Thoughts and Comment

My opinions on various themes related to the 41st Millennium. Hopefully there’s a good read in here for you too.

General Hobby Update (From Someone Who Hasn’t Been Up To Much)

Posted by johnnya10 on 19/10/2016
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. 1 Comment
Where does the time go, eh? I swear we only just started out on October and now I look at my calendar, I realise we’re getting to the tail end of it! Time flies when you’re having fun, and it’s been a lot of fun that has kept me away from my workbench for much of the month so far. I went on holiday (Bilbao – which I very much recommend), had a birthday (one year older – booooo!) and have been pretty slammed at work. But all’s going well, and with all of that and more going on, I have had a little time to work on some 40k goodness. Not much, but exciting stuff nonetheless.
BA Termies – Under Way!
fullsizerender-22
First up, I have made a start on my Blood Angels terminators. This guy is almost done, but that of course means that there are still four more to do. It’s lots of fun, but I’m a bit ‘squaded’ (yes, I made that word up) out. I’m very much in the mood for smaller projects right at this moment, but I’ll get round to finishing off this guy and his buddies soon enough, I’m sure. One more bit of BoC done before I buy BoP.
I Think I’ll Call Them ‘The Sex Machines’
dark mech slaaneshi cultists
Speaking of smaller projects, something I started toying around with a long time ago is a Slaaneshi Dark Mech gang for INQ28/Inquisimunda and I’m happy to say that my Magos is getting some cultists to keep him company in the depths of wherever the hell he hangs out (but regardless of where it is, you can be sure he hangs out in the depths of it). These guys were a really fun kitbash between Electro Priests, Chaos Cultists and Helstriders and a few other bits and pieces too. I might do one more of these, or I may just stick to two of them (the joys of low model count games!!). More on these guys soon, but do let me know what you think of them so far. You can see their boss below.
fullsizerender-23
And then, as that’s about it in terms of what I’ve been working on. Like I said, I’ve not had a huge amount of time, but I wanted to give you a little update. I trust you enjoyed it.
Wallets Ready: October 22nd Approaches…
And now that’s done, let’s talk about October the 22nd, or, as I like to call it, Games Workshop’s ‘Give Us All Your Money Day’. Not only have you got the bound-to-be-hugely-popular Burning of Prospero set going up for orders, but you’ll also have the limited edition Forge World Ultramarine available in stores that day too. Ok, so I’m not a smurf fan, but a lot of people are, and it’s bound to draw more than a few people into the store. What I am a fan of are Legio Custodes and I can’t tell you how excited I am about these. Squeeeeee!
burning of prospero contents
Then over on Forge World, Leman Freakin’ Russ (I checked, that is his middle name) is going up for sale too, along with something else that FW aren’t telling us about yet. Wolf Guard? Giant Wolves? Let’s wait and find out. And then you know Black Library will be doing something to support the Prospero release along with their other stuff too. Talk about a banner day for Games Worshop’s bean counters! Honestly, I think days like this are great. It gets everyone into the stores and fosters a bit of community spirit amongst our like. And it’s brilliant to see Forge World get back onto the Primarch train. Choo choo, heretics.
the_forge_world_bulletin___forge_world_webstore
I for one am spoken for that day, so I won’t be splurging myself (like I said, it’s a busy month) but I know plenty will and I will definitely be picking up a couple of the things released on the 22nd a little later in the month.
Now I need to get back to my busy schedule. It’s been lovely talking with you as always, and I hope your 40k hobby work is going a little more productively than my own at the moment. I’ll try and get another update on something up soon too – won’t leave it so long next time! Until then, onwards!

Does 40k Have Too Many Armies? Let’s Discuss

Posted by johnnya10 on 28/09/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 2 Comments

Take a look at this image:

40k armies list

Here we see the list of armies we had only a couple of years ago, and what we have now. Just a couple of years ago, we had half the amount of armies available to us that we do now. Ok, so some of them should probably have an asterisk next to their name. We always had the Inquisition and the Assassins, but they were rolled in the Grey Knights book. And are the renegade knights really an army in the truest sense? Really, yes, but I know you know what I mean here.

Whether they’ve been brought out of other Codexes, or if they only have a model or two, the fact remains that if you want to put an army together, you have twice as many options as you did only a couple of years back. I swear it wasn’t more than a few months ago that I was thinking of Tau as still being the new kids on the block, and yet now, they seem quite ancient in comparison to many of the young pup races and factions that have since popped up. Get those fish men a zimmer frame!
So the question is this; Are there too many armies in Warhammer 40,000? And the follow up question goes thusly; Can you have too many armies in a game like this? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
armies everywhere
The most prominent pro is that we now have a fantastic array of choices available to us. You can play any of these armies and some won’t even cost you that much to get into. From hordes to elite armies, whatever you want can be yours. What’s more, they’ve done this by not inventing new things, but rather by going back and bringing so many old units and armies from epic scale (like the Imperial Knights) or older editions (Genestealer Cults) into the modern setting. They’ve also given rules to things that didn’t have them before, issued combinations of other armies, and even given us supplements to work with. There really isn’t much left they could do to improve our choices even further.
What’s more, this widening of the range is allowing many of the designers and sculptors to let their imaginations run wild. From innovative rules systems and army builds to the miniatures themselves, the people GW are paying for their imagination and inspiration are being allowed to truly express themselves in these miniatures and codices. Not only that, but their imagination is being turned to reimagining some of the older armies and bringing them into line with modern standards.
The last major pro comes on the battlefield. It was getting tiresome taking on the same old armies whereas now, between these added armies and the allies system, we’re getting a wide variety of opponents and we can’t be sure what we’ll get facing us across the tabletop. Yes, some will always play the power game, but for those of us unconcerned with such things, we get to pit our treasured armies against a wealth of varied lists. It’s a great time to be playing the game.
1bed5c
In terms of the cons, there are a couple that could be argued for as well. Heading straight back to the battlefield, keeping track of all the rules that come with each army is, for many, approaching the impossible. Between formations, detachments, unique weapon profiles and of course all the individual units, vehicles and characters having their own rules, the game has become very confusing. Of course, this can be negated by having a flick through of your opponent’s codex before a game, but that’s not ideal for those who count gaming as the core of their hobby. For those that like to know all the rules, we’re approaching an advanced degree’s level of learning to get them all down.
Between the release schedule’s limitations and those imposed by the practicalities of running a miniatures company, these added armies mean a lot of the older ones aren’t getting their updates. While having Deathwatch and Genestealer Cults is all well and good, non-Khorne Chaos, Ork, Dark Eldar and Grey Knights players are all rather desperate for an update to bring them to a competitive level rules-wise and a few new sculpts and units would be rather nice as well. A proper box of Chaos cultists, Plastic Stormboyz… who knows what was denied to us because of the new kids on the block?
1bed9e
Personally, I believe that the pros of this approach far outweigh the cons. I’m a huge fan of the direction that 40k is going in right now, and all of the new armies seem really fun. It’s never been easier to find miniatures to convert, the setting is now vibrant and varied and we seem to be getting something exciting every month – it’s great! But then I’m not so much of a gamer these days and I have heard and read whispers of discontent from those who like to know exactly what sort of armies they’re going to be facing. I don’t especially see this as an issue but I know some do. Others feel that the shelves are getting overcrowded while I see it as a blessing – variety is the spice of life and there’s just so much to be inspired by now. Whatever’s your poison, there’s something for you. It’s a great time to be enjoying the hobby.
Will we ever reach a point where there are too many armies? To be honest, I don’t think we will. We’re getting to the point where there just isn’t enough left to bring in that will make it an issue. I doubt the Custodes will get a full Codex when they’re released. I doubt we’ll see Exodite Eldar or Squats (sorry) from GW. Even if the chaps in Nottingham can squeeze out one or two more armies, I don’t think that’ll be too many. And I’m sure GW know that once we’re all hooked, they can start rereleasing updated models more often and new codices – they’ll keep us spending even without bringing out new armies.
What’s more, relatively good sources assure me that we’ll be seeing new Sisters of Battle in one guise or another within 9 months. Yes, I know, ‘reset the clock’, etc. But think more of a boxed game release than a full army rerelease. For me, that’s great news. And who knows, maybe before we have that, we’ll have some lizardmen from space, some alien cat-people and a codex for the Imperial Fists alone. Who knows!?! I’m just enjoying the ride. Are you?

Grey Tides; Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Just Keep Spending

Posted by johnnya10 on 10/08/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. 4 Comments

pg-29-north-sea-2-getty

We’ve all got one. Even those of us who proudly, almost smugly proclaim to the contrary, we all have a grey tide somewhere. I can see some of you now shaking your heads and saying ‘not I, there’s nothing unpainted in my queue’ but I bet that if you dig deeper into those boxes, you’ll find that character you never got round to, a small unit that got set aside, or half of a starter set that received no attention from your brushes. And if you really, honestly don’t have one, you will do soon. Grey tides exist for all of us, but I’ve been thinking about why they exist, and what they say about us as hobbyists. In this article, I want to examine why we do this to ourselves, what these hordes of the unpainted represent, and whether there’s any hope for those of us who can’t help buying the latest box set even when we know it will be a long time before we ever paint it.

(Warning: This gets a little wordy – possibly my longest post ever, so make yourself a cup of tea, find somewhere comfortable to sit, and crack on)

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Between uttering them myself and hearing them from others, I must have witnessed all of the excuses that painters and gamers use for their grey tides. I won’t try and go through them all here, but perhaps I’ll pick out a few of the more common themes and a couple of really original ones. The most common perhaps is barely an excuse at all – it’s the ‘I’ll get round to it next’ defence. Sometimes, when someone buys something while they’re already mired in a time-consuming project, they really do mean that the freshly purchased piece of plastic crack will be next for undercoating, but despite these good intentions (and the road to Hell is paved with unpainted miniatures), they often fall by the wayside when a new shiny-shiny is released. It’s part of the ‘Magpie Syndrome’ that we all have – a need to just buy something, even when we can’t use it or give it the attention it deserves for days, weeks, months, and even years. But we must have it, and those who have proclaimed ‘I’ll get to it next’ are often the worst culprits with grey torrents swirling about their hobby spaces. In the days of weekly releases, you really have to be a quick painter to keep up with this approach.

Another common reason to build up such a tide is that sometimes we just need to buy something new. I’ve done this in the last week. Grinding through a long project, sometimes we just need to pick up a new unit, vehicle or character to re-inspire us. That’s why I bought a Blood Angels tactical box on the weekend. I’ve no use for it at the moment – it’s primarily for my Veteran Squad, something that I don’t intend to work on for a long time. I just needed a bit of inspiration. I needed a spark to keep me going and so I added to my grey tsunami (it really is getting quite large) without any hesitation.

Blood_Angels_Tactical_Squad___Games_Workshop_Webstore

Then there’s the ‘because I needed it’ line. The only times I give this any credence, is when a miniature is a limited release, like event exclusives, or something going out of stock. Easily the most childish of excuses, this just points to a weak will – something I fully admit to being guilty of myself in the past. When the last big series of CSM releases came out, I picked up a Heldrake and a Forge Fiend, knowing full well that it would take me ages to paint either in the scheme of the Death Guard that I was working on at the time. But it was new, and it was shiny and I ’needed’ both of them – again this fits a little with ‘Magpie Syndrome’ – and that was why I bought them both there and then. I never did finish that Forge Fiend and it has long since been pulled apart for bits. If I’d waited, then maybe I’d have finished my Heldrake, gone out, bought a Forge Fiend and then finished that, but I didn’t. I let it become part of the tide, and rarely are miniatures released from its clutches.
miniature_sprues_-_Google_Search
By far the most original excuse that I have ever heard was from an old acquaintance who was worried about his job security. I witnessed him picking up an armful of boxes and asked if he was starting a new army. His reply I still remember: “Not yet, but if I lose my job, I won’t have any money to spend on minis so I better buy loads now to keep me going”. There is some ridiculous logic here, but it’s ridiculous nonetheless. He, like so many of us, would see ourselves buried beneath unpainted plastic, and be oddly happy about that. The only excuse that I’ve heard that is nearly as ridiculous is the ‘well, you’ve got to spend your money on something right?’ line – this is why another associate of mine bought four landraiders, one of which has been painted in the two years since they were snapped up.
But Why Do We Do It?
The aforementioned ‘Magpie Syndrome’ plays a role, as do some of the more plausible excuses listed above, to a degree, but that’s only part of the story. There are other aspects of our personalities and this hobby that cause us to amass the great armies of unpainted soldiers that we possess. A great deal of the guilt lies with our imaginations and what we dream up whenever we see a model we like. For gamers, when a new miniature is released (or when they  decided to try a new army), they dream of what they’ll be able to do with it on the battlefield. For painters, it’s all about what they can bring out with their paints – how they can create something amazing on this new, fancy slab of plastic. So we snap these things up and then our attention spans and imaginations have an arm-wrestling match and the winner will determine if the thing will ever really be painted. If our attention span wins, all is well, but if our imagination continues to reign, it is likely that we’ll be taken with something else new and fanciful before we get a chance to put undercoat to plastic. This is part of the reason why my Warhound is taking so long to tackle. I’ve imagined so many wonderful things on its armour plates, but my attention span lost out and my Imagination brought me to the Blood Angels. The struggle is real.
magpie1_tcm9-65582
And life gets in the way too, not helping the attention span win the fight. Jobs, relationships, friends, commitments – they’re all very unhelpful when all you want to do is paint. But until we get a lottery win and accept that we, as humans, will always be, in the truest sense, alone (sorry for the bleak philosophy – needs must), we must acquiesce to the demands of modern living. All of this take up time and energy and when you have but an hour or two to paint on a evening, the churn of a long project can make sticking to the plan rather unappealing. So instead of working on what we’ve committed to, we buy something new and work on that instead, and the longer we are off a project, the less appealing it becomes.
What’s more, the myriad stresses of modern life do make treating yourself a legitimate excuse. If you’ve had a rough week and buying a Gorkanaut or a Ghostkeel will make you happy, provided you have the money to spare, there certainly shouldn’t be any shame associated with our particular form of retail therapy. The fact that you may never actually get around to painting what you’ve bought and that it might make you feel guilty further down the line is not relevant and a shorter term point of view is what’s needed here.
1-intAndy-Wharhol's-cookie-jars-collection.-Magnificent-Obsessions_The-Artist-as-Collector_-Barbican-Art-Gallery.-©Peter-MacDiarmid_-Getty-Images

This is actually a tiny selection of Andy Warhol’s Cookie Jars.

Ultimately though, I believe that it boils down to the curious part of our psyche that makes us ‘collectors’. Collecting something is a very emotional act, or series of acts, that goes beyond the need to seek value. There have been a number of interesting exhibitions around London in recent years about people’s collections, and it really is a curious and intriguing thing. From Andy Warhol’s warehouses of collected fauna to those china plates your grandmother has in her cabinet, it’s not uncommon, and yet we understand so little about it. Psychologists have poured over the subject for generations now, with the likes of Freud and Jung both weighing in on the subject as well as modern psychologists too. The act of collecting gives the collector a sense of control over something, a way to express ambition, anxiety and stress relief, and a connection to the past that can be brought into the present. When I think about that, it’s all true. It’s escapism in a way – a method of pushing the real world away while we focus, in our case, on our toy soldiers.

When we apply this to the nature of the hobbyist, we find the crux of the issue. When your Grandmother collected those china plates, all she had to do was buy them and then display them. When Warhol filled his warehouses with all that junk, that’s all he had to do – buy it, and store it. But for those of us lamenting our Grey Tides, we have no such luxury. We collect, but then we have to put so much more effort in. Even the quicker painters struggle with turn around, and for those of us who paint at a snail’s pace, it’s all the more torturous. And thus the grey tide grows. Furthermore, the growing of a grey tide prompts a new type of stress and anxiety that replaces that which the very fact of being part of the hobby negates. Hardly an ideal solution. We are trapped because what we loves takes so long and offers us so much enjoyment, but our imaginations and GW’s release schedule is unrelenting and so the grey tides come in.

But Is It An Issue?

The thing about a grey tide is that it’s only really a problem if you think it’s one. However, while many won’t mind the growing queue at all, most will, at some point, usually when tidying up their hobby space, feel a pang of guilt. But why feel guilty? Is it that we lament the funds we could have put into rent, savings or pension schemes instead? Or is it that, like an unread book seems to yearn to be read, an unpainted miniature feels like half a thing – incomplete. Without the splashes of Mephiston Red and Naggaroth Night, White Scar and Castellan Green, a miniature is not really a miniature. It is instead still merely a product, a barcode and a box not yet imbued with the love, talent and creativity that will make it into something for our imaginations to make ‘real’. Is Abaddon The Despoiler Abaddon The Despoiler before his pallid flesh has been imagined, his pitch-black armour rendered or his daemon blade brought to life?

citadel paints

Many gamers who have no interest in painting will tell you he is, and perhaps they have a better time of it, but for those of us who like or favour painting, the answer is not so clear cut. So, those of us in that latter group, we of the bristle and ferule, are the ones with the real issue here. Our raison d’etre is to paint and so the unpainted are like ghosts, those plastic-wrapped boxes the coffins of those not yet brought to life.
But what of tomorrow? A new day brings new opportunities and while new miniatures come too, here in lies the chance to work on that which was set aside the day before. Will those of us with a grey tide be laughing while others have to trudge down to the FLGS to pick up something new to paint while we can simply reach beneath our desks for new things to paint? Perhaps. It’s not as bleak as it might be, and there’s always a chance that we could get round to painting these things. For many of us, in fact, it provides a challenge at some point. We nobly proclaim ‘ and nought shall be bought until all is painted!’ and we wade into our grey tide with hopes of preventing it from swelling further. And with any luck, we will not be King Knut when we do this, and instead, like Moses, we will cut through that which irks and chains and guilts us so.
So What Was All That About Then?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I think I was just feeling guilty about my grey tide and I wanted to examine the phenomenon a little more. I don’t know where all the poetic verse and biblical references came from, but perhaps I was just feeling in the mood for writing with a little more drama than this blog is used to.
Look, what I was trying to say is that grey tides happen, and there must be a reason. Hopefully I pulled out (and pulled apart) some of those reasons, and added a little more to the debate (not that much of a debate exists but hey-ho). And at the end of the day, a grey tide is only an issue if you make it one, and you can even make getting through it a bit of a project too. I guess I’ll have to do that at some point. Otherwise there’ll be a few more of these monstrous articles cropping up here! Anyway, if you have a grey tide, don’t panic. You’re a normal weirdo, just like the rest of us. Don’t worry about the guilt now – it’ll fade, and you can speed it on your way by working through your unpainted minis. Just keep on ploughing through them. Onwards!

Forge World Open Day 2016

Posted by johnnya10 on 18/07/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 6 Comments

60139987001_ForgeworldOpenDayTicket01_jpg_600×620_pixels

Has it really been a year? It seems like only yesterday that I was at the last Open Day but this weekend, I spent some time in Nottingham and enjoyed all the new minis and more of Forge World Open Day 2016. Have I got some fun pictures for you.

So How’s Nottingham?

ye olde trip to jerusalem

Nottingham remains a very pleasant city. Less than a two hour train journey from London, it’s a nice a place to be. My first port of call this time was to Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, England’s oldest inn. Built into the rock at the base of the castle, it’s been selling beer since 1189 and it’s a lovely place to spend some time drinking in the sunshine. There are plenty of other great bars too, and I really do recommend making a weekend of it if you attend in the future (just don’t stay in the Britannia Hotel – trust me, life’s too short). But I know you’re not here to listen to me wax lyrical about Nottingham – let’s get to Warhammer World!

obligatory rhino photo

Above we have the obligatory rhino photo that everyone has to take at Warhammer World. We got there just before 10am and the queue was pretty massive by that stage, but it goes down so fast there’s not really any point in joining it at that stage. The only reason to be first through the door is if you’re desperate to get your hands on something being released on the day. For example, there were only 8 Mastodons so if you wanted one, you needed to be first in line (bad luck, Henry – we now know for next time though).

FullSizeRender 23

My first stop was the painting competition where I placed my Blood Angel in the display case. There seemed to be a lot more entrees this year, and the competition was a lot stiffer. Plenty of beautiful things there – here are a few of them…

FullSizeRender 17

FullSizeRender 41

FullSizeRender 42

I don’t have the names to give credit, and I’d dearly like to, especially for that last one which was my pick of the competition. Stunning. The weathering, composition and painting on that titan head (and the whole diorama actually) was perfect and had I been the judge, I would have given the prize to that one. Beautiful.

Ok, ok. Let’s get to the models on preview. I’ll pick out a couple of favourites first and then do a dump of everything for you to enjoy. First off, my favourite, is the new knight. And he is a proper biggun’!

Acastus Knight Porphyrion

The Acastus Knight Porphyrion is a proper monster. He’s not too much off the size of a Warhound Titan and he’s improved greatly since the initial static sculpts came out. I’m a big fan of this guy, and so I snapped off a couple more shots to show off some details. My bank balance is already weeping at the thought of this guy being released.

FullSizeRender 26

FullSizeRender 24

The next one, is something that is coming out of Forge World’s Specialist Games unit and I don’t think it will be long before we see it hitting the shelves in stores. Get ready sports fans, because Blood Bowl’s back in town!

reikland reavers

The new minis look dynamic and detailed, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on this and pull the old Naggaroth Nightmares out of retirement. The Gouged Eye looked great too, and the double sided board is beautiful, both with the lush grass of the Empire pitches and the… slightly less lush orc pitch too.

new blood bowl board

FullSizeRender 20

It looks like everything’s ready, so I don’t expect it to take too long to get it out into the stores. And for those worried that this is going to be a one off, you can see what they’re working on now…

dwarf and skaven blood bowl players

And then, when you thought the Tau had enough guns to be getting along with, Forge World have decided to up the ante even more.

IMG_3436

IMG_3437

Expect these mighty missile pods and rail weapons to be raining down woe on the opponents of Tau players in the near future.

Here’s a selection of photos of other bits and pieces including new weapons, new heads, and some very big wings:

stormbird

IMG_3481

FullSizeRender 43

new mechanicum tank

FullSizeRender 37

FullSizeRender 13

FullSizeRender 36

FullSizeRender 33

So there’s plenty for you to get excited about there. Those knight heads look really nice and if I ever go down the Questoris route, I’ll definitely be picking up one of those. Overall, it was a great look into what’s coming in the near future. Was a bit surprised to not see a Primarch there – Russ or Magnus – but I dare say they’ll appear sooner or later. One little tidbit I did get is that once Prospero is done, it will be the turn of the Angels (both Blood and Dark) and that’s really made me happy.

The rest of the day was pleasant, spent moving between queues, Bugman’s bar and a few other spots. I popped into the exhibition centre and there were a few things of note there. Firstly, I loved seeing this blast from the past:

old games workshop boxes

That Space Ork battlewagon at the bottom is a real old favourite of mine – great to see it in the flesh. Also, in terms of individual models, Alarielle is fantastically stunning. I didn’t know it was as big as it is, and I was blown away by the sculpt. One of the most beautiful things GW has ever made.

alarielle the everqueen

Sorry for the photo quality – those glass cabinets are not a friend of cameras – but I had to show it off. Fantastic. And speaking of Age of Sigmar, there were some great new displays in the exhibition centre. Breathtaking stuff…

IMG_3470

 

IMG_3472

IMG_3467

That bottom one is the silver tower. I was going to leave this image out because of the crazy lighting, but then I realised it’s actually quite fitting given the mystique of the Gaunt Summoner’s palace. Excellent looking pieces.

There’s also a new Tau vs Ad Mech board and there are some great pieces to pick out, including the enormous Manta, and a battlesuit trying to kill titan. Seriously cool stuff.

FullSizeRender 12

IMG_3478

And so that was the day! I suffered my yearly dose of disappointment by not winning the titan raffle, which was made worse this year because it was a Warlord Titan (it’s usually a Reaver). Bugman’s remains a pleasant place to be, and there was some really cool terrain on display too. The titan battle was going on as well which is always a good laugh.

We left around 3pm and headed home, our credit cards slightly melted, and our heads filled with inspiration. It was a fun day, and I’ve got a few things to remember the day by…

IMG_3487

I look forward to the next Forge World open day, and hopefully by then, there’ll be a few Blood Angel bits for me to splurge on. But until then, I shall get back to that Calth box and dream a little of what will come. Onwards.

Warhammer 41K – How The Xenos Move Forward

Posted by johnnya10 on 09/07/2016
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff, Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. 2 Comments

There’s been quite a bit of chatter around recently regarding the 40K setting moving forward, beyond the ‘2 minutes to midnight’ of Abaddon’s 13th Black Crusade (999.M41). The chatter has mainly been about Chaos and the Imperium, with both Primarchs and Daemon Primarchs returning to the 41st 42nd Millennium (that’d take some getting used to). It’s an interesting take and I’m both a fan and not of fan of the idea – but that’s an argument for another post should this happen. But because the talk has been almost exclusively about Space Marines and their twisted cousins from the Warp, I’ve just been having a bit of fun thinking about what could happen with some of the Xenos races if their fluff is to move forward too. And to that end, here is a JUST FOR FUN (so don’t get all butt-hurt and beardy) idea of what life could be like for our alien friends/foes in the 42nd Millennium and beyond… (oh yeah, there’s quite a few ‘…’s as well – enjoy!)

The Eldar

Eldar_Craftworld_at_war

As the light of the Eldar dwindles further, as the craftworlds are swallowed up by the Great Devourer and Slaanesh’s forces alike, the cult of Ynnead becomes a major force in Eldritch politics. Even within the webway, among the followers of Cegorach, and the twisted denizens of Commorragh, the notion has some who are willing to pay it heed. While Aspect Warriors and Guardians continue to make war as they always did, new warbands of Eldar cultists take to the battlefields at their sides. The newcomers are determined to die a glorious death so that they may become one with the God of the Dead and soon, a new Avatar is seen. The Avatar of Ynnead stalks its enemies as black flames wreath its body, and its enormous warscythe hues its foes in half by their hundreds. The Eldar are dying, but what will be brought forth by their death…

The Tau

warhammer-40000-tau-empire-fire-warriors-denewer_s-art-543848_jpeg_800×580_pixels

With the Imperium’s fight being ever more desperate, beset on all sides as it is, the Tau have been left largely unchecked – their expansion seen only as a minor issue in the wake of other threats. But without any serious Imperial resistance, the Tau’s growth becomes even more rapid and their ambitions ever greater too. Several Imperial Forge Worlds fall to the Tau and with those victories, the young race gain their first ships capable of warp travel. Furthermore, their first regiments of Human soldiers wielding Tau-tech are sent into battle against their kin, seduced by the Greater Good and having been left defenceless by Terra. There are even rumours of a human with the powers of an ethereal…

The Necrons

Necrons_DC_cover

As the slow awakening of the ancient race continued, Imotekh the Stormlord realised that the Necron risked being overwhelmed as their adversaries grew ever stronger while the soulless machines of the tomb worlds slumbered. Reluctantly, he called on the gifts of Trazyn The Infinite who presented the Stormlord with a gift – a rare staff said to contain the last shreds of Szarekh’s soul. Imotekh travelled to a world of endless dessert, home to small stranded colony of quarrelsome Orks who were quickly dispatched. Buried beneath the sands, was the shrine of an Ancient Necrontyr sooth-sayer who had seen the galaxy to come 60 million years before. Imotekh plunged the staff into the heart of the alter and a psionic burst rippled out across the stars. Within hours, every tomb world began to stir, and the vast army of the Necron, billions strong, came back to life…

The Tyranids

Tyranids

What had come before was merely a prelude. The great devourer in the darkness roared and leapt with all its force into the new galaxy. This was no mere hive fleet. The Great Hive Tide Charybdis, the soul of the lingering menace of the void brought with it countless numbers of beasts as had never been seen before. Giant creatures that dwarfed even Imperator Titans lumbered across worlds that were devoured in mere hours. Monstrous synapse brains hovered over cities controlling hordes of xenos nightmares the likes of which had never been witnessed. The Hive Tide envelopes all before it, and shows no sign of slowing as it rages across the star systems of the galaxy, heading straight for Terra…

The Orks

1319685250709

Dis boy turn up wun day an’ oo knows where from. But he get big. All dat time Ghaza was fightin’ de humies, dis boy gettin’ bigga. So den wun day, he turns out to be bigga dan even Ghaza is. Sum rekon he even bigga dan de Beast was. An he even got da brain of a brain boy too. So he becomes da boss an’ he call up da clans. He call up da Goffs, an’ he call up da Deffskulls an’ da Sunz an’ da Moonz an all of ‘em. He take us all out to da edge of da galaxy so we can get a run up an’ den we WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! An’ humies an’ fish-faces an’ bugs an’ dem metal gitz an’ all da rest of dem now gettin’ stomped good. Propa Orky time. An’ da Weird boyz sayin’ dey neva felt Gork an’ Mork talk to dem dat clear before. Dey even says dey ‘ear a noo God dey call Kork! Old God oo hates ev’rywun an’ loves fightin’ more. We musta smashed up a fousand worlds and we ain’t stoppin’ coz da big boss says we can’t. An we call ‘im Da Mega Monsta, coz dat’s what ee is! WAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

And there you have it. Who knows what the progression of 40K will bring, but it’s certainly fun to think about. What do you imagine happening? What are you waiting to see? Onwards!

Games Workshop Licensing – The Opportunities Are Everywhere!

Posted by johnnya10 on 22/06/2016
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff, Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. 4 Comments
games workshop las vegas licensing fair

photo courtesy of spikeybits.com

Much has been made of Games Workshop appearing at the Las Vegas Licensing Fair this week. They’ve got a fairly sizeable booth there as they look for more people to take advantage of the rich and varied universes that they’ve created, from the Grimdark® of the 41st Millennium to the fantastical settings of WFB and AoS. As many readers of this blog will know, I do enjoy doing a bit of wishlisting from time to time. And today, I carry on that tradition by listing what I wish would happen to some of the GW products. Ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime (and there is certainly a healthy mixture of both here) I have plenty of ideas that will hopefully prompt several ‘hmmm’s, a few ‘ooooh’s and even the occasional ‘what the hell are you talking about’.

Were I ruler of the world, this is what I’d demand…

Horus Heresy Netflix Series

horus heresy netflix

Now, some will want films, but I think, given the amount of story, and the amount of characters, and the amount of thrilling moments and cliffhangers, each book getting 8 one hour episodes sounds way more fun to me. Start off with the Horus trilogy, then do Fulgrim, Flight of the Eisenstein, Prospero Burns… one a year would be amazing and it’s not so outlandish an idea now. With the success of Game of Thrones, TV companies won’t have too many qualms about trying a bit more Sci Fi and Fantasy now. What’s more, companies like Netflix and Amazon are throwing money at these sorts of series now. Why not? Even if we just got the opening Horus trilogy from it, that would be spaghetti and Amazeballs.

40k Vinyl Pop Figures

pop_vinyl_addiction_21

I’ve never really understood the popularity of these things, but obviously a lot of people do. And given some of the truly obscure films, comics, games and television programs that have their characters cast as bizarre, static little collectable dolls, there’s no reason why 40k can’t have them. Not only will the Vinyl Pop hardcore pick them up (because they have to have every one of them from what I hear), but plenty of 40k fans would shell out for them too. Imagine having a cute little space marine doll and a cute little ork doll on your shelves… well, some people might like that.

Sigmarite Saturday Morning Cartoon Show

age of sigmar cartoon

Now, I grew up in the true golden age of Saturday morning cartoons (when they were really just extended toy adverts). He-Man, Thundercats, M.A.S.K., Jace and the Wheeled Warriors, Visionaries, Dinoriders, Lone Star… it was a pretty awesome time and I had toys from nearly all of those series and plenty of others too. I think ‘Sigmarites: Warriors of the Realms’ would go down a treat with the kids. Then when they grow up, they can start buying all the minis and that, ladies and gents, is how you ‘hook ‘em young’ as the saying goes. And I’m sure they can handle all the gore. Kids love that stuff.

Replica 40k Weapons and Accessories

working replica chainsword

I’m not a huge fan of replica weapons myself, but I know a lot of people are. A cursory Google search will uncover Lord of the Rings replica swords going for around £250. Heck, you can get lightsabers for that and they’re mostly just a long tube! How much would people pay for a chainsword or bolter? And I have to admit, I may be willing to pop my replica weapons cherry if it means I can get my hands on Space Marine power axe.

Astra Militarum vs Tyranids Film

starship_troopers_ver2 2

Ok, here’s the plot. A tyranid spore mine hits a major city on a hive world in the Imperium. The Imperial sector fleet moves to engage the hive fleet and we follow the lives of three or four young troopers who head in different paths -one is an Imperial navy pilot, a couple go into the Imperial Guard and one goes into the Inquisition and eventually becomes an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor… oh, you recognise this film? Yeah. So do I. So do I. The rumour always was that Starship Troopers was originally meant to be set in the 41st Millennium and whether that’s true or not, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to see this film. Bring my popcorn!

Mordheim TV Series

mordheim tv series

Again, if people love things like Game of Thrones and Peaky Blinders, why not smoosh them together with a healthy dose of the Old World and create a dark, gory, bloody and claustrophobic TV series full of warring gangs, undead, daemons and man-sized rats? I’d watch that!

Space Marine Cereal

8242180142_07dd69a597

Now we’ve all seen the Khorne Flakes image above, and that’s certainly one way to go. Any GW themed cereal would be better than many of the more boring breakfast options out there. Fruit Lootas, Fleet-os, Causes Fear-ios… the potential is there! And I’d bet those sneaky guys over at Privateer Press are already working on WeetaCryx.

Sisters of Battle-Themed Fashion Line

tumblr_neivhd0NZO1rgdjn8o1_1280-Copy

I have no idea who this is. If you know, tell me so I can give her some credit for an awesome costume. And my phone number.

What? I’m not a pervert! You’re a pervert! …ok, I am a little bit of a pervert.

The Very Hungry Genestealer Children’s Book

hungry_cthulhu_-_Google_Search

This sound ridiculous, but you can already get a The Very Hungry Cthulupillar book, so why not? As a jokey sort of Christmas gift that wargamers could give each other, I think it would work. And there’s nothing wrong with using this to teach your own little brood to consume everything around them so that they can one day become big, strong Tyranid Warriors (yes, I know that’s not how it actually works, but then finishing your brocolli never made anyone big and strong either).

Reikland Reavers NFL Team

Untitled 5

Well, if London does get its own NFL team (and it has been angling to do so for a while now), why not make them the Reavers? Proud in their blue and white. They can even add a bit of red with all that blood. All we need to do next is convince the government to allow scientists to create Morg n Thorg in a lab and the Superbowl trophy will be in the UK within 5 years. Oh, and I’m sure we can get the league to add some spikes to the ball, right?

 

Ok, so a few of those were pretty silly and what we’re really likely to get from GW’s turn on the Las Vegas strip is probably a few more computer games (and some $10 dollar bills stuffed into Jervis Johnson’s waistband), but you never know. The chaps in Nottingham have built up a strong IP over the years and there’s no reason why others can’t use it to push the 41st Millennium and other settings in a few new directions. Here’s hoping those new directions do a bit for enriching the hobby too.
What licensing and merchandising would you like to see from GW? Anything I missed? 

White Dwarf – Monthly Publications, Lessons Learned, And What I Want From The New Magazine

Posted by johnnya10 on 17/06/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 6 Comments

white dwarf going monthly

It’s a case of things coming round again as it has recently been confirmed that White Dwarf will be going back to being a monthly publication after spending a couple of years now as a weekly magazine. Not only that, but it looks like this will spell the end of Warhammer: Visions as well. Let’s look at the whys, ifs, whats and various other things like that.

Let me take you back in time to February 2014. White Dwarf Weekly first hit the shelves and it was met, by many, with great enthusiasm, but the reason for the quiet elation for many seemed to originate from what White Dwarf had become as a monthly magazine. The old format had become thin, yet bloated. Battle reports were few and far between and were barely worthy of the name, and so much of it had become a sales piece. Now, the latter issue is relatively natural, as White Dwarf is GW’s main vehicle for informing people about new releases, but many took the view that it had gone from highlighting new releases to instead cynically chiming on about them without abatement.

weekly white dwarf and visions

The new, weekly Dwarf was a leaner machine, costing about as much as a pot of paint and offering a bitesize chunk of hobby goodness, while still pushing those new releases. It was also part of GW moving to a weekly miniature release schedule which has widely been regarded as a success. When White Dwarf returns to being a monthly publication, it will be interesting how they decide to push the weekly releases from now on. My suspicion is that more people are going online anyway and that the webstore will be doing most of the work on the new release front from now on.

Then there was Visions. Poor, poor Visions. Now, I’ll admit to being a fan of this magazine, but I know that I’m in the minority. And in truth, the first half of the publication I could do without – again, it was a sales piece. Look at fifty images of the same new shiny mini – those pages were a bit ‘meh’. That being said the higher grade paper and higher standard of photography allowed the miniatures shown within to really shine. But really it was Blanchitsu, Golden Daemon and Army of the Month that made it for me. Those are the bits that I enjoyed, even if I had to pay almost £8 for the privilege. Edit: I’ve recently been told that Visions as a monthly will indeed die, however it may well live on as a quarterly. Hopefully we’ll get more news on this soon.

mortifactors visions

(of course some of actually made it in to Visions once upon a time… *smug*) 

The point of this ramble is that there were good things and bad things about both formats, and if GW wants to get it right again, they’re going to have to take the best from both worlds, and satisfy painters and gamers alike – a feat not easily accomplished.

So what do we want? And by ‘we’ I of course mean ‘I’. Well, here would be my winning formula:

Battle Reports – Of course battle reports, but we want them done properly. That means going old school, with maps, with both sides writing their side of the battle and not so much about the looks on their faces, and more about their tactics and plans. The delight is in the details.

old battle report map

Army Of The Month – It’s been a great feature for ages now and it’s got to stay. In terms of getting a hobbyists aspirations going, it’s a cracker. It’s the article that makes me say ‘one day’.

Blanchitsu – John Blanche has been one of the most influential artists (if not THE most influential artist) in GW’s history and his small segment of the magazine is always a treat. Seeing a different way to look at painting and converting minis each month is one of the best, most stimulating ways to get the imagination going.

blanchitsu

Golden Daemon/Painting Competition Highlights – Another great inspiration piece. Seeing what the best of the best are doing, whether it’s at The Fang, or at a Golden Daemon event is great. And with them running more competitions, hopefully we’ll get even more awesomeness.

Paint Splatter – Not something I use much myself, but it’s great for teaching those beginning the hobby or a specific army how to achieve the look they want. And the better everyone gets at painting, the better all our tabletops look.

paint splatter

Paint Splatter+ – How about some painting tutorials for the more intermediate or advanced painter? Experimental techniques, intricate techniques, that sort of thing. I’d like to see some of that.

Words From People – In the last days of Old Monthly Dwarf, Vettock and Johnson were the main article writers and I for one used to quite enjoy going through those pieces. They were the sort of ‘yes, I know what you mean’ kind of articles. I liked those. The nuances of gaming and ideas from people who are real authorities on the games.

The ‘Fun’ Pages – One thing I’ve really enjoyed about Weekly Dwarf is the section at the back with things like ‘Ask Grombrindal’ and the ‘bit of the week’. It’s lighthearted but shows that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. A little bit of personality amongst the sales and seriousness.

ask grombrindal

Rules, Scenarios And The Like – This has been one of the big successes from the weekly mag. It’s great to be able to check out the stats of new models without having to fork out for a codex or steal them from another online source. And the scenarios have been a great touch too with a lot of fun being had by a lot of people.

And then of course you have to have all the new release stuff (from GW, Black Library and Forge World) and design studio stuff and the like – the usuals. Will all of that fill the 150+ pages? I should think so.

That’s what I’d like to see from the new monthly White Dwarf. How about you?

All of that being said, I shall miss weekly Dwarf. On many a Saturday, I have strolled in to one of my local GWs and picked it up as something light to read over a pub lunch. You could hardly call it ‘in depth’ but there was always enough to get stuck into over a burger and chips that made the small price worth it.

And yes, I will miss Visions. I’ve got quite a nice set of them now, having picked up almost every issue. For a painting-enthusiast, it was a great read (even if there weren’t that many words to actually read).

old white dwarf covers

That being said, I’m looking forward to White Dwarf going back to being a monthly magazine. It’ll be nice to see it again in this form and, if they get the recipe right, we could be in for a real treat. Let’s hope GW are up to the job.

Top 10 Unique Pieces of Wargear in 40k

Posted by johnnya10 on 22/04/2016
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff, Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 3 Comments

wargear

There are many awesome pieces of wargear in the 41st Millennium, with every species having access to something cool. From Thunder Hammers to Iron Halos, from Big Shootas to D Scythes, there are so many options out there for our armies that our chalice really does runneth over. And then among all of those sweet bits of gear, there are some unique pieces that really give the game its flavour. I’ve picked out 10 of those unique pieces of wargear that I consider to be my favourites. It should be noted that this isn’t about rules –  it’s about fluff. If these things had the rules they deserve, games would be a lot shorter (and though one player would be having a lot more fun, the other probably wouldn’t). Anyway, enough of all that; let’s dive into the list. In descending order, the 10 coolest pieces of wargear are…

10. Trazyn The Infinite’s Empathic Obliterator

Empathic Obliterator

When the ‘Archaeovist of the Solemnace Galleries’ (as this pretentious robot likes to call himself) hits you with his big stick, you know about it. Well, you know about it for a split second before a psionic shockwave rips your body to pieces from the inside out, killing any of your buddies who were dumb enough to be stood next to you. This staff is rumoured to contain some sort of horrific primordial energy that was used by the Old Ones themselves, and only an expert collector like Trazyn could get his hands on that sort of thing. It would be a pretty cool way to go, but you wouldn’t be around long to appreciate it.

9. Jain Zar’s Jainas Mor

jain zar

Howling Banshees are pretty terrifying in their own right. Swords whirling, masks screaming as they rush towards you at terrifying speeds, but their big chief is even scarier. Jain Zar, the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees not only has a terrifying mask and a weapon known as the ‘Blade of Destruction’, but she also has… a boomerang. Yes, the grimdark’s own homage to the classic Australian curvy stick (well, if you stuck three of them together). The Jainas Mor (that’s ‘Silent Death’ for those of you who don’t speak Space Elf) flies through the air, its blades wreathed in black fire, before decapitating everyone and then returning to Jain Zar. Good on ya’ mate.

8. Commander Farsight’s Dawn Blade 

dawn blade

So, the most famed member of one of the newest space-faring species in the galaxy is wielding one of said galaxy’s oldest weapons. That’s already pretty cool, but this blade is actually making Farsight live longer (not that he knows that). According to the books, the Dawn Blade has ‘chronophagic alloys’ (obviously *snort*) which take the life force of any individual it kills and bestows that life force to the user. Farsight didn’t know this when he picked it up for the first time to kill a Bloodthirster, but I’m sure he wouldn’t give it up now, if only because it’s so darn useful. It’s powers have helped him live longer than any fishface before him, and it’s pretty much the only sword in the ranks of the Tau. Also, it’s so old, no-one knows where it really comes from. Intriguing…

7. Gabriel Seth’s Blood Reaver 

blood reaver

Chainswords in general are among the most common weapons in the grimdark, but Blood Reaver is a bit special. For a start, it’s an eviscerator (or two-handed chainsword) which immediately elevates against most other chainswords, but this one is even more special. Because it kills everything. And because it belongs to Seth who, despite being a bit of a moderate of the chapter, is a Flesh Tearer. The angriest of the Blood Angels successors, and named after the often-censured, rage-filled Captain Amit, these guys cleave through armies like a lawnmower going through dry grass, and Blood Reaver is always at the front of the action. And it looks really cool. So there.

6. Lucius The Eternal’s Armour Of Shrieking Souls

armour of shrieking souls

Let’s just start with that name. The Armour of Shrieking Souls. How cool is that!? But names alone don’t get a piece of wargear into this list. So, what’s so cool about the Armour of Shrieking Souls? Not much. Just that it’s a sign of Slaanesh making Lucius immortal! When a swordsman beats Lucius (which is pretty rare) Lucius is reincarnated in that warrior’s body, and the face of that warrior ends up howling and grimacing forever as part of the Armour of Shrieking Souls. Not only that, but those howls can be focussed into a freakin’ doom siren – the best of the sonic weapons. How’s that for a slice of fried terror.

5. Maugan Ra’s Maugetar

99800104021_MauganRaNEW_01

The Phoenix Lord of the Dark Reapers has one hell of a fancy gun/farming implement to play with, and though there are similar weapons to Maugan Ra’s ‘Harvester’ (I’m looking at you Death Jesters), none of them are quite as cool as this bad boy. Even the Eldar aren’t quite sure where this shuriken weapon comes from, with many believing it was forged by the Gods or… something else. It can slaughter foes at range with its unusually large discs, or it can be used as a warschythe which, when operated by someone with the stats of a Phoenix Lord, makes it ferociously deadly in close combat too. From its psychoactive grip to its spirit stones, this is the weapon the Grim Reaper himself would buy, though I doubt Maugan Ra would sell it.

4. Garran Crowe’s Blade of Antwyr

Garran Crowe’s Blade of Antwyr

Farsight may have a blade that’s helping him to live longer, but Garran Crowe is such a badass that he’s walking around with one that’s actively trying to kill him or turn him to Chaos. Now, walking around with the sharp, pointy embodiment of the Chaos Gods isn’t necessarily cool (err… yeah, it is!), but when Crowe wades into war, he can coax this weapon into doing some pretty gnarly stuff. It makes him one of the best swordsmen in the grimdark and even Lucius would probably think twice before trying to add Crowe to his tally. If the blade meets a daemon it had beef with way back when, it will actually help Crowe kill it. Of course there are times when it meets an old buddy and then Crowe has far more problems than any genehanced, psychic super-soldier ought to have. Swings and roundabouts.

3. Kaptin Badrukk’s Da Rippa

99800103019_KaptinBadrukkNEW01

Ah, the joys of Orky ‘technology’. There’s not much to dislike about the Ork equivalent of Captain Jack Sparrow, but his gun is a particular favourite of mine. Da Rippa used to be a Ripper Gun, as wielded by Ogryns across the galaxy. When Badrukk’s Meks got hold of it though, they made him one of the most Orky weapons you can get. Instead of firing the garden variety oversized shotgun shells that it used to fire, Badrukk had it built to fire unstable canisters of plasma energy. Because that sounds totally sensible. You shouldn’t even be on the same battlefield when he fires this thing. It gives off horrendous levels of radiation when it’s not firing but when it does go bang, you get to witness the energy of a small star obliterating the enemy, and then all your skin melts off. No wonder Badrukk wears a lead-lined coat.

2. Abaddon The Despoiler’s Drach’nyen

Abaddon The Despoiler’s Drach’nyen

Most swords can cut through armour. Some can cut through the hull of a tank. Drach’nyen can cut through reality. It can literally rip a hole in space and time, and if you happen to be standing in the same spot, it’s ‘good night, sweet prince’ for you. Its other names include ‘Shard of Madness’ and ‘Thorn in Reality’, and whenever it kills someone, their skull can be seen writhing and twisting down the blade itself. Not only is it that unsettling, but it inspired the 1st Black Crusade and made Abaddon the powerful Warmaster that he is in the 41st Millennium. As far as game changing swords go, this pointy stick is one of the most important and impressive in the galaxy. In terms of legendary status, it’s up there with Anathame and the Blade of the Laer. It really is one hell of a sword. When you absolutely, positively have to kill every Imperial pigdog in the joint, accept no substitutes.

1. Inquisitor Karamazov’s Throne of Judgement

Inquisitor Karamazov’s Throne of Judgement

“COME CLOSER SO I CAN KILL YOU WITH MY CHAIR!”

Need I say more? Well, I will because it’s my blog and I get to do that sort of thing. Only an Inquisitor could see a Space Marine dreadnought, say ‘Mine’ and then actually turn it into a walking throne, pulpit and weapons platform. And why have a standard two-barrelled multi-melta, when you can have one of your little slave servitors stood next to you firing a THREE-barrelled Multi-melta? Covered with scrolls and parchments to the extent that it looks like a walking printing press, this is, as far as I’m concerned, the coolest bit of kit in the grimdark. From its flaming braziers to its big clompy feet, I actually want one for myself. I would consider going back to uni for 10 years, mastering engineering and robotics, and then building one so that I can sit in it, stomp around in it and scare the neighbours. The Inquisition really does get the coolest toys, and this is top of the pile.

 

So that’s my list. Do you agree? Disagree? Too sword heavy? Not enough guns? Tell me what I missed out by leaving a comment below. If the above list is anything to go by, I can’t wait to see what wargear we get in the future. Onwards!

Salute 2016 Review

Posted by johnnya10 on 17/04/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. 3 Comments

salute 2016 banner

Yesterday, I spent the day at London’s best and biggest miniatures and wargaming convention, Salute, and I’m here to tell you all about it. And that’s pretty impressive given the amount of time I spent at the Fox pub outside excel drinking with the charming folks from the Hate Club – if you’re a gamer in London, they’re worth checking out. So, hangover not withstanding (and I’m not standing at all), here’s the lowdown of yesterday’s events.

salute at the excel

As I mentioned last year, getting to the Excel is a bit of a pain in the backside, regardless of where you’re coming from. It’s London’s largest building (in terms of its footprint) and there’s always loads of conventions taking place there. With only the DLR to get people there, those driverless trains get pretty packed. We miniature-enthusiasts, as a group, are not renowned for being the most slender or, unfortunately, the best at applying deodorant so if you’re getting one of those trains, gas masks, vapo-rub under the nostrils… well, bring something. But enough moaning about the venue – that’s not what this is about. This is about a magical day that comes but once a year that even all the BO in the world can’t ruin.

So after a long queue (that moved steadily), and receiving my goody bag (free commemorative die, magazine, couple of minis), I got to the doors. To give you an idea of how big Salute is, I snapped off this shot…

salute 2016

An aircraft hanger full of glorious, nerdy stuff (and the above picture only shows half of it). What’s not to like about that? There were plenty of great stores offering awesome wares. So let’s talk about them.

Forge World and GW had a long stall there with an even longer queue for most of the day. New releases were all on offer, from Black Library books to the Limited Edition Imperial Space Marine. Of course the latter sold out in minutes and I ended up having to buy mine online, but that’s fine. I picked up the Horus Heresy Modelling Masterclass book and some weapons for future Blood Angel usage. One thing I did notice that’s pretty cool was the new blog, regimental-standard.com which I will definitely be keeping tabs on.

regimental standard blog

Other great stores that were there included:

miniature factory

  • Miniature Factory – These guys are doing some really fun minis that look pretty cool. They do some pretty amazing busts too and though there stall was small, it was always busy.
  • MDP – I mentioned these guys last year but they had an even bigger stall that last year with even more useful things for giving your miniatures those perfect finishing touches. Check them out for display plinths, tools and basing solutions.
  • Figone – If you’re thinking about going down the route of busts and large scale miniatures, this is the place to check out. Jeremie has some great products.
  • Zinge Industries – Another one that I raved about last year too. So many useful bits that no one else is doing.

There were loads more too – too many great businesses to name. That’s what makes Salute so good. Being able to see all those new games and ideas going on, witnessing all that enthusiasm and seeing people really enjoying their particular slice of the hobby pie.

There were some really cool minis in the display cases as usual, and the standard for the painting competition was very high. Unfortunately I can’t give credit to all the painters purely because I don’t know all of their names. If one of them is yours, or you know the artists, please let me know in the comments below. Here’s a selection of my favourites:

FullSizeRender 20

White Scars Commander by Henry South (well, I couldn’t leave him out could I?)

FullSizeRender 11

The Saint by Chris Duchesne (GingerDuck Painting and Conversions)

FullSizeRender 19

FullSizeRender 21

Tau Ghostkell by Paul Bullock

IMG_3223

Like I said, if you know who I can give credit to, leave a comment below. There were lots of other really cool minis but these were my faves.

There was some pretty cool Cosplay going on as per usual. Among the historical soldiers, my buddy from last year, the Blood Angel and his guardswoman wife were there, as were the usual array of stormtroopers. Always good to see these guys posing for pictures and strolling through the hall making people smile.

FullSizeRender 24

FullSizeRender 6

There was a pretty interesting stall that I wanted to give a shout out to – The Orc’s Head. This is an idea to create a dedicated pub for miniature wargaming enthusiasts, with tables and scenery to use in London. It’s a great idea but I think they may have jumped into setting up a kickstarter a little too quickly without getting enough people pumped about the idea – and they need to do more press! But to give them a better chance, I wanted to give you a link to their kickstarter page – support them if you can/want to.

FullSizeRender 7

As always, there were plenty of display boards with demo games going on and some of them were spectacular. There was also a giant space ship to promote DropFleet and DropZone Commander. Here are the pictures:

FullSizeRender 9

FullSizeRender 10

FullSizeRender 16

FullSizeRender 18

FullSizeRender 25

We hung around for the painting competition results at 3:30ish and then retired to the pub. Another criticism of the Excel is that the pub and drinking venue choices are very limited and disappointing – The Fox really is a hole. But it serves a purpose. I came away from the event with a great little haul that you’ll see in heresyandheroes.com in the future. It was a great event and I’d like to that South London Warlords for putting on another cracker. If you’ve never been, and you can make next year’s event, you must try to go.

FullSizeRender 23

Already looking forward to Salute 2017 but right now, I’m looking forward to a nap and some unhealthy food. Onwards!

10 Things To Love About Space Marines

Posted by johnnya10 on 05/04/2016
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment, Uncategorized. Tagged: . 6 Comments

ultramarines

As Space Marines turn 30 in a few days, I thought I’d put together a list of 10 things that I love about the grimdark’s most famous sons. Now, it should be pointed out that some of these will be sensible and some will be silly. None of it will involve rules – this is more about the idea of the Space Marine as a character and how it has evolved. This blog post is also my way of responding to all the negative neophytes who, whenever some Space Marine related news or rumours appear of sites like BOLS or Warseer, have to chime in with comments like ‘ugh. more Space Marines. Excited NOT. ugh’. I think it’s fair to say that though they may be the most loved faction in the 41st millennium, they probably get the most hate too. But hey, that’s what happens when you’re so popular. Anyway, here, in no particular order, are 10 things that I love about the Space Marines.

1. Pick A Chapter, Any Chapter

space marine chapters

In 30 years, the sheer volume of chapters that have been created, and that are being created right now, is frankly overwhelming. This points to two very important things – the scope of the human imagination, and the love people have for the big, power-armour-wearing space heroes. In fact, the above image is but a fraction of the chapters that are already recognised. Furthermore, GW itself has crammed as much info into the relevant codices as it makes sense to do so, allowing you to find the flavour of each one, from the name of their homeworld to notable campaigns. And if you can’t find one that suits, you can create your own and no-one’s going to tell you that you’re not allowed to do so. Yes, the Eldar, Orks and others have plenty of variation too, but no one has the amount that the Space Marines have and that does make them a bit special. They are the poster boys for the game and GW want you to have fun and do whatever you want to them (provided that you buy them at full retail price, of course) and that’s what attracts many people to them in the first place. Choose wisely, but remember that you can always choose something different later.

 

2. Armour Through The Ages

armour through the ages

From the ancient Thunder Warriors to the much-prized MkVIII ‘Errant’ armour, there’s so much to choose from when it comes to designing your force, and this comes from the fact that over the last 30 years, GW have done a great job of fleshing out the history of the Space marines and what they look like. Ok, so it would be pretty tricky to build a Thunder Warriors force (though I have seen a couple of squads before – very cool), but the above models have gone from rare collectors pieces to being widely available from Forge World. When I started out in the hobby way-back-when, everything was either MkVII or MkVI. That was it. That was where variety stopped. Now, the basic tactical squad box contains elements ranging from MkIV to MkVIII and you can go all the way back to MkII with Forge World. How’s that for variety! Not only do these give your armies a great look by adding in all those options, but they also give it a sense of history. You can see the Great Crusade, the Heresy and so much more in your forces now that back RT era wasn’t defined and in 2nd Ed wasn’t available, and that’s just grand.

forge world space marine armour patterns

 

3. Camouflage And The Space Marine

space marine land raiders camo

Ah, the camouflage issue. A long time ago, camouflage was encouraged in your armies. After all, the armed forces that are around today employ camo as an aid to survival, so why wouldn’t the armies of the future do likewise? I wouldn’t mind seeing Dark Angels in tiger stripes, or Ultramarines in jungle green. But I get the feeling the conversations in the future go a little like this…

Sgt: ‘Our brothers are ready to deploy, Captain. What colour armour should we wear for this mission?’

Captain: ‘What do you mean, Sgt?  We’re Blood Angels. We wear blood red. It’s in the name’

Sgt: ‘I understand, Sir. But, er… well, this is an ice world…’

Captain: ‘So?’

Sgt: ‘…well, it’s just that it’s… well, it all white and bluey out there, Sir. Red tends to show up a bit against white.’

Captain: ‘And? Are you fearful of our enemies, Sgt?’

Sgt: ‘Of course not, Sir. I know no fear.’

Captain: ‘Oh, so you’re ashamed of our heraldry then. Is that it?’

Sgt: ‘Of course not, Captain! My breast swells with pride that I’m a Blood Angel! it’s just that…’

Captain: ‘What?’

Sgt: ‘Well, I’d just rather not get shot straight away, Sir. I’d quite like to be able to see the enemy before he shoots me and he’ll be able to hit me a mile away if I’m dressed like Santa Claus in an Amsterdam window.’

Captain: ‘I see. So that makes you a… HERETIC!!!’

…or something like that. Well, I suppose if you are the Emperor’s finest, and you’re armoured like a walking tank and have no fear, I guess you don’t need it. Also, flat colours are easier to paint and more people will recognise Ultramarines if they’re painted blue as opposed to desert ochre. Forge World has tried to bring this back in a small way, helping those Howling Griffin fans who aren’t so fond of painting quarter colours, but that’s about it. I do wonder if it will ever come back though…

howling griffin camo

 

4. You Like Guns? We Got Guns. Really Cool Ones Too.

imperial weaponry

Now, this is a personal preference, but I’m going to say it: Space Marines have the coolest guns. Like, loads of them. From flamers to meltas, from bolters to assault cannons, they’ve got a bucket load of kickass shooty toys that other armies, stylistically speaking, can’t quite compete with. Yes, the Tau have their massive guns, as do the guard, and the Orks have their originality while the Eldar have plenty of sleek looking weapons, but none of them stack up against the arsenal of the Space Marines. I enjoy a shuriken catapult as much as the next man, but against a bolter, it just can’t cut it when it comes to an iconic look.

 

5. How To Choose Your Chapter: What’s Your Favourite Point In History?

space vikings

If you’re ever unsure about which Chapter to work on, you can always just ask the above question. You like, the Romans? Ultramarines for you. Vikings? Space Wolves, my friend. If you want to imagine your Chapter Master kicking a Hive Tyrant off the board while shouting ‘THIS IS SPARTA!!’, you can even pick the Minotaurs. And it’s not just historical references either. We even have Space Vampires! Space Wolves work for Space Werewolf fans too. How about Space Knights? Yep, got a couple like that. GW has used history a great deal to influence the Space Marines and as derpy as this could have ended up, over 30 years, it really has bedded in nicely and many of these chapters now have taken the best part of these influences and dropped the bad. However, there are a few that really show their age, though these have, for the most part been hidden away. That brings me on to the next couple of points…

 

6. The Fact That The Rainbow Warriors Exist

rainbow warrior ship

In 1985, a year before the Space Marines appeared, the French Secret Service bombed and sunk the famous Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace’s anti-whaling flagship while it sat in Auckland harbour. It was very big news at the time and it’s fairly obvious that someone at GW was a big supporter of these particular environmentalists, given that, one of the 12 chapters to feature in colour in the Rogue Trader book were called The Rainbow Warriors. Yes, among the Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Crimson Fists, there was a chapter that sounded like it had been born out of a bronie meetup that got out of hand (not that bronies were a thing in 1985). They didn’t last long and weren’t particularly popular, but it goes to show how cultural influences in the 20th/21st century influenced the 41st Millennium. I think the Emperor can probably do without them on the battlefield – being descended from Greenpeace activists, this chapter probably spent more time trying to raise awareness amongst the others that destroying the Ork was wrong and that everyone should hug the fungus instead. Bloody hippies.

rainbow warrior space marine

 

7. Space Marine Freemasons

space marine freemasons genesis chapter

Yep. I’m guessing we’ve got some funny-handshake-giving members in the design studio. The Genesis Chapter are clearly based on the Freemasons and what’s more, they’re still in the Codex today! It’s amazing that they th… *whispering in ear* …ah, ok. I’m not allowed to talk anymore about this. Moving on.

 

8. Pop Culture Heroes

pop culture space marines

Space Marines are the recognisable face of 40k, and as such have entered the realm of popular culture beyond the hobby itself. They are stars in their own right and their popularity has probably brought a lot of new gamers to the table top – certainly more than other races. The fact is that they are now an established part of the Sci Fi pantheon and hold cult status beyond that as well, as the images of Darth Vader and Deadpool above attest to. Go onto reddit or imgur and post an image of a Space marine and someone will comment ‘HERETIC!!’ within about five minutes. They’re the heroes of the hobby (like it or not) and they’ve earned a deserved place at the top tables of the genre. Power armour is extremely recognisable and it’s rare to go to a comic book or Sci Fi convention these days without spotting someone clomping around in a homemade suit. And the fact that cosplay enthusiasts have embraced it (almost as much as Sisters of Battle but that’s because of different reasons) again points to the Space Marines’ secure place in the Pop Culture sphere. Not bad for some 30 year olds from Nottingham who spend all their time indoors.

 

9. Chaos Space Marines

old chaos space marines

There’s an old football adage; you can only beat the team in front of you. If the team is bad, no one will give you the credit if you win, but if they’re a great adversary, you’ll get the plaudits. Now, it’s important to remember that I’m NOT talking about rules here. Chaos Space Marines have been the whipping boys of their relationship with their loyalist brothers for a while now, but in terms of lore, style and ideology, the Chaos Space Marines are the perfect adversary. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without the Chaos Space Marines, regular Space Marines would not have been nearly so popular. Batman needs the Joker, Professor X needs Magneto, Space Marines need Chaos Space Marines. They are the best bad guys out there, and they make the good guys look good. The fact that they also look like the good guys is an added bonus.

 

10. You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby

space marine sculpting evolution

Over the last three decades, we’ve been able to watch Space Marines grow from men in space suits to fully fledged space heroes. We’ve also seen their look change in terms of their sculpt and how they are painted, and what a long way they’ve come. The painting standards of competitions and commission painters today is mind-blowing compared to what it was like when I first started splattering humbrol onto un-undercoated lead. The miniatures themselves have gone through such a change from lumps of Pb, through white metal and finecast, to the glorious plastics we see today. Yes, this is true of all the armies. They have all come on leaps and bounds, but always at the heart of the evolution were the Space Marines. They have come so far, and it has been a joy to watch them grow. If Marine Medic Kyle, with his weird little laspistol could see the Sanguinary Priest of today, I’m sure he would be a very proud grandfather.

=][=

So, there you have it. You may still despise Space Marines, or you may well be wondering what this article was all about. Was there a point? Not really. I just wanted to point out some achievements, some quirks, and some history of an Icon who turns 30 in just a few days. GW owes its success in many ways to the Space Marine, and they know it too. What’s more, many of us owe our love of the hobby to these guys too – I’ve painted more than a few in my time. Space Marines; here’s to the next 30 years. Onwards.