Scale: 25mm (roughly 1/72)

Parts: 32 injection molded styrene (5 of them clear). Includes stand.

Instructions: 4 page (fold -out), Paint guide of sorts on boxtop.

Decals: Waterslide; assorted markings for various clans.

Molding Quality: 9 - no flash, prominent ejector pin marks, sinkholes or other ugliness; faint mold seams.

Detail: 8 - Plenty of it, though some is heavy-handed.

Accuracy: N/A (or 10, since it's a GW creation)

MSRP: $29.99 USD, available from hobby/game shops and online (see GW's Worldwide Dealer Lookup)

Overall Rating: 6 - Nice model, but frankly the price doesn't match what you get.

" In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war .... "

Image: Second sprue.

Image: THird sprue. The figures are very nicely done, especially considering how small they are.

^ Decals are sharp, in register, and have a minimum of extra carrier film. ERTL, take note!

Image:The instructions are useful. Fancy that.

The game is set in the 41st century, when geneticly altered human "Space Marines" battle aliens for supremacy. There is a whole range of figures, both in white metal and injection molded plastic, to play the game with - plus an equally wide range of vehicles and hardware. Games Workshop, home ported in the UK, has a well-deserved reputation for nicely cast/molded pieces and kits. Now, I'm not much of a gamer - but some of the designs are pretty nifty looking, and when I came across a hobby shop in Grand Rapids, MI that carried the whole line .... well, let's just say that the desire for a cool new toy overwhelmed the realization that I have more cool toys in the closet than I can ever build in my lifetime (as well as the realization that the Tax Man took every last bit of discretionary income away from me for at least the next five months..... that dog-kicker).

Thirty-two nicely molded parts on three sprue trees lurk inside a box that is rather too big for them - "Large Generic Box", says the label, which I suppose indicates that other kits and miniature sets in the line might come close to filling this size box up. Nothing is bagged, which is why the two clear plastic canopies and the clear stand in my kit are a bit scratched up. Nothing a bit of polishing and Future acrylic floor polish can't clear up, but still ....

Detail is good, and the engineering of the kit better. It's evident from the way the parts go together that someone was thinking; painting will be easy, since one can paint everything on the sprues, then glue everything together and just do a few touch-ups. The attachment points between the runners and the parts are small and sharp, making clean-up a snap (ERTL, are you listening?). There were no molding flaws at all on my kit, and even the obligatory mold seams were faint and easily fixed. The troop compartment has enough basic detail that one can drop the ramp and display it open without having to scratchbuild, though I'm sure armor fans will want to take it to a higher level. Engines, however, are rather basic. You'll probably want to put something inside the exhaust nozzles - I know I will.

The instructions are, for a change, useful - though even a newbie modeler could pretty much figure out the assembly sequence without them. Each step is outlined in several languages. No paint guide is included, though a couple of schemes are shown on the box top. This is no handicap - you're supposed to let your imagination run wild. A medium-sized decal sheet chock full of assorted markings rounds out the package. Each marking is sharp and in-register, with very little excess carrier film.

Fit, as far as I can tell from dry-fitting the major components, is decent. Some putty will be necessary, but not as much as one would normally expect from a sci-fi kit. There's really not much to this kit, and it's quite conceivable this could be an afternoon project.

It's a nice kit, it really is. Easy to build, easy to paint - my only complaint is the price. For thirty bucks I expect a photoetch fret and some resin pieces - but I guess Czech airplanes have spoiled me. There is little difference between what comes in this box and what comes in the ERTL Naboo Starfighter box, in terms of quality and sheer mass of plastic. On the other hand ..... GW is a smaller manufacturer, and doesn't have the luxury of the economy of scale ERTL enjoys.

Whatever. Bottom line: if the subject interests you, and you have the coin, get this kit. Recommended for novice modelers on up.