Defiance Games UAMC

Look what came in the mail.  I've been waiting for this package since February.  Defiance Games has finally sorted out their production issues and gotten their production line in order.  My order of USMC, now re-named UAMC due to copyright issues, is finally here.  (Yes, you read that correctly, the United States Marine Corps has copyrighted USMC).

Look what just came in the mail.

The box, looking remarkably like what it looked like on the Defiance web site. 

This box holds twelve sprues.

The box also came with an extra sprue, thrown in out of the awesomeness of Defiance's hearts.  That's two free dudes, which is just nice of them.

This is my free sprue, which looks like all the rest in the box.

They also sent me a flyer to tell me that my other free model is on the way, and oh by the way, if I order something else then I can put in a promo code and get another one.  Sweet.

This figure looks like someone from a Marine movie, hmmm.

The box also comes with a unit card for the, upcoming, Alien War rules.  These will be skirmish rules with, reportedly, some interesting mechanics in them.

Unit Card for Defiance's new Alien War rules.  It comes in the box.  Classy.

The stack of sprues.  Each one makes two Marines.  It has three sets of legs, six heads, five weapons, ammo pouches and a backpack.

The sprues stack together nicely.  The four bases on each one are attached.  There was also a baggy with more bases in it.

Sprue Shot.  There's a lot on here.  Very nice.

I just had to build a couple to see how they look "in the flesh".

Front quarter.  SAW gunner to the left, Grenadier to the right.

Side shot.  The awkward posing is me, not the design of the miniatures.

Front view.  I like the helmets.  Two of them come with full environmental filters in place.

I had a Cadian sitting around, so I took a couple of comparison shots.

The size is comparable.  I think the Marine stands up very well next to this guy.

In fact, I think the UAMC Marine looks more realistic.

There are some issues with these.  There was a lot of flash to clean up.  The legs and some of the torsos have holes in them that leave less surface to bond to each other.  (To be clear, the holes are not visible, they are in the top of the legs, bottom of the torso, where they glue together).  The feet on some of these are pretty awkward and, frankly, look unfinished.  The left arms, holding the weapons, are difficult to fit.  It's also hard to tell which one is the right one until you get the weapon arm glued on.  The legs look a little bit flattened and awkward from some angles as well.  Having said that, these were not more difficult to put together than GW products.

I put some of this down to the difficulties Defiance has had with their die toolers.  In the UK everyone uses Renedra.  That is not a great option here in the US, for several reasons.  Defiance started from scratch working to get their castings done.  It was a steep learning curve for both parties and these guys are way behind schedule.  Having said that, now that the growing pains are out of the way they have an aggressive production schedule with a lot of releases on tap for the summer.

So, am I glad I bought these minis?  Hell yes.  Not only am I happy to be supporting a new player in the 28mm Sci/Fi arena, but I like these models.  They are looking very good next to their competition.  With these and some vehicles from Atenociti's workshop I'll have a nice mid tech force to kick around my Cadians.

The upcoming bugs and Germans look great, giving me two more factions for 28mm.  I'm very excited about these guys and will be picking up another box of these Marines, as well as several boxes of bugs and, by the looks of them, some of everything else they make too.

Take a look at Defiance Games, and if you are looking for alternative 28mm Sci/Fi figures, these guys might scratch your itch.