I attended GenCon 2014 recently and while picking up some items I'd ordered at the Forge World booth to add to my Adeptus Mechanicus army, I had a chat with a couple of the guys about the Knights they've been showing WIP pics of from the recent Games Days. I had mentioned that I liked the Lancer, but I was really holding out for the upcoming Knight Castigator to use as a Baron for my growing Knight Household, and figured my funds was safe for the time being as the kit wasn't going to be released for several more weeks after GenCon was over. With an evil gleam in his eye, the guy pulled a box containing one of the handful of early release Castigators they'd brought to GenCon out from under the table, and my wallet cringed knowing I was about to spend more money at the FW booth than I had planned! After getting back home, I couldn't wait to get started on the kit, and over the last few days I managed to get the Castigator built up to the point that it's ready for primer! I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed building this kit, though there are a couple things I'd do differently next time around knowing what I know from the initial build.
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One thing I knew I wanted to try was to get a much more dynamic pose out of the model, as I was disappointed somewhat in how static the legs on the plastic GW Paladin/Errant kit were. The FW kit is fully posable however, and it was a snap to build the legs stepping up on (and crushing) a small pumping station. I kept all of the armour plates separate for the time being, which will allow for greater access to the under-chassis of the model and facilitate painting. That means the model is a little skeletal looking at the moment, but once the plates are on it definitely bulks up! The model is currently separate at the waist as well (currently just held in place by a big ol' honkin' pin), though the arms are permanently attached.
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Quite pleased with the overall pose, opening up the arms from the body and rotating the torso and head gives it an interesting sense of forward motion - not running as I'd likely do the Lancer (and I am much more inclined to pick one up now), but a solid advance while mowing down infantry with the gatling bolter. I was slightly disappointed that the sword arm is solid at the wrist, so you're pretty much stuck with elbow and shoulder for posing on that side. Nevertheless, I like it as a counterpoint to the reaper chainswords on the Paladins.
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Now THAT'S an ammo hopper! In retrospect I might have actually been better off building the left leg bent at the knee and the right leg straight, as I found the more extended rearward placement of the leg interfered somewhat with the available torso rotation options due to the ammo belt hanging so far down. As I'd cocked the gun outwards about 25 degrees I ended up needing to hot-water bend the ammo belt into place to fit the two receiver sockets anyway, so incorporating the leg position wasn't a deal breaker. With the leg up and out of the way however, I think one could get some even more dynamic posing out of the gun arm!
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Here's a scale shot of the Castigator compared to the plastic GW Paladin model - definitely think a pair of Paladins acting as Squires for the Baron will look fitting scale-wise when they're on the table, though I do still contend that either the FW knights seem slightly too big, or the GW knights seem slightly too small. The Castigator is not that much shorter than a Warhound!
Overall I have to say I was blown away by this kit - it went together like a dream and the posing possibilities are nearly endless. Looking forward to getting some paint on it!