Review: Space Marines Battleforce: Crux Terminatus

The 10th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 will go down in history as the “Terminator Edition”. Following the first wave released last year, the Crux Terminatus Battleforce has now arrived. Packed to the brim with plastic, this army box includes a total of 21 models, from the brand-new Ancient and dynamic Assault Terminators to the multipart Captain, Chaplain, and core Terminator squad.  In this review, we’ll take a detailed look at all the kits, complete with high-quality sprue images.

Battleforce: Crux Terminatus will be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 25 October 2025. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 8 November 2025. Please note that there will be only one production run, so the box is available only until stocks last. The RRP is £155.

I suspect the box will sell out fast. Quickly check whether the box is still availble if you want to snatch a discount of up to 20% at our independant retailer partners:

Space Marines Crux Terminatus Battleforce model unboxing

The Crux Terminatus Battleforce box has the typical size of an army set or battleforce, though it’s a bit slimmer than usual. Even so, it’s absolutely packed with plastic.

Included in the box are 21 models (inc. 3 teleport homers):

• 1 Captain in Terminator armour (the multipart version, not the Leviathan / starter set sculpt)
• 1 Chaplain in Terminator armour
• 1 Ancient in Terminator armour (new model)
• 2 Assault Terminator squads (new models)
• 1 Terminator Squad (the multipart version, not the Leviathan / starter set sculpts)
• 1 new Space Marine Terminator transfer sheet

Ancient in Terminator armour review

The Ancient completes the line-up of Space Marine characters in the new, updated Terminator armour scale. Until now, a Terminator Standard Bearer had only been available as a special model from the Space Marine Heroes Series 2 blind box range – but, of course, in the old scale.

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

The Ancient comes on a single small sprue with a 40mm base plus an assembly guide. There are a few personalisation options:

• The right arm can be built either slightly bent (pt. 16) or outstretched (pt. 20).
• Four heads are included: one Terminator helmet with a bionic eye (pt. 24), one bare head with a mohawk and bionic eye (pt. 21), one bare head with a side parting (pt. 22), and one bare head with a bald head and half-mask (pt. 23).
• For the banner top, you can choose between a skull with Iron Halo (pt. 14) or a winged skull (pt. 15).

While the pose itself is fixed, you can adjust the angle of the head so that it follows the line of the outstretched storm bolter. Or use the bent arm and turn the head forward for a more front-facing stance. The banner itself is sculpted and features a generic, codex-adherent design adorned with the Imperial Aquila. The circular area on the crux and the scroll space have been left blank so you can add decals or freehand details. All in all, it’s a nice model, and the designers didn’t forget to add a tactical rock either.

New Assault Terminators review

The star of the show (or rather, of the Crux Terminatus Battleforce) is without a doubt the new Assault Terminators. The box includes 2 five-man squads, so 10 models in total, plus two Terminator homers. Each squad is built from three medium-sized sprue segments, along with five 40mm bases, one 25mm base for the teleport homer marker, and a construction manual.

A transfer sheet is also included. It’s not the generic one, but a new A5-sized sheet specifically for Terminators. In addition to generic symbols, it features decals for Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, Salamanders, White Scars, and Raven Guard.

The kit includes:

• 5 Terminator bodies in five unique poses
• 5 Terminator helmets, 4 bare heads, and 2 bare heads with half-masks – all interchangeable
• 5 interchangeable pairs of lightning claw arms
• 5 interchangeable right arms with thunder hammers and 5 interchangeable left arms with shields (three identical, two with purity seals)
• Optional parts: 5 tilt shields for the shoulder pads, 5 crux pendants with long purity seals, 5 small purity seals, and 5 crux pendants without seals
• For the Sergeant: 1 additional Terminator helmet with skull motif (pt. 124), 1 bare head with bionic eye (pt. 126), 1extra right arm with thunder hammer (pt. 19), 1 uniquely assault shield (pt. 18), 1 extra pair of lightning claws with lightning bolt details (pts. 22–24), 2 specially designed tilt shields (pts. 30 and 31), 1 additional crux pendant with purity seal (pt. 33), and extra armour plating for the loin (pt. 5)
• 1 teleport homer marker

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

Like their brethren in the regular multipart Terminator squad, the Assault Terminators are highly modular. You assemble the five distinct bodies, then freely mix and match the weapon arms, heads, and optional pieces. There are enough arms to fully equip all five models with either lightning claws or thunderhammers and assault shields, or mix and match as you see fit.

Even though the arms are interchangeable, each pair is designed to fit a specific pose. The instructions show which arm set is recommended for each body, but do not list the corresponding part numbers. Those are only found at the start of the manual, where the interchangeable parts are first introduced. So you’ll need to experiment a bit with dry-fitting if you want to follow the suggested poses. That’s rather unusual compared to the typical GW instruction manuals of recent years.

Aside from this small quirk in the instructions, the new Assault Terminators kit is absolutely fantastic. For Terminator armour, the poses are surprisingly dynamic – striding forward with real weight and momentum – and there’s a huge amount of interchangeability, plus plenty of optional cosmetic parts and heads. The bodies and arms are compatible with the regular Terminator Squad and vice-versa. I also really like that the design of the lightning claws returns to the “Wolverine-style” blades from the 2nd Edition models, rather than the knuckleduster style of the previous plastic kit.

Terminator Captain, Chaplain and Terminator squad unboxing & review

The Space Marines Crux Terminatus Battleforce also includes several older models: the Captain and Chaplain in Terminator Armour, as well as a five-man squad of regular Terminators.

Captain in Terminator armour

The Captain in Terminator Armour is the multipart model from 2024 – not the version from the Leviathan box (review here), which also appeared in the Warhammer 40,000 starter sets of the current 10th Edition.

The model comes on a small sprue with a 50 mm base and, of course, an instruction sheet. There are several customisation options:

• 1 groin plate with a purity seal, 1 with a tabard
• 1 right hand with storm bolter, 1 with combi-flamer, 1 with combi-plasma, and 1 with combi-melta
• 1 right arm with relic sword, 1 with power fist
• 1 bare head with bionic eye, 1 bare head with half-mask
• the tilt shield and Crux Terminatus icon can both be left off (though a small recess remains visible if you omit the icon)

All in all, it’s a nice model with a fair few options. Although, without a cape, the Captain looks more like a Terminator Lieutenant in my opinion.

Chaplain & regular Terminators

Also included are the Chaplain in Terminator Armour and a five-man Terminator squad from 2023. These are the multipart versions with more weapon and posing options, not the push-fit variants from Leviathan and the starter sets.

Both kits are covered in detail in this review:

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.