Toughest Girls of the Galaxy - New Pictures

There's been a new update with lots of information that can be found here...but if you just want to look at the pretty pictures.....

The Lulu's...

Various 'Girls'...

There's also some new concept artwork...

Cyber Zombies...
I'll be having at least two boxes of these ;-)

Kurgan Berserkers...

Old Guard Boyars...

 There's also an example picture of how the multi-part kits go together...

and last...but not necessarily least...some artillery...

I've a feeling that my initial pledge might not quite cover everything I want.....

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Weekly House of Paincakes Article (27)

This weeks House of Paincakes article is a brief interlude from the 'Damn Expensive Hobby...' series to look at our actual reasons for selecting the game systems that we do as not everyone has the same hobby priorities after all...

The article itself can be found here.

Wednesday usually equals some kind of semi-appropriate Gothic or Steampunk gallery and I don't see why today should be any different. Theme is usually selected on a whim...

...as it's currently pissing down with rain here how about some Gothic girls with parasols?

As usual if this isn't the sort of thing your interested in just go and read the article via the link at the top.

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...unsurprisingly your still here...just like last Wednesday...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome...they can even be on the article if you like

Dark Legion - Undead Horde?

Just playing around with list ideas at the moment...

If I'm going to do any kind of undead horde then I'll most likely use Golgotha as my Warlord due to her useful 12" range buffs of +1 Armour and +1 Movement and I probably need a big scary fire magnet but for the same points as the Praetorian Behemoth (320) I can get fifteen Necromutants or more than twenty Undead Legionnaires...

A further issue comes from the limit of four units of troops which means for anything approaching the aforementioned 'horde' I'm going to need maximum sized units.

Lets look at Undead Legionnaires first...

I promise to actually paint these the weekend.....

Maximum squad size is twelve which sets me back 120 points and to make the unit more useful I've found that a Necromutant Leader Squad Commander is almost mandatory so that brings the cost up to 140 points for one useful guy and eleven pretty crappy ones. To make the crappy ones a bit more useful I'm going to give the maximum possible amount of them a weapon upgrades so that'll be four guys with the 8 point HMG upgrade. That makes a viable unit (imo) the following...

Undead Legionnaire x12 (120), Necromutant Squad Leader Upgrade (+20), 4x HMG (+32)   (182)

Total for the maximum four units is 728 points which isn't even half of a 1500 point army.

I'm actually more likely to paint these though...

Necromutants are a bit simpler as a maximum unit of ten is 210 points. Up to four of these (two in five) can be upgrades to a Heavy Plaguedealer (a big Flamer) but I'm not convinced I need four in a squad so I'd probably just  take two for 20 points making a full unit 230 points.

Necromutants x10 (210), Heavy Plaguedealer x2 (+20)   (230)

Four of those comes to 920 points which is a more significant chunk of my points total.

With the aforementioned Golgotha as my Warlord that gives me either...

Golgotha + 44 Undead Legionnaires + 4 Necromutant Leaders for 1003 points or
Golgotha + 40 Necromutants for 1095 points.

With either force I could take a Praetorian Behemoth but I could then only afford 2 (or 1) Razide respectively as additional support.

Actually...I'll probably paint these first now I think about it...

I'm beginning to think that this isn't such a good idea after all.....

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Forge World Newsletter #371

Well this sounded like a good deal...till I read all the conditions below it...still it might be helpful for some of you...

How it works:

• All orders placed with Forge World between 00:01 (GMT) 11th November 2013 and 23:59 (GMT) 20th December 2013 will receive a free Standard Shipping voucher within the order for use on a future order.
  
• Free Standard Shipping vouchers must be redeemed before 18:00 (GMT) Friday 31st January 2014. There is no limit to the number of vouchers that you can collect or use.
  
• To redeem your voucher please call the Forge World Customer Services team on 0115 900 4995 (UK), 011 44 115 900 4995 (US) or 0044 115 900 4995 (Europe and Rest of the World).
  
• Please have your voucher number and the number of the order with which you received your voucher to hand – you will need both of these to take advantage of the offer.

Terms and Conditions

• Free Standard Shipping vouchers are only redeemable for use on purchases made via the phone order system.
  
• Vouchers cannot be used at www.forgeworld.co.uk.
  
• Free Standard Shipping vouchers are limited to Standard UK or Standard Rest of the World shipping only and cannot be used against Express Shipping.
  
• Free Standard Shipping vouchers are non-transferrable and there is no cash alternative.
  
• Free Standard Shipping Vouchers cannot be used on conjunction with any other offer.
  
• Free Standard Shipping Vouchers are not for re-sale in any circumstances.
  
• Forge World is not responsible if a voucher is lost, stolen, destroyed, damaged or used without permission

Forge World Newsletter #370

This may be my favourite Primarch model so far despite the fact that I was unsure about the Servo Arm when I first saw it. If I was going to buy anything it would be the Iron hands model further down the page...

The Primarch of the Iron Hands Legion, Ferrus Manus, Legion was a figure of legend amongst the peoples of his home world of Medusa, named by them ‘the Gorgon’ after the most ancient of mythic creatures. Ferrus was amongst the strongest of the Primarchs, dwarfing many of them in both strength and stature.

He was blessed of a physiology remarkable even amongst the Primarchs. His arms were sheathed in liquid metal, the result, so the legends of Medusa claim, of a battle fought against the mightiest of beasts on that world before he was re-united with the Emperor. His armour is as heavy and impenetrable as that of a super-heavy tank, yet he keeps both arms uncovered so that he might bring their full might to bear.

Ferrus Manus, designed by Simon Egan, is an amazingly detailed multi-part resin model armed with Forgebreaker and equipped with the Medusan Carapace. The latest edition to our Horus Heresy Character Series, Ferrus stands atop a scenic base depicting the carnage on Isstvan V.  Available to pre-order now, this model will be despatched from Friday 8th November.

Rules and background for the Primarch Ferrus Manus and his Legion can be found in The Horus Heresy Book Two: Massacre. You can find out how Simon Egan approached this iconic project here. The base of Ferrus Manus can also be combined with Fulgrim’s to create a diorama of the two Primarchs duelling.

"Rest? We were not made to rest; we go on, unflinching, unstoppable, unending in our strength. The Emperor did not make us for such mortal concerns as hearth and home, vanity or contemplation; we are his engines of war, his hammers, beating out the fabric of existence into a vessel fit for Mankind to inhabit."

Renowned for their pride, cold-hearted brutality and remorselessness in battle, the Iron Hands were among the most powerful and famed Space Marine Legions of the Great Crusade. They were the hammer that had shattered countless foes in the Emperor’s quest to liberate Mankind from the darkness of Old Night.

Since the dark times of the Horus Heresy, in honour of their Primarch Ferrus Manus, the Iron Hands ritually replace their right hands with a mechanical augmentation; to them flesh has become symbolic of weakness and weakness is something that they will not tolerate.

Designed by Israel Gonzalez, the Iron Hands Legion Mk III Squad is a five-man multi-part kit fitted out in Mk III Iron Armour that features many details such as cybernetic limbs, a nuncio-vox and an auspex. This kit is available to pre-order now and will be despatched from Friday 8th November. If you would like to further customise your Iron Hands force, there is also a Chapter Upgrade bundle available as well as an Iron Hands Legion section on our website.

"The dimension of mercy is above the warrior’s thoughts and has no place in them; only cruel necessity and the solaces of victory constitute the warrior’s philosophy, whole and entire."

Ruth’vann Magnar, Warlord of Albia, M.29

Here is a video of one of our studio display boards for Games Day UK 2013. With the Emperor's Children in front of them and Iron Warriors engaging them from the rear, Ferrus Manus and the Iron Hands Legion find themselves encircled and betrayed on Isstvan V. The video above shows many of the details that were incorporated into the display, including the fateful duel between Primarchs Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus.

Christmas is rapidly approaching so we have put together a list of our worldwide shipping dates so you can order your Forge World products in time for Christmas

M2E Rasputina Painting Guide - Part 1 - The Icy Bits

I had several requests about the colours and techniques used on my better halves Rasputina crew so I got her to list them for me in some kind of logical order.

1) First they were base coated black and then given a lighter base coat of white which left some of the black showing through in the deeper recesses. Both of these coats were done using Army Painter spray paint though she also uses Games Workshop ones...just not in this case...

2) Then the model was painted all over with a wash made from Army Painters 'Deep Blue' followed by a mix of Blue and Green wash (actual washes this time..she uses the Vallejo ones) or if you don't have actual washes a very watered down Hawk Turquoise will apparently do (It's an old Games Workshop paint but there's probably a modern equivalent).

3) Lightly dry-brush again with 'Deep Blue' and highlight with 'Ice Blue' (again it's an old GW one but there's bound to be equivalents) on the raised areas and use the same colour as a dry-brush on the larger areas to soften the colour a bit.

4) Highlight on top of that with white. You will then need to paint vertical wobbly lines as can be seen on the Ice Golem...a good example is circled on the below picture...

5) To add additional depth dry-brush the middle parts with the same 'Hawk Turquoise' mentioned earlier (or whichever equivalent you've discovered). Again the rock on the Ice Golems arm is a good example. Make sure this is only put where it's been done on the pictures rather than all over as this will remove the effect of depth rather than enhancing it.

6) You should now have a wonderful ice-like effect...hopefully...

At some point there will be a 'Part 2' to this article covering the none icy parts...as soon as I can get my other half to write it all down for me that is...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Mantic Games 'Mars Attacks' Newsletter

Only a few hours left...

Sorry for the email but after Friday night’s amazing response to the Mars Attacks Kickstarter, we just didn't want you to miss out on all of this… … there are less than 4 hours to go on the Mars Attacks - The Miniatures Game Kickstarter!