Ninjabread

Magnus the Red - Project Change XXI

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:09:00 +0000

A Thousand Sons has just been released by Black Library. So to celebrate I will focus on the Thousand Sons for a little. This is Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red, commanding his legion of Epic-scale Tzeentch minions.

Magnus the Red was one of four Daemon Primarchs released by Games Workshop in 1992 in Epic scale. Each of the four major Gods got one - Khorne got Angron, Slaanesh Fulgrim and Nurgle Mortarion. Pertarbo and Lorgar are the only other two Traitor Primarchs surviving in the present game setting, and both have been elevated to Daemon Prince status too, though neither have seen models. (And while I'm on the subject of Primarch models, Leman Russ is the only Imperial Primarch to have had one. Oh, and Lion El'Jonson's Lion Helm comes with the Azrael model. Oh, and one of Horus' Lightning Claws now belongs to Abbadon. I digress.)

The classic 'Eavy Metal Magnus the Red is of course blue. It was painted blue by Jay Tanner presumably because blue is Tzeentch's singature colour, and Mr. Tanner decided that the Red meant that in fact he was a ginger. Cap'n Facebeard of Warseer beautifully points out the 1992 studio colours "made him look like a 90s cartoon villain. You were always waiting for the Ninja Turtles to foil him." It is so bizarre that during Games Workshop's Red Era they decided not to paint Magnus the Red actual red.

With the Horus Heresy series of books it's stated that Magnus the Red had red skin. And instead of being a goofy Harryhausen Cyclops he has a one normal eye and an eyeless sockect. I will explain away all these differences by saying Tzeentch changed Magnus' appearence when he elevated him to daemonhood.

I decided to paint my Magnus with pinky red skin akin to some of my Pink Horrors, as I felt bright red skin would make him look Khornate. And I decided my Magnus would also be a redhead with matching orangey wings. I wanted to do his vambraces copper, but that was too many similar colours on one model.

And, to be honest, goofy as this model is it's also sculpted in a cockingly awful fashion. See his right leg? It's just a weird amorphous blob I despaired at painting. The back of the model looks like an afterthought. And what's going on with his giant head, and gibbon arms? It's either a Jes Goodwin or Colin Dixon sculpt, and I'm hoping it's Colin Dixon as he'd just started out at the company. I fancy doing one in the blue scheme at some point.

Alternative Blood Bowl Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaur

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:08:00 +0000

One more of my Gaspez Arts Chaos Dwarf Blood Bowlers.

This guy's had some minor conversion work to him. I didn't attach the shoulder horns that came as seperate pieces, and filed down their mountings. I figured the model'll be on its side so often that delicate pieces will quickly snap off. Similarily, I bent the tail around in a u shape and glued it to the side of the leg for added stability. It's already chipped and come off after just three games. Pinning and epoxy repairs are in order, but it's hidden in the photo.

Problem with this model is that you can only lie it down sideways. Makes it difficult to work out whether it's knocked down or stunned in gaming terms. But there's only one of them on the team at the moment so it's not something you can forget too easily. I want a second since the team's composed largely of cheap Hobgoblins. With their high movement, Sprint and Sure Feet these guys can pretty much power their way through the opposition and score if you're lucky enough to have them get a hold of the ball. Which is difficult thanks to their low agility.

I'm going to treat myself to some support staff models after I've finished the team. Gaspez've got a lovely Spaghetti Goblin, and a Pizza Goblin. Dammit, and they've ust released some little fantasy football lizards they've painted in beautiful bright colours.

Micro Flamer of Tzeentch - Project Change XX

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Yellow is an interesting colour. Doubly so when shaded with the gaudy Warlock Purple. Would you experiment with that combination? I have. Here's a 1990 Epic Tzeentch Flamer adopting the guise of Maynard Flux's Daemonic Familiar.

Interesting? Lurid? Psychedlic? Well, I'm a little glad I didn't do it on a larger model. Maybe a more sophisticated approach is called for. And now I realise that going forward I should avoid painting any of Tzeentch's bird minions in yellows to avoid comparisons with Sesame Street.

I noted with the Epic scale Pink Horror that this generation of Chaos models were laughably out of scale. Let me explain this a little more. Epic is nominally a 6mm wargame, meaning the average trooper measures in at about 6mm. Here's the Epic Flamer next to an Epic Dark Angel Hunter.

Why this hideous scale fail?

Theory One - the Epic Chaos Daemons were done at a time when Games Workshop were simplifying the amount of detailing on their Epic-scale models for ease of mass production. This meant chunkier details, less details, and bigger models (all the better to put big chunky details on).

Theory Two - Epic is out of scale with itself. People complain about not being able to fit ten Marines inside a Rhino in 40K. Well, try putting thirty 6mm Marines inside a Thunderhawk only 10mm long. Epic models were more abstract counters representing the troop types present on the battlefield, rather than being scale models.

Theory Three - Chaos Daemons should be this big all the time, it's the 28mm ones that are scaled wrong.

Well, anyway, Games Workshop corrected it in 1998 with the Epic 40K plastic Chaos sprues. Here's a comparison shot.

This is one of the few examples of Games Workshop's models getting smaller over time.

Ninjabread 23 - RSPCM

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:09:00 +0000

The RSPCM I originally conceived of after seeing expensive resin superheavies mutilated by underskilled modellers. Such as someone who buys the Forge World Fire Dragon and welds a Commissar to it for use alongside their finger-painted Baneblades. I'm all for stretching your own ability and encouraging people to enjoy their hobby in whichsoever way they choose, but I reserve the right to point and laugh in much the same way you do at the wannabes on (say) Britain's Got Talent. You're not sneering at the lack of talent, but instead just amazed at the gap between how good they are and how good they think they themselves are.

But then at some point in the writing process the strip stopped being about that.

And on a side note, here's something else I've drawn recently with a bookshelf background.

Ninjabread 22 - Medical Descriptions

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:34:00 +0000

Describing symptons is something awfully difficult, and I always seem to draw comparisons to things I have no actual experience of. "I feel as though I've just had my appendix out." "It's like period pains."

English classes would do better to teach self-expression and communication rather than grubby Yorkshire poetry. As a schoolkid I had to study the drab poetry of Simon Armitage. He produced a collection of poetry called Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid. The first word of that title is awesome. The second sounds exciting. By the time to get to the third word you're pretty much shivering with excitement at the concept of King Lizard battling with a zombie robot or something. But then, wham, you get to word number four - Coudroy - and all your excitment melts. Damn you textiles. Damn you.

G2 Pink Horror of Tzeentch Champion - Project Change XIX

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:09:00 +0000

Trish Morrison's Pink Horror Champion. His trademark grin was self-inflicted because he wanted to show his facially-scarred girlfriend he still found her attractive.

I can't put my finger on when Lesser Daemons first got their Champions, as I still need to find a copy of 4th edition Fantasy's Warhammer Armies Chaos. But I know the first official Daemon command models came out in 1997. (Ahhh. 1997 - when Minotaurs had great models.)

The Pink Horror Champion had an extra WS, BS, S, I and A over the standard Pink Horror. This was back in 5th edition Warhammer Fantasy, when Champions could regularly take magic items of their own rather than just being the guy at the front with a different name and an additional attack. But Daemon Champions couldn't take magic items (unless they were a Daemon Battle Standard Bearer) and didn't get access to any Daemonic Rewards (the Daemons' equivalent of Magic Items). And so, with the exception of the improved stats, I can't work out why people took them.

In modern Fantasy the Pink Horror Champion has been renamed to Iridescent Horror, and can also be fielded in 40K. There is no model for Iridescent Horrors yet, or Heralds of Tzeentch, so the Pink Horror Champion tends to crop up in both these roles. (Though the cheaper and more common approach is just painting a Pink Horror a different shade of pink - tsk.)

I did originally feel a little guilty that so much of Project Change seems to be Daemons. So, I counted up all the models the project's scope includes, and then counted how many of them are categorised as Daemon. It's a whopping 83% at present (not including the Daemon Engines, dragons possessed by daemons, sorcerers riding bound daemons or those weird Man O'War things I really ought to research more). And, as with this model only 74% of Project Change is classified as Daemon, I'm okay.

And, I realised that two Horrors ago I collected enough to field a 7th edition Fantasy regiment. Here they all are on a movement tray celebrating their new-found gamable status.

This is one of my Warhammer turn-offs. You spend an age painting your army, only those not in the front rank to be hidden away where the painting goes unnoticed.

Weathering Space Marines - An Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:04:00 +0000

I've been struggling to work out how to use Weathering Powders lately. I want to learn how to use them to push forward my painting ability, so I thought the best way was to get in and experiment. And rather than paint something fresh and then weather it, I found an old squad of Rogue Trader Space Marines in my cabinet to dabble with.

Each of these guys represents a different approach. Dabbing dried powder into the recesses, making a thick paste to cover boots, blending different powders to get multi-hued dirt - but by far the best approach I found was watering the powder down into a thin wash and letting it dry. It doesn't overpower the paintjob, and when it dries it dries opaque in the recesses, making it look entirely different from an ink wash or dip.

Interestingly, you can use this washing approach with colours lighter than those the models are painted in.

Here's a comparison shot of a weathered Marine with an unweathered one.

These are done with the Forge World set weathering set. Their three-page quick guide is absolutely no use whatsoever. Unless of course, you find big blank spaces highly educational.

Anyone got any tips on how they do their weathering? I'm eager to learn.

Ninjabread 21 - The Art of Miniature Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:38:00 +0000

Why can't people take decent pictures of miniatures? People seem far more competent taking shots of their friends moving about in dark pubs than taking shots of stationary miniatures in controlled lighting conditions.

Well perhaps I shouldn't sneer as much, here's some old old traditional film photographs I took back as a schoolkid. First up is Waaagh Cheesegrater - my schoolboy Orc and Goblin army.

A Homer Simpson Giant! A Cockatrice! Obnoxiosly huge banners! Orcs with Crossbows! I loved that army.

And here's an equally awful shot of my friend Ash's Chaos Warriors. Oh, those old plastic Crab Warriors, and pick-n-mix metal Spawn.

Here's a link to my free downloadble blue fade backdrops which are a quick and easy way of adding a slicker finish to your own photographs.

G2 Blue Horror of Tzeentch - Project Change XVIII

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:54:00 +0000

Another smiley-happy Trish Morrison Blue Horror of Tzeentch (far left). Now I have two so I can split a G2 Pink Horror in half in games and have everything I need to represent it. This pleases me.

This model is a particular favourite of mine as I got it way back in 1997 when Gorkamorka was released. I'd ordered my Gorkamorka boxed set from Mail Order, and as a treat they threw in this very Horror with a note something along the lines of, "This is coming out soon, have it for free". I painted him up even before I did my Gorkamorka mobs and used him as a sidekick for my Warhammer Quest barbarian hero - Pugnax the Pugnacious.

I'm trying a colder blue at the moment, as until now my models have had mostly warm schemes. I would like to do something more with the orange than just the eyes, so I tried the daemon-jewelery in a copper, but it didn't work. And it puzzles me why they wear jewelery. Where does it come from? Did Trish simply sculpt it on in order to hide the rough bits of the sculpt?

And, I'm off travelling again, this time to Lahndahn (big-ben-red-bus). Ninjabread 20, rather than being postponed to the weekend just gone will just be pushed back a whole week to this coming Space-Friday. Sorry. If it makes you feel better have this dumb joke only historical wargamers will ever appreciate.

Ninjabread 21 to be delayed

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:09:00 +0000

I'm off travelling the next few days, and as such this coming Friday's Ninjabread will appear later than usual at some point over the weekend.

To tide you over until that point I leave you with this three-panel gaming strip.

Ork/Genestelaer Hybridz Patriark

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:51:00 +0000

Who better to lead my Greenstealer army than the first Genestealer that infected the first batch of Orks? I present Patriark Zurk-Seez, born aloft on a mighty palaquin.

Starting with a little background on Genestealer Cults - the cult begins when a purestrain Genestealer infects some hosts. They are then psychically slaved to him, and spawn the first generation of Genestealer Hybrids. That first purestrain Genestealer grows in power and stature as his cult grows, developing psychic powers and acting as a psychic beacon for the Tyranid Hive Fleet. A fitting choice for HQ.

So, Zurk-Seez is much bigger than a regular Genestealer. He's built out of of the two of the metal B-Movie Broodlords and a Lictor. The pose (top right arm clutching bottom left arm) is homage to the original throned Patriarch model. I wish the plastic Space Hulk Broodlord model had been available when I started this. Ho hum.

Oh, and the little Gretchin Magus advisor whispering advice is another homage. He's converted from a Night Goblin Shaman, with his staff replaced with another classic Genestealer Magus'.

Now, the palaquin. I knew when I was converting him I wanted him on a throne like the classic Patriarch, but I couldn't work out why there'd be a huge immobile chair in the middle of the battlefield. But then I remember Xerxes in 300, and so searched high and low for Grot models posed as if holding something. Eventually I found a Goblin Bolt Thrower crew member that fitted the bill very nicely, so bought four of those. One of them on each side has their mouths resculpted to provide some variation, and they've got their feet reposed.

The throne itself is also homaging the classic models, with three big spikes off to each side, and skulls (albeit Ork/Genestealer Hybris ones) on the ends of each of the arm rests. Lovely.

Here's a picture of him before painting. The copper-coloured bits (tongue and loin cloth) are tomato puree foil.

In games he's represented as a Weirdboy Warphead as he has psychic powers, and Weirdboys have no weapons.

Other bits of my army here.

Tzeentch Doomwing - Project Change XVII

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Another foray with the teeny-tiny aircraft. I think it's because I saw Top Gun recently.

The Doomwing was one of the three Dave Andrews Tzeentch-specific Daemon Engines released in March 1993 - the other two being the Fire Lord and the Silver Tower. The concept of welding technology and warp creature together was never introduced properly into 40K-scale until a decade later with the plastic Defiler kit in 2003.

The Doom Wing was a small interceptor armed with a Flame Cannon. Quite how it shot down other aircraft using forward-firing gouts of fire puzzles me, but both fire and flight are Tzeentch's trademarks. It also carries over the horse skull vibe from the earlier Tzeentch-aligned 40K and Fantasy models.

The colour scheme was inspired by the cover artwork for Queen Rocks.

It would have been perhaps more fitting for the larger Fire Lord model which has more flat surfaces to have fun blending, and also the word "fire" in its name. Oops.

Ninjabread 20 - Tournament Painting Accessories

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Ninjabread's twentieth strip will be familiar for all tournament-attendees. It's tradition to have something left to do on the Friday night, from simple tasks such writing out copies of your army list to enlisting everyone to pitch in assembling the unit you bought on the way down.

I really like finishing armies for tournaments, and have an awful habit of starting (and only just finishing) one for every tournament I attend. I feel weird taking the same army to two consecutive tournament, I guess it's a hangover from when I just did one event a year.

Am I alone, or are you one of those people that's entirely unstressed and serene with tournament deadlines, as your army's been finished for months and all you have to do is decide which band tee-shirts to wear?

Amanda reviews: False Gods

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:04:00 +0000

Amanda of Floor to Ceiling Books offers her insights into the second book in the Horus Heresy series. Originally a few brief paragraphs in 1988's Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness about some guy called General Horus falling ill , Graham McNeill continues to expand and embellish the Heresy saga. Here's what Amanda made of this installment.

The Horus Heresy sequence is extremely interesting in that each book is written by a different author - in the first book Dan Abnett laid out the foundation for the tale that Graham McNeill continues. Part of the fun in reading this book came from seeing how McNeill handled the characters introduced by Abnett, and how his writing style differed.

I would say that McNeill is definitely more utilitarian in his style - at times Abnett became almost poetic in his descriptions, whereas McNeill eschews that for a more militaristic and straightforward approach.

This book is also more introspective. There are less rampant battle scenes (although that is not to say there aren't moments of excitement and tension), and the action moves into a more political arena. Horus reaches the moment of his decision, and we see the actions of all the protagonists as they decide whether to stand with their Warmaster. Of course, anyone who has played the actual game of Warhammer 40K knows the way that this novel has to end, but McNeill does a very good job of keeping me interested on the journey.

There are faults though - and one of them is not of McNeill's making. The edition of this book that I read was riddled with errors and needed another scan by human eyes to pick up all those mistakes e.g. 'their' instead of 'there'; "...it was poor a vintage" rather than "it was a poor vintage". This might be considered nit-picking, but enough errors will jar you out of a novel. I didn't appreciate McNeill making up words either - 'spanging', I felt, was unnecessary. Bullets ricochet, they do not spang...

I also felt that the period in the latter half of the book when Horus is struggling from his wound caused the pacing to go all awry. Up until that point we had been proceeding forward at a brisk pace, but I became mired in the dream sequences and struggled to get through without skim reading. I suspect that Abnett might have handled these in a better fashion.

My favourite characters were Loken and Torgaddon, as in this first book. Their very human reactions - the doubt, the pain, the anger - lend gravity to events. It was an unremittingly dark book, very grim, and even Torgaddon (the joker of the bunch) couldn't come out with much comedy relief to lighten the tone.

It almost sounds as though I didn't enjoy it, but I did - very much so. I found it more thought-provoking than the first book, especially with the discussion on the nature of Gods and religion. I especially liked the quote from Karkasy: "No, my dear, ignorance and fear create the gods, enthusiasm and deceit adorn them, and human weakness worships them."

All in all, a strong addition to the Horus Heresy books, with a cliff hanger of an ending that guarantees I'll be heading out to get hold of the next!

Thanks missy. Check out her other book reviews and thoughts at Floor to Ceiling Books. She reads books like other people breathe air.

Free downloadable blue fade backdrops

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:46:00 +0000

I have a secret weapon in photographing my models - blue fade backgrounds. I've seen many people that laboriously paint these in in Photoshop after they've taken the photograph. (I did in the past.) But, why not just make one in the first place?

Take this here cool retro Ultramarines Terminator. It took all of five seconds to photograph.

And here it is from slightly further away.

(Now, if I were on Warseer doing a project log, this second photograph would be entirely acceptable as the actual photo of the Terminator.)

So, rather than keep this to myself I thought I'd share it with all you lovely people.

Click the one you want below, then right click > save as. Print off on a piece of a4 paper or card, and hey presto! Mugs available from all good hobby stores.

Importantly, they're disposable, as my cats love walking over them when I'm not about and leaving tiny paw prints. The buggers.

Now, for any graphic design nerds out there, they look great as the colour is pure cyan. Your printed contains four inks - cyan, magenta, yellow and black - which it combines to produce any colour you care to print. But, when you mix inks it starts looking muddy. Pure mono-ink colours are fresh and vibrant.

Thunderbolt Fighter Squadron

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:45:00 +0000

We're faster than evil! We're faster than crime! We're faster than love! We're faster than tiiiiiime! Oops. That was Ring Raiders. I always get flashbacks when I play with Epic aircraft. Especially with those transparent stalks.

So, these Thunderbolts are the 3rd and 4th aircraft from C Squadron from the 1337th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, in the colours of the 1st Ager Hominis campaign where they famously supported the Grand Master Obtusius of the Dark Angels Chapter (DEFFWING COMPANY).

These guys are glued to the stalks, but the stalks aren't glued to the base so I can swap them between standard flying bases, retro hex flying bases and Aeronautica Imperialis bases. Heck, I should go scour eBay and mount them on actual Ring Raider rings. Though sadly I doubt they'd fit my adult fingers.

I also decided not to base them to match the army (like my Ork Fighta Bomberz) so I could recycle them for other Imperial armies.

Maynard Flux, Champion of Tzeentch - Project Change XVI

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Presenting Maynard Flux, oldskool Champion of Tzeentch. Warrior, sorcerer, winemaker.

His marble-effect book I've decided is a spell book, so he gets The Gift of Magic. I quite like the effect, which I needed to break up the undetailed surface of the book. Well, I say undetailed, due to a combination of casting defects, the age of the model and being stripped it's not at all crisp or clean, so it needed a pattern. I'd like to try it on larger models with flat surfaces, like Eldar, or an oldskool Land Raider, or maybe some Retribution Myrmidons.

Maynard also has Featureless Face, and Rune of Tzeentch. The rune happens to be on his featureless face, meaning it isn't so featureless - but this is okay as THIS IS THE CONTRADICTORY NATURE OF TZEENTCH. That, and a wizard did it.

And (like Inconstantine Bowie) he deserves the runes to spell out his name and describe his attributes.

Painting one of these old Champions of Tzeentch is a welcome break from all the Daemons of late. Though, there are so many more Daemon models aligned to Tzeentch than there ever were Chaos Warriors. I may get round this by collecting five different versions of each champion - one on foot and four on each of the different Discs of Tzeentch.

Ninjabread 19 - Overblown Analogy

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:22:00 +0000

Ninjabread's nineteenth strip is up and live. Analogies are like similes, which are similar to metaphors.

Today a broadband engineer came to dig up the internet tubes that connect me to the online world, and as such I am having an evening of piggy-backing onto the neighbourhood's unstable unsecured networks. It's like Ghostbusters, where my iPod Touch is in fact a spectre-detector and I am Bill Murray's character (whose name I'd research if I had an internet connection, or my 1987 Ghostbusters Annual).

Amanda reviews: Horus Rising

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:39:00 +0000

Amanda of Floor to Ceiling Books recently embarked on the Horus Heresy series. Being well-versed in sci-fi of the non-Black Library variety she offers a more rounded perspective on the book than the nerdy fanboy dissection I'd craft. Take it away missy...

Amanda: To give a little background, I am a fringe 40K gamer, and so have some familiarity with the terms that Abnett employs (such as drop pods and bolters). But, up until now, I have not been interested enough to delve into the game's rich background - so I knew little to nothing about the events this novel covers.

In my opinion, this is probably the worst possible placement for a reader! If you try this book with zero knowledge of the 40K universe, you can enjoy it as a commendable sci-fi novel in its own right. If you are already acquainted with the background, then this becomes a wonderful extension of what you already know. But I found myself being just au fait enough to have moments where I was jarred out of the story: "Huh, Abaddon is a good guy?! Is Luna Wolves just another name for Space Wolves then?" Readers in my position need to bear in mind that this novel is set ten thousand years before the events dealt with in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game.

Illustration from Chaos comes to Quahog, courtesy of MrChaos.

I'll deal briefly with the parts of the novel I was not fond of (that way, we can finish the review on a high).

Personally I found the pacing of the novel to be a little 'off'. Every time I just got settled into the (usually explosive) events, the battle would end or the viewpoint switch, and it would then take a small amount of effort to immerse myself fully again. A particular example of this is when we follow Karkasy (the poet remembrancer) out onto the surface of Sixty-Three Nineteen for what seems a redundant chapter or so.

Speaking of Karkasy I became deeply confused by the fact that he seemed to die when set upon in the bar, but then we find him dealing with Loken later in the novel - this could have done with more clarity, especially since the sentence "...Ignace Karkasy was no longer pontificating. Or breathing" seems very final. Unless Abnett particularly wrote in Karkasy's character for a future novel, I'm unsure what he brings to the narrative and I think he could easily have been left out with no real loss to the overall story.

My last flaw concerns the presence of too many characters. At four hundred pages or so, it is a slimmer novel to those I am used to but it still required a Dramatis Personae so that I could keep track. Some of the characters suffered greatly from a lack of 'screen time' and were written in a very two-dimensional fashion. Many minor characters were completely interchangeable because they had been so under-developed - I put forward Qruze, Marr and Kibre as examples. I like to think that, because this is the first in a long running series, these guys will feature more prominently later.

While addressing characters, let's move on to the positive elements of Horus Rising. The main characters Loken, Abaddon, Sindermann were well-written, fully developed and felt real in their dialogue, motivations and actions. Which is a damn good job by Abnett considering most of his characters are superhuman soldiers developed so as not to suffer emotions or know fear! They were very human, for want of a better word, especially Loken who embodies the doubt and frustration of a weapon that has started to think about what he does. I confess to feeling a bit of a fangirl thrill when I saw names that are familiar from my gaming.

I enjoyed the way that Abnett described the clear differences and the burgeoning politics between the Space Marine Legions, sowing the first seeds of dissension - I though he handled the characteristics in a concise manner that helped to developed the story (Imperial Fists being exceptional at defence; Emperor's Children being overly proud and haughty), rather than dumping in all the information in an artificial manner.

Speaking of info-dumping, I found this was kept to an admirable minimum. Despite the sci-fi terms scattered through the text, Abnett never stops to explain. Instead he uses his characters for this purpose - and not in a "Let me sit you down, son, and tell you all about lasguns and the battle formations of Space Marines" manner either. He utilises Mersadie (the remembrancer attached to Loken) very effectively, since she encourages Loken to talk about his experiences which puts across a lot of what the reader needs to know in a very natural manner.

I don't think Dan Abnett will be offended by the fact that I found his writing very much "David Gemmell-esque in space", especially his battle sequences which were simply awesome and very cleanly-written. They definitely brought to life some of the gaming events I am familiar with - like Terminators striding unscathed across the field of battle, and massed bolter fire taking down hordes of enemy xenos.

On a serious note I do feel as though Abnett records some fine thoughts on the nature of war and its never-ending cycle, with sentences such as: "We will spend our lives fighting to secure this Imperium, and then I fear we will spend the rest of our days fighting to keep it intact" describing the utter futility of war.

And more comical touches? He may not have intended it so, but I found Abnett's use of the 40K game tagline amusing: "In the far future, there will be only war". Was this just popped in as a nod to the fans?

Abnett also has a soldier's sense of humour - and it would not surprise me to learn he had served in the forces. This line in particular prior to Loken's initiation into the Mournival made me chortle: "He began to wade out towards the islet, hoping that his feet wouldn't suddenly encounter some unexpected depth of submerged crater and so lend comedy to this solemn moment".

We are dropped right into the action from the first page and it takes a little while for the coherent, linear storyline to emerge. The first thirty pages or so are a breathless and, at times, bumpy ride while new characters and ranks are thrown in. I would urge everyone to muscle through this because the reward for your effort is massive. It deserves to be read by all gamers as a superb complement to the background already available - but it should also be picked up by those who haven't even heard of Warhammer 40K. It is a superior slice of pulpy sci-fi - never less than deeply enjoyable.

Thanks Amanda. More of her reviews at Floor to Ceiling Books.

Ork Genestealer Hybridz - Deff Dredd

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:32:00 +0000

Ork Dreadnoughts have four arms. Genestealers have four arms. So, my Ork/Genstealer Hybrid army must include one with four gribbly klawz.

This involved buying lots of klawz, and as Genestealers have three claws on their hand I bought lots of extra blades so each klaw has three blades too. This means in real life they wouldn't be that effective (there's nothing for the top blade to shear against, and it stops things getting between the other two klawz, but IT LOOKS AWESOME so nothing else matters). Each klaw is removable and attached with rare earth magnets for ease of transport and to stop them breaking off. It also means I can detach them for vehicle damaged results, and wave them around in my more childish moments while making robo-wibbly noises.

The pilot is taken straight from the goofy 2nd edition Ork Dreadnought. I love the way he's sticking out his tongue. And, I really want to see Dredd pilots, it gives a sense of scale. I wonder if the upcoming Deff Dredd kit includes one. The Dredd model has a solid closed hatch that took an age to drill and dremel out, and then find a replacement hatch from my bits box the right size to replace it. But it looks fantastic.

The big chompy skull is from the Chaos Dwarf Hellcannon. I wanted the Dredd to look like a giant bug, and attempts at doing this with plasticard and gubbinz looked silly rather than scary (in a goofy kind of way). I added a classic oldskool Squig in the mouth because he's awesome and I want a whole army of them. I miss stupid smiling models.

In terms of upgrades, this also has Grot Riggers, which is the dude on the base, being the Direct-only Oiler Runt. He needed no conversion work (I figures he's a third or fourth generation Gretchin/Genestealer hybrid and therefore quite Gretchiny apart from the purplish skin hue).

There's also some fairly major reposing in the legs, to give the impression the Dredd's powering forwards on its stubby legs. This was incredibly difficult - and all the weight goes through it left leg and required some heavy-duty brass pinning. What's annoying about this is soon everyone will be able to achieve similarly awesome and dynamic poses with a minimum of work as the new kit will be plastic. Bums.

More of my Greenstealer army soon. If you missed the thirty-strong Shoota Boyz mob - take a look at it here.

Dark Angel Delight - New Comic

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:12:00 +0000

The Dark Angels have a dark secret. They're absolute chumps for product placement.

I always feel Bugman's Bar misses a trick not theming its food to the game universes. Well, they used to have a "Space Marine Sandwich" and I think a "Waywatcher Salad". But no! That was just taking names and putting them in front of foodstuffs. What do Space Marines have to do with sandwiches? We could have a Lemon Russ, and Epic Parmageddon.

First G1 Pink Horror- Project Change XV

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:09:00 +0000

This little fella's called Screamer. But he's not a Screamer, which is also one of Tzeentch's daemons (unbound Discs of Tzeentch), but rather a Horror called Screamer. Most the G1 minor daemons had individual names, and this is Screamer. Confused?

I feel this guy needs to be modelled as part of a diorama with a little plaque that reads, "It was this long".

As most my G1 Blue Horrors follow the scheme of blue with pink arms, I thought I'd try reversing it for the Pinks. I also feel that that the arms should change colour again at the knuckles. I, however, do not feel that the fingers should have bits of static grass stuck on them as the photo above has. Oops.

There are three variations on Screamer (and indeed all the Pink Horrors of Tzeentch) as there were three sets of legs each of the twelve bodies could be plonked atop. This means there are 36 variations on the original Pink Horrors which will mean years of trawling eBay and pestering people for close ups of their legs.

And now, here's all three generations of Pink Horror alongside each other.

Notice how the first two iterations are broadly similar and could be mixed together in the same regiment, and how the third is a complete and very wibbly departure. (And notice how the G2 Horror in the middle needs to be modelled as part of a diorama with a little plaque that reads, "It was about this tall".)

Ork Genestealer Hybridz - Shoota Boyz

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:52:00 +0000

Ork and Genestealers melded together into grotesque hybrids, thirty times over.

The core mob in my Ork/Genestealer Hybrid army, forming the centre of the battleline. There's subtle variations on the head conversion throughout. Lots of three-armed monstrosities ready to taste manflesh.

Alternative Blood Bowl Hobgoblins

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:07:00 +0000

New Year, and I'll be tentatively revisiting a classic system - Blood Bowl.

The Chaos Dwarf himself was done back in November, and I decided it was best to crack on with the least exciting and most numerous models in the team - the Hobgoblins. Now they're out the way I can enjoy the three remaining Chaos Dwarves, and the centerpiece - the Bull Centaur. I do need to revisit these guys and number them, but I'm unsure if they'd be the low numbers or the high numbers. Any Blood Bowlers out there that can tell me how teams are numbered? Post a comment, or email me at the address right at the bottom of the page please!

The local gaming club took a break over Christmas, releasing that everyone spends Christmas with their families and other non-gaming personages. And when New Year rocks around everyone's gone cold turkey with their gaming and is desperate to get back. But the heavy snow has frozen us in, and cancelled club night. Just look at the icicles outside my office window.

And bleeding hell, does it feel good to paint rims in the classic Goblin Green.

G2 Flamer of Tzeentch - Project Change XIV

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Hailing from the depths of 1995 comes this Marauder Miniatures Flamer of Tzeentch. This one in an experimental pale chalky scheme that's an attempt to copy the studio scheme from the 1997 Realm of Chaos.

Marauder Miniatures?! They're not Games Workshop. Well, back in the days Marauder was brand that Warhammer miniatures sculpted by Ali and Trish Morrison were distributed under. They were gradually subsumed back into Citadel in 1993 (according to Source of Legends), though these models are tabbed Marauder and 1995. Who knows. Actually, I'm fascinated to learn the reasons behind the split and subsequent reabsorption.

I recently discovered thanks to the Collecting Citadel Miniatures Group that Marauder also produced a pair of Greater Daemons - one for Khorne and one for Tzeentch. I'm rather excited, as there have been several Lords of Change knocking around eBay that I've dismissed as knock-offs. But no! They are official Games Workshop models. And ones I go rabid for as they're obscure and retro. If anyone out there's got a photo of the Khorne one, I'd love to see it.