Here we go with a review on another brilliant kit! I have to admit that the model itself is not the hottest stuff on GW stores right now, I have a personal attachment to it and found it interesting enough to call for a full review. Find out what’s so exciting about the Aspiring Champion and a few WIP shots after the jump.
The Aspiring Champion comes in a blister pack with a single but busily decorated sprue that houses all the components of the kit.
The first thing that comes to mind when you take out the one little blister sprue from its packaging is how incredibly detailed the model is. This beast rivals the level of detail on some resin kits and definitely puts the level of quality up several notches when compared to, say, the aging CSM troop box or the Khorne Berserkers. Some of the details are smaller than the tip of a finger and has edges for highlighting, like the hand grenade or the chains hanging around. Just look at the thing:
Truly a beauty. Without further ado I clipped the pieces from the sprue and went to work with some dry fits. The pieces have considerably less mould lines than any plastic kit I’ve tackled thus far and are almost invisible. Still I traced them with the scalpel instead of the mould line remover to not harm anything on the way. It took me less than half an hour to completely clean off all residue of casting. Then came the dry fits, which I thought was crucial to determine the pose. Turns out the model already is designed to hold a single pose, the one shown on the box art, and for a different look you need to use your knife and putty. No worries, I like the stance as is and will use it when painting.
GW has cleverly left all unseen parts without detail (joins etc.) which is great for determining when and where to apply paint. For example the chest piece needs to be attached later since the parts behind the bone collar become inaccessible with a brush after assembly. This also means that any additional modifications (like tube alignment) have to be done with dry fits and before primer. Similarly, the shoulder pad may be assembled in parts to correctly paint the daemon head leering from it. No big deal. Other than these the sculpt is a joy to work with and leaves you in awe. Reminds me a lot of the Champion models from the Dark Vengeance kit. Here are the detail shots of all cleaned components.
Time for a final dry fit and some tacking to see how it looks, and the model certainly does not disappoint:
So far so good… it seems the only piece that can be assembled to an extent is the left arm and shoulder, the rest I’ll mount on cork and prepare for primer. I may go with the brush as I’m not entirely convinced that the spray can won’t cover details on this delicate model. Hopefully we’ll have the last bit of good weather for spraying this weekend so I can get on with the painting sessions for all my kits for good.
Thanks for tuning in with the review, and see you folks on the next post.
Filed under: Aspiring Champion, Black Legion, Chaos Space Marines, Review, WIP Tagged: aspiring champion, assembly, black legion, chaos space marines, miniature hobby, new project, review, solo figure, warhammer40k, WIP
