Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander 2 player set unboxing Review and painted up

Time to take a look at some Dropzone Commander from Hawk Wargames.  In particular the 2 player starter set.  I love Starter sets, especially ones filled with goodies, as this is certainly one of those!
So a bit about the background on the game, as background is important to setting the scene.  Hawk Wargames say......


          It is the Year 2670
A Golden Age of humanity has passed into history. A time when mankind
advanced implacably and unopposed through the stars has gone beyond living memory.

Planet Earth and the original Cradle Worlds are lost to the great foe, the Scourge.
The shattering invasion of this terrible enemy has torn the domains of man asunder.

The remnants of human civilisation now exist in a collection of frontier planets.
Thinly spread and underdeveloped, they are pale shadows of mankind's former glories.

However, this is not an age without hope.
Humanity has found new strength, unity and purpose in these times of dire fortune. 
The colonies are undertaking a period of vigorous, dynamic expansion,
unrivalled in the history of our race, united by a common purpose - Reconquest.

The armies of the United Colonies of Mankind march towards humanities' former heartland,
battling the dreaded Scourge one world at a time. Many enemies and allies await on this journey;
an odyssey through the stars towards a distant and glittering goal - Earth.
   
The Game

You join this universe in the earliest days of mankind's ambitious invasion to retake the central planets from the Scourge. Bloody battles and epic conflict awaits as races, generals and individuals take sides. Whether you're fighting for humanity, the Scourge or for your own ends is up to you!

Dropzone Commander (DzC) is a 10mm scale sci-fi tabletop wargame, devised for mass battles between two or more players. The rules are designed for efficient and dynamic games which can be played on a standard 4'x4' table (although larger tables work well also!).

The rules are based on an alternate activation system, which keeps the action constant and involving. They are also scalable, and will cater for tactical skirmishes as well as titanic clashes of metal and firepower. This is accomplished whilst never sacrificing the character of individual units, and indeed all the colour and eventfulness of battle.

A vast array of war machines will be at your disposal, but this does not belittle the importance of the humble infantryman.

The game is built around the concept of rapid deployment and redeployment of your forces by airborne dropships, exemplifying the pace of combat on the battlefields of the future. This makes for a tactical and fast paced experience, where quick thinking and strokes of genius often bring victory.




So what's in this box? lets take a look....





Contents:

United Colonies of Mankind Starter Force:


- 3x Sabre Main Battle Tanks


- 3x Rapier AA Tanks


- 2x Bear APC’s (+1 bonus spare!)

- 30x Colonial Legionnaires (on 6 bases)

- 3x Condor Medium Dropships (now with clear canopy!)




The Scourge Starter Force:




- 3x Hunter Main Grav-Tanks

- 3x Reaper AA Grav-Tanks

- 2x Invader APC’s (+1 bonus spare!)

- 30x Scourge Warriors (on 6 bases)


- 3x Marauder Medium Dropships




Starter Urban Battlefield:

- 2x Urban Streets Posters, will join together in 4 different ways to create a 48”x33” road layout

- Both posters feature stunning artwork on the reverse face!

- 10 x Pre-cut, pre-folded card buildings in 10 different designs



Rules and Accessories:

- Full sized Dropzone Commander 1.1 Core Rulebook



- UCM and Scourge reference sheets with stats, army composition and quick reference tables

- Starter scenario and turn sequence prompt sheet

- 10 x 14mm D6 black dice

- 1m/38” Hawk Wargames tape measure keyring

- Full set of card templates and Scenario Object tokens

So that's a ton of stuff....... The models all come on high quality plastic sprues, and will need assembly.

you also get a plastic sprue with the clear flying bases and "Hawk Widgets" on. these glue into the dropshisps, and clip onto the flying bases so you don't need them attached to them all the time in the case.

So as you can see, you get plenty of models in here, for two very balanced forces, a full sized beautifully illustrated rulebook, dice of course, and even a mini tape measure.  you also get these.

 a load of flatpacked card buildings.
when these are built, and placed on the provided mats that come in the starter set it looks fantastic
It looks great on the table, and with the models in there as well its even better!
 preparing to drop in.
 The buildings look so good, and are easy to assemble as well
 Sabre tanks holding position.
 Infantry disembarked


 The Scourge are incoming.... yes you can actually fit the vehicles into their relevant dropshisp
 A nasty surprise for the UMC
 The LZ is hot!!

 Scourge forces are working to surround the UMC
The way you can build the board in plenty of different ways with the terrain provided, the fact you actually get terrain and maps at all, which is not common in a starter set really brings this up to the top level for quality of contents.

So first impressions.....  I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by the amount of stuff in the box, and a little nervous about painting at 10mm as they are so tiny.  Turns out I did not need to be, I am not the greatest painter, I see painting more as a means to an end rather then an enjoyable part of the hobby, but I do like to play with painted models so I wanted to get them done to see how they looked on the battlefield. 

The buildings and mats really bring it to life, giving you a real 3 dimensional battlefield to play on.  A full rulebook as well, that's nice, and unusual as they are usually mini, its got lovely photos of painted models in, and army lists for the 4 main factions so you can build your forces without needing separate army books.

The Reference sheets, and quick play guide is really handy, and will prove very useful in playing the game.


For entertainment value, this is one of the best value set (if not THE) main value starter set I have ever seen.  2 full forces to play, a full table of scenery, and a full rulebook to read and enjoy, plus everything else you need to play to.

I like the idea in this that the human forces are on the attack, unlike most sci-fi where mankind is being pushed back or fighting a defensive war, this is the re-conquest, we took a beating, but now we are coming back, and reclaiming our worlds.

I like the organic look of the scourge, but the UCM really do it for me, and will be my force of choice going forward.

Stick with us for a battle report as we get our first game in, and until then I shall leave with you some pictures of the models in various painted stages, but all the forces are now finished ready for our first game.

If you want to pick a set up yourself head over to Hawk Wargames and grab one, for what you get its a bargain you wont regret.

With the newly released Fleet battles games Drop Fleet Commander out now its perfect for mass campaign games!

UCM infantry
Scourge Dropship.
UMC dropship
UMC Bear APCs




Mixed UMC armour, shows not being a great painter doesn't matter, you can still get some good results, and make up your own colour schemes.
Scourge Grav vehciles are fast and mobile.


Scourge infantry begin the relentless advance on their foes.



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