Mechanicum Battle Group Review

The new Mechanicum Battle Group boxset is here, and it is packed full of brand-new plastic models from Games Workshop.  Today, Princeps James goes over this treasure trove of archeotech from days long lost as of the 41st Millenium.  Thank you, as always, to Games Workshop for sending us the free review copy.

"The boxset comes with three separate Troop choices that you can use to start or expand your existing Mechanicum forces. Inside you will find four identical sprues of the new, lumbering tech-thralls. The included sprues can make up two minimum-sized squads of 10 or one full squad of 20 that could be used to slow enemy advancement towards your objectives or Titans. If you fancy a more up-in-your-face approach, the boxset also comes with a plastic Triaros Armored Conveyor - with a transport capacity of 22 - to ferry your 20-man squad across the field quickly to grab other objectives or cut off the enemy advance if you plan to use your Mechanicum force to protect your Titans. 

The sculpting on the new Triaros has the same exceptional level of detailing that we have seen with the newer Horus Heresy models being released. The Triaros is spread across four sprues with two for the side framing, one for the front ram and other detail pieces, and the final sprue has most of the roofing pieces. I personally hope we may see a plastic Karacnos Assault Tank in the future. 

The next unit included in the boxset is the Thallax cohort. Inside the boxset you will get enough to build six Thallax, with various heads, and the included special weapon options. Two sprues have most of your upper body pieces and the various weaponry you can equip the Thallax with, and another sprue that contains everything to assemble the lower halves. With their jump packs allowing them to deep-strike you can kit the Thallax for various needs. With the included phased plasma-fusil, multi-melta, and Photon Thruster you can kit these guys out from clearing hordes to threatening even the mighty Titans. 

Finally the last unit included in the boxset is two of the iconic Castellax battle-automata. Included in the boxset you have the ability to equip the Castellax with various melee and ranged weapons. Ranged weapons come with the common mauler bolt cannon, the multi-melta, or the deadly darkfire cannon. Melee options include shock chargers or power blades, both of which have options for in-built bolters or flamers. Like the Thallax, these can be kitted out for whatever purpose you need them to accomplish on the battlefield. Word of warning when assembling these kits, there are small pieces, especially on the Thallax that can be lost very easily if you're not careful."

Thank you, Princeps James, for the review of the new Mechanicum Battle Group.  It's available for pre-order now on warhammer.com.  

Adeptus Titanicus- The Warlord Kit

Ever built a big resin Warlord from Forge World?  It’s a real joy and an honor in the hobby.  Ever been unable to do so because of the cost?  The plastic Warlord for Adeptus Titanicus will let you build the Warlord you’ve always dreamed of.  Just smaller than a Questoris Knight, less than the price of one, but still a Warlord nonetheless.

THE BOX

You know you’re getting a premium Citadel product when the box looks amazing.  First off, the cover isn’t the usual black and blue facing that most of your newer Citadel products come in; it’s an ENTIRE piece of artwork unto itself.  The back cover features the actual model itself, along with close ups of the weapons and head included in the kit.  We know that different weapon and head options will be available later on, and this back cover almost seems to indicate that each box may carry different loadouts as time goes on (assuming a weapon/head sprue isn’t made available later on.)

The instruction booklet is a close cousin to that found in the Forge World Warlord, though clearly of a different style.  The booklet is full color and explains everything you need to know about building your Warlord.  It also includes paint schemes and decal numbering schemes for five of the most popular Titan Legions (Mortis, Atarus, Gryphonicus, Fureans, and Astorum.)

Not a detailed painting guide, but enough to get you a start on the schemes.

The Warlord comes on three sprues, each designed in a specialized manner.  One sprue contains the Knight’s superstructure and defensive weapons.  Another sprue is almost completely armor panels (with exception to the shoulder brackets and main reactor housing).  The final sprue contains the weapons and two head options (both Mars-Alpha variants with two visor options).  The details on the kit are extremely well done and there are few differences between the Forge World kit and the Citadel mini kit.

THE BUILD

One thing that this Citadel miniature lacks in terms of posing is the locking lugs included in many of the current kits that help less experienced modelers keep their prized models posed well.  The legs on this kit will require patience, dry fitting, planning, and a little bit of skill.  Be aware of that as you go through the build process.  However, owners of actual resin Titans are familiar with all of these things and should have little issue with their Warlord build.

If you’ve ever built a Knight or a Titan, you’re in good hands.  The Warlord kit goes together extremely well and is so well designed that it’s about the same build quality as the new Dominus-class Knights that recently came out.  This kit honestly came out great and so closely resembles the build of the Forge World Warlord that it took me back in time.  It really is a pleasure to work on, and far less stressful than its resin counterpart.  While not a true replica of the exact parts of the larger model (which we can all be grateful for when it comes to the hip piston rings), it really follows the legacy of the original.  

And don’t forget the magnets!  There are pre-designed holes in the upper arm, shoulder brackets, and carapace weapons so that you can magnetize your Titan for quick swap outs later on.  There are no magnet locations in the elbows and it’s unclear how future weapon options will work (whether we are provided the whole arm or just the gun at the elbow).  

Games Workshop has certainly done a great job with this kit.