Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50 Review

Last Updated on August 29, 2022 by FauxHammer

We’re back with another look at the contents of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium partworks subscription. What delights have Hachette sent to our mailboxes and doorsteps this month? Read on to find out!

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50 Review – Introduction

Oh boy, it’s here.

This is The Big One (TM).

Since Warhammer 40,000: Imperium was first announced, and a blurry picture of the contents was first left on the internet, eagle-eyed hobbyists have been waiting eagerly for this delivery.

Well, not this delivery per se, but a particular issue that happens to be a part of this delivery. Yes, readers, we’re talking about the Necron Royal Court sprue.

What’s so special about this sprue, you ask? Well, first off, this was an Indomitus exclusive. People who missed out on the box would have to wait for a second chance to grab this quintet of carnage. Secondly, when it was eventually released for purchase outside of the Indomitus box, this little collection of models would set buyers back a stonking £70GBP/$115USD/€90EUR.

That’s a lotta cash.

But with it promised as part of the Imperium subscription, there was the opportunity for some massive savings to be had. Necron fans have patiently kept their wallets sealed and their eyes open, waiting for this particular issue to hit the shelves in an effort to save themselves some serious cash.

Well, the time has come to celebrate, for the Necron Royal Court has finally arrived.

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50 Review: Contents

This month’s delivery is a particularly good one. Crammed full of magazines, miniatures, paints, and even some books (provided you didn’t opt-out of this part of the delivery), there’s a whole bunch of stuff included to keep you going.

Let’s get stuck in!

The Magazines: Issues 47-50

First off, we’ll have a quick look at the magazines that come in this month’s delivery. We won’t go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything.

Issue 47 is all about the Adepta Sororitas – the Sisters of Battle – who have very much stolen the limelight these last few issues.

Burgeoning with lots of info about the hard-ass warrior women of the Imperium of Man, as well as some background on some of the wars that rage across the galaxy, this one will be a favourite for people looking to dive headfirst into the lore of the grimdark far future.

Issue 48 has a section on the best Space Marine legion out there: the Dark Angels. Unfortunately, they share their time in this issue with a few sides about Apothecaries and wider Imperium lore. This means there’s not as much time devoted to them as there should could be.

These two issues – that is 47 and 48 – may seem a little lore-heavy, and there’s good reason for that. See, Issues 49 and 50 come with two fairly large sprues and thus require some lengthy construction guides. This eats up space for other stuff like more lore on Dark Angels.

Issue 49 slips a few sheets of info on the Adepta Sororitas into its opening pages before sacrificing most of its space to building and painting guides for the large number of miniatures that come with this issue.

This time the fold-out, which previously we’ve seen is usually given over to lore, is instead dedicated to playing the game and getting your new models fighting.

It’s much the same with Issue 50 as well. The large amount of space required to provide good assembly instructions limits the amount of space that can be spent on pretty pictures of sci-fi space-people doing cool stuff and narrative fluff to get you all excited about your new minis.

Again, though, Hachette manage to slip just a few pages of info on the Adepta Sororitas into the front of the magazine so you don’t have to go completely without your lore fix.

And that’s that! Now, on to the good bit – and this month, it’s really good.

Miniatures

Strap yourselves in, folks: there’s a lot to get through this month. Let’s make a start with that sprue you’ve all been itching to get your hands on.

The Necron Royal Court make for a seriously impressive group of miniatures. I’ve not tried to hide my overall apathy towards the Necron range throughout this series of reviews, but even I have to admit there are some seriously cool figures in here.

Take this chap, for example.

This extremely well-armed tripodal monstrosity is called the Skorpekh Lord. A scuttling behemoth of guns, axes and claws, this robotic nightmare will spread carnage across the battlefield in your name. It’s also pretty easy to assemble – surprising given his size – and looks awesome painted up.

Next up we have the smaller but no less menacing Plasmancer and its pair of Cryptothralls.

Taking on the role of a Necron spellcaster of sorts, this slightly decrepit-looking creature, hunched over its warp-staff, is a breeze to build. Made up of only a few components, just be aware that the rocks his trailing robe are attached to need to be glued to each other as well!

Finally, we have the towering Canoptek Reanimator.

Looking like something out of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, this gargantuan insectoid robot-creature is actually a healer. Capable of keeping Necron units fighting in spite of taking massive damage, this model not only looks great but serves a very important battlefield role.

The Necron Court is an impressive collection of models – but it doesn’t actually contribute to even half of the models in this delivery. Oh no, dear reader, we aren’t done yet.

See, this delivery also comes with one of the sprues that originally came from the no-longer in print Sisters of Battle box (and now finds its home in the Sisters of Battle Combat Patrol), and nets you all of this.

Yes, 10 more figures! These are intended to expand upon the units we partially received with Delivery 12 – remember the Seraphim, Battle Sisters and singular Penitent we got then? These are their pals.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look.

First up, we have some more Battle Sisters.

These are some really awesome models. Each one is filled with unique character and a distinctive pose. They all come with a varied range of equipment as well, which would make them an awesome starting point for a Sisters of Battle Kill Team. Note in particular the charred remains the Sister wielding a flamer on the far right is standing on – awesome details like these really make these ladies stand out.

Next, we have the horrifying Penitent Engine.

Part torture device, part dreadnought, this articulated sarcophagus carries penitent sinners into battle, flamers spewing fire and sawblades flailing. It’s a reminder that behind the heroic sheen of the Space Marine Legions and pristine monastic imagery of the Adepta Sororitas, the Imperium of Man isn’t the nicest place in the galaxy to hang out.

A couple of the minis on this sprue seem to have been struck with accursed mould lines. There are a handful visible in the image above (note the left leg of the vehicle), and there are a few more in the images below. Be ready to carefully tidy these up before you paint them.

Further reminders that the Imperium does kinda suck comes in the form of the next four miniatures: a Repentia Superior, two Sisters Repentia, and a single Arco-flagellant.

As you can see in the image above, there are a few mould lines on these models – particularly the Arco-flagellant. You can see the seam running down their extended left leg. Other than that, though, these are some more impressive models. Full of energy and purpose, you get a real sense of the movement and malice in each figure.

Finally, we have another Seraphim to add to the handful we received in Delivery 12.

Again, there are a couple of mould lines on this figure that you’ll want to make sure you remove before you start painting – such as the ones on her pack and head.

Oh, and there’s also this.

Another ruined building for your tabletop. Easy to put together – so easy you might not even need the instructions – it’ll help make your battlefield look all the more realistic.

And that’s it! Easily the most exciting, complete, and great value-for-money collection of figures we’ve received with Imperium yet, Delivery 13 absolutely smashes it for minis.

Paints and Hobby Tools

There are two new entries into your paint arsenal this month: Wild Rider Red and Pink Horror.

In our experience, Wild Rider Red is the most useful of the two paints. A favourite amongst Blood Angels fans, all the extreme and edge highlights on the miniature below are done with Wild Rider Red. It’s almost orange in colour, so makes a great bright colour for any rich red surface.

In our experience, Pink Horror has slightly fewer uses. Using the same mini as an example, I’ve used Pink Horror to highlight the deep purple-pink on the power sword’s handle and the cushioned inside of the Praetor’s collar. It’s not quite as clear as the Wild Rider Red, but it is there – and also highlights (pun intended) the kind of thing this paint is useful for.

The Books

As we said above, for those of you who did not (forget to?) opt out of it, you’ll have also received this neat little package in this month’s delivery.

These are two Warhammer 40,000 novellas, exclusive for Imperium subscribers. Bones of the Martyr and Kjalma’s Skull by Tom Horth (who also wrote the exclusive novellas that came with Mortal Realms), look spectacular. With metallic-edged pages and striking covers, these books will look gorgeous on any collection shelf.

We haven’t had a chance to read these yet, but if you have let us know what you thought of them by leaving a comment below!

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50 Review – Price and Availability

For the sake of not skewing the figures, we’re not going to include the cost of the opt-in/opt-out novellas in our tables below. For reference, these cost £25.99 in the UK.

And for our friends in the US:

It’s worth noting here that the savings on Issue 49 may not look as good as you were expecting. This is on us for how we had to work out how much the sprue is worth. In order to try and figure this out as best as we could, we took the Sisters Combat Patrol price and divided it by the sprues in the box. This is 1 of 7 sprues, so the value comes in at around £12.85. Ultimately, this is likely very inaccurate: the value of the models on the sprues is going to be considerably higher, but because they’re all jumbled across multiple sprues and issues, it’s very hard for us to figure out their value so we have to go with this as a lowest-possible figure.

But daaaaaamn. Even after marking Issue 49’s value as low as we have there are some massive savings on offer – entirely thanks to that Necron Royal Court sprue. Realistically, there’s probably another £20-£40 worth of savings tied up in the Sisters parts of the box, which only serves to increase the value of this delivery.

Nice.

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50 Review – Final Thoughts

I’m really scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and come up with some negatives for Delivery 13. This is, in our most humble of opinions, the best delivery we’ve had yet.

There’s very little fault to find with it. Crammed with tons of miniatures, there’s more for you to do here than there has been in any previous delivery. The quality of the miniatures on offer is also second to none thus far. The range and diversity in both the Necron and Adepta Sororitas models is excellent – and the models themselves are gorgeous.

Ultimately, even if you’re not the biggest fan of Necrons or Adepta Sororitas, you can’t argue with the insane savings associated with Delivery 13. Save yourself some serious cash and net yourself some bloomin’ awesome models now.

Summary

Reviewer

Rob Hebblethwaite

Review Date

Reviewed Item

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50

Author Rating

5

Product Name

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Delivery 13: Issues 47-50