It's time to construct more Pylons (no, that will never get old). The Protoss have arrived for the new StarCraft Miniatures game! We will be reviewing all the models and units that come in the Protoss Starter box. That includes Zealots, Adepts, Sentries, Artanis, and the Pylon.

Protoss Starter by Blake Law

General Thoughts

The sprues for the StarCraft Tabletop Miniatures Game are interesting. Out of the box, my initial thought was that they looked like cheap board game plastic. I think this is because they are colored sprues (in this case, yellow for the Protoss). The plastic looks bulky on initial glance. DO NOT let this mislead you: This is a high quality plastic, comparable to the top of the industry. You will get two sets of sprues; one is the aforementioned yellow sprues, and the second is clear blue plastic for the energy parts. I am in the “prime over clear parts” school of thought; however, for the sake of reviewing the set I have elected to try and keep them clear. I think it would be really easy and acceptable to prime it all.

The Protoss sprues all assemble reasonably well. I had trouble with a couple of arm slots, but otherwise things went together well. The clear plastic becomes a bit of an issue, as the parts where the model goes together leave seams. If you are priming over, it will be incredibly easy to putty over this and make it seamless. Keeping it clear will be an issue (see my photos for examples of how this will be a problem). I have close to zero mold line issues with any of the models in this box; this was a very pleasant surprise.

Every sprue that contains a unit gives you the option to construct model A, B, or C, and each letter gives you the option of assembly 1 or 2, so you will have room to create a variety of user-friendly poses. Something that's really helpful on the sprues is that they are labeled for what unit they build. This is on both the yellow sprues, as well as the clear plastic sprues. It was really helpful when I was sorting out the box.

My last general point is about the bases: They rule. They are high quality hard plastic with generic ground effects molded on them. I did nothing of note to mine; it's just a dry brush, and it looks fine. The BEST part of these bases is that they come with magnet slots built in. It's a real quality of life upgrade from other games; I transported several models from Adepticon, and all I had to do was slot in a baron of magnet magnet I had purchased and put in my Tablewar case. Easy mode.

Protoss by Blake Law

Protoss by Blake Law

Artanis

Blake: This one hit me right in the feelings; I was teleported back to 1999 playing Brood War. This is a really really cool model. You get an array of build options on this guy; you can do one of 4 poses, and you could probably mix and match into even more combos. Easily the best design of any model in the box. You get his yellow sprue, which contains all the pieces to do all 4 builds, and it also comes with a scenic base. Note that this is the only model with its own scenic base.

My biggest complaint on this model is how some of the energy sprue pieces fit on. This was the first model I built, so it was probably partially user error. I elected to do the energy sword pose. The energy sword did have grooves to slot it onto the hand, but I had a hard time making it look like the box art. I applied very little glue because I was worried about clouding the clear plastic, so it came off in transport. When I went to glue it back on, I think the grooves were probably altered. I did not try the other weapon options, but if you elect to do the energy sword (let's be real, you know you are going to) be careful of how it lays on the hand.

I really had no issues with the model otherwise. It has really crisp details, and multiple epic poses that are worthy of a centerpiece hero for an army. The scenic base is quite nice, and gives it that special character you get when a special base is applied.

Sentry

Blake: The sentries come with the same setup as every other Protoss kit in this box. You get a yellow plastic sprue that holds the solid parts of the model, and the clear blue energy sprue. You have your “A” parts and “B” parts on the yellow sprue. The instructions guide you on constructing 2 separate styles of Sentry. Note that I elected to do 2 of the same. The one I did not do has the gun out and firing. I wanted to keep my army looking sleek and simple.

I want to note here again that I would prime over all the energy parts if I did these again. I elected to prime on sprue and base coat on sprue prior to building. This was to avoid paint on the clear parts. This was also a major pain. So that is probably my complaint with this guy, as well as the whole Protoss range.

This thing was so easy to build, and looks really good once assembled. It has good detail and a simple design. I don't love the clear part being so exposed on the backend, but I do think a great painter could prime and OSL that to be spectacular. This is also one of those times where the clear plastic seam lines may be very noticeable.

Protoss by Blake Law

Adepts

Blake: The Adept box lets you build 4 different regular adept models, each with different poses and energy shields. It also has a separate adept shade that is solely on the clear blue energy sprue. The instructions are pretty clear on all of these guys. It's another “A” and “B” setup, and they do a good job in instructions guiding you through the assembly.

These guys are the first ones who gave me a bit of trouble. The arms have a peg/notch system, and they didn't slot in perfectly on a couple of them. I don't think it's a huge deal, as the end product wasn't noticeably crooked or anything like that. For a perfectionist, this could be frustrating. I also didn't love how the back braid bit was glued on. You have to put on the above head piece, then blindly thread the needle to slot this onto the head piece. I managed, but it was one of those things that was a bit annoying.

The shade is neat; it's 100 percent clear blue plastic sprue. It goes together well, and is a nice change of pace model to the others. Note that you have the option to add an energy shield to these models as well; I did not do it, but they exist on the clear sprue.

Protoss Starter by Blake Law

Zealots

Blake: The Zealots yellow sprue has an A, B, and C layout to it. Each letter has two builds that stem off it, giving you 6 models from the sprue. There is an associated clear blue sprue for these guys too. It is mostly to provide them with their energy dagger hand parts, as well as the little chest energy gem.

These guys went together the worst for me. I felt like the legs and torso had some odd fits at times, and the seamlines were off a bit. Again, nothing catastrophic, but it was definitely worth noting. The faces held enough detail to work off of. The armor felt a little less defined compared to the other guys in the box.

I really liked the diversity of poses for these guys, but the downside is you only get 3 heads for 6 models. My wishlist would be for maybe a little more diversity in that department. The arms on all 6 felt pretty unique though, and the energy dagger hands are top notch. I do wish that you had more options on hand shape too.

Protoss Starter by Blake Law

Pylon

Blake: While you may need to construct more, this box comes with one pylon. Eleven year old Blake would be aghast that he couldn't spam a wall of them playing on dial up internet. A real missed opportunity on launch. You can guess the layout of this sprue. The big crystal is sitting on the clear blue plastic section, and you have a couple of slot in pieces for the perimeter parts. The perimeter itself is on a separate yellow sprue.

The crystal has a large seam down the center. This is again probably completely unnoticeable if you prime it. The perimeter of this thing goes together really well. The crystal has anchors that sit in the perimeter, and it is really solid and secure once its all glued to the base. Honestly a really cool model, and one of those models that could easily make a centerpiece for a display.

Final Thoughts

If you want to feel that nostalgia of your childhood gaming, these models will definitely tap into that. They managed to make the sculpts feel true to the game, and they are definitely a quality that you'd expect from a high end game brand. I can't wait to see what they release next, and definitely plan to get some games in!

I will be writing a separate article in the coming weeks on how I painted up all these models. Stay tuned!

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