Just received the Stargrave Crew II and the Dead Man's Hand Gunfighters II kits and thought I'd post my impressions.
The Stargrave ladies are well thought out as far as equipment and bodies go. They've avoided "space babes" and while a couple of the bodies have short tunics to give a skirt look, everyone is wearing pants and sensible shoes, and no cleavage. One of the five bodies is in a simple overall/jumpsuit. Excellent.
Even a robotic right arm with pistol and a fist clenched left one. Nice touch there - and the gun selection is a lot more varied than any of the previous three kits (which helps enhance those of course, as the arms are compatible between all of them). Less backpacks but more small belt gubbins than the male crew sprue. Knives. Left hand pistols. I presume all as a result of feedback from last year's launch release kits.
My one small criticism is a lack of human head variety. They've included a LOT of aliens. On the other hand, there are a couple of female heads on the Trooper sprue, and if you have Frostgrave Wizards II or Soldiers II, you have a lot of female human heads. Cannon Fodder II will also remove this as a major issue. The sculpting quality of the faces is pretty good.
The same unfortunately can't be said of the gunfighter girls, IMHO. I am a bit disappointed in this kit, really, especially as the male one was so good. A lot of the mix and match torso and legs just don't work well and will need minor conversion. They might have been better to have gone with one piece bodies here. Arms and weapons are good. Only one set of arms with bloused sleeves though... so you have to pair those.
But the real disappontment is that the heads are just a bit crude and ugly. The hair extensions are meh - the braids don't look good with any of the heads; the ponytails are only passable. Not much hat variety (ONE bowler would have been nice, but there should definitely have been a bonnet!) Too many of the heads have bandanas on their face. One of the hair extensions should have been a bun... fortunately a simple addition.
I don't regret buying it, and it's going to be a valuable resource... but I'll likely be grabbing a few heads from other kits. Frostgrave Wizards II to the rescue, no doubt ;)
(Cannon Fodder II may end up being super useful here... trim off the explosive collars and you have a bald head you can sculpt a hat and hair on...)
