A two-model blisterpack, the Guarda de Assalto is a fast-moving powered armour trooper accompanied by a monowheel drone.

Noticably less complex to build than last week's Chimera, the Guarda de Assalto is notable for having two different sets of arms with different weapon loadouts.

Guarda de Assalto

Pose & Styling

The heavy infantry model in the blisterpack shares some design elements with the rest of the PanOceania range (such as the multiple 'eyes' and fins on the helmet) as you would expect, but is cleaner than the Military Orders heavy infantry models with no tabards or other cloth. Presumably inspired by the unit's in-game speed the model is in a running pose.

As a relatively recent model it uses the reduced-size versions of the PanOceania guns with the Multi Rifle in particular looking quite small when put next to older models. The Spitfire (the gun being held out at arms-length) features a distinctive cylindrical magazine angled forwards which adds to the high-tech look of the model.

Parts & Fit

This is a seven part model with torso/leg, left leg, two arms, head and two head fins, plus the extra two arms for nine parts in total. The leg/torso piece was flash-free and nearly free of mould lines, incomparison with the head fins/antennas which needed some cleaning up.

The left leg fits into a nice big ball and socket joint at the hip but has a clear preference for being in a specific position unless you do a bit of carving. The head has a feed on the bottom of the neck but as this will be glued into the torso it's not obscuring any detail while the 'ear antennas' fit into depression on the sides of the head giving a reasonable contact area. The arms fit into depressions in the shoulders which have positioning nubs inside them, this makes the arms 'lock' into the correct position well but gives you some leeway for repositioning the arms by cutting away the nub. The exception is the empty-handed left arm which interlocks with the upper body armour to fit in one specific position.

Of note is the Multi Rifle/arms combination. Corvus Belli's triple-join weapon arms can be tricky at times (notably the Odalisque with Boarding Shotgun) but this example fit together rasonably well with a small gap between the left wrist and the hand sculpted onto the gun, under half a millimetre.

Auxbot

Pose & Styling

The Auxbot model is shared by multiple units in PanOceania. It has clean lines and an unusual mono-ball-wheel design - more than anything else it reminds me of something out of Judge Dredd, maybe the Eighties-style Lawmaster Bikes. Although the main shapes is fairly clear of surface texture there is some very fine detail in places such as a series of fine holes around the front central 'eye' and multiple small lights and sockets.

In-game the Auxbot can come with several different equipment loadouts such as a heavy flamethrower or a forward observer laser designator but these don't appear to be represented on the model.

Parts & Fit

The Auxbot consists of the main body (which was flash-free and mould line free other than a couple of small feeds), two large antennas and the double fin. The antennas fit onto flat areas on the back of the drone which would be a very small contact area for gluing, but the upper and lower sides of each antenna rest against the 'ledges' at the back of the drone making for a much solider join than I'd originally feared. The double fin is another matter - there is a small nub on it's end and a corresponding depression in the torso but given the exposed position this is going to be at a high risk of being snapped off. As with most Infinity fins it's too thin to pin with normal techniques but building up a bit of epoxy around the joint should do the job.

Pros

• Very clean casts.
• Multiple weapon options.
• Lack of tabards etc. makes the heavy infantry model more flexible for use in other games.
• Distinctive ball-wheel design for the Auxbot.

Cons

• Potentially weak/fiddly double fin joint on the Auxbot.
• Slight gap between torso/gun arm/left arm for the Multi Rifle variant.

In summary, a couple of very clean 'hard SF' sculpts that wouldn't look out of place in Tomorrow's War as well as Infinity.

Ian

As well as the usual venues, the Guarda de Assalto is available on the webstore but is currently out of stock.