Chaos Decimator, Part 1

A Chaos decimator is classic GW Chowss — predictably, laughably grimdark. They're the most evil, the most blasphemous, the most dangerous creations from the most mysterious Chaos cabal. The model — a Forge World resin — is also one of my least favorite models in the modern line.

Chaos Decimator. Photo taken from Forge World's website.

It's not all bad, of course. What I like: There's a real sense of movement and heft to this model. The implication of inevitability is communicated so well that the model clashes a bit with the static giant robots elsewhere in GW's line — compare to stock Imperial knights, dreadnoughts, etc.

Additionally, I like the head and its placement. The decimator is a Chaos take on a dreadnought, but it imprisons a Chaos daemon rather than a noble/dastardly Astartes warrior. Note, though, that it's the dreadnought that's notably depersonalized. Take a look at some current plastic 'nought sculpts:

Furioso Dreadnought, left, and Dreadnought kits. Photos taken from Games Workshop's website.

While these robots are humanoid, they don't "read" as human. Their limbs are exaggerated; their torsos compress and widen a typical human silhouette; their pelvises owe as much to alligators as they do to humans. And, of course, they don't have an identifiable head.

Within the context of the 40k universe, the decimator reads as more alien precisely because of its reductio ad hominem. It's a clever juxtaposition, where the element that makes the murder machine more relatable is exactly the element that makes it less relatable.

So, with that unpleasant business out of the way, on to what I don't like.

First, there's the typical Forge World cover all the bits! problem. There's Chaos stars, points, and mutations everywhere; there's half a dozens bizarre metal "scars" criss-crossing the shoulders; there's the stretched face across its left knee; there's the overwrought weapons. Now, I'm a sucker for gratuitous detail — this is the Warhams we're talking about, after all — but the model just doesn't feel organic. Compare again to the dreadnoughts. The dreads are absolutely dripping with over-the-top intricacies, but they also get a chance to breathe — look at the tops of the shoulders, or the sides of the legs. There are plenty of flat, unadorned surfaces that let the detail stand out. Compare that to the decimator, which feels like someone in the design process was worried that it would read as "too clean" if gribbly bits weren't plastered across every surface.

Second, the model's a bit weedy, innit? Look at the joints. See how thin they are in relation to the rest of the model's bulk? See how those two parts — chunky plates and delicate servos — just don't mesh well? (This is something of a Forge World problem. The plague hulk also has this style of armored plate: they're just slabs of resin glued to thin hydraulics and skeletal frames. Go look at the decimator's 360-degree view on Forge World's website; it's really apparent when you look at the back of the model's legs.) The decimator doesn't read as a holistic model; rather, it looks like a somewhat rushed kitbash.

Finally, I'm just not feeling the design of the face. It's an important focal point — the defining piece that separates this not-a-dreadnought from the dreadnought proper — but it's a soft, unintimidating design. The face should read as daemoniac, but it looks like a second-tier luchador mask. I just don't feel the design; it's not particularly weighty, and it's not particularly interesting. I get that it's a callback to one of the imperial knight faces, but ... still. It's not an iconic reference, and it falls flat on its own merits.

So, all of that said, I still want a decimator.

I know, I know. "Why would you want a model that you flat-out don't like?" Well, because a decimator is kind of ridiculous on the tabletop. It's fragile, but it packs an incredible amount of firepower. It punches well above its weight class, and the Death Guard have a stratagem (Cloud of Flies) that make it devilishly hard to deal with. So, what's the solution?

Well, this is the solution.

Packaging for the Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought. Photo taken from Games Workshop's website.

I know, I know. "That's just another dreadnought!" Well ... it's not. First off, look at the size difference:

Screen capture from Sup3rSaiy3n's YouTube video
"Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought - Review (WH40K)".

Second, it expertly mixes its chunky and tweedy bits — note how organic the armor plates look. The model looks self-complete and coherent. It's also a beautiful kit from a technical standpoint; each of the model's joints are completely movable, and a modeler could make the kit into a posable action figure, rather than a static model, if they were so inclined.

All of that means it will be an excellent base for a depraved Chaos conversion. I'd bought this kit when it came out, about a year ago, with the vague notion that I'd convert it into something foul and Nurgle-based in the future. Well, as they say, the future is now.

The only major problem? The lack of a head. While I don't like the decimator's head as it stands, I think the addition of a face was a stroke of genius. Fortunately, the redemptor is nothing if not flexible.

Games Workshop's Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought.

Do you see it? Well, you will (in the next update).