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Marauder Task Force posts HUGE Kickstarter Update!

There is a ton of exciting news in the latest update to the Marauder Task Force Exo-Suit/K9 Kickstarter, it’s tough for me to decide just where to start.

I guess I’ll start with the biggest news first:

MARAUDER TASK FORCE SUIT FIGURES!

Marauder-Task-Force-Suit-Figures

Amazing update to the ongoing Kickstarter is that Marauder is moving forward on producing 1:18 scale figures in suits, something that’s been missing the marketplace for a very long time.  But in true MTF style, they are making them variable with the ability to wear tactical vests and various lower arms.

But that’s not all.  Anyone who is interested in the Exo-Suit figures is getting a bunch more bang for their buck.  Where previously you had to consider getting the Exo-Suit and the additional accessories in two separate purchases, now every single Exo-Suit will come complete with ALL of the accessories!  So if you bought a 6-Pack, you no longer have to use two slots for a complete Exo-Suit.  Along with this, they’ve also shuffled around stretch goals and generally ramped things up for a strong finish.

Check out the full text of the Kickstarter update below and get yer wallets ready to finish this thing off BIG.  If you haven’t considered supporting the Kickstarter, don’t wait – DO IT NOW.

Marauder Task Force 1:18th K9 Dog, Exo Suit & Contract-Ops! by Marauder GR — Kickstarter

Hey Taskers!

We passed $100K in pledges…thank you!  Thanks to hitting that milestone, the distance between each stretch goal has been reduced to only $8,000!  Also, we “adjusted” the order of several of the unlocked stretch goals to meet your requests!  Can unlock more K9 Dogs & Contract Ops figures sooner!  In addition, the “Exo -Suit” gear sets have been REMOVED from the event… because EACH Exo-Suit will receive ALL those additional weapons & accessories added for FREE!  So each Exo-Suit will come FULLY equipped with ALL gear!  And lastly, the highly requested “Agency-Ops” stretch goal is now OFFICIALLY in the stretch goals!  NOT added as the final stretch goal, but inserted into the middle of the unmet stretch goals!  When unlocked, each Agency-Ops figure will come with a full business suit, a 2nd Dress shirt torso, an extra set of rolled up sleeve forearms and Utility vest with pistol & holster.  

Marauder “Gun Runners” reveals 3D image of Kickstarter Exo-Suit

I couldn’t love the looks of this any more if I tried.  Over on the Marauder Facebook Page (as well as via an update to his Kickstarter Page), Marauder has revealed a 3D image of the upcoming Marauder Task Force Exo-Suit.

And yes, it looks amazing.

Big, bulky, yet promising some impressive articulation, this fantastic looking mechanized Exo-Suit has been designed by the action figure wizards of Boss Fight Studio, which alone convinces me that it’s going to rock.  Check out the 3D image below, and if you haven’t kicked in some cash for the latest Marauder Kickstarter yet, what are you waiting for?  We all need this exo-suit in our lives.

New Jersey Collectors’ Con Recap – Marauder “Gun Runners” reveals

What.  A.  Weekend.

The New Jersey Collectors Con celebrated their first two-day event this past weekend with a Boss Fight Launch Party, promoting the launch of their Series 2 Fantasy lines and they took this opportunity to bring in the wonderful folks from Marauder, Inc. including some show exclusive “Engineering Ops” Marauder Task Force figures and more information about a wealth of projects in the works for Marauder.

Some of those exciting announcements were that due for Kickstarter, potentially in the next 1 – 2 weeks, are their K-9, the Contract Ops Task Force figure, and their spectacular looking Exo-Suit.  Marauder had some detailed images of concept art for these items at their booth and it’s pretty awesome looking stuff.

Along with the upcoming Kickstarter, there are also plans for a brand new series of Marauder weapons and new 1:12 scale weapons as well for your favorite 6″ sized action figures!

Last, but definitely not least, I have some personal investment in this next bit of news… revealed on the Friday before NJCC is that there is an upcoming RPG slated to run using the Marauder Task Force figures as a backdrop!

I will be working on this project in a writing/development capacity, and I am so thrilled to be a part of this, and I’m extremely excited for everyone to join me on this ride towards a more immersive Marauder universe. This is going to be a blast!

I can’t thank the folks at Marauder enough. They were more than gracious, great to talk to, and their customer service was exceptional throughout the entire weekend. Such a pleasure to talk and work with them. Do yourselves a favor and, if you haven’t, hit up MarauderInc.com and check out their Task Force product. You will be real glad you did.

The next evolution of military action figures – Marauder Valkyries Reviewed

Ever since getting my first few figures as part of the Kickstarter shipment a couple of weeks back, I’ve been feeding for more and starving to get a review posted.  Well, this past week I got both accomplished!

As soon as I got my grubby mitts on the first few Valkyries figures, I immediately needed more and made a purchase from MarauderInc.com within a few days.  Once I received that shipment, any love I had for this new generation of Task Force figures and accessories only sky-rocketed.

I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface with how cool these figures are, and I’ve spent hours swapping parts, gluing gear down and just mixing and matching.  It’s pretty astounding just how incredible these toys are.  Designed to near perfection by Boss Fight Studio, with the folks at Marauder developing a spectacular concept, these truly are the best of all worlds.

Check out my review at the Marauder Task Force Review page, or the direct link below.  Spoiler Warning – I’m pretty much in love.

valkyrie-recon-ops-04

Marauder Task Force Valkyries

How can I properly express just what lengths Marauder “Gun Runners” has come in the past few years?  Evolving from manufacturing and selling unique 1:18 scale weapons to distributing diorama accessories, then finally, through their first successful Kickstarter they started developing their Task Force action figures.

Since then, their second Kickstarter for the Task Force Valkyries was successful as well, and they’ve simply taken their formula for enhancing 1:18 scale action figures and spun it completely into a second stratosphere.

valkyrie-group-07

With the first run of Task Force figures, I was suitably impressed with what Marauder had accomplished, actually designing and producing (with the help of the best toy designers in the business, Boss Fight Studio) a fully functional action figure line, yet they were essentially the same figure buck and many of the same accessories, just spun out in some different colors.  While certainly exciting, I saw them mostly continuing as enhancements to an already large roster of 1:18 military figures.  What a difference a couple of years makes.  With what Marauder has done over the past 18 months alongside their additional Kickstarter is to add an immeasurable amount of versatility, customizability and variability to what was already a fantastic formula.  Thanks in no small part to the addition of several new female action figure styles, new head sculpts, new arms and legs, and many new paint decos, we now have a veritable barracks of different combinations with the ability to build out any number of combinations of strike teams.

valkryrie-urbanops-12

Marauder Task Force is no longer an enhancement, it’s an evolution, and things may very well never be the same again.

Looking at the female figures first, thanks to the sculpting of Boss Fight Studio, we have some of the finest built female figures in 1:18 military history.  Fantastic layered sculpting throughout the uniforms, nearly seamless armor enhancements, and the unique “faux-ring” articulation scheme gives us tough and rugged female troopers to serve alongside our roster of male soldiers that we’ve already amassed.  Even with the elaborate sculpting, the articulation is absolutely top notch, with great range of motion in every joint.

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Along with the standard military buck, Marauder also included some spare arms without armor and developed a brand new t-shirt torso which is spectacular, especially for how comparatively plain it is.  The arms are sculpted narrow, but really well articulated, with flexible fingers and wrists that can hold all manner of weapons without fear of breakage.

Additional female head sculpts are incredible as well, with various skin tones, hair designs (and hair colors) allowing for a massive amount of variation here, too.

To equip the female figures there are several different versions of combat vests now available as well, from a plain flak vest (ready for pouches currently sold or that came with the previous Kickstarter), to a great armored vest, and a very nicely sculpted additional heavier combat vest as well.

Along with the Valkyrie female figures, Marauder also included the fantastic Stedi-Cam gunner which added several great new elements to the Task Force collection.  Not only did it give us a very cool new weapons system including the gun, armored mask, and armored plate chest (with amazingly engineered web gear) but it also provided some added short sleeved arms and non-armored legs, which has provided a wealth of great variability to the existing Task Force collection.  The new limbs match the fantastic sculpting style of the rest of the figure with amazing articulation and some great new flexibility with existing tooling.

But let’s talk more about the web gear and chest plate.  The chest plate connects to the web gear via two of the standard Task Force pegs, which means you can take it off, then use the underlying web gear to mount pouches, holsters, and whatever else you can dig out of your Task Force storage bins.  For some reason I wasn’t aware of this neat feature, and it was a very pleasant surprise when I got the Stedi-Cam Gunner in hand.

As a great added bonus, Marauder has dedicated a wealth of different plastic color options (and decals!) for the Stedi-Cam gunner gear as well, really ramping up the potential for great mix and match variation.

What may be the coolest aspect of the Stedi-Cam Gunner, though, is the camouflage paint scheme.  This intricately decoed camouflage pattern is among the best I’ve ever seen at this scale, and the way Marauder has carried it over to a female figure as well is exceptionally cool.

As you read through this review, you’ll notice that I’ve grouped collections of accessories together, mostly because that’s how they were offered with the Kickstarter.  Keep in mind, though, through the wonders of MarauderInc.com you can pick and choose any number of thousands of variations of figures, heads, gear and other add ons which essentially makes the combinations nearly infinite.  If you see a figure you like in this review, but think it would look better with different gear, you have that option right at your fingertips.

Keep in mind I haven’t even talked about a number of new male head sculpts in different hair (and beard) colors, not to mention all the new paint schemes and additional new accessories including a fantastic flight helmet with translucent goggles.  Don’t even get me started on the baseball hat…it’s made from a fantastic flexible rubber, which lets it fit seamlessly over many different heads, and you don’t get the typical gap or stiff fit that you see when it’s been tried elsewhere.  There are bandoliers, belts, a duffel bag, a weapon sleeve, backpacks, baseball bats, the list goes on and on, and each new accessory comes with some level of customization available, whether its decals or holes for the standard Task Force plug.  There is just so much to talk about here, it’s very tough to frame a review around it, so I’m trying to look at this from a holistic perspective.

The figures are also incredibly easily customizable with simply swapped ball joints at the hips, the waist, the head, and even relatively easy to remove arms.  Boiling and popping is the best way to ensure smooth lower arm removal, though you have to crack the torso to pull off the shoulders.

One comment, because I know people will ask… yes, there are a lot of small parts, and yes I very strongly recommend finding a combination you like and gluing the pouches and accessories down to ensure maximum playability.  This stuff is not expensive.  You can certainly beef up on more pouches and vests and feel confident that dedicating a few key small accessories to a particular look isn’t going to break the bank, and will only make you happier as you pose and play with the figure you’ve designed.

In short, the improvements and enhancements made to the Task Force line since its inception are impressive and downright amazing.  It’s a completely different line now than it was even 18 months ago and has grown into a world of its own.  I am fully in love with this evolution of the Task Force, and have already made follow up purchases after the Kickstarter, and I’m poised to make some more.  I cannot wait to see where things continue from here and I’m greatly looking forward to the exo-suit Kickstarter coming this year from Marauder.

Great stuff, head over to MarauderInc.com and beef up your barracks now!  And if you have any questions about the product or just want to show off your creations, the Marauder Task Force Facebook Group is the place to be.  A ton of awesome looking customs and a great community willing to answer all sorts of questions.  MJ and Marauder Ruben are always there to interact and listen to suggestions as well.  Hit it up!

Marauder Task Force Valkyries
  • Sculpt
  • Articulation
  • Paint Deco
  • Accessories
5

Summary

How can I put a specific rating on this entire assortment of gear and figures? I will say the rating I give this product is based purely on the sheer variation of what’s available. The deco, the figure articulation, the accessories…this product line hits all marks in all the right ways. There’s something here for everyone, and I cannot recommend this next generation of customizable military action figures enough.

New images of Marauder Valkyrie test shots and production update

Marauder “Gun Runners” just got back from their factory trip and while they have some unfortunate news about the timing of distribution of their Valkyrie Kickstarter figures, they did bring back some fantastic new images of some of the test shots, which make us even more excited to see the finished product!

Check out the great images below, as well as the update on the timeline for production and distribution.  Keep watching the Marauder “Gun Runners” Facebook Page for updates.

MTF Valkyries project update 8/12….after Factory Visit
Posted by Marauder GR (Creator)
For backers only
Hey “814 Valtaskers!”

Hope your summer is going well! Your “Gun-Runners” spent several weeks at the factory in China reviewing the MTF Valkyries project. 15 hour plane flights and 98 degree temperatures with 90% humidity…JOY was had by all! When not dealing with weather, unique food and cultural & language differences; we spent all of our time working on the project. We reviewed EVERY part, EVERY feature and EVERY version. Our driving goal was and is for the figures & accessories to not only meet your expectations, but possibly surpass them!

Here are images of some of the production samples. We hope you agree that the head sculpts, new accessories and paint decos are looking pretty good! Again, SEVERAL changes were made on the items in the images and final versions might vary slightly from those shown (lip color missing, incorrect colors, several color versions NOT shown, etc). There are several color changes, corrections and adjustments being made to the items shown, so please don’t get concerned if something isn’t an exact match to a previously mentioned and/or shown item…THESE ARE NOT FINAL.

We had to make a huge number of paint/deco adjustments, change the hardness/softness on many of the items and correct the fit/function on several body parts & accessories. The good news is the vast majority of the parts & working features were correct. The bad news is some of the seemingly relatively minor issues with “fit/function” require NEW production tools. These new tools take some time to complete & test. Couple the new tool need with the factory requirement that the massive order be split into 2 (TWO) separate production runs and our revised end of August ship is now not possible. We are so sorry about the delay and AGGRESSIVELY pursued every option to avoid disappointing our supporters, but there is no other choice. A temporary inconvenience for a long term gain is the only answer in this situation. We don’t have a definite avail date, but we’re working to get everything complete & shipped out as soon as possible. As we get updated production info, we will let you know the revised shipping timeline. Rest assured, we will add some NEW “bonus” items (NEW items NOT available in the Kickstarter event) to every MTF Valkyries Kickstarter order to help make amends for unforeseen delay.

Thanks again for your support and we are quietly optimistic that you will really like the new Val items.

MJ & the entire MGR Team