i was fortunate enough this christmas just gone to recieve from santa a plastic dread kit. Now with the iminant release of the now new furioso kit and no old furioso metal kits on the shelves this was the closest thing he obviously could find :( however... this is what i actually in hindsight now prefer for a couple of reasons.
1. i dont like the blood talons on the new dreadnaught kit - i infact prefer the forgeworld talons (pictured above) as i think they look alot more brutal
2. looking at it now i dont really like some of the detailing on the front sarcophagi of the basic furioso as it leaves little space for being creative - the older plain fronts have nice large surfaces perfect for painting detail, transfers or sticking accsesories.
Dont get me wrong its a good sculpt on all of the versions (librarian and death company aswell) i just prefer the run of the mill standard dread front, it leaves me a bit more creative freedom to individually charictarise my dreadnaughts. I fully plan to add the latest incarnation to my army eventually as i do like the wings on the front but for now, practicallity and creative license are making me prefer the furioso ''kit-bash'' instead.
Well after months and months of waiting the new kit for the stormraven gunship was released by GW recently. this has to of been the most eagerly awaited model that games workshop have released for as longs as ive been a fan of 40k and probably the one that has divided the most people with regards to the looks.when the blood angels codex was relased back in april 2010 everyone i knew and spoke to was excited to see what the eventual storm raven kit would look like - no one knew for sure because there was no illustration in the codex, and no model close to release - everyone had their own ideas as to how it should look and it became the source of much finger poking and fun taking ''flying toaster'' was one i heard that sticks in my mind, when the first pictures leaked out onto the internet and even now thats what i call it - and i like the model!The model pretty much turned out how i thought it would in my minds eye - a kind of mini thunder hawk, especially when you consider its description in the codex and the role it plays in the army. i will certainly be getting one once my finances allow but for now its not needed in my army anyway with it still being under 1000 points. How will i fit it out? im not sure for certain but i do like the idea of having it as a tank hunter with twin-lined lascannons and multi melta. The special rule: ceramite plating will come in handy, having your oponent lose the D6 penetration roll if hes using a melta weapon will add good survivabilty to an already formidable vehicle and you just know it will draw alot of your enemys heavy fire once it comes into the game - extra armour will be a must for the 13' all around. Im salivating at the prospect!With any models inside the SR being able to assult on the turn they disembark im finding it hard to deside what i would have it carry, it will certainly be carrying one of my furiosoes but for troops im not so sure. my army will be very mobile, everything has a jump pack more or less so what to put inside? obvious choice for many would be terminators but i just dont see them fitting into my army. with it being based on the blood angels 5th company im trying to keep it as power armoured marines if possible just from a fluff perspective. My elite choices going to be 2x furiosoes and x3 sanguiary priests (3 priests are one elite choice) if anyone has views on this matter id be very happy to hear your opinions. one idea i am playing with is perhaps an assult squad with my captain and a sangunary priest without jumppacks- who knows!
i would like to share some important info with anyone out there that has an excessive taste in reading, be it black library or any books whatsoever - The Waterstones loyalty card.I hate loyalty cards normaly and i dont usually touch them however the WS card is for me one of the best ones out there, you dont have to pay off any credit and you can only gain from using it. when you buy as much books as i do then it pays to try and get as much back as you can money wise.With the card you build up points with every purchase, it can be used online aswell as in store and you can use these points to either knock off some of the price of a current purchase or to get a new book entirely if you save enough.Now im not one to plug anything normally but i just wanted to share with the people on the net how benfical this card could be to you - certainly if you are based in the U.K.click the waterstone logo for a link to the webpage where you can get more info.
well what can i say about this series of books so far... one word sums it up quite well, Awesome!No serires of books that black library have published so far (baring the Horus Hersy series) have i looked forward to so much for the next book. The Tome of Fire series which so far has two books and a audio book released is a fantastic read. Nick Kyme has catapulted himself up into my favorite black libray writers, and thats saying something, as it takes someone with a special talent in story telling to do that with me - i can be quite set in my ways. I first picked up the first book: Salamander, just as a gap filler as i waited for the first heretic to be released (horus heresy) and i have to say i struggled to put the book down. Mostly due to the fact i either had to go to work - got to feed the addiction somehow right? or go to the toilet... i draw the line at reading in the bathroom, well maybe a white dwarf mag! anyway im digressing........the series had an instant appeal to me just because it was about a chapter of marines that were not part of what i would call the big 3 when it comes to space marine books. The characters are strong and the story from the very start just teases you with the feeling that the series is going to be something epic and very much compelling reading. The second book: Firedrake, took on the battern from salamander exceptionally well, and added something new to me from a reading standpoint with marines in that the enemy in the book was not orks or chaos but infact dark eldar. now whether this was because GW at the time the book was published had the re-release of the new dark eldar models for the 40k game im not sure but regardless it was another refreshing change from the norm.Fireborn - the audio book fills the gap between the end of the first and the start of the 2nd book, and if its paper versions are a good yard stick for measurement it should be a very good listen and is on my wishlist for my next purchases and with a 3rd book on the way and i am assuming the last of the series (trilogy is a big hint lol) the future for mr nick kyme in black library looks very bright indeed and i certainly will be looking for more titles written by him in the future. green power armoured or not. I hope to do a full video review of them on my youtube channel in the future.
I realised something the other day, ... ive become addicted to black library titles. Ive always read them alot for the past two years but it was only while contemplating finishing my latest book (Firedrake) that i realised i NEEDED another to tyde me over until my next order came in from waterstones, which wouldnt be for another week or so. Its pathetic really, i mean i could not go seven days without reading one. I contemplated reading some other good books, Bernard cromwell is an author ive thought of reading for some time, especially as im a big fan of the Sharpe series of TV episodes that were an adaptation of his fantastic series on the napoliaonic war between britain and france. As it would have it, i could not find myself not being without a title from the black library, as it would come to happen i eventually bought angels of darkness by Gav thorpe. Now i think any 40k fan worth his salt has read if not one than quite a few titles from this awsome publisher and im sure im not the only person out there who feels the same way about thier books. There are worse things to be addicted to i suppose - smoking, alchohol or world of warcraft :)
Now i've realised in my years of flirting with several different games that Ipswich my home town is not a hotbed of gaming activity, frustratingly so infact which has added to the fact ive actually played far less than i would of liked the past few years.New years resolution is to find a gaming club and make sure i play regularly, the search is on going but i have come up with a few leads. Dont get me wrong i enjoy games workshop, but i find some of their little rules a bit represive, end of the day we still all buy the products but they still enforce the rules of having an army fully painted.Ok yeah i can understand it that it looks a whole lot better on the table and i would like nothing better than to have my army fully painted, but its not! ... If the store was open to the public when the ''club'' was playing i could understand it, but its not... its just the guys who turn up and play the games so why not just have an army with a few base coated minatures? it does not hurt anybody certainly not GW, and does not affect the way the army plays in the slightest.sorry rant /cancelits because of this i'm throwing my net wider to see if i can find a more lax (painting wise) gaming community. time will tell if i'm succesfull.
Greetings, this is my first post for some time. largely down to time constraints of real life (shakes big mailed fist at the world) but as it is my first for a while it may as well be about something worth talking about... the first 40k feature length movie!Like a good little geek, i had to get the collectors edition once they were available. this set me back about £25 if memory serves. good value i thought considering what you get.-the Movie + bonus disc of special features-special metal case with the film logo on one side and the imperial aquilla on the reverse-graphic novel pre-qualing what happened to the characters in the film before the storyline in the movie.
The MovieThe film i thought was a very good effort for a first attempt! the story was slick and understandable to someone who knew nothing about the 40k hobby but was also involved enough for even the biggest fan boy of the 41st millenium - you will never please everyone though and i could pick some holes in the film myself but the boys at Codex pictures largely did good.there is one main reason for this - Dan AbnettYes, the godfather of all 40k books was the writer of the screen play.some fans of the ultramarines books would say hey why not graham mcneill? as he wrote the UM books... well i don't know. im sure he would of done a stella job but really DA for me if i was making a 40k film would be my choice.The cast in the film are fantastic for such a small production, british acting legends of terrance stamp and john Hurt and solid actors like sean pertwee do a awsome job bringing character and depth to the characters. The film has to be watched just to hear john hurt yelling BUUUUUUURNNNN HEEEERITICS!!!For an computer animated movie the detail and depth of the scenary, and especially the armour and weapons is outstanding, but alot of people online have complained and queiried about the detail and rendering on the faces of the characters in the film. Its does not look incredable compared to other details in the animation but there is a reason for this that is explained in the bonus disc... which you will have to watch for yourselves :)
Bonus Discyou will find your usual DVD extras on the bonus disc, making of the movie, cast interviews and background on 40k for the people new to the 41st millenium. I enjoyed all of them for what they were and spent a good two hours messing about with the various things availableGraphic NovelWriten by Dan Abnett - it gives you a little taster and background on the main characters in the film and explains to you how they arrived at their present postion at the start of the film. the artwork is not incredable and i found this to be the most disapointing aspect of the whole collectors edition bundle as a whole.Overall opinionIts a 40k movie! - what more could any fan boy really want when we get down to it, weve all wanted one for years.I would recommend this to any 40k fan - it was made for the fans after all, but then also to bring people into the hobby.If anyone has any friends thinking about getting into 40k, i would advise you to sit them down with this. this is the main reason why the ultramarines as a chapter were chosen. they are the generic, ginger beer, vanilla marines of 40k and not much needs explaining about them or their background, but they can also still continue to offer something to the hardened 40k enthusiast.chances are if your reading this though - you will already have the film! or at least seen it.
