Some little tweaks have appeared!

The brand new Resistance Starter Army is currently up for pre-order, and it’s a real bumper box! With about twice as many models in as it used to have, it’s also seen a price cut, in what could arguably be called “the best thing to happen in 2020” and actually not be hyperbole!

But how on Earth did we manage to cram more stuff in for less money? Well, we had a chat with Dave about revisiting some old designs to make them cast easier and in fewer pieces. Not only does that mean we can fit more in the box, but as a Starter Army, it’s also easier to assemble, which is always nice.

By Air

First of all we can see that the Lifthawk now comes in a crazy two pieces.

Dave selected his delete key and got rid of a couple of the engines on the side! The engines still have the same rotating mechanism, but this version has them moulded on like this. The little fins have also been removed, making this basically a single piece aircraft!

We wanted to keep the option to take this big transport without the weapons (although, let’s face it, is anyone actually using it without the AA Cannons? They’re so helpful), so there’s a little sensor on the top which the cannons sit neatly over.

By Sea

The ubiquitous Kraken also saw a bit of a redesign, with the engines tucked into the sides in order to cast in one piece. We kept the ramp separate still, and it’s on the same hooks as before, so it can still be modelled up, down, or not glued on for both!

The Kraken is a brand new hovercraft commander for the Resistance, and from the start we knew that we wanted to use this chassis for more than just the one vehicle. So the version you can buy separately has the top as a separate piece which can swap out to make either the Hydra or the Circe, depending on your army needs. However, to keep the part count low in the Starter Army, we elected to make a different version in a single piece.

The hovercrafts also differ a bit from their separate cousins in that they have flat bottoms! Not that you ever see the bottoms of the others, but both have fans sculpted on the underneath. In fact, it’s so rare to see them that in a little behind-the-scenes gossip, the studio painted ones don’t even have the bottoms painted! :O

Having a flat bottom on the hovercraft isn’t just to save you painting time, it means they can be cast in a different way, meaning we can get more in a mould with more consistent results in casting. All that together means you get more stuff for less cost in your Starter Army!

By Land

By now a lot of you have noticed that the Jacksons are a little different in this set too.

This actually wasn’t a way to make things easier or more numerous, it was just something we thought was cool! A little while ago Dave sculpted a Kalium version of the Jackson (coming soon), and we loved it so much we asked him to make some more!

The Jacksons are a weird mix of military and private ownership, often used pre-war by security companies, and we wanted to reflect that in the models. Considering the Gun Wagons in the set are all quite random, we thought it’d be cool to give a few more variants of Jackson.

At the moment these are exclusive to the Starter Army, although with Kalium variants coming in the future, it’s safe to say you’ll be able to get them outside of this box eventually. You get 2 of each in the Starter Army, and while the official scheme has them all in military grey, we think they’d look great in all sorts of colours to fit with the more scrappy nature of some Resistance forces.

There we have it! With a few cunning changes by Dave, we’ve managed to double the contents of this Starter Army, and bring it down in cost. Now you can start any faction in Dropzone Commander and have a similar entry cost. That means it’s all about who you think is coolest!

And not to worry, if you still love the original designs, they’ll still all be available separately, but obviously the Starter Army is the best way to… well, to start an army!

Are you excited by the new Resistance? Fancy a buzzing army of hovercraft? Make sure to pre-order your Starter Army now, and let us know if you’re going to be a Kalium conscript, Scourge occupation veteran, or a Vega Scrapfleet ground militia fighter!