Solar Auxilia Rapier Batteries & Charonite Ogryn Section review: stunning models, brutal build time

Solar Auxilia Direct Fire Battery review: Rapier gunner with endless options

The Rapier Battery box in the Direct Fire variant contains two Rapiers plus 2 crew members on 25mm bases, an assembly guide, and 2 90x50mm oval bases. The oval bases appear to be optional, as they feature neither on the promo shots nor in the instructions. The RRP is £44.50 / €57.50 / $73.50.

The box contains two identical sprues, each in two halves, with each holding one Rapier and one crew member.

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

Build options:

• Each Rapier Carrier can be equipped with either a gravis multi-laser array, laser destroyer, or gravis heavy bolter array. These sit on axles, letting you tilt the weapons up and down if you leave them unglued. Alternatively, you can remove the axles entirely and fill the holes with 5x2mm magnets. The weapon mount also swivels left and right to a limited degree. The gunner has no build options as such, but the head is interchangeable with heads from other Solar Auxilia kits.
• Each sprue includes both a standing and a kneeling leg pair for the gunner.
• For the right arm, you get two arms holding lasguns (parts 35 and 36), a right arm carrying a lasgun slung over the shoulder (37 and 75), and a right arm with binoculars (80 and 84).
• For the left arm, there’s an arm resting a lasgun on the shoulder (33), an arm carrying a lasgun on a sling (34), a pointing left arm (76), and a left arm with binoculars (83 and 77).
• Additionally, there’s an arm pair raising binoculars to the face (72, 73, and 74, using the shoulder-slung lasgun part 37 as well, so you need to decide which arm pose to use that part for), and an arm pair holding a scroll reader (parts 77 to 81). If you build the gunner kneeling, you can optionally equip the left arm 77 with a lasgun (part 82) instead of the binoculars hand 83.
• There’s also a left arm holding a gravis heavy bolter magazine (68 to 71).
• Rounding things out, a spare lasgun (38), an axe (39), and a binocular belt pouch (85) can all be optionally attached to the gunner.

All of the above options appear on each sprue, so twice per box. The sheer number of arm options and two leg poses make it possible to build the Solar Auxilia gunner in a remarkable variety of poses. A beautiful kit with a high level of detail, virtually no undercutting, and well-hidden join lines throughout.

Quad launchers, mole mortars, and more crew variety: Solar Auxilia Fire Support Battery review

The Fire Support Rapier Battery box matches the Direct Fire variant almost exactly in scope: 2 identical two-part sprues containing 2 Rapiers plus 2 crew members on 25mm bases, an assembly guide, and 2 optional 90x50mm oval bases. The RRP is £44.50 / €57.50 / $73.50.

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

Build options:

• Each Rapier Carrier can be equipped with either a quad launcher or mole mortar. These sit on a central mount (part 46), letting you tilt the weapons up and down if left unglued. To magnetise, you’d need to drill a 3mm hole into the mount and fit 3x1mm magnets into both the mount and the weapons (the weapons already have suitable recesses). The gunner has no build options, but the head is interchangeable with heads from other Solar Auxilia kits.
• Each sprue again includes both a standing and a kneeling leg pair for the gunner.
• Right arm options include two lasgun-holding arms (parts 35 and 36), a right arm carrying a shoulder-slung lasgun while holding binoculars (37, 82, and 83), and a right arm with binoculars (79 and 80).
• Left arm options include an arm resting a lasgun on the shoulder (33), an arm carrying a lasgun on a sling (34), and a left arm holding a document (71 and 77).
• There’s also an arm pair carrying a lasgun in the right hand and quad launcher ammunition in the left (36 and 39), and an arm pair carrying mole mortar ammunition (70 and 82, again sharing the shoulder-slung lasgun part 37, so you’ll need to choose your arm pose accordingly).
• If you build the gunner kneeling, the right arm 79 can optionally hold a lasgun (part 81) instead of the binoculars hand 80. A left arm holding a quad launcher magazine (71 and 76) and an arm pair carrying mole mortar ammunition (71 to 75) are also included.
• Optional accessories include a spare lasgun (38), an axe (39), and a small order canister (85).

The Fire Support Battery gunner offers just as much variety as his Direct Fire counterpart. Beyond the lasgun arms 33 to 36 and accessories 38 and 39, the gunner sculpts differ between the two kits, and the leg poses are different too. A very thoughtful touch.

Charonite Ogryn Section: brutal boarding troops, fiddly build

The Charonite Ogryn box contains 4 models on 50mm bases across two identical two-part sprues, plus an assembly guide. The RRP is £44.50 / €57.50 / $73.50.

Build options:

• The box includes 6 charonite claws (3 per sprue in three different designs, with the gripping claws buildable open or closed), 2 charonite blades (1 per sprue), 2 charonite crushers (1 per sprue, with a choice between a drill tip or spike tip), and 2 charonite shredders (1 per sprue). All weapons combine freely with the arms. For magnetizing, you’ll need to fill the arms with putty to attach magnets, as they’re hollow.
• Each sprue contains 2 different leg pairs.
• Each sprue also contains 2 torsos, each buildable in 2 poses thanks to different arm and cable combinations, giving 4 distinct upper body poses per sprue. The arms are not freely interchangeable between torsos, as the cables dictate the arm positions and vice versa. The upper body assemblies do, however, combine freely with either leg pair.
• Upper body pose 1 features an unmasked head with two different expressions (part 63 or 65). All other poses have masked heads, meaning if you skip pose 1 you can build a fully masked unit. The masked head from pose 3 may also fit the torso and arm configuration of pose 1.

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

At first glance, the plastic Charonite Ogryns look like a straight recreation of the resin originals. While the overall size is very similar, though, that’s only partly true: the body proportions have been carefully refined, and the mechanical details of their boarding suits are more elaborate.

Assembly opens up many combination possibilities, but it’s also extremely fiddly. The leg pairs alone consist of 14 and 16 individual parts respectively, and that’s before tackling the many fiddly multi-part cables that need to be glued together and attached in very specific positions, plus the multi-part claw pairs. At the end of this building ordeal, though, you’re rewarded with four seriously imposing figures that, seam lines on the arms aside, are extraordinarily detailed and come without any visible undercutting.

d any help here, because Kroyle is a rewarding but challenging model to paint with loads of gizmos and textures.