Saturday 5th July will mark a special day to many hobbyists around the world as for the first time since 2005 when the Ogre Kingdoms got released, we have an entire new range of models available for Games Workshops flagship Rank and Flank Wargame. We have of course had new models spread over the whole last 18 months, which has mainly focused on character models, but this is the first time we’ve had a whole new range and I couldn’t be happier at this.
Of course it goes without saying a big thank you to Games Workshop for sending these over so we can talk you though what we’ve been up to with them.
Where do we start? The models are fantastic and really hit a sweet spot for me. They’ve certainly managed to capture some of the imagery of “Medieval China” and still make it still look like Warhammer. We’ve been luckily enough to get our hands on a copy of every kit from this first wave of releases and while we’ve managed to build it all we’re going to be putting a few of the models into separate articles but for now we’re going to look at the Battalion, Sentinel and Gate Masters here for now, in effect enough for a decent starting force.
The Battalion is a great product, containing 30 Jade Warriors, 10 Jade Lancers and 2 of the Warmachines of Cathayan design which can be build in any configuration.
Jade Warriors
The Warriors are simple enough with have a bunch of extra bits on the sprues if you want to add them. Bodies are usually two parts, maybe an extra separate leg, separate arms (HW/S or Halberds) alongside a bunch of head choices and plumes for the top of their helmets to help avoid the repetition of models due to the amount of different combo’s. The Warriors certainly have a preferred stance which is the slightly sideways facing ready to fight pose, but with a little bit of imagination you can shift their stance and have them fit more into how you want them to play out.
The HW/S option certainly feels better when you’re building them as, like most models with two handed weapons, it sometimes feels like you need a third arm to get it all to line up correctly. You do really however want to follow the instructions and keep the heads/plumes as what makes them different in an army because you have certain size and shapes of swords along with identical sheaths. Getting them paired correctly will make them look “right” for lack of a better word. The last thing to really mention is that there are double the amount of heads you need, both male and female and you can really tell the difference. I’ve mixed them in together but you could build the unit out of just one sex if you wanted to tell that story, it’s only a small thing but it’s a great little bit of detail Games Workshop have added where they didn’t have to.
The command options are great and the unit leader here is one of my favorite models Games Workshop have produced for a while and could easily be a hero on foot rather than just a unit champion. His sword is slightly larger than anyone else’s and he doesn’t have a shield making you just have the image of his grasping it with two hands and slicing down his foes.
Toby: I am not yet an Old World player, though obviously I do have appropriate models and have promised my dear friend Sasha I’ll have a crack before the end of the year (as long as he plays Titans with me!?). It’s less lack of interest, than lack of time and opportunity which is keeping me out of this branch of retro wargaming. I was pleased to get some of these kits to play with therefore, as a chance to dip into the Old World puddle…
I can only agree very strongly with Liam that the Jade Officer is one of the nicest champions GW have done in a very long time! It’s a beautiful, in fact iconic pose and I’m sure this will make it into painting comps and the like. The steely determination and pervading sense of calm martial prowess are spot on! One thing I’ll say on this though is that in terms of army building you only seem to get one Champion pose here (unless I’m missing something?? [Liam: You’re not]) and although its the best on that is still restrictive. Would’ve been nice to see some alt arms for the champion in the kit.
I found the options in the kit really exciting. The overall design is gloriously executed, but the difference in the range of individual weapons captivated me. Maybe it was because I only built a few, but I spent ages picking just the right sword and halberd for my droogs. The halberds are very reminiscent of pikemen and they really look right ranked up into a wall of glistening points. I always loved a pike regiment! The accessories also bang! The tea kettles, little pouches and beautifully detailed scabbards are all spot on. Love this kit.
For painting I tried a range of schemes as this was not for an army. Chance to play with colours and ideas. Nice. The many textures on armour and clothing here are crying out for washes and dry brushing. and despite the level of detail you can get some nice results fast using those techniques.
Sky Serpent: I had the opportunity to work on a Battalion and really enjoyed building the new models, for such a detailed sculpt I found them so easy to build and just love the care and attention that the design team put into these.
I did a ton of research in anticipation of this release, digesting every YouTube video possible on Grand Cathay lore but also looking into ancient China for inspiration for colour schemes and ideas for how to theme my army.
I settled on the idea of my force hailing from Fu-Chow in the Eastern Province which is under rule from Yin-Yin the Sea Dragon so I opted for a coastal theme with blues and greens.
Beginning with a black undercoat, I painted the jade by working up through the Drukhari greens – Kabalite Green to Sybarite Green with Incubi Darkness in the recesses; the final highlight was Gauss Blaster Green.
The blue was Kantor Blue to Alaitoc Blue with a final highlight of Hoeth Blue while Mournfang Brown was used for the leather with some washed and highlights of Steel Legion Drab added in.
For a final touch I added some freehand to the armour in black, using inspiration from Grand Cathay art while I added a flower pattern to the blue, citing Chinese art.
Colin: Jade Warriors are a fantastic core heavy infantry unit for Cathay, and a beautiful kit. These sculps are full of character and really drive home the aesthetic of the army. I opted to prep the first unit with Halberds (Quinglongji, to be precise). There’s nothing quite like a 20-rack of elite infantry with Halberds (Quinglongji), aesthetically. I’ll be picking up a second Battalion Box to round out the core of the army with 60 Jade Warriors, so I certainly have my work cut out for me!
I opted to leave the heads and helmet plumes separate for painting and will follow much of the same process I used for the much more complicated Jade Lancers that I recently finished.
Jade Lancers
Liam: The Jade Lancers are the mounted option for the army on release and these only have a single weapon option with their Cathayan Lance and Shield combination. These have 8 Standard poses with the Champion, Standard and Musician being 3 of those, with their none-command alter-ego’s being another 3. They’re a really chunky model but do fit snugly on the bases, when building mine I’ve got some at slight angles to try and make it easier to fit them together in a unit around some models, especially the musician but is all but exactly those 30mm wide at their largest point. These can build fully prior to painting without much issue with only the area around the reigns proving a little challenging but apart from that they’re just a really nice unit, similar to the Jade Warriors.
Colin:Â Cathayan Jade Lancers were hands down the most challenging unit I have ever painted. There is so much overlapping detail on these models. The sculpts are incredible. Full of texture and armor plating and leather and cloth and stitching and tassels…it seems never to end. I had to start a Word Doc to type out the process and not lose track of where I was between painting sessions. I finished five for the WarCom article and the other five in time for this article. There are easily 40-50 hours of painting in the unit, and I couldn’t be happier with them.
I painted the models mostly assembled, leaving off only the shields and the helmet plumes. When I paint the next 10 I’ll also leave off the horses’ bridles, as they made painting around them difficult. The gold armor was airbrushed, as were the helmet plumes and the banner. Everything else was brushwork! This article, How to Paint Everything – Horses, was instrumental in helping me figure out the coloring on their mounts.
These models have incredible opportunities for different schemes and really drive home the ostentatious presentation of Elite Cavalry That Can’t Wait To Run You Down. For what a battle of wills these were to paint, I really can’t wait to get my hands on another 10.
Cathayan Artillery!?
The Artillery of the army is grand and looks like it’s been lifted directly from Warhammer Total War (with the exception of the Bull pulling it). These are really imposing Warmachines and take up lots of room on their 60x100mm base. Unlike the other two units in this box I would really recommend painting it before completing the final stage of assembly. There are area’s behind the wheels around around the back of the barrels I really struggled to get into and paint correctly once it was all put together. The other thing to mention is that the crew has loads of character. There is one sculpt which is always built the same way but the two other crew members have 2 options each meaning you can really differentiate between the models within this box. The Ogres are also excellent with 2 “back” options and 2 arm sets. What this means is that you’ll be able to build 4 fairly unique Ogres (if you wanted that many) out of multiple kits without them looking like they’ve all got Twins which is great from a plastic set.
Colin:Â I really love both artillery pieces, but feel like the Specialist Games Design Studio really went out of their way to show an army on campaign, rather than a local skirmish. The gear everyone is carrying would be welcome in many a historical kit, but isn’t something we see often in Warhammer. I’m not begrudging the attention to detail, but it does turn painting the artillery crew into an exercise in painting four models with Special Character levels of detail.
Because I’m picking up a second Battalion Box, I opted to do two Grand Cannons this time around. The subassemblies seem like overkill, but I want to paint the cannon body in a copper tone and the dragon detailing gold, which will be much easier to airbrush and then assemble after. Painting the crew will also necessitate tackling two wheelbarrows of gear and two ogre backpacks that include a couple of catfish. This is going to take a while…
Gate Masters of the Celestial Cities
Toby: The Gate Masters set is two command models (one mounted and one on foot) on a single sprue. These continue the wonderfully designed and realised aesthetic of the Jade Warriors and Lancers, but with that extra bit of flare and foof you would expect and want for your commanders! Both models have the option to wave a flag (BSB?) and can have a sword and board option also. No lance though, boo.
Initially I was taken aback by how straightforward these models are. The construction and posing seem very basic in modern terms, but swiftly I realised that of course these models need to rank up, which places limitations on the posing and sculpting of the model. With modern sculpting and casting improving all the time, I guess I have become used to the extremely dynamic poses in AoS and 40k both and these seem simplistic by comparison. That is not to say they aren’t lovely models, as they are and were a pleasure to build. I just haven’t built a horse with the ‘one foot up’ pose for like 20 years!? These models are super simple to assemble and I would call this a ‘lunchtime’ kit in fact. They do still benefit from developments in model design however, I was impressed by the multiple overlapping pieces that lock the standard into the pole, cleverly making that a very strong join where it could be weak. Nice kit.
Cathayan Sentinel
Wow! What a BIG lad we have here!? Five thicc sprues make up this awesome centrepiece for the army. It’s a lovely kit of over 150 individual pieces. So much detail here and I studied the sprues for a good while before starting. You get two striding pose options, two face plate options and two options for different weapon ends, as well as some sundry little options mean you can deffo get two interesting varieties out of this kit. More than two in an army and I think you’d struggle for difference. Though this could always be achieved through paint? There are good descriptions in the fluff of the different materials these are made from, so perhaps that’s a good and fun way to make each model stand out in an army.
Essentially this kit is a big hollow statue made up of interlocking and overlapping plates. Occasionally there is a lumpy bit, which is the ‘stone’ structure under the armour. Often it slots together nicely but there are some fiddly bits! This is an advanced kit in fact, as plastics go. Certainly NOT an easy one or ‘lunchtime’ kit here! I am an experienced modeller and there were sections (that fudging left foot!?) that really twisted my melons in just how and where the pieces were supposed to go/interlock/. This kit is possible because of the CAD design, that allows it all to slot together so beautifully. But it can also be a little too clever sometimes and this kit doesn’t really show you in close enough detail where exactly the bits are supposed to sit. Then further on (sometimes just the next step, but sometimes pages on) the overlapping plates need the earlier bits in exactly the right place to sit right. This can be frustrating and I do wish some of the instructions were zoomed in a little or just more detailed. Bits to pay attention to/watch out for:
- The feet, which are a pig. Not gonna lie.
- The skirt armour, which has little divots in the top of it, these overlap panels and the ‘belt’ sits in them. IF they aren’t aligned properly the belt will be all wonky.
- Hands around the weapon. Deffo do this in one fluid go to avoid disappointment.Â
Assembly/instructions issues aside I really love this kit and all its very many textures and details!
I chose to paint my Sentinel as if it was blue and white china, fixed in the Kintsugi style (fixing with gold). Wanted to make it pop and my old man gave me an old Willow Pattern plate at just the right moment. I sculpted some lines onto the model where it had been ‘fixed’ before painting. I was also thinking of how life grows in old statues, and wanted to incorporate that into the model. I imagined this noble Sentinel lost an arm battling chaos, and this tree has sprung up in the wound. Notice also the damaged foot (which was intentional, thank you, the shit bit was above), which all feeds into the ancient, damaged, repaired and fighting on vibe I was trying for here. The Kintsugi (Ancient and Beloved of the Mountain)waits patiently for eons until it is called upon. The tree being incorporated pointing to the Cathayans being aligned with nature, not against it. Also added some dead daemons, mutants and chaos warrior bits on the base.
Again as with the infantry the MANY and varied textures here really point towards washes and dry brushing for painting. I started with a zentinel highlight, using black under and wraithbone on top. The blue and white paint job was then very easy. It’s a dark blue (Indigo) oil wash over the wraithbone, making sure to wipe ‘most’ of it off. Then I went in and highlighted (often with overbrushing) the white. Then I painted the gold in and it’s done! This could maybe be a How to Paint Everything article. If you’re interested, @ me on the discord and I’ll write it…
Overall a great centrepiece that I really enjoyed working on. Thanks GW!
Final Thoughts
This is something to certainly get you started on what we can expect with Grand Cathay and we’ll be looking to follow this up with some of the other models we were sent to go alongside this release over the next or so but I think these are outstanding models from top to bottom and we’ve been having a great time trying to get as many of them painted as possible ready for today’s reveal.
Colin: I really was challenged with this project and have been enjoying it immensely. I will have much, much more to come with this range in the future. There is just so much character to the sculpts, I can’t wait to get my hands on them! Many thanks to GW for the minis, they got me again!
The team at Games Workshop should be really proud of their work and I can’t wait to see what happens once painters more talented than myself get their hands on them, I’m sure they’ll make up a large proportion of Golden Daemon entries for years to come, even more so once Miao makes her debut later this year. Hopefully we’ll have plenty more brilliant models to come later this year alongside that second Arcane Journal and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of these excellent models, by the time you’re reading this I’ve already ordered more now Pre-Orders are live.
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