So the latest additions to my 40K army are a set of Assault Marines.
While I’m still waiting on the Black Reach set being delivered, I was looking for something to paint, so picked up this set of guys, and like the bike unit, this set offered me yet another aspect of the hobby.
Like the bike unit, these marines requied glueing together. However, unlike the bike unit, these marines offered a lot of customisation. While the packaging indicates the set contains five assault marines, this isn’t entirely true. Yes, in terms of complete marines, you can only assemble five, however there are a wealth of other bits included. As someone new to the hobby, I’d assumed the picture on the box was what you get. Not so. The sprues actually contained a selection of different helmets, bodies and weapons. Along with various accessory pieces such as smoke and regular grenades and belt pouches.
The leader of the squad came with the most flexibility with a wide range of different weapons to choose from, meaning that assembling these marines was a hobby in its own right, as you have to put thought into how you want the squad to look and be equipped once you’re finished. It also opens the door to multiple purchases of the same squad, with each being a variation.
Also useful for me, was one of the spare heads. There’s an option for the leader of the squad to have a regular (i.e. no helmet) head. This has always concerned me, due to the level of detail involved. In fact one of the reasons I went with Space Marines was because their armour can be quite forgiving towards basic painting. So the fact I now have a head I can practice on is a big plus, especially since I know the Black Reach set contains a Space Marine captain.
Highlighting is still something I need to try and practice at. I tried it a little on the bike, but its still something I’m not too keen on. Drybrushing is the most obvious way to go for some basic highlights, but thus far my attempts have usually not looked right at all, and ended up painted over. Hopefully soon though, I’ll have the Black Reach set, and with it a load of new marines to try it on. Not to mention the Orks, which should provide a change.
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