Rebel Minis is proud to announce the release of our newest sci-fi mecha, The Variable Payload Raider or the VIPER Suit, as the troops call them. Designed by digital master John Bear Ross, the VIPER has a modular chassis that can be fitted with multiple weapon and construction options.
There are three weapon versions in the first release of Vipers: MK.I-Mk.III. Also, for each version, there are two poses: standing and advancing. That way, you can pick your weapons and poses!
We also tried something new with these models. The models are entirely composed in resin… bodies, sprues, everything… Now, why did we do that? A couple of reasons.
- We wanted to see what would happen and if we could do it.
Honestly, they look amazing and are really easy to put together. They are pretty durable, and we have been very happy so far with them. - Metal has been going up and down a lot lately, and we wanted to start experimenting with new alternatives. As I have said, we have been looking into this, and John, Jeff and myself have been taking notes and will continue to evaluate an all-resin "mecha." We also have to look at shipping and a whole host of other things that have popped up.
- The price. Right now, each VIPER has a SRP of $6.49 USD. Right now, resin allows us to do this. The metal price would have been pushing close to $11 USD… so, we are going to see how this is received.
On another note, the VIPERS are also modular. Most of our HAMR sprues and other weapons sprues will fit, so even coming out of the gate, the design options are staggering. That is the way John designed them.
You can see the VIPERS here: RebelMinis.com.
These were all painted by Jeff Racel, and see more incredible pictures of the ones Jeff painted here.