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Talisman is back…

I am a great fan of Talisman. I played the first edition back in the 1980s and own the second edition (which was a colourised version of the first edition) with a fair few expansions as well, including the Dungeon and Timescape.

It has been announced that a new fifth edition will be published.

Games Workshop isn’t just about Warhammer, you know. We’ve made some absolutely banging board games over the years – including the likes of Fury of Dracula, and Warrior Knights. Talisman is another classic, a game that’s been around for more than 40 years across numerous editions – and which is, for fans of a certain vintage, a glittering shard of pure nostalgia.

The premise is simple. Two to six players select a character – a Warrior, a Wizard, a Prophetess, a Troll, and so on – and embark on a quest to claim the Crown of Command and rule the land. You roll dice to move and traverse a board, encountering a card deck of enemies and allies, levelling up and finding loot, followers, and spells. It’s all wrapped up in about 60 to 90 minutes, and it’s great both for a family games night or for a midweek throwdown between friends.

And for the first time since 2008 (various themed editions notwithstanding) there is a new edition of the game on the way. It’s the same fantastic game, but there’s a fresh set of brilliant art and a handful of smart refinements to make the game play much faster without losing any of what makes it so magical.

I never bought the third or fourth editions, but I am quite tempted by this fifth edition.

Dark Angels Ravenwing Storm Speeder Thunderstrike

This Dark Angels Ravenwing Storm Speeder Thunderstrike was on display at Warhammer World.

Storm Speeder Thunderstrikes outmanoeuvre the foe at every turn, targeting vulnerable points in armour, fuel tanks and missile hoppers to turn engines of war into raging fireballs. Just a single Thunderstrike is capable of destroying armoured breakthrough attempts, and when one is on the battlefield, few enemies are safe.

Return of the Terrain

Next week sees the opportunity to order some old Warhammer 40000 terrain kits.

Spice up your 41st Millennium battlefields with a range of classic Warhammer 40,000 terrain returning on a Made to Order basis, starting with a Void Shield Generator complete with functioning cogs that can be left unglued and rotated. The Sub-cloister and Storage Fane set is an all-purpose pair of ruined Imperial buildings, while Plasma Regulators and Conservators make for great scatter terrain between larger buildings.

If you want to give your battlefield the air of an industrial hub or forge world, four returning kits from the Battlezone: Mechanicus range are the perfect way to add some brutal Imperial architecture. The Ferratonic Furnace and Pyrolation Incinerator add high gantries and ample vantage points for getting the drop on your opponents, while towering Alchomite Stacks and buzzing Haemotrope Reactors provide troops with cover as they advance through the forge.

I have some of these terrain models from the Imperium partwork series which was available a couple of years back.

I have quite a few of the ruined Imperial building kits as well as a Haemotrope Reactor.

Depending on the prices of the kits, I might get one or two.

Bloodbowl Gnomes

A new team for Bloodbowl has been announced, the Gnomes. They were revealed back at the beginning of March.

Gnomes are avid Blood Bowl fans who usually stick to their own secluded burrows, but every once in a while a team will enter the ‘big’ world and make a name for themselves in the leagues – usually through the popularity of their adorable woodland compatriots rather than any actual skill or success. Whether it’s a Beastmaster working alongside a ferocious goose to shore up their team’s line of defence or a speedy fox sprinting downfield with the ball in their mouth, Gnomes make use of many furry friends to fill in where their short stature can’t compete. Then if that isn’t enough to secure some touchdowns, their mastery of illusions and capricious tricks surely is.

In the original Forces of Fantasy for first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle there was a Gnome army and you could even get a few Citadel miniatures as well.

Now I don’t play Bloodbowl, well I played first edition (the one with card players), but I quite like the concept of the team.

I like the use of animals in the team as well.

Tempted.

Legions Imperialis Solar Auxilia Arvus Lighter

The Legions Imperialis Solar Auxilia Arvus Lighter was previewed this week and will be available next week for pre-order.

Affectionately known as the “little pig” among Solar Auxilia aircrews, the Arvus Lighter is a reliable armoured shuttle used for ferrying Lasrifle Sections across the battlefield.

This plastic kit contains eight Arvus Lighter models.

Civil War

This spring sees the release of the new Alex Garland film, Civil War.

Set in an America which is breaking apart, the film is about a group of journalists travelling across the United States in an ever escalating conflict which is engulfing the entire country.

The war is between the US government and “Western Forces” which includes California and Texas. The trailer mentions nineteen states seceding from the union. It also talks about a three term President. According to the constitution American presidents can only serve two terms, could this be the reason behind the secession?

The background to the film raises a lot of ideas for gaming scenarios. As well as regular US armed forces, there is the National Guard for each state, and the film also brings in partisan extremist militias into the fight as well. The conflict allows opportunistic forces to take advantage of the chaos.

There are lots of miniatures available to game these scenarios. I am looking forward to seeing the film.

Solar Auxilia Malcador Heavy Tank in Plastic

The Las Vegas Open had quite a few previews. One that caught my eye was the announcement of plastic kits for the Solar Auxilia for The Horus Heresy.

When an even heavier armoured presence is required, the Malcador is deployed, a legendary design with roots in the Age of Strife. It boasts a surprising turn of speed for a vehicle of its bulk, and can run rings around heavier squadrons of Baneblades and Stormhammers.

The Malcador Heavy Tank was available as a resin kit from Forge World. They had a lovely example painted up for the Death Korps of Krieg.

The Malcador Heavy Tank is a venerable pattern of armoured vehicle that predates the Leman Russ tank in the Imperium of Man’s service. It is not widely used by Imperial armed forces at the present time and is in fact little known even within the Imperial military. In many regions of the Imperium, the Malcador passed out of common service many millennia ago. The few Malcadors that remain in the Emperor of Mankind’s service have been relegated to the Departmento Munitorum’s strategic reserve, to the arsenals of second-line Planetary Defence Forces or are maintained in active service only by a few units of the Imperial Guard due to ancient tradition.

I’ve always liked the Death Korps of Krieg Malcador Heavy Tank, now that it is available in plastic I might get one.

Malcador Heavy Tank Miniatures Gallery.

Solar Auxilia Dracosan Armoured Transport in Plastic

The Las Vegas Open had quite a few previews. One that caught my eye was the announcement of plastic kits for the Solar Auxilia for The Horus Heresy.

The Solar Auxilia Dracosan Armoured Transport was available as a resin kit from Forge World.

The Dracosan Armoured Transport is manufactured to standards only usually required of war machines destined for service with the Legiones Astartes. It is large enough to accommodate a full strength Solar Auxilia Infantry Section of twenty auxiliaries, and heavily armoured enough to protect them from intense enemy fire.

Dracosan Armoured Transport Miniatures Gallery

The green tide is coming back…

I was a little surprised to see on the Warhammer Community details announced of all the models that will be released for Orcs and Goblins for Warhammer The Old World.

I was really surprised by the sheer quantity of miniatures, new and old, that are going be available for building a green horde.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the range of models that will be available and the fact they are going to re-release models that are in some cases over thirty years old.

When I heard about Warhammer The Old World I did think I might raise a Dwarf army, but now I am seriously tempted to build an Orc and Goblin horde. Knowing that I can easily use my existing models, I think this could be a fun army to build.

I love the fact that the Orc Warboss on Wyvern will be coming back, this time as a resin model.

I also saw that Snotling Swarms and the Snotling Pump Wagon are on the release schedule.

I am also tempted to get some Trolls, models I never got when I originally built my army.

Excited?

Yes.

Late War Monsters

Well Late War Leviathans are going to be released by Battlefront.

When the Mid-War Monsters were released in 2011 I did get some of the TOG tanks, and also said in a blog post:

I do hope that we see future “monsters” for Flames of War, there are some nice concepts and ideas out there for both Early-War and Late-War

When the Mid-War Monsters were re-released eleven years later in 2022 I wrote something similar:

Hopefully they are popular enough, that we get to see more of them, maybe some Early-War Monsters and some Late-War Monsters as well.

Well here we are in 2024 and Battlefront have announced their Late War Leviathans.

We have seen the German Maus.

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built.

The Soviets have the IS3.

The IS-3 was a Soviet heavy tank developed in late 1944. Its semi-hemispherical cast turret (resembling that of an upturned soup bowl) became the hallmark of post-war Soviet tanks.

The US have the T28 Super Heavy Tank.

The T28 Super Heavy Tank was an American super-heavy tank/assault gun designed for the United States Army during World War II. It was originally designed to break through German defenses of the Siegfried Line and was later considered as a possible participant in the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

The British have the Tortoise.

The Tortoise heavy assault tank was a British heavy assault gun design developed during the Second World War, but never put into mass production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas such as the Siegfried Line and as a result favoured armour protection over mobility.

In addition there will be range of 1945+ models that can be used for alternate history games where the Second World War went beyond 1945. In the announcement video we have seen the Centurion Mk1 and US Pershing tanks.

These models will also be useful for gaming scenarios in the world of The Hot War series by Harry Turtledove as well as the Late War Leviathans background from Battlefront.