Adeptus Titanicus – Warmaster Titan with Plasma Destructors

Move to the side Warlord Titans, there is a new, heavier battle titan around - the Warmaster Titan! The new class of titans for Adeptus Titanicus was announced in the online preview in late January of this year, and now finally available.

So far, the Warlord marked the heaviest of the available battle titans for the game, and was only outclassed by the even larger Emperor Class Titan, which was covered in the lore but not released for the more recent iterations of Epic nor Adeptus Titanicus. The Warmaster is a new addition to the lore of Warhammer 40.000 (or 30.000 / Horus Heresy) and is based upon old artwork by Jes Goodwin. Back in the day, this was "just" an early sketch of a Warlord Titan, but with a different design than the "beetle back" models. But as there were multiple designs and variants of the titans, in a rather "fluid" state of lore, this is the perfect base for a new class of titan. The Warmaster picked up quite a lot of the design elements, but more on that below.

The only lore on the Warmaster can be found in the new Adeptus Titanicus supplement Loyalist Legios, so a look back into history, on the variants and origins isn't possible as I did it with the other titans and knights in my reviews. But I guess the articles on Lexicanum and Fandom will update their lore and information, with the upcoming releases and further information published by Games Workshop on this class. But we can talk about the weapon systems mounted on the Warmaster, they included two arm-mounted Suzerain-class plasma destructors, one carapace-mounted revelator missile launcher, and a choice of apocalypse missile array, plasma blastgun, turbo laser destructor, inferno gun, melta cannon, and Vulcan mega-bolter for the two shoulder hardpoints.

This latest and (currently!) largest miniature for Adeptus Titanicus is called a Warmaster Heavy Battle Titan and shown here in the so far only known Mars Pattern. It is only produced as a plastic kit in 6/8mm scale by Games Workshop. If we will see a 28mm variant by Forge World is unknown (a Warlord is already at 1.600 EUR equipped), but due to the way titans are built for example in comparison to the Tau Manta, they are less limited in size so we could see one if demand is high enough.

The rules for using the Warmaster Class Heavy Battle Titan with Adeptus Titanicus are included with the boxed set along with the Loyalist Legios book.

The almost 300 parts of the kit are spread across four massive sprues and as the newer kits do, cover the command terminals and 17 weapon cards / system options directly with the boxed set and not as a separate item. The command terminal is gigantic and twice the size of the Warbringer terminal.

The instructions are black and white, a bit blunt to be honest compared to the full coloured Warlord booklets, and as this is the epic Warmaster I had the expectations that they might go the extra mile. So there are no painted examples for different legions or larger variants, rather straight instructions. The base is the same size as for the Warlord, an 120mm x 92mm oval base. And the decal sheet is even a bit smaller than the warlords, only covering a few legio icons like Mortis and Gryphonicus (all in white). Again, expected something a bit more generous.

As for the sprues, tightly packed, filled to the rim with parts. The "chassis" of the titan is spread across the sprues A and B, with all the armour plating covering insignia for both loyal and traitor legions in sprue C. The weapon systems are covered in sprue D and by the way this is cut / layouted, it is likely that we might see an "evil" or otherwise armed variant of the Warmaster with the Legio Traitors book, as the heads, main weapon systems for the arms and especially the middle carapace weapon is concentrated on this sprue.

Casting and level of detail is superb. The experience with large scale models and fine details really shows in these kits. Especially as Games Workshop understands to design them in a way, that they clearly differ from their 28mm range and you see that this is not just a Knight but something far larger, towering over buildings and cathedrals in an epic scale.

With a build this large, get your tools out and ready, go over the instructions one time before you build it as well, to make sure you understand the steps and what you have in mind goes along with the instruction (in other words, don't glue things you want to build in a different way or keep moving). A cutter, plyers, file and mould line removal tool are recommended, along with plastic glue.

I mixed the steps from the instruction and began with the head, as I didn't had a choice right away. While looking through the assembly instructions I saw, oh - the different heads share the same parts and was a bit disappointed. But Games Workshop has your back, the needed parts are included multiple times with the same number, so you can build all three different variants of the heads! Great start with the kit.

And to give you an idea on how tall these are, here are the three different variants (great fit for both loyal and traitor legions for my taste) with a head from the Warlord titan kit (#3) and next to a AT knight. That's massive.

We start the build of the titan itself with the legs, better said the groin. This covers ball and socket joints for the hips, but with two pins to keep the model standing. Of course, you can cut the pins away on the upper legs and position them rather freely, it is just a suggestion and stable configuration ex works. But more on that later.

The legs are moveable but pre-set due to slots and pins. They have a joint at the hip as mentioned above, at the knee and the ankle. I build one leg as suggested by the instructions. Most parts are simply mirrored or the same. Just pay attention that you don't switch the sides or place them upside down, as it could be easily mistaken if you're not paying attention.

A great feature of the warmaster are the feet and moveable (!) toes. Something that was possible with the other titans, but only with some elbow grease. In this case you only need to remove the pin from the bar, which keeps the toes in position, after that you can move them up and down along the axle, placing them over / on top of obstacles and really blend it into its surroundings or base. A brief advice at this point, check with the parts A22, that the angle is not too extreme and the pistons still connect the toes (A16 - A18) to the indents on the lower leg (A12 + A13).

Following the regular steps, I assembled the left leg.

For the right leg, I went with a raised pose. I marked the parts that need to be cut in red to create a posable leg. That means the pins on the hip's ball-joint, part A6 and A9, along with the knee on A12 and A13. For the lower leg it is important to cut the pin on A24, so it is movable within the piston on the back. Make sure to give your pose a dry fit, to ensure the parts don't collide with each other or are overextended.

Last but not least, you have to clean the pin on the ankle, so the foot and leg can be positioned at the proper angle, along with the pins on the combined A14+A15 part, to create movable toes.

After the pose is final (remember dry run of the pose, to ensure the parts still connect / don't block each other), add the lower pistons / stabilisations on the feet along with the smaller plates.

With that step, we finished the build below the waist and have a pair of legs to put the remaining titan upon. Let's get started with the upper body (step 25 of the instructions). The upper body comes with another ball joint, so you can angle the torso on the legs. This is something new and more flexible compared to the other kits. I suggest you don't glue that until you've finalized the pose you're going for (alignment of the arms for example). It is great so see the small details, like power core and doors. Yet again, a shame that they didn't include any titan crew with these kits. But there are third party companies who cover those.

The warmaster is not only tall, but broad and now we are going to add these broad shoulders onto the upper torso. These hold the shield generators along with additional smaller weapon systems. And put upon the legs you get a first glimpse of the size next to a Warlord titan.

Now for the further details on the upper body. A lot of vents and exhausts on the front and back. Quite the large pieces for the backside. A great fit and no trouble during assembly so far.

The first weapon system is the revelator missile launcher. It is put between the large shoulder segments and by the way this is constructed and its pieces included in sprue D, I highly expect that one to be replaced with an alternate weapon system on another kit / variant of this titan class. Adding this piece is a snug fit, so ensure to do so while the glue on the remaining pieces is not entirely set.

The walk ways on the side are assembled as well as a corner piece covering the shoulder blades. As for the walk ways, depending on your paint style, I'd leave these off along with the armour plating until you've primed and painted the model.

As some of the other titans, the Warmaster has some "smaller" armament, in this case laser cannons to cover the back, along with probably the most "annoying" part on every titan - the shield generators. They are quite small and thin, so rather delicate to clean the mould lines and to remove from the sprue without damaging the detail.

And now we head over for the first armour plating of the titan. The "shoulder blades" and "collar bone", these can be glued in as they don't interfere with painting. It is interesting that there is a gun in the front armour, which can be elevated and rotated. You don't need to glue it in pose, as the friction holds it quite well.

The middle part of the side upper side armour comes in three different designs. In blank for your free hands, with an aquila and shield or the eye of horus. Similar to the other upper plating, these can be glued onto the model, as there are no details covered by them.

For the further weaponry. On the upper arms are turrets that are moveable and tiltable to a certain degree. Quite the massive systems among them, weapons as large that a warhound would carry them into battle as main armament. In detail this means an apocalypse missile array, plasma blastgun, turbo laser destructor, inferno gun, melta cannon, or Vulcan mega-bolter. By modifying the pieces, you could add magnets to them and have them swappable. The pieces themself aren't directly designed that way but the conversion isn't that difficult to do. Upon the platform you can add larger guns, bombards or AA-systems. They are purely for decorative purpose and are not covered in the rules so far. I went with two different designs and those guns can be elevated and due to just being put into place, can be rotated (and easily modified with a magnet).

I left all the armour plating for the last steps. An interesting part are the shin guards, these can be optional build with a synced laser cannon or dome, depending on your liking. I went with cannons on both sides. Remember, if you want easier handling during painting, add these armour plates last. I only put them in place with blu-tac for the purpose of this review.

Now for the massive main weapon systems, the Suzerain-class plasma destructors. Basically, the supersized variants of the Warlord's weapon system. Looks complicated at first, but is a straight forward build.

The arms can be rotated and elevated, with the use of magnets (the diameter is different from the other Warlord kits, I suggest a 6mm round magnet). And to show you once again the massive size of this kit, here's the comparison with the "regular" plasma destructor from the Warlord Titan.

Now the only missing pieces are the overlapping lower body plating, two shields and two banners. The overlapping plating has some play, so you can modify the alignment to fit your pose, for example if you went for something more dynamic. And as you can see, that slightly raised leg and foot already loosens up the rather stiff pose straight from the box.

Another comparison shot with the Warlord Titan. The Warmaster is a pure beast. As there is no 28mm model, we have to skip the comparison of the Titan-benchmark of Euro per Inch. But I want to show you, how I partial build the kit, so it stays easier to store and handle prior / during painting. With a lower and upper part, along with all the armour plates as separate pieces. And the Warmaster produces quite a lot of spares. Two heads, two sets of shoulder armour and all the weapon systems you didn't use or magnetise.

And to conclude this review, some close ups and different angle shots of the Warmaster Titan. All the armour plates are just stuck onto the model using blu-tac, as are the weapons. So you might see a bit of that show through one some parts here and there in the detail shots.

Conclusion
At 125 EUR this kit is almost 50% more expensive than the Warlord. But it comes with all the additional gaming material needed, you would usually buy on top for roughly 15 EUR. With that deducted you are at 110 EUR, and that fits the upgrade for a fourth, massive sprue in this kit - compared to the Warlord. So this is pretty in line with the Adeptus Titanicus pricing. It is just, that there are a lot of options to get your hands on a Warlord for less than the RRP, due to maniple sets or starter kits.

I really enjoyed this kit and its assembly. It is among the tallest models I have built from the Warhammer range so far, and yet while it is smaller than for example some of the large models from the Age of Sigmar range, the Adeptus Titanicus kits have an amazing depth of detail. This really helps creating the illusion of a huge model and to seperate the 6/8mm kit from the "regular" 28mm models. Side by side with a Knight this Warmaster shows clear dominance and that it is a smaller scale of a much larger kit. Casting is superb, no problem with the fit during the whole build and minor amount mould lines, on top of that due to the mechanic design those are easily removed (beside the coils, where you have to make sure not to damage the delicate details).

With the design and grade of detail, I can see this is not only something that will appeal to the players of the game, but model builders as well. This certainly offers some challenge to somebody who is used to building 1:35 tanks or gundams. Assembly alone took me two evenings to complete (with the interruption of taking the pictures of course), but along with the process of painting, this kit provides me with entertainment as a model kit at a very low cost of one-digit euros per hour. So, if you're more of a painter or collector, less of a gamer, this is certainly worth a look.

And as mentioned above, I am quite sure, that this is not the last we will see of the Warmaster. Due to the cut and the very obvious addition of Legio Traitoris, and their need of a supporting kit as well, I expect something along the line of an "evil" or alternative Warmaster, maybe a reincarnation of the Warmonger (which is a sub-class of the Imperator Titan, the biggest titan class in the lore so far) as a counterpart. Maybe that will be answered within the Warhammer Fest releases of the current week.

Warlord Titan, Warhound Scout Titan and Reaver Battle Titan were already introduced on here.

Warhammer 40.000 and Adeptus Titanicus are brands by Games Workshop.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.