Goonhammer Hot Take: Trench Crusade Plastic Prussian Stosstruppen Warband

Factory Fortress, Inc. has announced that their first plastic Trench Crusade kits will be the Prussian Stosstruppen Warband. As their first plastic release and first major release after the Kickstarter, this is a major milestone for the game. While we don’t have the kits in hand yet, there’s a lot to talk about here, so we gathered the brightest minds in the Synod of Strategic Prophecy to talk about the release.

What does this mean for the game?

Dandy: It cannot be understated how big it is for the game to get plastic miniature kits. Despite how much easier it is now to access and work with resin, it’s still a hurdle for many hobbyists. Having plastic kits means you’re (hopefully) going to see them at your LGS or digital store, which is going to (again, hopefully) open up the game to more people who were initially put off by the requirement to work with resin in some shape or form. 

Norman: I absolutely agree. One of the biggest hurdles I see for folks getting into the game is the barrier of not being able to just go out and buy a box of these guys. This is also major news for kitbashes. Plastic is way easier to work with than resin when making things custom and the extra bits will help a lot for working between kits. I can tell you now, these guys are gonna be Heretic Naval Raiders for me.

SRM: Going from a game where you essentially need to know somebody with a printer to one where you can just grab a box off the shelf to get started is going to be a huge boost for accessibility. While 3D printers are great tools, they’re tools with a learning curve, and not everybody has the time, space, or resources to get one going. I also think it’ll be a good move for Factory Fortress to grow the game. Launching with .stls was definitely the right call, especially for an unproven skirmish game for weirdos (positive connotation), but with an audience firmly established I think this is the right way to go moving forward.

Bre4d_: As aforementioned, plastic kits give an additional accessibility to the game. Trench Crusade being not only mini-agnostic, but also easily obtainable through pretty much any means, makes it very easy to pick up for any hobbyist or tabletop gamer. 

How are the sculpts?

Dandy: I’m really digging these sculpts for how much of a step up they are in both dynamic and power poses. All the Yeoman look actively involved and engaged, whereas the Feldkaplan and especially the Hauptmann are just giving off raw power-pose energy. Whilst it may seem small, I do appreciate that these sculpts include the weapons most supported in their lore, with a flamethrower Yeoman and a healthy distribution of grenades. Having them all come with base that contain some scenic element is a nice touch to have, with less need to buy or produce bits to give it that WW1 aesthetic.  

Norman: As someone who wasn’t huge on the original New Antioch release (just a bit vanilla for my taste) these guys knock it out of the park. Each sculpt has a lot of character and the warband overall has a very distinct aesthetic. The standouts for me are the Feldkaplan, an incredibly striking sculpt and pose for the faction, the Hauptmann, mostly because it’s a 1:1 interpretation of the Prussian Art, and the Musician because the glockenspiel is funny as hell in a war context. Actually I looked that last part up and the lyre glockenspiel is something german militaries had. Neat! 

SRM: The challenge is always bringing the art to life, and I think these absolutely nailed it. The Hauptmann art has been one of my favorite pieces done for the game, and the combination of medieval, WW1, Napoleonic, and fantastical elements really gives these a distinct identity. I like that the troops are largely simple and not overdone, while the specialists get an appropriate amount of bling. The Feldkaplan looks fiddly, but for a one-off character, I think he’ll do just fine. 

bre4d_: Don’t come to the trench tomorrow, my man got that thang on him! I’ve never seen a Lyre-glockenspiel on a mini and I am so happy that this exists. The rest of the kit looks fantastic as well, holding up in character and detail against the rest of the modern mini designers. It brings me joy to continually see the passion the Trench Crusade crew has come through in every element of the game that they release, whether it’s lore, their outreach to the community, or things like this Plastic Prussian kit, you can tell that the people making this game are putting their all into it.  

What do we want to see next?

Norman: I think we all obviously want to see our factions represented, but I really want to see a warband for Dirge of the Great Hegemon Black Grail. Their playstyle of giving the zombies guns makes the default sculpts not really work for them. I would also love to see Trench Ghosts get some love but that’s more of a selfish ask.

SRM: I hope they keep doing distinct warbands in plastic before redoing any of the existing warbands you can print at home. As much as I personally would love to see Éire Rangers come next, it makes more sense to do up a Heretic warband for these guys to fight. Going back to my point about breaking down barriers to entry, a boxed starter with two warbands and a condensed rulebook would be huge to get more folks crusading in the trenches. If this means down the line we start seeing more plastic kits with printable upgrade sprues, I think that would be a healthy way to support both styles of miniature collector. 

Dandy: I think we can say with some certainty that the team will want to work on getting all the variants as a plastic kit, and it’s more of a matter of when that will happen. Will this just be a single release for a while, followed by multiple waves? Or will the rest drop as a whole? In the end, we don’t know, of course, but I’m very excited by this announcement and seeing the variants brought to life in all their plastic glory. Just make sure the next kit is Sacred Affliction, ok? Thanks. 

bre4d_: bug plz. 

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