Between the Bolter and Me

In space, no one can hear you scream.

The recent tyranid release was met with a lot of skepticism and pessimism, with many claiming that its power level was not high enough for it to contend with most competitive lists (aka Tau and Eldar). And while the point costs of units went down almost across the board, very few major adjustments were made. One unit which many people were anxiously awaiting an update was the tyranid warriors. They saw a lot of use in 3rd edition when they were immune to instant death, but when they lost this in 4th, it was difficult to justify their point cost considering that a single krak rocket could kill one of the 3 wound horrors. Now that the dust has settled from the new tyranid release, it is clear that the warriors are still in the same predicament they have been in for years. You pay a premium to get a synapse spreading 3 wound body, but due to a low toughness and save they just are not durable.

Not all is lost however, even though the warriors did not receive a rules update, they did get a great redesign of their plastic kit! In fact, this was probably the most exciting aspect of the new tyranid release for me; finally Jes Goodwin’s excellent models have been updated with arms properly scaled for them (rather than resorting to the comically oversized carnifex arms). Despite their limited use in competitive 40k play, I made sure to buy a box of them, remembering fondly working with the plastic models back in 2001 when they were originally released in the 3rd edition of 40K.

Not owning a huge number of tyranids, I thought it would be fun to start building a small tyranid force for use in Kill Teams, focusing mainly on tyranid warriors. The tyranid warriors have always been an iconic element of Warhammer 40,000, represented in several classic illustrations (I particularly remember those from the 2nd edition of Warhammer 40K; quite a few good ones are in the Codex Imperialis). Nothing in the tyranid range has achieved the wholly alien and bizarre look captured by the original plastic tyranid warriors . Their bipedal ant-like frames tower over their modern counterparts and their faces have a subtle, yet horrible, resemblance to a rat.

This got me thinking that it would be interesting to include tyranid warriors from all of the different tyranid eras in the kill team. Fortunately, I already had three of the plastic warriors from 1992’s Tyranid Attack boxed game, and after a brief jaunt on ebay I had a few of the metal 2nd edition versions. While I am still working on finishing all of the warriors in my collection, I thought people might like to see pictures of some of the different tyranid warrior variants released over the years (and see how they look side by side).

Plastic sprue of a tyranid warrior from Tyranid Attack.

Of all of the warriors that I have worked on, I think I had the most fun working on the original plastic tyranid warriors from Tyranid Attack. For being released in the early 90s, the quality of the models is really impressive. Each one comes on a separate sprue with options to arm them with rending claws, bones swords or a Deathspitter. Also, the plastic used to cast the models is superb and cleans up remarkably similarly to the current Games Workshop plastics.

Plastic tyranid warrior from 1992’s Tyranid Attack boxed game. Oh the horror!

The metal 2nd edition tyranid warriors have a unique character of their own, but retain some of the interesting aspects of the earlier plastic ones, including the stinger-like abdomen. They take on a slightly more humorous tone, with comically large rending claws and a tendency to have their tongues sticking out playfully/mockingly. Additionally, they are posed a little awkwardly, with their guns held fully at arm's length. But I can’t help but love the look of their venom cannons (complete with the bayonet that would later find its way on the more modern plastic venom cannons, ha ha).

Metal tyranid warrior from the 2nd edition tyranids. Look at those massive bear-claw hands!

The newer tyranid warrior plastics are grounded a little more in reality than their predecessors, taking on a squatter build with a tail to aid in balancing. My favorite aspect of them are the carapace crests on their heads, as they remind me of the Xenomorph queen from Aliens (an obvious influence!).

Modern tyranid warrior. Their resemblance of xenomorphs has never been stronger!

The halls of lonely space stations are safe no longer!

With three warriors assembled, I need to assemble two or three more to be ready to play Kill Teams with them. While I was little concerned at first when building them, I think the three warriors look nice together, unified in their strangeness! Hopefully you all enjoyed the pictures of these monstrosities as much as I did building them!

- Adam Wier

Victory does not always rest with the big guns; but if we rest in front of them we shall be lost.

Apocalypse passed by without me giving it so much as a second thought, despite Games Workshop’s hope it would crash into my life with the full fury of a Lucius Pattern Warhound titan kicking aside some wave serpents. While the two models they released for Apocalypse (Lord of Skulls, and the Tesseract Vault) look excellent, the $160 price tag was hard to swallow. And when I only get to play a game of 40k every few months, I would rather play a standard game and try to fine tune a list, as opposed to playing something filled with crazy world-ending monstrosities that are imbalanced and liable to make the game one-sided. Games Workshop was obviously unsatisfied with the sales of Apocalypse, because they quickly followed it up with Escalation, allowing the imbalanced Lords of War to be taken in regular games of 40,000. Even with this release, I was still unmoved. Honestly, Dreamforge Games got closer to convincing me to try out these rulesets when they released their Leviathan Crusader, than Games Workshop did with any of their efforts. And while I bought and assembled a Leviathan Crusader, I never tried out either of the rulesets, as one titan does not make for a good game of Escalation or Apocalypse. It looks like this is about to change, however, as last week images leaked revealing that Games Workshop is finally bringing titans out of Epic 40,000 and into Warhammer 40,000.

These guys have been stalking the 40k universe for a long time...

Ever since I started playing Warhammer 40,000, I was always drawn to the creepy, vaguely humanoid mechanical giants that dominated the skylines of the epic battlescenes on many of the covers of Games Workshop’s games. Having gotten into the hobby shortly before the release of Epic 40,000, I got to see a lot of the warmachines in the pages of White Dwarf and at my local game store, and I always entertained the thought of using them in games of 40k. Forgeworld was the first to make this possible when they released both the warhound and reaver titans, but their incredible cost and complexity inhibited most hobbyists from really getting to experience them (even when rules were printed for most of the standard variants in the successive versions of Apocalypse). So when rumors began to circulate that the Warhound’s smaller brother, the Imperial Knight was going to receive a plastic model, people were understandably excited. Then last week, images leaked showing segments of a forthcoming White Dwarf issue detailing both the release (along with the rules) of two variants of the smallest titan class in the Imperium, the Knight. It appears that the model is a large multipart kit, giving the option to assemble one of two Knight variants: the Paladin, and the Errant. The surprise release of this kit is certain to send waves of excitement through the 40k community and will likely be the first real taste many have of these iconic iron behemoths in 40k.

Thankfully GW stuck with past imagery for the model, and did not trying to reinvent itself (they have tried this before giving us questionable things like the Dreadknight...)

Fortunately, the model retains many classic elements from its late 80s/early 90s design, while updating others such that it fits alongside its larger Forge World brethren. They maintained the characteristic hunched look of other titans (warhound and reaver), with an impressively broad back and shoulders. The fact that the head is not mounted on top of the machine’s body, but rather in the chest, gives it a very distinct look, setting Games Workshop’s mechanical robots apart from most other companies. Virtually every portion of the model is covered in broad armor plates that are perfect for painting on sigils, checker patterns, and other heraldry, reinforcing the image of an eccentric questing knight from the Dark Ages. The Paladin variant even has a knightly helm, with an imposing thin vision slit that hides advanced targeting and cogitator engines! Additionally, they included the characteristic banner that often hangs between the legs of such warmachines .

Although better pictures would be nice, I am pleased to see they included a skull/Mechanicus themed head.

Based on the leaked images and rules for the Knights, it looks like there are only two shooting armaments in the kit, a Rapid-fire battle cannon for the Paladin and a Thermal cannon for the Errant. I am still not too sure what I think about the Rapid-fire battle cannon. Games Workshop has a tendency to make the barrels of their guns excessively wide, making one question if it could actually function. I feel this battle cannon is right on the edge of being too large, but I will reserve my judgment until I see it in person. Aside from the size of the cannon, I don’t think I like the heavy stubber mounted on the weapon’s gunshield; if it was meant to be a coaxial weapon, I feel it should have been positioned closer to the barrel of the cannon. The thermal cannon on the Errant looks pretty good, with nothing really jumping out at me, as it is essentially an oversized multimelta (it verges on being a little too large, as well). Games Workshop’s penchant for chainsaws is still alive and well, and while not making too much sense on such a large bipedal walker, it feels right at home on the Knight. Surprisingly, the blade is actually rather thin, making it easier to imagine it actually cutting something! I am still holding out hope there will be more weapon options in the kit (like a turbo laser...). Expanding on this, I hope they follow Dreamforge’s example and make the arms easily detachable/switchable, without the need for magnets. This would also give Games Workshop the ability to release new weapons in the future (similar to Dreamforge), dramatically increasing the value of the kit.

Quite a dramatic scene, both the Paladin and the Bloody Handed God glance at the camera, hoping to look their best.

It will be interesting to see how poseable the kit will be. If it even had half of the flexibility that the Dreamforge Leviathan has, it would be fantastic. At the very least, I hope the legs are not fixed; but if the Riptide and Wraithknight are any indication, it will likely be severely limited.

Based on an uninspiring trailer that Games Workshop released earlier this week, the Knight will be officially unveiled on Saturday (02.22.14). Then we will have a definitive answer to some of the speculation I mused about above. We will also see the price; if rumors are true it is going to cost $140. Although not cheap in any fashion, this would place it below the cost of the Lord of Skulls, the Tesseract Vault, and even a Baneblade. It even makes the price comparable to the aforementioned Dreamforge Crusaders ($120 Leviathan, $110 Mortis). Regardless, it is certainly an exciting time. Finally Games Workshop has made an Apocalypse sized kit that people actually wanted. What’s next? A thunderhawk, or possibly a thunderbolt with the new Imperial Guard? Time will tell!

- Eric Wier

I don't want blood. I can take your blood. I am asking for souls. Only you can give me your soul.

My nostalgia for the original range of Dark Eldar models has lead me to purchase a fair few old metal models on ebay, including some of the unreleased concept models sculpted by Gary Morley and Chris Fitzpatrick. Some early readers of this blog may remember that in my first Dark Eldar post (about my Kruellagh the Vile conversion), I hinted that I was planning to convert another archon using a model even older than Kruellagh. Well, the time to show that conversion has finally arrived (despite taking much longer than I had originally planned, ha ha)!

The actual conversion is a pretty simple one, making use of an unreleased Dark Eldar archon model Chris Fitzpatrick sculpted. Strangely, the archon is armed with one of their weird looking blasters, which at the time they could not even be equipped with (potentially why the model was not released?). But even weirder than the blaster was the head Chris sculpted, which sported some of the most ridiculous hair I have seen on a miniature.

Look at that ridiculous hair. What were they thinking?

Once getting past the crazy hair and blaster, closer inspection of the model reveals some really awkward and unnatural elements. Take for instance her almost complete lack of a waist. This gives the entire model a kind of alien and demonic look to it. For the conversion I wanted to try and build upon this strangely lithe and demonic look. The first order of business was finding a suitable head to replace the original. I ended up choosing one of the two heads Jes Goodwin designed for the new Dark Eldar archon, the one with the two devil horns and the creepy face (apparently designed to mimic one of the old Rogue Trader helmets). Back when the new Incubi and the archon were first released many people were up in arms about the devil horns on the models, thinking they did not really fit with the Dark Eldar aesthetic. In the case of my conversion here, the horns fit perfectly as demonic emphasis.

Truly a weird model, flat as a board and with body proportions nowhere near natural.

As for equipping the model, I decided to keep the blaster intact, since archons can be equipped with them now. For her other weapon, I replaced the agonizer with a blade taken from the glaive of the Dark Eldar Succubus. Like the model’s devil-horned helmet, the blade has an interesting and slightly divergent aesthetic from typical Dark Eldar imagery. The blade has a brutal look to it, so broad that it almost resembles a machete.

Taken from the Succubus model, the archon’s blade is broad and brutal, speaking more of rage and power than finesse.

Other than the weapon and head replacement, and the addition of a few poison vials/grenades, I decided to leave the model largely as it was. While this meant maintaining the rather pedestrian pose (I’m standing here!), it leaves clear evidence of the model’s heritage. Additionally, maintaining the pose and odd proportions help emphasize the whimsical, eccentric evil that I wanted to highlight.

The new Archon fits nicely alongside my other headquarter choices, particularly with Kruellagh!

Hopefully you enjoyed taking a look at a model from the beginnings of the Dark Eldar range and like what I have done with it. Up next on the list for my Dark Eldar will probably be to add the finishing touches to my Duke Sliscus conversion. After that, all I need to do is get out and play a game or two with them!

- Adam Wier

Although the lineage is clear, the Knight has come a long way.

It is rare that Games Workshop really surprises anyone with a release, but I admit I was pretty shocked to see that they were releasing a plastic Imperial Knight. I was even more surprised and thrilled with how effectively it captured the image that I had cultivated in my mind of how a Knight should look, maintaining the bulky, hunched look of the related constructs of the Titan Legion. With their release slated to be Saturday, I decided to pay my local hobby shop a visit the Friday of, hoping to at least get a look at the new Imperial Knight. I was not really expecting to buy one because in the past GW has asked stores to only sell their new releases on the the actual Saturday release date. After talking with the store owner, he told me that GW was now letting him sell most of their new releases on Friday, and proceeded to go into the back of the store and bring out all of the Imperial Knights he had ordered for the shop. Interestingly, while the store had only ordered seven of the kits they received nine in total. Furthermore, eight of the nine Knights were packaged in the plain white, “Direct Order” Games Workshop boxes, rather than the proper Imperial Knight ones (likely confirming the rumors that have been in circulation of supply issues).

Opening the nondescript white box, I was greeted with 3 sprues densely packed with components. For the price, it is a bit underwhelming to find so few sprues, but at the end of the day the conservative part placement makes it easier to keep track of all of the parts. The kit also contains a rather impressive transfer sheet, filled with all manner of sigils and icons, each grouped by major Knight lineage. Usually the first thing I do when I open a GW kit is throw away the transfer sheet, having so many of them and preferring freehand over transfers. But these ones are intricate, big, and colorful, filled with new symbols and crests that beg to be studied and enjoyed. And with all the broad armor plates on the Knight, I could actually see them being used by a lot of people, so it is nice to see that GW actually spent time on them. The model also comes with a new base specifically designed for the kit. It is quite a bit larger than the oval flying base, nicely accommodating the width of the Knight’s mechanical legs. It may also be a portent to the future, as GW would not design a base with only one model in mind...

The white box conveys little of the pure excitement that is contained within.

The amount of detail on display with the kit is impressive, with vents, cables, pistons, bolts, and railing, everywhere, all without looking cluttered. They also provide 3 different faceplates to cover the suitably robotic head. Each is impressive and imposing, whether it is a medieval fashioned helm, or the visage of a stylized skull, it is clear that they are bringers of death on a massive scale. They also provide three sigils to adorn the armour cowl that crests the head, allowing you to make a Knight that owes it allegiance to the Imperium, or the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The three sprues with the kit. I could not resist snipping a few parts off immediately to start working on it!

The cast is excellent, with remarkably crisp and fine details.

Although the legs are posed in a suitable dynamic stride, it was still a disappoint to confirm that the Knight’s legs are fixed and therefore not posable (even the direction of the feet are locked in place by tiny pegs). Thankfully, the arms have a lot of articulation points. Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised that the arms of the Knight have a locking mechanism that allows them to easily be taken on and off, making the possibility of getting future weapon releases more likely, and not necessitating that you make clever use of magnets.

All the head options are much appreciated, and all of them even look nice!

I have only just started the assembly process, trimming off mold lines and tabs, but I must say I am pleased with how the sprues were cast. Games workshop has really done a good job of minimizing the amount of mold lines on each piece. While each piece invariably has a few mold lines to remove, often times they are cleverly placed such that they fall on edges or seams. With some of the smaller detail pieces, like the ribbed cabling (which sprout from all over the model…) the trimming pace slows down considerably, but such a thing is unavoidable. They have also put a considerable amount of thought into how many of the pieces come together, hiding some of the noticeable seams with additional pieces (the leg carapace for instance).

No matter how much GW has advanced in moldline placement, cables like these will always be a problem.

I plan to use a combination of super glue (Krazy glue) and Tamiya Extra Thin cement to assemble the Knight. Over the years I have used Krazy glue on all sorts of models (metal, resin, GW plastic , Wyrd plastic, etc.), large or small and had excellent results. The majority of my Leviathan Crusader was even assembled with it. During the assembly of the aforementioned kit, I discovered Tamiya Extra Thin cement. For complex kits that have many of little pieces and require a lot of dry fitting to ensure things go together, it is fantastic. Rather than having to put super glue on all the little tabs that connect two pieces and quickly press them together (hoping to do it before the glue sets, which sometimes does not work out too well…), you can simply dry fit the pieces and touch the application brush of the thin cement to one of the seams, and the glue is wicked in without leaving a trace. And that is all there is to it, the pieces are fastened together. Glancing through the complex instruction manual that accompanies the Knight, I think the glue will come in handy. If you have not used it before, I strongly recommend you give it a try; it has certainly saved me a few headaches.

Given the complexity of the kit, it is wonderful that GW has finally started to produce clear and informative instructions.

Having been out for less than a week, we are already seeing a lot of great stuff from many hobbyists with the kit. I am particularly excited to see the Eye of Error finish lacing his Knight with LEDs. Garfy and ThirdEyeNuke over at Tale of Painters are both working on Knights too. Garfy has some fantastic images of this WIP Knight alongside of some of his other models for size comparisons (Including a stunning Ultramarines Thunderhawk and a Tyranid Hierophant). I will be sure to keep you all updated on the progress of mine, even if it is slow work. Until then, It will also be interesting to see what Codex Imperial Knights has to offer this Saturday; hopefully it adds a slew of interest options and weapons (although at 64 pages I am not holding my breath)!

-Adam Wier

A more unlikely band of adventurers has rarely been seen!

After being thoroughly impressed by Jody Siegel’s work on The King of Ghouls model from his Kickstarter campaign, I decided I needed to purchase a few more of his models. Having vocalized my fondness for the Blacksands Orc in my previous post, I knew that I wanted to add him to my collection. Additionally, I was intrigued by Jody’s take on the Basilisk (bipedal with multiple arms, wielding a sword) and wanted to see him in person. My third purchase was an unexpected and unmediated one: while on the Imbrian Arts website I noticed they had just released a new dwarf model, one holding a tiny shot glass aloft and sporting a drunken and joyful smirk! Looking into it a little deeper, I discovered the model is from a new project Jody has been working on in his free time, a skirmish game focused around drunken brawls, titled Beer and D6s. The concept immediately resurfaced memories of my time in 1998 playing Games Workshop’s Brewhouse Bash (White Dwarf 223), commanding drunken orks in fierce combat! With such fond memories in mind, I had to order the inebriated dwarf, as well!

The packaging for the Beer and D6s miniature line is top notch, coming with nicely printed inserts and a fun sticker!

Both the Blacksands Orc and the Basilisk were cast in a soft white metal instead of the resin seen in the King of Ghouls I received from the Kickstarter campaign. Never being too much of a fan of resin, I was actually pretty excited about the change of medium. I have found that the casting defects seen in metal are typically not as severe as those seen in resin casts. Also, while resin is capable of holding finer detail, in my experience, few models have detail fine enough that they require resin. The level of detail on both the orc and the basilisk is really impressive. The orc for instance is laden with all manner of trophy heads, each wonderfully realized, their visages locked in the agony of their demise. The head held in the orc’s right hand is particularly well detailed with the remnants of the foe’s vertebral column shown and an array of individually sculpted teeth in its maw.

Siegel captured a sense of bestial rage that so often is missed in orcs.

The detailing on the metal casts of the Imbrian Arts models are fantastic. Look at that severed head and all the tiny teeth (sorry for the terrible lighting…)!

The casts for the orc and the basilisk were reasonably good, but both contained some noticeable mold lines. Due to the softness of the metal, they were easy to remove and not too problematic. The basilisk is by far the most complicated Imbrian Arts model I have worked with, requiring you to glue on both wings and arms. I found the arms were a little tricky to position correctly, and even harder to pin together. After pinning and gluing on the basilisk’s arms I found that modeling putty work was almost essential to make everything look perfect.

When was the last time you saw a bipedal basilisk wielding a sword?!

The dwarf was cast in resin like the King of Ghouls I had worked with previously. The cast of the model was a little worse than I was hoping for and had some pretty severe mold shifts on his right arm, necessitating the use of modeling putty (still a pretty easy fix though, provided you have some experience with greenstuff). Instead of the accustom round-lipped plastic base, the dwarf came with a small resin base modeled to look like floor boards (perfect for the bar room setting!). In addition to the actual miniature itself, the model came with two ‘Drunk’ dice that depict a drunken skeleton in place of the 6 (needed to play Beer and D6s).

Who would not want to throw back a few beers with this jovial fellow?

Having assembled the dwarf, I decided to spend a little time looking over the rules posted online for Beer and D6s. With only a precursory read through the rules, it is clear the game is still very much a work in progress, with many aspect not clearly or fully detailed. This is not too much of a problem though, because based on the comical and laid-back tone of the game, you can easily make up your own house-rules or interpretations. There are already a wealth of different ideas present in the game, including a handful of different character abilities and a humorous mishap table (“Whirlwind of ineptitude”, ha ha). Perhaps the most interesting aspects of the game is that it allows you to incorporate actual drinking of beer/alcohol on the part of the player. For every 1.5oz you drink (~ shot glass) you can heal one point of damage on your hero. Each time you heal your hero in this manner they must pass a constitution test. If failed, your hero replaces one of their attack dice with a ‘Drunk’ dice, which replaces the 6 side with a 0 (represented by an image of a sorrowful skeleton).

Each Beer and D6s hero model comes with two Drunk dice!

Each game takes place in a bar with the different hero characters for each player and a random assortment of other bar inhabitants, including local drunks and other non-player characters (monsters, mercenaries, city guard, etc). Your hero characters start the game in an active state, engaged in drunken melee. The other bar inhabitants start in an inactive state and are activated if they are struck or in some means brought into the fight. Players take turns activating models engaged in the brawl, including the active non-player characters. After all the active models have attacked, a new round starts and the combat continues until the last hero is standing (there are currently no win conditions, but the brawl itself is victory enough, ha ha)!

While the rules are still not entirely worked out, the website looks to be regularly updated leading me to believe that given time, the system will be fully fleshed out (it also looks like there will soon be a forum to ask rule questions). Based on the amount of work already on display in the game, from the collection of beautifully sculpted models to the great looking player aid material (stat cards, inactive player cut-outs), I am very excited to see where the project goes. On a side note, with it being St Patrick’s Day, what better a thing to do then get together with some friends and roll some dice to enact a group of misfit heroes trying to drink themselves into a stupor and smash some bottles, as you slowly approach the same state yourself!

Having finished assembling the last of my Imbrian Arts models, I can’t help but want to order a few more, to better appreciate his interesting interpretations of classic fantasy archetypes. It is exciting to discover all the wonderful little details he brings to each model. As such, I am eager to see what he releases next in his Imbrian Arts line!

- Adam Wier

Forge World's release of Horus offers yet another reason for us to open our wallets...

We knew it was coming for a while now, ever since Forge World released Angron of the World Eaters. We have all tried our best to wait as patiently as we could, but as of last week it finally happened. We are now graced with a model for Horus Lupercal! To fully appreciate the significance of this, it is necessary to think back to when we all got into this hobby. Like many of us, I first learned about Warhammer 40,000 because of Space Marines. Those little colorful armored soldiers captured my imagination, with their iconic Boltguns and bulky power armor. And while pushing miniature warriors around a table may have been something my capricious teenage mind could have quickly gotten bored with, the rich history Games Workshop crafted around their models kept things from becoming stale. There was alway some intriguing thread to follow and to set my mind wandering, whether from a short story, codex book, or just an axiom that adorned the border of a page in the rulebook. But one story stood above the rest and became an integral part of my vision of Warhammer 40,000: the Horus Heresy. This vicious civil war set the galaxy to burn as brother Space Marine turned on brother Space Marine. And at the center of this conflict were two figures: the Emperor, and his most trusted son, Horus. At the climax of the Heresy, they met in single combat. And although the Emperor ultimately prevailed, he was left virtually dead in the process and needed to be entombed within the Golden Throne to survive (although his vitality is still a point of contention).

Both Horus and the Emperor are so iconic that it almost seems that the very act of trying to represent them in any form other than in one’s mind is conceit, and that anything less than perfect would just come off as a grave let down. There have been a few paintings and illustrations that have tried to capture their titanic duel, but all of them have ultimately fallen far short of their potential. In spite of this, we all have a vision of what Horus and the Emperor should be, shaped by these illustrations and the accumulated lore throughout all the editions of Warhammer 40,000. Some of the other primarchs may have been amorphous, hardly-considered concepts, but not Horus and the Emperor, so pivotal are they to the entire 40k universe. Because of this, Simon Egan was given quite a tall order when asked to sculpt Horus of the Luna Wolves (later the Sons of Horus). In spite of this, I believe Egan was able to rise to the occasion. And while it is clear that he drew influence from all the major artwork that featured Horus, it is also clear that he did not allow this to bind him. His incredible talent pooled all of these elements together with remarkable synergism, resulting in a model that is familiar, yet completely new. And for the first time ever, in my humble opinion, the legend has been done justice.

Adrian Smith's interpretation of Horus and the Emperor. I always thought it looked like the Emperor’s sword was bent…

Egan has been sculpting character models for Forge World for a long time, making his fame by sculpting incredibly detailed and expressive faces, complete with eyebrows and even individually sculpted teeth. Virtually all of his models are yelling, although a lot of this can probably be attributed to his subject matter (genetically enhanced killing machines in the heat of battle). Because of this, it was extremely refreshing to see Egan start to break away from this tendency with Ferrus, gritting his teeth in concentration as he tries to lay Fulgrim low with Forgebreaker. With Horus, I am happy to say he breaks even further from his standard with excellent effect. He effectively captured Horus’ stern and calculating personality, but also conveyed a hint of the instability that lurks underneath.

Simon Egan’s next masterpiece: Horus Lupercal in all his glory!

Similar to what we have seen with the armor of the previous Primarchs, Egan masterfully sculpted an ornate and functional suit of armor for the Warmaster. Known as the Serpent’s Scales, Horus’s armor is the first suit of terminator armor sculpted for a Primarch (Ferrus was close, having the first set of traditional-looking power armor). The armor is filled with amazing little details, like the delicate chains that hold his wolf pelt in place, and all the little integrated pistons (the ones in front of the legs look to be homage to some of the previous artwork!). Although the armour is visually similar to Cataphractii terminator armor, it is highly modified and divergent from all of the previous renditions of the armor (model or illustration/painting). A glance at the scale comparison they show of Typhon makes this abundantly clear.

Horus Lupercal is monstrous in stature, dwarfing Calas Typhon of the Death Guard. Truly fitting for the Warmaster of the Imperium!

Despite there not being a model for Horus until now, people were very familiar with his signature weapon, the Talon of Horus. The Talon was a vicious-looking lightning claw with a built-in combi-bolter, seen on Jes Goodwin’s classic model of Ezekyle Abaddon. Upon Horus’s death, Abaddon claimed the weapon as his own (Horus used to fight with a pair of them and Abaddon only took one, until GW rewrote the history years ago, replacing one of the claws with a mace). The Talon of Horus is thought to be a relic from humanity’s a Dark Age of Technology found with the heart of the planet Clthon (The Horus Heresy Betrayal book describes the weapon as antediluvian, ha ha). Egan does a great job working within the confines of Jes’s earlier vision of the weapon, while adding some new artistic flourishes to emphasize the weapon’s ancient origins.

A classic illustration of this epic confrontation, one where Horus still fought with a pair of lightning claws!

One of my biggest worries about a model of Horus was how they were going to represent his power maul, Worldbreaker. Based on its weighty title and the description as ‘a power maul of prodigious size and might’ in the Horus Heresy Betrayal book, I was fearful they would make the weapon cyclopean in size. While still massive, what Egan sculpted for the weapon looks pretty good (though I still would have liked it to have been a little smaller…), following the design cues from Adrian Smith and John Blanche closely.

John Blanche’s interpretation of Horus Lupercal. His representation of the Talon of Horus is quite distinct, reminding me a little of Hellboy’s right hand of doom.

Continuing with the tradition of the other Horus Heresy characters, Horus has a two piece display base. The base shows the crumpled masonry of an Imperial staircase, depicted in such a manner as to make the viewer wonder if the ruined Imperial Eagle was his doing or that of some alien threat in the Crusade. I think this base is the most impressive yet in the series, and it just might be the first that I will be compelled to assemble. Mimicking the base, Horus himself is also represented in a form that could equally be from before his fall to Chaos or afterwards, giving the model a welcomed flexibility.

Horus comes with an awesome looking two part display base of a ruined Imperial staircase.

Perhaps it is a testament to how fantastic Simon Egan’s primarch models are that I still buy them despite knowing full well that they will be a major headache to assemble? But when such an iconic piece of Warhammer 40,000 lore gets rendered with such care and inspiration, it is hard to be too concerned with a few broken leather straps or air bubbles (as Horus is a resin model plentiful flaws are to be expected...). So while I might not buy him immediately, I know I will given time. It is exciting to finally have a model that strikingly conveys the state of Horus when he was on the precipice of the Heresy, straddling that line before the entire galaxy burned.

- Eric Wier

There are no miracles, only men.

Rumors have been circulating on the internet for years that Games Workshop has been working on a unit of plastic Imperial Guard storm troopers. I always looked at these rumors with a cautious optimism. The caution born from many false leads and the disappointment of not getting them when the Imperial Guard rolled into the 5th edition with steel treads and the stomp of standard-issue boots. But it was hard to not get excited about each of the rumors, because more so than for any other army in the 40k universe, the Guard are something that we can all relate to. Flesh and blood of men and women trying to survive the brutal dictatorship of the Imperium and the continual assaults from virtually any imaginable horror. Afterall, there are no miracles, only men (a line that has always stuck with me, from John Bergin’s ambient industrial rock soundtrack for Dan Abnett’s seminal novel Traitor General). But with the release of this week’s White Dwarf magazine, all of that uncertainty is gone. Plastic storm troopers are finally being released next week along with a supplemental codex, Militarum Tempestus, detailing an entire army composed of storm troopers (renamed Scions)! Now seems like as good a time as any to discuss the new plastics and consider them in light of the earlier versions of storm troopers (and to find my 30-40 metal storm troopers and prepare them for battle, he he).

The original storm troopers were sculpted by Michael Perry and had a very British paratrooper/ commando vibe to them. Each wore pretty standard combat fatigues, lacking any serious body armor. They carried modified las-rifles that were wired into massive backpacks. Most notably however were their berets! While I was never quite sure what to think of them, they certainly cemented the models in my memory. They were also interesting in that they actually had a few heavy weapon options available, unlike all of the subsequent renditions of the unit. Surprisingly, they made both metal and plastic variants of the standard troopers. A fact that I remember vividly, because you were able to get a set of five of the plastic ones for free if you subscribed to White Dwarf back in the day (those days are long gone, heck you can’t even subscribe to White Dwarf now!).

A progression of artwork from the 2nd edition Codex through the 5th.

The second version of Imperial Guard storm troopers were released during the 3rd edition of Warhammer 40,000, sometime after the release of the Imperial Guard codex. I distinctly remember paging through the codex and stopping excitedly at the illustrations of the storm troopers, hardened veterans encumbered with all manner of tactical gear and wielding the most unique lasrifles I had ever seen, the barrels covered in some form of heat shroud and the stocks removed. The actual miniature representations were sculpted by Mark Bedford and they matched the illustrations quite closely. While I always liked Bedford’s storm troopers, it was with a few reservations. Some of their features are remarkably exaggerated and wonky looking, something which takes away from the overall tone of the models. They have massive boots that are emphasized by their narrow legs that almost appear to taper as they near the waist and that look paper-thin when viewed from the side. They are equipped with heavily modified las-weapons, called hellguns, that have heat shrouds and lack stocks entirely, just like in the illustrations. Unlike the original storm troopers, these guardsman wear carapace armor covering their torsos and replace the berets with armored helmets with built-in rebreathers and targeters.

Bedford's storm trooper design was a vast departure from the original, sporting a covert operative vibe.

The third rendition of the storm troopers were sculpted by Juan Diaz to coincide with the release of the plastic Cadian Imperial guardsmen. These storm troopers were to represent the elite fighting force of Cadia and were renamed the Kasrkin. Overall, visually they look quite similar to Mark Bedford’s storm troopers in that they wear carapace armor and combat helmets (their helmet/facemasks always reminded of dirt bike helmets...). Unlike the carapace armor on Bedford’s, they have armoured grieves and shoulder pads, all of which closely resemble the standard Cadian armor. Similar to the original storm troopers, their las-weapons are wired into a powercell on the soldier’s back. While their rifles still do not have proper stocks, the Kasrkin are actually holding them in a more believable fashion. The neatest aspect of the Kasrkin are their poses, with each of them looking like they are in the field. One has their rifle shouldered convincingly (aside from the aforementioned fact that their rifles don’t have real stocks...). My favorite looks like he is cautiously stalking forward, his rifle at the ready.

Although similar to the previous version, Diaz's Kasrkin are a lot better proportioned and sensible.

With three different renditions of Imperial Guard storm troopers over the years, Games Workshop had a lot of influences to draw from when designing the new plastics. Excitingly, a glance at the pictures makes it clear that they took cues from each of the previous releases. The first thing I noticed from the pictures is how their hellguns are an amalgamation of the rifles seen on all the earlier releases. Building off the tried and true plastic lasgun, they added a heat shroud and removed the stock similar to Bedford’s rendition. They have a normal looking powercell fitted to the rifle, but two thick cables sprout from the bottom, snaking to a large backpack. Unfortunately, they have comically large rifle scopes, ones that seem to have been fashioned from the old Space Marine bolter scope. While you might have argued before that they did not have stocks because they were skillfully shot from the hip, with the large scopes it is clear that was not the intent (using a high powered scope would be exceedingly difficult without a stock…). Interestingly, the laspistol included in the kit has the same cylindrical extension at the back that the rifles do, suggesting that it has some function other than filling the void where a stock would have been.

While they were a long time coming, I think the plastic storm troopers (Militarum Tempestus...) were worth the wait!

Aside from the hellguns, the kit comes with an array of other weapon options. The only new option for the kit is the Hotshot volley gun, and at present I am not sure that I like its visual design. It primarily looks like it is just a slightly larger version of the hotshot lasrifle, with two barrels instead of one. Thankfully they left off the scope, aware that the gun was to be fired with rapid bursts from the hip (represented as a 2/4 salvo weapons). I am pleased to say they included all of the special weapons available to the Scions in the box (only one of each though). The flame thrower maintains the look of the Kasrkin/Cadian one rather than recycling the pedestrian Space Marine one that has been around since the 3rd edition. The grenade launcher looks a little odd with its horizontal foregrip, but otherwise is very similar to the Cadian one.

This gives you a sense of the diversity of the new kit.

The next most obvious inclusion was the return of the berets! Looking at the sprues, there appear to be nine heads with berets, many of which have interesting little details such a bionic eye, a mustache, and my favorite, an eye patch! In addition to the heads with berets, they have several with combat helmets and facemasks. Many of the facemasks retain the ‘dirt bike helmet’ look of the Kasrkin, while maintaining the circular lens seen in Mark Bedford’s storm troopers (The Red Spectacles or Jin-Roh anyone?).

It is nice to see that they honored all the previous versions of the storm troopers in some capacity with the new heads.

Compared to the earlier renditions of storm troopers, the Scions are the most heavily armored Imperial Guard veterans yet. The Scion’s carapace armor strangely has resemblances to that of a medieval knight. This is particularly evident when looking at their wide, domed breastplates. While they are certainly well sculpted I am not thrilled with how bulky they make the Scions look, as it takes away from the covert-ops aspect of the models. As they are now, they have, dare-I-say, a steam-punk vibe to them, not quite the Vostroyans, but steam-punk nonetheless.

Perhaps it is only the helmet spike, but these new storm troopers really have an archaic steam-punk vibe.

Another surprising and welcome addition to the kit is the inclusion of components to make a command squad. There are pieces to make a banner bearer, a vox-cast operator, and a medic. The medic has a cleverly designed las/hellpistol that has a built-in chain-blade (kind of weird actually… ha ha). They even included an overcoat to drape over the commander’s shoulder akin to the model of Lord Castellan Creed, complete with little winged-skull buckles. They also included an excellent looking powerfist, one that is not simply a copy of a Space Marine one, and therefore looks to scale and unique. Furthermore, the kit comes with all manner of other little details, including ceremonial daggers, sheathed Hotshot lasguns, and even little infantry primer books!

A plastic overcoat is a welcome addition, one that will surely find its way into many conversions.

The redesigned powerfist is scaled properly for the Scions! The medic has an optional pistol with a built-in chainblade! And the vox-operator has a nice and boxy radio set.

Overall, the models look quite impressive and I am excited to get some to play around with and consider for Inq28 conversions. I am interested in modifying their hellguns by adding stocks (maybe collapsible ones?) and removing the power cables and scopes. Furthermore, I want to see how feasible it would be to replace their bodies with ones that are a little more reserved and form-fitting (possibly the plastic Cadian bodies?). And although it does not appear that they can get shotguns anymore, I am tempted to try to convert one or two with a trusty 12 gauge.

In addition to the Scions, they are also releasing a new vehicle to transport them in the form of the Taurox Prime, or standard Taurox for the Astra Militarum (the newly named Imperial Guard). It has striking similarity to any number of real world armored personnel carriers (APC), with a boxy angular frame and an optional light turret. Instead of being situated on bulky aggressive tires, or even a combination of treads and tires (half track), it has two sets of treads. These four individual treads are attached separately in a manner you might expect for a vehicle with wheels. As though they feel they owe us as 40k players, they covered the vehicle with brass scrollwork, pipes, and curiously placed smoke stacks. Additionally, the optional side-mounted hot-shot volley guns or autocannons available for the Taurox Prime look ridiculous. On a more positive note, the model has a detailed interior showing the driver and gunner of the vehicle. Overall I think I could grow to like the vehicle with a little conversion work stripping down some of the overwrought details of the kit (side mounted smoke-stacks and engine pipes).

I think the Taurox looks substantially better without all the extra heraldry and simply olive drab paint scheme.

If you have made it this far, hopefully you have enjoyed hearing my ramblings about Imperial Guard storm troopers (and enjoyed looking back at some of the old art and models!). The coming Militarum Tempestus release looks to be a very interesting one and one that I am looking forward to. As always, I would love to hear any thoughts or opinions about the new models.

- Adam Wier

Punish the flesh. Iron in mind and body. Hail the Machine!

The plastic Imperial Knight was undoubtedly one of the most exciting Games Workshop releases in a long time, but when the Imperial Knight Codex was released a week later, it was hard not to be a little disappointed when the book did not contain rules for additional Knight variants or weapon options. I am happy to say that we did not have very long to brood over this, as no more than a month after its release, Forge World revealed their own Knight model to capitalize on the wealth of other less common Knight variants. The Cerastus Knight-Lancer is their rendition of the rather comical looking Lancer from the Adeptus Titanicus/Space Marine days. It even already has rules in the form of an entry in the third installment of the Horus Heresy Isstvan saga: Extermination.

An impressive looking shock lance for an even more imposing Knight.

The general leg and body structure of the Lancer is similar to plastic Knight, although all the Lancer parts are stretched and longer. Interestingly, the Lancer’s legs have a pronounced kink at the knee that aligns it, at least visually, to the Warhound titan. These legs are the most striking element of the model, making it tower over even the plastic Imperial Knight. While I would have expected it to be taller and thinner than its plastic counterpart, I was not anticipating it being nearly twice the size. In fact, one of the Lancer’s legs alone reaches up to the armoured cowl of the Paladin/Errant. Although I have yet to see a size comparison, the Lancer is likely similar in size to Dreamforge’s Leviathan Crusader, which is currently sitting at an odd place to be used in 40k, too small to be a Warhound, but far too large to be an Knight Paladin/Errant. So it may be a nice proxy for the Lancer (finally a use for the Crusader!), provided I replace one of the arms with their version of the powerfist (mauler claw). Excitingly, the legs look quite poseable (unlike GW’s plastic one, which needs extensive work to reposition). This flexibility might lead a lot of people to make ridiculously dynamic poses, ones that could threaten to make many Knights look more like they toppling over (a welcome challenge to overcome!).

If not for the paint, I would have almost guessed that Lancer was a 2x render that would later be shrunk down for general release, so dramatic is the size difference.

The body of the Lancer is quite similar to the Paladin/Errant, just a bit taller with broader armor plates, giving it more of an insect-like appearance (like a roly poly… ha ha). Its shoulderpads, while similar in design, are layered much like those of Tartaros terminators. The exhaust system on the Lancer’s back is much smaller and streamlined than that seen on the Paladin/Errant. Its head is very unique, reminding me a bit of Subzero from the Mortal Kombat fame, with pronounced grilled armor plates on its cheeks. It still has the ocular lenses, similar to the bare head of the plastic Knight, hidden behind the the Lancer’s vision slit. Overall the head gives it a sinister mechanical look that is absent in the more knightly helms of the plastic version. I believe I speak for all of us when I say I was a bit disappointed when I learned that the plastic Knight did not have a fully detailed interior/cockpit area. Forge World rectified this oversight and sculpted the entire cockpit, bringing the Throne Mechanicum to life!

Glad to see they sculpted the interior; now we no longer have to stare longingly at the chair in Forge World's Thunderbolt fighter, dreaming up ways to acquire one for converting our own.

The Lancer only has a single weapon, the Cerastus shock lance. And although it can be used as both a melee weapon or a gun (which can’t get destroyed thanks to the superheavy damage table which ignores weapon destroyed), it does not have the heavy stubbers like the Paladin/Errant (therefore, it cannot attempt to down flying monstrous creatures in a hail of machinegun fire). The lance is quite powerful, with 6 AP2 str 7 concussive shots (only 18” range though). Where it really shines however, is in close combat! While it is similar to the Reaper chainsword (Str D, AP 2), it has a special rule called Swift Strike that give the Lancer a +1 bonus to Initiative the turn it charges. This makes the Lancer no laughing matter in close combat, being able to perform 5 Str D concussive attacks at the Initiative of 5. Better still, its version of the ion shield (Ion Gauntlet Shield) bestows it a 5++ save in close combat.

The Lancer's shield has a very interesting design, maintaining a shape like a traditional knightly shield, yet not filled in with adamantium and ceramite.

Forge World also revealed concept renderings of different Knight weapon options. They showed a vulcan mega bolter as well as an inferno cannon (no turbo laser though...). Both look fantastic, mimicking their larger warhound counterparts. The ammunition belts on the mega bolter look particularly nice, broad and substantial, making it believable that it might actually work! At this point, it is not clear if these are for the GW Knight, the Lancer, or both (I imagine it will be one or the other due to the vast difference in size between the two, however). With the release of these alternate weapon systems on the horizon, I am a bit hesitant to assemble the gun arm of my plastic Knight, wanting to have the opportunity make it modular if the Forge World alternates are scaled properly.

Hopefully these renders are only just the beginning of new weapon options for both GW and FW's Knight models.

With a new Knight titan already on the horizon, I realize I need to step-up work on my plastic Knight. The assembly has been a slow, but ultimately enjoyable. I have really been taking my time to remove all the moldlines and sand down any seams created when gluing two halves together. I still need to go back and use green stuff to fill gaps and ultimately decide on a pose for the model. This first one is likely going to be pretty simple without any major conversions. Adam and I have a second that we would like to complete afterwards that we plan to completely reposition the legs, following in the footsteps of JeffTibbetts with his Queen Bee Knight, over at the Bolter and Chainsword.

My work in progress Knight standing next to my Leviathan Crusader, armless as not to make the smaller titan jealous ;)

As I have been working on my first Knight I have been considering what I wanted to do about the basing the model. My first thought was of Dragon Forge bases, having used many of their bases in the past, but figured it would likely be a while until they got around to releasing them with the Knight’s dimensions (considering it is the only model that uses it currently). So you can imagine my surprise when I saw Dave Taylor had received a shipment of bases for the Knight sculpted by none other than Jeff Wilhelm of Dragon Forge Design! Looking at their site, they have currently released 8 new bases for the Knights, spanning a range of different locals including blasted desertscapes, ancient temples, and ruined cities. While they have a steep price tag ranging from $20-22.50, their quality is assured (thick, sturdy resin requiring little clean-up). Currently my favorites include the Badlands and Urban Rubble bases. Dave Taylor used the Urban Rubble bases to great effect on his first two Knights of House Coldshroud.

With the rules for the Cerastus Knight-Lancer already in print, I am sure the model will come up for preorder in Forge World’s site in the next week or two. I am really curious to see the cost of it; it is sure to be exceedingly expensive, partially because it is Forge World, but also simply because it is so much bigger than the plastic Imperial Knight and therefore cannot take advantage of some of the plastic Knight parts (not a hybrid kit). The model is likely to go a long way in making an army of Imperial Knights seem more like a real army (one with more than two unit entries), provided it gets printed in a future Imperial Armour book (and not just the 30k Horus Heresy). Hopefully this is just the beginning for different Knight variants (Crusader perhaps?) and weapon options. Time will tell I suppose.

- Eric Wier

To feel pain or fear or grief is to allow myself a luxury I cannot afford.

Only a week after the release of the Militarum Tempestus Scions, we have already seen a surge of activity around the blogosphere involving the kit. They are particularly well suited for Inquisitorial operatives; both Jeff Vader and Henry South have excellent examples of this. Wanting to experiment with the kit myself, I picked up a box and set to work. Now that I have actually seen the components of the kit, I am even more impressed than ever with Dave Thomas’s work. He paid a lot of attention to detailing the hands of the models. I was particularly impressed that he thought to model one of the Scions hands such that the operator’s trigger finger is not on the trigger of the weapon! Their fighting knives are also really neat. I particularly like that they are simple straight blades and that they have a fully enclosed finger choil (kind of like a karambit, ha ha).

Despite all the positives of the kit, there are a number of aspects that make me scratch my head. First of which is the scaling of the models; these guys are huge! Forget trying to use any of the plastic Cadian heads or bodies to convert these models, they are simply too small to be incorporated with the Scions (without looking ridiculous anyway...). This scale difference makes me grateful that they decided to include 17 different heads in the kit. Yet despite including so many different heads, of the nine with berets, only two have faces that are not yelling or somehow showing their teeth. This is a shame because the beret heads are my favorite, but with all of them yelling I would hesitate to make an entire squad with them. The next questionable choice was their decision to include scopes on their stockless hot-shot lasguns, making you question how the operators would actually aim their rifles (I can buy the argument that they are to be fired from the hip and therefore have no need for the stocks, but then they should not have high powered scopes). Furthermore, each rifle is weighed down with massive energy cables hooked up to a back-pack generator (which would greatly encumber the operator while they were in combat). While I accept that the 40k universe is not really one about practicality and realism, I think they would have benefitted from a slightly more reserved weapon design (the Death Korp Grenadiers achieved the same idea without being too over the top).

The Death Korp Grenadiers have hot-shot lasrifles that are much more reserved than those seen on the Scions. Take note of the stocks on the rifles!

I was fairly certain that I would be able to remedy some of these problems with the kit, and anxiously set about converting an Inquisitorial storm trooper. The first order of business was to modify the hot-shot lasrifle. Despite my earlier comments, I do really like some of the aspects of the rifles, particularly the heat shrouds covering their barrels. First I cut off the front and back of the rifle’s scope, leaving the base of the scope attached to serve as a holographic sight (much easier to use in a combat!). I then removed the cables attached to the energy cell of the rifle. Next I went about converting a stock for the rifle, starting by removing the cap at the rear of the weapon. The main body of the stock was taken from one of the plastic Catachan lasrifles, with the base of the stock made from a component of the plastic Master of the Ravenwing I had lying around (I somehow have like five of the piece...). After gluing the pieces together I used some greenstuff to fix up the seams and called it a day.

The converted hot-shot lasgun with the energy cords and scope removed. And an added stock! Also, take note that the trooper’s finger is not on the trigger. Trigger control for the win!

With the power cables removed from the hot-shot lasrifle, I decided I needed to modify the storm trooper’s backpack as well. I opted to remove the back-mounted generator entirely from the model, only saving the pouches and sleeping bag from the original backpack. To properly attach the this new smaller backpack to the model’s back I needed to trim away some of sleeping bag. After gluing on his backpack, I fashioned some straps using greenstuff to fasten the backpack to the storm trooper’s armor.

After removing the energy generator from the Scions backpack, I used greenstuff to add straps to hold the backpack in place. Additionally, I added an Elysian Drop troop knife to his belt.

To make the storm trooper look like he was equipped for war (as any good Inquisitorial agent!), I wanted to make sure he had equipment on his belt. First I wanted to give the storm trooper a dagger and have it attached horizontally on his back, allowing him to easily have access to it. While I really like the daggers the Scions come with, due to their size I needed to look elsewhere (that and they will be perfect for all manner of other conversions… death cult assassins). Eventually, I settled on a rather reserved looking combat knife taken from the Elysian Drop Troops. After gluing on the knife I modelled on some attachment points with greenstuff. Next I added some other gear to the storm trooper’s belt, all taken from the Elysian Drop Troops. All of the Drop Troop equipment is noticeably smaller than the stuff included with the Scions, allowing me to add a canteen, a pouch , and a grenade without making the trooper look cluttered.

With most of the conversions finished, I chose out a Tech-Deck Dragon Forge base to go along with my other Inq28 models and glued the model together. To make the storm trooper look suitably hard-lined and venerable, I decided to use the beret head with the eyepatch. Overall I am very happy with how the model turned out. I am still a little unsure what I think about the light mounted on his left shoulder. I have considered removing it entirely and adding a light to the storm trooper’s rifle. Any thoughts on the matter?

The finished storm trooper in all his glory!

Hopefully you all enjoyed hearing about my thoughts and my design decisions on building my first Inquisitorial storm trooper. With the first assembled, I am eager to start work on another one or two. Any thoughts or suggestions on the current storm trooper or ideas on what you would like to see on future storm troopers would be appreciated.

- Adam Wier

As the Emperor protects, so must we.

After having so much fun converting the first INQ28 Militarum Tempestus storm trooper, I knew I had to get to work on converting a second. For the second stormtrooper I wanted to maintain the same modified hot-shot lasrifle, but this time have the rifle shouldered like it was getting ready to be fired. Adding the stock to the hot-shot lasrifle proved to be a lot trickier this time around and required a lot more cutting and greenstuffing to situate everything properly.

The shouldered hot-shot lasrifle complete with stock and holographic sight.

In my last post I had expressed my disappointment that the older plastic Cadian heads were not compatible with the Scions. I decided to look into this a little further to see if I could make something work. Fortunately, I have found that they are actually scaled properly, it is just they lack the necks seen on the Scions. Eager for a challenge, I decided to try to model a neck with greenstuff on one of the Cadian heads. After looking through all the plastic Cadian heads at my disposal, I found one of the scarred faces from the Cadian command squad and decided it would make the perfect head for a grizzled Inquisitional veteran. The greenstuffing went so well that I decided to sculpt a collar around the soldier's neck as well.

The extra power source for the storm trooper’s hot-shot lasrifle was removed from his backpack and additional attachment points modeled on with greenstuff.

The plastic Cadian heads are scaled properly with the new scions, however you need to model on necks if you want them to seat correctly.

One of the last options I wanted to explore with the model was giving the soldier a holstered sidearm. In order to actually fit the holstered weapon on the model’s waist without looking cluttered I knew I would have to create a pistol much smaller than those typically seen on Warhammer 40k models. I started the conversion by cutting down an Elysian Drop Troop holster and adding the modified grip of a boltgun to substitute for the pistol (I tried my best to style the pistol like a Glock 17). After playing around for awhile trying to fit the holster on the model, I decided I needed to make further modifications to comfortably accommodate the pistol, allowing for the soldier to easily draw the weapon if needed. To do this I trimmed down the armor-plate on his right thigh to make more room for the holster. Next using greenstuff I sculpted a mount for the holster and glued it in place. Finally, I sculpted some additional straps to mount the holster to what remained of the soldier’s armor-plate. The whole pistol turned into a lot more work than I was planning, but overall I am very pleased with the results.

The evolution of the storm trooper’s sidearm. The base of the holser came from the Elysian Drop Troops. Special care was taken to model in a mount for the holster with greenstuff.

The finished holstered sidearm! I crafted the pistol in the likeness of a modern automatic pistol.

Sometime during my work converting the second storm trooper I found out about Migsula’s fantastic Skitarii Praetorians. I was surprised how well their hotshot lasguns could be transformed into boltguns with a few modifications, including a simple magazine change. Additionally, he brilliantly decided to reposition the shoulder-mounted targeting arrays (officially called monoscopes by GW, ha ha) to face the direction his troopers were looking. A seemingly small modification, but one that went a long way in selling the models. This inspired me to do the same on my new storm trooper and go back and revisit my original one. While modifying the monoscope on my first storm trooper I also decided to replace the massive gem on his beret with a smaller more reserved emblem of a shield (that gem had always bothered me…).

The second storm trooper, ready to wage the Emperor's wars.

I revisited my original storm trooper conversion and repositioned his shoulder-mounted monoscope and replaced the gem on his beret with a shield emblem.

I recently acquired one of GW’s new Asta Militarum Taurox models. I am considering trying to convert one for my Inquisitorial storm troopers.

With the second storm trooper finished I have started to consider my options for the third. Nothing is definite yet, but I am throwing around the idea of converting a special weapon like a plasma or melta gun. Alternatively, maybe make the sergeant of the squad with a pistol and a drawn combat knife? If anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments section.

- Adam Wier

I was pretty taken aback to discover Questing Artificer included my blog in his Liebster Award blog list (a list filled with many excellent blogs). It is always nice to know that your work is appreciated and seen by others, as it is a wonderful motivator to keep modeling. It is particularly important in the first few months of a blog, lest you lose interest and stop altogether. The purpose of the Liebster Award award is to allow bloggers to recognize a selection of blogs that they think are exceptional, with a focus on newer or smaller blogs that may not have as many followers or are still trying to carve out a niche for themselves. Each nominee is asked to state eleven truths about themselves, answer eleven questions from the blogger who nominated them and finally come up with a series of eleven questions they would like their nominees to answer.

Thank you Questing Artificer for the nomination; here it goes!

Eleven Truths:

I have a love of Coca-Cola that verges on being unhealthy.
I love amphibians.
I much prefer PCs over Macs.
I am currently attending graduate school in biochemistry (studying x-ray crystallography!).
I started to play 40k in the 2nd edition, when terminators had a 3+ save on 2 D6 (and they could choose to ignore being on fire, if my memory serves…).
I won bronze in the open category of Baltimore Golden Demon (2006) with a Blood Bowl Norse Blitzer.
I share the same birthday as the legendary Clint Eastwood.
If I had to name a favorite band, it would have to be Armchair Martian.
Before starting graduate school a couple years ago, I largely disliked metal as a music genre. Now, however, it is one of my favorites (angry music for frustrating times, he he).
The blog title is a play off of the metal band Between the Buried and Me.
I have not watched television in approximately nine years.

The MVP of the Esoteric Order of Dagon.

Eleven Questions (answered to):

Favourite colour? It is really hard to pick one, they all have their place.
Favourite glue? I have worked with Krazy Glue for over 15 years and it has never let me down.
d6 or d10? I guess I prefer the d10 because of the increased dynamic range, but admittedly do not play many games using it.
Fantasy or sci-fi? Science Fiction. I love firearms.
Karl Kopinski or John Blanche? Kopinski by a landslide; while Blanche works in broad strokes, Kopinski knows that the devil is in the details, but does not let them get out of hand.
Favourite sport? Target shooting.
Buried alive or strangled to death? Don’t see how anyone could prefer to be buried alive.
Beer or cider? Both inebriants lack a fundamental quality of goodness, but I would have to select beer over the later.
Favourite musical genre? A difficult selection, but I would have to say punk rock, with an alternative country tinge (here’s looking at you Two Cow Garage).
Favourite model? Nagash, without a doubt ;)
Favourite paintbrush? Winsor & Newton Kolinsky Sable brushes

In all honesty, this model is not too inspiring.

Eleven Blogs (in no particular order):

Frothing Muppet’s Land of Miniatures - A delightful blog filled with orks, space marines, and mysterious inquisitors (and their hard-as-nails henchmen)!
BLOODYdice - You are unlikely to find nicer Minotaur Space Marines anywhere (and some equally awesome Blood Angels).
Independent Painters - A constant source of fantastically painted Malifaux miniatures.
Forlorn Hope - If you needed more proof that the Horus Heresy is awesome, look no further for some brilliant Sons of Horus marines (and one of the coolest gun servitors ever).
Pijamas Project - Pijamas Gagarin reminds us the only thing cooler then space marines are truescale space marines!
Four Go To War - A fantastic blog focusing on Warhammer 40k and showcasing inspirational models from the Imperial Guard and the Inquisition.
The Rising Sign - A talented sculptor that uses his skills to make some of the most convincing Inq28 models around (and to make already awesome models even more impressive, like the Dark Vengeance Chosen).
Voyage au centre de l'enfer - The home of some of the creepiest and most bizarre servants of chaos.
Sniffing the paint fumes… - A nice reminder that there are miniature companies other than Games Workshop!
The Metatyrant - A fascinating glimpse into some of seedy and incomprehensible figures in the esoteric order that is the Inquisition.
Rebel’s Grotto - Proof that the Dark Angels are awesome (and surprisingly that the Darkshroud landspeeder can look nice)!

Eleven Questions (Asked):

Eisenhorn or Ravenor?
What is your favorite aspect of the miniature hobby?
Will dread Cthulhu rise from his sunken city of R’lyeh?
Who is your favorite artist?
If you are about to embark on a long drive with nothing to think about, what musical album would you want to listen to?
Have you ever played the cRPG: Planescape: Torment?
Games Workshop’s White Dwarf magazine recently switched formats and is now weekly, thoughts?
Is the Alpha Legion the Imperium’s doom or their salvation?
Benchmade or Spyderco?
What boardgame would you most like to play this weekend?
Who is your favorite sculptor?

And since this blog is primarily one to show you my current modeling projects, I would feel amiss if this one did not have some indication of what I am working on.

- Adam Wier

Finally, I have a way to take nice model photos!

I have struggled to take nice photos of my models for a long time. Between poor lightning, an old “point and shoot” digital camera, and a general lack of knowledge about photography, getting good pictures never came very easily for me. Since starting this blog, I have tried a little harder to experiment with backdrops and lighting with mixed success, but I was still never very satisfied. So you can imagine my delight when I learned about the Foldio, a foldable studio, over on Frothing Muppet’s excellent miniature blog. Designed to allow for taking professional looking photos with a smartphone camera, the Foldio is essentially a foldable plastic lightbox/shadowbox with a LED strip attached that provides light from all angles. Although it was initially brought into reality via Kickstarter, the designer, a Korean company called Orangemonkie, recently began selling them to the general public. I wasted no time and ordered one, and to my excitement it arrived promptly.

The collapsed Foldio, with the 3 included foam backdrops.

The Foldio unfolded, with the single LED strip on the right.

The Foldio came in a small cardboard box that, when opened, contained the lightbox folded up inside a little synthetic cloth bag, with 3 foam background sheets wrapped around it. Pulling the Foldio out of the bag, I noticed that there were no instructions on how to assemble the device other than a square piece of translucent paper that has a picture of the assembled unit. Due to its intuitive design, however, within 30 seconds of taking it out, I had it assembled, using the magnets on each plastic side to hold it together. After sliding in one of the foam background sheets and attaching a 9V battery to the LED strip (which conveniently attaches to the side of the Foldio using the same magnets that hold it together), I was already taking pictures.

The assembled Foldio, with a shot of how the backdrop fits in and the location on the LED strip.

Of all the three backdrops, grey works the best for miniatures (from left to right: grey, black, white).

An old elf freelancer from Mordheim, filled with character, if not a little flat in his pose.

I tried all of the different backdrops and found that grey worked the best for models (white resulted in clear but dark pictures and the black reflected so much light that the models almost glowed). The Foldio I purchased has a single LED strip along the top, but they also have one that has a second strip attached to the small flap along the front, which can be folded inward to apply additional light. Without using the second strip first-hand, I cannot really comment on how much (or little) to does to affect the photo quality. It is only 10 additional dollars for the second, and it is as easy as adding/removing a second battery to use it, so it is certainly something to consider. However, I must say that I am extremely satisfied with the photos I have been able to take with just one LED strip. Within an hour of assembling the Foldio, I was able to take photos of models that I was never able to, ones that captured the care put into each.

When these Chaos Warriors first came out, it was hard to resist building a unit with 2 hand weapons to bring glory to the Lord of Skulls!

One of Adam's first attempts at freehand on a large surface, with a grinning face to look like Ivan Isaacs from Hyung Min-woo's Priest.

Although small and very portable, the Foldio can effectively accommodate some of the larger models on the market.

The true strength of the Foldio is its ease of use and portability. It easily fits into a backpack and sets up in less than a minute. Regardless of the lighting in the room, or the camera at hand, you can take nice, clear pictures. While I was able to take reasonably good photos of my models before, it was always a hassle of adjusting lamps and fiddling with plastic card to make a suitable backdrop. With the Foldio, I was taking better pictures than I ever had before within a few minutes of taking it out of the box, even using the lackluster camera on my Moto X phone. While $50 is not exactly cheap, if you have struggled in the past to take photos of your models, ones that actually convey the amount time and effort that you have poured into them, I would strongly urge you to give the Foldio a try. I am certainly pleased with it, and know there will be countless pictures coming out of it in the future.

- Eric Wier

Just how well do the plastic Kingdom Death models stack up to the resin ones?

Before the Kickstarter campaign made Kingdom Death a common name amongst miniature wargamers, and before there were widespread claims of it having sexist aesthetic design choices, Kingdom Death was only a small collection of models and a vision of mind-numbing horror. A few years before the Kickstarter was launched, I saw their Forsaker model, with his frightening height, segmented armour, and antlered mask, and was captivated by the baroque design, one that seemed to be mimicking Kentaro Miura's masterwork graphic novel/manga series, Berserk. When they released their King’s Hand model, I was convinced that it was strongly influenced by Berserk. With the exposed brain design on the King’s Hand’s helmet, the creepy porcelain faces, and the grasping hands, I felt that I was looking at the spiritual successor to the horrific and unknowable evil that is the character Void of the God Hand from Berserk. This strong visual connection to one of my favorite graphic novel/manga series convinced me to try to get a few Kingdom Death models. This was before they started to experiment with casting their models in plastic (one of the primary goals of the eventual Kickstarter), so all their models were in extremely limited production runs (~450 or fewer), making many models highly collectable and inaccessible to fans (you would find yourself continually checking back to their site and/or coolminiornot hoping to find the small window when the models were available). All of these models were hand cast in white resin, and came in a little cardboard collectors box, with a numbered certificate and art print. Recently, due to the success with their Kickstarter campaign, they were able to release a selection of their models in plastic. With the release of this kit (Pinups of Death - Hard Plastic Collection), I thought it would be a great time to look at some of their models, and examine the strengths and weaknesses of their resin and plastic models.

Kentaro Miura's Berserk inspired me to convert my own version of its protagonist Guts, the Black Swordsman.

Kingdom Death always goes the extra mile to make each of their releases special, and feel like a premium item, with little art prints, numbered certificates, and classy boxes.

Despite having several of the resin Kingdom Death models, I have never willed myself to actually assemble any of them until very recently. Why is that? My reluctance stemmed solely from the media they are cast in: resin. While the fine detail on each model has always come out looking fantastic in the resin casts, the models are plagued with numerous casting defects, primarily in the form of slight mold-shifts scattered about the models. And while I cannot fault Kingdom Death too much for these, as it is a problem that I have seen with nearly every resin model that I have assembled over the years, it is still a major issue that can be difficult to overcome and is always time intensive to fix. Oftentimes, these mold-shifts cannot easily be removed with trimming alone, necessitating the use of modeling putty.

The Storm Knight comes in a multitude of parts, so many it is difficult to know where to begin!

Admittedly, for many of the models, if you simply ignore the casting defects and assemble them, they will look presentable. However due to the level of effort that went into sculpting the models, I simply cannot assemble them without laboring over every detail until they are nigh on perfect. Also, many of the models are very organic, favoring curves and seamless transitions over rigid angles and segments. This accentuates any mold-shift and distracts from the overall splendor of the models.

Nothing drives home this point further than the release of the Storm Knight, a towering knightly construct of steel, engulfed in a maelstrom of wind, water, and lightning. The swirling miasma of lightning and steam billowing from the cracks in his armor quickly made the model one of my favorites in the Kingdom Death line. Despite the limited production run of 450, I managed to acquired one. My excitement about the model was quickly dashed on the rocks upon receiving it. Despite getting a relatively nice cast of the model, nearly every piece contained at least one noticeable defect requiring modeling putty work to remedy (and with ~16 pieces...). And just like that, the model went into a box filled with countless other unassembled models. Eventually I brought myself to begin work on the model, working on and off over the period of a month or two. After a lot of trimming, pinning, gluing, and putty work, the model is done, and I must say I am pleased with the results and think the effort was worth it.

Assembling the Storm Knight is not for the faint of heart, requiring ample modelling putty work and patience to avoid breaking or losing any of its components.

At first glance, there is so much going on with the Storm Knight that you might miss all the little plumes of steam and lightning projecting from the Knights back and all the little slots in his armor.

That being said, after spending countless hours assembling a single model, it is clear that, in the future, I will have to choose which Kingdom Death models to assemble wisely. I say this because I really do not have the time to put that much effort into every single model. Thankfully, the cast that I received of the King’s Hand was very good, encouraging me to assemble him, as well.

The King's Hand model is one of my favorite from the Kingdom Death range. I can't help but think the model draws heavy influences from the different members of the God Hand in Berserk.

Now getting to the main topic of the post. Just how nice are the Kingdom Death plastics? In its favor, it looks like the plastic is identical to that used by DreamForge and Wyrd, a mixture of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and high impact polystyrene (that works with super glue and most plastic glues). Having worked a lot with this plastic on Malifaux models (and now a few Kingdom Death models!), I can say this is probably the best case scenario. The plastic handles extremely well and can be easily cleaned up with an x-acto blade or any other tool. The models come on sprues similar to what you would see with any Games Workshop release, but like the Malifaux and DreamForge plastics, they have little feet on each corner to prevent them from being crushed together. Due to the complexity and detail of many of the original sculpts, in the transition to plastic they were force to cut each model into a multitude of pieces (around 8-10 pieces for most). Overall the plastic casts look exceptionally nice, with crisp, well defined details and manageable mold-lines.

To maintain the level of detail seen in the resin casts, the plastic models have been cut into a huge number of tiny pieces.

Initially for the post I wanted to do a side-by side comparison of the plastic and resin version of the original Twilight Knight Pinup model. However after pulling out my cast of the resin version, I was reminded why I never assembled it in the first place. The majority of the detailing on the model’s leggings are all but lost due to poor casting. Needing to find another model for the comparison, I looked through the other models I had, which included several of the other pinups. Eventually I settled on the Architect model because it was the only one that would not require a significant amount of greenstuff work to remedy casting issues. The only really significant casting issue on the Architect was a noticeable mold-shift on the model’s back.

Both versions of the model were pretty similar in ease of build. The resin version had fewer individual pieces, expediting the build time, while the plastic version was easier to work with because the pieces were much more resilient to breaking. Each of the components of the two models fit together nicely with only minimal seams, that could be easily filled with normal or liquid greenstuff. I cannot really stress enough how this relative ease of assembly for the resin version is more the exception, rather than the norm. Every single plastic pinup model will be straightforward and quick to assemble, while maybe 1 in 10 of the resin versions I have are that way. I don’t want to discourage anyone from buying the resin versions of Kingdom Death models (I have purchased several and will continue to do so), but I think it is important to know that you have to be willing to put in a significant amount of effort if you want them to look as nice as they were intended to by the sculptor. If you are an seasoned modeler, this might not be an issue, but if you are relatively new to the hobby and do not have much experience with green stuff or resin, I would seriously consider just waiting for the plastic counterparts.

While both of the Architect models were pretty easy to build, the resin one required more modelling putty work, including having to re-sculpt one of the tassels on her cloak.

The two Architects mirror one another closely, but the plastic version is noticeably larger.

I do need to mention that while the details on the plastic version of the Architect are great, there is a noticeable difference when compared side-by-side with the resin version. The plastic version is slightly larger in size and the details are rounder and in are not as well defined. The most noticeable difference between the models in is on the Architect’s facemask. In the plastic version, the vents for the mask’s mouth are almost nonexistent compared to the resin version.

In most cases, you can only really notice a difference between the resin and plastic if compared side-by-side. In this case, notice the detailing on the mask of the plastic version is lacking.

Overall, if I had to choose between a resin or plastic version of a Kingdom Death model I would go with plastic. While the resin versions are detailed marginally better, they come with a lot of extra baggage in the form of mold-shifts, bubbles, and fragile components. With the plastic models you don’t have to worry about running into a long list of casting defects; they come properly cast every time. And for such fine and delicate models, the extra durability of the plastic is also a welcome addition, particularly if they are to be used in a game. While I am extremely pleased with the Storm Knight, it is difficult to see it being anything other than a display piece, due to the material it is made of. So anyone who was worried that Kingdom Death’s transition to plastic would take something away from their range can rest easy. Now let’s just hope they continue to release more Berserk inspired monstrosities (the new Gold Smoke Knight is a good sign)!

- Adam Wier

One shot, one kill.

Inspired by how well converting my first two Inquisitorial storm troopers went, I set out to assemble a third. Having already assembled two with hot-shot lasrifles, I decided to try something a little different for the third storm trooper. While I was initially scheming to convert some form of special weapon (melta, plasma, or volleygun), my plans were postponed when I came across my collection of Elysian Drop Troops weapons from Forge World. Amongst them was an awesome and compact sniper rifle that I decided would make a welcome addition to any Inquisitor’s retinue. Like the majority of the Elysian weapons, the sniper rifle has a bullpup design, placing the action of the rifle behind the trigger group, taking the place of a traditional stock, thus giving it its condensed look.

From top to bottom: hotshot lasgun, Elysian sniper rifle, and Catachan lasgun. As you can see the Catachan rifle is simply massive!

While I was really excited to equip one of the storm troopers with the sniper rifle, I was a little unsure how easily it could be substituted for one of the Scion’s hot-shot lasrifles. Due to so much of the Elysian rifles being located within the back stock region, the lack of presculpted arms surrounding the rifle posed a problem. This issue is rarely encountered with GW models because so many of their models’ weapons do not have stocks, or they are not tightly shouldered in a firing position, allowing for relatively simple weapon swapping. Despite this issue, after a fair amount of cutting and repositioning of the arm/hand I properly positioned the rifle. After removing part of the sniper rifle’s stock, I was able to use the trigger group and grip of the hot-shot lasrifle. With the rifle positioned, I filled in the gaps with greenstuff and added back the rifle’s magazine. I resculpted the storm trooper’s trigger finger to be off the trigger because he was not going to be in a firing stance (Firing a sniper rifle from the hip? Surely not!). I was also able to trim the Scion’s left hand off the foregrip of his hot-shot lasrifle such that it could be used to hold the newly positioned sniper rifle.

Getting the sniper rifle to attach properly to the arm required a lot of cutting, followed by a considerable amount of greenstuff work to fill in any gaps and sculpt his finger.

For the storm trooper’s backpack, I made use of the medical backpack from the plastic Catachan command squad. After trimming off the bonesaw and the little medical Caduceus symbol I was able to glue it to the stormtrooper’s back. I fashioned straps for the backpack out of greenstuff and some of the little equipment belts that came with the Scions.

The sniper's backpack is crafted from one of the backpacks in the Catachan command squad.

After finishing the rifle, the model came together really quickly. Notice the beret head from the Catachan command squad.

While trimming up the medical backpack from the Catachan command squad I was reminded of the beret-wearing Catachan head from the kit. After finding it, I decided that it would fit very nicely in place of the standard bereted heads in the Scion kit (and the guy’s head has a suitably grim expression without resorting to yelling!). With some greenstuff I was able to give him a neck and a collar, ensuring that the head fit seamlessly with the rest of the model.

The Cataphractii combi-weapons are surprisingly small and look to be an ideal starting place for making special weapons.

Now that the third storm trooper is finished, I need to look back into converting a special weapon or two. Currently the smallest melta/plasma weaponry I have found are from the combi-weapons from the Cataphractii/Tartaros terminators from Forge World. Surprisingly they are notably smaller than all of their other counterparts. The combi-plasma addition for instance is slightly smaller than even the standard plastic plasma pistol! As such, I am strongly considering using the Cataphractii/Tartaros combi-weapons as a foundation to build the storm trooper special weapons. If it is as straightforward as I think it might be, expect to see another Inquisitorial storm trooper in the coming weeks! Any comments or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

- Adam Wier

"For within each frail human body is the will to grasp the stars and walk a path unto eternity itself."

People had pretty high hopes the Horus Heresy Weekender event two weekends ago. And with all of the stellar models being released for the Horus Heresy in the last two years, it is obvious why. The Heresy has always been a fascinating story, detailing a civil war of galactic scale, pitting brother Space Marine against brother Space Marine. It was where some of the most iconic Space Marine Chapters came into being and where each were shaped by their own enigmatic and god-like Primarch. When Simon Egan first showed his vision of Angron of the World Eaters, I was stunned with how effectively he captured the savage magistry of the gladiatorial fighter, exceeding all of my expectations. With this release, Forge World showed to the world that they were capable of undertaking the herculean task of sculpting models for figures that hold a mythical status in the imaginations of most Warhammer 40,000 players (or at least the ones who have been playing for awhile). It also began the slow, excruciating count-down until the next Primarch was sculpted. Initially the task fell solely on the shoulders of Simon Egan, but quickly Edgar Skomorowski began sculpting some, as well. Even with the second hand and a span of two years, only 6 of the primarchs have models (of the 12 with rules). Because of this slow release schedule, Forge World events like the Weekender have had the added excitement that they are often where the next primarch model is revealed. This year’s Weekender event was no different, but instead of revealing one primarch and showing a glimpse of the next in some half finished WIP form, they showed two new primarchs! Mortarion the Reaper Primarch of the Death Guard was unveiled and for sale at the event. Unexpectedly, Vulkan, the Promethean Fire and Primarch of the Salamander Chapter was shown in all his fully sculpted glory as well!

Since the release of the first book Betrayal, people have been anxiously waiting for a model for Mortarion, the Sire of the Death Guard. With one of the more interesting origin stories: being raised by a godlike lich that lived in a toxic smog-veiled mountain fortress and subjugated the human population far below. Upon learning of the struggling humans his necromantic master preyed upon, he vowed to bring him and others like him to justice and lead those haunted humans to war. This darkness seeped into Mortarion’s soul and left him a shadowed and nightmaric individual, one that has always been portrayed as a reaper-like figure. The model, lovingly sculpted by Edgar Skomorowski maintains this aesthetic, drawing many influences from previous artwork, particularly one by John Blanche and another by Adrian Smith.

Two, now classic pieces of 40k artwork, were closely followed in the making of Mortarion.

It is a testament to Skomorowski’s skill as a sculptor that he was able to make such a detailed and unified model when sticking so closely to the two aforementioned pieces of art. While both are imaginative and enjoyable to look at, they are also rather wonky and ill-proportioned. Fitting with his reputation and pragmatism, his armour, the Barbaran Plate is suitably massive, with large unadorned interlocking segmented plates, all brass rimmed. Although certainly an interesting design choice, I am not sure I am a fan the chainmail that connects each of the armoured plates (homage to Adrian Smith’s vision of him). His armoured greaves are also massive, with each finger imposing and formidable (somewhat of a Skomorowski trademark, seen on his Legion Praetors). Also like the pictures, his shoulder pads are single domed pieces of adamantium that are the only place on the model with Death Guard iconography. From the back of his armour sprouts a frightening array of chemical stacks and tubes, ready to veil him in a miasma of toxins and smoke.

Without a coat of paint, it is clear how broad and plain Mortarion's armour is. It is almost completely bereft of Death Guard iconography.

Interestingly, Skomorowski deviated from the standard conception of Mortarion with his face. Instead of having his face covered in a grim rebreather that provides him with a slow bleed of noxious fumes and poisonous vapours from his homeworld, he opted for exposing his entire face. I feel many fans of Mortarion might be disappointed in this design choice, but I feel it strengthens the model showing his entire terrifying physiognomy. I think it is Skomorowski’s best sculpted face yet, truly fitting the character. And as not to completely throw off the established background material, the collar of his armour is fitted with all manner of little pipes and tubes to provide the Primarch with the poisonous air he thrives on.

In my opinion, one of the weakest elements of the model are his weapons, which, unsurprisingly, adhere closely to the artwork. His pistol, Lantern, is a bulbous, tin can of a weapon, looking more like something stolen from a B-grade alien film from the 50s, rather than a sinister weapon of unknown origin. And while I am pleased that Silence, his famed scythe was not simply a slightly reworked version of Jes Goodwin’s Manreaper (from the Typhus fame), it still falls short of its potential. Perhaps it was an inevitability, but the scythe is gigantic, with the blade almost as large as Mortarion himself. The blade itself looks almost identical to what Blanche conceived in his rendition of Mortarion, particularly in the interesting inclusion of what looks to be a small section at the tip that has a rotating chain reminiscent to a chainsword. Somewhat refreshingly, the scythe actually has the two grips perpendicular to the snath (shaft of the scythe), like a traditional scythe (which seem to frequently be left off). It is also interesting to note that Will Hayes sculpted/designed the scythe, rather than Skomorowski (according to their Genesis video)

Silence is quite an impressive looking scythe, one that would not really work for anyone save the grim Mortarion.

Chuffy has an excellent unboxing video that shows that Forge World has been learning a few things over time with their character series. There is an insert that details the placement of some of the smaller parts (which are all clearly numbered now). The arms are also now attached with two pins on either side, making it easier to position the arms just right so that the scythe attaches correctly. Perhaps what I am most pleased about, however, is seeing that they have finally begun to include foam inserts to cushion the smaller more delicate parts during shipping. Of the three Primarch figures I have purchased, none had such protection and consequently arrived with a host of damaged and broken parts. And while Forge World has been good about replacing such things, it would be better for everyone if they all arrived properly the first time.

If one Primarch model was not enough for the Weekender (or perhaps just so that Simon Egan would not be outdone), Forge World also unveiled the Primarch of the XVIII Legion, the Promethean Fire, Vulkan (I would also like to make a shoutout to Rictus for taking many of the Vulkan pictures, many more of which can be found on his excellent blog Recalcitrant Daze). As his fourth Primarch, Simon Egan proves once again that he is at the top of his craft and one of the best miniature sculptors in the world. After his release of Ferrus Manus, a living icon of the Space Marine aesthetic, board ornate armour plates studded and layered, bristling with a delicate spiderwork of weapons, everyone waited with baited breath to see his brother artificer rendered in model form. Also a blacksmith, but one who saw the process beyond cold efficiency, Vulkan strove to craft weapons of war that were as beautiful as they were deadly. Now having seen pictures of Vulkan, it is clear that Egan captured these differences, maintaining his obvious appreciation for the blacksmithing art.

Although he is in a rather simple pose, it still captures his inspiring presence and speaks to his cool and collected approach to warfare.

One of the most important elements of Vulkan, and one absolutely critical to capturing his persona, was getting his armour right. Thankfully Egan was up for the task. Known as the Draken Scales, Vulkan’s armour is a baroque and ornate suit of artificer armour, cloaked in a great mantle of the Firedrake Kesare. Similar to Ferrus Manus, Vulkan is the second Primarch to don a suit of armour that closely resembles that of traditional power armour. While resembling standard power armour, it is remarkable how much extra detail Simon Egan was able to incorporate without making the armour look cumbersome and overbearing. The armour matches very closely to that seen on the cover image of Vulkan Lives illustrated by Neil Roberts. While the armour has many interlocking layers, they mesh so seamlessly that they almost flow together, despite almost paradoxically maintaining the broad boxy look of modern power armour. The details worked into each plate work so well because they are partially engraved, giving them an astoundingly low profile, preventing the model from looking cluttered.

Simon Egan clearly took a lot of influence from this artwork by Neil Roberts.

Fitting with the fire dragon theme (along with the mighty skull of Kesare and the scaled cloak), he has a wrist-mounted flamethrower that was crafted to look like it emerges from his gauntlet wreathed in a sheet of flames. Cables snake to the back of the model where small fuel canisters are located on his backpack, which looks to be a variation of MKIII power pack. Vulkan would not be complete without him brandishing his legendary hammer Dawnbringer. Again Egan draws inspiration from Neil Robert’s artwork, crafting a hammer that would look ridiculous if virtually anyone but he was wielding it. The head of the hammer is largely just a rectangular slab of iron, brutal in its simplicity. While clearly two handed, the haft is not particularly long, which accents how light and effortless Vulkan makes brandishing it look. Egan captured an excellent balance, clearly making a huge weapon that would be ill-suited for most models, but sizing it such that it almost looks small in comparison to the Primarch as a whole, such is his cyclopean stature.

Dawnbringer in all its glory, maybe even large enough to house the formidable teleportation device within (which he used to teleport across the galaxy!).

No matter how impressive the armour or menacing the weapons, a model falls short if it has a weak face. Egan clearly recognized this and crafted possibly his best, most expressive face yet (and one of the most impressive I have seen in all of miniature gaming). Without resorting to yelling, Egan depicts a stern calculated face, one that is convicted in has path as an Angel of Death, but not lost to the cruelty and suffering he inflicts. The bloodshed and killing weigh heavily on his features, lined and weathered, but his nobility of purpose and belief in the Emperor's vision shines through, creating the oldest looking yet most sincere of the Primarchs to date.

With Mortarion up for sale, and Vulkan on his way shortly (I cannot wait for him to go up for advance order on Forge World’s website, so we can get some more pictures of him!), Forge World has an impressive 7 Primarchs with sculpted models. And although the pace can feel a bit slow at times, I think the resulting quality of the sculpts has been worth it. I suppose the biggest question at the moment is which Primarch is next? With 5 still without models having received rules in the first Horus Heresy trilogy of books, I can only imagine it will be one of them. Perhaps I am only speaking for myself, but I am crossing my fingers for Egan’s take on Alpharius (or possibly Omegon!?).

-Eric Wier

"Where truth walks, everywhere she should be shepherded always by a bodyguard of lies."

Since Forge World began releasing models for the Horus Heresy, the urge to build an entire pre-heresy army has been strong, but I have been able to restrain myself. Afterall, do I really need another army? And even if I did, do I really need more Space Marines? Finally, the exorbitant price of Forge World’s models, coupled with the fact that they are all resin has firmly kept this desire at bay. Recently, however, two elements have conspired to make me reconsider this notion. The first was when I discovered that Forge World updated their rules for playing space hulk boarding actions that were first published in their Imperial Armour Volume 9: the Badab War Part One. The updated rules, called Zone Mortalis, are designed to play small (sub 1000pts) games of 40k in confined spaces like hive cities, space hulks, and ancient labyrinths, and even including rules for fighting in the cold void of space. The second element was the release of the third book in the Isstvan Trilogy: Extermination, and with it rules for one of the most interesting Legions, the enigmatic Alpha Legion. This more intimate way of playing Warhammer 40k seemed ideal to reenact the knife-edge espionage missions a cell of Alpha Legion Astartes would engage in. And just like that I decided that I needed to start assembling an Alpha Legion army!

The Alpha Legion has always fascinated me. The last of the First Founding Legions, they were the most secretive, surrounding themselves in falsehoods and contradictions. Rather than conducting war in the open, they excelled in subterfuge and espionage, waging shadow wars and sowing distrust and confusion. Dan Abnett’s excellent Horus Heresy book Legion emphasized many of their traits and tendencies, greatly developing their penchant to recruit soldiers from the Imperial Army to serve as sleeper agents. Migsula, over at Legion of Plastic, has been constructing a fantastic Alpha Legion army over the years that emphasizes this, including a large force of Guardsmen whose ultimate allegiance is to the Alpha Legion. Furthermore, and probably the most fascinating element of the XXth Legion is that their turn to Chaos may have been the galaxies biggest ruse, and that they ultimately will be the Imperium’s saviors. Afterall, they were one of the few renegade Astartes not to flee into the Eye of Terror after Horus’s defeat (same with the Night Lords until the death of their Primarch) and they did not favor any particular Chaos god.

A combination of studded shoulder pads and 'beakie" helmets convincingly convey an early iteration of MK VI Corvus armor.

In an effort to decide what I wanted to build for the army first, I went and surveyed all of the space marine models that I have stocked up in my collection (mostly all acquired excitedly when they were released, but never assembled). One of the first sets of models that I came across was one of Forge World’s Legion Mark IV Destroyer squads. Ever since they were first revealed on Forge World’s site, I was a fan of the models. They wear a modified form of Mark IV armor that is reinforced with additional ceramite plating (perfect for waging chemical warfare!). This reinforced armor gives the marines a bulky, indomitable presence, perfect for the warriors of the Adeptus Astartes! Another interesting aspect of the squad is that the marines are each equipped with two bolt pistols. On top of that, they wear thigh holsters large enough to actually hold their sizable duelling pistols. The Alpha Legion were one of the few space marine Legions who did not look negatively on the use of Destroyer squads and their use of radiation and chemical warfare (along with the Death Guard). All of these points convinced me that my first Alpha Legion unit would be a squad of Destroyers!

One of the most interesting weapon options open to the Destroyers is a missile launcher loaded with rad missiles. The model for it is very distinctive and a drastic departure from the traditional shoulder mounted ones.

The Alpha Legion were one of the first legions to make widespread use of Mark VI Corvus power armor (alongside the Raven Guard). To capture this element, I opted to equip all of the marines in the squad with the armors' characteristic studded left shoulder guard and ‘beakie’ style helmet. For their helmets I made use of the short, stouter ‘beakie’ helmets that came in the Dark Angels Ravenwing biker squad, since they mimic the classic Crimson Fist illustration on the cover of Rogue Trader. Instead of the more widespread "gill-slits" of similar helmets, they have three distinctive horizontal gashes at the front. As with the rest of the armor, I carved off any skulls or other iconography, wanting to give the models a uniform faceless feel. The Alpha Legion were often known to go to war with unadorned armor, completely lacking any markings to designate them and to instill confusion in their enemies (sometimes they would even take to the field in completely unpainted armor). I feel these small touches emphasize the Legion’s obsession with strength through secrecy and unity.

I paid special attention to make each warrior virtually a mimic of his peers, keeping them clean of any personal iconography, to emphasize the faceless nature of the Alpha Legion.

Although the Destroyers can get jump packs, I opted to leave them off (even though the thought of them flying about with missile launchers harboring gamma radiation-infused warheads has its charm…), feeling normal backpacks fit with the clandestine espionage favored by the Alpha Legion. Therefore, as a final nod towards the 30k universe, I used old 2nd edition backpacks for each of the squad members. I could have used the FW resin ones that came with the kit (they were actually designed to look like the old plastic ones, ha ha), but liked the nostalgia the 2nd edition backpacks gave the models. As an additional benefit, they are also slightly smaller and being plastic are much easier to work with!

The old 2nd edition plastic backpacks work surprisingly well with newer models, while still maintaining a 30k vibe.

For the Sergeant of the squad I decided I wanted to convert him to make it look like he was signalling his battle brothers forward. The conversion was a really simple one, just requiring a simple hand swap with one of the plastic hands from the power armored Grey Knights. Although adding the hand was simple, adding a bolt pistol to his empty holster was much more challenging. I ended up cutting up one of the bolt pistol from the hand swap conversion and slotting it into the model’s thigh holster. I then added a pistol grip from a plastic boltgun and made sure to add the muzzle of the pistol sticking out the bottom of his holster.

Amazingly, the thigh holsters that the Destroyers' wear actually fit their pistols, evidenced by the one I fit into his holster having cut it from his upraised hand.

In the spirit of Zone Mortalis and claustrophobic deep space combat, I decided to base the models on Dragon Forge’s Tech-Deck bases (quickly becoming my favorite bases). Unfortunately, at the time I only had one suitable Tech-Deck base, so only one of the models in the pictures is based properly. The bases will also make the models fit in nicely with my other Inquisitorial models that I have been making in case I want to use them in games of Warhammer 40,000 or INQ28 (although I am tempted to make some true-scale marines for the latter).

Up next in the force will likely be a second Contemptor dreadnought or one of their Headhunter squads….

- Adam Wier

Slammin’

The past few weeks have been interesting ones for Games Workshop as they have been focusing on releasing a new range of ork models. Considering it has been years since any new ork models were released, one would think it would be cause for wholesale rejoicing. However, Games Workshop are going about the release schedule differently than any in the past, and rather than releasing the Codex and a multitude of kits within a week or two, they are releasing individual kits at a snail’s pace. In a span of three weeks they have released the Gorkanaut/Morkanaut, followed by the Flash Gitz, and now the Mek Gunz and a Shock Attack Mek. But still the Codex book, which would give us the rules for these models in the context of the ork army as a whole, is nowhere to be seen. During this awkward interim, I have been doing some thinking about the orks myself and I thought that it would be a fantastic time to revisit them myself and convert a model or two (who doesn't like ork conversions?).

Fortunately for me, I already had an ork conversion underway from years ago that I could revisit. A few years back I had started converting an ork burna, mainly because I wanted to make an ork holding a lit Zippo lighter (I don't know where the idea came from). After making the lighter and the burna for the ork, the conversion was set aside, until I picked it back up a week ago. The conversion itself was a fairly simple one, largely just needing some kitbashing and plasticard. The burna was pieced together from an ork shoota and the combi-flamer from a Chaos rhino. I also fashioned an additional support for the weapon using the pistol-grip from the shoota that I used to make his burna. For a fuel source, I ended up using the fuel canisters from the Catachan command squad heavy flamer and hooked it up to the burna with cabling from Dragon Forge.

The ork’s Zippo lighter was made with some plasticard for the lid, a plastic rod for the striker wheel, and some greenstuff to make the flame.

Who knew one of the Chaos rhino combi-flamers would work so well to make an ork burna?

Having been a few years since I started the conversion, I have really improved with my green stuff abilities. This proved quite helpful for tying the entire model together, making it look like something more than a quick kitbash, which is something that I would have struggled to do when I first started the conversion. The first thing I did was create a more believable seam between the ork’s body and legs. Due to how the plastic orks’ bodies socket into their legs, I have often thought they looked a little strange, almost as though they are wearing leotards. This was easily remedied with a little greenstuff filling out the gap between the ork’s body and legs. In addition to fixing his waist, I also did some extensive greenstuff work to reposition his left arm such that his Zippo was not bumping into his burna. I am particularly pleased with how reworked the musculature of his shoulder and deltoid.

Greenstuff was used to create a more believable seam between his body and legs and reposition his left arm away from his body.

As a final touch to make the ork look like a real pyromaniac, I crafted him a set of goggles to protect his eyes from the raging inferno he would unleash upon his enemies. The goggles were made out of a pair of trimmed-down Cadian binoculars. Using greenstuff I then sculpted a strap to keep them in place on the ork’s face.

Although he was a long time in coming, I think the Burna was worth the wait and benefits from all the little details.

Overall, the conversion was a real joy to do, tempting me to make a few more Burna Boyz. Perhaps if the new codex comes out and makes the unit viable, I will have that extra incentive to actually make a whole unit of them a reality. I hope you like him! Comments and suggestions are welcome!

-Adam Wier

Truly the crux of all Space Marine armies, the venerable Tactical Marine.

Now that Adam and I are working on assembling a small force of Alpha Legion Space Marines, I have been thinking a lot more about Space Marines in power armor (it has been years since I have worked with anything other than Terminators, he he). And in a quest to find parts to make unique looking Astartes, I decided I should really take a look at the new Tactical Squad that was released with the 6th edition Space Marine Codex. And while one might be quick to point out that the lowly Tactical Marine has been around for ages and therefore the kit is probably not the place to look for “unique” parts, from glancing at pictures online it was clear that the kit received a major overhaul and was more than simply a reorganization of the same parts on sprues. As luck would have it, a friend of mine recently gave me one of the new boxes, so I thought I would give my impressions of it and how it changes and improves upon a classic.

Whenever Games Workshop releases a new Space Marine codex, you can rest assured that there will be a flood of new models to go along with it, but they have not all been created equal over the years (sometimes with models being remade simply for the sake of remaking them). Therefore, I would not have put it past GW to simply recut the same Tactical Squad sprues they have been recycling since the release of the 3rd edition of Warhammer 40k, adding only the bare necessities (like the new special weapons, i.e. grav gun). Fortunately, Games Workshop has given the humble Tactical Marine the justice they deserve, and has completely redone the models, improving the classic kit in virtually every way.

Even at a glance, it is clear that things have changed a great deal since the last rendition of the Tactical Squad.

When first removing the sprues from the box, I was immediately struck with how crisp all the details look. All of the pieces have sharp clean edges, rather than the dull rounded ones of the past. The sprues are also well organized and overflowing with parts. There are 10 sets of grenades, 10 purity seals (all of which are very thin and unobtrusive, a far cry from the older variants). There are obviously 10 bolters, but each is subtly different from the next. They also include one of each special weapon (including the new grav gun). The classic 3rd edition missile launcher returns, but this time comes with the devastator backpack that has an ammunition hopper on it and a little servo arm for loading the rockets (the set of 3 rockets to mount to the side of the missile launcher itself has even been modified to include a frag, krak, and even one of the new flak missiles!). The sergeant model has a host of options as well, being able to chose from a bolt, plasma, or gav (which is surprisingly compact and excellent looking) pistol or a combi weapon. The combi weapon is neat in that it comes in two parts, the bottom is a compact bolter fixture, while there is a portion on the top where the special weapon mounts. Amazingly, these special weapon pieces were actually scaled down, better reflecting their single shot capacity and look much more reasonable as a result (they open up a fair deal of conversion opportunity for use in making Imperial Guard special weapons that look like they could actually be held by a human). There is also a closed powerfist, a chainsword, and a very nice looking power sword that actually looks thin and sharp.

The missile launcher backpack first seen when the Devastator squad was produced in plastic is included in the kit.

They included an impressive array of weapons, including a much improved modular combi weapon.

Although it is a more subtle element, possibly my favorite aspect of the new kit is how they improved the models’ hands. The most obvious change here is that the hands are directly attached to their weapons and cut at the wrist. This makes assembly of the models dramatically easier and looks more uniform. But more impressively, they finally fixed the cupped hands that attach to the foregrip of the bolter. Before, the palm and fingers were awkwardly thin, preventing them from effectively being used for anything other than their intended purpose. Now they have thickened them, making them a lot more desirable for conversions (this is particularly noticeable in Forge World Space Marines). Excitingly, they also included a host of additional hands, including one holding a grenade, a bolter magazine, and a combat knife. These hands look excellent, with the fingers sculpted to look natural and believable. Rather than holding the knife in an clumsy fist, the fingers are clenched in a tight yet fluid grip. Although small, these elements really show the thought and care that went into the models.

Finally you do not need to rely on the bolter-gripping hands to give a Marine a combat knife or an auspex!

A Space Marine would not be a Space Marine without their power armor, and thankfully, Games Workshop realized this and put as much care into the suits of armor as the rest of the kit. Surprisingly, they opted for keeping the armor relatively clean. Rather than loading on thick gaudy detail for the sake of making them look “new,” they kept the armor plain. This emphasizes the broad bulky nature of the armor, ultimately making it looks more menacing and cold. There are an impressive 11 unique bodies. I was thrilled to see that two of these are authentic Corvus MKVI breastplates, with the very characteristic jump pack harness look. Along with the Raven Guard, the Alpha Legion were one of the first legions to make widespread use of this variant. To complement these, there are 3 “beakie” helmets, one even with the older style with the horizontal gill slits. They also included a single collared MK8 Errant armor body. It has even been reworked such that a helmeted head can fit on the body in addition to the unhelmeted ones (a curious oversight on the original kit). Like the bodies, all the legs are also unique. They even included a pair of MKIV legs, with the characteristic rectangular knee guards, which looks substantially better than the Forge World version (which are very spindly, with awkward articulation points).

Three "beakie" helmets! Even with one styled after the classic Rogue Trader Crimson Fist cover!

Two MKVI Corvus breastplates and a MK8 Errant breastplate are included in the box.

As well as giving you a wide array of different styled and posed legs, they even include a single pair of MKIV legs.

Left: new Tactical Marine. Right: Forge World MKIV Marine. When looking at the legs, GW's plastic legs are far superior.

As you could probably gather from my previous remarks, I have been extremely impressed with the new Tactical squad. Where Games Workshop could have easily just repackaged the old kit and upped the price by a few dollars, they completely recut everything to reflect the newer sculpting/casting technology. Compared to the old box where they only had 5 body and leg types and a handful of helmets, this is a marked improvement. Surprisingly, they were able to dramatically improve one of their classic, almost timeless kits, to the point that I feel even if you have a mountain of the previous marines, you should seriously consider getting one of the new boxes. Anyone who has worked with Marines over the years will be able to appreciate the jump in quality of these new models. In an uncharacteristic move by Games Workshop, instead of piling on more “detail” and flashy bits, they allowed the simple elegance of Jes Goodwin’s classic power armor designs to speak for themselves, and I feel we are all winners because of it.

- Eric Wier

The call of the wretched sea...

Antimatter Games’ Deep Wars miniatures game has many elements that draw me to it: the tight ruleset and the very narrative focus certainly rank towards the top, but the primary draw is, without a doubt, the setting... It is underwater! What other miniature game can claim that? The underwater setting offers all manner of unique opportunities for both gameplay and narrative. Towards this end, the release of the Fortune Hunter’s Silent Soldier model really captured my imagination. What is not to love about the concept of an underwater assassin encumbered by all manner of deepsea diving gear? The concept alone is one that really offers a unique modeling opportunity, trying to create an amalgamation of sleek and cumbersome. And while Paolo Fabiani did an excellent job exploring these themes with his sculpt of the model, I was always a little skeptical of the two cutlasses he was wielding. Why would an assassin be wielding such massive weapons underwater and why would they be in such a state of disrepair? Ultimately, I can’t really blame Fabiani for this, as he was following the original concept image. Even still, I knew it was something that I would change if I purchased the model.

The original concept art for the Silent Soldier.

About a year ago, Antimatter Games launched a Kickstarter for their ShadowSea game (a related game in the same universe, but on dry land, albeit underground). Being a fan of Deep Wars, I gladly backed their Kickstarter. Aside from just getting models for ShadowSea, I opted to use it as an opportunity to get some Deep Wars models that I still wanted, including the Silent Soldier. After a year of hard work on Antimatter Games’ part, all of the ShadowSea models are done, and have been sent to the backers, so, at long last, I received the Silent Soldier.

My Silent Soldier, complete with a host of knives and daggers more befitting of an assassin.

To start the conversion I snipped off both of the blades of Silent Soldier’s cutlasses, leaving the pommels and finger guards of the weapons intact. With the blades removed, I was off to my bitz box to search for smaller more suitable weapons for him. After a while of searching, I found a whole collection of usable Space Marine and Imperial Guard combat knives. For his first knife, I used a plastic Cadian combat knife (it being the smallest knife I could find that was still able to be pinned to his hand). Due to its small size, I opted to remove the hilt’s finger guard. His second blade is one of the standard plastic Space Marine combat knives. Like the Cadian blade, it has a nice and simple profile. It is substantially larger, however, allowing me to retain the finger guard of his original cutlass without it looking ill-proportioned. I did trim off the excessive hilt guard which awkwardly extended to mid-wrist.

While still quite large, the new plastic blades I added are considerably smaller than the original cutlasses.

With the blades pinned and glued in place, next I focused my attention to the scabbards on his belt (designed to roughly hold his original cutlasses). Since I swapped out his swords, I decided to replace the scabbard with two sheathed daggers taken from the plastic Deathwing terminator squad. No self-respecting assassin would be complete without a bevy of daggers! With this done, all I needed to do to complete the model was some touch up work with green stuff.

The plastic Deathwing terminator sheathed daggers work perfectly to augment the assassin's arsenal.

Ironbelly Klegg's pistol is much too comical for my liking. I am still working out what is can be replaced with.

With the Silent Soldier finished, I can focus my attention on some of the other models that I got from the Kickstarter! One of my chief interests is assembling Ironbelly Klegg, a Sea Dog captain that has an uncanny resemblance to the Big Daddies in Bioshock (never a bad thing!). He looks to be well cast, so it should be fairly quick, however, I plan on replacing his pistol with something a little more menacing (and does not look like a cornucopia filled with crystal shards…).

- Adam Wier

Karl Kopinski steps into Zombicide!

Although this blog was created primarily to document our ongoing modeling projects for miniature-based gaming, we also wanted to use it to talk about and showcase artists. Towards this end, I have never missed an opportunity to extol the skill of Karl Kopinski. Although he has since returned to freelance work, Kopinski created a name for himself during the 7 years he spent working in the Games Workshop art department. With an incredible eye for detail, tempered with both proportion and perspective, his work infused a vitality and realism into Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 that has not been surpassed or equaled since his departure. So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Guillotine Games, creators of the wildly successful zombie board game Zombicide, commissioned Kopinski to design two survivors (and their zombie counterparts!) for use in the game!

Just a small selection of Kopinski's work, each injecting his own unique vision into Warhammer 40,000.

I have to be upfront here, I have never played Zombicide, but being an avid board game player, I have considered picking it up a time or two. The game is a cooperative one where players take control of a host of survivors, guiding them to complete a series of missions while being assaulted by zombies at every turn. The game has had two successful Kickstarters (and is currently running a third), the first to produce and publish (via CoolMiniOrNot) the original game, the second and third to publish new stand-alone games/expansions. During their second Kickstarter, they introduced the brilliant idea of commissioning notable artists (Special Guests) to design their own survivors (along with zombified versions of them) for use in the game. They had an impressive showing with their first three Special Guest boxes, recruiting the likes of Adrian Smith and Kevin Walker. But what really made me take notice was the inclusion of Karl Kopinski. True to form, Kopinski’s designs completely overshadowed those of all of the other survivors, Special Guest series or otherwise.

The contents of the box, all 4 figures, datasheets, and plastic clips for tracking in-game progress.

So when I saw that my local game store recieved the Zombicide Special Guest Boxes, I knew I had to pick it up and see how Karl’s designs were transitioned to miniatures. The box contains two characters, Angry Mary and Red Cap Ben. Karl eschewed the cartoon/comic book style of the other Zombicide characters, and instead opted for his characteristic realism and detail. His simple designs speak to the grim reality of the game, with normal people being pulled into horrible situations, one after another. Ben, with an understated, well-worn jacket and a flask tucked into his belt. Mary in SWAT fatigues, high combat boots, with a boxy thigh holster, and a kydex sheathed straightblade. But the most striking element of the characters are their faces, both capturing so much emotion. For Ben, a steely, calculating gaze framed by a grizzled unkempt beard. And for Mary, pursed lips and doubting eyes in a sinuous face. Better still are the disheveled faces of their zombie counterparts; cross-eyed and slack-jawed, vacant and breathless.

Angry Mary brings back good memories of playing Resident Evil with Jill Valentine!

Mary's tactical gear made an excellent transition into plastic, none of it exaggerated due to the small scale.

They even realized the flayed right wrist in the in the plastic!

I was really interested to see how the pictures would translate into plastic models, and was pretty amazed to see how well they were realized. A surprising amount of the detail present in the illustrations transferred to the sculpts (clearly done on a computer). Ben’s flask is still there, held tightly behind a belt of shotgun shells beside a blued automatic. The wrinkles in his pants and knit of his cap all made it onto the model. Mary’s combat boots are laced up the front, and tactical harness snug against her. Their weapons, particularly Mary’s MP5K, look fantastic, from the ghost sights to the characteristic foregrip. The zombie versions even feature tattered clothing, clawed hands, and hanging flesh. All of this is more impressive when you consider that the 28mm figures are not heroic scale, like Games Workshop, and therefore maintain anatomical proportions. The plastic is durable and holds detail well, not quite as sharp at GW plastics, but still very good.

I was amazed how much of the grim determination and grit of the illustration was conveyed into the model.

They effectively captured the shambling gait of the recently deceased.

Although 28mm, the Zombicide models are not heroic scale like GWs'.

At $25 retail, the Special Guest box is a little expensive, but this is easy to forgive due to the high production values, and more excitingly the artist’s contribution to the game. Each figure also comes with a cardboard data sheet for use in the game (along with a little plastic clip to mark the survivor’s progression in game). Ultimately, I am really happy with how much effort was put into bringing Kopinski’s artwork into model form. It would have been easy for Guillotine Games to simply rely on the artist’s fame to sell the kits and put minimal effort into them past commissioning the artwork, but I am happy to say that is far from the case. I am now more tempted than ever to wade into the mayhem of Zombicide, with Ben and Mary side by side, feeding shotgun shells into a trusty pump-action and thumbing a machine pistol to full auto.

- Eric Wier

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