Shovels, shotguns, and a drone

The Vilniaus 39th is reinforced by a squad of Krieg Combat Engineers

In this update, I’ve completed my first new unit of 2025! The Krieg Combat Engineers, from the recent Death Korps of Krieg army boxed set, add some vital new capabilities to the Vilniaus 39th. Not only can they scout ahead of the main force before battle, but they have a couple of neat tricks up their bright red sleeves, like an explosive drone that can do some serious damage to the enemy.

Thoughts on the models

Games Workshop continues to find new ways to delight with their new models. While very similar to the existing Death Korps models, there are some tweaks - like the Forge World Grenadier-style skull masks - to differentiate them. And there are some cool options like shotguns, or even auto pistols and trench clubs. It’s all very in keeping with the Death Korps trench warfare aesthetic and tone.

In the end, I settled for a Watchmaster with plasmapistol and power sword, alongside a drone operator, a flamer, and the remaining two armed with shotguns.

Not only is there a great variety of kit in the box, but there’s plenty of small design hints to ensure you don’t make costly (and messy) mistakes when assembling. This includes, for example, rivets and bumps in specific arms to match hands, and so forth. It makes it much more difficult to end up in a situation where you make a mistake, and have to awkwardly and very carefully separate half-glued parts, which can ruin the look and result in breakages. Bravo, GW.

The Painting Process

I painted them in a very similar way to my existing Death Korps of Krieg squad, aligning them with the rest of the army by having (Blood Angels Contrast) red be the primary colour. I opted to make the engineers’ trousers be beige, just like my normal infantry - using Skeleton Horde contrast. And, of course, I did the simple winter urban base to ensure they tie into the rest of the army seamlessly.

As always, here’s some pictures.

The squad arrayed the battle. I kept things simple as normal - mostly contrast paints and dry brushing. No metallics whatsoever this time.

A closer look at the dudes with shotguns. As usual, I have winter urban bases to tie them back into the broader army.

The drone operator, and his drone! I placed the snow in a few places, like in the front as if it’s gumming up the mechanism a little bit.

And from the rear. I think this especially shows how well contrast paints can add depth and highlights with very little effort.

Overall I’m happy with this unit. It is a lovely kit absolutely brimming with options and character.

The only bit I’m not massively impressed with on the paintjob are the green eye lenses, I should have been more patient and thinned my paints more. But they still have a nice contrast to the naked eye.

I might add a couple of other details, such as painting the screen on the drone operator’s control mechanism, and the armour straps you can see on the soldier’s arms. But as of right now, I see this unit as battle-ready. Onwards, for the Emperor!

Tactical considerations

Looking at various YouTube channels and other blogs, Combat Engineers seem like a pretty solid pick. Scout is of course a great ability for early game, so help contest objectives. Their drone, alongside the Grenades ability also means they can be incredibly dangerous - for their points - in terms of mortal wounds. I’ll be sure to take this squad to try them out.

And that’s it for this update. The next unit on my list is Provisionally Prepared, as well as the Artillery unit from the Krieg set - which was an absolutely wonderful kit to put together.

So, until next time - thanks for reading!