A long awaited race of beings in the 40K universe is finally coming close to being released. They are the Dark Eldar, and their coming has been long awaited. Here are some of the rumors which are surrounding their release within the year of 2010:

From various sources, it seems likely that Dark Eldar will be released in the middle of Autumn, around October/November. The codex and the first release set of plastics and metals is already completed, and further models are being produced at the moment.

There are going to be several weapons, including:

Splinter Rifle: 24″ SX, AP5, Rapid Fire, Poisoned.
Splinter Carbine: 18″ SX, AP5, Assault 3, Poisoned.
Splinter Cannon: 36″ SX, AP5, Assault 4, or Heavy 6 Poisoned.
Spllinter Pods – an underslung Hellion weapon which acts quite like the carbine.

Poisoned weapons are all 4+ to wound.

As for looks, well it’s still unclear, although it seems that the overall look will be something of an evolution of this and perhaps simila sketches:

It also seems that the whole army has been redone from the very outdated previous version, and that the release might well be a massive one, spanning over months.

Let’s hold these rumors hold true – we’d all be in for  a big treat.

The info was found on various forums.

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Screenshot of the brand paint conversion tool.

If, like me, you’ve been painting miniatures for a good few years, or if you just are curious, you’ve probably racked up a decent collection of various paints from different brands… Personally I have Citadel and Vallejo, and I’m very happy with both (though I dream of better packaging for Citadel).

Finding equivalent colours in different brands can be quite tough, and brand colour conversion charts are usually old, outdated, or just contain 2 brands, perhaps 3 or 4.  Now I’ve come across one  really good paint conversion chart seems to have popped up, created by an Aaron Spilling. It still does not contain all the brands we as wargamers are used to, but it’s growing, and the more popular ones are all there.

One great feature is that you can compare the paint names to RGB codes, as well as to FS595 colour codes, the RAL Classic system (European) and other such standard colour codes. If you like a colour scheme on the internet you can practically pick it off the picture using this conversion chart!  You can even download it as a PDF.



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Nice Eldar scheme by a 10 year-old student

As I mentioned before in my article about my miniatures painting project with children at the school where I work, in Sweden, we have been slowly but steadily gaining a decent number of interested students (about 7 – which is more than enough for just 1 person). They’re all in the age of about 9-10, which means that they can be quite tough to control. It is also showing a me a little bit about how they look at these miniatures.

Painted by a 9-10 yo student - colour experimentation is the game!

All the children are complete and utter beginners at painting miniatures, and thus the very act of splashing some paint onto a miniature, and covering the said miniatures with colour is for them very satisfying. They certainly cannot grasp the detailed ideas about shading and brushing and choosing colour schemes (green and bright orange seem to be popular).

Some little goblins - the one on the left is mine

Paintbrush handling is also something which I’m having a tough time with. They spectacularly mistreat their brushes. They do also, however, learn quickly to respect their brushes, which is really satisfying. I can say that I am seeing a particular progress among the ‘regulars’, even though we have had few session as of yet. This is because of the lovely weather we’ve been having: I’ve been trying to save these sessions for when it’s nasty outside, like today.

Somehow the child painting this didn't need to know aything about the necrons, and went for something quite similar to the 'official' GW necron scheme.

As you can see we’ve been painting a little bit of everything. at first I brought along some of my own miniatures – a few goblin archers from the Warhammer Fantasy starter, and some eldar firedragons alo went down well. I’ve not bought a decent lot of Lord of the Rings minis which will hopefully last for a while. Some children have also brought their own: Orks, Necrons, some Tyranids and the ubiquitous Space Marines.

Some tyranids a student brought with him. I had him paint them, and the results were not too bad.

Tyranid closeup

I’ve also been discovering new talent. The student who painted the green and blue eldar firedragon has a keen eye for colour combinations and keeping inside the line. You can vouch for creativity all you want, but when you’re trying to make miniatures coherent you always need to think about how the viewer will see the miniature. A golden skinned orc, while progressive, also looks rather weird. Then again, I’m somewhat of a traditionalist. The goblin archer on the left is, I like to think, also somewhat decent. If it isn’t, then they certainly have a bad teacher

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For the past few months I’ve been working at a school here in Sweden. I take care of children after school. This means thinking up activities for the kids. Last month I found out that several of the children have warhammer miniatures and some paint, and all of them seemed eager to start doing something with them at school; to paint them and learn the game. I was more than glad to help.

So this week, after coming back from a visit to my home country, I went to school with paints and some miniatures that I brought with me to Sweden. Children (including girls, happily!) have been showing a lot of interest in this newfound hobby, and I’m managing to have a group of 6 or 7 every time I hold a painting session (4 times this week). Unfortunately, since for now I’m on my own, I can only take limited groups, and am currently only allowing the older ones to paint – and even they are a tough bunch to manage, though I’ve already spotted a couple of talented ones from the lot. I’m now teaching a fellow assistant the basics (he’s an awesome artist, so I’m confident he’ll reach and overtake me in no time) so that we’ll be able to take slightly larger groups.

The headmaster has even told me to order models and paints – which is pretty awesome. I do have to stick to cheaper sources (ebay?) since there have been big budget cuts due to the recession (very big ones believe me). But still, I guess $50 ought to cover the basics, and we’ve got brushes, palettes, cups, turpentine and all the other basic accessories. This week I’ve been using my own paints and models (a handful of goblin archers from the fantasy starter set and some unpainted eldar from my 40k eldar army).

I’m really looking forward to taking this activity to the next level. I hope to be able to post some pictures of my pupils’ work sometime next week!! Can’t wait!

Do you people have any opinions as to which models are easier to handle for beginners?

By the way, don’t forget that the online army list competition is still open for entries!

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Forgeworld has produced some new outstanding models for all Tau generals to enjoy.

Tau XV9-01 with Fusion Cascades

Tau Battlesuit XV9-01

The Tau XV9-01 with Fusion Cascades is an advanced battlesuit with mounted fusion guns adapted for use with the XV9 battlesuits. This fusion gun fires in bursts, which create damage through the sheer number of shots rather than brute strength.

Tau XV9-04 with phased ion guns

Tau Battlesuit XV9-04

The Tau XV9-04 is equipped with phased ion guns, experimental weapons marking the transition phase from vehicle mounted Ion cannon to battlesuit-incorporated Ion cannon. This type of weapon fires projectiles which are able to destroy the toughest of armour on both vehicles and infantry.

Tau battlesuit Commander Shas’o R’alai with drones

Tau Battle suit XV9 Shas'o R'alai with battle drones.

Shas’o R’alai is a veteran among veterans, a champion among the Fire Caste of Ke’lshan, and a master in the use of the XV9 battlesuit. His great ability has allowed him to don the most advanced battlesuit the Earth Caste has yet produced.

The rules for the new XV9-09 and XV9-04 can be found in the Imperial Armour Apocalypse: Volume II, while the rules for Shas’o R’alai are available for free from the forgeworld website in the coming months.

All 3 kits were sculpted by Daren Parrwood, and will be available on the week starting on April the 26th, 2010. The XV9-01 and XV9-04 cost £25 ($38) each, while Shas’o costs £30 ($46).

Remember to check out our online army list tournament which is still open for applications! All you have to do is submit an army list you think is a winner and get a chance to win $35 or $15 in GW vouchers!

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I came across a very interesting article at View From The Turret which lists some of the potential applications of the iPad (and iPhone) in gaming. The iPad is quite a great device really, even though perhaps it could have been more. The big touch screen display and its long battery life make for a great portable game aid. OF course we’ve already seen some apps on the iPhone, like the ever present dice rolling application, but the iPad brings new potential due to its size.

First and foremost, games, as in video games, are a pretty good start.

In case of tabletop wargames, and especially warhammer 40K, there are some potential applications. Lone Wolf development seems to be working on an iPad version of its Army Builder, which would be quite awesome. There are of course the present apps on iPhone such as Mathhammer and 40K QR. Mathhammer calculates probable dieroll results in 40K, while 40K QR provides a quick reference table on the go for gamers.

The iPad is a great portable display, and that means it’s suited just fine to carry around pdf editions of all your rulebooks, codices, errata, and so on. If you’re like me, then it would be easier to look through the iPad than through a sheaf of unorganized papers and bookmarked codices.

The author mentions of course online browsing of gaming resources and blogs. You could mention 40kminiatures (cheeky I know:p), 40K radio (awesome) and its free pdf magazine, the Bell of lost souls,and pretty much anything else..The list goes on and on.

The author also mentions an interesting point about the Vassal engine, which is  a game engine which allows you to play online adaptation of board games, card games and tabletop wargames. It’s pretty awesome, has a module for 40K, and allows you to practice with your friends, as well as use armies you don’t have. Nifty! the screen shots also make for great battle reports.

Not the best example, but here it is.

I can see other potentials for the iPad where gaming comes to mind. Board games could be played on it. I can imagine Catan would be awesome to play on the iPad. Dungeons and dragons are also a potential field. You can store all your character references and sheets on it, and if you’re the DM, a nice program to allow you to make maps on it, or just using the iPAd to display things, or a program serving as a general DM’s aid; all these would be pretty good.

In the case of Warhammer, there are several other uses to its portability, and most of them I am not aware of. In the case of tournaments, a nice visualisation tool for how the campaign is going.

Do you have any ideas of how the iPad and similar devices could be used for aiding tabletop wargames?

By the way, remember to check out our online army list tournament which is still open for applications! All you have to do is submit an army list you think is a winner and get a chance to win $35 or $15 in GW vouchers!

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The day has finally come; the new Blood Angels are out! A strangely appropriate day too, on good Friday.
The new releases include the new Blood Angels codex, the new plastic kits and several new characters (metal).

The new Blood Angels Codex

The 3 new plastic sets are the:

Sanguinary Guard – The elite warriors of the Blood Angels chapter.

Death Company – available as a new multi-part plastic set.

Baal Predator – the characteristic Blood Angels tank available for the first time as a multi-part plastic set.

Newly released metal characters include:

The Sanguinor, Exemplar of the Host – A completely new Blood Angels character, one which exemplifies all of the Chapter’s ideals; a mythical figure who descends upon the battlefield only in the Blood Angel’s time of most dire need.

Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost – The death company’s warden, Chaplain Lemartes is afflicted by the Black Rage, but his superhuman willpower makes him capable of fully controlling his actions even in such a state.

Lemartes has a rather well-made model to represent him!

This is just an overview of the many new characters and units available in the new Blood Angels force. More detailed reviews coming soon!

Meanwhile, why not discuss the new Blood Angels release with your fellow gamers on the forums?

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So after a few days of setting up the first online army list tournament on our forums we still have to see a single entry!

So this is just a reminder of what is going on – an online army list tournament where you submit your 40k army list and it is compared to other submitted lists. The top voted list of the two goes to the next round, and so on until we have a winner and a second-in-command!

Submit your list - it’s free and worth a try!

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So the new 96-page Warhammer 40,000 Space Marines Blood Angels codex is to be released on April 3rd 2010 among cries of “awesome”, “at last”, and the ever present “cheese”.

Here’s a couple of reviews of the new Blood Angels codex (the second one is from BoLS):

Here’s a nice video showcasing a lot of new Blood Angels miniatures from Games Workshop:

If you have any questions regarding the new rules you can always check out this F.A.Q.

Also, here’s a really great rules summary of the new 2010 codex.

Other people decided to just have a bit of fun and came up with things like “The BA dex is so OverPowered that … only Chuck Norris can play with Blood Angels.”

If you want to ask more questions why not take a quick gander to our 40k forums?

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I’ve never played Warhammer Online, but EA’s artists have sure been producing some really high quality concept artwork! I came across buildings, daemons, a chaos zealot and even a cute tuskgor. This stuff dates back from 2007, but it’s good. What I really  liked is the buildings and a landscape, they’re quite amazing, so I’ve posted the ones that I came across here. It’s not Warhammer 40,000 but it’s still great Warhammer artwork!

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