The next logical step from the McFarlane Warhammer 40k Space Marines was to expand into the realms of Chaos, using the base Marine body and parts to create those Marines who have turned from the path. The first of these was the Black Legion Chaos Marine and the unpainted Artists Proof with an unhelmeted head. This Artists Proof version would then go on to get the full pained treatment as a Gold Label Exclusive and in the colours of the World Bearer Chapter. The World Bearer Marine is packed in the standard WH40k packaging with the addition of the foil Gold Label sticker on the front window.
The figure itself follows the same base as the other McFarlane Space Marines but is fully embellished in line with the allegiance to Chaos Undivided. This includes spiked shoulder armour, a central skull on the chest section, further skull designs and chaos pointed stars on the leg armour and a Chaos star belt and ragged cloth skirt. The body is coloured in deep blood red with grey silver detailing and some further paint applications with the brown leather skirt piece, strapping and belt pouch. A World Bearer decal of the flaming horned skull is applied to the left shoulder armour.
The World Bearer is not wearing a helmet and is instead a sculpted deformed head with a single horn and wearing a steampunk vibe mouthpiece and breathing tubes. The sculpt itself is pretty good, with deep-set eyes and ridges and veins across the bald and scarred head. The issue is sadly with the painting which is really basic. The skin tone is a single flesh colour with no added washes for definition. The eyes are a throwback to older school figures with a simple white painted base and black half-dot pupil. In the current world of Photo Real decor, this does sadly let this figure down in terms of overall aesthetics and doesn't really fit with the decor across the rest of the figure.
The articulation, considering the size and bulk of the armour, remains good with movement in the arms and legs and some degree of variation available in the posing when brandishing one or both of the included weapons. The joints do feel a bit loose in the hips with the ratchets not quite engaging as tight as I’d like. For a figure of this weight that may become an issue down the line.
The World Bearer is armed with a wicked looking spiked Power Mace and a Plasma pistol. Both items are cast in a grey with no added paint apps, so again like the head they look a little basic. Something as simple as a black wash or dry brush metal tones would have made them look so much better. Like most Marines to date, the hands are very tight in terms of getting these weapons into a grip. After some time struggling and swearing with the hands and weapons I resorted to the trusty hot water method to soften the fingers first.
The World Bearer Chaos Space Marine is a good example of what this line is very good at in terms of impressively sized figures with good paint work on the armour at a very lean price compared to other lines on the market. Sadly, McFarlane is a little way behind on face painting and doing this one without a helmet has highlighted that as an issue and will see some collectors steer away when they see it in hand - or will see those confident reaching for a paintbrush. The latter of course being the real origins of the WH40k series anyway. Here in the UK, the World Bearer can be found at Smyths Toys as well as most McFarlane stockists. In the US it is an Amazon exclusive.
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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...