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Horus Heresy options

Classic tanks from the Forge World range return to the Horus Heresy at the Games Workshop webstore, upgraded with new plastic sponson sprues that make it easier than ever to add weapon variety to your armoured companies.

The various resin models, such as the Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport, will now come with the sponsons sprue that is available now with the plastic releases that we have seen.

There is an implication here that future Horus Heresy releases may now be resin models. Especially as the only preview we have seen over recent months has been the Vindicator.

Though that may also mean that the Legion models we have seen, will now be supplemented with plastic releases for other Horus Heresy forces, such as the Solar Auxilia.

Returning to the Spanish Penisular War

I saw on the Twitter a link to a Radio 4 show, The Reunion, which brings together people from a common event or background. The most recent episode was about the Sharpe TV series.

It’s a great insight into the background of the making of the series, some of the challenges that the cast and crew faced.

It was a Napoleonic war drama to be shot in the Crimean Peninsula. But little did the producers know that they would be sending the cast and crew to film in a rapidly disintegrating Soviet Union.

Once in Crimea, the whole production faced near-starvation and danger around every corner as they set about creating one of Britain’s most successful and critically acclaimed 90s television programmes, Sharpe.

It was to go down in television folklore for its unique tales of mishaps and hardship. Renowned actor Paul McGann was originally cast to play the lead character, Sharpe. But only six weeks into filming he picked up a serious injury and had to pull out.

It left the production in chaos and saw one of the highest-ever insurance pay-outs for a television series.

Everyone packed up back to the UK with the future of the series left in suspense. That was until a relatively unknown actor called Sean Bean took on the part and the show was back on the road. The cast and crew headed back to Simferopol in Crimea (later to be nicknamed “simplyawful”) and filming resumed.

Sharpe became a six series hit across nearly 15 years, with viewing figures topping 10 million.

Our panel includes Sharpe’s author Bernard Cornwell, then-assistant producer Stuart Sutherland, one of the “chosen men” Jason Salkey who played one of Sean Bean’s right hand men, Michael Cochrane who played Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson across the entire series, and Diana Perez who played Ramona.

What I didn’t know, and was quite a surprise was that Paul McGann was originally cast as Sharpe. I thought I knew a lot about the series (I even have a book about the making of the series). However, I didn’t know that.

I do wonder how different the series would have been with Paul McGann in the lead role.

I really enjoyed the series when it was broadcast and though around thirty years old, is still great television. I also love the books as well.

It certainly has rekindled my interest in the subject matter, I re-watched an episode of Sharpe, thinking about re-reading the books, and looking back into my Flintloque collection and digging out my 25mm Napoleonic Rifles figures.

Legion Reinforcements

Next week you will be able to pre-order some Legion reinforcements for The Horus Heresy.

There is the Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer.

The massive Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer is an armoured beast, mounting a triple-barrelled neutron laser battery onto a rugged Spartan hull to create a devastatingly focused anti-tank weapon. It can detonate tanks in a single blast while shrugging off return fire like it’s nothing – everything you want in a Lord of War.

I prefer the Typhon Heavy Siege Tank. Given the choice between the Cerberus and the Typhon, I would choose the Typhon. I just think it is a better looking tank.

There is also the Sicaran Venator Tank Hunter.

If you prefer your anti-tank options a little more discrete, the Sicaran Venator trades mass for speed and can wind its way around enemy flanks before lancing neutron beam laser blasts right through the sides of opposing tanks.

I am not a fan of this tank, so it won’t be added to my (long and) never-ending wish list.

Plastic Legion Vindicator

Over on the Warhammer Community website they have previewed a new plastic Legion Vindicator.

The last word in mobile wall-removal packs a massive centerline-mounted demolisher cannon – a huge shell-lobbing bombard that trades the long range of artillery for awesome destructive power. It’s quite content to turn anything it hits into confetti, but excels at cracking Fortifications and other buildings.

Of course Forge World gave us a resin conversion kit many years ago.

The Deimos pattern is an early type of Vindicator used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, although many are still operational in the service of Space Marine Chapters in the 41st Millennium. A powerful assault tank, the Vindicator’s principal armament is a heavy-calibre demolisher cannon capable of shattering fortifications and breaching the armour plates of tanks with equal ease. It is invaluable in urban warfare as it can blast and shunt its way through barricades and obstacles, enabling troops following behind free passage through streets that might have otherwise swiftly degenerated into kill zones.

This Forge World Space Wolves Legion Vindicator was on display at Warhammer World.

The new plastic kit also allows you make a Vindicator Laser Destroyer. This Legiones Astartes Ultramarines Deimos Vindicator Laser Destroyer was on display in the cabinets at Warhammer World.

Deimos Vindicator Laser Destroyer at Warhammer World

Another model to add to that wish list.

Plastic Typhon Heavy Siege Tank

Games Workshop having announced back in December that there will be a plastic Heavy Siege Tank for The Horus Heresy, you will be able to pre-order this huge tank on Saturday.

Named for the ‘Great Beast’ of Ancient Terran myth, the immense Typhon Heavy Siege Tank was developed by the Mechanicum alongside the Spartan, with which it shares a basic chassis design. The Typhon’s primary armament is the massive Dreadhammer cannon, and was created in response to a request from the Primarch Peturabo, master of the Iron Warriors. He demanded a Legiones Astartes war engine that could rival the great batteries of the Imperial Crusade Army in firepower, but manoeuvre and deploy at the speed of a Space Marine force.

I’ve always liked the Forge World model and I took a photograph of this Imperial Fists painted model at Warhammer World on a visit a few years ago.

There are some great Horus Heresy models available now and the question I have is, which one do I get next after I finish painting my Land Raiders. I think this one is now top of the list.

Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer

Revealed at the Las Vegas Open was the all new plastic Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer.

The Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer has one job – blowing up other tanks. To that end, it is armed with a centreline-mounted neutron laser battery, a relic of the dark age of technology that dooms its crew to a horrid death thanks to the exotic radiation it pumps out – but not before it dooms dozens of enemy vehicles to a much more immediate death.

We first saw this as a resin Forge World model in 2012.

I have to say I am not a fan of this vehicle. Apart from the fact that it dooms its crew to a horrid death; I am not a fan of the weapon mount. I much prefer the cannon on the Typhon tank. I think it is, because it looks like it is missing a mantle for the main weapon.

A gun mantlet is an armour plate or shield attached to an armoured fighting vehicle’s gun, protecting the opening through which the weapon’s barrel projects from the hull or turret armour and, in many cases, ensuring the vulnerable warhead of a loaded shell does not protrude past the vehicle’s armour.

I think that is similar to the reasons why I am not a fan of the Ork Kill Blasta as well.

Plastic Space Marine Jetbikes swooping in soon

The Scimitar Jetbikes of the Age of Darkness are modifications of complex pre-Imperium designs. Essentially compact aircraft with the addition of grav-impellors, they rush your Space Marines into combat at great speed. And soon you’ll be able to add them to your army in plastic.

There will be plastic Scimitar Pattern Space Marine Legion Jetbikes for The Horus Heresy game.

Forge World released resin Scimitar Pattern Jetbikes in 2012 and these new plastic ones are very similar (if not nearly identical) to those.

Back in 2012 I said

They do look interesting models, but I am not sure if I like them. They seem more like space ship models than bikes.

Now over ten years later I think I may have changed my mind, but they still look quite clunky.

What do you think?

The Old World

It’s on it’s way, but still looks like we will need to wait a while!

The Warhammer Community website gave us another insight into the development of Warhammer: The Old World.

The first mention of this game was in 2019, so we are approaching four years of development, and we’ve not seen a single miniature in all that time.

Though it would appear that the development team have spent hours doing research and playtesting the new game.

Our goal was to create a game that captures the best elements of all the editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, but at the same time providing new and exciting rules, and fresh challenges to overcome.

We are getting a lot of background information, the setting won’t be the world we remember from Warhammer Fantasy of the past, but a time before then.

I am looking forward to seeing where this is going and what the final game will look like. Hopefully we might see some miniatures soon.

iFelix Top Ten Blog Posts 2022

In 2022 I published 321 almost twice the posts I did in 2021. In 2021 I published 162 blog posts. In 2020 I posted 436 blog posts, in 2019 I did 143 blog posts. Compare that to 2018 when I wrote just 21 blog posts.

Here are my top ten blog posts in reverse order.

The tenth most popular post was Dwarf City under attack some photographs from a demonstration game at an old GamesDay.

The post at number nine was That time when the Imperial Guard used the Rhino a reminder that when the Rhino model first came out it could also be used by the Imperial Guard as well as Space Matines.

The post at number eight was a post from 2019 about Making the Ork Megatrakk Scrapjet which I had got for Christmas, alas it is still on the workbench.

The seventh post was on the announcement on the Plastic Deimos-pattern Rhino, I was pleased to see that one of the new Horus Heresy releases announced at Warhammer Fest was the Plastic Deimos-pattern Rhino.

The post at number six was another announcement post, this one was when the Hekaton Land Fortress was revealed.

Post at number five was on Building and undercoating the Inquisitorial Achilles Ridgerunner.

Fourth most popular post was Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines’ Land Raider some photographs of this model at Warhammer World.

The post at number three was Constructing the Haemotrope Reactor a model that I got with a copy of Warhammer Imperium.

The second most popular blog post was wondering if we would get a Plastic Land Raider Proteus perhaps? In the end we did.

The most popular post in 2022 was photographs of Astra Militarum Super Heavy Tanks taken on my most last visit to Warhammer World.

Overall I was pleased with the amount of blogging that I did in 2022 and impressed with the amount of painting I have done this year. I have done a regular top ten blog posts article every year now for a fair few years, but going through the stats this time I noticed that there were a lot of popular pages as well.

Campaign weary Rogal Dorn Battle Tank

So, we know there is a new tank coming for the Imperial Guard.

The new Rogal Dorn Battle Tank is a behemoth of a vehicle, perfectly suited for smashing enemy positions and anchoring defensive lines. Its heavy armour gives it durability worthy of the Praetorian’s name, while its powerful engines ensure it doesn’t fall behind squadrons of Leman Russ Battle Tanks.

In a recent post on the Warhammer Community we learnt a little more about the kit and how the model goes together.

As I read the article it got me thinking about building a camping weary Rogal Dorn tank, a fighting vehicle that has been out in the field for a while.

It’s also the first time we’ve shown proper suspension on a tank kit, so you can leave off the side skirts and see the wheels.

Now this is interesting, I quite like the idea of modelling the tank without skirts, maybe they got lost during a firefight.

The stowage is also really versatile – there are plenty of sandbags, packs, tools, and oil canisters – but we’ve been careful with the sizing so they fit in lots of different places.

I like this idea, I can see how this will allow you to create a tank which has been on a long campaign. Covered in stowage and personal belongings. This isn’t a parade ready tank, this is a fighting vehicle that has been fighting for a long time.

I suspect it won’t be long before it’s available in pre-order.