I wish this idea had taken off more than it had: this is the (to date) only sci-fi upgrade sprue released by Wargames Atlantic or, to my knowledge, anyone else, intended to easily convert other miniatures - including historical military figures - into Sci-fi characters for use in "Death Fields" games, specifically for the Cannon Fodder team..
Most of the items on the sprue fit in well with the two existing, ever-versatile Cannon Fodder plastic sets (and the digital Cannon Fodder civilian set), such as mechanical arms (similar to those in Cannon Fodder II), carbine/sub-machine-gun arms (as an alternative to the longer rifles and heavy weapons from both Cannon Fodder sets, in the same style), a couple pistol arms (holding pistols that match the Cannon Fodder rifle style much better than the pistols that come with the two Cannon Fodder sets), and some nice laser/particle rifles in a similar style to the Cannon Fodder weaponry, providing plenty of spare bits to round out your Cannon Fodder sets with a larger variety of visually compatible weapons .
The rest of the items are interesting, and also useful for Cannon Fodder and other sci-fi/Death Fields projects: some loose bayonets/combat knives in what looks like a slightly different style from those mounted on the Death Fields rifles, and a set of gas mask heads with filters in a style somewhat distinct from the Cannon Fodder figures, having a vaguely WWI German pickelhaube-style spikes on top and that sort of look and feel all around; with the spikes trimmed and smoothed down, these might be just similar enough to mix in with the helmets from the Cannon Fodder sets, but might better be used to convert e.g. some WWI German or similar historical figures into a new Cannon Fodder team (it might be interesting to convert some Roman Legionaries to a Death Fields team with this set, for example!)
Over all, it's a great set of spare bits, most useful for projects based on the Cannon Fodder sets, but versatile enough to work well with other projects as well (these bits will work great with Stargrave plastic figure kits, for example, and work just as well for building some gonzo Death Fields teams from Frostgrave and Oathmark figures, and no doubt work for GW, Mantic, and other kits as well!)
I'll reluctantly drop a star from the review only because its design feels a bit like an imperfect compromise between a dedicated Cannon Fodder upgrade sprue (which might have benefited from a more traditionally futuristic space helmet design instead, or some of the gear that appeared in the 3D-only Cannon Fodder civilian set), and a more general sci-fi upgrade sprue (which might have benefited from a selection of weapons in a style distinct from any existing Death Fields teams, matching the pickelhaube aesthetic of the helmets; or instead from a more generic selection of weapons in the styles of a wider range of Death Fields teams than just Cannon Fodder.) This is only a subjective, minor nitpick, though.
I do wonder what might have been, had there been a market for further upgrade sprues: I think I'd have enjoyed seeing some upgrade sprues geared more toward the Grognards or other popular Death Fields teams, or designed in new themes for kitbashing new teams from historical kits like the Conquistadors or Romans....
