NEW 40K!

Yesterday, in an announcement on Warhammer Community (you know where to go right?), Games Workshop gave us a taste of what's to come with the new edition of Warhammer 40,000...

That's right, a NEW edition! But that's putting it slightly.... in fact, this edition (8th if you keep count) is going to be such a large shift from the previous editions that it's going to invalidate the existing codexes...

<cue lots of crying and shouting from entitled gamers who think their gaming books are an 'investment' - take a look here, but don't say I didn't warn you>

I think that this is a great thing - it throws off the shackles inherited from previous editions and allows creativity to shine through.

This approach could be seen in the Gathering Storm volumes - armies made up of Marines, Ad Mech, Grey Knights and Eldar are seen working together - something that has given me a huge amount of inspiration for my new army (see the previous post on the beginning of my Grey Knight army).  Removing the previous edition codexes and replacing them with new versions will allow armies like this to be more easily pulled together I hope, with alliances being common (and fluffy).

I'll be talking more about the new edition in the coming weeks - it's triggered an excitement in me that I haven't had for playing the game in many years, so expect much frothing and shouting as the launch gets closer!

Talking of which...

James Bragg, one of the Store Managers at Warhammer World, Twitter user and all round great hobby advocate has set down a challenge for the new edition, coining the hashtag #new40knewarmy which I will be taking part in with the Grey Knights (and whatever else takes my fancy)!

So far I've been taking my time painting as I want to do the best possible job on these guys... but here's some more progress shots!

First Combat Squad done:

Brother Captain Stern:

And Inquisitor Hector Rex (his war band is to come..)

Next up is a Dreadknight, and a few vehicles... stay tuned!

(Not so) Grey Knights...

'THE GREY KNIGHTS ARE HUMANITY'S GREATEST WEAPON AGAINST THE DAEMONIC ARMIES OF THE DARK GODS. CREATED IN UTTER SECRECY BY THE EMPEROR, THEIRS IS A SACRED DUTY TO DEFEND THE IMPERIUM FROM DAEMONKIND'

Sounds great doesn't it? Noble warriors, fighting the Warp born horrors that even the hardest Space Marine can't defeat... 

Problem is, I can't bear to paint the gunmetal / silver scheme that is synonymous with the GK - hell, it's where their name is derived from!

So, how to paint an army I really want to play.. choices choices....

Referring back to the Codex, I hit upon an idea.  Each 'Brotherhood; (which is comparable to a normal Chapter's Company) has a heraldic scheme, which is shown on a small 'oath' shield.  These schemes vary from Brotherhood to Brotherhood, but are always red and white / grey.  

Using this, I decided I'd base my Grey Knight force on the 3rd Brotherhood, under Captain Stern.  Using a  half white / half red scheme, I've come up with this:

THE SCHEME:

Basecoat:
Building from an undercoat of Halfords Red Primer, I blocked out the white half using Celestra Grey (I use the 'air' version for prefernce') and Khorne Red for the other half.  To shade, I used Nuln Oil into the recesses on the white side, and Reikland Fleshshade on the red (I did consider using Carroburg Crimson, but this would be darker than I wanted to).  The gold details were painted using Retributor Armour, the silver using Leadbelcher and the purity seals a base of Rakarth Flesh for the paper, and Mephiston Red for the wax seal.  the gunmetal areas were also painted with Leadbelcher, and washed with Nuln Oil.

Highlights:
The white half was overpainted with Ulthuan Grey, building up thin coats until I was happy that the colour was good and 'solid'.  The edges were then highlighted using White Scar.  The red half I re-painted the area with Khorne Red, which was then edge highlighted with Wazdakka Red, and then a final thin edge highlight of Tuskgor Flesh.  

The purity seals were highlighted with a 50 / 50 mix of Ushabti Bone & Flayed One Flesh, mixing in more Flayed One Flesh until it was 100% Flayed One Flesh.  Then, using an Artificer XS Brush, I painted thin watered down script on the paper.  The wax seals were highlighted using Evil Sunz Scarlet & Wild Rider Red.

The blade of the Nemesis Force weapon (the trade mark of the Grey Knights) was highlighted using Runefang Steel, and then a wash of Nilakh Oxide to add a 'glow' to the blade.

The final touch was the lenses on the helmet.  I painted these using White Scar, and then overpainted with Waystone Green, which is a translucent paint used to paint gemstones.

NEXT STEPS:

I'm really happy with the end result.  It's a challenging scheme to get right, and will hold my interest enough to paint an entire army.  Talking of which... the list I have to paint!

Draigo

Voldus

Librarian in Terminator Armour

1 Strike Team (10 men, 2 incinerators, Justicar)

1 Strike Squad (10 Men, 2 Psycannon, Justicar with Daemon Hammer)

1 Terminator Squad (5 men, Psilencer, Justicar with Daemon Hammer)

1 Terminator Squad (5 men, Incenerator, Justicar with Daemon Hammer)

2 Rhinos

1 Land Raider Redeemer

2 Dreadknights

Storm Raven 

Dreadnought

I've ordered Forgeworld Doors for the vehicles as I want to make sure they're as good looking as possible!

Spring 2017 - New Army!

Each year, I try to pick a new army from one of the systems I play and work on that as a major project for the year. This gives my somewhat magpie approach to gaming a little focus (this is known as avoiding the 'Shiny Toy Syndrome').

At Christmas, I decided on Space Wolves. This was due to the Wolves being one of the few armies I'd never painted, they're prominent in recent storylines (see the excellent Warzone Fenris for more on the Space Wolves vs Thousand Sons story arc) and have some great sculpts.

This was not to be however... After painting Ulrik, which is a stunning miniature (I'll be posting about this later) I thought this was the army for me, but when I began to paint the rank and file, I just couldn't get motivated painted so much grey.

So it was back to the drawing board!

After a lot of consideration and the release of both Book Seven of the Horus Heresy series from Forge World and the glorious Ixon Hale miniature, I decided that Legio Custodes would be the project.

This fulfils two aspects for me - I can use the Legio with Horus Heresy in mind, with all their fun Grav tanks and bells & whistles, but also use them as part of a Talons of the Emperor army for 40k, replacing the Grav with Rhinos & Land Raiders.

So here we go - the first two Custodes are done, and a lot more to go...

 Custodes Vexilia. Rather than painting the Vexilia in solid gold, I've gone with a spot colour of white for the wings.

Custodes - I want the armour to look a little more 'worn' than some of the Gw schemes, hence the lack of red or other strong colours.  This means that the gold plating looks colder.  Adding to this is the bases - all of which will be covered with snow (as with pretty much my entire collection).

Stay tuned for more updates on this army!

Returning to the Blogosphere....

Crikey, 2 years...

That's what it's been since I last posted on my blog - how time flies!

In that time, I've not really had much time to keep up with blogging here as well as working; but, with a change in jobs (yay!) and a reinvigorated love for my hobbies, I hope to change that...

Stay tuned for more regular updates - in the mean time I can be found on Twitter as @badsausagesdjs or in one of the many hobby related Facebook groups!

Comic Books - for all?

I love comic books.  I have done since my Dad used to bring home issues of Victor, Battle,  Roy of The Rovers and 2000ad to help teach my brother and me to read.

These comics then, in no short time, led to the introduction of the US titles which had, in 1982, started to be reprinted in fortnightly issues - Thor, X-Men, Spider-Man, alongside toy tie-ins such as Transformers and Zoids.

The love of comic books, just as with Role Playing Games, is still with me.  They've come a long way since then, with the surge of popularity due to the (pretty amazing on the whole) cinema franchises from both Marvel and DC.

When I started reading comics, the stories were about the heroes taking on the villain and (on the whole) beating them, rescuing the girl, who would then fall for them.  Of course, there were love triangles, and messy separations, unrequited love and spurned lovers, but it was all good, wholesome fun (even though this was the 80's and even into the 90's, the Comics Code Authority was still a powerful body, telling the Big 2 what they could and couldn't publish).

This series of frames, taken from West Coast Avengers, is pretty much par for the course of comic book romances at the time:

Hawkeye & Mockingbird, West Coast Avengers Vol2, issue 91 (1993) Artwork by David Ross & Tim Dzon

Admittedly,  there were no social networks or internet forums on which fans could express their pleasure (or displeasure) at the characters hooking up, but from reading the letters pages, it's pretty obvious the readership on the whole rooted for Clint & Bobbi's love story...

Now, advance to this year...

One of my favourite series of the last few years has been YOUNG AVENGERS. Relaunched in January of 2013 with a new creative team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, the title ran for 15 issues, in which the creative team told one of the best stories I've read in a good long while.

Essentially, the title looks at what happens when Young Avengers start to grow up - opposed by 'Adult' enemies, the group come to terms with their own nature, resulting in the redemption of several of the heroes along the way.  

Central to the story is a romance.  Sensitively handled, with humour and affection, the lovers split, then realise that they're stronger together.  The two in question?  Hulking and Wiccan.

Two boys.

Two gay boys.

To the readers of YA this isn't as much of a shock as it sounds, as the two characters have been 'outed' for as long as the title has been around - their relationship was established in Volume 1.

Volume two sees Teddy (Hulking) and Billy (Wiccan) separate, as Teddy mistakenly thinks that Billy would be better off without him (hell, when haven't any of us ever not thought that about our partners?).  But, eventually, they come back together, in what is one of the most touching and romantic issues I've ever read.

Here's one of the final scenes:

Hulking & Wiccan, Young Avengers, Volume 2, Issue 15 (2014), Written by Kieron Gillen, Drawn by Jamie McKelvie

The story, which handles the relationships of all the characters in a mature, sensitive and honest way, has just been awarded a GLAAD Media Award for Best Comic Book which I think is well deserved, and heartily congratulate both Kieron and Jamie for their hard work.

But then I made the mistake of reading the Facebook comments against the announcement of the award on Comicbook Resources Facebook page:

Now, that's pretty tame compared to some of the comments that were left... 

And for that I was ashamed to be part of a community that still harboured homophobia.  

I highlighted this to the creators, through Twitter what they thought of the comments - here's their reply:

And you know what? I completely agree. They are doing something right.  They didn't set out to sensationalise the story through the characters sexuality - it was just something that was there, that was dealt with just like any other relationship, be it straight, bi or gay.

And for that they should be applauded.  

However, there's a good wedge of vocal 'fans' of comic books who seem to think that unless the relationship is between a man and (more often than not, anatomically impossible) woman, it's 'sick' or 'perverted'. 

It's these same morons I'm sure that have been posting rape threats to Janelle Asselin for having the cheek to criticise the cover to the new Teen Titans comic book, again on Comicbook Resources (as it happens, I agree with her on this cover - the cheesecake depiction of Wonder Girl seems massively out of place compared against the other characters AND the previous TT story lines).

Both of these incidents are, to me, unacceptable.  I feel that as a man, who loves comics, I need to apologise for the brain dead, neanderthal actions of my fellow comic book fans, who seem to be stuck in the past, where being sexist or homophobic is somehow acceptable (hint: IT'S NOT) or cool (DEFINITELY NOT).

I've challenged the comments on the CBR facebook page, as have others I will say.  But even one sexist or homophobic comment is too many.

Comics should be for all - not the just the few. 

A Foray to Warhammer World...

Today, through an invitation from the Eldar painter extraordinaire  Nigel Bartlett, I went to a friendly club tournament at Games Workshop's Warhammer World venue in Nottingham.

I've not attended a tournament, event or even just played  at Warhammer World since 2010.  I've been there as a stop off for lunch a few times, but not to play.

Previously, when I worked in Nottingham, Warhammer World was almost a second home; as it was round the corner from my office I ate in Bugmans Bar on most lunches, and was an active member of the First Company Veterans (1CV) club, helping to organise and run many successful tournaments over the course of about five years.  I made a lot of good friends in my time there, but, as with many things, my time there was all too brief and when I changed jobs, my time at Warhammer World was over.

So going back for a couple of friendly games was a nice plan, one I looked forward to.

But I digress....

Warhammer World, Sunday, April 6, 2014

After meeting the rest of the team in the carpark, I was handed a rather fetching Polo Shirt with the WS10 logo emblazoned on the breast, and my name on the back!

My army was:

HQ 

Chief Librarian Tigurius,                  

Elites   

6 Sternguard Veterans; 3× combi-melta &heavy flamer, Veteran Sergeant with plasma pistol & power fist,

6 Assault Terminators; 3× 2 lightning claws; 3× thunder hammer and storm shield,

Troops           

10 Tactical Marines ; meltagun; missile launcher (frag missiles; krak missiles, Space Marine Sergeant; power fist; bolt pistol,

10 Tactical Marines; flamer; missile launcher (frag missiles; krak missiles).

Space Marine Sergeant; boltgun; bolt pistol,

6 Scouts; 5× sniper rifle; missile launcher (frag missiles; krak missiles); Sergeant Telion

Fast Attack  

Stormtalon Gunship; twin-linked assault cannon; Typhoon missile launcher;

6 Assault Marines; bolt pistols; plasma pistol; chainswords; Veteran Sergeant; bolt pistol; thunder hammer;

Heavy Support  

3 Devastator Centurions; twin-linked lascannon; 2× grav-cannon and grav-amp; 3× missile launcher (frag missiles; krak missiles);

Stalker; Icarus stormcannon array; searchlight; smoke launchers; extra armour. Vehicle (Tank).

And looked like this:

As it turned out, due to a few issues, I only got the one game in - against Tau...

Tau aren't an army I've faced for a god while, so were a bit of an unknown quantity to me - I'd forgotten how nasty they could be, with their marker lights and plasma weapons all over the place....!

Still, I put up a valiant fight, and did my best.  However, when the dice rolls are against you, no matter how well you plan it just won't work...

Things I learned from my game:

1) Tigurius is incredibly fragile.  As he doesn't have 'Eternal Warrior' as a special rule, nor an invulnerable save, he's prone to dropping like a stone on the first occasion he's shot at. Which he did...

2) Centurions scare people! No matter that I don't particularly care for the miniature, just their presence on the table scared my opponent into using them as target practice for pretty much the whole game - leaving my other squads free to move and grab the objectives early on (the fact that once they were destroyed it was open season on the rest of the army is moot...).

3) Stalkers aren't that bad, when you realise that Skyfire can be used against skimmers as well as flyers....

4) Riptides are hard - bloody hard, to get rid of.

Even though I lost 9vps to 3, I had a great game, and between Ade (my opponent and another member of the WS10 gamers club) and myself we didn't stop laughing throughout the entire game.

It was worth the trip, and the neverousness I felt at the idea of going was replaced by more good memories.

Thanks guys - I had a great time!

Evolution of a Roleplaying Hobby Part Three - Of Old Gods and Madmen...

In Part Two I rambled on about my first forays into Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and the influence it had over the whole of my gaming hobby.

I mentioned that whilst AD&D was possibly my favourite RPG system, it was a close run thing between that and another - Call of Cthulhu.

Call of Cthulhu 5th Edition, Peterson & Willis, Chaosium 1989. From my personal collection.

Whereas AD&D concerned itself primarily with fantasy, derring-do, cavern exploring and, well, DRAGONS, Call of Cthulhu (CoC for short) looked towards the ancient horrors which lurk in the shadows, evil cults and weird events...

In the United States of the 1920's.

Now, to a boy of 15 from a provincial Midlands market town, this equated to Bugsy Mallone, Al Capone, Bonnie & Clyde and Tommy-guns. Of course, I didn't realise that was a few years down the road, but it evoked a setting which was just as exotic as Tolkien.  

Published by Chaosium (still one of the best RPG publishers around) and based on the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft (considered by some to be the father of modern US horror), the game pitches groups of investigators (the players) against the nameless horrors of the Great Old Ones, including the Great Cthulhu himself, in a race against time to stop the cultists from causing the end of the world....

It's a markedly different system to AD&D, one I would say is more involved.  With skill lists and no set character classes (and not a sign of an alignment system), a player could be whatever they wanted to be (as long as it fitted the setting) - in my time I've had characters that were librarians, military officers and policemen, even a cricket playing spy in one memorable game!

The big difference though, behind the mechanics, was the 'feel' - AD&D at its core has a strong emphasis on combat - one of the largest chapters in the rulebook is for just that, whereas CoC's strength lies in evoking a sense of horror - that creeping feeling on the back of your neck, the knowledge that no matter what you did, there were things out there that you just couldn't fight, or if you did, you wouldn't defeat without either dying, or going stark staring insane...

Which leads me to the thing that, for me, is the USP of Call of Cthulhu - the sanity rules!  Every time you encounter the monsters, read a text or decipher a carving, your character runs the risks of going mad.  The Sanity Rules control this with great effect, never appearing to make light of insanity, giving weight to the decisions your character makes.

The writing throughout the rulebook, originally by Sandy Peterson and ably updated (in the edition) by Lynne Willis is fluid and inspiring, each section easy to understand and pick up.

Contained within the rules are a few introductory adventures that I've ran over and over again with various groups, and they're all great little scenarios to get your teeth into before you look further afield.

I've loved this game both as player and Keeper (the CoC term for the GM), and even now, many years later my old group still recount the adventures we endured.

I still run games now, the rules in their 6th edition (soon to be 7th). The original 1920's setting now vyes  for time alongside newer versions (which use the CoC rules under license from Chaosium) such as World War Cthulhu (adventures set in 1940's World War Two Europe), The Laundry (which takes its setting from another series of books - this time the Lovecraft / Deighton lovechild of Charles Stross's books of the same name) and Cthulhu Britannica (games set in the UK, with a great series of adventures set in Scotland, written by Stuart Boon and the winner of several awards and a personal favourite).  Curiously, these three settings are all published by those fine fellows at Cubicle 7, who are also the malevolent minds behind this year's big kickstarter, Cthulhu Britannica: London, which I can't wait for!

Coming Soon from Cubicle 7....

I thoroughly recommend both Call of Cthulhu and ALL of Cubicle 7's output, and look forward to many more year's running from gribbly horrors!

Next time: my gaming take a turn toward mutant animals, and a foray into the dark future of the 41st millenium...