Legions Imperialis – Mechanicum Knights Magaera/Styrix

The Questoris Knights got multiple updates over the time since their initial release for Adeptus Titanicus in 2018. The initial box set was a set of 3 Imperial Knights, and those got an upgrade with the rocket pods and thunderstrike gauntlets (either as a blister pack or full set) to Questoris Knights, and parallel a release by Forge World for the Mechanicum Knight variants of the Magaera and Styrix in resin. And now these resin models have been remade in plastic, which we are going to take a closer look upon today!

This set of four Questoris Knights will go on pre-order on April 19th and will be released on May 3rd for a RRP of 31,50 GBP/41 EUR.

The Questoris Knights Styrix and Mageara were introduced to the Lore of Warhammer (30,000) with the Horus Heresy Book IV - Conquest in 2014. Both patterns have a Hekaton Siege Claw as a melee weapon, but in different designs, and for ranged attacks either a Lightning Cannon in case of the Magaera or Volkite Chieorovile in case of the Styrix.

Unlike the regular Questoris, we don't get a single sprue of three, but two identical sprues of two Knights each. As these can be used not only for Legions Imperialis but for Adeptis Titanicus as well, we get the additional Command Terminals for AT. Beyond that the set covers four 40mm flat round bases in Legions design, the new Mechanicum Knight decal sheet and the instructions.

We have a sprue that is mirrored within itself, with the alterations for Magaera and Styrix on each of the sides, meaning the two different designs for the Siege Claw and each of the ranged weapon systems. As you can see the sprue is well used, next to no wasted space and the casting quality is top notch.

In some of the Legions Imperialis boxes, we had the printed materials inside a black envelope, and that is the care here as well. The assembly instructions are folded and there are two Command Terminals, one for each variants of the Mechanicum Questoris. A new addition in this wave is are the Mechanicum Knight transfers. These cover the following houses: House Makabius, House Malinax (shown on the backcover of the packaging), House Vyronii and House Coldshroud, along with generic heraldry.

We're grabbing two of the bases and a single sprue to build one of each Knight variants.

There are two different left and right legs, wich you can mix and match. I would recommend glueing the feet on last, as they have a little bit of play. So for a proper alignment with the bases, I would add these after adding the legs to the hips.

The upper bodies are not identical. Due to the ammunition feed for the ranged weapons, the design on the back is different. That is where the power sources are connected to the main body of the knight. Compared to the Imperial Knights the shape / design is more rounded. A theme that you can see across the other Mechanicum knights as well.

Now for the weapons. We build two different designs of the Hekaton Siege Claw, and a Volkite Chierovile and a Lightning Cannon each. Due to the elbow and shoulder joint, you can align / move the weapons a bit. Just make sure they don't collide with the legs or body of the Knight. Both have a slightly different head design, and a shoulder mounted weapon system. In case of the Styrix a Graviton Gun, and Magaera with a phased Plasma-Fusil.

And now the only thing that is left, are the shoulder pads. I recommend for painting, to not glue the upper body to the legs, and maybe leave the shoulder pads off until final assembly, as it makes it easier to reach the different spots on the model.

The Legions Imperialis bases are flatter than the regular Citadel Bases, bringing the models closer to the tabletop, which is with the Epic Scale an interesting option for better immersion. And the second picture shows the Styrix and Magaera next to the regular Imperial Questoris Knight.

But we do not only show you how they compare to the other units, the new wave of plastic Mechanicum knights and comparison with the Serperos Overlord Heavy Stalker and Stalker Constructs.

The models might look a bit wonky on their legs, but I'll fix that later on with the sculpted bases. Never the less, I like their design.

Conclusion

This kit is an huge improvement. The Magaera / Styrix had quite some issues in quality control with their former resin models. Partial miscast (air bubbles and not fully casted areas) along with very visible printing steps were problems, that for example I had to adress towards the customer service (and they replaced them with better - not perfect - casts). But that is a topic of the past, as we do not have those issues with plastic, especially not with Games Workshop.

And this shift of material makes the models cheaper as well. The pricing of the Forge World resin kits as two models for 40 EURs and now you get twice that for 41,50 EUR - including the option for discount.

The Mechanicum Knights are not limited to Mechanicum army lists, but can be used with Solar Auxilia or Legiones Astartes as Knight Banners as well. You can even mix the Knight Banners have them fight in the same detachment as the other Questoris Knight patterns.

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

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.