It's been rumored recently that GW will be releasing a plastic Horus Heresy standalone game. Once the limited edition kit has run its course, the individual kits in the box are supposedly going to be sold separately as part of the standard 30K game system. Rumors say that the kits will include Mk IV power armor and Cataphractii Terminator armor.These rumors have been coming from Hastings, a well known and more or less accurate rumor source, and are being confirmed by other sources. Although my opinion of the rumormongers was shaken in 2014, I have to admit that they were pretty accurate with the Blood Angels release. And not only were Harlequins released as the rumors said (a long shot in and of itself), but they were even released in the predicted month.
Honestly, I have no interest in getting into 30K. It's not because I don't like the setting; in fact, I'm collecting the entire series of novels and really like the direction they're going, although they seem to be taking their time with it. No, I'll be skipping The Horus Heresy because a) I already have a pile of 40K models to work on and b) I refuse to work with resin.
However, if plastic models in Heresy-era armor became available, I would buy them up in a heartbeat. Per the fluff, ancient suits of power armor are highly sought after. The most highly regarded and experienced Astartes of the 41st Millennium can be found wearing anything from a single shoulder pad (e.g., Captain Sicarius' Mk II left pauldron) to an entire suit of pre-Heresy or Heresy-era armor. With that in mind, a plastic 30K kit would find itself shared between my Ultramarines' Sternguard, Command Squads, and Veteran Sergeants.In light of the popularity of The Horus Heresy, it would make sense for GW to start producing the basic 30K troop models in plastic. Hand-poured resin is only economical for smaller production runs. Once you hit a certain point, it's preferable to use plastic injection molding to increase your production while reducing your labor costs and rejection rate. On top of that, GW may want to draw in modelers such as myself who would love to incorporate some older Marks of armor into their 40K army but don't want to deal with Forge World's resin, high prices, or shipping rates. (I am not paying $36 plus $5.40 shipping for five resin Tactical Marines in Mk IV armor that don't even include weapons.)
Keep in mind it may be completely possible to use your M41 40K Ultramarines as a Horus Heresy army.
ReplyDeleteYour options may be a bit more restricted and your models may not have as much golden plating as FW's Ultramarine legion images, but for the purposes of gameplay you will still be able to field a good amount of infantry and vehicles using your plastic models, so long as you ignore their Mk VII armor (and I think most people don't mind).
Just an option to keep in mind if you ever want to try the game out. At a rough guess I'd wager that at least 50%, possibly even 75% of the units in HH can be proxied with 40K models. Mk VII and Indomitus Terminators can represent power armor and Tartaros Terminators. You can use Calgar as Guilliman as he is on a 40mm base and shown with a sword and power fist. If you pitch your army as a Siege of Terra era force, the Mk VII even becomes kosher.
I don't begrudge anyone using their 40K models to play Horus Heresy, but I'm a bit too obsessed with the fluff to bring myself to field a predominately Mk VII- and Indomitus- equipped army in a game of 30K. I'd also have to field a bunch of Mk IV and V armor to make it accurate. (Obsessing about accuracy in my sci-fi battles would probably be seen as a cry for help by psychiatric professionals.)
DeleteAdmittedly, some elements of Horus Heresy are appealing; e.g., Astartes Falchions, Primarchs, and unique wargear like Volkite weapons. But between a distaste for resin and the fact that I have a formidable pile of unpainted 40K models, I can't bring myself to get into the Horus Heresy, too.
Fair enough, plastic vs. resin, the desire for accuracy, and your aforementioned preferences regarding current FW prices is more than enough reason to stay well away from the HH system.
DeleteI think faithfulness to accuracy and the source material is pretty commendable and really comes with the territory of the hobby though. Especially those historical guys, they are real sticklers for era accuracy and I've even heard stories of modelers who would argue about slight color value differences in the RBG of their German Grey tanks and uniforms.