Digital Apocalypse

Digital Apocalypse
Games Workshop have, as it getting to be the norm now, released their most recent publication, Apocalypse as a digital book for the iPad, a snip at £44.99.

The greatest heroes of the age lead battalions of troops and tanks against the foe. Super-heavy war machines dominate the conflict like gods of battle as bombardments rain from the skies. This is war on a whole new level.
Apocalypse is a new way of playing games of Warhammer 40,000. Allowing you to field as many miniatures as you like, in any combination. There really are no limits to what you can do

FIGHTING AN APOCALYPSE BATTLE: The rules for setting up and playing games of Apocalypse; new Apocalypse missions and strategic assets; new rules such as Divine Intervention, and Sons of the Primarch; world ending Unnatural disasters; and advice on how to field all your miniatures in one gigantic collection.
APOCALYPSE FORMATIONS: Details of more than 100 devastating formations that feature the most powerful military assets of the 41st Millennium. With 11 distinct classes of formation, you can take your choice from the C’tan-powered Tesseract Vault to an entire Battle Company of Space Marines!

MINIATURES SHOWCASE: Sumptuous photographs of super-heavy vehicles, gargantuan armies and heroic commanders to inspire your own collection.
WAR ZONE: ARMAGEDDON: Details one of the most monumental campaigns of the 41st Millennium, with unique special rules, formations and missions.
Peppered throughout the book is a host of additional background information to further inspire you.

I really like the idea of digital rules and though some baulk at the price, remember when buying any book you are not paying for the physical costs of printing etc, you are paying for the effort that went into writing the thing. So digital or paper the costs are for the authors, illustrators, photographers (oh and a decent cut for the publisher).

And so it begins…

As was rumoured and eagerly anticipated, Games Workshop have announced (for pre-order) their new Apocalypse rules for Warhammer 40K.

Apocalypse

Apocalypse is a new way of playing games of Warhammer 40,000. Allowing you to field as many miniatures as you like, in any combination. There really are no limits to what you can do.

There are some new models and re-releases of older models (complete with corresponding price increase of course).

For Chaos there is the huge Khorne Lord of Skulls, which looks ridiculous, unless of course you are a Chaos player and like the bizarre and the weird.
For Necron there is the Tesseract Vault or Obelisk, which I do think is a really interesting and different concept. It’s not a tank or a flyer in the tradition sense, it’s something different.

For the Imperial Guard we have the BaneBlade, though I do think we’ve seen that before… 😉

In addition there are some scenery packs. Though I am not sure if these are new releases or re-releases.

Update yes there is new scenery.

As you might expect, slightly disappointed that there are no releases for the Orks, but you never know what might happen next month…

Stompa Conversion

This Stompa conversion incorporates a lot of different parts, the main are the Baneblade chassis instead of feet and the use of a Battlewagon as the head.

On display at GamesDay 2009
On display at GamesDay 2009

At  first I wasn’t sure about this conversion, but the more I look at the more I like it. I think the head does work very well.

I can quite easily imagine lots of Ork Meks working together on the hulk of an Imperial Guard Baneblade and building up the body of the Stompa before deciding that the partly destroyed Battlewagon that the Baneblade had taken out would look great as a head!

More photographs of Ork Stompaz.

Evil Eye in da Sky

Taken at GamesDay 2009.

Evil Eye in da Sky on display at GamesDay 2009.
Evil Eye in da Sky on display at GamesDay 2009

The mechanical monstrosity known to the Orks as the Evil Eye in da Sky is the insane creation of Big Mek Dakrok. The Evil Eye in da Sky is a Stompa, with a number of ‘Big Mek’s Speshuls’ added. These include extra and larger rokkits, a head-mounted supa-gatler, a belly-mounted deth kannon, and, most unusually, an unlikely system for transporting and launching its compliment of Deffkoptas.

Dakrok has become an expert of sorts in using the Deffkoptas to pinpoint enemy positions so that the Evil Eye’s rokkits can be zeroed in on the foe with unerring accuracy. It takes a particularly unhinged Ork to volunteer to pilot one of Dakrok’s Deffkoptas, but for many the chance to be propelled at breakneck speed from the Evil Eye’s launch ramp is just too exciting an opportunity to pass up.

Imperial Armour Apocalypse II arrived…

Yay. Well done Forge World, my copy of Imperial Armour Apocalypse II arrived this afternoon via UPS.

ap2cover

It’s another excellent product from Forge World, superb production quality. Full of great pictures and writing.

Imperial Armour Apocalypse II is a 112 page, full-colour hardback which provides comprehensive and updated descriptions, background and rules for using all of Forge World’s recent models in your games of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer 40,000 Apocalypse.

The book is packed with over fifty new Apocalypse datasheets accompanied by lavish photographs, ranging from legendary units like the mighty Reaver Battle Titan to the Daemon Lord Aetaos’rau’keres -Tzeentch’s Slayer of Souls. Included are new Forge World units such as the advanced Tau XV-9 Close Support Armour and the Lucius Pattern Dreadnought Drop Pod, new Apocalypse battle formations such as the savage Ork Mega-Rippa Krew and the lethal Eldar Death Web, and a few updated and unpublished datasheets as well. Also featured are an updated Apocalypse rules appendix, a unit index and some new optional Apocalypse rules and five new missions to play!

Was surprised to see in the Ork rules that Gunwagons can use the new Big Trakk rules.

It is available to order.

Imperial Armour Apocalypse II

Forge World have released a new book.

ap2cover

Imperial Armour Apocalypse II is a 112 page, full-colour hardback which provides comprehensive and updated descriptions, background and rules for using all of Forge World’s recent models in your games of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer 40,000 Apocalypse.

The book is packed with over fifty new Apocalypse datasheets accompanied by lavish photographs, ranging from legendary units like the mighty Reaver Battle Titan to the Daemon Lord Aetaos’rau’keres -Tzeentch’s Slayer of Souls. Included are new Forge World units such as the advanced Tau XV-9 Close Support Armour and the Lucius Pattern Dreadnought Drop Pod, new Apocalypse battle formations such as the savage Ork Mega-Rippa Krew and the lethal Eldar Death Web, and a few updated and unpublished datasheets as well. Also featured are an updated Apocalypse rules appendix, a unit index and some new optional Apocalypse rules and five new missions to play!

Looking good and available to order now.

Squiggoth

My Ork Squiggoth moving forward. This photograph was taken on my unfinished desert terrain boards, which as a result are a dark purple-red colour.

This is the Forge World model and is armed with a Forge World Kannon. I have been seriously thinking about getting another one, you can never have too much Heavy Support. I really ought to also finish off the howdah with some Ork krew and some grots hanging on.

You can see how I painted it in my workbench feature on the model.

Of course the rules for this model are not in the standard rules or the Ork Codex.

I use to use the Forge World supplements, but more recently I have been using the rules from Apocalypse.

Ork Big Mek with Big Shoota

This was part of the Apocalypse releases.

Having (eventually) got the model out of the blister you have a better idea of how many parts you get in there.

Ork Big Mek with Big Shoota

The next stage was putting it all together, I decided to put the whole model together as separate assemblies didn’t seem to be needed.

Ork Big Mek with Big Shoota

The rear view.

Ork Big Mek with Big Shoota

The next stage will be a black undercoat.

See the full workbench feature on the Ork Big Mek with Big Shoota.