really knocked this one out of the park. The unforeseen delays made the wait a bit unbearable at times but the final result is a product that MJ should be extremely proud of. Now that these are out I couldn't be happier. The next question becomes, how many more do I need when these go on sale in the Marauder Inc store?
