+ Raising the Dread Hellespontion +
+ Warbringer Nemesis Battle Titan review +
+ Notes on building +
+ Games Workshop's Adeptus Titanicus kits are the most beautifully-designed and engineered wargaming kits I've had the pleasure of building, and the new Warbringer is no exception. If anything, it only improves on the Warlord and Reaver by including markings on the parts (neatly hidden once built) that help with alignment. +
+ As with the Warlord and Reaver, the kit comes on three sprues: one for the superstructure, one for the armour plates, and one for the weapons. The armour plates include options for the front upper carapace: blank, Eye of Horus, or Imperial Aquila. It's supplied with the same size base as the Reaver; but unlike the previous kits, it also comes with weapon cards and the Command Terminal. +
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| + Being a fan of a bit of asymmetry, I opted for one blank carapace shield, and one proclaiming the Legio's loyalty to the Warmaster. Note that the heraldic shields are optional – you can leave them off (as shown right of pict-capture) and reveal only a natural-looking armour seam. + |
+ Features [VALUESTATUS:ungood] +
+ There are no weapon or head options, which I found a little disappointing. The sprues are packed, so the lack of weapon options was not surprising, but I still would have appreciated a head option. This is a natural focal point for any figure, so having all Warbringer heads being identical is a shame. I can only hope that this presages a release of upgrade heads from Forge World, Specialist Games or enterprising third parties soon. (On that note, I'm waiting for some talented 3D modeller to create a version of the long-snouted second Reaver head, from the original edition – please let me know if you spot one in the wild!). +
+ The really galling thing is the amount of space used up by the optional carapace armour plates – and I'd level a similar criticism at the Reaver and Warlord here. Given the high quality of the engineering, I'm surprised that the Aquila and Eye of Horus symbols aren't loose. The plates are otherwise identical, and having the symbols unmounted would save a huge amount of space on the sprue – perhaps allowing for some variation in the head, or at least some variant knee pads or something. +
+ A final petty criticism before we get stuck into the huge wad a good bits – no crew. The huge deck area is just screaming for a figure or two, and I thought it was a missed opportunity not to create Adeptus Titanicus-sized equivalents to the crew present in the 40k-scale version. +
+ Features [VALUESTATUS:plusgood] +
+ Onto the good stuff – of which there is much! +
+ The arm weapons are identical to the Reaver ones, and fully interchangeable. A nice touch is the cabling, which has a secure default anchor to the superstructure rather than the weapon. As with the other Titan kits, 5 x 1mm recesses are built into the weapon mounting points to allow for ease of magnetisation. The Warbringer's an improvement on the Reaver here, as the recesses are included on the 'elbow' of the arm, like the Warlord – a feature notably missing from the equivalent place on the Reaver. +
+ The AA guns also include 5 x 1mm recesses, which is a fun addition. Interestingly, the Reaver carapace weapons fit rather neatly here prior to the the carapace armour and main gun being fitted... This gets my servo-clamps twitching to do a conversion and create a standard (i.e. non-Nemesis) Warbringer, armed with four Reaver-class weapons. +
+ While the large Warlord-class Mori Quake cannon does not have a magnet, I don't think that's an oversight. It is secured to a large cradle which ensures it is held comfortably in place by gravity. You can glue it down, but not doing so allows a limited traverse (and makes playing with the toy robot easier!) +
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+ The quake cannon reload mechanism and ammo
hoppers are visible at the bottom of the pict-capture. + |
+ The ammo hoppers at the back require gluing to the torso, but if you want to future-proof your model for additional weapons – the Belicosa volcano cannon seems a shoe-in – then you might want to magnetise using 2 x 1mm magnets or simple pins run horizontally into the superstructure. This'll allow you to remove the reload mechanism easily, and replace it with whatever the equivalent is for a giant laser cannon. +
+ The greatest improvement in design terms is simple: the addition of labels on parts which are hidden after construction. The feet, for example, are marked 'L' and 'R' within the sockets that the ankles are glued into. It's a very simple change from the older kits, but I've frequently seen Reavers assembled with their (very similar) feet on the wrong legs. No such fear here! +
+ More subtly, but no less helpfully, the armour plates and armoured pistons that attach the foot to the lower leg are marked with two letter codes like 'LI' (for Left Inside). All very useful when building, and really the cherry on the cake of what is a fantastic kit. It's a very minor thing, but just goes to show the ongoing improvements the design team are making. +
+ The card components are worth a note, too. While the Command Terminal is unpunched, and the same thin card as the weapons (rather than the thick board of previous Terminals), it's a great touch to have it included with the kit. It's easy to be cynical, but I think including the cards and Terminal (albeit in a cheaper form) is a positive step, and if you're interested in gaming, then its one less hurdle to get over. +
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+ Pricing, judgement and closing thoughts +
+ Price-wise, it sits closer to the Warlord than the Reaver; to put this in context, I found the former wince-inducing, and the latter surprisingly cheap. Had this kit sat exactly midway between the two, I think I'd be considering buying a second or third. As it is, the lack of in-kit options (especially the lack of a second head), means I'm unlikely to buy another in the short-term. +
+ These criticisms are minor compared with the joy of having a new Titan class in the game. I wasn't an immediate fan of its aesthetics when I saw previews of the 40k scale one, but I think now that the images suffered from foreshortening, making the legs and weapons look stubby, and the head disproportionately large. Seeing it in the hand, it still looks ungainly – but in a pleasing, intentional way. +
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| + The Reaver Old Spiteful (Senex Codomannus) and the Warlord Manifest Law (Ipsus Granicus) alongside Dread Hellespontian + |
+ Given that it's the first new Titan design for ages, it would have been easy for it to look out of place, but it fits in beautifully alongside the other Titan types. Bravo to the designers. +
+ If the Warbringer follows a similar pattern to the other Titans, we'll likely be seeing a follow-up release with a different weapon sprue. I anticipate this will be the Belicosa Volcano Cannon, Melta Cannon and Gatling Blaster, as this will complete the weapon options currently available in the rules to the Warbringer Nemesis. You may, therefore, wish to wait a few months if you're after a particular load-out. +
+ In summary then, my criticisms are few, and my praise plentiful.
The Warbringer Nemesis is a gorgeous kit that looks fantastic in-hand, and I wholeheartedly recommend you get one. +
+++
+ Dread Hellespontion +
+ As part of the Legio Sumer-Nikator, The Sons of the Temple [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], Hellespontion needed a couple of extra tweaks. When assembling, I trimmed away all the posing tabs, giving me free reign. +
+ My advice for creating a slow walking pose is simply to assemble the stable leg first (usually the front leg, or it'll look like your Titan is walking backwards). Secure the foot flat and slightly off-centre on the base, set back a short distance from the front of the base –as the Titan's centre of gravity will be biased towards this point, you want to leave a space for the upper body and weapons to fill; otherwise you'll make it hard to bring it into base contact. +
+ Once that's in place, build the leg above it, canting the lower leg forward, so the knee is over the front toes. If you go straight up, or lean it backwards, the sense will be that the Titan is coming to a halt. +
+ Next, attach the upper leg, canting it backwards so the leg is bent. Don't go with too extreme an angle, or you won't sell the idea of a ponderous pace; it'll look too dynamic to be convincingly weighty. Such high-speed poses are generally better-suited to Reavers or Warhounds. +
+ With the stable leading leg fixed, you're virtually home and dry on the pose. Glue the pelvis in place, tilting it slightly so that that it's higher on the trailing leg's side. This ensures there's a sense that the rear leg is lifting. +
+ The rear leg can then be built in relative safety. Working down from the pelvis, mock-up the pose by holding the upper and lower legs and the foot roughly in place (use some blu-tak or similar to hold it, if you struggle to hold them). Depending on how fast you want the Titan to seem to be moving, you can swing the foot inwards or outwards. +
+ Swinging it in towards the centre of the Titan will imply speed (the foot is pulled in and up towards the centre of gravity as it trails), while leaving it further out will give the sense of a steady walk (the foot remains underneath the shoulder, ready to be placed for stability). +
+ I've picked a mid-pace stride here. The forefoot is placed flat and secure, the leg slightly bent to brace it. This helps to suggest the immense weight of the Titan is almost all over the front leg. The trailing leg is lifting away, only the front two still in contact with the ground. As the pelvis is raised, the leg is lifted vertically, and the foot therefore swings in. However, because the pelvis is not swung fully (as it would be at greater speeds), the foot doesn't move too far towards the centre of the Titan, ending up slightly between shoulder and groin. +
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+ I couldn't resist adding a little Epic Space Marine to the base,
which came from Silverback Games' (formerly Gladius Game Arts)
Titan City range. Really nice quality.. + |
+ To help sell the pose, I needed to bend the toes. This was easily achieved simply by cutting in between the main toes and the little armour plates, then bending them with a little brute force and ignorance. While the side and rear toes were bent downwards to suggest weight, the front toe was bent upwards,leaving as much in contact with the floor as possible. This was to avoid it looking too dynamic – as though the Titan were tip-toeing along. +
+ That completes the pose; you just need to balance the upper carapace on top. For a walking pose, this should cant slightly towards the stable leg. The angle should be more extreme for greater speed – but you should also bear in mind that Titans can turn as well, which might affect the angle you want to place it at. +
+ Some spare 6mm figures help to fill the upper deck, and give a sense of scale to the city-ending ordnance of a Titan! +
+ Hope that was helpful, and please inload your thoughts and comments in the + {Commentary Submission Access} + form below. +
