Review: McFarlane Warhammer 40k Blood Ravens Infilitrator (Dawn of War IV)
- Mephitsu
- 5 minutes ago
- 6 min read
"Knowledge is power, guard it well."
McFarlane’s Warhammer 40k line has been running since 2020, initially focusing on basic figures along with unpainted ‘Artists Proof’ variants, with more complex figures released as Gold Label Exclusives. In 2024, the line was rebranded and with that came figures with increased accessories, decor, a new box design, and a higher price tag. The frequency of releases, compared to other McFarlane lines, was quite high in 2024 following the rebrand, then dropped considerably, with fans now pretty much restricted to one full wave per year. For 2026, that wave arrived in April and featured three new Space Marines, including the first from the Blood Ravens. The wave also included a Space Wolves Grey Hunter, and a Dark Angels Sternguard. Sitting alongside the wave was the first Warhammer 40k release in McFarlane’s premium Elite series, with the Blood Ravens Captain Cyrus from Dawn of War.
In this review, we will be looking over the Blood Ravens Infiltrator from the new Dawn of War IV video game. The Infiltrator arrives in the new box format with a white base and a large open window, in which the figure and accessories are spread out and displayed against a gloss black inner tray. The red of the chapter colours are used under the window to confirm this as a Blood Ravens release, with the Infiltrator troop type confirmed underneath. As this is a video game release, we do also get the Dawn of War logo at the base of the window as well. The side art of the box features greyscale gothic art on the right-hand side overlaid with the character name, the opposite side features a blue-hued starmap from WH40k and over this sits the Blood Ravens chapter badge.
The rear of the box utilises promotional artwork for the game, with a Blood Ravens Marine in the top centre overlooking advancing troops across the hemisphere of a planet, including a Dreadnaught. The Marine in question is a generic troop and not the Infiltrator included in this set.
This same poster art is used on the included collector card, which features some background information on the reverse for the Chapter but not the Infiltrator troop type.
Our Blood Ravens Infiltrator is built onto the same body as the 2024 Blood Angels Reiver Sergeant, parts of which went on to be included in the Ultramarines Eliminator (2024) and the Ultramarines Reiver from 2025. This Scout Armour is less bulky than the Intercessor armour used on other figures, but is sculpted and built in the same way. Red Blood Ravens plastic, a lighter colour than the Blood Angels, is used to cast the component parts, which are assembled over black coloured joints.
The Infiltrator has two slimmed-down pauldrons, both coloured in a bone white finish with sculpted scratches and dings. The right carries the squad markings of Tactical Squad VII. The left pauldron is edged in black and in the middle has the Chapter badge in black with a red blood drop at its centre. The armour is further decorated with a gold-painted crossed skull on the chest and augmented with a belt and ammo pouches, strapped around the thighs, and a pair of frag grenades on the upper chest. The entirety of the figure has been given some level of dark weathering to dirty up the red, a feature often missing on the base McFarlane Warhammer figures.
The backpack is more or less the standard Intercessor format, but with extended antennae on the top painted in silver, with additional silver used on the side vents. Again, this is cast in base red and weathered. This release has a single head sculpt, while others in the same wave featured two. This Infiltrator helmet is cast in the same red as the armour, with green eye lenses, a gold skull on the forehead, and a grey painted mouthpiece. To the left-hand side is a larger communication piece with a black body and extended silver antennae. The same weathering is applied to the head.
The Infiltrator comes with two weapon options and two additional hands. The first weapon is a Bolt Pistol, coloured silver and designed to fit in the right gripping hand. There is no holstering option, so you will need to choose between this and the larger Space Marine Bolter.
The Bolter also uses silver, but with contrasting black on the upper body and lower grips. This again fits into the same right hand, and an alternative left hand with a more open palm can be used to support the barrel in a two-handed pose. Like most Warhammer Marines from McFarlane, both weapons are very difficult to engage in the overly stiff hands without a touch of heat treatment.
As well as the weapons, there are alternative hands - both left - which include a pointing version to direct troops into battle. The other is a standard grip, most likely for a knife or sword as we saw with the Ultramarines Reiver, but no such weapon is included with this set. You can probably force the smaller Bolt Pistol into this gripping left hand, but there is no trigger finger, so the overall look will be off.
The Scout Marine body includes a slightly broader range of articulation, with 19 points in total. This is two more than a usual Marine, and the additional joint can be found on the feet, where a toe joint works alongside the ankle rocker for walking or running positions. The rest of the legs are standard, including pinned knees, but I find this Scout body a little easier to balance with less armour around the ankles, which therefore have a broader range of movement to find a flat-footed position. You also get the usual circular display stand that has a single peg to fit into either foot. This can be utilised to support some more dynamic stances.
The upper torso includes waist and chest joints and a ball joint neck. The Arms are pinned at the elbows and include the usual wrist, bicep and shoulder joints. As is the case with all Marines from McFarlane, the shoulder in particular, and the wrists, lack ratcheting to add strength and can be floppy straight out of the box or soon after. In this instance, neither of the weapons included in the set are overly heavy, so for the most part, this arm weakness is not immediately a problem as it is for other Marines with longer swords or bigger bolt guns or plasma throwers.
The Blood Ravens Infiltrator marks the debut of the Blood Ravens into the McFarlane collection, ahead of some obvious gaps still, like the White Scars or the Salamanders. The decision is very much driven by the upcoming release of Dawn of War IV (sometime in 2026) and as a supporting troop to the first Warhammer 40k Elite Release of Captain Cyrus from the same game.
The Scout armour is a nice variation for display and its lower profile helps with posing, and the smaller format weapons do not cause as much of an issue as other figures to expose the weak shoulder and wrist joints. The alternative hands seem an odd choice, and I would have traded those and the Bolt Pistol in for an alternative unmasked head to support army building and variation for display.
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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...