When compared with the more numerous Adeptus Astartes, the Ten Thousand of the Adeptus Custodes make up for this by being Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. While not fully true of the Coronus Grav-carrier, it's certainly larger and more extravagant than the Land Raider. The plastic version may not have the same heft of it's resin predecessor, it still has the same presence* which I hadn't honestly appreciated until I saw one on the table.
Thanks again to Games Workshop for sending Goonhammer an advance copy for us to review.
* Chonkyness, if I'm being technical.
Assembly
Grav-carrier sprues
The Grav-carrier is made from four large sprues and one smaller turret weapon sprue. The general experience of this kit was a similar to Land Raider or Spartan except with the nacelles the Caladius Grav-tank. One advantage of it being a skimmer is not having to faff around with all those treads like it's ground-borne cousins. Assembly took place over two evenings after everyone else in the household was asleep - so one evening for someone who doesn't have a small infant.
While I suspect many might not get around to painting the interior compartment, it's assembly is a required and structural step. I did flirt with the idea of leaving the roof hatch loose with the ability to clip it in and out to look at the interior inside, however short painting deadlines made this rather impractical. The option is plausibly there though for those the hobby enthusiasts to get the best milage and ability to show off the lush cabin within.
Lovely interior of the Grav-carrier, a shame noone will ever see it
Similar to the Caladius nacelles, be careful when clipping these off and joining to ensure you get as flush a join as possible down the front and centre of your massive vehicle.
From a basing perspective, the Grav-carrier comes on the same flight stand as the Cladius, which holds it firmly via tension, however is a touch boring. I suspect that people will do some really creative basing to highlight the anti-grav transport ponderously floating over the battlefield - thankfully with much less counterweights as was required with the resin kit!
Say "aaaaaaaaargh"
The kit otherwise has very little in way of options, with the only being the hull mounted weapons. Just like the Caladius, it's trivial to have the hatch which holds this option in place blu-tacked or magnetised to allow you to swap these over.
Painting
When it comes time for painting, the kit is rather subassembly friendly. As mentioned earlier, it is possible to leave the roof hatch separate to allow for painting the interior. I opted to leave the nacelles, front hatch and roof scoops separate to allow for easier masking and application of the marble spraypaint* on my panels.
* Yes, you read that correctly.
Donning the mask
While the Ten Thousand are normally cast in resplendent gold, my inner contrarian had to go for something different. I'm a big fan of the Solar Watch scheme, however already having around five thousand points of fifth legion in white and red meant that it wasn't entirely appealing - and so white and teal was the way.
Adeptus Custodes Grav-carrier. Credit - Soggy
Oh Lawd, They Comin'
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm a fan of plastic rereleases of resin kits as they lower the financial barrier to entry on armies and am curious to see what GW will release next. Often this conversion process comes with trade offs, such as increased number components to assemble and complexity (looking at you tech thralls) or seemingly more limited posing options, however in this case as it's a "simple" model this isn't the case - it's a good rerelease, no notes.
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Goonhammer Reviews: Horus Heresy Adeptus Custodes Coronus Grav-carrier
