Review: McFarlane Warhammer 40k Traitor Guardsman from Warhammer 40k Darktide
- Mephitsu
- Sep 8, 2024
- 5 min read
"The so called purity of the Imperium is a notion worthy of a capering fool. Lurking under every stone there is some glorious eyeless thing, some dark secret of corruption, something branded with darkness."
To mark the release of the Warhammer 40k video game, Dark Tide, McFarlane released a wave of their Warhammer 40k figures in 2022 taking inspiration from some of the characters in the game. The Darktide releases introduced the Astra Militarum or Imperial Guard into the McFarlane collection. This was done using the same principle as the Space Marines and Orks by creating a general figure body onto which varying parts, components, and paintwork can be added to individualise the character.
The Traitor Guardsman was part of the main wave of Darktide figures and is packed into the same window box as per all the WH40k general releases from its inception in 2020 and through until the 2024 releases where the packaging aesthetic was updated. This general box uses a dark gothic-inspired design personalised to the figure on the side art and the rear of the box only. There is no background text or overview of the figure - only images - with the figure itself set against a deep yellow card back. The figure is strapped tightly into an inner tray with several clear ties to negotiate to release him. The figure stand is glued onto the card back in its own bubble, meaning if you do want to use the stand the packaging will be damaged when unpacked.
The Traitor Guardsman measures 18cm tall which is a couple of cm shorter than the Space Marines themselves. From a tabletop miniatures perspective, this does potentially undersize the Marine or oversize the Guardsman although the proportions are not too far apart to be significantly noticeable and the line has had scaling variances vs the source miniatures since it began.
The Traitor Guard uses the base Imperial Guard body and this is cast in a very deep grey green. Armoured panels are added over the top in mat black and these include the chest armour, spiked shoulder pads and spiked arm guards. Additional decor then features on the Traitor Guard belt and chest strap in dark brown with all the pouches, straps and what look to be frag grenades all painted in the same base colour. A Chaos symbol finishes off the armour on the right side of the chest plate.
The Guard features a spiked helmet with a plume that extends up and back in a softer plastic design. The helmet is open faced, and there is an impressive sculpted putrified head underneath with a pale flesh tone finish, dead white eyes, dark sunken nose and mouth and a snarl of white teeth. It is one of the best head sculpts seen to date on the WH40k line from McFarlane, and far superior to the similarly decayed Chaos Marine released in the same year.
The figure comes with a single accessory, a large Lasgun with a black cast main body and bright silver sights and barrel. It features sculpted wraps around the butt of the gun and an engraved Chaos Pentagram but neither of these are painted. The weapon looks out of place with the figure being too bright and shiny. It fits into the right hand where a trigger finger can lock into place, the left hand is shaped to hold the barrel so two-handed posing is possible. Like a lot of WH40k releases, the plastic on the hands is quite rigid and engaging the weapons can be difficult and to avoid damage it is worth warming the plastic up first gently.
Articulation is interesting as there are around 19 points in total but with some odd additions and omissions. The feet include articulated toes, but these will not bend far enough to support running or walking poses. We are missing any traditional rotation in the legs either at the knees or via a thigh swivel which initially feels tricky in getting the Guardsman standing. There is however rotation in the ankle rocker allowing the feet to be swiveled and splayed outward to help balance the posed figure. The hips lack much movement at all so there are no kneeling or crouching options open to you as such despite the double-jointed knees.
On the upper body, we get double joints at the elbows and butterfly shoulders but not much movement in either of the torso joints. The butterfly shoulder pops out too easily if you take the arm too far, but all in all, there is enough scope in the arm articulation for a number of weapon posing including having it raised to eye level in a firing position.
The included circular black stand is the final piece of the release printed with the Warhammer 40k logo in bright white on the front edge. It features a single peg which should slot into the peg holes on either of the Traitor guard's feet - ideally the left one so the WH40k logo sits at the front. In another frustrating quality control issue, the peg holes on all the Guardsman feet on the left is too shallow so the peg won’t sit in fully. While both right and left feet will hold position, if you choose to use the left slot the foot floats over the stand.
Our Traitor Guardsman is a solid figure, heavy in hand but with a few slightly temperamental joints and a set of shoulders that will pop out if handled incorrectly. The paint job is good, but it has room for improvement with smaller details left as a base colour - this does of course fit with one of the core WH40k principles and gives collectors a base to enhance their figure further (or they can purchase the fully unpainted Artists proof). The key issue with the Traitor Guardsman appears to be familiarity and him not being one of the key protagonists or antagonists of the WH40k universe like the Space Marines - leaving him and all of the Darktide wave heavily reduced and still on store shelves a good 2 years after release.
Keep Track of all the Warhammer 40k figures from McFarlane at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
Comments