[Box Review] 2013 Tactical Marines

Unboxing the backbone of my army

First thing i would like to mention is that i have not owned nor unpacked a box of Tactical Marines before, i have seen in on the shelves and in some images but that is all. All the subjects i will mention in this review is based on what i have experienced with the Assault on Black Reach box and bits and pieces i have read and heard. I also do have the Dark Vengeance box but since it is still largely on sprues i cannot use a lot of experiences from that box.

The box

Looking at the box its immediately noticeable they have continued the style and looks from the Dark Vengeance box, personally i like it and it suits the dark atmosphere of 40K a lot better. Since they have only the models on a dark blue and black background the focus has also shifted more to the models themselves instead of the models and a piece of scenery they have been positioned on. When you turn the box around you will find the sides having a few close-up pictures of the marines asides from the usual legal and content texts, these are a nice way to show some more details of the models inside.

The box contents

Before i got my hands on a box of my own i have seen quite a few others talking about the new parts on the sprue, of course i was curious to see these bits with my own eyes and i have to admit, they don't disappoint. Apart from the sprues there was also included a manual which shows the different types of set-ups you can make and two transfer sheets with the icons of a few chapters, designation symbols and numerals. Apart from the sprues there is also a bag of bases, these seem to have a small dimple in them. Why the bases have a dimple is unknown to me but it does not distract too much.

 The sprues

All the components on the sprues have been numbered and grouped, the numbers correspond neatly with the numbers from the manual. The arms are not only having their numbers but also their pairing (A, B, C, or D) cast near them, this way if one is to lose the manual the pairs can still be identified easily. The special parts such as the hand holding a clip do have an extra arm but still use a normal arm to hold the weapon.

The selection of different parts is actually reasonable diverse. There are a few styles of heads to choose from, including the mark VI Corvus ("Beakies"). Also included are some shoulderpads with nice details such as a skull or aquila on the rim, a sun on the shoulderpad, a hanger, or even the heavy bolts as seen on the mark V Heresy or Artificer armor. These are not extra's and in order to make all 10 tactical marines they need to be used as well. Apart from the diverse selection of separate parts there are also the standard extra's such as packs, grenades, knives, and also a few loincloths to choose from. Also new is the including of combi weapons, this removes the need to sacrifice a bolter and a special weapon to create a combi weapon to comply to WYSIWYG rules and generally makes it easier to create one.

When building i did however notice there was a different quality in mold lines, for example the boltguns have a clearly visible mold line as for the legs or head are near-invisible. As this is my first box i build these lines have been a bother for me to remove completely but i am sure this will be of little concern to the more veteran builders. Another small bother is the legs which attach to the sprue on the toes, when trying to remove it or when taking off the excess plastic it is easy to deform the foot so you have to be quite careful with this.

Conclusion

The box has some nice features, the added extra's give a little more room to make individual marines instead of having them all the same. The helmets do look a lot alike and have subtle differences i had to really look hard to find. The building of the models is easy and the manual has some ideas for people to use.

+	-
Diversity in the bits.	Some bits look a little too alike.
Nice extra's to add a finishing touch.	Having a 10 man squad with 'normal' shoulderpads isnt possible unless you modify it some.
Box looks good in the new style.

Images

Box front	Box back	Box front detail	Box back detail
Box side	Box side	Box contents	First sprue
Second sprue	Third sprue	Manual, transfer sheets, bases	Dimple in the base
Detailed shoulderpads	Combi weapons	Hand options	Head overview
Head detail 1	Head detail 2	Loincloths

The pictures which accompany this blog were made at the Reflash.eu studio at Almere Netherlands

[Bits review] Anvil Industries

To start off with the blogs i will do a review of Anvil Industries situated in the UK, since this is my first review (and hopefully not the last) i will try my best to make it a good review. After i have discussed the bits i will add images and links to the bits.

If you have any remarks, please let me know. I hope you will enjoy reading my review.

Shipping

Shipping of the bits was neatly handled, they were bundled in little ziploc bags. There was enough space left for the bits to shuffle around and avoid the bits rubbing against each other and becoming damaged.

The two ziploc bags were then wrapped in bubble-wrap before they were put in a bubble-wrap envelope, this might seem a little overkill to me but it did ensure safe arrival of the bits. There was a little confusion with the shipping date being marked too soon due to a small mistake, when inquiring about it i received a quick and friendly response explaining what has happened.

Quality

The resin cast bits have a good look on them, the armor plating has crisp sharp edges while the finer details, such as bolts, decoration, helmet grills, pistons, power lines all have enough definition to be clearly visible.

In some places there is noticeable residue of the resin casting (excluding the opening of the cast itself). When closer inspecting of the bits i have found a single bubble, while the bubble isn't one in plain sight after the model has been assembled it is not that big of an issue. A minor imperfection is  when holding various parts together not everything aligns perfectly, for example small gaps appear between the Spartan crest and the helmets. These small imperfections are only noticed when you take a close look at them and if you want them to be perfect you could spend a few extra minutes filing away some resin to make for a snug fit.

Another thing that should be noted (but this can be from my lack of experience). The bits made by Anvil Industries seem to have a slightly different size than their Games Workshop counterparts, i have found the heads are a little smaller compared to those of space marines and the legs a are little larger. For the torso parts i haven't been able to get a good comparison due to the Games Workshop torso's are made out of multiple parts while these torso's are made out of a single part. I tried holding together the Games Workshop multi-part torso to compare but i was not able to get a good comparison due to my fingers blocking parts of my view.

Website and pricing

The website looks neat and clean, on the homepage you will see a news feed in which they regularly update to let you know what they are doing. They also include their shipping rate and payment options in a short and simple format. Their menu is clean and organized so the product categories can be easily found. Some of the products are in multiple categories so you can expect them to show up more than once. A good example of this are Bionic arms, which can be found in the Bionics as well as the Arms and legs category.

While all the products shown on the website have a neat description and one or more images linked to them, in my opinion the images are not giving the bits the full justice they deserve. The bits in the images look smaller and more grainy than they actually are.

In the top there is another great feature where you can select your preferred currency, this selection is limited but for people in the US or Europe it is a welcome addition.

Conclusion

All the bits look very good and attractive, i am planning to use these for my 'special' characters in my Space Marine army to make them stand out just a little more from the bulk of the lot. Apart from the negligible bubble and tiny gaps mentioned above they are great pieces and will certainly help to create some diversity in any army. Their website is clean and straightforwards and does what its supposed to do.

+	-
Good looking bits	Slight size differences
Price/Quality balance is good	Images on website could give wrong impressions
Packaging is really well done
Website has 3 currency options to choose from

Images

Leg comparison	Leg comparison	Leg height comparison	Legs overview
Legs overview (rear)	Legs Detail (rear)	Heads	Torsos
Backpack/Powerplant	Armor plates	Armor plates size comparison (25 mm base)	Torso size comparison
Overview

Links

Armour Plates (10)
Fusion Power Plant (1)
Gladiator Helmet
Medieval Helmet
Praetorian Helmet
Spartan Crest
Spartan Helmet with Crest
Renaissance Torso
Vanguard (Black Ops) Legs - Static (5 pairs)
Vanguard Torso

The pictures which accompany this blog were made at the Reflash.eu studio at Almere Netherlands

(Mandatory) First Post!!!

Hello all readers, to start off this blog allow me to tell a little bit about myself.

I am at the point of writing this somewhat a beginner to the 40k tabletop game and the entire tabletop genre in basic. What i wish to share here is things I am excited about, experienced or like, i will try to keep the posts as objective and general as positive but you can expect me to be biased a little bit towards Space Marines.

What i wish to blog about; is battles i had, stuff i ordered, kits i bought and some other tidbits i come across. And of course i hope you will enjoy my tiny space on the web.