The Introduction
The Cadian Shock Troopers are models for the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game by Games Workshop. Currently in it's fifth edition, Warhammer 40,000 sees players pitch armies of painted minatures against each other in tabletop battles set in the grim darkness of the 41st ... Read review
Advantages: easy to assemble, good for beginners or to fill out squads of existing players' armies Disadvantages: A little expensive for what they are, static poses, require assembly and painting.
...Troopers are models for the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game by Games Workshop. Currently in it's fifth edition, Warhammer 40,000 sees players pitch armies of painted minatures against each other in tabletop battles set in the grim darkness of the 41st Millenium, where the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man fights for survival against alien races such as the brutal Orks, the fearsome Hive Mind of the Tyranids, and the soulless living metal hordes of ... ...interested in starting to play Warhammer 40,000 as the Imperial Guard, or people who may be wanting to add a model here or there to their units. However, anyone looking to make whole new squads from these, may want to be looking at purchasing one of the larger Cadian boxes instead as it works out as a more cost-efficient option. ... more
The Introduction
The Cadian Shock Troopers are models for the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game by Games Workshop. Currently in it's fifth edition, Warhammer 40,000 sees players pitch armies of painted minatures against each other in tabletop battles set in the grim darkness of the 41st Millenium, where the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man fights for survival against alien races such as the brutal Orks, the fearsome Hive Mind of the Tyranids, and the soulless living metal hordes of the Necrons. The Imperium's first line of defence against these threats are the brave men and women of the Imperial Guard, of which the Cadians are one regiment among countless thousands dotted throughout the Imperium.
The Cadians in particular are charged with guarding the Eye of Terror, a rift in space that acts as the single stable portal into something called the Immaterium, or the Warp. Inside the Warp, the daemonic forces of the Chaos Gods reside, as well as the traitorous elements of humanity that turned their back on the Emperor of Mankind 10,000 years earlier. Trained to fight from a young age, they act as the guardians of the Cadian Gate, ready to face any threat that exits the Warp to wreak havoc in the galaxy.
The Product
This particular box of Cadians was released in July 2008, and is a box of 5 Cadian Shock Trooper minatures. These miniatures in particular were designed to be "push-fit" as opposed to the more complex, multi-part Cadian kit, which comes as a box of 20 men and requires gluing and more complex assembly.
The models come in three pieces. The body of the model, an arm which is also holding a lasgun, the standard armament of an Imperial Guardsman, and the "slottabase", a small round black base which the model slots into to allow it to stand upright. As already stated, with this smaller box the model can be pushed together and be assembled in a matter of moments, making it ideal for people who are new to the hobby and may be learning to play the game.
If you feel more confident with modelling or want some added strength to the joints, the model can be glued using polystyrene cement. This can be purchased from Games Workshop at the same time you purchase the models, or you can also find it at any good model shop.
One thing of note is that these models can be used as more than just Cadians. How can this be possible you may ask? Well, much like the majority of model kits, the models are not supplied painted. This means you can paint these models in whatever colours you wish, and even make up your own Imperial Guard regiment if you wish using them.
Advantages
As I mentioned earlier, the models are designed to be able to be assembled by pushing the components together without the need for glue. This makes them very easy to use for those who are beginners to the hobby. Also for those who have been in the hobby for a while, these Guardsmen come in slightly different poses to those that can be made using the standard Guardsman box, meaning you can use them to pad out a squad that may need extra models, such as a Conscript Platoon or Command squad.
Disadvantages
For the experienced modeller, there are a couple of disadvantages. For example this box with 5 static posed Guardsmen is £5, when you could pick up a larger box of 20 Guardsmen for £18. Also, you do tend to get two copies of two of the poses in the box, meaning they can look a bit repetitive in a squad if you use them all in the same squad. For the best look in that case I would recommend mixing them up with models from the standard Guardsman box.
Also the fact you need to assemble and paint these yourself may put some people off from purchasing these, but the chances are if you are purchasing these you are interested in the hobby in some way, either as a novice or as a long-term hobbyist so that is probably not as much of a factor as it could be in other purchases.
Final Verdict
In short, I feel this is a nice box for people who may be interested in starting to play Warhammer 40,000 as the Imperial Guard, or people who may be wanting to add a model here or there to their units. However, anyone looking to make whole new squads from these, may want to be looking at purchasing one of the larger Cadian boxes instead as it works out as a more cost-efficient option.
