Here's my take on the components:
The miniatures:First off something to be aware of is that the models are not made from normal hard plastic and are instead made of something mantic calls restic or sprueless plastic. This means that the components don't come on sprues and instead you get little bags of the models, the material is quite similar to hard plastic but I feel it is a bit harder which can make conversions and mold line removal a bit more difficult, and you have to use super glue to assemble them. On the plus side it does seem to capture detail slightly better especially on the veermyn which are significantly more detailed than the corporation.
The game is a great deal even if just for the models, you get the models, the tiles, counters and rules for only slightly more than the cost of the models themselves if bought A few other general points about the models are:
- They don’t come with separate bases, only the smaller integral bases mantic normally uses to insert in larger bases, this can make them slightly unstable, they will stand on their own but it could be worth buying separate bases from their site.
- Components can be bent especially the corporation gun barrels, I was lucky not to have this problem (although one did come snapped!) but have read about this elsewhere, this can be fixed by dipping them in hot water and straightening it.
- Mantic does not provide too much more than what is absolutely necessary with these kits, the only spare bits you will find are 3 corporation special weapons and one corporation head. If you lose anything it will be difficult to replace it.
The veermyn:
These were a bit of a let down from my view and if it wasn’t for the quality of the other components I would have been disappointed. The sculpts are fantastic, with lots of detail and character, nicer than the plastic skaven models I’ve seen (and to which they are often compared), but for all intents and purposes there are only four unique sculpts in 10 models. Because of the way they have been designed the heads and arms are not interchangeable meaning you are going to have clone men. This can be fixed by converting them, or doing simple head swaps but even then the variation will not be great. Another negative point is that the moldlines although tiny are awkward to remove. The boss and heavy weapons guys are both very cool dynamic models but are by far the most difficult to assemble with slightly ambiguous components.They are great looking figures but there is no way you could use them in an army or even a squad where you need variance.
The corporation:These were quite the opposite to the veermyn and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. The sculpts are nice, the poses look much more natural than in the painted examples mantic gives and they make convincing humans. There is less detail than on the veermyn with just a few pouches and rivets, but that is fitting on organized troops and I think they compare well with the imperial guard although they are slightly more realistically proportioned. The variety with these models is surprisingly good and even though the body and legs come as one piece you can easily get 10 unique models, it is strange that the model range least varied in terms of appearance gets the most variety in components. There are options for special weapons although there is no spare arm provided so to replace the standard guns a conversion is required. In a separate bag is a corporation boss which is a very cool mini with a power fist and las-ish type pistol, the crouching pose looks a bit weird in my opinion so I used that body for my special weapons guy. The only thing I am not sold on with these models is the closed visor heads which look a bit strange, hopefully they will look better when painted up. These could easily double up as an imperial guard squad.
The tiles and tokens:I don’t know about how these compare with other tiles but you get a decent number of these and plenty of tokens for representing situations in the game. The artwork is a matter of personal taste, it doesn’t rock my world but is nice enough. The variation is good with a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and artwork but there are double ups. There is no jigsaw or other locking mechanism on the tiles to allow more flexibility of use. The tokens are nice and at a pinch would make good tokens for deathsquads. All of these components come in pop out card board sheets and are of a decent thickness.
The rules:The rule book is more of a booklet but covers all of the rules including some quite interesting rules for darkness and crates. I haven’t read over it too thoroughly but movement and combat appear to be token based with roll offs to determine combat. The rules are based on Dwarf kings hold which is, from all accounts I’ve read, a great game so I have high hopes for it.
Overall some of the components could and maybe should be of a higher quality, but you get what you pay for, and in my opinion Project Pandora is a steal with its price being reasonable just for the models themselves. I will never have the disposable income to buy Space Hulk or other similar board games and for a complete game this is perfect for me.
Sorry for the wall of text, I will upload pictures of the components and my unpainted
miniatures
later. For pictures and other reviews try:
http://wpgamesclub.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/review-project-pandora-part-one.html
http://rotdog.co.uk/blog/?p=5608
http://www.followingthenerd.com/role-playing/shall-we-open-pandoras-box-a-look-inside-mantics-new-sci-fi-horror-game/
Also just as an unrelated note, from what I gather there is a free mini available from the assault group, a historical mini, but still free!
http://www.theassaultgroup.co.uk/pages/page.php?Like-our-FaceBook-page-and-get-a-Freebie-and-a-discount-188
Comments and criticism welcome!