Models from Strike Force Agastus - Positives and some real problems. First impression

[Orange Knight]

So, I picked up my set today and hurried home. I was really looking forward to building some models as I hadn't done any hobby construction or painting since I finished my Horus Heresy force.

 

I assembled the new Lieutenant first Really nice model and an awesome kit. It comes with enough bits to easily assembled a 2nd Lieutenant or even a Captain. If you have a spare Intercessor body you can easily swap the arms. They are designed to fit with basically any torso - great stuff! I now have two extra Lieutenants with unique weapon combinations.

 

Next was the Dreadnought. I had serious problems with this model. My kit was basically defective and most of the parts would not fit together. Keep in mind that I'm a seasoned hobbyist who has assembled all sorts of kits over the last 25 years including difficult Forgeworld models, so it wasn't a case of inexperience or error.

 

I have never seen anything like this with a modern GW kit - Basically most of the parts on the sprue were wider or thicker than they should be. It meant that it was not possible to put pieces together in a flush manner. I should have simply returned the kit in hindsight. I didn't shy away from the challenge as I knew I could file down and cut the pieces to make them fit, but this manual process took me NINE HOURS. On top of this, the final pose and quality and sturdiness of the assembly was not to my standard. All the clipping and filing took it's tole on the sturdiness of the model.

 

Lastly I built a few Desolators. I can confirm that the missiles look a lot better in person. The Vengor Launcher is definitely a bit big and I will not be equipping it. I am very happy that you can build an entire squad of 10, all of them aiming the missiles and facing in the same direction.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I saw a review of the Dreadnaught and yeah there’s some real issues with assembly.

[Brother Captain Arkley]

21 minutes ago, Orange Knight said:

 

Next was the Dreadnought. I had serious problems with this model. My kit was basically defective and most of the parts would not fit together. Keep in mind that I'm a seasoned hobbyist who has assembled all sorts of kits over the last 25 years including difficult Forgeworld models, so it wasn't a case of inexperience or error.

 

I have never seen anything like this with a modern GW kit - Basically most of the parts on the sprue were wider or thicker than they should be. It meant that it was not possible to put pieces together in a flush manner. I should have simply returned the kit in hindsight. I didn't shy away from the challenge as I knew I could file down and cut the pieces to make them fit, but this manual process took me NINE HOURS. On top of this, the final pose and quality and sturdiness of the assembly was not to my standard. All the clipping and filing took it's tole on the sturdiness of the model.

 

 

What particular bits should people be concerned about?

[Orange Knight]

6 hours ago, Brother Captain Arkley said:

What particular bits should people be concerned about?

 

The arms and all weapon parts were the most difficult to deal with.

[Axineton]

This doesn’t sound good at all. Cheers for the heads up @Orange Knight

[Orange Knight]

1 hour ago, Axineton said:

This doesn’t sound good at all. Cheers for the heads up @Orange Knight

 

There's no reason to think that you would encounter the same problems. As I mentioned my kit appears to be defective. There are also strange marks all over the plastic in some places. It simply looks as though it didn't come through the manufacturing process correctly. 

 

At least I was able to hide most of the issues. Here is the assembled model:

 

 

[Orange Knight]

Here is an image of some of the marks on the pastic.

 

You can also see mould lines and other problems with the kit that I simply gave up on. I spent 10 hours putting together this model. I have built Forgeworld Super Heavy models in less time...

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Orange Knight

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Wow !

[mel_danes]

Do you have pics of the Desolators on your desk, not macro lens style?

[Orange Knight]

8 minutes ago, mel_danes said:

Do you have pics of the Desolators on your desk, not macro lens style?

 

I did just make this funny picture with one of my Desolators:

 

 

 

In all seriousness, they look far better in person than in the promotional images.

Once I've assembled them all I'll take a picture.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Orange Knight

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

File off those mold lines !!

[Orange Knight]

Here's a pic of 6 of the Desolators. Sgt in the middle.

 

And don't worry, I'll get rid of the obvious mold lines.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Orange Knight

[Nephaston]

Yeah, it seems you got a bad sprue, some of the parts in your pctures seem thicker, as if the mold wasn't closed fully. My experience with the Brutalis was the opposite, with barely any cleanup necessary.

[Captain Idaho]

7 hours ago, Orange Knight said:

 

I did just make this funny picture with one of my Desolators:

 

 

 

In all seriousness, they look far better in person than in the promotional images.

Once I've assembled them all I'll take a picture.

 

The size isn't the issue. It's how they're holding the absurdly large weapons.

 

Anyway, I'm surprised there are issues with assembly for a mainline Marine Dreadnought release.

 

Think it was only your batch or a fundamental issue?

 

Anyway, it still looks good in my view. I like the Fists with bolters as I think it looks far better. (Personal opinion)

Edited March 5, 2023 by Captain Idaho

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I really like the Desolators !

[Maritn]

+1 for the fists on the Brutalis. I also prefer their look compared to the talons, and will use them as well, if I get the kit someday.

[WrathOfTheLion]

To me, it's not the size, but the posing. The standard poses are fine, holding it like that would work, but the Sergeant one handing it doesn't work for me. Makes it look more comical, as it doesn't convey weight right.

 

I did end up picking one up in the end, I'll see what I can do to make the sergeant work and check if my Brutalis is all weirded out.

Edited March 6, 2023 by WrathOfTheLion

[Orange Knight]

1 hour ago, WrathOfTheLion said:

To me, it's not the size, but the posing. The standard poses are fine, holding it like that would work, but the Sergeant one handing it doesn't work for me. Makes it look more comical, as it doesn't convey weight right.

 

I did end up picking one up in the end, I'll see what I can do to make the sergeant work and check if my Brutalis is all weirded out.

 

I agree. I did not use the Vengor Launcher for this reason.

 

Thankfully you can pose all the models holding their weapons with two hands, aimed forward in a more practical stance.

[Warden-Paints]

On 3/5/2023 at 8:54 PM, Orange Knight said:

 

There's no reason to think that you would encounter the same problems. As I mentioned my kit appears to be defective. There are also strange marks all over the plastic in some places. It simply looks as though it didn't come through the manufacturing process correctly. 

 

At least I was able to hide most of the issues. Here is the assembled model:

 

 

 

A couple of people have reported that problem now. I wonder if these would have made it through QC if GW weren't having such production problems over the last few months. Well done on reaching a good result though. 

[MegaVolt87]

Need some gap filling on those front plates though on the dread. I'm surprised these models have assembly issues at all. 

[Marshal Reinhard]

While I haven't looked in detail at the dread yet, or the desolation squad, the castellan's a really nice little kit. Definately the definate one of all the ones released so far. 

[Triszin]

Here's my quick take on the desolation squad.

 

The squad itself actually goes together well.

I wont take aim at the dread for a bit however

[Burni]

So will the venger launcher only fit on the upright arm? Is it because it goes back too far and would hit a breastplate?

[Triszin]

want to say My brutalis has all the above problems.

 

These sprues didnt have enough time to fully cure.

I have tons of warped bits, and I have to shave down notches as they got deformed to try to make stuff fit

 

:(

 

 

[Orange Knight]

5 hours ago, Triszin said:

want to say My brutalis has all the above problems.

 

These sprues didnt have enough time to fully cure.

I have tons of warped bits, and I have to shave down notches as they got deformed to try to make stuff fit

 

:(

 

 

 

Yes apparently this is quite common. I think some people might really struggle. I'm hoping you're a better hobbyist than I am, and can get some good results from the kitm