Games Workshop has, unexpectedly, revealed an updated model for the Space Marine drop pod, replacing a kit that entered the Warhammer 40,000 range in 2008. The new drop pod will be sold in a pack of two vehicles, and is now fixed in its ‘open’ position.
The drop pod is one (among many) bits of technology that Warhammer 40k cribbed from Starship Troopers – a metal casing complete with rocket boosters used by the Space Marine chapters to deploy their forces directly into battle from orbit.
Unlike the ‘Capsule’ drop pods in Heinlein’s novel, the 40k version can hold up to ten Space Marines, not just one Mobile Infantryman. And unlike the Capsule, drop pods smash into the ground with enough force to liquidise the bones of anyone riding inside them who is less robust than a Space Marine.
The new kit makes some changes to the classic design which will be reflected in a new datasheet, free to download from the Warhammer Community website when the model is released. The most impactful is that the kit can only be built in an open position, with its doors fully deployed.
WarCom states “the kit is significantly easier to build and will have a new Datasheet which clarifies exactly where everything gets measured from”. The fact that the doors of the old drop pod could open and shut gave the model a flexible surface area, leading to many editions of confusion about which, if any, arrangement was the correct one for measuring distances from the big lump.
The kit will also no longer contain either the storm bolter or deathwind launcher weapons which were previously mounted inside the drop pod. It’s now purely a deployment system for infantry that also creates a line-of-sight blocking obstacle.
As we enter the last stretch of 10th edition 40k, we’re not surprised to see rules updates that overrule the Space Marines’ Warhammer 40k codex – a little taster of what to expect in 40k 11th edition next year.
The missing storm bolter does raise an interesting question for Warhammer: the Horus Heresy. That’s always used the basic Space Marine drop pod model, and its rules include a pintle-mounted twin-linked bolter – is it in for a rules errata? That’s the simplest answer, but the Forge World Dreadclaw drop pod model is also based on the old plastic drop pod kit – it won’t work with the new kit. Since many Heresy kits have made the leap from resin to plastic in the last two years, a new Heresy drop pod kit feels quite feasible.
Then again, perhaps this unexpected orbital deployment means that another Warhammer 40k faction is in for a new unit. Check out our article about the rising profile of the Night Lords in 40k’s narrative to see what might be on the way…
What do you think about the new kit? How many classic drop pods have you built, and how much of a nuisance were they? Come and join us in the Wargamer Discord to join the conversation!
Source: Wargamer
