New hotness is old and busted...

Unless you're one of those hobbyists that lives under a rock (and I swear I've met many), you've seen Forgeworld's new 'Tartaros Pattern Terminators'. In case you haven't, here's a picture and the link to look at more...

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/TARTAROS_PATTERN_TERMINATOR_ARMOUR.html

Now I have to go at these with some of my usual passion. 

First off, there's a belief out there that these are 'pre-heresy' pattern.  For those of you out there that believe this, you're a moron.  Two facts come to the fore in this argument.  The primary argument against that belief is Forgeworld's own writeup.  Here that is for your reading pleasure:

"Tactical Dreadnought Armour, or Terminator Armour as it is more usually known, is the most resilient form of personal protection available to the Adeptus Astartes. Originally developed during the closing years of the Great Crusade, and adapted from the heaviest of industrial gear, several types and patterns were developed concurrently.

Of these, the Indomitus pattern is perhaps the most widespread, due to its template being held on key Forge Worlds such as Mars, although Tartaros Pattern Terminator armour is also issued to the Veterans of a Chapter’s 1st Company. Perhaps the most advanced form of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, the Tartaros pattern shares many systems with the MkIV ‘Maximus’ pattern of power armour, and provides greater mobility for its wearer than the Indomitus pattern with no loss in durability or protection."

As you can see, these suits are issued to a Chapter's 1st Company- an organization that didn't exist until well after the Heresy.  Also, these were developed at the same time as the 'Indomitable' patterns, or the more commonly-known Terminator armor.  If you believe that these suits are pre-heresy, then you must believe that the normal Terminator suits are as well.

In addition, if you look closely, these suits use the same helmets as the Mk V Power Armor suits do.  In case you haven't read my blog, a White Dwarf, or just paid attention, the Mk V wasn't developed until the Horus Heresy.  Since that is the case, then you must see normal Terminator armor as from the same time period.  If you want a basic run-down of Power Armor, please read my blog about it here:  http://www.jaysworkshop-agemmanjw.blogspot.com/2011/03/astartes-power-armor.html

Secondly, I have to rant about my impression of these models.  I LOVE Terminators.  I own 20 for my Ultramarines (and I used to have 20 more, but I gave them to an old boss I had), I own 30 more for my Deathwing, and I've always got an urge to buy more for some strange reason.  But I can say that I'll never buy these.  Why? Let me explain:

Normally, Forgeworld releases some ridonkulously cool models.  But these are terrible.  They have no detail.  They look like over-plated power armor.  The shoulder-pads are tiny, leaving little room to mark them up.  The helmets are the same as a normal Marine's, making the model seem too...  obvious.  The stance is static, and this is compared to the current Terminator models, which is saying something.  Check it out:

In addition, the writeup reminds me of ST:DS9's syndrome:  "We wanted to be better than our predecessors, so we made up something so fantastic that you have to go with it".  Remember how the little 4-deck starship, the Defiant-class, was powerful enough to embarass the massive Galaxy-class and even take on a Borg cube?  It's Photon torpedoes were smaller by magnitudes, but also more powerful than the common ones.  It's pulse Phasers were only four cannons-strong, but had more power than a Galaxy's 11 Mk X Phaser strips.  It's ablative armor and powerful shielding made it more resilient than anything else the Federation had built up to that point.  Really?  And here's Forgeworld claiming similar things about this set of armor- 'It's tougher, more flexible, and better manufactored than those poopy suits you've been buying for almost a decade now...'  Yeah, okay, guys.  Keep trying...

As I said before, I LOVE Terminators, but I'm not an idiot and I don't buy models because someone tells me they're better.  Make them look better, and try to be somewhat respectful when you caption your sales pitch.  Then, maybe, I might drop the money. 

Okay, I've ranted.  Let me know what y'all think!

Happy Hobbying!

(P.S.- I can't end this without showing you a picture of a model I adore!  Check out this new SM flyer from Forgeworld:

Is that sexy or what?!  I'm too poor to buy one, but I do certainly want one.  Stupid 'shiny metal object' disease!!!)