So, the Assault on Black Reach, Warhammer 40K starter set finally arrived this week.
Containing all you need to get started with two reasonably-sized armies (Space Marines and Orks) this is a really nice kit, containing a mixture of units, rule books, dice and the like.
The units are simplified from the normal ones, the same as the basic Space Marines I started out with. They consist of only a few pieces, and are designed to push together easily without the need for glue. For example, most of the Space Marine tactical unit are three piece units, consisting of the main body of the marine, their backpack, and their weapon.
However, Games Workshop haven’t used this as an excuse to skimp on these units. While you may not get to choose their weapons or poses, they’re still very nicely detailed miniatures. The marines have a variety of backpacks and helmets rather than all looking the same. One tacitcal marine boasts a rocket launcher, while another can have a flamer. Even the heavy bolters are of a few different types, some plain, some with telescopic sights and others with carry straps attached.
Likewise the Orks, there’s a variety of appearances throughout the 20 Ork Boyz and 5 Ork Nobz and there’s a selection of arms in the sprues both straight and bent at the elbow to give you a little choice on how they’re posed.
So far, my only issue with the kit is that its a little overwhelming. Its easy to know where to start with a five pack of Assault Marines, however this requires more time invested. While some of the units can be put together and painted fairly trouble free later, I’m aware that getting in at the detail of some of them will be difficult once assembled. For now, I’m painting up the tactical squad, to be sure of getting details like the chest insignia painted before their weapons are attached. The Terminators aren’t as bad, but given their armour I really want to get the back of it painted before pushing their heads into place.
The only real units that have caused me a bit of hassle are the Ork Deffkoptas. They’re really nice units, but don’t seem to want to push together properly, so will need their parts glued into place. And just from looking I can see painting the pilot’s head would be a real pain if done after assembly, so I’ll need to get myself some paints for the Orks soon. I’m trying to focus for now on painting those units that will really benefit from painting prior to assembly. That way, other units like the Space Marine Captain I can probably paint later on, but still use them in a game just now.
I’ve attached some pictures of some of the assembled but unpainted units for those that are interested.
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