Warhammer 40,000 - Adeptus Custodes: Custodian Wardens

This multi-part plastic kit contains the components necessary to assemble a squad of 5 Custodian Wardens. It also contains the components necessary to assemble a Custodian Warden Shield-Captain, or a Vexilus Praetor.

Custodian Wardens are renowned amongst their comrades for being no-nonsense vigilantes of endless patience. In accepting the robes that denote their position, they swear to fight as unshakeable sentinels, living fortresses of auramite and muscle that no opponent can ever overcome. The oath each Warden takes is personal, written by the Custodian themselves after a year of meditation and contemplation upon the cliffs of the Gallows Tower. To break such oaths would be worse than death for these warriors, and their determination to fulfil them drives their formidable minds to a chilling intensity.

Custodian Wardens are easily identified by the ceremonial robes they wear over their auramite armour, and are a splendid sight to behold; like all Adeptus Custodes, every surface of their armour is covered in beautiful sculpted detail, with gems, eagles, lightning bolts and filigree everywhere you look. Each is armed with either a Guardian Spear or a Castellan Axe, and there are 5 of each in the box. The kit's helmets, helmet plumes and thigh plates are interchangeable, so you can make your Wardens unique.

Adeptus Custodes warriors reject the idea of ​​blind obedience, and look down on those who follow the orders of their superiors unquestioningly. Every Custodian has a voice, and is expected to use it; as such, the Ten Thousand only respect as leaders those who have proven themselves worthy of it, those whose good judgement, strategic flair and mental fortitude have excelled time and again. These Custodians are called Shield-Captains, and their comrades follow them with loyalty and dedication.

A Shield-Captain is clad in spectacular, finely crafted auramite power armour, covered in sculpted Emperor symbology, Imperial eagles, lightning bolts, gems and filigree. The Shield-Captain is armed by default with a castellan's axe and a mercy dagger; he can swap his axe for a Guardian's lance. Specific pieces are included to differentiate the Shield-Captain from other Custodian Wardens: a distinct helmet crest, specific shoulder pads and thigh plates.

The Adeptus Custodes are a glorious and much admired force. In the early days of the Imperium they marched to war alongside the Emperor himself, presenting a spectacle worthy of the majesty of the Master of Mankind. Just as their weapons and armour have always been made to reflect their martial glory, so too are the proud banners known as vexillas, which some of the more senior Custodians carry into war. Few shield companies march to war without vexillas flying above them.

The Vexilus Praetor is armed with a castellan's axe or a guardian's lance, but it is his enormous ornate vexilla that stands out most. This stands almost twice the height of the praetor himself (not counting the helmet plume), and is certainly an inspiring sight, depicting a great double-headed eagle studded with gems, spikes and heavily tasselled cords.

This kit comes in 78 components, and is supplied with 5 Citadel 40mm Round Bases.