Howdy folks, well I didn't quite finish catching up on the issues I'd missed in my blogging hiatus, but they'll be following shortly I hope. This issue feels like it's been a long time coming, it got leaked so early this time so much of this was not a surprise to anyone. Let's see what they got going on...
New Releases - Dominated by the new Space Marines Codex and the Centurions. They've got a huge amount of stick, but I like them. Yeah they go against all previous lore, but sometimes shit just happens. The devastator versions are cooler than the assault variety in my opinion, and you definitely need to put their helmets on, but other than that they're pretty cool. Underslung guns are cool, the Grav-Cannon is cool, the mohawk helmet is cool.
The new Tactical squad box also looks great, I'll be picking one up at some point once I'm burnt out on my heresy project. Sternguard and Vanguard get brand new plastic kits. I loved the old Sternguard, and it's a relief to see the new ones are every bit as awesome. I'm less convinced by the Vanguard but it looks like they have some nice bits options.
Two rhino variants have also been released, the Stalker and the Hunter are new Anti-Air weapons platforms, I think I'll need to see them in real life to form a definitely opinion, but the bulky sides are nice.
There's new plastic characters galore too, the librarian is the pick of the bunch, he's got a beard and a robo-baby flying around him. The captain is a glorified AoBR model, and the Chaplain is very Chaplainy. The only drawback is it's £18 for one fucking model, that's a bit too high even for me!
The codex looks great and it's bigger than the others, so of course that means that GW are charging more for it. This will probably be the only thing I'll pick up for now as I continue to try and clear some of my backlog of models.
Also released this month is War Zone: Damnos. It's only 20 quid and is an apocalypse expansion. As I'm a huge Ultramarines and Necrons fan I'll be grabbing this for my own 'black library'. I don't expect it will but it would be cool if they'd included some regular size missions to fight a whole Damnos campaign. Guess I'll have to have a go myself.
In Forge World news they are almost up to date, showing the meaty Legion Glaive, the new IA Apoc update and the event only Davinite Serpent Lodge Priest which I'll be picking up in just over a month's time.
There's a double page spread on Fulgrim which is a brilliant sculpt. I keep to pull my finger out and finish Angron first!
Army of the Month - Owen Patten's chaos Ogre's. Predictably because it's a 40k month the army is for fantasy. There are so many cool conversions and I spotted a FW Skin Wolf in there.
Jervis Johnson - An interesting look at how Jervis writes rules mechanics. It started off about the Altar of War series, but soon meandered into a general chat about nothing much.
Battle Report - Black Templars v Nurgle Chaos Marines and Demons. Andrew Kenrick brings the Death Guard, and Adam Troke supplies the Demons. This army looks fantastic, and it's making me rethink painting my Dark Vengeance set as Black Legion or DG. I just can't choose! The new Hunter took out a Heldrake, and the Storm Raven was still running around at the end of the game. No one had really claimed the relic so it went to Chaos winning on secondaries.
Battle Ground - Looking at some of the stand out models from Throne of Skulls. Loads of nicely painted models, and not a Nurgle lord in sight!
Battle Ground - A look at the Apocalypse board from the Damnos war zone book. There's some great necron tiles made from fantasy movement trays, definitely an idea for the future to tie in with the Tomb Citadel.
Hall of Fame - They really need to sort this article out, the Arachnarok Spider is nice, but not a fucking classic. Grr it annoys me so much!
Armour Through the Ages - A similar article to the Tau battlesuit one a few months back showing the evolution of space marine armour. They've used the GW models for this rather than the Forge World release but it's a nice summary. I wish they'd release more parts for the Mark 8 Errant armour, it's the coolest mark by far imo, with corvus close behind.
War Diary - Continuing the progress on a bunch of Armies on Parade boards. The War Altar built from the Garden of Morr set is nice, and the colour scheme on the Greatswords is one of the nicest I've seen.
Kit Bash - A closer look at some of the options in the new Tactical Squad box. There's so much variety now each marine really can look unique which is something I've always liked and tried to do with my smurfs. Mark Bedford's Astral Claws look particularly nice.
Paint Splatter - Predominately how to paint Ultramarines, from drybrushing to edge highlighting. A few weathering techniques thrown in. It's fairly basic, but also very comprehensive in what it covers.
Jeremy Vetock - A look at what makes a good 40k player. And it's not about how to smash face, it's about how to have a good game, such as a nice looking board to play on, a well painted army etc. I think this is the dream for many players. I've almost got a fully painted set of terrain, but I'm always a bit sad when I have to field armies that are no where near painted. One day soon I hope to use only painted models to enhance the experience.
This Month In - The biggest news of the issue, Bethan is leaving! Sad times as the first of the new group to fly the nest. Adam Troke has been trying to decide on a chapter for his marines, I'd go Minotaurs all the way!
The design Studio talk about the Asartes release specifically the new kits, and the insight is great to read. Cruddace talks codex, and Kevin Chin talks artwork.
The FW page is amazing this month. There's a preview of book 2 for the Horus Heresy, called Massacre. A spelling mistake, it's a Sicaran not a Sicarian Battle Tank! And a look at some more special characters. Erebus, despite being a total douchenozzle looks incredible, so much detail. And the WIP shot of Kor Phaeron looks like he's coming along nicely.
There's been no Armchair General or Blanchitsu this month but their absence hasn't been too noticeable. I wish they'd drop Hall of Fame instead though. It's a well-rounded issue with some great bits, some ok bits, and not too many bad bits. Overall I'd say 7/10.
