The Good, The Bad and The White Dwarf! - Issue 392, Aug

Despite the cover price and c.30% advertising, we all love our monthly fix of White Dwarf. With it's shiny new releases, army show cases and battle reports, it's just like having an old friend round for tea!

But what if you were pushed to choose a single best bit, worst bit and down right ugly bit in each month's issue?

Picking up where last month's edition left off, it's time for 'The Good, The Bad and The White Dwarf!'- Issue 392, Aug

The Good...

Lots of good stuff on display this month - From new plastic Plaguebearers, Nurglings and Flamers of Tzeentch, to a great bunch of pics for a selection of Allied WH40k Armies – Including Wade Pryce’s slaughtertastic World Eater / Daemons army.

Lots of good stuff...

But for me, Andrew Kenrick’s Death Guard Chaos Space Marines take the prize. Not least of all because of the use of such a striking colour palette – The rusting orange is almost luminescent but sits perfectly in the 3 main colour palette with an eye-popping aqua blue / green as the spot colour. The most original take on a Nurgle paint scheme for some time…

An Icon Bearer...

... A Dreadnought...

... Two Plaguebearers...

... And a Death Guard...... I mean Plague Raver.

The Bad...

Like an episode of ‘Tonight’s The Night’ with John Barrowman, the Exalted Seeker Chariot of Slaanesh is one of those things that can divide opinion...

The polar opposite of less is more; the ESCoS opts for showing more blade than an ice skating pageant and in the process turns into something so overtly ostentatious that it wouldn’t look out of place as a float in a gay pride parade. But then I suppose that’s the point.

'All together now! It's fun to stay at the YMCA. It's fun to stay at  the YMCA a!'

The Ugly...

White Dwarf is advertising GW’s new Finecast LotR Cave Drake for the wallet bending price of £44… Look away Sauron, look away…

'All the 4's, 44...... Not Bingo'

A glance at GW’s website reveals that you can still pick up a Cave Drake for £36. I appreciate this is of the old white metal variety, but a massive 18% price increase on what is essentially the same mini? Ugly.

The 'Odd One Out' round... 

But forgive me, I forget that Finecast is wargaming in ‘high definition’ and is therefore justifiably priced. If you’re the sort that has to have the very latest tech on the wargaming scene, be quick to place an advanced order for this bad boy from the 11 Aug. No pushing at the back there please...

Did you have any personal best bits, worst bits or down right ugly bits from this month's edition of White Dwarf? Leave a comment, it would be good to hear from you. See you next time for issue 393...


All images copyright GAMES WORKSHOP and their respective owners (except the Plague Raver...). No challenge intended.

WH40k - Mortifactors - Hvy. Weapons Dreadnought WIP

He’s a 12 tonne, bad tempered, doom-laden son of a gun. But boy is he lethal at taking out unsuspecting enemy armour at 500 paces. It’s the searing Lascannon death that is the Mortifactors Heavy Weapons Dreadnought!

You can almost hear them cooking in their tanks…

Adeptus Arm Pitus

Alongside his sarcophagus entombed battle brother, the Assault Dreadnought, this fella brings a different kind of tactical option to the table for the Mortifactors in the form of a Missile Launcher and twin linked Lascannon.

That said, he’s no slouch in close combat and will happily take the opportunity to open up with his flamer given half the chance…

I wanted to try and add a greater sense of motion and dynamic with both Dreadnought conversions and so opted to position the arms raised or spread away from the body. This meant modelling in the power cabling to help ensure the positioning of the arms remained mechanically viable… 

Rules wise, this fella still operates as your standard twin linked Lascannon Dreadnought but the idea behind splitting the Lascannons, one to each arm, was to emphasise the more maverick, almost gun-slinger approach, this gnarly old fella took to sighting targets and blasting them into the warp…  

'No! Come back! We didn't mean it, honest...'

Well, stay tuned for even more Mortifactors WIP goodness. Lord knows what’ll rear it’s ritual skull helm next…?

Until next time ;)

WH40k - Vindicare Assassin

This fella is a bad ass. This fella is Eristede Kell from the Horus Heresy novel ‘Nemesis’

To see how bad ass Kell is, read this extract. But before you do, take a look at the following pictures. This is the closest this bad ass will ever let you get… ;)

 

Dystopian Wars - Schwarz Habicht! pt.2

+++++ TOP SECRET –  PRUSSIAN HIGH COMMAND +++++

+++++ PROJECT: BLACK HAWK +++++

+++++ We have now successfully conducted a series of low to medium altitude tests and are progressing to Phase 3 of the project +++++

+++++ Alongside an extensive program of increased range, altitude and complex navigational testing, we will be introducing a series of rudimentary target acquisition activities +++++

+++++ This will include a review of the Black Hawk’s traditional ballistic capabilities alongside contained field tests of the newly developed UPG Warheads and Tesla Whip technology +++++

+++++ It should be noted that reports of intrusion into our operational field space by Kingdom of Britannia forces are wide of the mark +++++

+++++ A minor engagement with forward elements of the KOB Pacific Fleet resulted in a successful re-direction of their assets and additional Prussian Naval elements have been moved up to further secure the tactical screen +++++

+++++ You can rest assured that the activities of Project: Black Hawk remain concealed from the prying eyes of enemy intelligence +++++

+++++ I enclose a series of program images with this transmission to further provide you with the confidence as to the project's continuing success +++++

+++++ Senior Commander of Operations: Professor Gustav Elbing-Reimer - 

South Pacific Tactical Science Division +++++

To Be Continued...

Painting - Out With The Old, In With The New...

They say you’re only as good as the tools at your disposal, so in my drive to get some new minis painted up I had a right good sort out of the paints…

These bad boys must be well over 15 years old now and are still running as smooth as the day they were born. Colour wise they’re pretty unique and in the case of Tentacle Pink and Putrid Green, GW hasn’t really replaced them in their subsequent paint range releases... These fellas are going in the ‘keep’ pile (still never to be used…)

Some more classics of their day – Some of which have started to dry up and head for the hills. I ummed and arred about whether to keep the notoriously shiny inks but GW’s new glaze range looks like the way forward. Thanks for the memories lads…

Snake Bite Leather and Spear Staff Brown, looking sorry for themselves…

Starting to pan back…

…And here we are with all the available pots.

Everything on the front board is either destined for the junk or is going in the kids’ art box…

I’ve made a list of some of the new paints I need to purchase in order to plug the gaps in the ol’ colour palette and I have to say that I’ve been impressed with GW’s latest paint range release.

Sorting out the paints brought back some happy hobby memories and has enabled me to get focused on the painting tasks in hand.

I’ll leave you with a really cool fan video about the history of GW paints… And If I ever wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, panicking about having thrown away that irreplaceable Warlock Purple, I’ll know where to go ;)

WH40k - Mortifactors - Assault Dreadnought WIP

More than happy to be occupying the only drop pod to land smack bang in the middle of the enemy lines, it’s the rampaging engine of destruction that is the Mortifactors Close Assault Dreadnought!

Emperor have mercy on their souls…

'Killing is my business...And business is good'

The Mortifactors Chaplains preach that in death, all brave warriors will be taken to the Halls of Victors to sit at the feast table of the Ultimate Warrior, a divine being who embodies the pinnacle of fighting prowess…

Those heroic battle brothers that have been venerated for entombment within the sarcophagus of a mighty Dreadnought believe they have transcended to this higher state of warrior code…

And now they fight not only with the blessing of the Chapter but with the direct blessing of the Ultimate Warrior himself…

As such, Dreadnoughts of the Mortifactors Chapter fight with an implacable and relentless battle fury that is notable even amongst the elite warrior legions of the Space Marines…

Until next time ;)

Kill Team - Iron Warriors pt.4

Probably more of a 'Part 3.5', but the Iron Warriors Kill Team have hit the painting table and I thought I'd share a quick look at how they're shaping up.

Varnak drew the short straw and is acting as the test mini.

I'll leave you in Varnak's blood soaked, heretic hands...

Dystopian Wars - The Black Wolf!

It’s time to head back to the glorious steam punk world that is Dystopian Wars and in particular, take a look at that Russian mercenary of the high seas; Captain Vladimir Nikonov and his devastating submersible The Black Wolf!

With the model taking design cues from the great whales, I had toyed with the idea of going with a predominantly white paint job, in homage to that most notorious of all whales, Moby Dick!

Then I reminded myself that the vessel went by the moniker of 'The Black Wolf' and ended up reaching for the Chaos Black instead…

Fairly straightforward to paint, I went with the following:

Hull: Chaos Black undercoat, Codex Grey dry-brush, Space Wolves Grey highlights…

Metals: Rune Lord Brass base coat, Gryphonne Sepia wash, Bolt Gun Metal highlights…

Fins: Codex Grey base coat, Space Wolf Grey highlights, Black Ink for any lining…

Water: Fenris Grey basecoat, Space Wolves Grey / Skull White highlights, Asurmen Blue wash, varnish of Ardcoat…

With some unique and interesting rules that include the ability to present a ‘false target’ to the enemy via it’s on board echo generator, The Black Wolf is going to bring all manner of submersible subterfuge to the table top.

And mark my words, as if I were Captain Vladimir Nikonov himself! The Black Wolf will be appearing in a battle report on these here pages soon…