Friday 5 Finds - 29.10.10

Well folks, this weeks 5 finds has a slight Halloweeny feel to it! A lot of undead and mutant action in this week so enjoy this spooktacular (sorry) edition:

1. Bell of Lost Souls have some entertaining kill team style rules for zombie games! well worth a download and definitely something to get the modelling minds tingling with excitement.
2. More undead warriors now with Winterdynes awesome Forge world Chaplain dreadnought, some nice tips and tricks and a subtly different colour scheme.
3. Next we have Strictly Averages mutant Chaos Space Marines, though whilst I say Chaos who knows but the man himself, there are some nice conversions and good use of the various plastic parts out there.
4. Up now we have the hordes of the Imperial Guard with Admiral Drax converting a nice little Chimera run about for his forces.
5. Finally over on Path of the Exodite we have an excellent scratch built Eldar Fighter, its clean lines almost redeem your eyes from the undead action above!

Here is this weeks Friday 5 Finds sneak peak pic:

Enjoy Folks and be safe if your out and about and up to ghoulish fun! I will probably be out and about too this weekend so not much to update during this time, all thats left to say is "see you all on monday and:

Hobby News - Plans for the Future - Space Marines et al!!

SPACE MARINES LEAD THE WAY!

Well folks after a hectic week of late nights at work, long days at work and real life I've finally got round to deciding the flavour of the future of my forces and it looks like there is a heavy leaning towards the forces of the Adeptus Astartes, hinted at by the rather awesome retro pic above (if this is your pic let me know and I will add a caption with credit).
This realisation of how things will be building up have led me down some interesting fluff and planning stages over the past few days. Not only will there be Marines but of course there will be Guard, there will be Inquisition and most importantly there will be different games and also terrain!
The main thing is though it has now allowed me to set a list of goals and plans to aim for. So listed here for your viewing pleasure are my plans for my forthcoming projects and models:

Marines

Red Hunters

• 2000+ red hunters force
• Red Hunter figure for my standard =I= retinue Mentor Legion

Mentor Legion

• Mentors legion squad representing Deathwatch
• Mentors Scouts (possibly as hardened veterans or platoon commanders) and a Space Marine Officer to representing =I= in the guard force as commanders.
• Mentor Legion Kill zone team
• Mentor Legion specialist for assigning to the Red hunters
• Mentor legion figure for my standard =I= retinue

Imperial Guard

• 2000+ guard force – 13th Lignum Iugo Expeditionary force (Inquisitional Detachment)
• 500-750 guard force – 303rd Gyppeswyck Rifles for pick ups or store tourneys as allies

Badab boarding games

• 750-1000 Loyalist force - undecided until after IA10
• 750-1000 Succesionists force - undecided until after IA10
• 750-1000 Astral Claws force from the IA9 list

Others
=I= Retinue
500pt Sisters of Battle force
Boarding Game terrain
Various Terrain

Obviously there is a hell of a lot of bits and peices there but patience and I'm sure I will manage to make head way on these, especially in the new year.

In the meantime however you guys can look forward to fluff and background not only on the Imperial Guard forces in the list but also for my Marine forces and my Inquisitor. So whilst it may not be fully modelling or painting at the minute (casting up GS pads for me and a few friends takes it toll on how much one can do) there will hopefully be plenty of bits and peices upcoming.
Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions and possible army lists are welcome so feel free to contact me using the button on the left or by leaving a comment below.

Have fun and be excellent to one another!!

Mondays Mirthful Meandering - 25.10.10

Imperial Armour 9: The Badab War – Part 1 - A Review

Imperial Armour 9: The Badab War – Part 1 - Alan Bligh et al.

Having just completed the latest Imperial Armour book from Forgeworld I thought it would be a good idea to treat you to a good in depth review, however someone already beat me to it. So rather then write something that pales in to comparison next to his work I thought i would check with him and then post it over here. so for the most impressive review of an Imperial Armour book to date check out the Collegia Titanica here:

Collegia Titanica: Full indepth and detailed Imperial Armour 9: The Badab War - Part 1 Review

As im sure you can appreciate the whole review above is superb. The detail is something I like and the points raised are good. I agree with the most part and find that I liked pretty much the same as most others. The issue many people seems to have is the Griffons and their alternative colour scheme, personally i like it and a mixed force of them would look good.
The main thing for me though was the rules on boarding action, basiaclly a poor mans vbersion of Space Hulk but will definately lead to some interesting games. the little idiosincracies it opens up and the scope for some decent terrain is great.
The other rules for the Tyrants Legion again open up some great modelling options and if on rechecking its an official list it to me is the best Inquisitonal list to date, personally its how i think Grey Knights should work. the inclusion of human guardsmen and unique marine squads makes it a list worth seeing.
The book has certainly made me reconsider my upcoming projects, and depending on part 2 looks like i could be a very busy and poor individual in the new year. Tomorrow i will try to post some preliminary lists and ideas i have for forces for the new year.

Overall the book is amazingly well put together and bar the odd spelling mistake the fluff is excellent. the rules for the most part seem well rounded and the "new aspect" to the game play makes it work. Linked with the awesome artwork and the new models Forgeworld have released this book gets a solid 5 out of 5 from me! Well done Forgeworld!!

Availible from:

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk
Imperial Armour 9: The Badab War – Part 1 - Alan Bligh et al.
Hardback, 208pp

Mondays Mirthful Meanderings - 18.10.10

DUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hunt for Voldorius - Book Review

Hunt for Voldorius - Andy Hoare
Captain Kor'sarro Khan of the White Scars is petitioned by his Chapter Master to hunt down and destroy the daemon prince Voldorius, a warleader of the renegade Alpha Legion, thus ending his reign of terror across the stars. Hunting the beast doggedly for over a decade, Kor'sarro finally brings Voldorius to battle on Quintus, a world that has totally given itself over to the Alpha Legion. Together with their Raven Guard allies, the White Scars must fight an entire planet if they are to slay the daemon prince.

CAUTION MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

The latest in the Space Marine battle series from the Black Library sees the White Scar join forces with the Raven Guard in the pursuit of the Alpha Legion and the Daemon Prince Voldorius!


The course of the book and the background on the White Scars makes a nice change from the normal fluff and the established chapters we see. The fluff hints at more to come and gives us an insight in to Games Workshops very own Mongols in space. The chapter is well portrayed and the ideology they follow certainly comes to the fore in the main, however as with all Space Marines they are after all Space Marines. So with that in mind there is the inevitable Cookie cutter characters, the silly duels and the headlong charges, but then again why do we buy novels and stories about Space Marines if not for these things!

The book initially sets out with a nice piece setting the scene and the background to the White Scars eternal hunt that really sets it up as a story and shows that often marines do things for their own reason rather than at the beck and call of the high lords. This scene setting opens up the first part of the novel which features just the White Scars pursuing Voldorius and the Alpha legion. The novel concentrates initially on the pursuit and how the Scars use their forces to pursue and gather information and evidence, ultimately culminating in the much hoped for battle.

Later after the novel follows the clues and looks in to the resources the marines use to allow them to trace their nemesis we meet the Raven Guard who are ever elusive in the novel, the information we find on them and their chapter isn’t unknown but certainly takes a slightly different turn, oddly though much of it is revealed to us by the White Scars rather than by the Raven Guard themselves!

Once the two chapters join forces there is much suspicion amongst them but they join forces to pursue a common goal, one which the Raven Guards own agenda seems at times like it may endanger. The Raven Guard also reveal how they are willing to use local resources and normal humans to help achieve their goal, something that is rarer in other Black Library fiction. This plays out to show another facet of the book and shows how normal people are coerced or forced in to siding with the forces of chaos, something that is often left from the core of other stories. The way this and the ancient weapon/prisoner are dealt with is a nice departure from the normal flow of a Space Marine novel and helps break up the story.

I don’t want to give too much way with this but it’s obvious what will happen and it’s clear that the Marines will triumph right from the start, the difference is that not everything is as it should be. The characters aren’t as great as they should be, Shryke for instance is far from impressive as a character, his presence is under whelming but his combat prowess is undoubted, the same could be said of the White Scars leaders and officers. If anything the two most substantial characters in the novel are Voldorius and the Equerry once she is selected. That to me is a worrying decision to make these characters so important in a Space Marine novel.

As for the writing of the book there is an odd pace to the book, one that seems steady for the most part but at the right moments picks up speed and your reading pages at break neck speed. To me this is an excellent way of using the prose to show the sedate pace of the Scars when they are at rest but when in battle the break neck speed in which the writing flows illustrates the thirst for battle they experience and the thrill of the hunt. On the reverse of that when dealing with the Raven Guard Andy Hoare uses rather vague language and often doesn’t nail a point down, this helps with the painting of the Raven Guard as an elusive and secretive chapter. Finally when dealing with the Chaos aspect of the book it’s much more savage prose and plainer in its language for the most part. This mixing of the various styles and the descriptive language really helps paint more of a picture of the chapters in the novel then the actual characters manage to do.

This exciting mixture of styles and prose really makes what would have almost being a substandard novel in to a good solid read for me, certainly not one to miss from the collection, mind you would you miss one from the series? I know I wouldn’t just because it is a series! Overall a good novel and one with some nice touches to paint the pictures, such as the styles of writing, but unfortunately the characters left me slightly underwhelmed. On the reverse side it was nice to have two lesser written about but still well known chapters appear in a novel, that combined with some of the action in the book makes this a solid 4 stars for me and saves it from the 3 star rating it would otherwise have received.

Availible from:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/
Hunt for Voldorius - Andy Hoare
softback, 416pp • ISBN 9781844165131

Friday 5 finds - 15.10.10

A Day late and a dollar....extra??? Today I have your 5 finds plus a link to a chance to win some goodies! This week there is a mix of flavours, from the Emperors finest to the lap dogs of chaos, so enjoy!

1. Bell of Lost Souls have an interesting little rumours update for the potential new Grey Knights codex, interesting little bit but who knows what might happen in coming months!
2. Dark Future Games have some rather awesome looking Choas Space Marine Khornate cavalry on display, some very nice little details.
3. Galaxy in Flames have their take on a Space Sharks make over, finally a camoflagued marine that actually seems to work, almost worthy of a look in itself!
4. Mini Swelter have some more updates on their project to electrify and light up a thunderhawk, this is definately one to follow.
5. Kens 40k also has the start of a nice looking Imperial fists force and helpfully provides a few links and details on how to paint a good yellow.

Finally time for you extra link of the week! Dragon Forge Design have a post up at present asking what buyers and fans would like to see as well as a chance to win some of their bits and pecies. so head on over for your chance to win!

• Dragon Forge Designs comment to win competition!

Friday 5 Find Picture of the week:

Mirthful Meanderings - 13.10.10

Due to being away on Monday its time for a smutty one to cheer every one up!
enjoy or condemn, your choice :)

Friday 5 finds - 08.10.10

This weeks five finds is a week early as this weekend I am on a small tour of Northern Cathedral cities, visiting York and Lincoln. Plenty of opportunities for visiting different GW stores and of course for seeing some rather tasty Gothic architecture. May even have a few pics.
Anyway heres this weeks 5 finds:

1. First this week we have a post on Bolter and Chainsword where Badaboom shares some of his artwork for the B&C Dornian Heresy fluff. Other pics are in there for fantasy and other 40k stuff but the Blood Angel is superb.
2. Commisar bob has his first test mini complete for his take on the Blood pact from the Gaunts novels, the Plague Pact, a very nice take with some simple ideas.
3. Awakening yennead has a rather tasty looking Vendetta on his blog with some superb detailing, makes a great looking peice and would certainly look good for an Inquisitional force.
4. Cyborg trucker has a little review of the new Quantum Gothic defence weapons. I must say they look rather tasty and certainly will fit in with the imagery of 40k so looks like I might end up ordering some.
5. Finally our comedy touch, Defending humanity has some pics of his clown ogres, amusing and quite well pulled off.

Finally a new bit to add to the Friday 5 Find here is a peak at one of the links from above to tempt you in to reading them:

Enjoy Folks

Hobby Tips - Green Stuff Moulding and Casting Tutorial

Hi Folks,
Today is the first in an infrequent series on the various hobby tips I've picked up or developed over my time playing and modelling. Hopefully for some people this might be useful but for those of you that are old hats at this modelling malarkey please feel free to offer tips and suggestions as to how to improve my tutorials and the techniques I use. Also as a heads up as I'm still only at the modelling stage of my current project most of my first tutorials will deal with this, painting will come later.

I've been asked a few times in the past how I recreate some of the icons I've used, how to replicate an icon from a shoulder pad or even how to cast an item off a flat piece for use else where. So I decided to make my first tutorial a quick guide on Moulding and Casting with Green Stuff.

To begin moulding and moving on to casting you will need a few items and I have cut my list down to the bear minimum for speed and cost. To make a successful mould you will need:

• The Item you wish to mould
• Blank Shoulder pads or items you wish to cast on to
• Green Stuff
• Cutters
• Hobby Knife
• Kitchen roll/towel
• An old paint brush
• Tweezers
• Some kind of lubricant

As you can see from the list and the picture this is not a huge list and certainly only covers basic simple push moulds rather than two part moulds. Once you have all these bits assembled you can then start on the following step by step guide on how to create a mould and then cast the icons in question:

• First job is really simple, all you need to do is decide on the the items you wish to cast, in this case I will be using the two shoulder pads that Ron over at ++From The Warp++ sculpted for me for the Red Hunters and the Mentor legion. Using these is twofold, 1- they aren't produced by GW so don't break any copyright and 2- I need them for my upcoming marine forces. Once you have the items its prudent to check them over and remove any flash on the pad and tidy up any rough areas on them to help produce a smooth lift from the mould, this is illustrated below:

• Next step is to measure out the green stuff you require to cover the whole front of the pad to a depth of around 3mm and to give an excess all the way around the rim of the pad to roughly 3-4mm, this is a ball of roughly 1-1.5cm in diameter. Leaving an excess round the edge gives you something to hold on to when removing the pads and the depth assists when you start casting later and means you don't end up pushing the green stuff through the front of the mould. As you can see from the picture below I do a little extra prep on my green stuff:
  
  As you can see from the picture I have cut the amount required, I have then cut the thin strip out where the two separate parts of the GS meet. This is something I recommend doing to help give a smoother putty to work with. I have found that sometimes if you have an older batch of GS the section where the two colours joins has often started to cure, by removing this it makes it easier to kneed the GS and gives a smoother finish, slightly wasteful I know but we're going for results here!

• Once you have mixed your GS the next step is to take your Old Paintbrush and use it to apply a liberal coat of lubricant to the front of the item you wish to cast. There are various types of lubrication you can use but I personally recommend anything water based, this makes it easier for washing off later and means you can make other moulds or even paint on to the item easier.

• Once liberally coated the next step is to push your pad in to the freshly mixed GS, I start by making a rough ball of GS and slowly pushing the pad face down in to the top of the ball. I make my best effort to get the centre of the icon in to the very top of the ball, this just makes sure the GS covers and fills the detail of the icon and helps locate the pad in the center of the GS, once completed the pushing the mould should look like this:
  
  As you can see at the top and sides I have left a 3-4mm overlap with the GS coming well clear of the edge of the pads, this gives me something to grip for removal and something to push against later for casting.

• Once you have finished the pads you should leave the moulds in a warmish place for 36+ hours, as I knew these would be getting some punishment I left them for just over 48 hours just to ensure they were fully set and rock hard, do not remove the pads from the moulds before this time as it means they do not support themselves properly and are likely to deform.

• Once this period for setting has elapsed you can then remove the pads from the moulds, to do this you can use your cutters, tweezers or fingers to grip the pads and pull, there is also still some give in the GS so you can at least try to tease it from the edges of the pads. Once done you should be left with something like this:
  
  I would then recommend leaving the moulds for a further 12-24hours to make sure the inside of the mould which was protected from the air by the pad and lube has fully cured. This isn't necessary but its a useful suggestion to prolong the life of the moulds

• Now the mould making process is complete you can begin on the casting. This is where you will need you blank shoulder pad. The first step is to mix up a small amount of GS as shown here:
  
  As you can see from the 6mm airsoft BB in the picture the ball of GS required is somewhere between the size of a Space Marine Shoulder pad and a 6mm BB.

• Step one of the actual moulding process is to take the mould you wish to use and cover the relief image of the icon and all of the internal part of the mould with lubrication:
  
  Feel free to be fairly liberal with the amount you use as any excess lubrication should squeeze out when you start the push casting.

• Next take your ball of GS and push it in to the mould gently, to ensure I roughly cover the whole of the icon before I start on the pushing I put a small amount of lube on the round end of the paint brush and push the GS gently until I end up with this:
 
as you can see this doesn't quite cover the whole of the inside of the mould and is still pretty uneven but this will be rectified soon.












• THIS STEP IS PURELY OTIONAL - this step can be used if you want to make sure you are covering the icon but is not required. If you would like to make sure it is covered then take your old brush and with the round end use it to gently push the GS to cover the icon impression. If you have found you havent put enough GS in you can add more at this point to cover the icon and repeat the brush push stage. one thing to note is that this step can occasionally cause slippage so personally i wouldnt recommend it be some people find it useful.

 

• Once you have done this place the shoulder pad in to the GS and gently push, you should then end up with this:
 
As you can see the excess GS and lubrication has started to be pushed out from around the mould and the pad.










• Next take the mould and the kitchen roll/towel, place the mould on the roll/towel with the pad facing down (if the pad was uncovered you would expect to see the icon facing up towards you. Then gently apply pressure to the mould and push down as hard as possible but slowly and gently. keep this up for 30 seconds to 1 minute and you should have like below:
  
  here you can see the excess lubrication and GS has being fully squeezed to the side of the pad and should be completely pushed in to the icon.

• Once this is completed you should now have a small amount of GS left over from what you moulded up, I personally use this to make rudimentary sandbag shapes for future terrain, you should therefore be left with this:
 
there seems to be a lot of excess GS sticking out from the mould but this is actually more of a bonus than it seems as it means you now have something to grip to help remove the cast from the mould.




• This step is nice and simple, leave the pads in the moulds for 24-48 hours to allow the GS to set and to make sure the icon stays crisp.

• After letting the GS set you can then use your cutters, tweezers or fingers to grip the pads and pull, this sometimes removes the pad and the GS cast, often though it will just remove the pad and leave the icon in the mould. If the pad takes the icon with it I then use my tweezers to grip the excess GS and remove the icon from the pad, if it doesn't take the icon with it I use the tweezers to remove the icon from the pad by the excess. Once removed from the mould or pad you should have this:
  
 
As you can see there is an awful lot of overflow but its very thin and easily removable with either cutters or a hobby knife.
• The next step is to clean up the icons and if needed remove a small amount of GS from the rear of them, rinse them to remove any lube and then stick them on appropriate shoulder pads. Personally I wait until I have cast all the pads I need of a type before I tidy them up and mount them on pads.

Well folks there we have it the step by step guide on making icons for short runs of pads or the odd character. I hope this is of use to someone and gives you a good basis for future modelling projects!

As I need lots of both icons and pads my next tutorial will deal with making a silicon mould for casting larger numbers of self sculpted or custom sculpted pads, this is why there are no finished pads above but tune in again soon when once I have completed an additional 5 Red Hunters pads I will then show you how to make moulds of them for a more production line casting process.

Any questions, tips or requests feel free to drop me a line.

**Please Note to comply with the GW copyright rules (and to cover my arse!) this is only to be used for casting either self sculpted or commissioned icons or casting icon that are part of a larger item - please do not use this to cast and replicate parts or icons that are readily available from Games Workshop**

Imperial Armour 9 Badab War & Sabbat Worlds Anthology

Well folks despite a shocking few days at work it seems that today is an exciting day after all! I returned home not only to find the Sabbat Worlds anthology from the Black Library on my mat but also my copy of the Imperial Armour 9! First impressions are they look great and I'm looking forward to reading them (shame I'm a third of the way through Hunt for Voldorius and I'm away this weekend but still their time will come!) and as always the books have a great finish.

Once they were unpacked and all dribbled over I have had a flick through them both. Sabbat Worlds looks like a rip roaring collection of different stories from all around the Sabbat Worlds area, most importantly there is not just one Ghosts story, but two! So that looks good. Plenty of other good stuff from Nick Kyme and the like.
Then had a quick flick through the Imperial Armour 9, some interesting sections, lots and lots of fluff as well as some great colour schemes and details on iconography, however the most pleasing thing for me was this:

Yep, I've been lucky enough to get it signed again! That means if I remember rightly that so far I'm fully signed on all my FW books, including aeronautica. As I know I'm not going to get much chance to read this for a few days and I suspect I'm lucky enough to be amongst the first few to get it here is a picture of the contents page and if anything on it interests you or you would like to know more let me know and I'll see what information I can give you (however I wont copy pages as I wouldnt want to breach GW copyright) so here it is:

Enjoy and let me know if there is anything you'd like to know.

Mondays Mirthful Meanderings - 04.10.10

Enjoy

Fear the Alien - Book Review

Fear the Alien - Edited by Christian Dunn

The Imperium of Man has many enemies among the stars, but none are reviled so much as the alien. Dangerous races seek to destroy humanity wherever they turn –the brutish orks, the ravening hordes of the tyranid, the unrelenting necrons and the mysterious forces of the tau and the eldar. Across the universe, humanity and their defenders, the Space Marines, seek to eradicate these xenos threats. Yet all they can hope for is another day of survival – for to stand against the alien is to enter an unending war... Featuring stories by Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Nick Kyme, Juliet McKenna, C.L. Werner and many more, Fear the Alien is an unmissable collection for fans of Warhammer 40,000 and military science fiction.

• Gardens of Tycho by Dan Abnett
• Fear Itself by Juliet E. McKenna
• Prometheus Requiem by Nick Kyme, a companion story to the Tome of Fire trilogy
• Mistress Baeda's Gift by Braden Campbell
• Iron Inferno by C.L. Werner
• Sanctified by Mark Clapham
• Faces by Matt Farrer
• Unity by James Gilmer
• The Core by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, a companion story to the Night Lords trilogy
• Ambition Knows No Bounds by Andy Hoare
  
  
  

WARNING THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Gardens of Tycho – Dan Abnett

The novel opens with a short story by one of the Black Library’s literary heavy weights. As you would expect from Mr Abnett the story is a good old fashioned detective story with the normal warhammer 40000 twists and characters. The novel explores a world in the aftermath of a civil war against chaotic forces. Plenty of action and interesting imagery as well some surprises. My only problem with the story, it’s not an “alien” in the normal sense of the word but in the context the novel still works and really puts you in mind of some of the Tanith stories, a great start and one that reminds us all why Mr Abnett is the standard bearer for the Black Library.

Fear Itself – Juliet E. McKenna

The guard and Tyranids go head to head in the second story in the book in defence of an imperial outpost. The story follows the trials of an imperial guard medic as he holds the men together as they hold back the alien tide. The story is well written but as always with guard the outcome and story are a little bit formulaic. The language isn’t in the same park as Mr Abnett but it does more enough than enough to get you involved with the story and makes you want to find out how the story ends.

Prometheus Requiem – Nick Kyme
Given this novel is meant as a tie in to the salamanders series Nick does an excellent job at writing a short story that holds its own. It pulls a little on the events of the previous novel but makes itself its own story by throwing enough new information and events in. as always Nicks style is fast paced and holds your attention right to the moment the last bolter shell impacts.

Mistress Baeda’s Gift – Braden Campbell
This is the first story in the book that is written truly from the alien perspective and is a story of love, loss, betrayal and anguish from the point of view of the Dark Eldar. To say too much about this story would ruin it suffice to say this one has some really humorous (though that’s possibly my sick sense of humour) moments that make it all the more entertaining and certainly don’t make it seem as alien as it possibly could or should.

Iron Inferno – C L Werner
Orks against Guard in an exciting stealthy ork infiltration. The story highlights the differences in the way humans and orks think and looks at how both sides prepare for war. The story isn’t the fastest and it isn’t the punchiest story in the novel but that slow build up and deliberately slow language make the story build up to the climax exceedingly well. A very good short story and one different from the most common portrayals of orks and guardsmen!

Sanctified – Mark Clapham
The dark elder make a second appearance in the book aboard an Imperial Navy ship. This story takes a look at their methods of infiltration and coercion as well as their ultimate downfall. It’s another very short story where when if I say more it would ruin the story. It certainly flows well and works from different angles and is a different take on the Dark Eldars approach to everything.

Faces – Matthew Farrer
A rather confusing and fluid story this book deals with the elder and their mythology through a very unexpected source. The book looks at how the harlequins take on their roles and play out the eternal myths of the Eldar in different ways. A good if somewhat highly confusing story and one that give more information on the elder, would have worked as a good tie in to the Path of the Warrior novel.

Unity – James Gilmer
Guard and Raven Guard outwit the Tau and Kroot in the next story. A nice if what slow paced story detailing their journey. The story deals well with some of the more well known background of the two xenos species and expands very well on the information on the kroot in particular. The story deals with it well but to be honest the whole story is full of stereotypes and little moments that don’t work, but somehow the story comes out as not too bad in the end.

The Core – Aaron Dembski-Brown
The second main stream tie in here deals with the Night Lords. The story looks at them raiding a space hulk for information. There are unsurprisingly appearances from the Genestealers and more surprisingly from the Salamanders. The story is well written and like the other Night Lords novels it links too shows that the Chaos Space Marines aren’t all the blood thirsty mental killers we expect – though a huge number are – and it shows how they value knowledge and skill. The Appearance of the Genestealers is almost treated incidentally and personally I think this story, whilst excellent, would have fitted better in to either a Chaos Space Marine Compilation or as part of another Night Lords novel, not in an alien story compilation. Still some good hints at the origins of Genestealers and how they interact with one another.

Ambition Knows No Bounds – Andy Hoare
This is the story of an aspiring Rogue Trader and Necrons! There’s one surprise appearance and some moments when the story just makes you think “WHAT??” but other than that it’s an interesting read and plays well upon the accepted Necron imagery and their tombs. A good story that would work well as a prequel to something bigger and better. Also looks like Andy Hoare is developing in to a bit of a Necron writer so who knows what we might see coming soon.

Overall I was pleased with the book but something in it just let it down for me, I can’t explain it and I don’t know why but for me the book only rates a 3 star on my scale. It could be that I’m expecting it from the alien point of view, it could just be I couldn’t get in to the book but to me if you like warhammer 40000 short stories it’s worth adding to the collection but if your only mildly interested don’t rush and grab it just yet.

Available from:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/
Fear the Alien - Christian Dunn
softback, 416pp • ISBN 9781844168941

Friday 5 Finds - 01.10.10

This weeks Five Finds are from the past two weeks as I've been a little remiss of late.

1. Dave Taylor has put up some excellent and highly detailed pics of the Adeptus Custodes army he is selling off for charity. Dave is one of my favourite hobbyists and has inspired many of my projects and keep and eye for my homage to his guard in coming months.
2. From Ron over at From The Warp we have an excellent and highly detailed Dark Apostle conversion, Ron's step by step pics are something I would like to emulate in the future.
3. Heresy Workshop have this simple but effective converison of a Renegade Ogryn with a ripper gun, this shows well how a simple conversion can work.
4. Heresy Legions have some pics of their completed pre heresy Apothecary from their Rogue Trader homage.
5. Finally we have a link to the Wolf templars blog where they have some very cool conversions based on the new Forgeworld marks of armour. Very nice work.

Finally to make up for the lack or recent posting here are two additional links that I thought you all might enjoy:

• Another link to Dave Taylors blog, this time this link shows his excellent conversion of the primarch of the Space Wolves, Leman Russ.
• Sadoukad has an excellent post about his latest give away for his Copperhead Valkyrie and his link to the BFG bits store