My First Opinions of Aether Nexus

I'm very late to the party on this one, so let's have some context. While I haven't written about it regularly for a long time, I remain a huge fan of The Mecha Hack. The reasons for this should be fairly obvious. I've previously backed one Kickstarter for the system, and when I heard Absolute Tabletop was doing another, I'd backed it on principle. It was a fantasy game, not my usual vibe, but they had built up a lot of good will with me, so I went for it. The Kickstarter was funded, which was followed by a lengthy wait, and eventually, my preferred softback edition. I'd had an earlier pdf, of course, but I'm wedded to the dead tree format. So, much later, I had a few train journeys and decided to do a brief write-up.

Let's address the matters of rules and theming. Aether Nexus is a spin-off of The Mecha Hack, itself a variation on The Black Hack. As the word "Hack" implies, this was originally a minimalist ruleset, so minimalist I will admit to not quite getting it at first. Aether Nexus, coming after the Mecha Manual expansion has drifted away from that a bit. I've handled much more confused or bloated systems, Call of Cuthulu or the Power Rangers RPG for example, but this game trades simplicity for character. It's not a generic system this time, it's strongly themed with it's own character, forming part of the somewhat niche fantasy mecha subgenre. Think Escaflowne, Magic Knight Rayearth, and more recently Knights & Magic. An initial annoyance I had here was the tendency for every rules concept to have it's own, reskinned term, this being a game that includes a glossary. Had the setting hued a bit closer to the D&D template, this might not have been an issue, but there's clearly a bit of front loading required. Also, as the game doesn't feature the Tolkien standard fantasy races, I foresee issues sourcing reference images and the like, but your mileage may vary with that one. Don’t use AI.

Mechanically, the game replaces a few rules with more interesting ones. Degrading dice mechanics now trigger on a 1 and the maximum, with that maximum triggering a special ability. Armour now uses such a mechanic, no longer functioning as an expendable HP alternative. Melee and Ranged attacks now key off different stats, while the weapon types have been dramatically expanded. Character progression and money have effectively been rolled into one, with Arsenal points being used to get new skills, stat increases, weapons, and so on. Another thing you can spend Arsenal points on is the party sky ship, which is very much a character in it's own right. I was quite impressed by the chapter, and can see this being transferable to other genres fairly easily. Throughout the above is a big focus on teamwork, with a majority of abilities that benefit the party rather than yourself. This ties into a wider theme of players being magically bonded, also serving as an in-universe justification for magic radios and OOC knowledge. All in all, it seems a complete ruleset that's built on previous successes, although I'm not sure how the game balance will look. I've not had opportunity to actually play this.


I suppose the greatest strength, and weakness, of Aether Nexus is it's theming. As a rulebook, it's consistently gorgeous and well-presented. I love the art in this. I also like the extensive selection of GM tools and charts. Both are vital for building the world Absolute TableTop had committed to. But, there also is a weakness. Magical mecha is a niche within a niche, and they haven't taken the easy route. I don't know if Aether Nexus would have been a better game if it had been more D&D. I'd want to run a campaign before making that call, but I suspect that it may have been more accessible. I would have liked to build on this book, instead I have to work within it's rails, or gut the rules and start again. And I'm confident I could have done that with The Mecha Hack… But then again, I'm a weirdo whom makes homebrew for fun.


I'd sum it up like this. If you like the look of Aether Nexus, and it is very pretty, go for it. It's a complete and well-presented system, that's good at what it's choosing to do. It you're looking for a more generic or sci-fi system though, look up The Mecha Hack instead.

Gunpla: The RGM-79 GM(Shoulder Cannon / Missile Pod) (HG Gundam The Origin)

Okay, let me try to explain Gundam: The Origin. This started out as a manga retelling of the first Gundam TV show, but it has since been animated in part. In many ways it's typical of prequel and expansion trends you see in big franchises. As the name implies, it functions as an explanation for the One Year War, especially with those segments animated, but its more of a remix. As you might imagine, the continuity drifts after a while, most obviously with the mecha designs. These initially look to be a same-thing/different-artist affair but end up with some noteworthy differences, in an uncanny valley kinda way. Today's subject is one such example. What first appears to be a minor GM variant, but features vulcans in left forearm and heavy weapons built into the backpack.

 

Tangent for a second: why is it only the Federation that routinely features vulcans/miniguns/machineguns/anti-infantry-dakka as secondary weapons? Within the context of the One Year War at least. These weapons make the most sense in a combined arms conflict, not a mobile suit versus mobile suit war. As the Federation had no suits at the start, it was combined arms, shouldn't every Zaku have that feature? <quick google> Oh, Origin doubles-down on this, and has Federation suits much earlier. OK. Now it makes less sense. Moving on.

So, here's the thing. This is a luxurious kit, with a load of weapons, including some you didn't know you wanted. It utterly shamed the regular GM,  although that's very old. The GMGM has lost its top spot. This is extremely new and it's an Adele situation, where they took what was already a nice Gundam and turned it into a grunt. Best GM ever? I don't know, but it's a question you can reasonably ask. The articulation, engineering, colour separation, and sheer quantity of stuff like waterslide decals make for a good argument there. The legs are especially well-engineered, with numerous little quality of life touches. I mean, the beam saber mounts are even articulated, making a drawing pose that bit easier. Thrusters are articulated in places too, and there's even a toe joint.

HOWEVER.

However, this is a kit that requires an individual sticker for each missile in those pods. Yes, one individual red sticker for each missile. 26 of them. Also, for reasons I don't fully understand, the circular joint covers are separate pieces, which then require stickers. Why? Also, we're using a lot of polycaps here, which mostly work great, but these are also used for backpack hardpoints, and mine don't feel great. I think a hard plastic part would have worked better there, but your mileage may vary. So a bit of a mixed experience then? Well, it's like someone created the perfect chocolate cake, only to go cheap on the icing, and top it with a hazelnut.

So, you can probably guess what I skipped, and I shall now gently shift towards the build and painting. I opted to paint the missiles while still on the runner, as an act of spite, and opt for a load out that didn't over stress any polycaps while still retaining the Origin style. This meant the "early type" Beam Spray Gun with those missiles, and the optional, erm, butt rack for the beam sabers. Other weapons have gone into bitzbox as deposits against future projects. I did a basic weathering job, painting silver behind the visor as I like that effect, and gunmetal for those joint covers. I declined to apply the waterslides as I honestly do not care. In other news: I found my action base!

 

My general tone and petty complaints aside, I do like this kit an awful lot. Origin kits are clearly prestige items for Bandai, which makes the imperfections worse, but it's hard to dislike the end result. If you like the look of this kit, and are aware of those imperfections, I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time. 

A- 

 

Plamo: Burna Boyz (GW)

 

OK, following my initial and successful fielding of my Orks in 10th edition, I had a slight issue. My metal Nob miniatures had simply not survived the process, and it wasn't looking to be a quick fix. More a paint stripper and drill job. This looked to be unfun, but then I had an idea. I'd been looking into Ork tactics, one that I'd come across was the idea of having a minimum size squad of Nobz with a minimum squad of Burna Boyz in the same trukk. One rummage in the boneyard later, and yes, I could do that.

Burna Boyz are a bit of an odd one, and they got on the wrong side of GW's "exactly what the kit allows" policy. They are a unit mainly equipped with flamethrowers that double as welding kits, which they happily use to dismantle things. Like people. This makes for a very short ranged but potentially very destructive unit, which largely requires a transport so they aren't immediately destroyed. They share a kit with the much longer ranged Lootas, whom historically have been a bit more popular, but under modern rules conventions, they now have the same issue. Both require, as of 10th, the presence of “Spanners”, apprentice meks with different weapons and thus some optimisation issues. The Spanners used to be able to repair things, but not now, and even then, nobody really fielded them before you had to. While still deeply annoying to anyone forced to modernise a mob, having to take a Spanner is perhaps less of a burden to Burna Boyz. You are at least doubling their effective range, and could combo a Kustom Megablaster with a Trukk.

As these came out of the bitzbox, this wasn't an especially complex project, but I was also trying to relearn my ork techniques, so things didn't need to be complex. The squad in general featured some minor green stuff and kitbash work, with the Spanner being more involved. That was an older 4th ed big shoota boy originally, the kind of model that ends up in a bitzbox because it's been suboptimal for a long-ass time, and I could have left it mostly as is. Fortunately, I had some oddments like the current Spanner head and backpack, so I took the extra step. The cog icon exists as I broke the boss pole. For painting, I checked my old notes, opting for browns and darker tones to contrast with ork skin and their clan colours. I got bit experimental here, stippling blue onto the fuel tanks and such. I even attempted a lit cigar, to mixed success. Otherwise, the colour palette was much the same as my recent Catachans, at least in so far as clothing and metals went. To make a sweeping generalisation, painting Orks can be a bit more involved than armydudesmen. The bodies are much larger, which helps, but Orks are much more individual. There are ways to optimise your painting time, and I did, but you can't just spray these in one colour and then pick out the details. Then again, no human skin tones.

While I was delayed by a heatwave, this was a fairly quick one overall, and a useful exercise. Not perfect, but I'm confident about my ability to paint Orks.

 

Transformers: Age of the Primes Wreck 'n Doom Collection Carnivac vs. Fisitron is Something that Exists

 

Exclusive releases are part and parcel of the Transformers experience, and usually I'm not fussed. Exclusives have this habit of either being things that don't interest me,  dont justify the mark up, or end up on discount somewhere. With Legacy United, we even saw former exclusives get used as late wave filler. I gather that exclusives are particularly annoying if you collect seekers too, but I digress. Of course, eventually Hasbro does put out an exception, like today's subject. Carnivac and Fisitron come from a very similar place, creatively speaking. That is a comicbook writer, the kind that becomes a TFNation regular, taking a character with basically no fictional appearances and creating a fan favourite. The Primes, Megatrons, even the Brawns of the franchise have de-facto tenure and are unlikely to allow much creative freedom to a writer. The successes of Transformers comics, and their deep love by the fan base, are often due to some utter rando being selected for the spotlight. Carnivac and Fisitron, while separated by decades and continuities are absolutely two such Transformers. And good choices for exclusives, as they have dedicated-but-small fanbases.

Of the two, Fisitron is undoubtedly the best known, to the point of getting his own tributes in later fiction. Fisitron, not Fistytron as my brain insists on parsing it as, is actually Ironfist, the name change dictated by the MCU. I'm just gonna call him Ironfist from now on. Ironfist was the audience avatar for the highly regarded The Last Stand of the Wreckers, arguably the best comic miniseries ever associated with Transformers, and a top ten Transformers media candidate overall. It's difficult to express just how big a thing that was, do read it. Ironfist's fate was to be a massive fan of the Wreckers Autobot team, think an actually heroic Suicide Squad style group, or more precisely the ABC Warriors, and then suffer the reality of that. He has a bad time of things to say the least, but really you have to read it.

This new Ironfist is a bit if a mélange, if only for it's foundation. It's a remould of the Legacy Detritus toy, itself a retool of the pretty good Siege Hound making it something of a Cannonball situation. Mould degradation is becoming a concern at this point, this being the 7th use of it, but mine seems fine. The altmode has been modified to make it an enclosed cab, while the accessories have been replaced with a decorative approximation of his old Lightformer Cannon gimmick which splits into three bits. As this is an exclusive/limited release there is a bounty of paint applications, too much on the gun, tending towards IDW colours with the head being a highlight. The jeep altmode inherited is a good match for the original toy, although the robot proportions are more conventionally heroic than the somewhat dumpier build of his most famous appearance. So while he's not quite as Last Stand as I would prefer, he's a superior remake of an already great mould. 

Carnivac by comparison is much older, both in print and in plastic. I'll admit that I had to go check the specifics of what he's done, and while he's actually done more than Ironfist, he's not on the same tier of popularity. He was a recurring character in the UK comics I read as a kid, actually joining an Autobot splinter faction for a time with a few former-Wreckers, although there's continuity issues with that material. Much later on, he turned up in the sequel to Last Stand of the Wreckers, in another splinter faction that I won't describe, and very recently in those new Energon Universe comics. Carnivac's main trait is to be a wolf, both literally and metaphorically. He's a Decepticon with a wolf altmode, and a wolf's mindset. A bad guy to fight, but not automatically a foe, and given that Transformers is often Good versus Evil, that's interesting.

A more pressing question may however be "Why is he that colour?". Well, he was a Pretender Beast, you see. The original toy had an outer shell in the style of a big organic wolf, while the inner robot was was some louder in colour and a bit simple. Pretender toys were like that, and modern remakes have frequently tried to split the difference between the shells and the robots therein. This release however favours the inner robot, but taking design cues from the Marvel comics.

 

It does this by remoulding the Titans Return era Wolfwire, changing the titanmaster, whom is called Survivor, after that splinter faction I mentioned, and replacing the accessories. As it's an older deluxe, it's not quite as nice as Ironfist, but it's still a solid design, and the mould has been used far less frequently. It also removes the questionable materials that the previous releases were infamous for, an unambiguous improvement. The wolf mode is however largely unchanged, using paint to suggest the visor rather than actually sculpting one. He's not as good as Ironfist overall, and not as extensive as a remould, but is undoubtedly the best use of this mould, and it works well for the character. Nice paint job on the titanmaster too.

All in all, the set is a great example of an exclusive. It uses good moulds well, making effective changes where appropriate, and doesn't skimp on paint. It also helps that it is based on comics and latter-day G1, rather than the more over-exposed parts of the brand. It's not a perfect set, but other than totally new toys, I don't see how Hasbro could done much better. Assuming that no horrible QC issue or design flaw manifests, consider this set as having my full endorsement.