Roaring from the skies comes the re-release of the classic Space Marine Drop Pod – now available as a double pack and easier to assemble, though the doors are no longer moveable. Upgrade or downgrade? We compare the new kit with the old one, break down what’s changed in terms of design and size – and of course, you’ll find high-res sprue images, too.
The new Space Marines Drop Pods will be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 28 June 2025. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 12 July 2025.
Unboxing the new Drop Pods
When you open the new Drop Pods box, you’ll be greeted by three large sprues and an assembly guide. Unfortunately, there’s no transfer sheet included.
- Two of the sprues are identical – they contain the star-shaped base with the open doors, the thruster, two fins, as well as various chapter icons and rubble pieces.
Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.
- The third sprue holds the remaining fins and additional rubble elements.
Unlike the old multipart Drop Pod kit, you can tell that production of the new kit has been outsourced (probably to their Chinese partner, something Games Workshop often does with their terrain and accessories kits). This means the level of detail isn’t quite as sharp as with in-house kits. It’s less of an issue on the angular fins and doors, but the texture on the rubble pieces is quite soft and undefined. Also, the mould lines – at least on my review copy – were rather prominent.
Assembly options
However, assembly is significantly easier than the previous version, as the number of parts has been greatly reduced. That said, as you’ll already have noticed from the sprue images, the new Drop Pods can only be built in the open position. The undersides of the baseplate and doors are hollow and bare (I’ve shared photos of the back of the sprues on Patreon). One of the opened doors didn’t fully fit on the sprue and had to be split into two parts, which unfortunately results in a visible seam.
The five panels above the doors feature smooth surfaces where you can place chapter icons. The kit includes 10 generic Imperial Aquilas, as well as 2 each for Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, Black Templars, Raven Guard, Dark Angels, and Blood Angels. This means you can replace one Aquila per Drop Pod with a chapter-specific icon.
In addition, there are 26 rubble pieces included (8 of which are duplicates), which you can freely attach to the left and right sides beneath the doors to add some variety. Any leftover pieces work well for basing larger models – though, as mentioned, the detail crispness is on the softer side.
Comparing the changes between the old and new Drop Pod kits
Perhaps the most important question: what has changed in the design of the Drop Pod? Have they become larger – “Primarised”, as some online speculation suggested?
I compared the new model with the old one. And no – the new Drop Pods are exactly the same size as the old ones. The fins are identical in size, as is the base plate, as you can see on the following comparison shots.
However, on closer inspection, there are indeed some design changes. The doors are about 18 mm shorter compared to the old model, which reduces the footprint to a diameter of about 19 cm when deployed. Because of the shorter doors, the structure between the thruster and fins has been redesigned to fill the gaps, and the chapter icons have moved from the outer faces of the doors to this area.
As the doors don’t close or detach, transporting the new Drop Pods is quite a challenge. Also, because of the smaller footprint, tournament players might need to make a switch to the new version to stay legal.
The most noticeable change is in the interior, though. The storm bolters as an option are gone, and the construction of the harnesses has been heavily altered and simplified. They also sit much higher, to accommodate the larger frame of Primaris Marines.
The question now is what will happen to the old kit. The recently released Epic scale Drop Pods for Legions Imperialis still use the classic design. Perhaps the old Drop Pod will be rebranded for the new Horus Heresy edition and remain part of the range? Maybe even with an additional sprue for the Deathstorm missile launchers that are available for Legions Imperialis. But that’s pure speculation on my part.
Value
The new Space Marines Drop Pods “double pack” has an RRP of £50 / 65 € / $80. The old kit, which included a single model, was last priced at £34 / 44 €. So you’re looking at a saving of nearly 30%, which can be become even more with the additional discounts from our partner stores:
You can find the latest GW releases at our 🇬🇧/🇪🇺 partner stores Wayland Games, Element Games, and Firestorm Games, at 🇩🇪 Taschengelddieb and PK-Pro, and at 🇺🇸 Noble Knight Games with a welcome discount of up to 20% over RRP. Using our links helps to support Tale of Painters at no additional cost to you, so thank you very much for using them!
I hope you found this review helpful, feel free to leave a reaction or comment below, or post your questions here or discuss on our Discord channel.
7.0 Score
Pros
- Easier to assemble than the old kit thanks to reduced part count
- Includes a wide selection of chapter icons and rubble pieces for customisation
- Nearly 30% cheaper than buying two of the old kits individually
Cons
- Model can only be built in the open position
- Shorter doors changing the footprint of the model
- Softer details and more prominent mould lines due to outsourced production
Final Verdict
The updated Drop Pods kit brings a more user-friendly building experience and good value for money. The permanently open doors and softer detail – likely due to outsourced production – make the new iterations feel more like terrain pieces and less like vehicles. It's a practical update for collectors and painters, even if not a straight upgrade in every regard.
