Legions Imperialis – Mechanicum Acastus Knights Asterius

Among the three Mechanicum knights new in plastic, the Acastus Knights Asterius are the only ones we didn't cover before as their resin counter part and as such are very happy to introduce them on here.

And just like the other items, this boxed set will go on pre-order on April 19th and will be released on May 3rd for a RRP of 37 GBP or 47,50 EUR.

The Acastus-Class Knights Porphyrion are already a rare sight, being perhaps the most heavily armed and armoured of all the Knight chassis in service, which rivals the Scout Class Warhounds Titans in size and might. The Asterius is even more scarce, replacing the Twin Magna Lascannons of the regular Acastus for Conversion Beam Cannons that can turn enemy fortresses and titans into ashes. The other weapon systems are replaced as well, the Las- or Autocannons are up armoured to Volkite Culverins and even the missile system is replaced by a Karacnos mortar battery.

The backside of the packaging already gives us a spoiler, not only do we get a brand new mechanicum knight transfer sheet but the command terminals for use of the Knights with Adeptus Titanicus! In total the box provides us with two medium sized sprues, a decal sheet, the command terminal, an instruction leaflet and two 65mm round bases.

Each sprue covers a single Acastus Knight Asterius, thightly packed within the frame. Clever split of some of the round shapes of the Mechanicum parts and from what I can see no wasted space. Very crisp cast, capturing the details and little to no mould lines to clean up.

As mentioned further above, we get a new transfer sheet for Knights, covering Mechanicum insignia along with House Makabius, House Malinax (shown on the backcover of the packaging), House Vyronii and House Coldshroud, along with generic heraldry, and the command terminals for use with Adeptus Titanicus. The rules for Legions Imperialis are part of the Knight Detachment section of the Core rulebook. Unlike the other Mechanicum knights, the Acastus Knights are not properly named Porphyrion or Asterius in the rulebook, the upgrade for +20 points and weapon upgrades turns the Porphyrion into a Asterius and you can play mixed banners.

We are going to build a single Acatus Knight Asterius on a 65mm flat Legions Imperialis base. The kit does not provide the classic Citadel bases, as none of the Legions Imperialis sets do.

The design of the legs is very similar to the Porphyrion. Only the armour plates have a bit of different design, with the stylized fleur-de-lys replaced with a cleaner, more rectangular shape for the Mechanicum knight. There are no moving parts here, the Acastus stands firmly on the ground to fire their mighty weapon systems into the enemy.

The upper body of the Acastus Knight Asterius has a rounder shape. A design that is picked up across all of the Mechanicum knights, the Atrapos as well as the Magaera/Styrix. The Citadel design team managed to recreate this with injection mould plastic in a very convincing way, by splitting certain parts cleverly, without leaving a gap. The upper body sits upon a ball joint and has a small pin, which keeps it from falling (an improvement towards the Porphyrion kit).

Conversion Beam Cannons are the weapon of choice for the Asterius, replacing the twin-linked Magna Lascannons. Another clever, layered design, providing a lot of detail in this scale. I am not entirely sure, if you should close the sides prior to painting. But I assume that priming it black or later adding a heavy wash, will take care of that.

If you cut the arms above the elbow, you could turn / reposition the weapon, creating a bit more variation and more dynamic pose, if you feel like it.

I used blu-tac to add these to the model in this state, as I can remove it until painting to have better access to the model.

Now for the final step, adding the Karacnos Mortar System (yes, it is the same as the Karacnos Assault Tank has) and the two Volkite Culverines for the shoulders.

The mortar system can either be build open or closed, what ever you feel more appropiate.

A comparison of the Acastus Knights, the Asterius on the left on a regular Legions Imperialis base, and a Porphyrion on a higher Citadel Base on the right.

Along with further scale comparisons, from the Asterius, to Atrapos, Magaera and Thanatar, as well as the second picture showing the Serperos Overlord Heavy Stalker and Stalker Constructs as well.

The Asterius surely fills out the base he stands upon.

Conclusion

I am a huge fan of the Titanicus range, as the plastic kits have so many details and are fun to build, and so was this kit. While you do not have many options, or moveable / poseable joints, the small addition of the Karacnos mortar "lid" is a neat detail. Not only is a plastic kit, compared to the resin variant that was around so far, much more approachable for many players, as they feel more comfortable working with this material, it is much cheaper.

Yes, the Acastus Porphyrion was 40 EUR when it was released, but that was without the command terminals, which were another 20 EUR for a pack of 5 (!). By this the raised price of 47,50 EUR is quite reasonable for two models and you have to compare that to the 59 EUR the Forge World resin kit set you back (when it was in stock...).

And just in case you aren't familiar with the lore, these are usable with other factions as regular allies / detachments, as they are not exclusive to the Mechanicum.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.