May 24, 2010

Miniature Review: Sanguinary Guard Box Set


This weekend I started assembling my Sanguinary Guard models that I got back here. Three boxes in, and it occurred to me to do a bit of a review. So sit back and enjoy.

First, a look at the sprues.
and
There you have it - 5 models on two sprues. Nothing overly exciting, right?

Style: I hope you like Batman & Robin - because Joel Schumaker designed these marines' armor. There's bling to the nth power... and nipples. Oh yeah.
Still, I knew that going in - and some of the style can be muted through painting, and nipples can be sanded off (ouch!).

Design: The models fit together well, there are no large, embarrassing gaps that you have to worry about filling. The mold lines are minimal, and not in any really awkward places to remove. Posability is somewhat limited: torsos have limited range due to leaning of leg poses, and arms are limited because you have to worry about the wings in back and naturalness of the pose. My biggest problem with this whole set is the wings. The wings look great, but they attach to tiny nubs on the back of the marine torso by the very inner tips of the wings. They have zero structural backup - and I figure to have to reattach several every time I transport these models in any kind of case. Pinning would be difficult at best.

Options: There are five sets of weapons (three are held one-handed, while two have a two-handed grip), one extra Angelus Boltgun, one banner (nicely detailed, but prevents you from freehanding), one power fist, one plasma pistol, and one fusion pistol. There are 15 heads on the sprues -  five  unhelmeted,  five  marine helmets (with varying bling), and  five  deathmask. And there are 15 shoulder pads that run the gamut. Extra grenades, knives and fiddly bits are available. There is not a lot left over after construction - heads and helmets yes, but nothing like the gluttony of bits you get with a Space Wolves Pack box.

Summary: If you like the style, or can alter/mute it to your liking and you can handle the fragile wings, then these models do look great - in a single unit. The lack of real customization on them means that my AngelWing army is going to look a lot alike.
Posted by at 11:26 AM
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6 comments:

  1. Bummer about the lack of posability, guess I'll use the DC box for my Vanguard and Honor Guard.

    Thanks for the review.
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  2. Everyone has different taste. These models are not mine. But so my first post on this blog isn't all negative, I will point out what I do like about them. What I do like is the single vent jump pack design (its pretty cool) and I like the banner.

    Like StJohn said, it leaves no room for freehand work. But I figure that if someone was going to freehand a banner, they probably have the skills to just sculpt their own as well. So the nice details that this one has is great for all of us who can't sculpt or do all that impressive freehand work. Its good that GW is giving the rest of us nice looking banners that anyone can paint.

    Also on the plus side, I'm glad to hear about the good shape all the parts came in. No serious mold lines, or attachment bars that attach right onto a set of detail. It always sucks when you loose solid detail just for clipping it off the sprue.
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  3. I've started putting mine together too. The wings could be connected a lot better, but superglue has worked fine so far.

    The most annoying part of the whole operation was removing the mould lines. There's a lot of pieces to these models!
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  4. Oh, and the hand-posing on the two-handed sword is just strange. Who would ever hold a weapon like that?
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  5. Sandwyrm: Actually, that's a pretty common grip for a backswing. It certainly doesn't have the reach of a foregrip, but it is harder to defend because of the different angles the blade comes from.
    ReplyDelete
  6. Really? I thought it was a silly way to hold it too. lol
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