Finished - Bloodslaughterer

I got this mini, like so many others, in a trade. I was excited to get him and got a great deal. I am glad the deal was good because he was assembled so poorly that I considered scrapping it. Glue was gooped everywhere and the legs were a jumbled mess. It was also missing a few bits for the legs.

I started painting this mini back in June 2014 before I got married and moved across the country. He had to be packed carefully because he was not clear coated and shipped almost 3,000 miles in a moving container. On the other end, he was unpacked, finished painted and assembled.

I don't know that I did anything really special here but it does get quite a few comments whenever I bring it out. I think I made a good approximation of the way the Blood Slaughterer on the Forge World site. I think there is a little more orange in their red and my shadows are a bit darker.

I like the final product and it is a good clean paint job for me and at about 8.5/10 for me. I could have gone for a little more detail but the kit already took forever to paint. I like the little extra details on the base (Chaos symbol, skeleton and SM helmet).


There is not much I dislike about the mini. The missing bits made for some awkward pose in the front legs. I had to put a needle into his bum to hold the mini up. I do not trust those tiny resin legs.

One thing I love about this mini are the rules.

At 130 points (and very little to upgrade), this mini is a steal. You get a basic Dreadnought statline with a few bumps. WS 5 means that you will hit almost anything that is not a Character on a 3+ and with 3+d3 S10 attacks you are going to put a dent in anything you hit. Av 13 makes you immune to anything below S7. That means even Auttocannons only glance you.

It has downsides too. No smoke or searchlights or even options to buy them. No option to take a drop pod either. These are typical of FW's nearsightedness when it comes to rules. They are renown for giving a unit a unique rule that completely unbalances it or overlooking the standard equipment that similar units have for not real reason.

Additionaly, the only upgrade you can take is a watered-down Magna-grapple. Rather than have a S and AP, hit on a reasonable BS, or be capable of scoring a penetrating hit (like the Magna-grapple), the Impaler hits on 6's only thanks to the Bloodslaughter's awful BS of 1 and can only move a unit 2d6" toward it which is the same as charging. The only thing that the Impaler has in its favor is that if the unit contacts the Bloodslaughterer, then it counts as charging. This is counteracted by losing an Attack in Close Combat and having to pay 5 points for the honor. It is effectively like getting a free Charge with no chance of being shot in Overwatch but only on a 6+. BS of 4 or 5 would have made this upgrade worth it. With my opponant's permission, I think that I would rather swap it for a Magna-grapple.

The mini is 48 BPS plus shipping. To replace it (at current conversion rates) would take about $80. I spent a fair amount of time on the pain job and value it at $65. Total replacement value for this mini is $145 but I think I value it in trade value the cost of a large kit which is about $160.