Intro
Sometimes a thing will come along that is just too cool for words. Something that just makes your wet your pants, and instead of running to change your shorts, you instead feel so good about it, that you're perfectly content to stew in your own juices while it's around. This is exactly the case with Gwot's Warhammer 40K Terminator Armored Space Marine.
Originality
Over the past few months there have been a number of WH40K themed models. However, I still can't justify docking any one of them when it comes to Originality for a very simple reason. Part of being a modeler is refining ideas from other sources. The degree to which something is original is best judged by looking at what the author has done with the base idea. How innovative is the work compared to what others have done, or even what you would have expected. In this case it's very innovative. The mood and general "attitude" of this model just oozes innovation...very rarely have I watched a model's animations both in game and out of game and thought to myself "man, this guy really got into the head of his subject". Some may not agree, but for me, this model gets a solid 4 for Originality. I dock a star because, it was still based off of an existing and well documented idea.
The Model
On a purely technical level, this model is very well done. There are few, if any, places that could use adjustment. The proportions are perfect for a man covered in WH40K's most powerful armor. In some areas I found myself wishing it had a higher poly count simply because I wanted to see all of the minute ridges and joints that are in the real armor, but alas, this is Q2, and you just can't do that. This model tops out at 522 Triangles without the weapon and 660 with it. Size wise it is quite large compared to the male player model, but if you look at it from the proper perspective, all is as it should be, considering that the male player would fit exactly where he should in this armor (load it up for yourself and see!). I imagine that the discrepancy in bounding boxes might cause some weird "ghost misses" in DM play, but to be honest, in practice, this is not so. Anyway, I have to give the model itself 5 stars. It is very well done, and does not looked rushed nor compromised in any manner. The Animations
The animations are what really got me on this model (aside from the skins, but I think you all expect that!). The author was not content to simply have the model mimic in some form all of the other stand/taunt sequences that are out there...instead he must have called on some distance Space Marine captain's spirit for guidance as to how the soldiers under his command move and act when in these suits. Not only is the animation fluid and visually believable, but it possesses such a great attitude that just playing with this model makes me feel strong. Once again I have to give a big 5 stars to the model, I can't think of a better set of animations for this subject.
On first glance I knew this model rocked, but then I asked myself a question that has killed many a good model..."How does the skin mapping and size look?". Well, in this case Gwot seems to have been listening to all my rants and spewings very intently. The skin is 256x256 and comes with only 8% wasted space. The layout of the mapping is very well done, and it's appearance on the model is flawless. I have to say that the lack of variety in the skins bothered me a little...I mean, there are a ton of chapters that could have been represented here, with lots of great logos and color schemes; but, instead there are a number of skins all basically the same with different tinting. I fully expect for anyone out there that enjoys the WH40K universe to step up and make some great skins for this one...it does not get any better. 4.5 stars...no question.
Unfortunately there are no sounds with this model...I can't wait to see what the public comes up with...I mean, after looking at the model, you know what you should be hearing.
Visible Weapons Support
There is no VWep support with this model, and sadly, I do think it would be hard to add "pure" VWep support, but I do not doubt that a set of WH40K themed weapons could be added in it's place.
Pack Inclusion
The model won't be in the pack, sadly. He's simply too damn big.
review by Npherno
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