So How's GW Doing With Adeptus Titianicus?

Photo visualization of GW's rollout plan to support the new Adeptus Titanicus.

So, I've been painting quite a lot of 19th century/Franco-Prussian War stuff for a while - and loving it - but it's fun to take a break.  I thought it might be fun to look again at my Adeptus Titanicus collection, and work on some improvements...that would start with some new weapons for the Titans, or maybe a couple of the new Cerastus Knights...this pointless rant is the product instead...

Many fans of the Horus Heresy, 30k and Epic were very excited to see Games Worksop's re-launch of Adeptus Titanicus last year.  Certainly I was. Anxious, yes. But on the whole, good stuff.  The new models are really striking, great kits.  The rules are excellent, a reminder that GW can really put excellent rules out there.  The game looks cool, and is great fun.

But there was also a lot of trepidation for many fans - there certainly was for me. The new scale, the eye-watering prices, all limiting the audience of the game.  And GW itself seemed to be half-assing it when it came to getting the game out there in the first place. The combo of models and weapons in the original box was a let-down (only one weapon load-out for the Warlords, etc). The game itself seemed to take forever to get to market. GW only seemed to be releasing this game because some unseen power was forcing them too, and doing the bare minimum needed to support it.

But hey, once it got out there, if would be out there!GW would surely get behind the game, muster its formidable marketing and product release engine, and get things moving, right? Right?

Let's see how that has been going...

Late last year, there was the fiasco where they tried to force you to purchase an entirely new Warlord Titan just to get some of the new weapons for the Warlord Titan kits.  This episode inspired one of their most tone-deaf responses to fan furor I have seen from them - and with GW's standards in this regard, that is saying something.

Wow - that spin will make you dizzy...

But hey, give them some credit, right? They did listen (after getting ventilated online, but still), and pledge to make the new weapon sprues available separately.  It did happen - a month or more later than promised - but it did happen, so you wouldn't have to purchase an entirely new Warlord Titan just to get a broader weapon load-out for the new models in your collection.  Great, right? Except...

If only I could some new weapons for my Warlord Titans...

Hope you got em' while you could!

Hey - maybe I can try those new Cerastus Knights while I'm waiting for new weapons for my Titans? That seems like fun! I just need those command terminals to run them in the game...oh...too bad this has been the case for two months or so now:

Only the temporary lasts...

Well, at least Forge World is releasing more weapons! That has to be good news, right? I mean, the exchange rate conversions are pirate-level, and I dislike working with resin, and the quality control at Forge World is bonky at times, but they are nice guys and will certainly stock the new weapons for my Warlord Titans, right?  I can't wait to work on these while the other stuff gets stocked up...

Oh rats...maybe I can get that other one...?

Nope...

For f*ck sakes, GW - are you guys serious about this or not?

It's not like there are no models out there or anything. The original Warlord (and the "new" one) are out there, so are the Reavers and Warhounds. And you can fill you boots with terrain (at least for now).  But the funny word "Titanicus" is in the title of the game for a reason - the game is built around the Titans.  Nobody is running around wishing they would release Adeptus Terrainicus. The different weapon load-outs of the Titans are an integral part of the enjoyment of the game.  Somehow it's been almost a year and you still can't get a full suite of weapons yet...I'll paint the buildings and stuff at some point, but I want to work on the Titans...stop trying to make me buy more super-expensive Titan models just to get more weapons. 

I'm sure there are a lot of good people trying to do the best they can. It's just a hobby. These are first-world problems. And in business, stuff happens, right? But maybe you could divert 5% of the energy used to issue new deamonic whackadoodle stuff and actually get your act together on Adeptus Titanicus?

And so, back to the 19th Century for now!

Painting Challenge Submission 15 - Loyalist Titans for "Adeptus Titanicus"

Imperial Titans, ready to move out in support of some doomed cause in the name of the so-called "Emperor"...

My next submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge was a marked change in terms of painting focus.  I left horses and muskets behind and ripped 30,000 years into the grim darkness of the far future with two titans from GW's rebooted game "Adeptus Titanicus." 

"Let's go for a walk!"

These are both plastic kits from the new line of models GW has released to support the re-booted version of the game.

Reaver class titan.

"Adeptus Titanicus" was re-launched by GW last fall - if you want to know more about that, and see how GW handled the whole thing like the pack of s***-eating gnarled c***s that they are, see here.  I painted a few of the new Titans right after the game came out, but haven't really touched any of the kits since last year. That needed to change, as I was helping to run an "Adeptus Titanicus" demonstration game at an event here in Winnipeg this past weekend. I wanted to add some reinforcements - and also try some of the newer weapons which have been released for the Reaver class Titans.

There are two classes of Titan represented here, both in the colours of Legio Gryphonicus, the "War Griffons", a Titan Legio who fought on the side of the loyalists in the Horus Heresy.

Rear detail on the Reaver model...really nice model.

The Reaver model has, as I said, some of the newer weapon sprues GW released in February of this year.  It is sporting a "volcano cannon" on one arm, a "laser blaster" on the other, and another "laser blaster" up on the carapace mounting - overall, this engine is configured to deliver knock-out kills on enemy engines which have already lost, or nearly lost, their void shields.  Other Titans in the maniple will have to focus on knocking out the void shields of the enemy machines so this one can make some engine-kills.

Detail on the carapace plate.

The "volcano cannon" in particular is very powerful, but tricky to manage, as it puts pressure on the Titan's plasma reactor.  The Reaver has less reactor capacity, so the Princeps commanding this Reaver will need to manage that carefully in a game. 

I also used an alternate head that came with the kit...I liked how this version had so many optical lenses in the "eyes".  With a weapon load-out primed for making "kill shots", it seemed to me this crew would want all the targeting assistance it can get...

The Warhound up close.

View of the engine detail.

View from the turbo-laser side...

The smaller Titan is a "Warhound" class "scout" (ROFL) titan. I mean, this thing is still much larger than even the largest Space Marine super-heavy tank, but it's all relative, right? As the smallest Titan, the Warhound does move ahead of its larger companions, and is much more manoeuvrable, with lighter weapons, and so in this sense it is a "scout".  This particular Warhound is equipped with a "vulcan mega-bolter" and a "turbo-laser" - these weapons on their own don't do much damage to other titans, but the "mega-bolter" is very useful for knocking out void shields.  So if this Warhound can take out some shields, his bigger cousin can deliver a kill shot...

Scale creep anyone? You can see how the old Reaver and Warhound castings stack up to the new model kits - a Space Marine Fellblade super heavy tank is also in the photo to give you an idea of the size of the things.

The newer plastic kits from GW are very nice, and as you can see in the photo, they have re-scaled them to a fairly radical extent compared to the old models once used for this game. Because of this, and the eye-watering prices for the models, "Adeptus Titanicus" will certainly remain a niche game - but the rules are excellent, the game itself is a lot of fun.  If you enjoy the 30k/Horus Heresy setting, you will certainly enjoy the game! Given the way GW manages these sorts of products, I suggest you act now to get the rules and models if you are interested...

"Family photo" - the War Griffon maniple, and allied Knights, together on the display shelf.

I'm excited to have these two engines finished, as I now have a complete "Axiom Battle Line" maniple for the Imperial side of my collection - one Warlord, two Reavers and two Warhounds. There is also a small banner of Knights available to provide some additional support.  Five God-Engines and a Knight banner is plenty to occupy the attention of several players - I would not imagine many "Adeptus Titanicus" games where more than this deploys for one side.

Of course, no project for me is ever truly "finished" - I can always "round out" every collection with a few more items! In this case the Knight banner could use some reinforcements, just to help them live a little longer on the table (a full banner of six Knights can be quite the pest!), and longer term I would like to get one more big-ass Warlord sporting some different weapon load-outs involved, but all of that will wait for a bit, as the rebel side of my Titan collection will need some further attention first...

The New "Adeptus Titanicus"

New plastic Warlord Titans and Questoris Knight from GW's new-re-released "Adeptus Titanicus"

Oh man...so much to blather about here...apologies for the too-long post...

It's back - finally! I honestly never thought it would come back. There have been rumours for years. Reports of playtests at events like Adepticon, fuzzy photos on the Web. All circulating for years.  But as a devoted fan of the old, long-discarded "specialist" games such as Epic, I always thought it was just vapour. I totally discounted the rumours.  GW had killed these games off, and bringing back something like "Adeptus Titanicus" would be something akin to admitting a mistake, which the GW-type entities of the world almost never do.  It would also be something along the lines of observing your audience and responding to demand, something which I am always hard-pressed to see any evidence of GW doing.

Besides, it was taking so long to actually show up (the "official" rumours had been out there for years), it was practically moving on Kickstarter-style timelines.  Just vapour.  Even with the actual arrival of official photos, and promotional posts in GW's official online community, I still didn't believe it would happen. 

Ah - the good old days! Gigantic robots, you say?

But it has, in fact, happened! A new version of "Adeptus Titanicus" has hit the shelves! Unlike so many Kickstarters, it physically exists, and you can purchase it! Devoted fan that I am, I of course made a purchase.  My good friend Curt has a very sane and mature overview of the new game over at his Analogue Hobbies blog, and I encourage you to check that out.   It is more thoughtful and well-organized than the rest of this post...

I was quite excited to finally get one of the new box "Adeptus Titanicus" sets late this summer. Dismissive as I had been about the notion that the game would ever be released again, once I actually had it, I was really fired up.  Yet these emotions were mixed, my excitement quite evenly matched with long-held grudge of how these games had been "managed" by the GW clowns in the first place.  It is impotent, pointless fan-rage.  It has no meaning or force in the world (which is why GW can ignore it), but it was there all the same as I dove into the new game, this strange combo of excitement and frustration, all at once. What is wrong with me? Anyway...

If you are, like me, a keeper of the flame for the old "specialist" games, then you would find this new box game to be very much the epitome modern GW - capable of incredible feats of hobby creativity, great rules and stunning models, together with decisions which appear to be specific attempts to anger long-time customers in ways that would rival the practices of any airline or cable company. 

The new "Adeptus Titanicus" game is at once great and also frustrating. It pays homage to the old game, while also urinating more than a bit on the old game and its fans, and doing so in douche-bag ways. You will love it, and hate it.  You will wonder at what blend of opaque committee thinking led to this specific approach by GW to the release of this game. You will be thrilled to have it.  Excited. And disappointed. You will wonder at why GW can look at an open net, and still miss many of shots...

Long time fans of the TV show "The Simpsons" may recall that early season when Homer purchased Krusty the Klown doll for Bart in one of the Halloween Specials...getting the new Adeptus Titanicus is pretty much like this: 

So if you used to love Adeptus Titanicus, you will love the new one. You will. But yes, the frogurt is also cursed. 

I will share some of my many contradictory and convoluted thoughts amid photos of some newly completed models.  Please note that the Warlord Titans and Knight seen in the photos in this post  are from the new GW box set. The Reaver and Warhound Titans in the photos, however, are not new GW models, but are private sculpts and not commercially available. GW is coming out with plastic kit versions of those variants (the new Reavers are already out there, and Curt will have one up for view soon I'm sure) which I expect will scale much better with the big new Warlord kits. 

The Models

New Warlord class Titan for Legio Mortis. The "Death Heads" fight for the Warmaster, for hope and for change!

You receive a big schwack of plastic in the box. Two Warlord Class titans, six Questoris class Knights, a bunch of new modular buildings, and a set of markers.  It's a lot of plastic!

The models are compelling and baffling all at once.  Compelling, because they show GW at its very best.  Very best. The new Warlord kits are marvels of plastic model engineering - bloody amazing.  They are not simple to slap together by any means - be ready to take some time to do it right. I lost count of all the parts.  This is no lame two-piece Contemptor Dreanought form the "Betrayal at Calth" box.  This is a full-on, serious kit that will reward your time and effort. 

Warlord class Titan for Legio Gryphonicus.  Foremost among the ranks of the so-called "loyalists", these dupes of the False Emperor waste their God-engine's glory engaging in acts of futile terrorism against the beloved Warmaster.

The yellow on this sucker was a real challenge...the photos flatter it.  Up close, it is not quite so nice...something to remember for next time - choose a better base coat for my yellow!

In particular, take your time "posing" the legs on the Warlords - there is, in theory, a lot of possibilities for articulation thanks to all of the parts. But the overall size and shape of the model limits the actual useful outcomes with posed legs - the torso, the weapons, that is all a considerable amount of stuff up there, and you need to make sure the leg pose you develop will hold the whole thing up.  

The old and the new...the old 1990s Warlord Titan on the right doesn't even top the "hips" of the new edition Warlord!

You will see one of the Warlords in the photos here (the Legio Mortis engine) is posed mid-stride.  This was an ACCIDENT on my part (I thought it would be stepping forward - I suck), and not recommended, as the whole weight of the thing is supported on the base by only one leg. Not ideal at all...we'll see how long this fellow lasts on the table... 

I achieved something of a "mid-stride" look on this one by total accident, and this is not recommended... 

A view of the incredible and intricate detail on the back...I did a pretty basic paint job, but if you are inclined, there is a great deal of detail to go to town on here...

As many others have suggested, consider painting the armoured plates separately from the skeleton underneath.  I think you will find this makes the painting smoother overall. Yes - I hate painting parts separately or on sprues, but it does work with these suckers, and I'm glad I took that approach.

The weapon points on the Warlords can be easily magnetized - in fact, the models were designed to hold little disc magnets - huge "thank you" to Curt for pointing this out, and to Byron for spotting me some magnets on short notice!

As you can see, the completed Warlord Titans are HUGE! Way, way bigger than the old plastic Titan models from the 90s. I'll have more to say on that further down (see "The Scale of the Game").  But these models are incredible, really something to see up close. 

Are there downsides? Well aside from the cost and scale incompatibility (again, more on that below), the big disappointment here is the weapon load out.  The Warlord model comes with ONE weapon load out - only ONE. And it is a boring one! Two Volcano Cannons for the arms, and two Apocalypse Launchers for the carapace mounts. Come ON, man!!  All this money (see "The Cost" below) and you get two Warlords with the SAME vanilla weapon load out? That is so LAME. And so BORING. Dick move. And a huge whiff when you consider that so much of the fun of the original game came from cooking up the different weapon load outs. Come on, GW...

One of the new Questoris Knights for "Adeptus Titanicus". 

This whiff is even more baffling when you consider the Knights.  The plastic Knight models are quite cunningly designed and very nice. They are faithful recreations of the new, "28mm" scale Knights released for the 40k game some time ago. Again, these show GW at the top of its game. Where the Warlords will take quite a while to assemble properly, the Knights are very fast and straightforward to build - I think I managed to put three of them together in about 25 minutes or so.

Lovely little plastic kits, go together fast, and paint up fairly quick as well. 

But weapons for the Knights? You have three different weapon load outs for the Knights, all on one sprue, complete with an option to replace the secondary heavy stubber with a melta gun.  So, GW designers, you could figure that out, but couldn't get a power fist or set of laser cannons in for the Warlords? Come on, man... 

The buildings are clever and very nice.  They are made to be modular, but they do not go together so smoothly - much trickier than they should be, amplified by instructions which, in my view, give poor direction.  The end result is worth it, as they are looking pretty neat (although, of course, I don't have painted ones to share yet - too busy painting Titans).  I confess I miss the simpler buildings from simpler times, but the new ones are very, very nice.  I'm thrilled to add these to my Epic collection, and I hope little Space Marine Legions have a great time fighting over them. 

The Game

When we think of GW, we think so often of rules systems like 40k, which, though now on their 8th edition, are still so...bad. But GW has actually been home to many innovative and fun rule sets, and this new edition of "Adeptus Titanicus" looks to be one of them.  Players will be tracking the detail on specific Titans such as the state of their shields, hits to specific locations, and - I can't wait to have fun with this - the status of their reactors. Let's push that plasma reactor, shall we? I mean, what could go wrong with a plasma reactor? I'm sure it's totally safe to operate above-maximum, just for a turn, right?

Family photo! Legio Mortis battle maniple, ready for action. 

Are there some nits? For me, not so much with the rules mechanics themselves, just the design decisions. The thin rule book is nice, but there is no index or glossary, so you get to have fun hunting and pecking around the book to find information.  There is also a tendency to make simple ideas sound much more complicated than they are - such as all of this "matched play" vs "narrative" vs "open play" nonsense. Meanwhile, the book itself contains no listing, statistics or points costs of the Titans or Knights, or the weapons they use.  For that, you need the cards and the "terminals" which come with the game.  Come ON, man. 

The cards and "terminals" are very nice from a production value standpoint. Like, really nice, on par with the nicest stuff you are seeing from board games out there.  But not having that info listed in the book, thereby compelling you to have the cards and terminals themselves if you want to play the game, is just a bit of a dick move.  Like, GW couldn't spare two pages to just list this stuff out in the rule book too? Come on guys (see "The Cost" below for more).  

Legio Gryphonicus battle maniple, ready to sacrifice their Titans in some pointless stand against the glorious Warmaster, Horus Lupercal!

Another little piss-in-the-beer aspect of the rules relates to the weapons mounted on the Warlord Titans. Warlords have always had four weapon mounts - two on the carapace, and two "arms".  At first glance on the new models, you would think the new ones do too.  But...you're wrong. 

  

If you have an old collection of the plastic models from the 1990s like I do, I expect you have all sorts of whacky weapon combos on them - but that very few of them would have the weapons on the carapace mounted in pairs...?

In this new edition of the game, a decision has been made that all weapon mounts on the carapace of Warlord Titans will be "paired".  WTF? Why? I suspect this decision was spurred by a some kind of design restriction on the fancy "terminal" cards, which would not have room for four different "weapon cards" - and thus the carapace mounts were decreed to be "paired", keeping the limit to three weapon slots on the "terminal". This is actually a pretty material change. Not only is this lame and less fun, but I bet very few of your old models have pairs of weapons up on the carapace, right? 

So, look, the rules look fun. But are there some dick moves? Yep. 

The Scale of the Game

To the extent that the vapour/rumours/chatter online was out there about this game while its development wound through whatever byzantine, years-long new-product process GW follows these days, the largest amount of discussion focused around the "scale".  The models were said to be "8mm" instead of "6mm".  A dick move was widely predicted, and this did come to pass.  

So...everyone has a different opinion on scales of things, but there is no way the old Titans will mix with the new ones on the table, save perhaps as a sort of statue or monument, a piece of terrain?

Seeing the models for real, yes, they are larger - not just in "scale", but just in size generally.  The old classic "turtle shell" Warlords from the 1990s don't even clear the leg pistons on the new beasts!

Revising the scale strikes me as a deliberate douche bag move - pissing on the old guard still out there who nourished collections of old models. I...don't understand this. 

Hey, few can unleash more fan anger at GW than me, but there are a couple ways to look at this...the first is to say, yes, dick move, but the new models are just incredible.  Could they have been smaller and still incredible? Well, yes...the plastic Knights prove that. But all the same, even with all my GW-loathing, I have to say, right up front - these new Warlord models are really, really stunning.  If you take the point of view that the Warlord Titan is a penultimate beast, and you want to let your new model-design capabilities go to town...well, I can respect that. 

New Knight beside an old Warlord...again, the old models are just TOO small to ever mix with the new stuff. 

Now, lets go back to scale again.  Sure, the old Titans won't mix.  But what about the old Epic foot troops and vehicles? Well, IMO if you have Epic vehicles and infantry, I, for one, actually think these new Warlords are just fine. Are they f***ing huge compared to the Epic Land Raiders and Space Marines? Well, YES. But...they should be! The massive size relative to the old infantry and tanks doesn't bother me so much... and what is so odd is that the new buildings and the new Knights match up so nicely, scale wise, with the old infantry and tanks too.  I think there was a case to be made that the old classic plastic Titans were more than a touch too small vis-a-vis the old Epic infantry and tanks.  Well, if you thought that...then the new models have got a treat for you!

New Warlord with a Land Raider from the old "Space Marine" game.  Again, everyone's preference varies, but this would work for me...

These huge beasts do impose other challenges on your sci-fi gaming too, namely...how do you come up with cover? Mountains...OK. How big of a hill can you put down? Do you have 12mm sized sci-fi trees? Probably not.  Even the new buildings, when stacked up, don't do much to obscure the view of the new Warlord Titans...I mean, they are HUGE.  The old time buildings made of card certainly don't. Now, this is not an insurmountable obstacle - certainly there are some way more creative terrains types out there than I - but it will be something to think about as you plot your "Adeptus Titanicus" games.  I may need to plot some kind of huge refinery or something made of straws and cans, something clever like Dallas comes up with all of the time...making terrain? Me? I dunno...but we'll see. 

One of the new Knights with the old Land Raider. Again, I think this would be fine on the gaming table...YMMV.

The large models also serve to limit the size of games you can play, even on a standard 6' x 4' table. If you go back to the big all-Titan game of Epic we played back in 2013 as an example of what was possible with the old models, well, you could never do that with these new models - there would not be enough room.  Another factor for your table - remember you will need space for the "terminals" to track the status of your God-engines.  These "terminals" are, as I said, very nice, but they are large and will eat materially into available gaming space.  The game designers claim they have put the rules together with this in mind, suggesting many games would take place on a 4'x4' table...but making the models huge AND shrinking the tables...look, this is not a deal breaker - it is just not a consistent approach. Come on, guys.  

The Cost

Oh man.  Even by GW's OPEC-like standards, the price of the new "Adeptus Titanicus" stuff is absolutely eye-watering.  Just...wow.  So, like, I hate the GW prices, just like everyone else. But at the same time, well, it's a free market, and they can charge what they like so...if you see the value, you can pay, or you can decide not to. 

Me, I absolutely love the Horus Heresy setting, love the stories of the Titan Legions, love the Titans and love the game.  So I am right in the marketing crosshairs for this, and even at these bowel-adjusting prices, I am going to participate.  But to say "this won't be for everyone" is a material understatement.  To assemble an "axiom battle line" maniple formation for just one Titan faction will easily set you back something in the neighbourhood of $350 to $400 CAD, probably more, depending on how much they price out the Warhounds once they are released (pending as I type this).  And remember you need cards for the weapons (as the weapon stats are not in the rule book) and the "terminals" (as the Titan core stats are not in the rule book).  That's just to put your maniple on the table, and ignores terrain etc.  So, this is going to be a niche game.  I encourage you to try it, because the setting is so cool! But...it will cost, yes.   

Profile view of the loyalist Warlord Titan. 

Detail view on the rear of the loyalist Titan. 

Even if you are happy with your old models and "just" want to try the new rules, well, you can buy the book (and the "terminals" and weapon cards).  But as per above, the switch to paired-weapons-only for the Warlords is a big change, and will be something you will need to work around. 

The money you pay also amplifies the frustration you feel at the aspects they whiffed on.  For me, one stands out - as mentioned above, I cannot believe the vanilla weapon load out they put into the Warlord kit - just astounding when you consider there is so much else to totally LOVE about those new models. I expect the power fists/plasma annihilators/vortex missiles etc will come later in some manner of separate kit or upgrade set. I am concerned this will be from Forge World, which, in addition to the even-higher than normal high prices, will introduce the unreliability of resin castings, separate huge shipping charges, and weapons which are too heavy to be supported by the magnets...sigh. 

And So...

Look, for all of the frustration, I am very pleased to see this game out. There is a lot of good stuff here, and potential good stuff for the future. The good parts are great, GW doing what is can do best. And the frustrating parts are also very GW too: GW annoying and enraging fans the way only GW can.  GW won't change. If I boil it all down, I can't wait to play this with my friends!

Costly? Well...yes. But if you like them, better buy them before they are gone...

I am trying to gather the new models while I can. Between the pricing and uneven marketing, I expect this game is at great risk of heading into the GW doom loop, where they release something that is too expensive, it doesn't sell, and then they kill it because it doesn't sell...look, I'd rather be ranting about a game that is still for sale, than one that was killed off before it could take off.  So I hope it sticks around. It won't be for everyone, but if you dive in, I think you will really like it. 

We'll take the new models and new rules out for a spin this week with the gang on Fawcett Avenue. Reactors to full power! Full stride! Horus for hope! The God-engines will walk! 

GW's 30th Anniversary Space Marine

30th Anniversary Space Marine Figure from GW

So, we'll kick this off with the disclaimers. Yes, it was a rip-off.  Yes, GW still managed to make it a partially bungled experience.  Yes, it was a plastic figure.  Yes, the plastic figure was oriented in such a way as to make any conversion you might want to attempt much harder than necessary. Yes, GW is generally run by a pack of rectally-oriented clowns who give both the hobby and capitalism bad reputations...

This was not encouraging when I first tried to order online...but it all worked out in the end

So with all that fan-boy bile out of the way, I just have to say I still absolutely love the GW 30th Anniversary Space Marine figure. A testament to my enjoyment of the setting. And my stubborn idiocy, perhaps, but I'll focus more on the first part.

Odd arrangements on the sprue...

...but it comes together nicely!

GW never likes to make it easy to like or support them - this exercise was a good example of this tendency.We had been told the figures would be available in-store only.  I dreaded a fanboy mob, but hey, I was keyed up, so a group of us deployed to the local GW retail location, only to find that five minutes late might as well have been hours late. All of the figures in the store were spoken for not even minutes after opening!

But fortunately GW had apparently misled its own staff, and the figure would, in fact, be available online as well (which makes sense because it's a plastic figure, and the idea that you couldn't run enough of them to sell to every fanboy willing to pay $35 for one over a weekend is hilarious, but I digress once again).  So I set my clock to order at the appointed time.  The initial screens were not encouraging (see above), but it all worked out eventually.

Trudging to battle with a funkified combi-weapon of some kind

The sculptors killed it with this figure - great job, I love it

Bottom line is that I was able to order one online, it arrived in due course, and I finally found a break from a recent period of intense time at work to put it together and paint it. And it's a fun little model.  I generally find GW to have an, at best, tepid regard for it's own history, so I was stunned to see GW even bother to acknowledge this anniversary, much less do so with such a nice figure, with a figure that would have all of us (or maybe just a dork like me) running to our copies of Rogue Trader to find these old castings in the photos.  That was a genuine surprise.

Remember these guys from Rogue Trader??? Awesome!!

The plastic is very well done.  The model is a beauty.  I painted him up as a Crimson Fist because it just didn't seem right to paint him any other way (although I do want to do one of these for the Sons of Horus some day).  The only downside? I used the stupid oversize 32mm base (the new standard size for Space Marines).  Looking back, he would have been better on a classic base, to fit in with the rest of the lads I have painted for this Chapter.

But at the same time, this really is not a gaming figure - more of a collector's item for the shelf.  Maybe he'll join a 40k game some day, but really he's just around to guard the gaming shelf and for fun.

Crimson Fist decal sitting awkwardly on the shoulder plate

Nice details on the backpack/power unit, and I love the handy extra-dangerous-looking "utility blade"

Was a lot of fun to paint this fellow up

I know a couple of the other guys scored their own anniversary models, so I look forward to seeing them painted up too.  And who knows? Maybe we'll figure out a way to get this guy involved in game.

I hope everyone else out there has as much fun working on this figure as I did - despite GW's best efforts, you will really enjoy it, and whatever I think of their rollout, here's hoping they continue to explore their own history for other cool figures.

And I hope someone out there mocks up the gun this guy is carrying, because a squad of guys carrying them would be just awesome...

Tempestus Testus - GWs Imperial Guard Storm Troopers

New Tempestus Scions (a.k.a. "Storm Troopers) from GW

Our good friend Curt is coming to visit later this week, and we are preparing to host one of his favourite games - Warhammer 40k! HAH.  Well, yes, it's true! Not that Curt loves 40k, but that in the spirit of flagellation, we will be running a 40k game during his visit this week!  And I am rushing to get some new figures done in time to participate - "Tempestus Scions", the new plastic storm trooper figures for the Imperial Guard.  

Five dudes for $42CDN - OUCH!

Tons of bits and options - but still, only five dudes...f*ck you, GW

In the fluff of the 40k setting, we know that in the event of a real threat Space Marines are dispatched to "deal with" the problem. These Space-Marine-situations generally involve outright, often hopeless, heavy duty fighting which the Marines are literally bred for, and well-equipped to deal with. 

Assembled and waiting to be primed

The Marines are of course very elite troops, but "elite" in the sense that you can send 100 of them to open battle and they will subdue an entire planetary rebellion, not "elite" in the sense that they deploy quietly to operate in a commando-style fashion.  Sure, the Marines will deploy behind the lines, but that's only because they have found the source of the problem, and are sending a bunch of nasty fellows in drop pods to deal with it directly. Who needs a long walk when you can just hop out of the drop pod and smash the Emperor's enemies right away?

The "Tempestor" a.k.a a sergeant

I tossed the vox caster on him...I liked the look of this, but I don't intend to use the vox casters on the table as they are pretty useless...and if you give one to a trooper, he loses his weapon...

The Imperial Guard storm troopers have laboured long in this shadow, a favourite troop type of Imperial Guard players. Elite army soldiers, well-equipped for commando-type jobs and special missions that would occur in the context of an Imperial Guard deployment, like sabotage, long-range recon, demolition of high-priority targets, abduction of prisoners, rescue of prisoners, assassination etc. Cool stuff, but not stuff that a Space Marine Chapter Master would worry about dispatching even one of his payroll servitors for, much less a company of valued Marines.  The storm troopers filled this niche gap, albeit one that existed mostly in the minds of dedicated Imperial Guard fans. 

Hot Shot Volley Gun - this gun looks super cool, but has the incredibly dumb "gets hot" special rule attached to it...sigh

You can see a bit of the back pack here - they sure carry a lot of stuff into the field!

As far as I can tell (and I know a more knowledgeable hobby fan out there will correct me if I'm wrong :) the Storm Troopers first appeared in the second edition of the WH40k game - this would be in mid-late to late 1990s, I think?  They had things that appealed to an Imperial Guard player - a better ballistic skill, and lasguns that could really hurt! How cool!

The original 40k storm troopers...the first plastic versions were faithful to this art work, and are prized parts of many Imperial Guard collections

 
The original storm troopers were plastic monopose figures, with metal officers, metal special weapon troopers and a metal heavy weapon team. They wore berets and stoic expressions. A lot of Guard players I know look fondly on these original figures, and they often fetch a premium on Ebay. I have personally never really liked the originals - the poses were very limited, and the two-man heavy weapon team was silly.  But I loved the overall principle! Elite troops to buck up your regular hapless grunts. As an Imperial Guard fanboy, I was in!

"Tempestor Prime" (or something like that) a.k.a. "Captain" - you have several posing options for him, but they are all pretty melodramatic

Not sure this get-up makes sense for a commando operation, but hey - it's 40k :) There are a depressing number of skulls on this model - too many to remove sensibly, but he certainly looks unique...

As 40k evolved into the 3rd edition (and since then, into what I like to think of as the 34567th edition, as I find them all to be so similar to each other) the Storm Trooper models changed.  I can no longer recall what year they were issued, but metal storm troopers appeared, and these were (and still are) some of the coolest sculpts GW ever issued. These looked like dark future SEALS! Cool guns, lots of optics, heavy armour, but still sort-of-sleek and ominous looking.

A group of Scions

A further evolution came in the form of the "Kasrkin", originally elite Cadian troops.  These were also some of the nicest GW sculpts I have seen, certainly a lot nicer than the plastic Cadians. The Kasrkin, to me, looked more like "heavy infantry" than commandos - some heavier armour and guns, but with the bulk and the heavy cables for the "hot shot" lasguns, I couldn't really see them sneaking around behind the lines. I still loved these models - and I painted 30 of the frigging things about 10 years ago to play a "Grenadier" Imperial Guard detachment - heavy infantry in APCs, backed by tanks etc. So fun.

Another view of the pack - each one is a little different - some have grenades, some have knives etc.

The actual game performance of the storm troopers was very poor - after all, their lasguns were S 3, and in the era of the 34567 edition it is the AP of the weapon that matters (and yes, a lot of 40k players will spew disagreement about this, but I stand by it).  Increasingly, the 40k has become a duel between heavy weapons (that is, until you get into "close combat"), and the "hot shot" lasguns were of dubious value (i.e. none).  Same with the 4+ save - it sounded nice in theory, but never showed its value in practice. You played storm troopers/Kasrkin because you liked the figures, not because you got good results on the table.

A five-man storm trooper squad

In the sixth edition Imperial Guard codex, out of the blue, GW's fickle rules flakes suddenly gave the "hot shot" lasguns an AP 3.  This is sufficient to knock out a Space Marine! And yet...the gun is still S 3...so...whatever you need to do to sell figures, I guess...this post is already too long, but I guess all I will say here is this is what happens with the S/AP system...that's a rant for another time.

Through the ages - a SEAL style metal trooper on the left, a "Kasrkin" in the middle, and a new plastic Scion on the right

Another comparison of the different models

In the era of the 34567th edition, there have been different ways to try and field a force of storm troopers.  For a time you could use "doctrines" and have them as "grenadiers".  You could get "sort of" storm troopers by taking veterans (who could get carapace armour, but not the "hot shot" guns).  And now, we have the "Tempestus Scions".  They have their own pamphlet-codex (which I won't get into here, other than to say don't bother with it unless you are a storm trooper fan boy like me) and a whole new set of plastic figures.

Which direction is Regina?

The set is pretty neat.  You are now able to make command figures and command accessory figures (like the medic, standard etc), something the lead figures of the third-and-later editions never did have beyond a couple of sergeant figures.  The Tempestus design pays homage, in my view, to each "era" of the storm trooper figures. There are beret heads (assuming the Catachans haven't ruined berets for you) as a shout-out to the originals.  The "hot shot" guns look very much like the SEAL version of the storm trooper, as do many of the helmet-variant optics. The armour plates somewhat evoke the heavy-infantry "Kasrkin" look, as do the hulking packs and weapon cables.  But they are still unique, with elaborate, flowery armour accents that suit the setting.  And, sadly, a LOT of skulls...but since they are plastic, you can shave quite a few of them off with minimal effort to leave a slightly-less skull-heavy figure.

The expense of the new models is horrifying ($42 CDN per box of five figures), but if you are like me, and you painted a bunch of the older storm troopers, you will find these can fit in with those older sculpts with a bit of imagination and a similar paint scheme.  That's my plan, and if I can bear down at the painting table (kind of hard, as the weather has been so nice for once), I'm hoping to finish enough of these to see some action this week. Will they suck on the table? Maybe! We'll see!