Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Nemesis Warbringer Titan for Adeptus Titanicus

Let's get stompy! A "Nemesis Warbringer" class titan for Legio Mortis. This is a plastic model from GW's "Adeptus Titanicus" game.
I love to paint figures.  When I have time at home, I paint figures. And when times are stressful, I paint figures to relax.  So, right now, I'm getting a lot of painting done...anyway, in terms of projects I'm alternating, it seems, between historical-type subjects and GW stuff.  So after finishing some FPW work, it was time for a little more "Adeptus Titanicus" content - a new God Engine for the battle line! This is a "Nemesis Warbringer" class battle titan, a multipart plastic kit from GW. It is painted in the colours of Legio Mortis, a titan legion that fights in the name of Horus Lupercal, Warmaster and last hope for humanity!

Lots of detail on the rear, as always, including the pseudo-industrial components holding whatever mysterious bits that power this beast.
This variant of titan chassis is a relatively new release for GW. The other three titan chassis designs - the Warlord, the Reaver and the Warhound - have been venerable staples of Adeptus Titanicus/Epic games and setting for decades. Forge World shook things up a bit by releasing a new type of Titan a couple of years ago - the "Nemesis Warbringer".  It first appeared as a model for the 28mm 30k/40k game - one of those model kits from Forge World that are so expensive you might as well buy a car instead.

On a quick glance, it certainly appears to live up to its name, with the awkward posture and very melodramatic carapace mounting a main battery.  One assumes the "Peacebringer" variant of the design did not make it off of the drawing board...

Rough size comparison photo...
Fans of the rebooted "Adeptus Titanicus" had wondered if GW would ever release a version of this new titan model to use in the new game.  The company has a record of paper-thin commitment to non-core games such as "Adeptus Titanicus", so for my part I was skeptical...but I was wrong. The plastic Nemesis model did appear (along with some super cool new terrain) earlier this year. I love the new game, so I ordered a couple of the kits with the goal of adding one to each side of my collection.  Naturally, I started on the Legio Mortis engine first!

Another comparison photo...bigger than a Warhound (front) and Reaver (back, right).
The "Nemesis Warbringer" is a full-on battle titan, heavier and a little more capable than a Reaver, but still not as potent as the Warlord class titan.  You can see how it fits size-wise in some of the photos here.
Standard Reaver-sized laser battery on the right arm...the other carries a volcano cannon (again, Reaver-sized).
I've not yet used this machine in a game, but I would expect, given its somewhat hybrid nature, its tabletop combat performance will fall somewhere between and Warlord and a Reaver. It looks to be tougher than a Reaver (although not by much).  It's "arm" weapons are consistent with those found on other Reavers (with the exception of 'close combat' weapons - I don't think this chassis can be equipped with those). Up on the very elaborate top-mounted platform you can mount either a quake cannon or a volcano cannon - weapons otherwise found on the arms of a Warlord Titan. One additional factor - it looks as though the carapace-mounted main battery can be fired indirectly, something the Warlords are not able to do with these weapons.  That can be a nice advantage in certain circumstances.

The kit itself only comes with a quake cannon for the top carapace...a conversion of some sort for a volcano cannon is possible, but I expect at some point GW might issue a separate volcano cannon just for this model, either as an extra plastic sprue or just via Forge World.

For the arms, the kit comes with a volcano cannon and a laser blaster.  These look (and perform) just like the versions mounted on the Reavers in your collection, with a crucial difference - the design of the kit allows for the use of magnets, which is nice to see, and if you are a smart builder like Dallas and have already magnetized a Reaver kit or two, you will be able to swap some of your other Reaver weapons onto this model with ease.

You will also see there are secondary weapon mounts on the carapace that look like heavy AA weapons...I don't think they play much of an immediate role in the current game, but I suppose these might render this machine into a "flak titan" should they ever allow for flyers or - even better - just re-release the rules for "Epic".

WIP photo - the monster comes together in stages...start with the basics on the legs...
Torso is then added & painted...the main and secondary batteries are painted separately...
GW's "Adeptus Titanicus" models are really fantastic kits.  The titans can be a challenge to paint, at least for me, as I find you must paint the sort of base "skeleton" of the machine first, and then paint the various segmented armoured plates separately before adding them to the base components.  I love the end result, but the process can be tricky - and it was very tricky with this beast.

It's busy up there...
Close up of the main and secondary batteries on the carapace.
There is a lot going on with that top carapace...including some kind of bonkers walkway.  If you squint, you will see there are two telescope-type observation devices at the front of the carapace! What a marvelous absurdity...I can just imagine some senior officer from the Titan Legion, Space Marine Legion or other organization, up there "observing" an ongoing titan engagement!  One assumes they would grasp the hand rails rather firmly when that huge quake cannon up above them fires...

All in all this is titan chassis certainly has a different flavour to the other more traditional ones. It looks and feels more like a sort of glamour ride, intended to have some battlefield use, but mostly as a traveling "engine-war tourism" platform, or a mobile combat base for the commanders of a Titan Legion.  I'm sure the view from up on that carapace is to die for...

The obligatory update to the "family photo" from my shelves - Legio Mortis battlegroup with supporting Knights to the front.

At any rate, I look forward to having this machine "take a walk" on a tabletop "Adeptus Titanicus" battlefield someday soon, whenever public health regulations might allow for a get together.  As a newly-painted model, I'm sure the chances of its void shields being knocked down and a critical hit destroying its reactor on the very first turn of the game are probably, mostly, low...

Thanks for reading everyone - hope you are safe and well. Cheers.

3 comments:

DAM said...

Love the Warbringer! I've been finishing my own up on https://262krieg.blogspot.com/

It's a great model among the other Titanicus titans. You've done it great justice. Your whole force looks fantastic all together. Congrats!

Bluewillow said...

Love it, great brushwork

Cheers
Matt

Dallas said...

Great work dude and nice writeup!