Combat Patrol: Dark Angels (GW-44-17) – 2021 Edition

Who Are The Dark Angels?

When it comes to the Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marines, the Dark Angels are probably the most miserable. During the Horus Heresy (a massive war between Space Marine chapters that remained loyal to the Emperor and those who became traitors and join Primarch Horus), the Dark Angels didn’t do what other chapters did and simply pick one side. No, they were one of the larger armies and became divided. Those that sided with Horus became know among loyalist Dark Angels as “The Fallen”, which itself sounds like an emo band.

And for the last 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels have become obsessed with eradicating The Fallen and anyone who knows of them. That said, the leader (or Primarch) of the Dark Angels Lion’ El Jonson has returned after 10,000 years and seeks to unit his chapter once more. And good luck on that! These Dark Angels are so self-loathing about the divide (which they call “The Secret”) that’ll it’ll take a lot of counselling to undo that childhood trauma.

On the plus side the Dark Angels look great, rocking dark green armour and cream robes create a distinct look for the chapter. Many of there vehicles have extra adornments that are a lot of fun to paint.

What’s In The Box?

This box is off to a strong start with a Primaris Chaplain to lead the patrol, he looks badass, there’s no other way to put it, it’s a fantastic model. Three Inceptors can take to the sky against aerial threats or to jump in and out of battle for some hit and fade tactics. A Redemptor Dreadnought brings the heavy firepower and 5 Primaris Intercessors (the bread and butter of any Space Marine chapter) round out the squad. You’ll also get two Dark Angels Primaris upgrade sprues for the aforementioned adornments and a transfer sheet with many decals to put on your models.

All in all this is a nice way to start your Dark Angel army. As with the Ork Combat Patrol, there’s nothing here you won’t use even as your army grows. You’ll probably pick up some different leaders to keep your opponent guessing, but the Chaplain looks too cool to sideline for long. You’ll also always need the two included troop types (Inceptors and Intercessors) as they’ll make the foundation of any army, the only thing you may find is wanting to buy more.

Are They Difficult To Paint?

Typically Space Marines are only as difficult as you want them to be. As the poster child of the hobby (especially the all blue Ultramarines) they need to be accessible, which they are. You can simply paint them in the selected chapter colours and be done. But then, when ready, you can go back to them, add in some chunky and standard highlights and, if you’re feeling brave, get some fine and spot highlights in there for extra definition. The chaplain is the most difficult model in the kit to paint as, not only will you want to do it justice, but he also has lots of trinkets, lucky his armour is black, which is much easier to use when painting over mistakes for a redo.