Blood Drinkers Fandex : Creation of a Blood Drinker

Some more fluff for the Fandex today, a rather lengthy but hopefully interesting section detailing the selection and creation of an Astarte of the Blood Drinkers Chapter. I'm toying with the idea of fielding this over on the The Codex Project but as I'm still in the background stage and not the army list creation, I'm not sure it's quite ready for that.

Also I'm doing this whole thing for my own twisted amusement and it's a big bonus if others get something from it, do I really want the pressure of evaluation etc...? 'I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection!' ;o)

Missing In Action : Chuck Norris, Barbarians, Goblins and Ninjas

A post today just to let any who were worried (hi Mum) know that I haven't fallen off The Veil's Edge and that the Astronomican is still functioning out here, albeit as faint and weak as my Web connection.

Nobody Tosses a Squat! : Demiurg Rumours

Today Natfka posted up a set of rumours in relation to the possible return of the Demiurg (thats Squats for oldies like me) in the Tau Codex; I don't want to steal his thunder so you can read what he's compiled from various sources over on his blog Faeit 212. I thought I'd mention it following on from last Fridays Jokaero post.

Books in Brief : The Blood Angels Omnibus by James Swallow

Taking a break from the 'almost' faultless Heresy series and I thought I would stick with James Swallow following my enjoyment of The Flight of the Eisenstein.

This Omnibus consists of two novels Deus Encarmine, Deus Sanguinius and one short origin story, Blood Debt; they are fairly uninspiring. A little too much GW product placement in the first book leads to overcrowded battles with stilted action scenes; you can almost feel the author being pressured into getting as many vehicles into one engagement and rather than bringing the scenes to life I found myself picturing a little 6 x 4 gaming table crammed with miniatures.

The plots are ok at a push but hardly Terra shatteringly original, there are no real twists and most of the characters are mere sketches. These certainly weren't the strong, intense and thoughtful marines of the pre heresy world.

I thought Swallow did the Blood Angels a great injustice, portraying them as very gullible, laughably inept and easily killed warriors, who at the first sign of battle started ripping anyone and everyone’s throats out. I’m sure even the blood thirsty sons of Sanguinius wouldn't corrupt themselves with tainted chaos blood.

Possibly worth a read for those Blood Angels completionists, but be warned, you will probably not like what you find; I hope for better with his follow up Red Fury.

Right Turn Clyde : Return of the Jokaero

Who you calling monkey? Ook!

With the first wave of Grey Knights miniatures revealed, I thought I'd turn my attention to one of their units still shrouded in a bit of mystery, the Jokaero Weaponsmith. Now I know very little about their place in the new army, I'm not really into reading debates on leaked stats and rules, I can wait for the codex; but when I saw their name mentioned on the rumor web the child within was ecstatic and began to sing the Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy song.

Fade to Grey : Grey Knights Showcased

The curtain has been lifted on the imminent Grey Knights release with some glorious teaser pictures and background article by Simon Grant; see the full three pages here at the Astronomican section over on GW's website, in the meantime here are some of those awesome miniatures to whet your whistle.

Imperial Thunderbolt Diorama

The last of my photos from Warhammer World and it's an indulgent trip down memory lane. Whilst the rest of the Gents battled it out, I took a wander into the Citadel Miniatures Hall, an area of WW that I'd not ventured into on previous visits. Its well worth taking the time to have a look if you're ever there as there are cabinets choc full of fantastic painted miniatures, most of which have featured in the pages of White Dwarf or the Codexs at some time or other.

Showcase : Chaos Marines by Bohun

Another few photos from the Warhammer World trip, this time Chaos Marines belonging to Tommo; these miniatures were done by a commission painter called Bohun, you can find more of his work here on Cool Mini or Not.

Showcase : Orks by Paul's Painting Emporium

Smile Dave...

As I mentioned in my last Postcard, the previous Saturday saw me venture up to Warhammer World with the rest of the Gents. Whether we were brave or foolhardy, this was no small undertaking, as it was the dreaded half term holiday; every inch of the gaming hall would have to be fought for and miniatures guarded from prying hands.

March White Dwarf : Beneath the Sea of Green

Let's face it, this month's White Dwarf belongs to the Orcs not Orks and holds very little for the 40k hobbyist, but then we have been spoilt over the last few months; there are however a couple of articles to merit not turning the issue into tinder immediately.

Books in Brief : The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow

After the hammer blow of Galaxy in Flames grand and tragic finale; I picked up Eisenstein and found it to be a much more intimate and low key read. With Swallow taking great care and time to develop the central character of Cpt Garro and his small band.

Some have accused it of being overly wordy and slow, I disagree; the action pieces are there and are as exciting as any of the series, I particularly like Swallows accounts of the Imperial Fleet activity and ship to ship engagements.

In Garro we see a very personal conflict as he has every foundation of his being shaken by events around him. Tests of loyalty, brotherhood, and questions science versus of faith assault Garro as he desperately attempts to hold his fractured world together and stop the Galaxy from burning

Old Stuff Day

Picture by FirstKeeper on deviantART

With the blog being a mere six months old I deliberated for quite some time as to whether I would submit any of my own posts for Old Stuff Day, do any of them qualify as being old? Are any of them of enough significance to warrant a fresh airing?

Finally I decided to stop being so damn self effacing and just pick something from the beginning that would hopefully be of interest and could actually be of use, well that is if you play Blood Angels or any of their Successors and like cluttering up your gaming table with shiny but far from necessary accoutrements.

Postcards from the Edge

It would seem that my long, loyal and occasionally distinguished service to Her Majesty’s Arbites has finally cost me a little more than the usual bumps and bruises; sheer wear and tear has resulted in me requiring some augmetic work to a much abused knee, hence the slight overrun of Februarys Postcard into March, luckily I'm my own editor so I won't get shouted at too much for missing the deadline.

I'm back from the Apothecaries and despite my Nurse/Wife’s protestations I've just about managed to cobble together a semi comfortable seating arrangement in front of the computer; that much mocked idea of purchasing an iPad seems like a missed opportunity now...ho hum to hindsight!