Wot no Spooks?

I knew Spooks was coming back this autumn, however not watching much on the television recently meant I didn’t see any trailers. Nor did I get a newspaper either, so didn’t know that it was on tonight at 9pm.

Years ago it would have been a problem as I would have to wait until repeats.

Now we have a few technologies which make it much easier.
I could wait until it appears on DVD, though generally with BBC programmes it takes a long time to get onto DVD.

With Freeview I can watch repeats on BBC Three later this week…

And of course BBC iPlayer means I can watch it now, less than 30 minutes after it finished on BBC One.

Cool.

Merlin

Tonight I watched episode five of Merlin from the BBC. I am really enjoying this series and I think the concept behind the young Merlin is a very clever idea.

It’s not trying to be pretentious as ITV’s Robin of Sherwood back in the 1980s often was. It is quite similar to the BBC’s recent interpretation of Robin Hood.

Looking forward to seeing how the series pans out.

Plastic Shadowsword

As I exclusively announced on this blog a couple of weeks back, there is going to be a plastic Shadowsword released by Games Workshop, probably in March or April next year as part of an Apocalypse release (there will also be an Ork Stompa).

Since I wrote that blog entry, others across various forums have added further details and confirmation that there will be a plastic Shadowsword. There are also a couple of mentions that the kit will include other BaneBlade variants including the Stormlord transport which was seen in the Apocalypse Reload supplement.

Do you want a Thunderfire Cannon?

At GamesDay 2008 there was a (very small) bundle of pre-release Space Marine stuff, from the Codex to the Drop Pod to the Thunderfire Cannon…

Thunderfire Cannon?

As I mentioned earlier on this blog…

I was also disapppointed with the lack of Ork stuff for sale on the retail stands, all they seemed to have was the Space Marine Thunderfire Cannon, boxes of them, boxes and boxes. Virtually all other new Space Marine stuff such as the Codex and Drop Pod had sold out by 11.00am! However if you wanted a bundle of Thunderfire Cannons, no problem!

There was loads of Thunderfire Cannons and I did mention also in the blog entry

The thing was that it wasn’t only a pre-release it was also an opportunity to get it much much cheaper. At GamesDay 2008 it was priced at £25. Games Workshop are going to increase their prices on the 29th September, so when the Thunderfire Cannon is released on the 4th October it will be priced at £30 (well according to the red shirt I spoke to at GamesDay).

So my conclusion was that one of the reason was it was over-priced and that was why it wasn’t selling.

I believe it didn’t sell as it was overpriced for what it was (and it’s going to cost even more) and I think that it’s not a very good model. When you compare it to the Forge World Tarantula which is cheaper and looks more “realistic” (well how realistic can a weapon from the 41st millennium be).

If you check the store it does say £30.

Thunderfire Cannon?

However have a look at White Dwarf Online and what does that say?
£18

thunderfireprice02.gif

Possibly a mistake?

Possibly. It also says the Codex is £15 and I was charged £18!

Codex Space Marines

Released today and I have my copy.

Codex Space Marines

The Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are Humanity’s ultimate warriors, dedicated to the defence of the Emperor and the Imperium of Man. They are barely human at all, but superhuman, having been made superior, in all respects, to a normal man by a harsh regime of genetic modification, psycho-conditioning and rigorous training. Organised into small independent armies called Chapters, their unswerving loyalty is to the Emperor of Mankind and no other. This 144-page Warhammer 40,000 Codex contains all the rules you’ll need to field a Space Marine army, as well as detailed background information, bestiary, accompanying artwork and ‘Eavy Metal showcase.

It’s huge book and full of pages!

So is it worth £18?

Hmm.

Maybe I am just getting old. Maybe I am as it only seemed like yesterday when I bought the last Codex!

High elves were posh Brits and their arch-rivals, the dark elves, were posh folk that have taken lots of drugs

Orc

The BBC report on Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning made me laugh out loud.

Orcs were essentially football hooligans that have no long-term plans and like hitting things, usually other people, with sticks. Dwarves were a crude caricature of Northerners in that they live down mines, drink beer and have no money. High elves were posh Brits and their arch-rivals, the dark elves, were posh folk that have taken lots of drugs. “Think Byron,”

Not only did it make me laugh, it’s so true as well.

The game does look good though, but is this Liverpool?

Warhammer Online

You can get Warhammer Online from  Amazon.co.uk.

GW Prices going to rise

Alas the economic woes affecting the world economy have not left Games Workshop alone and September 29th sees a range of price increases across the GW range with the notable exception of their plastic kits.

Tabletop Gaming News has the inside story.

On Monday August 25th a message informing end hobbyists will be placed on all of our websites.

Prices will change September 29th.

A message will appear in our October White Dwarf.

The price increase will affect part of our paint and hobby ranges, as well as a large portion of our metal models and printed materials.

Even with the pressure of rising costs we are adamant that we will not at this time raise prices on any plastic model kits. Providing high quality, great value kits is fundamental to our corporate strategy and will continue to produce and distribute them at the current prices for as long as we are able.

No, no, no and no again!

So there I was looking forward to to the new Harry Potter film in November when I read this BBC report.

The release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back by eight months, to July 2009.

The sixth instalment of the teenage wizard’s adventures was supposed to have its Royal premiere on 17 November.

Alan Horn, president of studio Warner Bros, said the decision was taken to guarantee the studio a major summer blockbuster in 2009.

No, no, no and no again!