Review: AE WWII American Sci-Tech Starter Force

Recently I was chatting to the guys at Blackball Games and they asked if I would like to do a couple of reviews for AE WWII. After a quick look at the site and eyeing up all the 'Weird World War' goodies, I obviously said 'Go on then!'

I didn't know very much about the game to begin with so while I learn more about the setting and how to
play, I'm going to have a look at some of the models.
The first lot to check out is the -

American Sci-Tech Starter Force

On the front of the box is a nice set of painted model pictures to show you what you get.
Turning the box over, you can see compartments that contains all of the models and parts.This is great is it lets you check the quality of the parts before you buy. Something you cant do with many other starter sets on the market.

Opening up the box and pulling out all the bits (which i suggest doing model by model. I didn't and got confused) you can see there is quite a lot included.
1 QuickStart rules sheets with model stats on the other side, 1 Buffalo, 1 Female Mechanic, 1 Sniper, 1 Officer, 2 Airbourne and bases for each models
Lets have a look at the minis a little closer.

Buffalo

The Buffalo seems to be a mechanised suit of armour armed with some serious weaponry

The model comes in 4 parts as you can see above. The parts have a couple of little tabs (extra bits of metal from casting) on them but nothing that cant be removed quickly with a pair of clippers.
Mould lines are almost non existent which is great and means minimal clean up time so you can get to building and painting quicker. The parts also fit together very easily.
The Buffalo doesn't have lots of intricate detail but I don't think this model needs it to be honest. Its walking armour!

Sniper

The man you want when there is an Officer you need disposed of.

The Sniper comes with a main body and camo cloak. He also has 2 sets of options. A rifle or a silenced pistol. This gives you different choices in the game or the chance to use the same model twice and still not have any identical minis in your force.
The parts are on metal sprues so will need clipping off and filing down before being fitted together. There are a couple of vents (where air escapes from the moulds) and they will also need removing and cleaning up.
Mould lines are quite good all the way around.
I do like this model. Nice detail and great options

Female Mechanic

Who is going to mess with a nasty looking woman holding a big wrench?

The Female Mech is a very basic model with separate hands and head. For the hands you have a pistol and wrench but for the head you have 2 different options. This lets you mix up the look of your force if you want to.
Parts will need clipping off the sprues and cleaning a little but it isn't going to take very much work at all to get her ready to build.
The painted picture does make her look like she has one 'lady lump' much larger than the other but I think that many just be the paintjob or angle of the picture.
Overall, nice model with great detail.

Airborne and Officer

The fighting bodies of your force. Officer in top pic above and Airbourne in second

I have chosen to picture the Officer and Airborne together as they are very similar models and though this would be the nest way for you to see the differences. Officer in the middle above.
All 3 of these model come with a ton of options. Seperate heads, weapons, arms and equipment lets you mix them up and run exactly what you want to. Rifles, pistols, its all there.
The parts being on sprues means a little cleaning up before building but an almost total lack of vents, tabs and mould lines means that prep time is minimal. You can get these ready to paint in minutes.
All 3 are highly detailed and capture the feel of the American forces very well.

Price - I will be honest and tell you I didn't pay for this box. But as the price is in the photo I thought I should cover it.
$33.99 (£22) from Blackball Games  is an absolute bargain in my eyes. Especially looking at the amount of options and extras you get in the box. 

Overall - You can see I haven't made these yet as they will be heading off to the painters soon and I will have a look at them again when they are done.
I am really impressed by these models. Weird WW wasn't a genre I had looked into before but these have changed my mind on the matter and I will be looking to expand the forces for AE WWII
Highly detailed, loads of options for different builds and a great price.
My only problem is a personal one. The parts are a little small for my big badger paws to put together easily without dropping them
For an initial score looking at the quality and contents alone I'm going to go for 

8 out of 10 Badger Points

Keep an eye out over the next 2 weeks for the Germans and Soviets!

Hendybadger awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!