Putting It All Together

I have purposely avoided opening up all these boxes of miniatures and putting them all together. I've taken this approach, because I don't have the room for 50+ miniatures lying around my apartment and because I don't want to dilute the excitement of cracking open a new box. I know that once I open a box of Devastators, I'll put them together, then they'll just sit there until I get around to painting them. The incentive to get them painted diminishes because they go from "box of excitement" to "pile of minis I have to paint." This approach has come to bite me on the ass.

One of the great things about the Space Marines, as an army and a line of miniatures, is that they're endlessly customizable. You can combine pretty much any component with any other component. If you like a particular armor piece, you can use it, even if it wasn't made for that particular model. For example, I like the running legs from the Assault Squad kit. I think they make for dynamic poses. So I use them for my Tactical Squad. The running legs make them look like they're charging into battle. Especially when I attach bayonettes to the front of their bolt guns.

As I said, however, I resisted opening all the boxes I purchased, and I wish I had. I used to know the contents of the boxes by heart (because I've painted a lot of Space Marines in my time), and I thought I knew what was inside each of them. So I was looking for a particular bit for my Scout Squad which I knew I could find in the Tactical Space Marine kit. It had changed. There were new pieces in there. So I got curious and opened up all the other boxes. There were tons of new pieces in those, too. By the time I got to the Devastator Squad, my heart sank. There, on the sprue, was a new piece; one that would have been perfect for my Space Marine Captain.

Only, I'd already assembled the Space Marine Captain. Because he's part of my Terminator Squad, I assembled the model with a storm bolter and power fist. But there's an even more appropriate power fist in the Devastator Squad; it's pointing (rather than punching). It looks very commanding. So now I've got to purchase and assemble another Captain.

The rule: Always bust open all the kits and look at the pieces.