Dark Vengeance Built: First Impressions

XinZ here and since I have some free time and a cup of coffee I guess it's time to post my first article.

2 hours and 37 minutes after we started, our new Dark Vengeance starter set is finished! Or rather, one of the three we bought tonight. Building them was a blast and we are all astonished at how well these models turned out. We can't wait to get them primed, painted and ready for the tabletop!

Note: A word of caution to those who intend on buying the set-- make sure to glue the Helbrute's head into place before gluing the two halves of the torso together. Forgetting to do so cost me about a half hour of struggling to pry two super glued pieces of plastic apart. Taking an extra minute to glance at the instructions is more than worth it, even with this snap together set.

The Unboxing-

After opening this box the it was pretty clear that this was a very well constructed set. It comes in a total of five sprues. One that is all Chaos, one that is all Dark Angels, two that are identical mixes of the two armies and one sprue that is the lone Interrogator Chaplain. These models are filled with an astonishing amount detail that easily surpasses the majority of the current line of models for both of these armies.

Just past the models that we were all eager to get our hands on were the tools of the gamer. The mini rulebook, the Dark Vengeance starter guide, quick reference sheet and even a pair of red sticks! (The red sticks are covered in measurements, but I'm pretty sure that their intended use is for players to beat each other in the case of a rule dispute.) What really surprised me about all of this is the fact that it looks like GW has switched to doing full color for all of their books. The mini rule book is not only in full color, but extremely high quality. Like the mini rule books before it, it does not include any fluff, just all the rules you would ever need to play a game.

The Build-

Nearly everyone started with the Hellbrute and it quickly became apparent that it was going to be the favorite model of the set. It comes in eight total pieces and takes a little bit of care while assembling making sure that you don't forget to glue the head in. (Metal Rancor can tell you all about that)

The Cultists were second up for me. These models really defined an easy build as I knocked out one after another within minutes. Mostly all of them are only two bits except for the special weapons. Chosen Chaos Space Marines are almost all unique builds. Mostly just attached an arm or some lightning claws with a backpack and you're done with these. 

Kranon the Relentless was the last of the Chaos Models up and he is easily the best Chaos Lord ever produced by GW. Between his stunning cape and his monstrous power sword it was hard to find anything to really dislike about this model, but one minor thing came to mind. His base. Kranon dwarfs his tiny base and luckily there was a 40mm on hand to replace it. 

Next up were the forces of the Dark Angels. The Tactical Squad is more or less the same as the cultists (just less spikes and faces in the power armor). One really nice things about these marines are that they aren't the same Space Marines we saw in both the 4th and 5th editions starter sets. No missile launchers or flamers here, just pure plasma pain!

All of the terminators in this set are very dynamically posed and unlike the AoBR set, they don't look like cheaper versions on the boxed ones. Three of them come in unique dynamic poses and two of them are the same. The bikes were a bit odd to build in the way that the bike itself come in two pieces split down the center and then you put the handlebars and the torso on after. What was interesting is that all of the bikes came with the newer pill bases and all looked as if they were actually speeding across the battlefield. For some reason the standard bike kits always looked a bit stationary to me. 

Only three models remained in the set. First up was the company master who wields a massive power sword that was sadly warped in one of our boxes, but shouldn't be too hard of a fix luckily. Then the Force Choking Librarian that has a force sword reminiscent of some of the older models. Both models were very quick and easy builds each being only a couple of pieces.

Last was the special edition model, Interrogator Chaplain Seraphicus. This is probably the only model in the set that feels like it doesn't come out of a snap together set, but very similar to the plastic fantasy heroes models that come in a blister. He even comes with his own unique sculpted base! This model is for sure getting the special edition set, everything about him is fantastic.

The Books-

Not nearly as many books as there are models, but still pretty stunning the amount of detail in them. The rule book as I mentioned earlier is the nicest of all the starter sets mini rule books that I have come across. The Dark Vengeance books comes with a quick background on how to play the game and even six starter missions to help people get a quick grip on how the game is played.

Perhaps the two most interesting things to be found in the book are the statlines for the new cultists and Hellbrute that don't include full rules and the starter missions. They just let us know what weapons that have and that the Hellbrute looks like it's going to be the new version of the Chaos Dreadnought. The missions are what really interested me. The first two are meant to be played by only a single player so that they can take their time in looking up rules to make sure that they are doing everything correctly. Then the last four are pretty standard style pick up and play game types.

So what are you guys think of your set so far? Anyone have similar issues to Metal Rancor with his Hellbrute? Let us know in the comments!