Warhammer 40,000 – Baneblade and Shadowsword

For Apocalypse, Games Workshop has given the Imperial Army two super-heavy tank kits. The first was the Baneblade. Games Workshop then released a second tank based upon the Baneblade chassis, the Shadowsword / Stormlord boxed set.

Since both kits have been on the market for some time, here is a double build report instead of a review.

The starting point

First, remove all the sprues from the huge boxes (as big as the new starter boxes for Warhammer Fantasy / 40,000).

As already mentioned, the Baneblade (including the Hellhammer variant) and the Shadowsword (which can also be assembled into the Stormlord, Doomhammer, Banesword, Banehammer and Stormsword) share a common chassis. Therefore, the kits only differ in the two sprues for the superstructures.

Side panels (left and right)

 
Tracks and underbody

 
Side sponsons, armament and individual parts

Now to the special sprues.

Baneblade (incl. Hellhammer Cannon)

Shadowsword / Stormlord

Assembly

With so many parts, you should allow enough time for removing the moud lines. The mould lines were minimal, but the end result looks better if you clean all the individual parts. Many of the mould lines are only noticeable after priming/painting and are then difficult to remove.

With kits of this size, one usually has a certain inhibition/reverence for assembly. However, this is rather unfounded with this super-heavy kits. Assembly is easy, and there are no fiddly small parts.

The most time-consuming part of the assembly is probably the side panels, as they have the most individual parts. This is also where you notice the only weakness of the kits: many parts are identical except for minor details. So, with some parts, you have to make sure that you use the right part for the left side and don't stick it on the right side or vice versa.

After gluing on the tracks, which is very easy thanks to the large parts and ‘clip’ system, you can already see how huge the kits are. Hence a size comparison with Leman Russ and Land Raider.

The quality of the casting and the details is impressive. Just look at the hard edges and small details that cover the entire kit. This can be seen here on the Aquila and the rear engine cover.

The chassis is now glued together; up to this point, both kits are identical. In principle, this base could also be used to create various other tank variants, such as a Gorgon conversion or a mobile fortress in the style of a (small) Leviathan or Capitol Imperialis.

But let's continue with the special individual parts. With the Shadowsword, you can install the viewing hatch and heavy bolter on either the left or right side.

The side sponsons have a few small parts, but are also quick to assemble. You can choose between synchronised heavy bolters and heavy flamethrowers. You should not glue all the parts together here, so that the sponsons and weapon turrets remain movable.

The cover plates can be made magnetic so that you have the option of adding additional armour plates, side sponsons and additional side sponsons.

You should also not glue all the details and small parts together yet, as this makes painting easier.

As mentioned above, the Shadowsword / Stormlord can be assembled in several variants. The differences are primarily in the configuration of the gun. This is modular and can be magnetised so that you can build the Shadowsword, Banehammer, Banesword, Stormsword and Doomhammer variants.

Only for the Stormlord (with Vulcan Megabolter) you do have to choose a different configuration, which is not easy to make magnetic. This is not shown here, as I used the Megabolter for another project.

Painting

For all kits larger than Rhino, you should seriously consider using a spray paint or airbrush instead of a brush, not only for priming but also for the base colour.

On the many large and smooth surfaces, thick paint, painting mistakes and brush strokes are much more noticeable than on individual figures or smaller vehicles.

The tanks were primed in black and later sprayed with Catachan Green using an airbrush. The pictures show the first thin coat. As with small models, several thin coats are recommended here instead of one thick coat.

Although the initial cost of 40-50 EUR for a small airbrush system is a bit steep, the time savings and, above all, the evenness of the application are convincing. However, these starter sets are only suitable for coloured priming. Camouflage painting or even details cannot be achieved with them. For this, you need more expensive equipment with finer guns and a compressor. However, the latter is hardly worthwhile if you only want to paint 2-3 vehicles.

Conclusion

The size of the tanks is impressive. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Baneblade is simply too big for regular 40k games, and not just in terms of the rules.

Considering that the Baneblade and Shadowsword can only be used in Apocalypse battles, the prevalence of these tanks is above average and for many they are more likely to be a display case trophy or status symbol. This is also underlined by the price of 95 EUR in Germany. Not exactly cheap, but ‘reasonable’ when you compare the size of the sprues, the size of the kit and the sheer amount of plastic with other kits from the Warhammer 40,000 range.

Assembly was surprisingly easy for a model of this size, even easier than the Land Raider. The fit and division of the individual parts is beginner-friendly, so even if you are new to model building, you should have little trouble assembling the kits.

The super-heavy models are certainly not a must-have, as they are only intended for Apocalypse battles, as already mentioned, but it doesn't hurt to have some concentrated firepower in your display case, on your shelf and/or in your army.

Warhammer 40,000 is a brand by Games Workshop.