Review: Warhammer 40.000: Imperium Issues 15, 16, 17, 18, and premium kit 1

Another shipment of our Warhammer 40,000: Imperium subscription has been delivered to our doors, and this time we not only have a colourful mix of Necrons, Primaris Space Marines and terrain to choose from, but also the first of the four premium kits. In this review, we take a closer look at what we got in the fifth delivery and also reveal which region(s) can look forward to a release of Imperium next.

Warhammer 40.000: Imperium is a partwork title by Hachette Partworks. Over the course of the 80 magazine run, you will amass sizeable armies of Primaris Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Skitarii, and Necrons, along with terrain, and all the paints and brushes you need to paint them.

The collection has started on August 25th, 2021 in the UK, with the US edition following on January 26th, 2022. We just heard the news that Imperium will also launch in Germany on January 12, and a Spanish Edition starting in January as well. Issue 1 was available for two weeks, while the subsequent issues are to be released weekly after that. Imperium can be found in well-stocked newsagents or you can subscribe online for extra gifts and optional premium upgrades.

To find out more about Warhammer 40.000: Imperium and the included models, and the potential savings over purchasing the models separately, check out our in-depth review and guide.

Please note: Hachette Partworks have provided us with a subscription to Warhammer 40.000: Imperium. Thoughts and opinions are our own.

Issues 15 – 18

As a subscriber, you’ll always receive four issues at once, and this time we have a good mix of new Necron models, Space Marines, and scenery, with no paints at all. Issue 15 will certainly be the most popular of the batch. A box of five Flayed Ones cost £31.50 regularly, and here they are available for just £8.99. I’ve read on forums that many people want to buy multiple copies of this issue, as Flayed Ones are particularly popular in large numbers. Here is a little reminder to show some courtesy to your fellow hobbyists, and only buy as many issues as you really need, so that everyone who wants a copy can get one.

In issue 16 we have 5 of the Easy to Build Assault Intercessors already known from Indomitus and the 9th Edition starter sets, in issue 17 there is a single Munitorum container sprue, and in issue 18 we get the plastic Cryptek that was released just before the 9th Edition Necrons wave, also a good saving as the RRP of this model is £20.

Premium kit 1

If you have booked the premium subscription for an additional £2 per issue, you will also receive the first premium kit with issue 15. Well, premium is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, because it’s just a simple printed cardboard box. But that doesn’t bother me much, because in the end you will toss it anyway.

Included is one of the large sprues from the Start Collecting: Chaos Space Marines box with 10 monopose Chaos Space Marines and 2 Greater Possessed, as well as a Chaos Space Marines Sorcerer and the accompanying magazine. The 32 pages booklet is quite nice and the pages can be taken apart and filed into the same folder as the regular Imperium magazines. We have datasheets for all the models, an assembly guide, a lengthy painting tutorial, and a new scenario.

At £2 extra and 80 issues, you pay a total of £160 for the premium upgrade. So with 4 premium kits, each kit comes down to £40. For this you get half the contents of a Start Collecting box (£60:2 = £30), plus the Sorcerer for £17.50, which makes a saving of £7.50, plus the magazine for your collection.

That’s alright, but not earth-shattering. However, the savings on some of the other Premium Kits are higher, and with the German edition of Imperium, you’ll only pay €2 more instead of £2, which increases the value. What’s more, you can cancel the premium kits over the course of your subscription. Our friends at Fauxhammer have a more detailed breakdown of the premium kits.

Subscription gift

With the fifth delivery also comes one of the new Citadel painting handles.

Next delivery

Issue 19 will have another Munitorum Container, issue 20 Khorne Red and Trollslayer Orange paint. Issue 21 and 22 will apparently have 10 Skitarii Rangers shared over both issues.

Warhammer 40.000: Imperium is available from well-stocked newsagents in the UK, followed by an US and German edition in January 2022. I’ve also heard about an Italian edition, but of no other countries yet. You can start your subscription on the official website (German version here), and if you’re looking for back issues, have a look at the Hachette Partworks online store, Forbidden Planet, or ebay.