Black Crusade 2012 - Charity Project

Hi Folks,
time for a cross post from http://blackcrusade2012.blogspot.co.uk/ and the launch of the 2012 charity project. this is a direct link from their site so please forgive me but this is definately something to take not of:

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2012 – The Black Crusade

Hello everybody and welcome to the Black Crusade 2012!

Over the next weeks, we will build and paint a massive Warhammer 40K Chaos Space Marine army just to give it away in a big raffle!

This year we decided that all contributions will benefit the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund, a charity that provides financial assistance to members of the public who are part of the gaming community and who have suffered personal hardship.

How does it work? Every dollar you contribute gives you a chance to be the lucky new army winner at the end of this drive. 10 dollars contribution =10 chances to win. 100 dollars = 100 chances... you get the idea.

In short: the more you contribute, the better your chances. More importantly, the more you contribute, the more you help to make the world a better place.

At the end of the drive, on August 10th, we will choose and announce the winner.

And of course we will have additional give-aways of all kind of gaming related goodies for you! The winners of those prizes will be drwan form everybody who donated tot hat point, so get your lots in early!

We will start to accept contributions on Monday, June 11th.

You want to do more?
Well, the more support we get, the better our army will be and the more money we can collect!
Beside contributing there are some other easy ways to support the Black Crusade:

- Spread the word!
Just talk about us. That's the most important part at all. The more people know about the Black Crusade, the more success it will have. Tell all your friends, talk about the Black Crusade on you favorite forum or post it on your blog!

- Become a sponsor!
We are still looking for donations for the army and for the weekly give-aways. No matter f you are a fellow hobbyist or a store owner, please just contact us under blackcrusade2012@gmail.com!

- Contribute to the army!
For the next couple of weeks we will consider offers to actively help us building the army. Everything from a single character to a Warlord Titan is welcome! Again,the bigger the army, the more success the Black Crusade will have. Golden Demon winners preferred :)

Again, just contact us under the email address above. to help us and feel free to ask any further questions.

Thank you for considering

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more details, action and the chance to donate and enter can be found here. I have already made my donation, have you?

Mondays Mirthful Meandering - 25.06.12

Horus Rising - 28mm

This is something that is just too cool not to share, gentlepeeps I give you Horus Rising - 28mm:

This was created by Ed Ralph and is shared via Neil Roberts and the GW Facebook page. Seriously too cool for words. There was a hint other covers may be getting done, i can only hope so :)

Forge World Newsletter #308 - Space Marine Spartan Assault Tank

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there, In this week’s newsletter we’re excited to announce that the Spartan is available to pre-order. This new kit is based on a Rogue Trader-era design, now brought up to date by sculpting legend Phil Stutcinskas. We’ve also got an events update for you as we are now accepting reservation orders for Games Day Germany.

Space Marine Spartan Assault Tank
An armoured transport of truly massive proportions, the Spartan is a heavy assault tank previously all but unknown outside of the revered Space Marine Chapters and the secretive Adeptus Mechanicus. The Spartan is a huge armoured conveyer, dwarfing even the hallowed Land Raider, whose purpose is to carry a large body of troops into the very heart of an enemy’s battle lines, weathering weapons fire that would be the death of any lesser vehicle.

Its design bears clear connections with that of the mighty Land Raider, and its genius is such that the greater proportion of its interior space is given over to a transport capacity greater than any other Imperial vehicle save the super-heavy Gorgons – being capable of carrying twenty-five power armoured Space Marines into battle. It is, however, considerably faster on the battlefield thanks to potent reactor-driven motive drives, and it posts an equally potent armament in the form of sponson-mounted quad lascannon batteries and secondary heavy bolters.

Many Space Marine Chapters maintain these huge war machines as part of their arsenal and deploy them into the most hellish and destructive warzones and battlefields, where even the mighty Land Raider would be torn asunder. Their greater transport capacity also finds particular favour amongst those Chapters who possess many suits of Terminator armour such as the Minotaurs.

The Spartan Assault Tank, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, is an enormous multi-part resin kit that features a detailed interior. Experimental rules to allow this armoured behemoth to be fielded in games of Warhammer 40,000 will be available to download soon, and the Spartan itself can be pre-ordered now for despatch from Friday 29th June.

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I can confirm now that if and when the mentors ever get started this bad boy will definatelty be joining their ranks, i dont even care if the guys let me field it, even at £95gbp I MUST HAVE!!! I remember converting on of these in my youth but this is soooo much better then my efforts ever were!



Machinator248 Chimera Conversion Kit - Product Review

Time for the blogs very first product review, I hope you all like and if you have any thoughts or suggestions please let me know. Each Section is marked out of 10 and then the marks fiddled about to give an overall mark for the item and seller, hope its of use. Enjoy:

The Machinator248 Pegasus Chimera Conversion Kit

Product Name: Pegasus Chimera Conversion Kit
Production Company: Machinator248 (ebay seller)

Price: £15gbp (at time of purchase)

General Summary:
The Pegusus Chimera Conversion kit is as suggested by the name a converion kit for the standard Imperial Guard Chimera Tank, this kit allows you to convert you Chimara to have a smaller troop area and set back turret, as well as an option to use a hi-tech looking turret, combine with a Standard GW Chimera this gives your tanks a unique look on the battlefield.

Review

Purchasing and Delivery:
Purchasing of the item was somewhat unusual, this kit was origionally availible online but after the usual shanninigans with non GW kits the only place to obtain this kit is via direct mail on Ebay. This email was quick, courteous and straightforward, at no point during the email did I feel like Machinator248 was going to run off with my money and all comms were asking me if everything was satisfactory. Payment was as expect via paypal and again everything was followed up in a timely manner.
Delivery was quick, around a week but considering it had to get to the UK this is often better then most GW/FW/BL packages.
SIDE NOTE: check out machinator248 on ebay for some very cool baneblade/shadowsword components amongst other things.
Result: 8/10

Packaging and Presentation:
The model was shipped in a nice padded envelope which initially I was worried about but on opening discovered that additional packagin material was included and this helped protect the model in transit. Personally I would have prefered a small card box or similar but i appreciate that this is not a business as such and is a side venture so I underrstand the need to keep costs down.
Prentationwise I wasnt expecting huge boxes or patterened bags, i was please however that every component had its own individual ziplock bag so everything had that extra bit of protection.
Result: 7/10

Quality of Materials and Manufacture:
Being a resin based conversion kit I was initially concerned with the quality of the models, both in terms of air bubbles, overcast and casting stalks. As you can see from the pics this need not have been the case:

There were no miscasts in the kit i recieved, casting points only had small lumps and for the most part all edges were sharp. The inclusion of a hatch to cover the hole in the lower hull was also a nice touch.
The details on the body are great, the rivets scale well with the Chimera ones and the large hatch is good as well. I am however not the biggest fan of the turret but have converted mine as a spare.
Result: 9/10

Ease of use and Scale:
As you can see from the above pictures the model needs little clean up and other then the usually wash for resin is workable straight away.
The kit is a great add-on for the current Chimera and really does add to the look, if you are starting an army this would be a great place to start for looking at alternatives, as I have an exsisitng for with Chimeras I choose this kit to add something familiar but different for my Inquisitors ride. One caveat the kit came with was that FW turrets dont fit, it has since turned out that this is not the case and as you can see from the pics below this kit works well with the chosen base tank:

As you can see a great model that works well with current GW Imperial Gaurd products and one that looks like it should have come from FW.
Result: 8/10

Value for money:
Most definately good value for money, given a similar kit from FW would cost at least £20-25gbp I personally cant fault it and feel it is worth the money, just because of the time it saves converting your own chimeras.
When you also factor in that you can buy the Imperial Guard Chimera Chasis sprue from Let the Dice Decide for £10 this makes the complete conversion only marginally more expensive then the standard Chimera.
Result: 8/10

Overall Rating and Final Thoughts
Overall a great kit and one that I am please I picked up, whilst it is only WIP so far I hope to feature the model more on the blog as it gets further on in its progression. The kit however is a great buy and would recommend it to anyone who is new to converting, resin and just wants something different with little to no hassle. A good solid product.
Result: 8/10

Escape from Baghdad - Book Review

Escape from Baghdad by James Ashcroft
Gun-for-hire James 'Ash' Ashcroft thought he'd left Iraq behind. Last time he only got out alive thanks to the bravery of his interpreter and friend Sammy. But now a call for help means Ash must once again face the chaos of war-torn Baghdad - and this time there's no pay cheque. Abandoned by the occupying Coalition Forces, Sammy and his family face certain death at the hands of the Shia-dominated Iraqi Police and the death squads that roam the streets unless Ash and his team can get in and get them to safety over the border. This is the action-packed story of their audacious escape from Baghdad. It is a gripping account of the chaos of war, where the only thing that can be relied upon is the bond between former brothers-in-arms.

Ex-Army captain turned contractor James Ashcroft was one of a team tasked to train a guard force to protect Iraq's water supply in the reconstruction free-for-all following the bombing of Baghdad. His 18 months tasking in company with tough of granite ex-Paras, SAS men and South African mercenaries is by turn humorously and movingly told in his first book Making A Killing.

His interpreter during this period was former Air Force pilot Sammy Mashooen, a Sunni Muslim. Wind forward two years and Mashooen finds himself on a Death List put out by his rival in the guard training programme, Colonel Ibrahim - a Shia, now in charge of the police force. Thanks to the politics of the new 'democracy, American authorities are unable to assist Sammy. Luckily, another old comrade-in-arms, the "good" Colonel McQueen, calls Ashcroft to explain the situation.

Ashcroft rounds up three former colleagues from his Making A Killing days and they return to Baghdad. As Making A Killing refers to making the big bucks they came home with after that first 18 months period, we now see the human side of these dogs of war who spend their own money to return and rescue Sammy and his family.

Secretly supported by American Special Forces, they acquire the arms and three vehicles and drive the family out of the city pursued by Colonel Ibrahim's Shia police and the Mahdi Army. They face suicide bombers, snipers and a full-frontal assault by scores of fanatics in a scene reminiscent of the robbery in Michael Mann's brilliant movie 'Heat' - this, by the way, before they even get out of Baghdad.

This is an edge of the seat, true life adventure that provides both a glimpse into the lives of the ordinary Iraqi, but also a close look at the lives of the men like Ashcroft who may appear 'mercenary' but have their hearts in the right place. Fast-paced and eye-opening, for any one who enjoys the genre, this book is unmissable. A solid four stars and much in keeping with the first book.

Available from:
http://www.play.com/
James Ashcroft
Paperback • ISBN 9780753519844

Know no Fear - Book Review

Know no Fear by Dan Abnett
Unaware of the wider Heresy and following the Warmaster’s increasingly cryptic orders, Roboute Guilliman returns to Ultramar to muster his Legion for war against the orks massing in the Veridian system. Without warning, their supposed allies in the Word Bearers Legion launch a devastating invasion of Calth, scattering the Ultramarines fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way. This confirms the worst scenario Guilliman can imagine – Lorgar means to settle their bitter rivalry once and for all. As the traitors summon foul daemonic hosts and all the forces of Chaos, the Ultramarines are drawn into a grim and deadly struggle in which neither side can prevail.

The latest in the book in the series depicting the Horus Heresy conflict that depicts the Ultramarines facing off against the Word Bearers and is penned by my favorite author Dan Abnett. The novel starts off with the Primarch of the Ultramarines - Roboute Guilliman, 13th son of the Emperor - returning to Ultramar and the planet Calth to gather almost the whole legion to launch against an Ork invasion of the Veridian system,  backed up by a large force of the Word Bearers

For any 40K fan the Battle of Calth is seen as one of the pivotal moments in the Horus Heresy. It is worth considering though that during the great crusade the Word Bearers and primarch Lorgar built up a reputation for their extremist religious views, idolising the Emperor and committing violent atrocities against those who were slow to adopt their beliefs. When the Emperor found out he ordered Guilliman and the Ultramarines to raze the whole city of Monarchia - which was known as the "perfect city" after the Word Bearers brought it into "compliance" and was seen as their proudest achievement. Lorgar and his entire Legion were then forced to kneel in the city's ashes before the Emperor and Guilliman. It's therefore not difficult to see why the Ultramarines were chosen for this fate, Lorgar and his Legion held a grudge ever since and saw this as the perfect opportunity to extract some revenge.

I liked the authors idea to write the narrative in the present tense, it's a brave move by the author but one that works remarkably well and makes the reader to really feel a part of the battle. I am quite overwhelmed at how the author manages to keep juggling all the separate elements, people, places and events that make up this epic battle - the narrative moving from one scene to the next without disorienting the reader; it's an impressive feat and one that deserves an applause.

I loved the fact that Abnett spends time personalising each and every character - even the minor ones that die moments later which gives a much richer and more personal feel to the battle, one that the reader is emotionally attached to. Even with all these cataclysmic events going on we still get treated to some real human touches such as Ventanus' attempts to protect those around him and the bitter-sweet tale of the fallen warrior who is lucky enough to be "reborn" as a Dreadnaught only to find himself hurtling toward the planet at terminal velocity after his ship is blown to pieces. My other favorite moments are the points at which not only does Abnett explain some of the idiosyncrasies of the Ultramarines (the red sergeant helmets for one) but he actually portraits this with humour and style that is often lacking in Black Library Marines.

The main protagonist is the Ultramarine progenitor Guilliman and his analytical mind, attention to detail, considered strategy and dry humour are amongst the highlights of the novel. Abnett does a brilliant job of portraying him as a "super-human" figure without it seeming over the top or condescending. This is then frames against Word Bearers launch a devastating attack, scattering the fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way, summoning a host of foul demon and the very forces of Chaos itself to aid their fight and described in language that could only be described as delicious.

Without doubt this is the best Horus Heresy novel to date and the way in which it is dealt with makes this my favourite Dan Abnett book too. In fact it almost cost me an Ultramarines army until I realised I could never portrait the amazing characters that have been brought to life in the novel. Without any shadow of a doubt, any apology or shame this novel gets a righteous and well deserved 5 out of 5 from me and only hope the next Ultramarines book is half as good.

Available from:
http://www.blacklibrary.com/
Dan Abnett
Paperback • ISBN 9781849701341

Forge World Newsletter #307 - MkIV Marine Command Set and Minotaurs Brass Etch

As always the important bits reproduced below:

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Hi there,
            This weeks’ newsletter features a MkIV Space Marine Command Set and a sheet of Etched Brass Minotaurs Symbols, both available to pre-order now. We’ve also got an events update for you, as July sees the beginning of the Games Day season, starting off with Games Days in Spain and North America.
           
MkIV Space Marine Command Set
Each Company in a Space Marine Chapter falls under the command of a Captain, a hardened veteran and a master strategist. These lords of war read the battlefield’s ebb and flow with enhanced reflexes and a post-human grasp of the ever-changing arena of combat in which they spend their lives.

In addition to his Chapter rank, each Captain may also bear additional honorific titles and epithets associated with both his deeds of valour and the Company he leads. Each is often accompanied by a Standard Bearer, carrying the battle-flag of the company, invariably steeped in history and heavy with the glories of the Chapter.

The MkIV Space Marine Command Set, designed by Mark Bedford, contains two multi-part resin models, allowing you to build a Space Marine Commander and Standard Bearer in MkIV ‘Maximus’ Armour.
This detailed set of miniatures is available to pre-order, for despatch from Friday 29th June.
 
Etched Brass Minotaurs Symbols The Minotaurs are a Space Marine Chapter of dark renown, infamous for their cold and brutal methods of war, their mastery of siege craft and their malign and bitter paranoia even when fighting alongside allies.

This sheet of Etched Brass Minotaurs Symbols, designed by Kenton Mills, contains 60 individual Chapter icons, blazons and symbols suitable for use on Space Marine infantry and vehicles from shoulder pads, greaves and chest plates to doors and other vehicle panels.

This detailed set of etched brass symbols is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 29th June.

Thanks, Ead Brown  Customer Service Manager Forge World

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really like the Space Marine commander and Bearer even if it is £25 for both but I like the pic below that shows both new products combine :)

Nice to see uses for the new products show, especially on two very nice models. very tempted to put them on my christmas wish list!

Battle Results - Update 08/06/2012

Time for the second Battle Results feature, this week saw only one battle between dan and chris for which iI hope to get up a report eventually. As a reulst of this here are the current results:

 

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MILLEST - Imperial Gaurd

P: 2

W: 1

L: 1

D: 0

CHRIS - Grey/Red Knights

P: 2

W: 1

L: 1

D: 0

DAN - Ultramarines

P: 3

W: 1

L: 2

D: 0

MIKE - Imperial Guard

P: 1

W: 1

L: 0

D: 0

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Again battle report coming soon I hope, along with our 750 expansions :D