Warllama Weekly Issue 5

Monday 10th - Sunday 16th December 2012

Let's start off with the big news first, I've actually finished painting a whole miniature! As I think I mentioned in last weeks update I was experimenting with layering rather than just basecoat-wash-edge highlight and I'm quite pleased with the effect. I think I still need to improve with the smoothness of my brushwork but I've got four more Deathwing to improve on.

I've also started working on a couple of regular Dark Angels. Because my Necrons are painted in Caliban Green with a stark edge highlight of Moot Green I needed a different technique to paint this dynamic duo. I basecoated them green, slapped on a heavy dark wash then started drybrushing. First with Warpstone glow and finally Moot green. Then I tried something I haven't done before and put a glaze of Waywatcher Green all over it. This did mute the colours back down and I think I'm happy with it but I might experiment with a heavier drybrush before glazing on the next one. I'm also hoping that this extra layer will prevent the drybrushed paint from wearing off when handled.

Also on the painting front (kind of) I got the FW etched brass and resin rear door for my Chimera so I got it all primed and ready to rock'n'roll at some point in the future. I was gearing up to get back to my Grey Knights when Dark Angel fever has hit. It'll be the first time ever that a new codex has come out and I'll already have some miniatures painted and ready. Some of the rumours of new units like Knights and Fliers sound amazing, I've got my fingers crossed for the 5th Jan!

The final news of the week was that my Warmongers Secret Santa arrived! It was from a chap called Christopher Chestnut, who you will find on Twitter here. It was a huge parcel so I had no idea what would be inside. As I tore the wrapping paper off the first thing I spotted with the pinata, then the book emerged. The Fall of Damnos from the Space Marine Battles series! I'd been wanting to read this for ages being an Ultramarines fanboy. I don't get much time off over Christmas, exactly 35 hours between leaving work on xmas eve and starting back again on Boxing Day, but I'm hoping I can start it soon. With the pinata I didn't have anywhere to hang him so he was rather unceremoniously stood on the floor and beaten senseless until he surrendered his chocolately innards, nom nom! Thanks mate.

Hopefully next week I'll get those DAs finished, and I've got a game scheduled for Wednesday night, it'll be great to roll some dice again. Hope you're all getting on with your xmas shopping and are feeling ready for the festive holidays! Laters.

Warllama Weekly Issue 4

Monday 3rd - Sunday 9th December 2012

Well there's more hobby progress this week than there was last time, although nothing groundbreaking so please don't get your hopes up. We'll kick off with what you've all been waiting for, the Christmas tree!

Onto the 40k now and I've almost finished prepping the Chimera, all that's left are to clean up the FW back door and stick on some etched brass then cover it in purity seals.

I got a couple of other bits primed but the big news is that I actually did some real painting. The Blood Angel  captain from GD2012 finally has some red on him. I thought I was going to hate painting large areas of red but it's been alright so far. Just got the edge highlight of Tau Light Ochre to do and a quick glaze of red.

With the pace of rumours about the Dark Angels codex picking up I thought I'd revisit the Deathwing from DV. I just started working on one as a test as I've never really done any layering before and it's turned out alright I think. Again the final edge highlight is missing and then it's down to the hard part detailing it.

Not much progress I know and it's very late but xmas seems to have that affect on my free time when you work in retail! See you next week...

White Dwarf - December 2012

This is going to be the first time for me that the new look mag gets put to the test. So far the previous two have had 40k releases that I've been really stoked about so my excitement could've (not saying it actually did) cloud my judgement. This issue is all about the Hobbit, and while I love the book, am pant-wettingly excited about the film, and can't wait to buy the lego, I'm afraid I couldn't care less about the game. I don't know exactly what it is but it just doesn't sit right with me, maybe it's a bit too much like historical gaming. I know how the battles go because I've read and seen them, I'd be changing the course of history by playing it myself! With that out of the way let's delve in...

Opening Salvo - The usually calm but excited Jes is in full on exaggeration mode with talk of jar-dropping and dazes induced by the miniatures. Yes they look like the actors in the film, please don't hype them up so far it seems ridiculous please.

New Releases - As you'd expect we lead with the Hobbit. There's a lovely two page shot of it all set up painted but that's immediately followed by a four-pager showing the same thing only bigger. I hope this isn't a return to the old way of showing the same thing too many times. A quick page turn reveals it's not. We're treated to some amazing close ups of each of the characters and they really do look great. One or two of them seem to lack a bit of detail and the sculptor seems to have a problem doing feet but other than that they look cool.

The goblins look good too but I am a little disconcerted by the troll with the moobs! The thing that I'm most excited about in all of this release is the actual Goblin Town scenery. It looks amazing and very useful to be using in other game systems.

The Crusade of Fire is up next and boy do the page shots look amazing. It's just a shame this wasn't in last months issue to encourage more people to buy it and give us a bit more detail about what to expect. It turned out that I actually got my copy of the book three days before I got my copy of this WD, a bit of poor timing there. Moaning aside Andrew Kenrick has come up trumps again with a blinder of a book. The cover and artwork are lush, the ideas and concepts held within are huge food for thought and you can't fault it on giving us additional rules and scenarios, the back section is chock full. I'll be reviewing it soon but all I'll say now is buy it now!

The Wall of Martyrs from last month has sold out so they've broken it down into pieces to sell separately, always good to know I can expect my set as and when I need to.

BL/FW/Digital/Licensed - We get a few new books out this month with a write-up on each, ForgeWorld show off the incredible Fellblade and Typhon. There's nothing new on the digital front but for licensed games there's the launch of Talisman Prologue. It was previewed at Games Day earlier in the year and looks great, fingers crossed we won't have to wait too long for the digital version of Warhammer Quest to come out too.

Army of the Month - Yet another fantasy army (is that 3 in a row?!) and it's a chap named Keith Robertson and his Ogres. They are beautifully painted, each and every one is amazing. However I have a thing about/against goblin green bases in a warzone. Surely the grass would've been trampled?

Jervis Johnson - He continues to both infuriate and enlighten me this month with talk of unwritten social contracts. It's an interesting read, he always makes me think and often about topics I would not normally consider, but every once in a while I'd love a proper behind the scenes at the studio type thing.

Battle Report - I know many people love the battle reports, it's the part where I tend to gloss over and this month's Hobbit fight is no exception. My only comment is that the atmospheric lighting made the photos look great, and that much Goblin Town scenery on one table is amazing.

The Rivals - A return to the fold after a notable absence last month. It's refreshing to read an article comparing and debating the merits of two units without it descending into whining or shit that happens on forums.

Blanchitsu - More inspirational work, this time looking at his space marine warband. I might be missing something but I don't know what they're for! If he could include some background that would be extremely helpful.

Hall of Fame - The recently released Coven Throne. Just like last month's look at the squigs, yep they're great kits but I don;t think they're quite old enough to be a classic just yet.

Parade Ground - More 40k goodness with a focus on fliers. The asymetric ork bommer is bizarre but Dave Thomas' souped up blitza-bommer is fucking brilliant. It's also great that there's a few pages given to readers' models too.

Kit Bash - Again plenty more reader submitted entries for this article, excellent stuff gang!

Battle Ground - Let's get this out of the way, I fucking love the Somaro Starfort. It's the greatest 40k scenery I've seen and I've loved it ever since the 6th ed book came out. I was fortunate enough to see it in real life at Games Day and it also features in the Crusade of Fire. I don't know how easy it would be to play a regular game on it but I'm sure there are hundreds, well maybe tens, of scenarios and ideas for ways to play on it.

Paint Splatter - Sadly quite light on actual tutorials, it's more of a checklist as to which pots you'll need to paint some Hobbits.

Jeremy Vetock - Vetock chats about getting too hot and playing games with a sort of GM so random things can always crop up. It's funny because having a GM is also mentioned in Crusade of Fire, it's almost like they're hinting at something!

This Month In - The design studio talk Hobbit, and there's some lovely shots of Radagast, the LE model from the box set. I really wish he wasn't only available in that box as his pet hodgeheg is so cute!

FW show us a load of stuff they are working on including some bits and bobs from the upcoming Battle for Black Fire Pass, I'm getting a little excited about my Dwarfs again. BL give us more words about their recently published words and with that the issue wraps up.

The magazine still feels really fresh and exciting, and I even wanted to read about the Hobbit which is something that I probably wouldn't have done before. Jes, Andy and the gang also manage to accommodate all three main game systems which is definitely a new thing, previous issues used to be solely dedicated to the big new release. The inclusion of so many reader models is amazing and the Battle Ground article steals the show for me this month. I'm going to give it a 8/10, would've easily been a 9 but I was put off by the gushing hyperbole at the start and it left a bad taste in my metaphorical mouth. Yes we all know the models are cool and that you get paid to big them up, just please don't patronise me in future!

Vintage White Dwarf 193. January 1996.

This issue is a truly amazing eBay find. Not only is it from my favourite era it is possibly my favourite issue! To top it all off the auction finished this morning at around 11 for £1.50 and I had it in my hand by half one the same day as the lovely chap Iain was heading to Cardiff and offered to bring all my winnings if I could meet him. Admittedly this hasn't helped me feeling like a plastic crack addict, as I loitered around Cardiff central station waiting to hand over money to a stranger in return for old magazines. With that out of the way lets delve into this amazing issue.

News - There is all sorts going on this month, from the release of the IG Hellhound and ice warriors to the launch of the modelling workshop hobby tools. Clippers for a fiver and needle files for even less!

Codex angels of death was also released along with a few of the special characters, and as always from this time there was even more Necromunda blisters released.

There's a whole page given to a competition to celebrate the launch of the PC game Shadow of the Horned Rat and this is the month where GW discovered the interwebz!

Pyromania! - Ian Pickstock takes a closer look at the Hellhound with some guides to decals, squadron markings and the complete rules and a cut-out template for the inferno cannon. The article gives tactics and diagrams of how best to use the new tank and in the cardboard section of the mag there's the datafax with all of the rules and points for the whole tank.

(I'd forgotten how much I loved the 2nd edition system of having everything on cards like the datafaxes and mission cards. It was always exciting each month to open the issue and see what goodies would be included. Even though its just printed card it really felt like a huge gift and would be something that Jes could and should try to emulate now)

Warhammer Quest: A dungeon of your own - A follow up article from one back in #188 about creating your own monsters and events for this now forgotten about game (well, by GW anyway). There's great examples and loads of food for thought to really inspire anyone who was playing.

In Communion - An interview with Andy Chambers! One of my all time favourite members of the GW team. Jake Thornton (the WD editor at the time) is on questioning duty. They cover a very broad spectrum of topics from how he got started, what he's currently up to, how he goes about his work, and going rock climbing with Mike McVey! He came across as extremely passionate, very knowledgeable and I remember that then filled me with huge amounts of excitement. I haven't felt that from reading any designer notes in the past few years. Maybe it's because I'm old. One of the coolest bits was a photo of his completely scratch built Redemptionist gang he made to help with the writing of the Outlanders supplement for Necromunda. I was so inspired I spent all my pocket money on a Deacon carrying a grenade launcher as soon as I could!

The bigger they are... - Looking at how to deal with huge fucking monsters and dragons in fantasy. Again there is sound advise and diagrams to help out.

Games Day & Golden Demon 95 - 11 pages given over to some of the most beautiful models little me had ever seen. The majority of them still stand up to today's advanced standards with just the age of the sculpts letting them down. I'll let the photos do the talking for a while...

Yep I know they're all Eldar

Target in Sight - Once again Ian Pickstock talks 40k and different ways to use the mission cards, putting them together, and inventing your own story lines and objectives for games. A great little read and cool to see creativity being encouraged.

Stillmania - I loved this article while I first read it and it still stands up almost 17 years later. Nigel
Stillman talks us through his thoughts about collecting and painting an army without losing focus becoming a hobby butterfly. I was they would include this type of thing in the current WD as it would be invaluable for newer recruits to the hobby. Although thinking about it GW operates totally differently now. Back then they still had big releases but not as much was made of them and they were constantly releasing individual kits whenever they felt like i and putting the full rules in the mag, so I think people had a lot more loyalty to a single army rather than chasing the new big thing. Or maybe it's just me, and I imagine that everyone has the same addiction as me!

I still plan my armies by the Stillmania method to this day, only now I can actually purchase what I want rather than only dreaming. It's a treat of an article.

Just an old Hack - Next up is my beloved Necromunda. Gav Thorpe tells us about the studio campaign and inparticular the necromunda chronicle they produced to keep everyone up to speed. They show some examples of past newsletters and he talks very openly about the playtesting that the game went through. There's some lovely battle shots too, the terrain for necromunda is what really gets me, although the gangers running around the underhive still have goblin green bases!

'Eavy Metal Masterclass - Mike talks us through a couple of reader submitted questions, one about how to paint skelingtons and the other about how to apply smooth edge highlights.

Dave Andrews' iconic Imperial Thunderbolt in the hanger gets two pages dedicated to it. There's a brief interview, you don't see the current golden demon winners being interviewed these days.

Unsung Heroes - Adrian Wood gives us an article about the 4th or maybe 5th game system of the issue, epic! To be honest I didn't really read it when I was young and I haven't read it today. It looks like there's talk about infantry and how effective they can be sometimes.

Q&A - A huge Necromunda section this month and the nostalgia of plasma weapons having to recharge after being shot!

Modelling Workshop - How to make your own gaming table. This was at least a decade before the Realm of battle when GW gave us amazing hobby articles about how to scratch build things from modular tables to flock-covered hills. Obviously they're less inclined to do that now as it would detract from their scenery sales.

Complete with old school cut out banner

Dark Saviours - So finally when we almost get to the back of the magazine do they give us what would've taken up the majority of a more recent issue. Dark Angels get rules, wargear cards and background for Commander Azrael, Grand Master Ezekiel and the Chaplain Asmodai. There's no input for Jervis in terms of design notes but rules is rules.

Raid! - We finish off with a fantasy battle report between Orcs & Goblins and Dark Elves. What's cool about it is that it is part of a campaign, not just a single mission. I'd love for this idea to be reintroduced to the current WD but then there wouldn't be as much fresh stuff to put into books such as the Crusade of Fire or Blood in the Badlands.

Another issue over and boy has it been an action packed 100+ pages. There really was something for everyone regardless of which system you played, and every single article either gave you new rules, new ways to play, things to try or just amazing ideas and food for thought about the hobby. That's why I love this issue so much, my only gripe is that it could've done with a touch more necro but that's me being greedy! It's damn close to being a perfect 10 however I have to retain my tough edge so it's an all time high of 9.5/10!

Warllama Weekly Issue 3

Monday 26th - Sunday 2nd November/December 2012.

Yet again I've got nothing major to report. By blogging regularly I'd have thought I would be making sure I had something to talk about each week but it turns out that I lack more focus than very blurry thing.

That's not to say that some hobby related things didn't happen, they're just very minor. I bought a couple of green citadel paints to start work on my Ork warboss and yesterday I picked up my copy of the Crusade of Fire. I've only read the introduction so far but I have had a flick through and it does look like its going to be a great read. There's a fuck load of bitching about it all over the net which for me is a good sign because I seem to like the stuff that others don't! Speaking of which, my White Dwarf finally arrived on Monday. I'll be reviewing it very soon and it should be interesting as its the first of the new style issues where the main release isn't something I care about. Can the new style still keep my attention?

I haven't managed to get a burger this week. I had a nandos which is always tasty but the closest I came to beef was when I bought a rustlers one morning. Needless to say it won't be scoring on the burger blog but it is a guilty pleasure.

Forgot to mention I met Darth too.

So what else happened this week? I bought super mario galaxy (yes I realise everyone else has had it for years and probably completed it a million times). Anna and I decided to buy a second hand Wii together as our anniversary gift this year and we've been having great fun making our Mii's and playing on WarioWare. Not so much fun has been had with Cooking Mama, the instructions are rubbish and my wiimote is definitely to blame for my low scores!

Other than that I haven't lifted a brush or hobby knife all week which I feel terrible about, fingers crossed ill get back into it this week coming.

Oh and I finally made it down to Fish 4 Comics, hadn't been in a few weeks, well since the Cardiff Comic Expo last month, so had a small stack to pick up. Really enjoying the new TMNT series.

Last minute update! I just bought a few (6) white dwarfs and two citadel journals off eBay! To add to my joy I got them same day as they seller was visiting Cardiff! What a day off! Now it's time to put Die Hard on the tellybox and get my Christmas tree trimmed up. Festive photos to come next week folks.

Take care and may your hobby time be more fruitful than mine!

Warllama Weekly Issue 2

Monday 19th - Sunday 25th November 2012

As I said last week I had the week off and I spent 4 of those days back at my parents house over in England with my girlfriend so there wasn't any hobbying done. Although while there I did try and visit a couple of GW stores to add to the list. Unfortunately when we got to the Stevenage branch we found it was closed, I'd forgotten no shops open on a Monday or a Tuesday. Anna was not pleased! The good news was that the next day was Wednesday and we were planning to head to Cambridge. I had a great chat with a chap I think was called Steve and was hoping to see displays of the magnitude of their Games Day effort. I was disappointed but the friendly staff and the fact Anna walked out with bagfuls (although not free bags, what's up with that?!) of Christmas presents more than made up for it!

Also while we were in Hitchin we checked out a recently opened gaming store called Battle Worlds. Had a quick chat with the guys who set it up and they seemed really nice and chatty. They had a couple of gaming tables and a lot of stock around the walls. Mostly GW but some other systems too.

On the Friday after we'd got back to Cardiff I had some time to myself and decided I'd make a start on cleaning up some of the characters and finecast I had lying around. I managed to finish off the Blood Angels captain, a Cryptek, the AoBR Warboss and the DV Chaos Lord. I didn't quite get round to finishing off Draigo and he's the one I'm most likely to want to paint first. Didn't manage to get any of them sprayed because the weather was shit as usual.

Saturday rolled around and I had my alarm set to apprehend the postie and my White Dwarf, it never came. For the first time in fucking months it wasn't on time. Oh well, I had things to do so I set off into town to the Lego store to pick up a copy of a game called Heroica. I managed to avoid the screaming kids surrounding Hamleys next door and made it to safety. They only had the Fortaan set but I was happy with that.

Next on my to-do list was to walk down to Firestorm Games to pick up a Chimera. I also found the old Chaos Marine codex for £2.50, back of the net! No I haven't gotten back into fantasy, a Chimera of tank variety. I felt like getting one for my GK army and it's a cool tank, shame they no longer have the tread-guard parts but still cool. I got it half built that evening and also finished off season two of Walking Dead. Still adjusting to Andrew Lincoln having an American accent, I'm so used to him being Simon in Teachers.

Also that evening we cracked Heroica open. It does say ages 8+ on the box and I'd read a couple of mixed reviews but thought it would be worth a try. The most fun, as ever, was building the dungeon, and I think this is where the expandability is going to come in, building our own layouts. The gameplay was simple but great fun, it was cooperative so there weren't any arguments and we'll definitely be picking up some of the expansions soon.

On the cards for next week is my monthly review of WD and hopefully some priming. Other than that I'm not sure what I'll get done, check back to see what happens!

Ps. While I was back in Hertfordshire my parents took us out for a meal and there was a burger on the menu. I love my burgers of all varieties (except McDonalds, they're rank) so I went for it, medium rare, and it was fantastic. It could've done with a bit of relish or some mayo but what it lacked in condiments it more than made up for in quality. I have an idea for a burger blog so this might form the first official review, keep checking the tabs at the top of the page for if this idea ever comes to fruition.

Weekly Warllama 1

This was an idea I trialed at the beginning of the year to improve on the regularity of my blogging. It worked for a while but then I decided I didn't want one post to contain lots of independent things so I stopped. Needless to say the post output this year has been shocking, highly inconsistent and of dubious quality! This has to stop!

So I'm reinstating my weekly hobby updates. This should keep me thinking and writing, it should also keep me motivated so that I actually have something to write about, and it should make for an interesting read...

Week 1 - Monday 12th November - Sunday 18th November

It's been a quiet week on the hobby front really. I haven't had much chance to put brush to plastic but I have managed to do a few bits and bobs.

For some reason I had the urge to dig out my Grey Knight codex and start writing some lists. I dropped Draigo and this gave me so much space I was even able to fit in a Chimera and some henchmen. I love the weaponsmith model so just had to shoe horn him in there. Since I'm so bored with painting necrons and my #fwo forces are slow burners I might get around to painting more GKs soon!

On wednesday I popped over to my mates house for a game of 40k. I took a really basic ultra force, plenty of rhinos and tactical squads. I was up against Space Wolves, and he'd squeezed in 3 thunderwolf cav and a land raider. Needless to say I was up against it but held my own and came out losing 2-1 on secondary objectives. I was happy with the way I played and think my tactical prowess is slowly improving.

Saturday was a big day, the Imperial Defence Network / Wall of Martyrs that I'd pre-ordered was ready for pick up from GW Cardiff so I headed over before work. The box is massive and it was torture having to wait till closing time to get home and open it up. The sprues are fantastic and it all looks like it's going to take minimal clean up to get ready. It seems like it'll fill a 4x4 board nicely. The mechanisms to hold the sections together don't seem to do a good job so I'm thinking about magnetising it all which should stop unwanted movement during a hectic battle.

Finally on Friday GW put up some tasty advance orders. The separate bits of the defence line but also a 40k campaign book, the Crusade of Fire. There's not a huge amount of info about it at the moment and only minimal page shots but it seemed like it would be in the same vein as Blood in the Badlands so I snapped it up as it's a 'While stock lasts' kinda deal. It looks like it's penned once again by Andrew Kenrick which increases the link to BitB which is a fantastic read. It might inspire me to get on with my planetary empires tiles!

That's it for my week in wargaming. Next week I'm off work but there won't be any crazy #warllamanecronweek shenanigans this time around as me and my girlfriend have managed to sync our holidays and are going away to visit my parents back in England. I'll be taking my ipad though and am hoping to work on some lore (i hate the word fluff!). Might be able to squeeze in a bit of painting at the end of the week though. Cheers!

Oh and we watched a great series called Defying Gravity over the weekend. There's only 13 episodes as it got cancelled (fucking abc, they cancel everything that's good). If you haven't seen it and like cool space ships I would defo check it out.

White Dwarf - November 2012

This is the second issue in the new style so it's time to see if the gang can keep up the great work they started last month. The issue comes with the annual gift guide and also a tiny pamphlet with rules for a couple of new units for fantasy chaos armies, yay for new rules!

New Releases - I didn't really have a clue about what was coming this month so this whole section was a surprise. We lead with the new Warriors of Chaos models. The Warshrine looks epic, the Skullcrushers look deadly and the Hellstriders are a Slaanesh unit I actually don't mind! Scyla Anfingrimm looks a bit like an angry pokemon and I'm not too sure what to make of Festus, the details are amazing but I'm a bit put off by his chin! The two lords, one Khorne and one nurgle are amazing, if I'm ever in a position to just pick up a cool model for the fun of painting it these would be high on the list.

The new White Dwarf miniature is also out this month, I love the model, it's hilarious, but I won't be able to work it into my dwarf army like I have done with previous versions.

Cultists are released in a pack of 5 with mixed weapons so it still looks like the best way to get whole squads in the DV box. Also released are the christmas megaforces. They are all big value for money and a really cool way to kickstart a new army project.

Now we come onto the new releases that I'm the most excited about. The edge paint set is a great addition to the already lovely range. It has some almost pastel colours and a 'eavy metal brush. Hopefully soon they'll sell the pots separately as at the moment they're just in a bundle but I'll be checking these out this Saturday.

The final thing that grabbed my attention was the new basing kits. I had one a while ago and the slate has been invaluable for my army. The kit that really grabbed my attention is the Under-Empire one. It has green crystals for my Necron army and mushrooms for my Dwarf army. Another purchase for this weekend.

Actually that wasn't the final thing, the final thing is actually the Imperial Defence Network or the Wall of Martyrs. It's a huge 100 quid kit which effectively allows you to create a trench network for your table. It doesn't look like there's any fortification rules for it so it might just be a piece of terrain, time will tell.

Forge World Latest - Resin time and a look at the Magma dragon and incarnate elemental that were released a while ago. The stand out piece for me though is the Heresy era marine jetbike. The kit is lush and I can't wait to add some to my #ForgeWorldOnly army in time.

Digital Products - The Vampire Counts army book gets the ipad treatment.

Black Library - A massive section for the book division this time with a look at two major releases, Pariah, and the first hardback Horus Heresy novel Angel Exterminatus. I like the idea of hardbacks and if I hadn't already bought the whole series in paperback I'd be considering these.

Licensed Games - FFG bring us a brand new RPG all about guard. It looks like it'll follow in their high standard of books.

Army of the Month - A huge Empire army from a chap called Rich Packer. It all looks great as you'd expect but one thing I noticed was the lack of big beasties such as the demigryphs and the big warmachine thingys.

Jervis Johnson - This month he tackles the topic of comp. When I say tackle I mean he outlines the two points of view then fails to fall on either side of the fence! I think the gist of the piece was that it's all cool and that we're entitled to take it to extremes but moderation is always best.

Battle Report - Andrew and Jes take to the battlefield again with a game of fantasy to test out the latest releases. Many people moan about the reports, that the armies aren't super competitive and that they're just an excuse to squeeze in more of the latest releases. I say why the hell not? It's a great way for people who aren't familiar with the army books to see how the units work and also it's just always nice to play with the new shiny toys!

Blanchitsu - A further look at Johns Inquisitorial warband. He really loves that Nurgle lord! His kit bash of the wraith is unbelievable, every photo in this article is a treat.

Hall of Fame - It certainly wouldn't be my pick for a stand out model but I suppose it is technically good and it certainly is well painted.

Parade Ground - A look at tanks. The Black Templar Land Raider is a stand out piece along with the beefy FW Praetor.

Kit Bash - A fist full of ideas about converting 40k warlords. The dreadnought power fist on the Inquisitor lord is crazy cool and it's lovely to see so much creativity in the magazine.

Battle Ground - I've never seen this board despite going to Warhammer World twice, they must pack it away for FW open days. This is stereotypical GW with shitloads of skulls all over the shop. Again there's some neat little conversion ideas.

Paint Splatter - Loads of different techniques for all sorts of chaos parts from armour to horns to fur. Nothing ground breaking but an interesting read with a few tips to remember. There's also a very model masterclassesque salt weathering technique for some extreme weathering.

Jeremy Vetock - Jeremy recognises that wargaming takes place in clubs and places other than the stores. It's a cool article and seems really genuine. He comes across as a nice guy and I'm looking forward to reading more from him in the upcoming months.

This Month In - First off is the WD bunker which looks exactly how I envisage my gaming room to look like when I get one early next year. There's plenty of space for painting and gaming and loads of display shelves. Andrew Kenrick's heldrake looks sweet, a great paint job in DG colours rather than the usual red. It does look like a right pain in the arse to transport though!
In the design studio they chat briefly about the chaos models but the really interesting part is the section penned by Dave Andrews about how he went about building the trench network.
Forge World show us the new Realm of Battle boards, I wasn't too impressed with them at first but they're really growing on me, postage would be huge!

You can tell by the length of this month's and last month's reviews that these new issues are rammed with stuff. Lot's of people have pointed out that the page count has already dropped and that there's a few articles missing this time round. I think this is to do with there not being a full codex release this month and that if the same articles were run all the time it might get stale. Better to cycle them round so that it keeps feeling fresh and is different each month. While nothing in this issue directly applied to an army of mine (which is surprising considering they seem to keep multiplying) I read each article and enjoyed the whole mag. It's consistent with last month although not as much 40k so an impressive 8/10 from me.

As always please let me know what you thought of it and please don't forget to follow the blog for your chance to win a painted miniature. Take care and I'll catch you soon.

Jumping on the #ForgeWorldOnly bandwagon!

Building a whole army out of Forge World you say? My ears totally pricked up when I heard that on Twitter a week or so ago. I won't go into details about how it started, you can find that out by searching #ForgeWorldOnly or visiting these blogs here and here.

At the moment I'm planning a single army made exclusively from Forge World kits and you'll be able to track my progress both here and on the blog that Drake set up.

As soon as I had Horus Heresy Book one: Betrayal in my hands I was thinking hard about what and who to collect!

With Angron in the painting queue I initially thought of World Eaters but thought they might be very popular.

Next were the Death Guard, my favourite of the traitors. They'd probably be getting a lot of love in the not so distant future and I wouldn't have to wait too long for some Primarch goodness.

I was literally, well not actually literally, pulling my hair out with indecision.

Then in a moment of clarity, whilst dosed up to my eyeballs on man-flu killing drugs, I realised, ULTRAMARINES! It made sense, yeah they're probably not going to get any genuine FW love in the next year or two but they'd be getting their love from me. I haven't painted much for my 40k smurfs in a long while and feel quite bad about it. I once had dreams of owning a whole company. That dream hasn't gone away, it's still there, only now it's being accompanied by Legion sized dreams!

In line with the rules I won't be able to fall into my usual trap of buying tons of cool shit then never painting it. I'll have to plan out my purchases and finish them before moving onto the next one. So in order to accomplish this crazy mission, a 1750 point all FW army, I'm actually drawing up an army list to work towards before reaching for my wallet. This will be following along shortly in a follow up post, possibly tomorrow. Stay tuned...