Author: Felix

Kampfgruppe Normandy

As mentioned previously on this blog, Warhammer Historical’s set of World War Two rules is to be published shortly and is available for pre-order.

Written by Warwick Kinrade, Kampfgruppe Normandy is a huge 348 page, full colour hardback book containing rules for playing miniature wargames set in Normandy during the summer of 1944.

Kampfgruppe Normandy is a completely new games system that includes detailed rules for such aspects of warfare as: command and control, suppressing fire with small arms and high-explosives, direct and indirect fire, aircraft attacks and anti-aircraft fire. It also includes a unique battle group morale system to determine the victor in each battle. The rules can be played using any 1/72 scale (20mm) WWII plastic, metal and resin infantry, vehicles and terrain kits.

Kampfgruppe Normandy includes over 100 photographs taken during the war by those who were there, many rarely seen before. The book contains eight army lists from which players can build combined-arms battle groups: four Allied lists, for both British and American Armoured and Infantry divisions and four German lists, covering both SS and Wehrmacht Panzer divisions, and Werhmacht Infantry and Fallschirmjäger divisions.

It also contains two mini-campaigns set in the British and American sectors of Normandy which provide extensive background information, scenarios and equipment data as well as full-colour uniform guides for German, American and British forces.

Kampfgruppe Normandy is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 26th April.

They certainly sound interesting and though designed for 20mm miniatures I am sure the rules would work with 15mm or 28mm miniatures too.

I like the idea that it is a hardbacked book, so expecting it be similar to the Forge World series of books (most of which were also written by Warwick). I am also interested to see the model photographs in the book too, which I expect will be quite inspiring.

So with this release, will we see future releases covering other parts of World War Two? I suspect so.

Skaven Screaming Bell

Skaven Screaming Bell from GamesDay 2010.
Skaven Screaming Bell from GamesDay 2010.

Though not really a fan of the Skaven, this model really does show how far Games Workshop have come in producing well detailed and complicated plastic models.

It does make you wonder what they could do if they decided to move into historical miniatures. They already have the rules, but I guess they don’t really want to go down that road (at this time).

Eldar Phantom Titan available to pre-order

Forge World have in their most recent newsletter given details on how you can pre-order the Eldar Phantom Titan.

Tall, elegant and devastating in battle, the Phantom Titan is the largest known Eldar Titan. It is swift and agile in comparison to the lumbering behemoths of the Legio Titanicus, and is armed with some of the deadliest examples of Eldar weaponry.

Each Phantom is the pinnacle of Eldar warcraft. Linked to a wraithbone core containing the living spirit of its previous pilots, the single crewman of each Phantom Titan, known as a Steersman, is an Exarch dedicated to this aspect of warfare. Locked in a trance-like state, the Steersman’s consciousness merges with the spirit-sentience of the Titan, enabling the mighty war machine to react and manoeuvre with astonishing speed.

The Phantom Titan, designed by Will Hayes and featuring interior detail sculpted by Simon Egan, is most commonly armed with at least one immense Phantom Pulsar, a long range and rapid-firing energy weapon far superior to anything sanctioned by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Phantom’s other primary weapon is often a Phantom D-Cannon. Much larger and more powerful than similar technology used by the Cobra or Warp Hunter, it tears a seething warp-rift in the fabric of reality to engulf and utterly destroy its foe. As well as these primary weapons, the Phantom is armed with shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft and anti-personnel missile launchers as well as an additional heavy weapon, usually a long-barrelled Star Cannon or Pulse Laser.

Adeptus Mechanicus logis-engines also record other primary weapons systems that have been encountered in the long history of conflict between the Imperium and the Eldar. Will Hayes will be turning his talented attention to these for future releases.

Full technical information and background for the Phantom Titan will be provided in Imperial Armour Volume 11: The Doom of Mymeara and you can download experimental rules for this majestic war machine courtesy of the Forge World Book Design team.

The Phantom Titan Body, Pulsar Arm and D-Cannon Arm are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 26th April.

No I am not going to buy one, don’t do Eldar. But I am impressed with the quality of the model and the work that went into it.