2/14/12: Review: Chapterhouse Studios Combi-Weapon Kit

Hey guys,

So as you know, amongst commissions, I’ve been working through my Alpha Legion Chaos Marine army whenever I get the chance. One big thing about the Chaos Marines are an apparent abundance in Combi-Weapons, on both their guys and their tanks.



Now, I’ve been trying to get this army up to a point where I can switch out pretty much any option I please. I want my Aspiring Champion to have a Power Weapon? Magnetized! Power Fist? Magnetized! Combi-Weapon? Magnetized…? A Plastic Combi-Melta really only comes in the SM Commander box, and at $12 a pop, I’d be stupid to not find another alternative. Right?
In steps Chapterhouse Studios. For $5, you get the Bolter, the 3 special weapons mounts, an Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, and the magnets to magnetize the entire set.





The set looks fine, right?
Alrighty lets break this down on a scale of 1-5, 1 being Smells Like Dog Waste, and 5 being Smells Like Gold.

• Price and S/H: 2/5

The Combi-Weapon set is $5 for the pewter set. I ordered two as I have plans for an additional CSM squad as soon as I have time. The total cost was $16.50. Wait a second, $6.50 for shipping? Ok, ok, sometimes it costs a little extra to ship…right?



That’s the actual cost to ship. Listen, either up your prices, or don’t put the pricing on the label. I don’t wanna know your kit cost an extra $4 so you could make a little more profit. $6.50 for shipping two bits of pewter is already stupid.

• Quality: 3/5

Ok, here’s the real kicker….so again, pewter set, I understand working with Pewter. I also understand that a two-part mold can be occasionally difficult to cast. But what the hell is this?



My greenstuff mold cast wasn’t this crooked…I managed to get it to work with a little filing. The other thing, and it’s a little hard to see in the pictures, is the holes for the magnets.
The holes didn’t cast entirely, meaning there was additional drilling for the magnets which, of course, were too big for the hole entirely.

• Appearance: 3/5

The bolter has a little more detail on it than I originally thought, but even that’s pretty miniscule.



You can also see the size differences here between a Bolter, a Combi-Melta, and CH’s kit. CH’s kit is a
little longer, but smaller. The biggest thing, and you can see it in the above and below pictures, is the difference in size of the Melta barrels. The Melta barrel is almost indistinguishable on Chapterhouse’s kit, and looks fairly similar to the Flamer attachment or even the Auxiliary Grenade Launcher.



I added a skull from my failed Combi-Melta cast to add a little grimdark to the set, which helps a little.

• Overall: 2.5/5

I feel like I’m being a little lenient here, but at the same time, Chapterhouse is filling a niche. Bits stores are selling Combi-Weapons for insane prices; For $12 a Combi-Melta, I might as well just buy the SM Commander. But at the same time, Chapterhouse Studio’s set is underwhelming at best. If there were more options available, I’d say go for them, but there aren’t.

Sorry Chapterhouse Studios, but here’s one unhappy customer.

Granesh