I've just come back from a weekend away to see that painted Blood Angels pics have made their way onto the net. Together with the rumoured rules that were seen last week I thought it was time to air some first impressions.
Given my latest hobby-horse being the dynamic poses (or lack of) of released GW models, and my own personal mission to redress the issues with my own miniatures I should look at these first. So, looking at the BoLS pics linked above:
Sanguinary Guard look quite good. I was intending to do my own Tycho conversion, sculpting my own armour, but this new sprue will save a lot of grief. Leg poses look a little awkward but this can be remedied with a scalpel and some glue. Still not sure about the winged jump packs, so will wait till I hold them in my hand to judge. Sanguinator? Oh dear, the model may be made of metal it's just wooden to me – posed like a scarecrow, not an angel – no passion in there at all, will not be purchasing that model.
Astorath looks quite good, if a little awkward again. This could be an excellent starting point for an HQ conversion of some kind. The Assault Troops look good, some excellent bits in there – I just don't think the studio show them off as best they could, very pedestrian poses.
Death Company look very good, some excellent bits in there also, clearly sharing a sprue or two with the regular assault troops. Lemartes is another disappointing sculpt. Don't get me wrong, a big improvement on its predecessor, but a missed opportunity, for all the reasons I repeat in this blog till I'm blue in the face.
Overall, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the plastic sprues and conjouring some awesome looking models. Independent character models leave a lot to be desired, and if I were to use these characters in my army lists I would probably convert my own.
Having not played much 5th Edition at all I'm not really in a position to comment too deeply on the rumoured rules. From what I've seen it's looking very intriguing, and I'm looking forward to composing new lists from the codex. Having played IW for so long, I'm looking forward to getting into people's faces – up close and personal. Roll on April!!
I agree with your assessment of the characters, despite the usual cries of "Awsum", they're all a bit disappointing. The Dark angelic guy in particular - the awkwardness I think comes from the upturned shoulderpads. Were it not for that I'd consider buying him - might see if he can be salvaged. The rest are meh.
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