Forge World Newsletter #353 - Imperial Armour Apocalypse

As always all the important bits below:

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Imperial Armour: Apocalypse is the ultimate reference for using Forge World's extensive range of tanks, aircraft, fortifications and gargantuan creatures in cataclysmic games of Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse. Contained within this tome are over 75 updated unit profiles, ready to be added to armies for both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse, as well as 16 Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse Formations, and additional rules and options for the immense Tyranid Hierophant Bio-Titan. From the hideously warped Chaos Reaver and Warhound Titans and the sprawling precincts of the Necron City of the Dead, to the lightning-fast Eldar Hornet, this book contains vital additions to the arsenal of every major faction embroiled in the eternal war for control of the galaxy.

Also included is an entire new War Zone for use with the Warhammer 40,000 rules, War Zone: Vraks. Charting the course of the bloody wars that followed the apostate Cardinal Xaphan's conquest of the Imperial fortress world of Vraks, this war zone includes three full Apocalypse missions, as well as character profiles and Finest Hours for the war's key participants, and Strategic Assets and Unnatural Disasters unique to the Vraks conflict.

This book is available to pre-order now and will be despatched from Friday 9^th August. To celebrate the launch of Imperial Armour: Apocalypse, we also have a range of Battle Formation bundles available.

 

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pretty excited about some of the packages though havent had chance to see if they come in any cheaper then buying individually but looks like i might have to pick this up on my return.

Hobby Update - Project Raptor and Baneblade WIPs

Hi Folks,
just to show I haven't been idle lately (a lot of wedding planning and visiting has been going on) its time to update on what work has passed through the workspace recently.

First up we have Project Raptor, one third of the project is now assembled (minus cockpit) and I must say the model looks awesome and is better then I thought it would be, I just hope I do it justice when I get to paint it.

Also over the weekend I spent time sat in the garden building the Baneblade I have had in the cupboard for about two years. The model is great, very clever and a lot bigger then I remembered. My only gripe is I really don't like the track assembly, the links just don't seem to gel when being built but over all I really like the model.

Hopefully these will get sprayed up before I go off in August for my honeymoon. I also need to finish some Chimeras and if time allows to get my Russes assembled and some guard stripped. Any updates or useful things I will share before then :)

any questions or requests for images of things I might have worked on please let me know.

Project Raptor - Time for Launch

Hi Folks,
the latest modelling project has hit my workspace. The latest being Project Raptor, as you can probably guess this is a flyer based project and is certainly a change from many many many infantry models and the odd Chimera based tank.

The first model that is being worked on is a Vulture with twin linked punisher cannons, this will be followed by a vendetta and possibly, should sales of airsoft kit suffice, a second Valkyrie will be joining the air support.

The Vulture was bought as a birthday present recently by my friends and is one of the nicest things my friends have ever got me. It was finally started this weekend with an awful lot of sanding and removal of large amounts of flash and overcast. Once sanded and the bits organised the kit doesn't appear anywhere near as daunting as it seemed to start with.

Once assembled the Vulture will be getting a matching paint scheme to the rest of the force but will benefit from some hopefully distinctive markings and options.

I did consider magnetising the weapons but given the thin ammo feeds between the hopper and the cannons it is unlikely they would survive storage so I most likely wont be doing that. I will give it a go and will let you know how successful it goes.

So keep tuned for more Project Raptor updates over the coming weeks.

Machinator248 Chimera Conversion Kit - Product Review

Time for the blogs very first product review, I hope you all like and if you have any thoughts or suggestions please let me know. Each Section is marked out of 10 and then the marks fiddled about to give an overall mark for the item and seller, hope its of use. Enjoy:

The Machinator248 Pegasus Chimera Conversion Kit

Product Name: Pegasus Chimera Conversion Kit
Production Company: Machinator248 (ebay seller)

Price: £15gbp (at time of purchase)

General Summary:
The Pegusus Chimera Conversion kit is as suggested by the name a converion kit for the standard Imperial Guard Chimera Tank, this kit allows you to convert you Chimara to have a smaller troop area and set back turret, as well as an option to use a hi-tech looking turret, combine with a Standard GW Chimera this gives your tanks a unique look on the battlefield.

Review

Purchasing and Delivery:
Purchasing of the item was somewhat unusual, this kit was origionally availible online but after the usual shanninigans with non GW kits the only place to obtain this kit is via direct mail on Ebay. This email was quick, courteous and straightforward, at no point during the email did I feel like Machinator248 was going to run off with my money and all comms were asking me if everything was satisfactory. Payment was as expect via paypal and again everything was followed up in a timely manner.
Delivery was quick, around a week but considering it had to get to the UK this is often better then most GW/FW/BL packages.
SIDE NOTE: check out machinator248 on ebay for some very cool baneblade/shadowsword components amongst other things.
Result: 8/10

Packaging and Presentation:
The model was shipped in a nice padded envelope which initially I was worried about but on opening discovered that additional packagin material was included and this helped protect the model in transit. Personally I would have prefered a small card box or similar but i appreciate that this is not a business as such and is a side venture so I underrstand the need to keep costs down.
Prentationwise I wasnt expecting huge boxes or patterened bags, i was please however that every component had its own individual ziplock bag so everything had that extra bit of protection.
Result: 7/10

Quality of Materials and Manufacture:
Being a resin based conversion kit I was initially concerned with the quality of the models, both in terms of air bubbles, overcast and casting stalks. As you can see from the pics this need not have been the case:

There were no miscasts in the kit i recieved, casting points only had small lumps and for the most part all edges were sharp. The inclusion of a hatch to cover the hole in the lower hull was also a nice touch.
The details on the body are great, the rivets scale well with the Chimera ones and the large hatch is good as well. I am however not the biggest fan of the turret but have converted mine as a spare.
Result: 9/10

Ease of use and Scale:
As you can see from the above pictures the model needs little clean up and other then the usually wash for resin is workable straight away.
The kit is a great add-on for the current Chimera and really does add to the look, if you are starting an army this would be a great place to start for looking at alternatives, as I have an exsisitng for with Chimeras I choose this kit to add something familiar but different for my Inquisitors ride. One caveat the kit came with was that FW turrets dont fit, it has since turned out that this is not the case and as you can see from the pics below this kit works well with the chosen base tank:

As you can see a great model that works well with current GW Imperial Gaurd products and one that looks like it should have come from FW.
Result: 8/10

Value for money:
Most definately good value for money, given a similar kit from FW would cost at least £20-25gbp I personally cant fault it and feel it is worth the money, just because of the time it saves converting your own chimeras.
When you also factor in that you can buy the Imperial Guard Chimera Chasis sprue from Let the Dice Decide for £10 this makes the complete conversion only marginally more expensive then the standard Chimera.
Result: 8/10

Overall Rating and Final Thoughts
Overall a great kit and one that I am please I picked up, whilst it is only WIP so far I hope to feature the model more on the blog as it gets further on in its progression. The kit however is a great buy and would recommend it to anyone who is new to converting, resin and just wants something different with little to no hassle. A good solid product.
Result: 8/10

Forge World Newsletter #304 - Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume Two

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there, In today’s newsletter we’re excited to announce that Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume Two is available to order for immediate despatch!

Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume Two
Since Model Masterclass Volume One was published several years ago, the painting and modelling landscape has moved forward considerably, with an explosion of new models, paints and materials available, not least of all from Forge World itself. In Model Masterclass Volume Two, the talented painters and modellers of the Forge World design studio build on the first volume with more informative articles, stage-by-stage guides and lavish galleries of inspirational models, such as the Imperial and Chaos Reaver Titans, Great Brass Scorpion and Valdor Tank Hunter.

Inside you’ll find step-by-step painting and modelling articles for our resin kits including the Crassus Armoured Assault Transport and the Great Brass Scorpion by Mark Bedford, as well as a Red Scorpions Land Raider Proteus and the Chaos Reaver Titan by Phil Stutcinskas. There are guides on the building and painting of the stunning display boards, ‘Encounter at the Balmaeus Ice Mines’, built to showcase Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara, and the ‘Raid on Kastorel-Novem’, built for Imperial Armour Volume 8. Also included are detailed painting galleries of some of our most iconic resin kits, including the Vulture Gunship by Phil Stutcinskas, a Renegade version of the Minotaur Artillery Tank by Paul Rudge and Keith Robertson’s beautifully painted Saim-Hann Phantom Titan bust.

Whether you’re building and painting a centrepiece model for your army or a detailed diorama for display, Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volume Two is packed with innovative techniques to help you create stunning models and is an essential reference for any serious painter. This 144-page, full colour, hardback book is available to order here. We’ve also added another video to our YouTube channel that showcases some of the pages and models from this incredible book in more detail.

Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

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Right-ho, mines ordered :)

Forge World Newsletter #297 - Mortalis Complex Terrain and Rules

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there, We have some amazing additions to our terrain range to tell you about in this week’s newsletter as well as details of a new Warhammer 40,000 experimental rules expansion, available to download now from our website, which allows players to enter the brutal and vicious battlefields of the Zone Mortalis.
           
Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Complex
The cities and starships of the Imperium are often ancient and crumbing edifices, constructed in ages past from prefabricated STC designs from the Dark Age of Technology. In a galaxy beset by war any building or corridor may be pressed into service as a strongpoint. Abrupt corners and shadowed alcoves typify the interior workspaces, while the narrow corridors and indeed larger internal rooms can be sealed off by great plasteel blast doors.

The Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Alpha Complex, Beta Complex, Delta Complex and Gamma Complex are each 1' x 1' (300mm x 300mm) tiles that are fully compatible and interchangeable with each other. These detailed hollow resin tiles, designed by Blake Spence, are perfect for playing games using the Zone Mortalis Warhammer 40,000 Expansion rules, a link to which is provided later in this newsletter.

The Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Set contains all four of the individual tiles, allowing for a huge range of possible corridor arrangements covering a total area of 2' x 2' (600mm x 600mm).
This new scenery range is infinitely expandable, and we plan to release more tiles and interior scenery pieces in the near future. We will also be releasing two sets of removable blast doors to accompany these new terrain tiles in the next few weeks.
These fantastically detailed terrain pieces are available to order now for immediate despatch, and to illustrate the awesomeness of the Zone Mortalis scenery, we’ve recorded a video to give you a closer look at them.

Warhammer 40,000 'Zone Mortalis' Expansion
Forge World is proud to present a brand new experimental rules expansion, dealing with some of the most savage arenas of combat conceivable in the Warhammer 40,000 universe; the battlefields the Codex Tactica Imperialis refers to as ‘Zone Mortalis’ - the fatal ground. Such areas, be they the contested decks of a void warship, tangled mine works, lightless underhives or sacred catacombs, all have a confluence of factors in common. They are closely confined, provide limited opportunity for ambushes or escape routes, as well as oft-times being treacherous, warp-tainted or toxic beyond the limits of the mortal condition.

These rules offer the chance to fight desperate battles of your own on such deadly ground and draw heavily upon the Boarding Assault rules previously published in Imperial Armour Volume 9: The Badab War Part One, and the feedback we have had from players. Zone Mortalis battles are unashamedly fatal and chaotic affairs (as fighting in a collapsing hive city under mass artillery bombardment, or on a burning star vessel in the middle of a space battle ought to be!).


Forge World Events News:
Forge World Open Day 2012, 1st April, Warhammer World, Nottingham Sunday 1st April will see Forge World and Warhammer Forge abandon our top-secret Manufactorum for our annual Open Day. This year’s event is even bigger and better than ever, as we will be taking over not only the Gaming Hall for our Sales stand but also the GW staff restaurant for our Studio staff and their displays.
We’ll be bringing you more details about the event in future newsletters. For now, we can whet your appetite with a few teasers: there will be two brand new participation games and as many of our detailed display boards as we can cram into the Studio area. We also intend to run a ‘Studio Café’ Q&A session in addition to showcasing a vast array of work-in-progress miniatures, future releases and some of the superbly painted models we use in our displays.
Our Sales stand will be packed with a huge selection of resin kits, books and modelling supplies, including a veritable cornucopia of pre-release kits that we’ll be announcing in future newsletters. As always the Open Day will be the first chance to purchase our 2012 Event Only models. We’ve designed both a Warhammer Forge model and a Forge World model once again, and while we can’t tell you what they are just yet, suffice to say we think they’re great!

AdeptiCon 2012, 19th to 22nd April, Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, Chicago
Forge World will again be attending AdeptiCon this year, and we are now accepting reservation orders for this popular event. While we will be bringing a huge selection of our range of books, resin kits and modelling products, placing a reservation order is the best way to ensure that we have exactly what you want packed up and waiting for you at the show.

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All I can say is nice terrain and great for adding some depth to games, very space hulk in nature, but unfortunately the cost seems slightly high. I was hoping for some terrain in the same vain as the older prepainted peices GW did, make from the lighter foam stuff, that way the costs would have been better and no doubt lots of people would be interested. Still if I win the lottery I'm sure I will pick some up - unless they change the material to make it cost less for the buyers :)

Forge World Newsletter #293 - Demios Predator, Macharius Omega and Re-releases

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there, Merry Christmas from all of us at Forge World! The dust has settled from shipping a record number of festive orders, and the eagerly awaited Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara has been released. We’re not finished yet though!
In today’s newsletter we’re excited to announce six releases that will be shipping from the 6th January. So if all that upcoming turkey and festivity leaves you craving amazing resin kits over the next week or so, read on for more...

Macharius Omega
While the sins of innovation and initiative are frowned upon by the Adeptus Mechanicus, new patterns and designs of weapons and armoured vehicles are still created. The Macharius Omega is one such vehicle, created with a single focus, that of the battlefield deployment of the Omega Pattern Plasma Blastgun.

The Macharius Omega, designed by Stuart Williamson, is a large full resin kit featuring some incredible interior detail. This open-topped super-heavy tank also includes two unique crew figures: a Cadian gunner and a calculus-servitor. This mighty war machine is available to pre-order now for release in the week commencing 6th January, and full rules for using the Macharius Omega in games of Apocalypse can be found in Imperial Armour Apocalypse Second Edition.

Deimos Pattern Predator
The Predator is a highly effective medium tank designed to provide Space Marine detachments with heavy fire support in the heat of battle. An ancient and revered design, cited by the Codex Astartes as a spiritual mentor, no less, there are almost as many patterns of Predator as there are of the ubiquitous Rhino hull it is based upon.

One such variant is the Deimos Pattern Predator, first issued en-masse to the Space Marine Legions of the Great Crusade. Artificer-crafted by the finest machine-wrights of the great forge-complexes of Mars, the Deimos Pattern Predator has since been modified to the ‘Annihilator’ variant by those Chapters who are supplied with this pattern.
The Deimos Pattern Predator, designed by Daren Parrwood and Will Hayes, is a fantastically detailed and iconic design, available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 6th January. This complete resin and plastic kit contains sufficient parts to build either a Destructor pattern or an Annihilator pattern Predator, (please note that our Rhino/Predator Reinforced Armour set is not compatible with this model).

Product Re-releases
We’re excited to announce that a few old favourites from our range are now once again available to order. These detailed miniatures have been repackaged into sets of figures for ease of ordering.

The Death Korps Commissar Set, Death Korps Tank Commander set and Inquisitor Solomon Lok and Retinue all designed by Simon Egan, are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 6th January.

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OMG!!!! more plasma kill and awesome looking predator, i really really really want one now, wasnt too decided on the pre-heresy bits but that boy is sweet!

It's in my hands!!! Imperial Armour 11 arrives!!!

Hi folks,
it's here and in my hands, well it's on the side but you get the idea! Any questions on the book, the rules or just in general let me know in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.

First impressions are "yay, its signed" followed by "ye gads! this cover feels rather thick.", it would seem the improved production doesn't just relate to the artwork but seems to extend to the quality of the physical book itself!

So any questions get asking!
Millest

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RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK:

The back story is ok, and intriguing end but not the big twist they promised on their YouTube video. Still good story about the attacks and the end leaves it open for a second book or at least some more eldar love from forgeworld. The problem is telling you anything really does spoil it as its not till like the last 2-3 pages of back story we find out why they attack and its a very "hinted" reason rather then a definative one and a somewhat shoddy reason to start a whole war, thats for sure!!

With regards the corsairs there is a nice section detailing some corsair "warbands" and their colour schemes. Not to mention some awesome colour plates of vehicles. Ruleswise as one would expect drawers heavily on codex eldar but offers the following units:

• Corsair prince
• Blade sworn retinue
• Void dreamer - pseudo warlocks
• Voidstorm squad - cqc specialists
• Harlequins
• Craftworld outcasts
• Dark eldar kabalite warriors
• Corsair squads - guardians
• Wasp walkers
• Jetbikes
• Falcons
• Venoms
• Hornets
• Nightwings
• Night spinners
• Phoenix bombers
• Warp hunters - falcon variant
• Firestorm

In short all the best bits from all the eldar books, and way to many choices!!!

As for IG, Titans and SW no new toys (well apart from the crassus tanks) but doesnt stop me wanting more stuff. only hope if they do a second we get some more things like cadian based engineers (ala DKOK mole mortars etc or elysian lascutters) but still the colour prints are good.

Any other questions?

Forge World Newsletter #292 - Imperial Armour 11 Released!

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there, Just when you thought Forge World had revealed all of its pre-Christmas releases, in today’s newsletter we are delighted to announce that Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara is now available to order.

Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara
The Imperial ice world of Betalis III is under attack from the combined might of three massive Eldar war hosts. Their motivation for attacking this seemingly insignificant planet is unknown, but General Myndoras Odon of the Cadian 6th Armoured Regiment is intent on bringing about the total destruction of these Eldar invaders.

Wielding the might of three Imperial Guard regiments and joined by the savage strength of Bran Redmaw’s Great Company and the colossal power of Titans from the Legio Gryphonicus, the Eldar of Craftworld Mymeara, Craftworld Alaitoc and their Corsair allies may soon regret attacking one of the Emperor’s worlds.

Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara provides a detailed account of the Eldar invasion, as well as background and rules for its protagonists, the Eldar of Craftworlds Mymeara and Alaitoc, their Corsair kin and the forces of the Imperium. Also included are profiles for new special characters, machines of war, and a new Eldar Warrior Aspect squad, the Shadow Spectres.

This 224-page full colour hardback book, written by Talima Fox, is packed with vehicle and infantry profiles, three Apocalypse datasheets, a campaign section and an Eldar Corsair army list. In addition the book also contains a detailed background and technical section covering the existing Forge World Eldar range.

We’re still able to ensure pre-Christmas delivery for this book as long as you select Express delivery when you place your order. The first 500 copies of this eagerly awaited book ordered either online or over the telephone will also be signed by the author, Talima Fox, making an ideal Christmas gift for any fan of Warhammer 40,000.

Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

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Well I must say they did keep the late release of this one quiet!!! Still pre-orders in and hopefully there will be some new cadian themed toys in the new year for me to drool over :)