Tabletop Spotlight: Primaris Intercessors & Hellblasters
The Meat & Potatoes units of the Primaris Space Marines are out – come take a look inside the boxes!
If you were wanted to dive into collecting or adding new Primaris Space Marines to your existing 40k fighting force then now is the time to get a move on. The Primaris Space Marine Intercessors and Hellblasters are out and our friends from Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy brought them both over to show off:
Let’s start with the basics. Each box contains enough bits to create up to 10 Primaris Marines of the appropriate load-out you want. Each unit has the option for 3 different variants of their chosen weapon (a Bolt Rifle variant in the case of the Intercessors and a Plasma Incinerator variant in the case of the Hellblasters). Interestingly enough, the basic weapons are the same – it’s the extra bits that you add to them that create the different variants. If you’re a talented hobbyist with some magnet skills you will get a kick out of trying to magnetize all these weapons (good luck).
Intercessor Sprues
For example the Intercessors sprues show you exactly how this will work – the basic body of the Bolt Rifle doesn’t change – only the magazine/scope sections do. For the Assault version you use the drum magazine, for the Sniper you use the larger scope with a more square” clip. And the standard issue Bolt Rifle uses the shorter scope with the curved clip.
Hellblaster Sprues
The Plasma Incinerators are basically the same idea – only they get a fancy backpack swap also. They also have some connective hoses that are involved if you want to create the Heavy Plasma Incinerator option. Overall, I like the way GW did these kits. It’s a good use of the tools they have and once assembled you can’t really tell the difference. As far as posing the models goes, they have more posing options than the “quick-fit” version, but they only come with a handful of options. Now, if you want you can start carving up your models to create different positions – but for the vast majority of hobbyists, that’s just not going to happen. Still, they fit together quite nicely and at the end of the day, they are more Space Marines – albeit larger and bulkier, but Space Marines none-the-less.
The material is still that high-quality hard plastic we’ve come to know and love from GW and the quality is still top notch. When assembling these models do follow the instructions as that will impact how well those seams fit and are hidden. And when you assemble them correctly, it’s very hard to tell where the seams were – good stuff all around.
The Primaris Space Marines are here and they are pretty great miniatures. If you want to start an entire Primaris Force, the Intercessors are your main Troop choice and Hellblasters are a fantastic fire-support unit (just bring a Captain for the re-rolls and over-charge to your heart’s delight).
Primaris Intercessors $60
A strong core of reliable and adaptable warriors that can lay down fire while advancing or holding down terrain is an invaluable aid to any tactician. In the case of strike forces bolstered by Primaris battle-brothers, this role is fulfilled by the Intercessor Squads. Capable of levelling overlapping salvoes of firepower, these squads often form the flexible fighting core of newly-founded Primaris Chapters – though of course many established Chapters have eagerly leveraged their abilities, fielding them alongside Tactical Squads.
Primaris Hellblasters $60
Imperial observers have likened the fire of a Hellblaster Squad to the incinerating power of a stellar flare. Bolt after bolt of plasma sears across the battlefield; those caught in the Hellblasters’ sights are swiftly annihilated, their armour blasted to ash and their flesh and bone to glowing motes. Even armoured fighting vehicles are swiftly reduced to heaps of metallic slag. Deployed at the correct point and time, a single Hellblaster Squad can blunt the thundering assault of an armoured spearhead, or lay low even the most titanic alien fiend.
Primaris Marines, reporting for duty!
