February Releases for Infinity!

Damnit! Didn't I just write one of these?! Well, that's what I guess for running late on the last release and being on time with this. Hehe! If you think it looks crowded up on the top picture you are absolutely right. The reason being that we technically have six releases this month! Aren't we we lucky?!

Let's take a look at what we have...

I'll save the good stuff for last, so we begin with the Authorized Bounty Hunter - a Merc. Now this is an odd looking model! From a design standpoint it looks like a hodge-podge mix of aesthetics which I guess goes well with the bounty hunter persona. It's kind of cool looking (love that he's just slapping a new magazine in!) but the face plate looks a little silly... getting some Army of Two-vibes from it. Still, overall a pretty cool break from all the super slick über-designed Infinity models we're used to. In game he's basically slightly better than line infantry but Irregular and with Booty L2. For 14 points it seems like something fun you could play around with, but not rely on.

Next up is Neema Saatar of the Tohaa. She's an Ectros officer and we've seen her in some artwork in the Paradiso book before. A lot of people don't seem to like her, but I think the model is perfectly fine. She's posing for the viewer a bit, but that's a common thing in Infinity. Judged on her own merit I like both the design and the sculpt, it's only when you compare her to the other Ectros and that she's supposed to have a light rocket launcher that she drops a point or two, for me. The other two Ectros models are quite large and intimidating, while Neema simply looks smaller. She's not as tiny as the Hsien HMG model, but she's certainly smaller than her male counterparts. I also find it odd that they haven't sculpted the LRL as that is her signature weapon, and what really sets her apart from the regular Ectros. Still, I like her! She has improved stats over the Ectros, notably with Martial Arts L2, -9BTS(!) and Impetuous. Oh, and her SWC cost is actually cheaper if you take her as your Lieutenant.

A new starter box for the Neoterran Capitaline Army, a PanO sectorial! The box is a bit of a mixed bag as there are three old and three new sculpts in it. In fact, not only are the sculpts new but the concept as well. Neoterra Bolts seem to be to PanO what Wildcats are to Nomads - linkable medium infantry with access to some interesting gear (I'm guessing). The design and sculpts of these are really nice and, although I like the PanO "bunny ears", I'm glad to see CB doing something new with the helmet design. Not entirely sure I like the horns thing they're sporting, but overall I like them. They look very sharp and modern, very fitting with the Neoterrans, and the updated PanO combirifle certainly looks a LOT better than the original. I do find it odd that they included the old(ish) Aquila Guard in the box as his multirifle is really showing its age next to the hitech looking combis the Bolts are carrying! The Swiss Guard works better but also look a little old while the Hexa pass with flying colours. Odd choices by CB there. As for the stats of the Bolts, only time will tell as they are not available yet. The backpacks and satchels have me thinking D-charges (or maybe mines?!) but perhaps that would be too much like Wildcats.

I thought we'd be done with them with Ajax, but oh no! Here's giant manly-man Tarik Mansuri of Haggislam! Sorry, that's not fair - after an initial period of dislike I actually came around on Ajax and Tarik I liked at first sight. He's kind of like a Haqq Captain America - a genetically modified super soldier, in fact the only Khawaraji that really succeeded. Very cool sculpt with Tarik striding forward, sword in hand and shouting at the top of his lungs! Although he's on a 40mm base he doesn't really seem to be Ajax big, but rather something in between Ajax and regular infantry. It's hard to tell though. Really like the model and all the little details like the gasmask. I guess we might see an updated profile for him later on, but right now he's classed as "light infantry"... even though he's Armour 3 and has 2 Wounds. His stats are great across the board and combined with Martial Arts L2 and Superjump he's a scary dude! Oh, and he carries grenades as well.

The best for last, the Nomad Gecko Squadron! I actually first saw these while playing in a small Infinity tournament and was floored by their pure awesomeness! This is what I want TAGs to look like - short and stout but looking like you could drop a house on them and do no damage! While the tall, more Gundam-esque TAGs are cool in their own way I've always been much more of a fan of the Scopedog from VOTOMs or the Landmates of Shirow Masamune. That's why I like the Guija so much, it also looks tough and, well... more "realistic" than most of the other models (the Maghariba being the other exception of course!). These look more practical to me. The armour design is great and bears resemblance to the Iguana as they share the same chassi, except instead of the long limbs of the Iggy we got these solid looking balls of death!

My favourite by far is the Mk12 as I've always longed for a TAG that actually seemed to use its weapon effectively. They all carry different kinds of heavy weaponry but all of them, all of them, swings it around one handed and are busy doing anything but actually firing their guns! Well, ok, there's the Sphinx and the Szally that kind of look like they're aiming, but they are not really holding large guns so I'll discount those. The Gecko with the Mk12 on the other hand has it ready and is just about to light some poor sucker up! Cool! Of course, being in a TAG there are some weapons you probably could reliably use one-handed, like a combi rifle for example, which is what the other Gecko is using. This doesn't look as good as the rifle, but is pretty neat nonetheless. Also the rifles are small enough not to unbalance the model (like the Raicho).

The only thing I'm not that excited about are the chain-colts that are attached to the Gecko's left fore arms. Yes, those are chain colts and do exactly the same thing as the tiny pistol chain-colt that Sekban guy is holding in the boxed set! While I don't really have a problem with up-sized TAG weaponry doing the exact same damage as much smaller infantry handled weapons, this does look a bit silly. The barrel assembly alone is bigger than an entire hand held chain-colt! On top of that the two huge sickle mags?! The concept is kind of cool, they just turned out way to big and I think I might give them a miss when I put together my Geckos.

Stats-wise they are pretty much standard heavy infantry but with an extra wound (or STR in this case) and I think that is what you should treat them as. Sure they are technically TAGs, but they really don't measure up to the Cutters and Avatars out there, but neither to they have to! They're dirt cheap, actually cheaper than a lot of the HI I tend to field as Yu Jing and I could easily see running two in a list. Using them to put the pressure on the enemy and draw fire while your specialists takes objectives I think is the way to go. They can still take a lot of punishment with ARM 8 in cover. Just be mindful of hackers though as they're only BTS -3!

You might have noticed that I mentioned my Geckos above. I've put my Steel Phalanx on ice for a bit since I really have no way of resisting these beautiful looking models! They are unresistable! Now I just need to figure out what more I need in a Corregidor army besides four Geckos. ;)


And that's it! I think I forgot to mention that the Neoterra Bolts will be released as a three model blister for a limited time only and that's why we have six releases this month. If anyone failed to realize it, the Geckos are my favourite release this month, by far! The Bolts are pretty cool as well, as is Tarik and Neema, but I can't really be bothered looking at them when I can look at some beautiful mecha instead! Oooh, let's have some more pics!