Grab The New Mercenaries & Blutkreuz Starter Sets For DUST
July 23, 2015 by brennon
Paolo Parente's DUST gets two new starter sets this week in the form of both the Mercenary Starter Set - Taskforce Tanya and the Blutkruez Starter Set - Kampfgruppe Von Stein. You can check both of them out below, each coming with a walker and much more besides...
Taskforce Tanya
The first of these boxed sets to take a look at is Taskforce Tanya which comes with the hero, Tanya, five Sisters of Demolition and one Wrecker Walker. You also get dice, rulebook, terrain tiles and a few other bits and pieces to help round off the set as a complete package.
I think this was one of the most popular sets to come out of the Kickstarter and you can see why. The models are looking fantastic and I love the fact that Tanya's soldiers are lugging around the biggest guns possible. I like that the gunner has taken the time to leave her walker too just to mow some poor unfortunate chap down with the machine gun.
The Undead Walk
As a foil to the Mercenaries we have the Blutkreuz Starter Set under the command of Frank Von Stein.Just like before you also get a squad in the box, five Braineaters, and then a walker too which is the Heinrich. As with Tanya there are new tiles, dice, a little rulebook and more too.
With the new way in which DUST is handling the supply of their product to customers you can also get these done in the 'Babylon Pattern' paint schemes. This effectively doubles the price of the boxed set but you get the models looking JUST like they do on the front cover of the box rather than just primed.
We're yet to actually see someones set painted up to match Vincent Fontaine’s work but we're assured that that is exactly what it looks like when you open the box. Pretty neat.
What do you think?
"With the new way in which DUST is handling the supply of their product to customers you can also get these done in the 'Babylon Pattern' paint schemes..."
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I _really_ hope Dust, Battlefront etc. get everything sorted out and are able to rebuild trust with people. I don’t play Dust or have any stake in the Kickstarter debacle, but the game looks really fun and a lot of the miniatures look fantastic.
Oh look they are selling the freebies
First thing that came into my mind!
I guess the loss of 5 models (compared to the previous starters) is a fair trade for the ‘high quality’ gaming mat.. but.. I’d feel a lot better about ordering the mercs box if the whole BF vs DS debacle hadn’t occurred.
..also you have to laugh at the price..
I couldnt beleive my eyes when i got a mail offering me discount on product i already paid for .. and all presented with a smug “it was all BFs fault” friendly tone.
I didn’t even get that email lol
i didn’t get to!!!
yeah even the unprimed box is somewhat laugahble
Maybe be if like AT-42 they threw in some walls, debris piles, ammo crates, shipping container s and such.
I dunno though. Paolo’s Dust site wants $25 for three guys in powered armor with a bazooka arms that used to go for $15 under FFG and Battlefront’s tenure. Not encouraging at all. Nice idea but like AT-42/ Confrontation these are low-end toy quality minis for the most part (yes I know production runs are much lower than for toys) and it feels to me like the price just isn’t right. I love the open cockpit smaller walkers with machine guns though. I might get one or two for post apocalyptic games.
You *could* pick them up, except Battlefront is legally halting sales of Dust products worldwide until the dispute is settled (which is something they can do according to their agreement). Dust Studios is refusing to comply. Dust’s “whatever” attitude is so very teenager.
I do wish i cared whos fault it was at this dragged on point
Nice try with the false information. Dust-Studios has always sold Dust items from their own site no matter who distributed in the USA. No matter wether or not the contract for distribution between DS and BF is broken Dust-Studios can sell their items through the site.
You’re right, I don’t know the finer details, I’m sorry. But I maintain my opinion.
Sorry but this is not true. DS had never sold Primed Units before from their Site.
They used to sell only the Premium Stuff and some Model-Kits. I know because i am an Dust-Elite Member on their Site and used to buy there for years. Primed stuff was only sold by over there distributors.
The Primed Stuff had even differnt packing (beside the Starter who only had an Premium Label added)
argh
i love the look of dust but with all the story’s iv heard i drenat touch it
is Tanya on lone from the Allies C&C?
love the zombie Nazis.
Putting aside all the Dust Debacle stuff, I like these minis. Its like bomber nose art pin-ups have come to life and are fighting the war. For folks who want a light-hearted game.
Jeez. Looking at the minis, looks like you can only be a merc if you’ve got big baps. I’m no PC police but is this really necessary…?
That’s Paolo’s art style, boobs, zombies and lasers. Never understood why people say he has “creative vision”
It is a vision, even if it might only be a soft-core horror porn vision.
ZOMBIE NAZIS! That’s bloody original never would have thought of that!……………….
…Nazi zombies with big boobs???
Was referring to other box set…The Undead Walk..also shown on this article.
Were so you distracted by the boobs you didn’t notice?
I was. Completely missed the Zombies. I like them too. Now I can p[lay Shock Waves or Oasis of the Zombies in Dust.
…there is an article?
I think…”I was just reading it for the articles” is a honest defence
…where?
It’s great to see Dust moving forward again. It’s a great game with great miniatures. I guess it’s true what they say, there is no such thing as bad press!
Why is beasts of war advertising for these thieves? I’m thinking of cancelling my subscription
I think that is a little extreme. Especially since its not so much an advert as it is news that it happening. I’m sure Beasts of War getting no money for it. This site just happens to be a miniatures game site. So when a miniatures game company decides to put out a new product they write up an article. Hardly what I call an endorsement of what that company is doing.
And it also give you to option to give you opinion on the company in the comments
I was notified about this via e-mail and the overall tone of the article is not objective. There is a lot of praise for the product. I’ve lost almost over $1,000 dollars to this company. I also pay for this subscription, that means I should be allowed to have a say in what they should endorse, I’m not delusional I know it won’t have an impact. But it’s getting really frustrating to get advertisement about a company that is doing the wrong hint by it’s customers. Don’t delude yourself these are all advertisements
It’s Battle Front that took your money and they didn’t pass that to Dust Studios to make your models. DS are just trying to make some sales, besides most of it has now been paid for and shipped.
Well until I figured out how to manage my settings, I was getting tons of e-mails from Beasts of War (I think they automatically join you any group with create a post in), Even then, I have had to go back and alter it a few times.
As for objectivity, I am not seeing the issue. I read the article over again, and it seems to be a like all the other ones I have read here. Mostly informative with an air of excitement (like the person that wrote enjoys miniatures games). I certainly wouldn’t expect BOW to write, “Here are a bunch of stupid new starter sets that have bunch over priced, ugly miniatures.” They have never done that. If anything, I think they over sell everything, but that is just the people they are.
You are completely free to subscribe or not subscribe for any reason you wish. It is your money, and I am certainly in no position to tell you how to spend it. However, I think you reading into this article far more than what is there.
I’m very sorry you are out so much money. When this Kickstarter was going last year, outside CMON, I don’t think you could have backed what by all accounts was more of a sure thing. I don’t back Kickstarters on principle, but I will admit Dust nearly got me. It was only that the new units didn’t really thrill me as they were largely re-hashes. I hoped that the Kickstarter would boost Dust as I really enjoy it. Dust Warfare is by far my favorite miniatures war game (even if I only get to play it with my non-gamer friends). However, it seems to have done the opposite. I feel pretty fortunate that my gaming group (Dust Battlefield only) appears to be growing despite the issues. Many of them, including the store itself, are backers.
Even though I didn’t back the Kickstarter, I really want it to be concluded just about as much as anybody else. I want all the backers to get everything that was promised to them. I really do. I also would like it to be sooner rather than later so we can forget about all this drama and just enjoy the game. I would preferred the Kickstarter to have gone off with out a hitch, heck; I would have preferred Dust staying with Fantasy Flight. But it is what it is.
Like I said, I don’t think of these as adverts in the way that Beasts of War really wants you or I to buy them. I view them more as news on new stuff coming out in the world of miniature gaming. Which is what this site is about. I don’t care a single whit about anything Games Workshop. In fact, as someone whose only exposure to Warhammer is a couple of rpg sessions in fantasy 2ed and Rogue Trader, I find both settings kinda dumb and derivative. However, they are miniatures games, and if Beasts of War wants to highlight them, I just won’t read/view them.
Your right!
(the reply was to @gijac)
@gijac
It’s no easy task covering this industry and I do share your frustration however we try to run things in an impartial way here, so let me describe how.
1) Separation of the news team, we deliberately keep Ben the editor shielded from as much company politics etc as possible and encourage him and the others to post about what we think is news worthy as a release with the only slant being a bias towards stories that are visually better (so we don’t reprint press releases or if a release has no or poor supporting imagery or falls short on quality)
2) Ben and the news team have no visibility of advertiser stuff that is taking place again because we don’t think it should have an impact on the news flow
3) This particular situation with DS&BF is complex and although I have my own suspicions and opinions on the topic, we don’t know for sure exactly what is or has taken place.
4) if you think we are not being impartial and have taken sides with DS, only a couple of weeks ago we had another member quit in a rage because he felt exactly the opposite (that we had somehow backed BF’s position)
The most honest answer I can give is we are not taking sides. If and when we can get to the truth of what’s happened that may well change, but we are not going to base that on hear say or our own hunches, we would need the evidence to back that up.
It’s an emotive topic and one that has disappointed a lot of us @lloyd included
But we’re going to continue to stay impartial and just report the facts of what is happening
Regarding you having a say, you absolutely do have a mechanism for that (and deservedly so!) this comment stream is your opportunity to challenge or correct, agree or disagree, or even just give an opinion on anything we write about.
You have a voice here 🙂
Again I understand your point and pain very well, but when we have rage quits and threats of rage quits from both camps it is a signal to me that we are probably keeping to the impartiality line ok
Welcome to the wonderful world of KS, where your money goes nobody knows!
@warzan
I was not expecting a reply from you. Thank you for taking the time to do so.
I don’t support either company. What I wanted to express was my concern at
Others seeing this post, handing over money as I did and losing it.
Everything that this site does is right, from paint tutorials to the weekender,
I love it all. But as you’ve said it’s an emotional subject and seeing
Either of these companies ‘publicised’ or ‘reported on’ here inevitably brings on
Negative feelings and frustration.
I guess what I’ll have to do is unsubscribe to the newsletters?
All of the newsletters bar the one that goes out to the entire membership each week (the on the table branded one) are machine generated, so the format you saw was a fluke of the machine.
The parameters are based on time of posting and available graphics etc, so while it may have looked like an editorial decision really it’s just the machines trying to create nice looking newsletters.
We haven’t coded empathy into them yet 😉 but clearly it’s something we should consider! 🙂
Nonsense question for @lloyd.
Have you thought of fielding a team of Dust minis as an Ariadna Infinity force.
Looking at some of the minis pictured above it’s just a call on what Infinity world weapon you declare each mini is carrying for the sake of stats and you’re away
away. 🙂
I see why you would think this base on the pic above, but I think they would be a bit on the big size. The dust range is a bit larger than 28mm.
I keep getting tempted by Dust minis, but haven’t bitten yet. I’m not too interested in the Wierd World War aspect, but I do love me some dieselpunk sci fi. The mercenaries look great, but I’d have to convert them to sci fi them up a bit.
first: the kickstarter was/is a mess and I feel bad for all the people still waiting for stuff. You guys and gals deserve to be angry and frustrated by the Kick starter.
but the amount of Vitirol directed at Parente and NOT at Battlefront is sad. The Kickstarter finished a year ago? Then why has Battlefront NOT finished sending backers orders yet? The battle over the “Freebies” has NOTHING to do with sending DUST studios the people orders…
all i can think is this is another form of “leverage” or they are trying to kill the brand. I guess they did something similar when they were trying to buy Gale Force Nine?
Their online store for DUST has been a blank page for over a month and they do not promote or sell DUST at shows…but they intentionally rile up the backers and point them at Paolo for selling these 2 starters…bad form.
Also didn’t they say they didn’t have the money after wave one…but now say they were holding it as Leverage against Dust Studios?
well anyway I so like the contents of the new starters and was one of the 300 people that bought one the day he set up the pre-order. never had an issue with ordering from DUST studios.
Great if you like it and is happy with it.
The closest I ever been to starting Dust where the Kickstarter which I did dodge out of as some thing more my taste came along – or the free booklet they gave a way in WI. But I must say it seem like a toxic game for now at least.
As a Kickstarterholic I been following this as closely as I been able to with a disengaged interest.
I understand a company needing to stay productive and sell products in order to stay in business… but it still ticks me off to see them selling items that I paid for a year ago and still havent received 🙁
Especially since DS claim the ball is with BF now to provide them with a 50% rebate on the freebies .. they just sell those same models without a care in the world
I don’t have any opinion on who’s fault the kickstarter debacle was – battlefront, or DS or some combination of the two.
Dust is a great game. I want to see it supported again. Thats my only interest here.
As far as I can tell, battlefront are currently doing everything in their power to stop that from happening.