Games Workshop Boardgames and Space Hulk - Squad Gideon

I got Space Hulk when it came out..... which i have just discovered was freaking ages ago.

2009 in fact! And I still haven't finished painting it..........

FOR SHAME! I hear you cry! FOR SHAME! 

Why have I not finished this fantastic looking game with its amazing models?

The simple answer is that each one takes me sodding ages to do. I simply don't feel like I can cut corners and use my ultra sneaky painting short cuts.

I want these guys to be great paint jobs, and I feel I have painted them to the best of my ability. I'm not going to win any Daemon Swords anytime soon, but I feel these minis reflect my best work, and i'm pretty dam proud of them.

I'm less enthused about the genestealers and I wont be spending as much time on them, but hey I always prefer to play the Terminators in Space Hulk anyway.

I said this when I first got the game, and ill say it again. These are some of the sweetest, well sculpted and interesting plastic figures I've ever seen. Actually, I can't think of any that are better off hand. They simple are as good as plastic minis get.

Last stage will be to varnish and seal them, and im frightfully worried ill botch that and ruin the paint jobs.

This brings me to another matter

GAMES WORKSHOP BOARD GAMES!

It's a real pity that GW doesn't make board games anymore. This release of Space Hulk really was something special. The components were of the highest quality and the core game play, slightly refined from the original game, is excellent. Its an amalgamation of GWs shiny as heck production values and good old school board game rules.

It did have the power of nostalgia and the very strong Space Hulk brand. Something that the doomed release, Dreadfleet, was lacking.

Seeing how good Space Hulk 3rd edition was was akin to watching an old sword master who has given up his blade coming out of retirement to defend the villiage "ONE LAST TIME". It was awesome, but you also felt that it was the last time you would see such a thing.

Considering that Dreadfleet was recalled and destroyed so that copies wouldn't stink up the store shelves I don't think we will see GW try this again anytime soon.

There are some games in their back catalogue I would LOVE to see receive the Space Hulk Treatment.

• Necromunda 
• Battle for Armageddon
• Battlefleet Gothic
• Blood Bowl
• Mordheim
• Space Crusade
• Heroquest
• Warhammer Quest

Thankfully Fantasy Flight Games have got the licence to remake some of GW's back catalogue. So far they have done Horus Heresy, Talisman, Chaos Maruaders and a few others. 

The problem is, FFG cant do good minis. I'm unsure what the deal is, but any game they have done in the Warhammerverse (Relic, Horus Heresy, Chaos in the old world) has to use deliberately lower standard minis. 

It's a shame GW wont exploit their own IP, and simultaneously handicap those who they licence to use it. 

Horus Heresy could have been a big deal, but with mediocre minis and not tie in the GW's Horus Heresy  audience its no surprise it was a flop. 

I'm pretty sure that if GW rolled out a sparkly new edition of Necromunda with two gangs and scenery with mini boosters for the other gangs (like X-Wing) they would sell like proverbial hot cakes. Sadly, they think this will cut their profits rather than boost them. 

The dicks

Genestealers - Batch one

Just a quick post to show off the Genestealers from my copy of Space Hulk.

I'm half way through painting these chaps and have started painting the terminators again. I must say the process of "properly painting" models is a time consuming one. I use so many short cuts these days that when I actually try to paint well, its takes rough FOREVER to get anything done.

These Genestealers were actually finished many moons ago, but i never posted pictures of them for some unknown reason. They probably just got lost in the shuffle while I was posting pictures from all the other boardgames I've done.

Looking back at them I must say i'm quite pleased with the results. It's a rare thing to look at an older model and say "you know, that's not too bad".

Anyway, hopefully this week I can bring you pictures of the 2nd terminator squad. I've only got the thunder hammer sergeant left to do, but the prospect pf painting his stupidly ornate shield fills me with dread.

Space Hulk - Squad Lorenzo

Space Hulk

You evil expensive king sized monster you.

I occasionally say bad things about GW, usually about their pricing model and their release schedule. Mainly because those things are 100% true and get in the way of me actually enjoying their product and my hobby.

Space Hulk is above that, it's beyond it. Space Hulk is what happens when GW does something right. They took classic space hulk, touched up the rules, and made it exceedingly pretty. The Mini's are THE BEST looking models included in a stand alone boardgame..... ever.... no questions.

And for those of you who want to rave about deadboringfleet, please go over that side, the kids table is ready to serve your happy meal and novelty pirate hat. Pick a fate card to see who wins.

Space Hulk was, and remains and elegant asymmetric two player tactical game where nearly every decision is nail biting and tense. It borrowed heavily from the vibe of the Aliens movie, but married it well enough to the 40k setting that it wasn't jarring.

The mechanics are simple, in that brilliant "easy to learn, difficult to master" way of early GW boardgames. I do find the genestealers far more forgiving to play than the marines, but with experienced players it seems to balence out.

Painting!

I wont do a shot by shot painting guide, as I pretty much followed the one on the GW website. What I will say is that I took my sweet time with these guys.

I've painted entire boardgames in less time than it took to do this squad. I'm not an expert painter by any measure, and I get good mileage out of painting short cuts and techniques.But I took no short cuts on these guys. I think they turned out pretty good.

This is not a boxed set you want to give to KEEF your 13 year old cousin who just started painting. These models are precious really, and I don't normally say that about hunks of plastic.

Take your time, pay a friend to paint them who's really good. AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DO NOT USE THE GODDAM DIP METHOD.

I don't care if you think dipped models look good, they don't. They look passable AT BEST.

Dipping these is akin to getting a bottle of $500 wine and mixing it with orange juice and lemonade.

Oh, heres the painting guide for those interested. The only change i made is i didn't like the Grey terminator emblems on the left shoulder. (Crux Terminatus, I think)

SPACE HULK PAINTING GUIDE

That's it for now.

I really should get this game out and play it more, stop treating it like an art exhibit.