New Dwarves - Thwoppa Thwoppa!

So the new dwarves are getting toward the week two releases, most eminent of which are the gyrocopters. This is going to be the marmite release for the range, methinks. Here's the images, courtest of Plastic Krak.

 As you can see there are two variants, the smaller gyrocopter and the larger gyrobomber. My first impressions of the model was not positive. The bright colour scheme and the curved hull made the copter look very modern. However, once I saw the side view, the blades and detail, I warmed to them very quickly. I think painting them as metal or wood would make a huge difference to the look of the thing, but then, fantasy helicopter? It's always going to look a bit weird, and frankly it's one of the few remaining humorous models left in warhammer to remind us that this game once had it's tongue firmly planted in it's cheek.

The smaller copter looks like a wee angry bee, and I like it. The Da Vinci style mechanisms are lovely, and the pilot is super groovy with his flying googles and jacket. It would almost make a man want to play dwarves.

Below is the new runelord and iron breakers. They are really very nice indeed. I can see dwarf fans all over having a little cry over how handsome the new dwarves are. The thing about these new dwarves is that they are such a leap forward they make the existing dwarf range look like badly dressed cosplayers. A new warriors/thunders set is now badly needed.

Incoming - New High Elf Pictures

GW continues it's relentless pace of releases with the high elves. It's all a man can do to keep up! Not that I'm complaining for even a second, at this rate we could see a complete set of army books for 8th edition before 9th hits. An age of wonder.

Here's some of the new images of the elves surfacing from the depths of the interwebs. Oh, and I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring here and say yes, I goddam love the flying chariot. It's so high fantasy I might cry. It's 1970's fantasy art album cover over the top, and I think it's great. bravo GW, I applaud you for cranking the OTT dial off the machine entirely. Awesome.

Alarielle

Maiden Guard Character

Maiden Guard

Eagle Chariot

Shadow Warriors

Phoenix

Lots of angry elves

Warhammer Double Tap - New Daemons

It seems the Warp gates are up to eleven of late, as hot on the heels of the warriors of chaos release is the new daemons release, and not only that, a dual warhammer/40k release. It did feel there was a bit of a chaos bottleneck building up at GW, but the floodgates of chaos are well and truly open now. There must be one hell of a release schedule this year if they are pumping out so many new army books and codex in such a short time span. To this I say... splendid.

I'm still mulling over the new warriors releases. Whether to add a chimera, what combination to use on my daemon prince, what brand of deodorant to buy the Nurgle warriors, and lo, a platter of new daemon releases. There looks to be a pile of new units, from the Khorne cannon thing (it looks like some kind of demonic Harley to me, which I guess is appropriate) to the Nurgle fly riders. Not sold on the fly bearers at first glance, but then, as folks say, wait until one sees them in the flesh. Flying monstrous beasts/cavalry though, that's scary. I see they are not on the 50x75 bases, what's going on there?

The upshot though, is a new daemons book. This will upset the warhammer apple-cart no end. Daemons may not be the school bullies they once were, but they're still top tier. It'll be very interesting to see the new rules.

Thanks to Dice and Brush for the images.

Blood Bowl Team Manager - Sudden Death Expansion

Earlier in the year I had a chance to play Fantasy Flight's Bloobbowl Team Manager, and I have to say, I loved it. Simple rules and fast paced gameplay combined with the inherent comedy of Bloodbowl make for a win. The only thing that I felt missing was my beloved undead.

But ho! What's this?

The new Sudden Death expansion is due out shortly, with three new teams, undead, dark elf and vampire. You can read about it here, but here's the jist of it:

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Sudden Death, a bone-breaking, pulse-pounding expansion for Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game! This death-defying expansion brings a host of options to the pitch, including three new teams, new Contract payouts, new enchanted balls, and more.

The Dark Sorcery Syndicate union features dabblers in forbidden magics who just don’t know when to stay down. The undead Champions of Death tear up the pitch – sometimes literally as they raise new zombies and skeletons from the corpses of former Blood Bowl players. The vampires of the Black Fangs are always thirsty for victory (and blood). And the Dark Elves of the Naggaroth Nightmares are happy to give both teams plenty of fresh corpses with which to play.

Sounds good! This'll be getting stuffed in my Christmas stocking, let me tell you.

'The Hobbit' Miniatures - New Pics

Here we are, some pictures from White Dwarf showing the miniatures from the new Hobbit box, one presumes. Some nice looking minis, especially the mutant goblin types and the fat troll king guy. The warg riders are pretty cool too. Would I buy it though? Probably not. Enjoy!

Mantic - Ogres Incoming

Mantic's ogres are on the way. Mantic had some of the new sculpts from their kickstarter on display at their open day. I have to say, they look good. The heads are very good indeed, I wonder if they'll be available as bits? I could see them selling very nicely. It might be the angle, but the ogre with the great axe looks like he needs a wee. Apart from that though, he looks like a nice sculpt. I have high hopes for the werewolves. If they are as good as the ogres look like they are going to be I'll be having some for certain.

The Horus Heresy Vol 1: Betrayal

 Today the ripple of excitement on the hobbynet is all about the upcoming book from Forge World, The first Horus Heresy book, Betrayal. It isn't part of the Imperial Armour series, but looks much closer to Tamurkhan in presentation and as a stand-alone expansion. Looking at the video and some of the images of the pages, it looks beautiful. I'm not 40k player, (though I am getting more tempted by the day) but I love the fluff, so I'll be having this, as the background and artwork make it a worthwhile buy for me all on their own.