Review: Knight Destrier, Thalia Guld & Mechanicus Hastarii

The defenders of Agripinaa take shape in plastic as Games Workshop expands two of its most beloved factions. The Adeptus Mechanicus field a fearsome new Archmagos and a heavily armed Skitarii infantry type, while the Imperial Knights debut an entirely new class with the nimble, rocket-assisted Knight Destrier. In this review, we examine all three kits in detail and explore their build options with high-res sprue images.

The Chaos Space Marines Eye of Terror releases, along with the Mechanicus, Knight Destrier, and Eye of Terror: Reign of Iron books, will be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 4 April 2026. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 18 April 2026.

Eye of Terror Mechanicus & Knights unboxing

This review covers the two new Adeptus Mechanicus kits, Thalia Ghuld and the Hastarii, as well as the new Bellatus class Imperial Knight, the Knight Destrier. Rules for all three appear in the Eye of Terror campaign book, which releases alongside the Chaos Space Marines kits we reviewed here last week.

Knight Destrier reviewed

The Knight Destrier (Destrier meaning warhorse) heralds a new class of Imperial Knights: the slimmer, more nimble Bellatus class. Thanks to extra rocket thrusters, skilled pilots can crash into melee with even greater momentum and put their brutal Thundershock spears to devastating effect.

Check out our 4K unboxing video, where I walk you through the assembly guide step by step:

The kit contains one Knight Destrier on a 150mm x 95mm oval base, spread across two large sprues and two half-sprue segments. It also includes a new Bellatus class transfer sheet (with symbols for House Terryn, Hawkshroud, Cadmus, Taranis, and Raven, as shown in the unboxing video) and an assembly guide. RRP is £105 / €140 / $170.

Build options:

• You can build the legs with either the right or left foot forward, or, if you remove the positioning nubs, pose them freely. The legs connect to the hips via ball joints, the ankles are also ball joints, and the four toes attach on hinges. The waist is a ball joint as well.
• The Destrier features a fully detailed interior with a pilot figure. You can build the hatch either open or closed.
• The head sensor unit rotates, and you can choose from three different faceplates or leave the faceplate off entirely. The faceplates are smaller than those on a regular Knight but larger than on an Armiger, so they are not cross-compatible.
• For the weapon arms, the kit provides a chastiser gatling cannon, a frag bombard, a Thundershock spear, and a reaper chainsword. Any weapon can go on either the left or right arm, though the kit only includes two upper arm and shoulder assemblies, so you need to commit to two weapons. Magnetising between the two ranged and the two melee options is fairly straightforward. Swapping between a melee and a ranged weapon on the same arm is trickier, however, as the pistons on the ranged weapons get in the way.
• The Thundershock spear can be built either retracted or extended.
• All arm joints remain moveable if you don’t glue them. They can click into the shoulder sockets without glue, pivot in place, and come back off again.
• The banner at the top of the neck assembly is optional.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

The Bellatus class sits between the Armiger and the Questoris class in scale, and the Destrier certainly delivers on that. It stands noticeably taller than an Armiger but only a few millimetres shorter than a regular Imperial Knight (discounting attachments like banners on either). In terms of width and bulk, though, the Destrier is considerably slimmer than the Questoris class. Given that, the price of £105 feels steep: it sits only £10 to £13 below the current Imperial Knight and Knight Dominus kits, both of which have already seen several price increases and include more sprues. You’re largely paying for the new model premium here.

That gripe aside, the Knight Destrier is a very strong kit. The fully articulated legs actually give it even more posing potential than the original Imperial Knight. The design doesn’t reinvent the wheel, borrowing heavily from the larger Knight Lancer in a reduced form. The most interesting elements are the new faceplates: two of them draw strongly on historical knight helmets, though they also remind me somewhat of Warmachine mechs.

Thalia Ghuld reviewed

Archmagos Thalia Ghuld is a new character model for the Adeptus Mechanicus. Charged with defending Agripinaa against the Iron Warriors, she embodies the martial aspect of the Mechanicus more than any other. She has an especially strong bond with the Skitarii who follow her into battle, and her Jericho-class conversion resonator and Rod of the War Forge make her a capable close-combat threat in her own right.

The model comes in a small box with three small sprue segments, an 80mm base, and an assembly guide. RRP is £38.50 / €50 / $65.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

As is typical for special characters, Thalia Ghuld offers no build options or alternate parts and is fully monopose. True to the Adeptus Mechanicus aesthetic, the sculpt is extraordinarily detail-heavy, which also means assembly is quite complex thanks to many small and delicate parts. Clever part division hides most visible seam lines, though.

Adeptus Mechanicus Hastarii reviewed

The Hastarii bring a new heavily armed infantry type to the Skitarii. The box contains two medium-sized sprue segments that build either 5 Hastarii Exterminators with eradication casters or 5 Hastarii Fusiliers with neutron fusils, on 32mm bases. A transfer sheet and assembly guide are also included. RRP is £37 / €47.50 / $60.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

Build options:

• Hastarius pose/body 1 can be built as either an Alpha or a regular Hastarius with eradication caster or neutron fusil. The Alpha receives a distinct head with a cog helmet crest (part 53), an outstretched left arm (59), and a right arm with power sword (58).
• Hastarius pose/body 2 can likewise be built as an alternative Alpha or regular Hastarius. The Alpha here gets another distinct head with cog helmet crest (part 10), an outstretched left arm with power sword (15), and a right arm with clenched fist (16).
• Hastarii poses/bodies 3 to 5 are regular Hastarii carrying either eradication casters or neutron fusils.
• For all five models, you can choose between arc weapons or stubbers as secondary shoulder armament.
• Each of the five models has two head options: a plain helmet or a helmet with a targeting device over the right eye. The instructions don’t specify this explicitly, but the targeting helmets appear intended for the neutron fusil builds. Both Alpha head options similarly come in targeting and non-targeting variants. The heads have pegs, though you can remove these to position them more freely. They match Skitarii in size, but the Hastarii heads have broader, undersuit-covered necks. You would need to fill or trim those if you want to mix heads between the two kits.

The Hastarii are a likeable addition to the range. With their bulkier frames and 32mm bases they sit roughly at the scale of Electro-Priests, neatly filling the design gap between regular Skitarii and the Ruststalkers and Infiltrators. Compared to the highly modular Skitarii kit, though, the Hastarii offer only the bare minimum in terms of build options. At least all weapon options appear five times over, and the Alpha gives you a choice between two poses. For five models on 32mm bases, the price is on the steep side.

Where to get

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.