Warhammer 40K: The Tiniest Adeptus Astartes of Them All
Today we look back almost thirty years at the meanest – tiniest EPIC Adeptus Astartes to kick ass on the Horus Heresy tabletop.
EPIC scale’s 6mm range had it’s origins way way back in 1988’s Adeptus Titanicus – which was focussed solely on titan combat in the Horus Heresy.
EPIC Space Marines Humble Beginnings
In fact it was Adeptus Titanicus that was the breeding ground for much of the original Horus Heresy lore. It started as titans only, just as the 2018 edition has started, but it didn’t stay that way. Before long the tiny 6mm range had expanded throughout the 1990s to include all of the Grimdark’s major factions – from thier mighty Titans to basic infantry.
EPIC always makes us wax nostalgic, so today we are going back to 1996 to see what the Space Marines looked like back in the day – ten years after EPIC’s origin.
EPIC 40,000 Marine Minis
This is the core pair of sprues for the army and my absolute favorite. The infantry Space Marine Battle Group sprue gives you everything you need to make every type of EPIC infantry stand for your Astartes. The detail is quite impressive for two decades back and at 6mm scale. You can see Chaplains, Librarians, Apothecaries, Techmarines and so much more on that sprue. The Tank Sprue gives you two Land Raiders (reborn decades later by Forge World), two Whirlwinds, and four Rhinos on a single frame!
Teensy Thunderhawks, (now reborn in plastic)! In EPIC they had the maneuvering room they really needed and provided the Marines with amazing ability to get to where they needed to fast, and some serious close air support once they took off again. It was also a nightmare mini to put together so many teensy metal pieces – DON’T DROP IT!
So many Predators. Look at all the turret and sponson weapon options. Then look at all the hull options. You could pretty much build whatever kind of Predator you wanted – with or without dozer blade.
The main infantry sprue above covered the standard Marine bikers. Here we get the larger Attack Bikes with sidecars, Land Speeders (still my favorite design), and a tricked out Command Land Raider. Check out those teensy metal flying stands for the speeders.
Here we see a variety of Razorbacks and Dreadnoughts. The original Contemptor came from Epic, but was discontinued earlier in EPIC’s life span and replaced with the walking box 40K dreadnought we all came to know and love. Luckily, the Contemptor would make a reappearance decades later.
Last but certainly not least, come the Vindicators. Their EPIC booms were both tiny and mighty in equal measure.
On the tabletop the EPIC Space Marine army was stunning (Land Raiders are from earlier EPIC editions)
EPIC Space Marines Return – Hello Legions Imperialis!
25 years later we finally got our EPIC reboot with Legions Imperialis. The game has been slowly growing on the vine, and the minis are just fantastic. A worthy successor to their classic forebearers.
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~Thanks for this trip down memory lane folks. Are you already playing Legions Imperialis?
