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This set is surprisingly good - I was concerned that it would be a half-arsed effort. The release of this set is also encouraging because it suggests that GW does not have any intention of introducing WH40k-style restrictions on unit and character upgrades.

 Fayric wrote:
The half drawn power sword is more narrow than the free blade and also much shorter considering the lenght of the actual sheat.
Makes sense, the full lenght sword would probably be really hard to draw from a sheat if the blade was longer than your arm.

Edit: the half sheated power blade match the blade you get in the basic power armour box, and the free blade is the one you get in the command sqd upgrade I guess.

Real wearable sidearm swords are usually flexible so they can be drawn even if longer than the arm, although there is a limit. Would look weird as a model with the blade curved though! Rapier blades (about the longest a wearable sword can reach and still be drawable) were typically in excess of 40" at their peak, which is noticeably longer than most people's arms. Some of the longest reached 48" (4ft). Beyond that and you can't draw them and they are also a pain to wear with that much length flapping about. Greatswords and equivalent were generally only carried sheathed and drawn in advance of any combat as a primary weapon as they were too big to wear and draw as a sidearm.

Really nice set, and will work well in 40K too. I'm tempted to get some of those nice axes to give bladeguard more varied armament. Though like several people have said, sheathed power swords would have been a welcome addition. That's for some reason is a rare bit in marine scale.

I built a 40K Chaos Marine army using Horus Heresy models and have been waiting for this close combat weapon set. This is something I will pre-order at my local game shop.

My long-term goals with this kit:

1. My 40k Intercessor sergeants have no weapons upgrades because they came from the 7th ed starter box when ccw upgrades were not a thing. The sheathed swords will be easy add ons.

2. I have three Warp Talons converted from Dark Vengeance Chosen with lightning claws. It would be nice to have two more for a legal squad.

3. Over 20 years of collecting, converting, trading, and raiding my FLGS bits box I've amassed over 50 sets of marine bases, legs, torsos, heads, backpacks, and heavy/special weapons. What I'm missing is enough arms. With this set I'll have enough to have an almost free Chaos Marine army.

Its arguably the most useful kit GW/FW have ever released for the Horus Heresy.
Im going to finally be able to finish a mk6 jump pack assault squad i kitbashed from dark angel upgrade sets and other 40k bits.
Also going to be able to make a despoiler squad with all those left handed pistols and the leftover bits from tactical squads.

Sweet Baby Lord Emperor it's HERE! At last!!

 xttz wrote:

 SirDonlad wrote:

Do we have a price point for this set yet?

All the other weapon upgrade sets are £29 and seem to have the same amount of sprues, so... maybe around that?

29 Brit Bucks is apparently 47 Freedom Dollars

https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/shop/legiones-astartes-special-weapons-upgrade-set-2022?queryID=dd814c17bf7b2953dc0b5547a0b0a14f

I feel like it might be a bigger sprue than ranged weapons?

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I feel like it might be a bigger sprue than ranged weapons?

I'm guessing the all the arms will be on a separate sprue like with the heavy weapons sets which would enable them to use them for future sets if they want to.

For the actual weapons there are 68x pieces so 34x per sprue plus the extra bits like the heads, hands and scanner/bombs which are smaller and fit into gaps so not going to count them here.
The special weapons have the most per sprue but its still only 30 and they are mostly smaller than the melee weapons are. Their sprue does have space left over so might fot but with the additional bits it would be tight.
Maybe the arms sprue will be bigger and include the extra heads, hands and scanner/bombs? Then I could see the rest fitting on the same size sprue as the weapon sets.

Pics lifted off Facebook, for a side by side. Because that Stalker thing definitely exists in 28mm already.

BEHOLD!

It's the "un"venomed crawler

Also, weapon variants.

Four to a box likely means around Knight sized.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Also, weapon variants.

Four to a box likely means around Knight sized.

Well they are apparently on same base size as Acastus so those are big. Quite big when in "proper" size.

Those look great, hope they come to Full Size eventually.

Can't wait to see the rest of the 28mm scale Dark Mechanicum range.

Nice to see it, but it would propably a LoW, so I'm not that hyped.

It also looks odd beside any Mechanicum model except Scoria and the former 40k Daemon engines. If they don't come up with upgrade sprues and at least a specific Dark Mechanicum troop choice there is a massive design gap. It far more looks like being home in a 40k CSM or Adeptus Mechanicus army than in a Mechanicum Taghmata.

Yeah I'd be more hyped if it wasn't likely a Lord of War sized kit, but the model itself looks super cool. Hope to see more in smaller sizes for 28mm Dark Mech in plastic

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Also, weapon variants.

Four to a box likely means around Knight sized.

Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm.........

Shades of War of the Worlds.

"The rout of civilization, the massacre of mankind..."

 Gadzilla666 wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Also, weapon variants.

Four to a box likely means around Knight sized.

Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm.........

MDG pointed out earlier that the box art appears to be a 28mm scale version already. It has way more detail than the LI kit.

 Scottywan82 wrote:

 Gadzilla666 wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Also, weapon variants.

Four to a box likely means around Knight sized.

Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm. Make it in 28mm.........

MDG pointed out earlier that the box art appears to be a 28mm scale version already. It has way more detail than the LI kit.

Errrr......yes, I noticed. Just trying to be a bit funny. Sorry. Guess I shouldn't do that.

 Gadzilla666 wrote:
Errrr......yes, I noticed. Just trying to be a bit funny. Sorry. Guess I shouldn't do that.

Oh, I just wanted to make sure you saw the good news. I'm also pretty eager for these in 28mm, along with whatever other goodies they have in store.

Hopefully the Cerastus Knights shows up in the Knights 40k codex and this thing in the Chaos Knights book

 Dryaktylus wrote:
It also looks odd beside any Mechanicum model except Scoria and the former 40k Daemon engines. If they don't come up with upgrade sprues and at least a specific Dark Mechanicum troop choice there is a massive design gap. It far more looks like being home in a 40k CSM or Adeptus Mechanicus army than in a Mechanicum Taghmata.

Is it? It basically has the same design language as Vultarax, weird, but not too weird. Way too little spikes and mutations for 40K, again, see difference between Vultarax and the 40K fitting Blight Drone...

That makes sense though, these are being built during the heresy, by people who are influenced by heretical ideas, but neither they or their creations have been marinating in warp-stuff for ten thousand years yet.

mithril2098 wrote:
That makes sense though, these are being built during the heresy, by people who are influenced by heretical ideas, but neither they or their creations have been marinating in warp-stuff for ten thousand years yet.

Yeah, that was my point. If it was 40K unit, it would look like bigger Venomcrawler.

Article is up now and shows another image that clearly is a 28mm version since it has the new Tech Thralls in it:

So I'm assuming that the Mechanicus book that people just paid for didn't include any information on or rules for the new Mechanicum spidy-bois? Niiice.

 Lord Damocles wrote:
So I'm assuming that the Mechanicus book that people just paid for didn't include any information on or rules for the new Mechanicum spidy-bois? Niiice.

True, the Mars book is pretty poor. But I think that the Dark Mech preview was pushed forwards to make up for the Mechanicum box getting leaked, so they would have something to show off