Warhammer World Reopens

We made our 1st visit to the new Warhammer World this week.

I didn’t fancy being one of the crowd at the weekend, so held back all of day or two. After reading some of the feedback online about lack of displays in the non exhibit areas and reduced number of playing tables, I was a bit worried the old Warhammer World experience had been lost. I’m happy to say I don’t think that is the case.
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Entrance

First impression are good. The new entrance is modern and spacious. I must say I do think there is a bit too much space. There are a couple of small cabinets with a mix of exclusive merchandise and a couple of small 40k armies, of course one of them is Space Marine, White Scars in fact. The life sized Space Marine who used to reside outside the old White Dwarf bunker, opposite Warhammer World, is now standing guard over the precious pair of cabinets. Where the Life Size Ultramarine has gone I don’t know. When I saw the redevelopment plans I had expected there would be a glass covered display in the lobby, replacing the Forge World display which was in the old front window. So a little disheartened that the extension had just been used to house a couple of cabinets a stair case and some toilets I went upstairs.

Warhammer World Store

Upstairs you find yourself in the Warhammer World Store greeted by the friendly Warhammer World staff. In the shop are all the exclusive teeshirts, mugs, bags and models, along with the standard citadel miniatures, paints and tools. The shocking thing is there is not one display case in the store. It must be the only Games Workshop in the country without one. Of course there are a couple downstairs, but really it’s not a patch on the old store, which had painted Horus Heresy armies Titans and other inspiring objects for the collector to lust over. Well the Warhammer World store is only 1 of the 3 shops in the complex, so hopefully things will improve as we move on. On reflection most of the museums I’ve been to have the shop at the end of the tour. I guess you do need to buy tickets to the exhibit

At this point you have a choice upstairs to the Exhibit, through the gaming hall to the art/print/free exhibit area, or right into the Forge World store. I being a descendent of a canny Scott and not GWs real target market, aka not that rich, I went for the free stuff first.

Free Exhibit

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The 1st floor exhibit area consists of mostly prints of GW artworks. Which are displayed on artists stands. I think these were located in bugmans bar before the redevelopment work. It was nice to see these laid out well and some of them where tempting, but I didn’t come to the world’s only Forge World store to buy prints. Over all the area did feel a bit Spartan. I’m sure it will get filled up as time progresses. To my utter surprise, tucked into the back corner of the area, was the old Forge World Horus Heresy display from the old front window. Next to it was the Battle of Cath display from Warahmmer Fest. I can’t say how relieved I was that I could still look at painted models without paying to go in the exhibit. However good the exhibit is, I won’t have time to look around it on every visit.

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ForgeWorld Store

So on to the ForgeWorld Store. I must say it has to be the best Forge World store in the World; it’s the only one. The store is organised into Horus Hersey on the right, Imperial Amour on the left, with the counter in the middle dividing the two. The display cabinets have all the available models assembled, with the obvious exception of the chapter upgrades. There is a bit of space probably too much, there could have been more lines stocked fairly easterly. However I’d say the real weakness of the store it the lack of a single painted model on show. They do stock the top 700 Forge World lines. Seven hindered sounds like an awful lot, but it didn’t appear to be much more than the old Warhammer World store held, just better layout and organised. The items I had hoped for like Emperors Children Blade Squads or Ultramarine Landraider doors were not there. I’d left it too late to order them for same day delivery, so I made do with some old mks of power armour. The best thing about the store is the assembled models. I’m used to being forced to look at the website, in order to work out what I want. It’s really refreshing to see it in the cabinet. So overall an improvement, but let down slightly by not stocking about 300 more lines and having no painted display peices.

Black Library Store

The Black Library store is the smallest of the 3. So my expectations where quite low. However it appeared to stock the full Horus Heresy series. I didn’t check them all, but the one I wanted was there. So that’s all that bothered me and I walked out happy. I did also find out from the guy who served me that there are still just as many gaming tables in the main hall. It appears all that had been lost is some corridor space and a couple of large scenic boards.

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Bugmans Bar

Bugmans bar is largely unchanged. It’s a bit brighter but at the same time has lost a bit of it’s mystic. The old Ork bust had disappeared and I’m just not sure a dwarf hall would be painted magnolia. However it now has a resident Uruk huk, the only remaining indication of the Lord of the Rings licence. He had been squashed in behind one of the tables rather than made a real feature, but I’m glad someone gave him a home. The food is as yummy as ever.

Exhibit halls

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And so we come to the exhibit halls. I’m not saying it’s too expensive, but £7.50 is three issues of White Dwarf, or one of those Visions things, or 2 hours of cinema. At £5 I’d be there every other month. As it is I don’t think a new exhibite is going be enough to get me parting with my cash; once I’m saturated on what they have now anyway. That said I thought it was truly fantastic! I counted at least 11 battle scenes on top of all the Citadel and ForgeWorld models in the display cabinets. I don’t think one visit was enough, I expect I’ll be back in a few weeks to soak it up some more. I’m not a fan of paying to see GW product, however the battle boards are fantastic and well worth the money. Maybe some of the old displays could have been left where Joe public could view them without paying, but that’s not to say I mind paying to see the new ones.

Room for Improvement

Of all these changes i have to wonder about the 1st floor layout. It would have been so much easier to keep the store in it’s old location with a new Forge World and Black library store built outside. This way you would have walked out of the exhibit into the shop hopefully inspired to buy.

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The other thing that bothers me is the lack of painted models throughout the ground and 1st floor. Surely it would have been so easy to have put a couple of staff armies on some of the old display boards in the free exhibits area, like fort pain or encase them in the lobby so the display stands could be used upstairs.

No Picture Please

There is now a sign on the way
In saying please don’t take picture for anything other than personal enjoyment and non commercial use. Well I don’t think this blogs is what they had in mind but it’s both non commercial and is done for my personal enjoyment. Gw please contact me if you really do object to free marketing for the new Warhammer World.

Worth It?

In a line. Even with the £7.50 price tag it’s worth a few visits. Hopefully by which time the rest of the facility will have improved and will justify the cost of making the trip.

Why I love the hobby despite the rubish

The hobby is a painful affair at the best of times. If you let it it will get you down, kick you when you’re down, take all your energy and trample you into the dirt. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, Games Workshop will release the best model ever with the best rules and the highest pricetag, along with an encyclopaedia of supporting books, painting guides, transfers. Well you get the picture.

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There are also plenty of people in this hobby, who appear to lack any other way to find friends, you know “that guy”. Fortunately that guy doesn’t tend to stick around very long, and in general most people who play the hobby are good people. People who are just out for some fun.
That’s not really what I want to write about though. There are many aspects of this hobby that are enjoyable. Most people would say they still remember their first game of 40k or Warhammer. Most People probably remember the first time they were bought past a Games Workshop, and the first time they went in. I’m sure everyone remembers the first model they bought. Mine was the Space Marine Captain with terminator honours, I’m given away my age now.
Ultramarine Captain Terminator Honours
Finding a way to enjoy the hobby can sometimes be challenging. For me there is a constant temptation to play large games of 40k. After which I think we all lose. At least I will be too tired to relish the victory even if I did win. Which can almost feel like defeat. For me the appeal of a game of 40K is not to decimate your opponent, making them remove their models as fast as possible. For me the enjoyment of gaming is talking about each other’s armies, complaining about Games Workshop latest price rises, having a drink of grog and some potato chips. I guess that makes me a beer and pretzels gamer, another aspect I thoroughly enjoy is events, like golden Demon and Warhammer Fest where I can see the achievements of all the other hobbyists. There will be one very very well painted model, one clever little conversion, and the many wargames tables put together by Forge world which will make the ticket worth while.

Another aspects I’ve always found enjoyable is the vision of a finished squad, tank, character and how amazing it will look. Then there is the journey of problem-solving required to find the right bits, apply the paint in the best way, work out the colour scheme, even if I am copying someone else’s and then the skill of getting the paint on consistency and avoiding brush marks. All just to make that model looks like the vision it started from. Now often that process isn’t 100% successful and what we end up with isn’t the masterpeace we had intended,. However the process of getting there is no less enjoyable. And of course unveiling that model to friends through picture message in the whatsapp and posting on blogs, well as long as some positive feedback is received. It all adds to the pleasure, but somehow it would all be worthwhile without the affirmation.

And so again Games Workshop have managed to get me to part with my hard earned money. This time it was on plastic elder jet bikes, which so far have just sat in a there box, as I’ve moved on to assassins. One day they will be the vision I had when I placed that order. Until then GW will have my money so the box that was sat on their shelf can sit on mine.
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The vision I have actually got some paint on to lately is a Mk8 Sternguad squad. Unfortunately due to paint colour changes since I started on the squad, yes well over 10 years ago, I have no Ultramarine Blue, so I’m not able to finish it. So here is a work in progress shot.
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So thanks for reading my ramblings once more and good luck with whatever vision is in your mind today.

Adepta Sororitas Day, Celestine the Living Saint

The Sisters of Battle will have their Day

Sisters of Battle Day

Calls of the Saint will rise again echo through the Sisters of Battle community on a fairly regular bases, and we hear rumours of new plastic kits having design problems and then rumours of production starting but release being possibly more than 2 years away. Well the Sisters of Battle community are taking matters into their own hands. They have declared there will be a Sisters of Battle day.

” I think someone should make petition to save SOB (Sisters of Battle) or make a date where everyone you could get, goes out and buys a sisters model. I think it would be a sad day if they went the way of the squats.” – Kieran – Sisters of Battle collector.

The only problem is they can’t decide what day this should be.

“What is a good Sisters day? Like May the forth is for star wars.” Jon – Sisters of Battle community moderator.

A couple of ideas so far are 1st August and the 1st September “Adepta Sororitas August or Sisters of Battle September” (Sororitas September).

Chaptermasters.com wants to get behind this idea. The question is how, other than helping spread the word. So we have decided to host a poll on what Day should be Sisters of Battle Day. If more ideas are submitted we will add them to the poll.

Sisters of Battle Day Poll

 

Please vote if you want to support the continuation of the Sisters of Battle as an alive and kicking army in 40k.

What is the best date for Sister of Battle or Adepta Sororitas Day?

View Results

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After creating this poll we became aware of another similar idea running on DakkaDakka: Buy a sister of battle with a melta gun on on march 4th 2014, so this poll has been reset and that date has now been added. At the time the poll was reset 2/2/15

Sisters Sororitas September had 11 votes

Adepta Sororitas August had 10 votes

Valentine’s day had 8 votes.

 

How else can you help the Sisters of Battle?

The sisters of Battle Facebook Community can be found here https://www.facebook.com/AdeptaSororitas

Anyone can join. You can show your support for the Sisters by and liking the page and joining in when Adepta Sororitas Day is announced.

 

 

Sisters of Battle Army

We will leave you with a collection of photos of the very old Games Workshop Sisters of Battle army in the old Warhammer World Miniature Hall.

Sister of Battle Order of the Sacred Rose

Sister of Battle Order of the Sacred Rose

Sisters Repentia led by Priest with a Crusader

Sisters Repentia led by Priest with a Crusader

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

 Celestine the Living Saint

Celestine the Living Saint

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady with Rhinos

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady with  Immolator

Sisters of Battle Order of Our Martyred Lady with
Immolator

 

Will Games Workshop Ever Get it Right?

Games Workshop have been accused of not listening and not communicating many times over the years. Their product, prices, product releases, product retirements, product rules and even product names have all been blasted by bloggers, ex staff and gamers a like. One thing they seldom do is make the same mistake twice in a row. But that’s not to say they don’t get the same complaint twice in a row.
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Let’s look at what Games Workshop need to do to their models to keep Everyone Happy

Hire the best sculptors in order to produce best looking model kits in the world.
Buy the best production tools and hire the best model makers in order to produce the highest quality models in the world.
Never put up their prices and make new models no more expensive than the old ones.
Never retire old models
Make each model available in plastic, resin and metal, this is for every unit they have ever produced..

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Now let’s look at what the perfect Games Workshop store looks like.
It’s big enough to stock every model GW has ever made, since time began.
It has the friendliest staff who have recently painted the model you are interested in to a golden demon standard in your chosen armies colours. The staff have put said model on a game board arranged in such a way that you can spend a few minutes rolling a some dice and finding out how it stacks up against the models your regular opponents use. This is all done on a beautifully painted game table with lots of GW’s buildings and custom made creations also painted to a golden demon standard.

There are also enough game tables for everyone who wants a game to bring in their models and role some dice.

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And then there’s the rules. The envy of the war games community. These rules are dynamic, strategic and provide both players with enough space for tactical geniuses while providing the escape routes for tactile blunders, which result in a game that it’s over till it’s over. These rules are of course available for free download, as well as being available as Limited edition, Hardback, Paperback and interactive digital versions at a modest price.

These rules also scale from small detailed skirmish games, to larger games. The mechanics provide reduced complexity and increased game speed for games of Apocalypse without removing the character of individual models contribution to the battle.

Now let consider the army books and codex.
Each army book is available as free download, as well as being available as Limited edition, Hardback, Paperback and interactive digital versions at a modest price. These army books are constantly FAQ’d. They provide the newest army with some an instant quick win tactics that can be beaten within a couple of games and then stabilise to a position of balancing well against every army and unit GW have ever produced rules for.
The background in each new book draws on the content from previous versions of the army book, but is presented in a fresh way with lots of new information and fantastic artwork.

GW achieves this by testing each book to the hilt for months before
It is released using a extensive team of games designers and testers. Remember these rules are still free to download as PDF files, as GW make enough money from their cheap models to cover all the man hours required.

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Each week there is a 100 page White Dwarf which provides a small amount of content covering making, painting and gaming with the new models along with content which provides something of interest for every army in the Warhammer universe, no no player feels like the issue was a waste of money.

Are you still with me or have I lost you?

It never ceases to amaze me what people say online about Games Workshop, my self included sometimes. Maybe this year, in the year when GW destroy and remake their oldest game system out of alleged shear desperation for the lack of people now buying some of the models for Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Maybe this year I should fully think through the implications of what I complain about before putting keyboard to Internet forum or blog post.

I the mean time I’m going to get back to day-dreaming about what the best Games workshop in the world would would look like and think about painting some models.

Ben’s desk a year in review

Having given up on 40k and writing for ChapterMaster’s Ben has managed to kick out an amazing amount of Gaming standard models over the last year. Ben has this to say.

“This year has very much been a case of quantity over quality in my model painting. There have been a few reasons for this.

1)The ever increasing number of unpainted models in my collection.
2)The house I recently moved to having a lot less natural light reducing my ability to put finishing touches on models to certain times of day, when I’m in the office normally.
3)A general reduction in spare time due to work and famIly commitments.
4)Being disheartened by some of the releases this year, mainly codex causing me to abandon projects part way through such as my Tyranid, Grey Knight and now Blood Angels army.
5)My new airbrush. Which is good at covering models in paint but not so good for painting parts of models.

In many respects this has been the year of finishing the gaming table, which I’ve done both to inspire battle thirst and because I can paint buildings in poor lighting and while half asleep watching TV.

Space Wolves
2014 started out with Space Wolves, some of these Grey Hunters were technically painted in 2013 but I forget which. This intent was to complete a Great Company for Apocalypse however I’m yet to get any further than coating the dreadnought in frendress grey.

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The year also finished with Space Wolves as I tried to get my final remaining Rouge Trader Space Wolf painted, alas N’jal is no way need complete.

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These Thunderwolves are also far from complete, but are just about table ready.

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Tyranids
My long and troubled love affair with Tyranids ended this year as the studio failed to un break my hormaguant and geanstealers with a new codex for the last time, so I’ve moved to pastures Greener. In other word I quit using Tyraninds and started another attempt at an Ork Army. Before doing so I managed to finish base painting my Swamlord and got a Zoanthrope finished for what would have been my new Hive Fleet.

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Ultramarines
These Ultramarines were started during Christmas 2013, but it took me a few months to get to the last 3 marines. These were also my last plastic Tactical Squad for my 4th company.

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These devastator marines were painted for my last game of Apocalypse in order to add a few more heavy weapons to a devastator company. These are
Obviously a mix of old Rouge Trader power armour variants with Forge World Horus Heresy heavy weapons

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These veterans were from the very large box of metal marines in the cupboard. I’ve banned myself from ebay for my New Years resolution. We’ll see how many months I manage. These 3 models enabled me to field a full 10 man stearnguard squad.

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My final instalment of Ultramarines is Ureal Ventris and his command squad. While not quite finished, I’m very happy to field this unit.

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Imperial Knight
Time for the big guy. The long awaited model. Those that follow my blog will know I’ve been bugging the design team for an imperial knight since they did the BaneBlade. Again there is a lot still to be done to this model, but it’s fine for the table.

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Shortly after starting on the knight A friend and I discussed playing one of the 5th edition special missions with a mind field, so I finally and quickly knocked out these mines from the original planet strike release.

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Orks
As part of my drive to complete old models I had another go at the Black Reach set. This time I found the experience a lot more enjoyable, so there is hope I’ll finish of the job in 2015.

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Grey Knights
After picking up the last model needed to add a power armour Squad to my very small Grey Knight army, thanks Gaz. Unfortunately the new codex, which I understand had nothing wrong with it other than not being available in paperback, means continuing with my Grey Knights sits a long way down my priority list. So another project is on ice.

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Now to the buildings.

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And the good old moon scape

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Objective markers

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Emporer’s Children
The final work of the year was the Emperors Children and Hawk Lords.

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I’m not very keen on the Purple and Gold Emperors Children vehicles that I’ve seen. I also want to be able to use my Forgeworld tanks in all my marine armies so I’ve painter my Land Raider in codex grey an will be fitting changeable doors and extra armour.

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Eldar
This jet bike is not really mind but I quickly painted the helmet and nose for someone In December.

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