Author: Felix

No Star Trek for the first time since 1987…

With the final episode of Enterprise being and gone (and what a disappointment that was) there is now no new Star Trek in the planning for the first time since 1987 when The Next Generation.

I did enjoy season 4 of Enterprise and the previous seasons as well, it was a pity it was never given the chance to shine like other Star Treks.

Seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 of TNG were much better than the first three seasons (though season three was quite good) and the same can be said for Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

I shall miss Enterprise and look forward to the next incarnation of Trek.

The Leader by Guy Walters

I always liked the film version of Richard III set in an alternative 1930s England. So when I saw this book I was intrigued by the storyline which is set in an alternate 1937.

The Leader by Guy Walters has Edward VIII deciding not to abdicate which results in a constitutional crisis and after much political machinations, Oswald Mosley manages to grasp power and once there he institutes a wide range of despicable policies from internment of the Jewish population to the formation of a Gestapo-like HMSSP (His Majesties State Secret Police). Soon Britain moves from a democracy to a fascist dictatorship.

Stopping him is a Great War hero who has to avoid capture and meanwhile plan a coup to bring back democracy.

Also within all this is a plot by the USSR to put in a puppet Communist government.

It’s not a bad story, but there is a lack off characterisation, some characters just appear and the die. Some historical flaws also make the whole thing lacking.

It’s not a bad read and if you like alternate history then you may enjoy this.

Forge World Newsletter #120

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Hi folks, today in our 120th Forge World Newsletter we are re-releasing three of our most popular collectable figurines. We also have photos of some of our models resplendent in their new paint schemes. We have rules for some of newer releases, news on some of our soon to be completed projects and one new release too.
Thx,

Ewen Little,
Forge World.

Heavy Metal
Forge World Design Manager Owen Branham says he always likes to take the ‘Extra Armour’ option for his Imperial Guard Chimeras. Of course there has never been a set of armour for the Chimera, so Owen decided to make one. The design Owen chose has been used many times throughout the many conflicts Humanity has fought in over the past 40 millenia. Large armoured plates are hung over the vunerable slab-sides of the Chimera, these are then covered with small explosive blocks which are meant to explode outwards when hit, deflecting or slowing down any shots and ensuring the survival of your mechanised infantry (You hope!). Owen has mentioned that he wants to get to work on a similar set of armour for the Leman Russ so we can look forward to that fairly soon I hope. The new Chimera Armoured Skirts pack is available to pre-order right now and will be released and sent out from Monday May 30th.

Re-released Classic Designs
A month or two ago Forge World re-launched limited quantities of some of our older figurines and busts. These have proven to be very popular as we think quite a lot of you had not seen these models before and today Forge World re-release the next group of Collector’s Series figures and Busts. The Dark Elf character Malus Darkblade could be known to some of you already from his appearances in the Darkblade graphic novels, Warhammer Monthly comic books, novels and of course as a special character in Warhammer itself. Malus himself stands 10mm/4inches tall and is posed at the head of some stone steps, wielding a savage looking blade and clutching his vial of sleeping potion, wearing a quite magnificent suit of armour and sea-dragon cloak. We think that the Orc Shaman Nazgob first came into prominance as part of the old Warhammer supplement ‘Idol of Gork’. Measuring 130mm/5inches tall to the top of his staff, this old Orc Shaman shuffles along barefoot covered in a simple leather tunic and carrying a satchel of old bones and who knows what else. He does carry a brutal looking Choppa hanging from his belt but his main weapon is the power of the Waaagh! which he channels through the great bone staff which is considerably taller than he is! The Space Wolves Wolf Guard Terminator bust is one of Forge World’s oldest models and possibly one of the easiest to paint effectively. Everything you see on this model has just had paint added on top, all the chips, scratches, runes etc are all part of the model, all you need to do is add the colours you want to bring this model to life. Just like the first set of models we re-released these three models are available in quite limited quantities which means that when we run out of stock that’s it for now. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity then please do act sooner rather than later to avoid dissappointment as we did run out of some of the first re-release quite quickly.

Ogre Rhinox Cavalry rule! (Well, rules anyway)
Earlier this week we started shipping out all the Rhinox Cavalry pre-orders and believe me folks, there are quite a scary number of Ogre armies out there who are going to be fielding Rhinox Cavalry very soon. Of course these huge models of stinky, hairy, mayhem wielding Ogre cavalry are just what the Tyrant ordered but where are the rules then? Eh? Eh? Here! That’s where! These are experimental rules for the moment and any feedback you have would be very welcome. Please email any comments/ideas to the normal Forge World email address. Right now Daniel Cockersell is putting the finishing touches to an Ogre Thunderlord, a larger and more menacing Ogre on an even larger and even more menacing Bull Rhinox, who can lead your units of Rhinox Cavalry to crushing victory one after another. We hope to have photos of this big chap for the Newsletter very soon.

Caution! Wet Paint!
While we love to show you our new models as soon as they are finished (and sometimes even before) you have to admit that a good paint job can really transform a model. George Dellapina has been painting Forge World models for us for a while and has painted some of our most impressive pieces to date. When he saw them, George pretty much demanded the job of painting our huge 40K Fortress Walls. Now bear in mind that this monstrous kit is over 1200mm/48inches long and 600mm/24inches tall! George and his friend Chris Straw spent about 5 weeks working on this huge kit and delivered it to us the day before we drove over to Paris for Games Day France at the end of last month. I’ll admit that I didn’t enjoy the trip down to Paris very much as it had been a while since I had driven a big truck and we didn’t really have much time to pack the Fortress Walls very well. Due to my amazing driving skills, the Fortress Walls arrived in Paris without a single scratch on them and they took pride of place at Games Day Paris in the centre of the Forge World display. Yesterday George dropped off his latest painting project, a unit of Kroot Knarloc Riders which has been painted in a style that really emphasises the muscles and tendons that make up so much of these models. Paul has also taken some new photographs of both Imperial Navy Lightning fighters which allow you to see the detail and appreciate the size of these big aircraft.

So, what’s next..?
Earlier this morning I saw the next few sets of Terminator Shoulder Pads that Simon Egan is working on. He had a set for Imperial/Crimson Fists and another for Raptors sitting on his desk which I think were pretty much finished. He was working on a set of pads and other accessories for Space Wolves Wolf Guard Terminators which looked particularly exciting and I look forward to seeing again. Forge World should have the sets of shoulder pads for the Raptors and Imperial/Crimson Fists ready for release in the next few weeks and the Space Wolves set a little after that with even more sets to follow! Mark Bedford has nearly completed 5 new Tallarn heavy weapon crews, all designed to use the plastic Imperial Guard heavy weapons. Each set will include additional accessories like small piles of sandbags with ammo or equipment laid out. Another nice touch is a special Tallarn pattern lasgun which really suits the style of the Tallarns that Mark has created. We hope to be able to show you these great new models in another newsletter very soon. We do have a final piece of news for you today, Imperial Armour Volume 3 – The Taros Campaign is damned near to being sent off to the printers. Warwick has been writing and re-writing like a madman for I don’t know how long. (When he flew over to Baltimore for Games Day last week he did sit editing it on the way over AND back!) Tony has been Mr Photoshop, scowling at his monitor creating picture after picture for this monster book. Do 320 pages qualify as monster? I think it does. We will be doing a special newsletter on Imperial Armour Volume 3 very soon when we’ll be able to tell you quite a bit more about the book and hopefully show you some of the pages too.

Forge World
Games Workshop
Willow Road, Lenton Lane
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG7 2WS

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Photographic Terrain Desert

Having forgotten to take a picture of the intermediate stage from the last picture, I spray painted the scenery.

Starting off with a black spray for the rockface, this was followed by a rust red colour and finally a brown spray. The picture shows it just after I finished so the paint is still wet.

The next stage will be drybrushing.

In case you were wondering the board is 19″ across and 14″ deep.

Photographic Terrain Desert

I decided to add some extra hillocks using two small bits of polystyrene.

Having used a mixture of polyfilla (wall filler), white glue, brown paint, model railway ballast, model railway coal and some water I added the mixture to the board.

After this was left to dry the next stage was to add the sand.

I used Games Workshop sand, which is not too fine (unlike my son’s sandpit sand) and also has tiny stones as well.

I flowed some PVA (white) glue into the scenery and then using a wet brush watered down the glue. I then covered this with the sand and left it to dry.

Leave it to dry for at least an hour and preferably overnight.

Photographic Terrain Grass

Having used a mixture of polyfilla (wall filler), white glue, brown paint, model railway ballast, model railway coal and some water I added the mixture to the board.

Once this was dry, I spray painted the board.

I first used black spray, then a dark earth and finally a grey spray.

I now have to dry brush the terrain.

Due to a few gaps in the terrain I will be making this a green landscape with lots of foilage.