Legions Imperialis – Mechanicum Battle Automata

In between the regular Mechanicum Infantry and the largest of the Siege Automata are various classes of Battle Automata the (Dark) Mechanicum can muster, and that is another new set as part of the Mechanicum Battle Group.

This set combines five different Battle Automata, with the first time we've seen the Arlatax Battle-Automata and small versions of the Castellax, Domitar and Vorax Battle-Automata as well as the Vultarax Strato-Automata.

Beside the Castellax (and the in 32mm unreleased Arlatax) all of these Battle Automata are currently only available as resin kits in Horus Heresy, and we might see their transition into plastic further down the line. But in Epic scale we get already.

As usual this is a set consisting out of two identical sprues, in addition we have a mixture of 25mm and 32mm bases for the different units, and a instruction leaflet. No decals in here. The individual price of this set will be 41 EUR RRP, until the individual release of the box, it is limited to the Mechanicum Battle Group at 115 EUR RRP. This set only adds 12 bases to your collection / army.

The sprue covers a lot of small pieces, and partially rather fragile / delicate pieces. So handle with care, as some of the ammunition feeds or legs may break. Yet, casting is well done, with a good amount of detail and minor to no mould lines. Yet some pieces are so thin, that they were partially bent or broke while I removed them from the sprue.

Each of the units were are going to build is included twice, unless stated otherwise.

The Arlatax Battle-Automata is a new unit, that hasn't been covered as a model yet (only converted from the Domitar) and is as such a novelty to the game. You get this pose twice, which is a bit irritating to go for a dynamic pose, that all of the models within the unit will have, without A/B or something that would blend in better.  And just as I stated with the Thanatar, I think the amount of individual pieces, you need to assembly to build this model is too high or they should have done it differently, to at least not have everyone of them stand upon the heroic stone(tm).

The miniature stands upon a 25mm base.

The Castellax Battle-Automata are three to a single 32mm round base, and you get a total of four of these bases per set. While again, assembly of the legs from three rather small parts, with barely a square millimeter of connection on the hips is not what I would describe as a pleasant customer experience, I have to point out, that six different pairs of arms (that you can mix and match) and the four different designs of left and right legs is a neat, but maybe overengineered feature. A single piece, like the Thallax had, would speed up and stabilize this bild.

Beyond that, I feel like these are a bit crowded at three models, even on a 32mm round base. This is similar to the Space Marine Terminators a case. where you could probably stretch the amount of miniatures per base for bigger units, without having empty bases.

The "brother" to the Arlatax is the Domitar Battle-Automata, again a lot of small pieces for a single miniature. And in addition to the legs, you have to connect the arms to the cables on the back, without a proper guidance. At least the left arm has some connection points, the right arm is not reall shown in the instruction, where the cable should connect to. I hope we will see some rules for the Perturabos body guard for these.

And while I was already not in good mood after building the other miniatures from this kit, the two bases of Vorax Battle-Automata are utter pain to assemble. While the others have larger connection areas towards the bases, this is all very small, barely a square mm on the hips, on the shoulders, a bit more on the feet towards the base. Yet, the captured the design pretty well, but there has to be a sturdier way to design these. And the 32mm round base feels a bit crowded as well.

A unit a lot of people have waited for in Legions Imperialis, are the Vultarax Stratos-Automata, set upon a 32mm round base. The easiest build from the entire kit, but I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like somethings missing. It looks a bit dull shaped, compared to the more sinister look of the bigger Horus Heresy model, but I can't really say why.

These are the five different units, you get from the Battle Automata kit.

And a scale comparison with the Horus Heresy models of the Castellax Battle-Automata as well as the Vultarax Stratos-Automata.

Conclusion

This set is probably the one that gave me the hardest time of the entire set, and created a so unpleasant building experience, I don't really know if I ever had such with a Citadel miniature. The value is odd, as you only receive 12 bases for 41 EUR RRP, and assembling the miniatures, with the exception of the Vultarax, is so far from having fun. I only build a base each for this review and I don't see myself building the remaining pieces, in all honesty. Harsh words, but while they went the extra mile for the detail on the battle automata, I think they would benefit from a simplified version, especially regarding the legs, I feel they oversimplified the Vultarax. Maybe it is the rivets, or the lenses in the front. Something is missing here. The sprue has a bit of empty space, that could have been used for a A/B pose of the Arlatax, or if simplified a second Domitar Battle-Automata.

With all of these, I strongly suggest putting the glue on a separate surface, like a palette or something, then gently dip the part you want to glue into that drop and add it to the build, as the small surfaces and fine details would probably get swamped, if you add the glue directly upon the pieces. And a sharp tool, ideally hobby cutters and tweezers, will help you handling the pieces without damaging them.

The Horus Heresy and Legions Imperialis are brands by Games Workshop.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.