Death From Below? - Hydra Plastic Kit Review

[Cadian122]

I don't like it.
It looks more like a toy than a model. Buts whats worse is the far superior FW one has gone "out of stock" hope it hasn't been discontinued.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I rang Forgeworld last night, it's gone gone gone :-(

That being said, I like the current model, not as much as the FW one, but oh well. While I am unhappy at the changes, I still think that it's worth it if you have the heavy support slot free - I have found so far that my opponents are more worried about the vendetta, the Leman Russ tanks and my artillery more than a single hydra in my army.

[Psychosplodge]

I suspected as much

[MajorWesJanson]

Sad to see the FW Hydra gone, though not too much lamenting. It was an ancient model, less detailed and harder to build than their more recent stuff. I have one, and it will make a good command tank to lead a squadron of 2 plastic ones.

[Psychosplodge]

But it looked like a proper model and not a toy...

[MajorWesJanson]

But it looked like a proper model and not a toy...

What, just because the plastic one is open topped? The plastic model is quite cool looking, and takes enough design cues from the FW one that they plausibly look like variations on the same STC.

[Psychosplodge]

IDK tbh its just the new style, I'm having the same feeling looking at the riptide, the oversized wraithknight, the teletubby marines.
Maybe its just GW have taken an artistic turn I no longer "get".
The option to buy the FW one would have been nice. Not that it really matters I'm probably never going to expand my guard or ever field it even if I did...

[StingrayP226]

My biggst dissappointment as a new player at the Hydra is that it seems to be undergunned and ill equipted for a Sci Fi ADA vehicle. The Russian Tunguska (several years old tank) looks more capible at ADA work due to the built in radars (yes 2 of them...) and the ZSU-23 seems to be on par if not a little better due to its integrated radar.

Sadly these are not even premier Air Defense tanks... the SA-6 system blows these out of the water!

[This Dave]

My biggst dissappointment as a new player at the Hydra is that it seems to be undergunned and ill equipted for a Sci Fi ADA vehicle. The Russian Tunguska (several years old tank) looks more capible at ADA work due to the built in radars (yes 2 of them...) and the ZSU-23 seems to be on par if not a little better due to its integrated radar.

Sadly these are not even premier Air Defense tanks... the SA-6 system blows these out of the water!

If you want an SA-6 take one of the air defense Manticores from Imperial Armour Aeronautica. It's a mobile SAM launcher.

I can actually see the Guard using something like a Hydra over something high tech and possibly better. Not just the cost to produce but the sheer randomness of the flying threats they have to face. Not just aircraft but living aircraft, winged monsters, and flying tanks. Continuous fire rather than four and done is more useful in a sustained battle without easy resupply. You can reload Hydras from the dozens of Autocannons any Guard army has in it. The missiles might be good for rear area security to keep the REMFs safe but the guns are better front line weapons.

[Lord Asterion]

My biggst dissappointment as a new player at the Hydra is that it seems to be undergunned and ill equipted for a Sci Fi ADA vehicle. The Russian Tunguska (several years old tank) looks more capible at ADA work due to the built in radars (yes 2 of them...) and the ZSU-23 seems to be on par if not a little better due to its integrated radar.

Sadly these are not even premier Air Defense tanks... the SA-6 system blows these out of the water!

This is the best air defense platform available to give to the Astra Militarum, not the best the galaxy has, and the Mechanicum has lost a lot of knowledge over the years, who knows, originallly the Hydra might have been a Clay Pidgeon Shooting machine rather than a frontline weapons platform!

[StingrayP226]

The Tunguska has both the SA-19 and 2 30mm ADA guns... it was first deployed in 1982. These systems are not overly super amazing complex. The SA-19 is radar guided so if you can pick it up on radar she can fire the missile at it. Also as far as guns vs missiles... ya Missiles tend to be longer ranged, more capible, and harder to counter. Flying monsters would lack countermeasures to defeat many of the threats... now locking on might be harder but you have more time because the missile's range.

Also your saying a large empire that knows how to make giant warships and high powered lasers cannot build an ADA tank made by the Russians in 1982?