Warhammer 40K: Thoughts On The New Genestealers And Hormagaunt Kits
We got a chance to build the Genestealers and Hormagaunts and learned a few things to share with the hobby community.
Last week we did a full unboxing/mini spotlight for the Tyranid. However, we glossed over the new Genestealers and Hormagaunt boxes. I wanted to go back and talk about these two kits in particular because they are both important troop options for the army. You might not buy 2-3 Deathleapers (and why would you) but you’re probably going to get a couple boxes of these if you wanted a melee swarm. So what lessons did I learn? Let’s get into it!
The Genestealers
The very first thing I want to talk about with this new Genestealer kit is that I really like the new poses. Even though these are technically single pose models, you get 10 different poses. That makes them feel a lot more dynamic that the previous incarnations. That brings up my second point in that there’s not a lot of options or modular bits for these miniatures. Each body is designed to fit with specific arms. While this is limiting, it also means you’re going to get great looking models that are pretty easy to assemble — just get the right bits and assemble them as normal.
In fact the only “options” were the heads. Of which, you get enough to make an entire Ymgarl brood if you choose to. Oh and there are four heads that have “barbed ovipositors” which is how Genestealers implant their eggs into their victims. But aside from that, there’s no scything talon options at all. Just the classic rending claws.
It’s a subtle change but it’s worth noting. The last big thing is that these new Genestealers are indeed on 32mm Bases. So if you’re going to mix them with your old models, you’re going to need to rebase things.
The Hormagaunts
The Hormagaunts new kit is another that I do like but also have some mixed feelings about. I really like the new poses and the fact there’s some variety in there. However, it’s the same set of poses and these aren’t modular — it’s set arms and set torsos again. There’s a couple different head swaps but that’s about it as far as build options.
Depending on how you feel about the different poses will influence how you feel about these new models vs the old models. At least they aren’t on slot-bases anymore. But that’s also a slight issue I have as the contact point for many of these models on the base is just one tiny foot. I’m not saying you need to pin them, but I do think you might want to carry some glue on you when you play with them.
One thing that does kind of bum me out is that the arms are fixed with the bodies (as mentioned). One thing I used to to do add some uniqueness to my swarms was mix the bodies of Hormagaunts and Termagants when possible. That helped to break-up the silhouette at bit and make the units a bit more interesting. Specifically, the Hormagaunt bodies with Devourers was kind of my jam. I don’t think that’s possible anymore with these new, fixed arms.
The final word of warning about these new Hormagaunts is the bases changed, too. They are now on the new 28.5mm bases. Which…eh, is kind of annoying. You’ll have to rebase those old models (if you want to mix them) and it’s also aggravating because 25mm is 1″ so measuring ranges was pretty simple. Now you just can’t do that. Oh well.
It’s a bit of a trade-off for the new looks vs the old models. Personally, I have more Hormagaunts than I’d be able to field in a normal game already so I probably won’t be picking any more up. However, if you’re just starting on your own Hive Fleet I’m a little jealous that your models/units will look a lot cooler than mine in the pose department. Of the two kits, I think I like the Genestealers a bit more. Drop a line in the comments if you have a preference between the two.
Good updates to some classics…but a little frustrated with the basing changes.
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