Well, as school ends and summer begins, there is no better time than now to take a moment and reflect on how this blog, and the projects covered in this blog have progressed. I’d also like to take a look at myself, and see how much I’ve progressed.

Improvements

One thing I’d like to include more is project pieces, where I would write about a specific project that I was working at this very moment. Right now, most of my articles are more spur of the moment things; I’d like to create a series that follows one specific army over the course of it’s creation, and it’s eventual completion.

I also would like to be more active in my updates, as to when it comes to how often I post, and what I post. While I may be distracted right now, I think that when the pandemic ends, I will hopefully have more freetime to write and work on my hobby. But we’ll have to wait and see when and if that happens.

I’d also like to expand my articles to cover more wargames and hobby projects, rather then just Games workshop products and games. I would especially like to take a deep dive into more indie products, like 9th Age and Warhammer 9th Edition project. I also at some point want to collect a Infinity army, despite not having much of a playerbase nearby.

Promotion & Experiences

I think I’ve done a decent enough job promoting this blog; I’ve posted every post onto my Twitter, and I have shared this on my Facebook as well. I’ve gotten most of my traffic from Facebook. If I more aggressively pushed this on other sites, such as Instagram, this could increase my traffic if coupled with more frequent posting on Facebook.

I could also be more reactive to new releases, and more attentive to following breaking news. By being more flexible and faster, I could gain more traffic from people coming to me looking for new takes and perspectives on recent wargaming releases.

My favorite moment so far while running this blog has been how much people liked my first post I forwarded to my local wargaming group. Seeing the positive reinforcement really felt great, and has made me want to continue this blog even once the semester has ended. If I can get such a good reaction from something so simple, I think with even more work, I could really get a even greater reaction from people.

The Future

In the future, I think having a word-press and having experience with Word Press will be a very fruitful skill. The ability to make a website so quickly, so effectively, and so rapidly seems like a wondrous ability in this modern age, where everything and everyone needs a online presence to succeed on a large scale and compete in the market.

Even if I don’t have to work with WordPress in the future, I think the experience of operating and creating content using a blog will be vital, regardless of where I end up while working in the sphere of professions that is Mass Communications.

Stats

Overall, the most views I have gotten is 23 views and 17 Visitors on March 23rd through 29th, which was a page that was covering the upcoming releases and reveals that Games Workshop was tauting for their game ranges. This was also the first article I posted on my Facebook page, which meant a larger audience than any others. While I received no comments on WordPress, I did get a few positive comments on Facebook.

The page itself got 18 Views and 14 visitors, all on the day that I posted it on Facebook. Overall, I was surprised by how many people looked at it, and didn’t even look at the reveal page provided by Games Workshop.

At the end of the day, I am very optimistic about this blogs future! Once we return to a sense of normalcy, I am eager to continue posting on this blog.

Howdy folks, and welcome to this little run-by of GW’s online reveals! And there are certainly some ups, and certainly some mehs, but there’s only one way to get it done, and that’s to dive in!

The Lumineth Illuminates!

Following in fashion to their last apperance, the Lumineth decided to go all out with their release, offering a similar starter box and battletome combo that the Sisters of Battle had when they released. Giving you a core of their foot soldiers, some cavalry, and the hero known as the Light of Eltharion, this seems to be a good way to get your foot into the door with these rather dapper lads. Also included are some funky dice, and a limited edition battle tome, and the accustomed rulers and tokens. Overall, a nice little reveal. We also got a new look at the Lumineth rules, showing us a bit of how they function; their special rule lets them activate two units to fight instead of once, which is pretty excellent.

We also get a look at the latest Lumineth hero! And she certainly is something! She’s a stunning figure, standing there ontop of a rock. Known as a Scinari Cathallar, she evidently takes in emotions from her fellow Lumineth, and uses them against her enemies. While she is a excellent model, I do think her features are a little silly and too cartoonish. If you removed the weird head piece and weird girdle, she’d be way cooler. Also, I will admit, there seems to be a lot of missing units for Lumineth, making me wonder where their more basic heros have gone off to, since all we’ve seen so far are these little support casters.

Psychic Awakening: Pariah!

Kicking things off for Psychic Awakening, we get Ephrael and her strange clown friend Kyganil! Characters of the famous comic book that this Psychic Awakening title shares, Pariah, they are pariahs from their own group. So they’re Pariahs from Pariahs featuring in a book named Pariahs, where they may fight the enemies known as Pariahs. Huh. What a weird pariah of a sentence that was. Either way, I think both of these models are quite good, although Ephrael looks a bit like she’s going super saiyan. But what good are (sort of) heros if there’s no (sort of) villain to fight? Enter, Szera!

Also featuring in Pariah is a Necron Pariah of sorts- No, not the old school kind! Szera, the Necron behind the bio-transference of the entire Necrontyr race into the Necrons proper, has long been set on “improving his work.” However, I must say, this new model is rather good. I do like how dominating and powerful he seems, and how he actually looks to be manipulating psychics itself to eviscerate his test-subject. While he may need a bit of trimming here and there, he certainly has a lot more good than bad in my eye.

Also featuring is Kyra Draxius, a new inquisitor, and a radical one at that! Carrying a shuriken rifle, she seems to be a bit on the bald side. But that’s fine, that’s what helmets are for.

BIG BOYS, BIG BOYS, WHATCHA GOONA DO?

Big.

Flippin.

Giants.

The Sons of Behemat have arrived, and boy, are they MASSIVE! Known as mega-gargants, these guys seem like they are massive damage dealers! While the exact abilities of these guys seem different, it’s pretty easy to see that they all share the same kit, and come with oodles of bits and bobs to play around with. Other information also suggests that they will be able to be allied into every other army. Hm, where have I heard this one before? *Cough, imperials knights, Cough*

Blood Bowl

Snotlings and Treemen. Even I’m not sure what to make of this one. While I think the Snotlings are hilarious, and they do certainly look good, I have to wonder if having two joke armies in a row is all that successful. Although, considering they some how made an even harder army to play then Halflings, I’m not sure there’s anything that’s out of the realm of possibility for this game now.

Horus Heresy: Hero’s Galore!

In the age of the Horus Heresy, there are plenty of new hero sculpts to be had!

First up, the Word Bearers got two new Captain models, and I must admit, I do have a bit of bias towards them. Word Bearers are probably my most favored of marines, and thus, they get brownie points for being awesome satanist space marines that summon scary demons. I love the candles on this dudes armor, and the braziers on both his weapon and mace. It really gives you the feeling that his dude is a walking church.

On the other hand, nothing screams loyalty louder then Saul Tarvitz, captain of the loyalist Emperor’s Children on Istivaan 3. As commander of the loyalists trapped upon that doomed world, it was Saul who fought until the bitter end against his traitorous brothers. Although he did fall thanks to the betrayal of Lucius, Saul was one of the first Space Marines in the Horus Heresy to even get rules! So its about time he got a suitably awesome miniature, showing him in a commanding, powerful pose, that shows his marshal discipline along with his expert sword handling.

Blackstone Fortress

Blackstone Fortress is getting a new expansion! Besides the almighty ZOAT, this one is going to add even more dangerous enemies, new tiles for players to fight through, plenty of missions and choices, and a brand new enemy type; lets just say those drones you’ve been killing has some mommies, and they are not pleased about you killing their children.

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Phew! And thats only just a fraction of what is coming out! To check out the reveals themselves, click here! And here! And check out my twitter for more upcoming articles!

Deep below the tides, hidden in the darkest of crags, and amongst volcanic ridges, there you will find the lords of the deep, rulers of their hidden kingdoms. There, you will find the Idoneth Deepkin; the masters of the storm and reavers of souls. These half-souled aelfs are the undisputed masters of the Mortal Realm’s oceans, and have ruled in secrecy for thousands of years, protected by their potent magics, remote locale, and force of arms. But who are these pallid coast-bound figures? To answer that, you must take a (deep) dive into their background.

The Origin

The origin of the Deepkin is that like many of those who inhabit the mortal realms; for to find their beginning, one must look to the end. The end of the old world, that is. As the Chaos gods devoured the World That Was, Slaanesh alone greedily ate of the Elven souls, scouring the underworlds and surface for every last morsel of Elf. But, for a time, some remained hidden beneath the seas, protected by the maritime elven god, Mathalann. However, despite his strength, even he was obliterated by the forces of Chaos, swallowed whole with his charges into the gut of Slaanesh, doomed to torment for eternity.

The Rebirth

However, death and consumption was not the end for these souls; for although they had been swallowed whole, salvation was not yet beyond them. Through the machinations of the gods Teclis and Malerion, and their servants, Morathi and Tryion, the god of pleasure was entrapped within mystical sub-realm, and forcibly had the souls pulled from it’s very essence. The first of these souls would go to Teclis, and he created them the Cythai, or Awakened. Creating new forms for them to inhabit, Teclis taught to them war and art, and the finer things of civilization. However, the trauma of Slaanesh’s violent consumption left an inescapable sense of dread and paranoia within the Cythai; growing distrustful of their master, the Cythai took precautions. Teclis, displeased by his children’s disobedience, scoured their minds, driving the Cythai away in terror. Although his brother, Tyrion, helped cool Teclis’ rage, the damage was done. Fleeing from their lords, the Cythai hid in the farthest reaches of the realms, and hid below the crushing weight of the sea.

The Withering

Beneath the waves of the Mortal Realms, the Idoneth, as they had decided to rename themselves, began to recreate their civilization. The beasts of the deep were tamed through magic wards of binding, and the crushing water was made breathable and livable through careful manipulations of magic. Indeed, it seemed as if the Idoneth had finally found a place where they could thrive and be at peace, as the cold crushing water drowned out their fears and thoughts. But, as they began to bare forth their next generation, tragedy struck; it seemed that the curse of Slaanesh was far more over-powering then had prior been known. Children of the Cythai were born with shredded, withered souls, leaving them to die in a dreamless, unending sleep. Only 1 in 100 Idoneth born were free of this horrid fate, as the rest were malformed, weak and frail in comparison to their luckier kin. Racing to find a form of salvation, the Cythai discovered that by melding the souls of other races into their withered souled children, they could alleviate the malady. Although, this was no cure, for the creatures still bore horrific mutations such as pallid skin and eye-less sockets. But never the less, these children could grow, and reproduce themselves, and thus bring about more full-souled children.

The Age of Raiding and War

Now forced to return the surface, the Idoneth took it upon themselves to raid the coasts, not for wealth, but for souls of lesser creatures. Quickly learning that wild animals could not provide enough nourishment to their children, the pure-elves, organized their society in order to better provide. The warrior caste, known as the Akhelians, waged war and took the lives of the enemy and their prey, while the scholars and mages known as the Ishorann meddled with the minds of others and controlled the forces of the sea. The Embailors tamed the mighty creatures of the deep, providing fine mounts for war to their brothers and sisters, while the lowliest caste, the Namarti, acted as the peasantry and labor of their growing under-water kingdoms. At first reluctant to interfere in the affairs of mortals, the Idoneth were content to raid the coasts, even as the Age of Chaos began. Doing little more then protecting their kingdoms and choice spots of harvest, the Idoneth survived mostly unscathed, a claim no other faction could ever hope to begin. Indeed, the Idoneth flourished in this time of madness, being able to vanish away entire port cities in the confusion of war and bloodshed.

In the Age of Sigmar

However, their isolation could not last forever; for long, had Nagash, god of death, sought the missing souls of the ocean, knowing something had lurked beneath the waves for quite some time and was stealing his tithe. And their raiding practices had hardly gone unnoticed; while no one could remember what had happened exactly, many communities knew better to trust the coast. The hordes of Chaos, unable to breath beneath the ocean, found themselves mostly unable to strike against them, despite learning from their demonic allies of the Idoneth’s existence. That changed however, following the draining of one of Shyish’s own seas by the Skaven Ratmen. Exposed to Nagash, the Lords of the Deep found themselves under assault from never ending hordes of submersibles, undead and daemons, intent on destroying their precious peace. Forced to look for allies, the Deepkin sought out the pantheon of Sigmar, and pledged pacts of support with the God-King of Azyr. Now, they fight for Order, perilously threading the line of killing their foes, and killing their allies for their valuable soul stuff.

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For more information, you can find more lore of the Deepkin in their Battletome, found here. Or, check out Court of the Blind King, a Black Library novel that follows these mysterious Aelves.

Welcome back to Model Musings, where today we’ll be going over what could possibly be the most Jawsome model Games Workshop has made yet: the Akhelian Allopex.

The Background

The Akhelian Allopex is a singular model, sold by Games Workshop and produced for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. It is part of the Idoneth Deepkin faction. As part of the faction’s nautical themes, it is a massive shark mounted by two aelves, and boasts a harpoon launcher that can either fire a repeater harpoon or a barbed net to strike enemies from afar.

In the dark depths of the Mortal Realm’s ocean and blanketed under the crushing pressures, the kingdoms of the Idoneth flourish along the seabed. Kept alive by the magic of their spell casters, which suffuses the water with breathable air, they have built a sprawling empire. Although, they have not done so bloodlessly; between raiding the mainlands for souls and fighting the threats the sea offers, the Deepkin have built their rule upon being able to tame the monsters of the deeps and being able to provide for their withered souled masses. The Akhelian Allopex is the perfect symbiosis of both. Mounted by two full souled Idoneth of the Akhelian class, this beast is blinded and bound, and then used as a instrument of war. The Allopex, a formidable beast of the deep, makes an excellent chariot of sorts, capable of hoisting a harpoon launcher and ripping apart enemies with it’s massive jaws.

The Kit

The kit provides enough pieces to build one Akhelian Allopex, with two riders. There isn’t much variety in the kit itself, only providing two heads for the shark to choose between, as well as some rigging for the harness of the Allopex and some fish that can be added to the base for decoration. There is also the choice between harpoons, and it is possible to switch the helmets on the two riders. There is also a selection of weapons that can be given to the riders, with the gunner getting a harpoon and the rider getting the choice between a few different swords. However, other than that, there is little variety, meaning that if you bring multiple of them in a unit, it may look slightly awkward due to how rigid the main shark body is.

The Construction

The construction of the kit has it’s highs and it’s lows. And the lows can be quite steep. As for the construction of the riders and shark, they are both remarkably easy. The shark itself has little more then seven pieces, with two additional smaller dorsal fins. The Elves are only around seven pieces each, and can be put together quite easily as quickly. The shark is so easy, in fact, that it’s pretty much just gluing the two halves of the head and the body together, putting the tail on and gluing the fins to the side.

The trouble begins when it comes to putting the the shark’s weapons platform on. It consists of a long, spiraling piece with two thin platforms are that glued on to a single contact with the actual mount. Then, the ammo-rack is mounted underneath the carriage over all. It’s bit a complicated to put together, and not very intuitive. My solution was to apply plastic and super glue until solid, and even then, the platform was annoyingly tilted towards the left, which required very careful bending to make it more even.

Finally, and what I may even consider the worst part of the kit; the flight stand is utterly atrocious. Consisting of a small notch in the belly with a tiny bump in the middle, the flightstand is supposed to “cup” the bump of sorts and then attach to the base; however, this stand is not stable, and is incredibly temperamental on if it will stay attached or not. I eventually had to add a rock outcropping in order to keep it from wobbling uncontrollably. And that’s only if it will stay attached to begin with. Overall, it has been a bit of a pain to build properly.

The Paintjob

If building it was difficult, I believe that painting it is far easier. The sections of the body are nice and flat, with plenty of detail between each. Where flesh begins and harness begins is clear and evident, and the armor on the Akhelian riders is easy as heck to paint; simply putting a thinned contrast over a shiny silver will result in solid colors thanks to their recesses and t rim.

The Playability

The playability of the model definitely has been impacted by the horrible flight stand; instead of something very sturdy like a peg or a ball-socket, the weird nub-lock makes this model horribly unstable and prone to breaking if not carefully maintained and picked up. While it does give it the illusion flight, it’s inability to stay in one piece during travel or gameplay can be horrible. I would heavily recommend for any perspective player to either add mounting like ruins or rocks, or get another flightstand all together. I would also recommend that one should still be gentle with the piece, since the mounting on the back is quite fragile in and of itself. The net-gun feels very flimsy, and could break under a hard enough impact.

Final Thoughts

The Akhelian Allopex gets five out of ten bad jaws sequels.

While the model’s details are truly superb, and really give it the weight that a massive shark should bring to the table, the horrid flight stand brings what should be a solid seven into the territory of a five. I do like the model quite a bit, but it’ inability to actually be used as it is delivered and constructed for proper gameplay is truly awful to deal with.

3/28/2020

C.J. Vetter

As part of my “Up and Coming” Series, which covers new events and announcements in the Wargaming world, today we’ll be covering the first of Game Workshop’s online reveals! Originally slated to appear at Adepticon, these were first shown via a online video stream hosted at the official Warhammer account on Twitch. However, later they were released all at once on the Warhammer Community website. The page itself can be found here.

Warhammer: Storyforge

Warhammer: Storyforge had poked it’s head up before during the announcement of “The Angels of Death”, a mini-series dedicated to the Blood Angels space marine chapter. Now, it’s back again, with a new series called “Hammer and Bolter: Death’s Hand.” Although it shares part of it’s name with an anthology book, there’s no certainty that it’ll be a 1 to 1 adaption. Secondly, the animation style provided is very different to their prior teaser, which was all rendered in 3D.

Over all, while there’s not a lot to go off of, I think this could be interesting. The animation seemed a little choppy, but the non-space marine agents of the Imperium have always interested me. There’s a lot of potential, and 2D animation has always been an excellent medium for portraying high-speed combat. Only time will tell with this one though.

Age of Sigmar: Battle Cattle

To be blunt, a teaser for the new Lumineth Realmlords (the newest Age of Sigmar faction) was heavily expected, and we received what we expected. And to be even blunter that that, the newest models definitely are one of those ones where you either love them, or you hate them. And if I were any blunter than that, I’d be one of those lovely croquet mallots wielded by these bovine-esque warriors.

The first of this legendary Lumineth reveal happens to be… Cows. Big, mountain, battle cattle. With big hammers. Let me begin by saying, holy cow, this model has put me over the mooooon. Cow puns aside, these are massive, and have seemingly taken the role of the Lumineth’s big bad beat stick, and boy howdy, does it fill the role well. It’s massive, and I find that it suits the theme of a avatar of a mountain, represent both it’s gracefulness as well as it’s size and immensity. The hammer doesn’t hurt either; I rather like how it puts an elven twist on a traditionally human and dwarven weapon. I also totally adore the little mountain range on it’s back, and gives the model a lot of character. It really ties into the nature themes of the Lumineth, and for some reason, really helps bring out the more beast of burden motif of yaks for me.

However, when put along side the rest of the army, I do have a question: Why? I understand that the Lumineth are supposed to be highly attuned to the realms, and that they command the spirits. However, why a cow? It doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the model line so far, which have all more or less been traditionally elf like in nature. At the end of the day, this is a gorgeous model, whether you think it makes sense in a mostly elven army or not.

Next up, it’s a bit more of what came before: Avalenor, the Stoneheart king, seems to be a named character version of the big beasty above. Having two hammers is better then one, and in this case, I must agree, as I find the above hammer far too skinny and lithe for my tastes. The twin hammers look a bit more substantial, and the more energetic pose makes him look like he’s belting out a challenge and not watching his opponent knock a ball through a wicket. The mountain range isn’t as good as the basic Alartith, though, and the vacant, slightly surprised look on his face doesn’t help much. But other than that, it’s definitely worthy of being a separate profile.

Well, where to start with these guys? Actually, it’s rather easy to know where exactly to start with these fellows: The hats. The 3 feet long, massively horned helmets that turn a beautiful unit into a joke. Overall, the unit is actually the best looking so far out of Lumineth, but the horned helms are just absolutely ridiculous; even in the outlandish world of Age of Sigmar, the tallest hat one can find is on the likes of Nagash, and even Nagash’s mighty head honker isn’t even as absurd as these. Imagine having a hat that has a pole and ontop of that pole is a giant set of horns and a face. And then imagine having to wear heavy armor and swing massive hammers about. It wouldn’t be precisely elegant.

Aside from the hats, these are drop dead gorgeous, and the closest any of the models have really come to mimicking the wonderful aesthetic of High Elves. With their high, armored colors, flowing capes, scale male one the tabbard and around the shoulders, these fellows really look quite well. Many edits have already been produced, and I hate to say it, but they really dropped the ball on those silly helmets.

Warcry: Bloodspoil-Inferno

In contrast, the new Warcry warband has really been on fire; you might even say there’s a heat wave coming in. It really makes me hot headed when looking at these guys.

The Scions of Flame are the newest Warcry warband, and the final of the 8 original Warbands to be teasted. And lets be honest, these guys might be my personal favorite. Each one of these models could be a hero in any other faction, but combined, they make the sickest warband available. With their theme of being fire-worshipping cultists who seek purity through flame, I adore their combination of acolyte robes and smithing gear. They look equally at home on the battlefield, forges, or the chapel! But credit is due specifically for how stunning each looks! The armored warrior might be the best hero released for Chaos in Age of Sigmar so far, and the priest looks totally spectacular. Even the lower intiates give off a wonderful energy with their shawls and light clothing. I will definitely be picking up a box of these guys when available!

LotR: From Movie to Model

When it comes to LotR, it’s a bit of a middle child for Games Workshop; a profitable, well known and popular middle child, but between the powerhouse of Warhammer 40k, and the uprising of Age of Sigmar, a middle child none the less.

It is however, nice to see new models be released for the system, and boy, did they really knock out of the park for this one. Eomer, Marshall of the Ridderemark, and looking gorgeous is his game. What I especially enjoy on his model is how well the scale is, and how fantastical and detailed the armor is. The face is also very well made, which is something that LotR models often struggle with in general. Overall, it’s rather excellent. Probably not enough to make me start LotR though.

Psychic Awakening: Requisitions Delayed and conniving clone lords

If there was any part of the release I was disappointed in, it was this one: Not from what was announced mind you, but rather, what has not been announced.

Let’s get this ordered: Yes, Fabius Bile’s new model is astounding, and while it is another Space Marine, Fabius is the best kind of Space Marine, that kind being a Space Marine with more then an IQ of a bolter and chainsword put together. Also, yes, I am glad Deathguard, Custodes and others are getting new rules, which is something we have all been waiting.

However, the announcement of Psychic Awakening: War of the Spider being the next book, and not Engine War, has frustrated me quite badly. This means that all the Adeptus Mechanicus rules have pushed back, as well as their new model release. So no flyer, no Jetpack troops, no Fast attack cowboys, and no new stratagems. And as a Adeptus Mechanicus collector and player, it makes it really hard to justify taking them off the shelf for some game time. I honestly might end up selling some of my less favorite models and keeping the ones I like as art pieces, and investing in a different army all together. But one must put their faith in the great work…

Horus Heresy: It’s ya boy, Alex da lion

The first Legion, the Dark Angels, have finally received their lord: Lion El’ Jonson.

Out of all the primarchs for Horus Heresy, this one takes the cake. I’m a huge sucker for space knights of the space marine variety, and this one is about as Space Knight as one can possibly get. Massive sword? Check. Cape? Check. Winged helm and cloaks over the armor? Check and check. Really, this man was a Black Templar before the Imperial Fists decided decimation was a bad idea and the color yellow was hard to paint. As far as Space Marines go, this man is hard to pass. My only quibble is the basing; while I must admit that Lion El’ Johnson bringing a group of captive Night Lords around with him on the battlefield and killing them when the time is dramatically suitable is hilarious, it is not quite tactically viable.

Made to Order: Event Lt.

I can hear a Primaris Lt. crying in joy from half away across the galaxy. In order to make up for the lack of Adepticon, this event exclusive “Lieutenant Amulius” is available for ship to store ordering. Really, it’s not a bad Ultramarines model, and if your so inclined, good for you. I think I’ll pass.

Final Thoughts

While this didn’t exactly blow my mind as reveal, it wasn’t bad. I thought there was enough interesting content shown to satiate my desires for Warhammers of all varieties, and while I would have like perhaps a bit more, I think this has been a success overall. Besides, we have another reveal coming this April 4th, and who knows that may be the BIGGEREST reveal ever!

C.J. Vetter

3/27/2020

The situation so far

The COVID-19 virus has affected almost every aspect of society as of now, and has infected most countries. As the number of cases swells in the west, this has impacted the wargaming community immensely, by both causing local retail businesses to shut down, as well as stifling the productivity of major producers in the industry. Also, many events in the community are being cancelled as well, namely Las Vegas’ Adepticon. Without a place to buy, or a place to play, most hobbiests stuck in isolation have taken this opportunity to work on their backlog or other projects. But today, we’ll be discussing the status of some key groups.

Games Workshop

Games Workshop, producer of Warhammer 40k, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and so many more games that it would take far too long to recount, has been the most visible about their reaction to COVID-19. Besides cancelling their retail chain, and closing both their production and distribution centers, Games Workshop has also taken the foremost leap out of any publisher, and begun to actively engage with their community while the pandemic continues.

Fortunately for Games Workshop, this comes at a time where they have actively made many forays into the online public forum. For starters, they have already put out a schedule for their latest reveals, which were originally going to be released at Adepticon. This couples nicely with their newly launched Warhammer Community Twitter account, and recently, they have made their past twitch streams view-able for non-subscribers. While not directly producing miniatures, paints, or what have you, they are creating an online presence like never before, and when these new actions are coupled with their pre-existing community website, Facebook, Instagram and catalog of video games, they are ensured that their presence will only continue to grow.

Games Workshop’s Official response can be found here.

Privateer Press

COVID-19 comes at a odd time for the american company; Privateer Press was only recently finding it’s footing after a disastrous launch of Warmachine Mk3, which saw a great deal of the fanbase leave to greener pastures. Only the timely revival of it’s side game, Monsterpocalypse, saw the company regain any semblance of stability. But what came next was unexpected; Privateer Press has chosen to gamble on a new game via kickstarter. The game, called Warcaster: Neo-mechanika, is a successor to their prior mainline game, Warmachine, with it’s focus on infantry and large, mechanized walkers known as Warjacks. There is a massive divergence however, in that the game has none of the signature Warcaster units of Warmachine, and that the game itself plays very differently, owing to it’s sci-fi themed setting.

So far, the Kickstarter has been a massive success for the company, making nearly four and a half times it’s original goal of 100,000$. The shipping dates have been set for July and August respectively, and multiple stretch goals have already been met for the game, although pledgers are concerned that the ongoing pandemic might delay the shipping date.

Aside from their newly launched Kickstarter, the company has made it clear that they will be continuing production for the time being, and that they will continue to provide updates through their website. They also announced that some Adepticon exclusive miniatures will be available online for a limited time, due to it’s cancellation.

Updates can be found here.

Mantic Games

In a similar vein to Games Workshop, Mantic has put out a statement regarding the ongoing pandemic, although, as of this writing, they are still currently running their distribution center, and thus, their online store is still open for business. You may still purchase models, paints and various other supplies through their website. Mantic Games has also announced that it will be releasing a series of “Emergency Broadcasts” videos, which will go over each of their game systems, as well as releasing a series of blogs over various hobby topics as well as a special offers on their products, with the notable return of “Crazy Bobby” sales, which often offer a hefty discount on a random assortment of models and sprues. This also accompanies them publishing some solo-play rule sets for both their Deadzone and Walking Dead wargame systems.

Finally, they are also attending an online wargaming convention called Paint All The Minis Online, or PATOMOCON for short. It’s set to open on April 13th, and more information can be found here. For more information on Mantic Game’s response, you can find that here.

Fantasy Flight Games

Fantasy Flight games, producer of Starwars: Armada, Legion and X-Wing, as well as the creator of Imperial Assault, is also responding to the crisis. They have cancelled and suspended all organized play events until June 1st. Due to their nature as a producer, they have remained open for sale through their online site. They have also offered a list of solo-play games for those in self-isolation.

Warlord Games

Warlord games, producer of the historicals such as Bolt Action and the sci-fi Gates of Antares, has temporarily closed down due to the spread of COVID-19. They have stopped shipping as of the 24th, however, any digital-only products will still be available for purchase. Any orders placed will prioritized as soon as they are open.

As more companies respond to this ongoing story, I will continue to update this page. This is a ongoing story.

Like the title says, welcome to my blog! My name is Christopher Adam Vetter the 2nd, but you can call me C.J. for short, even if the “J” doesn’t actually stand for anything. I’m 21 years old, at the writing of this post, and I live in New Braunfels, TX. The main purpose of this blog will be dedicated to my ongoing experience in my hobby of choice, miniature wargaming.

Why?

Well, primarily, simply because I find it fun to blog. But I’d also love to get more people interested in my hobby, and share my love with the game with others. I also think that there is a nearly limitless level of content to write about when concerning this hobby, since there are so many factors to consider; there is the physical, model building and painting side of it, then there is the gameplay side which is something a person could loose hours upon hours of time studying, and finally, there is the equally vast side that consists of the narrative and lore of the setting, with hundreds of novels and months worth of audio books and supplemental material.

What?

Well, if you’re completely new, you may be wondering what Wargaming is; to put it as simply as possible, it is simulating a battle via the use of rules and tokens. Think of it like a board game, but bigger, and more free form. But even then, that is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to it that simply playing the game, although that is a large part of it. Miniatures are a massive factor of the game, and a great deal of time is spent in building them, either from plastic, resin or metal pieces, and then further customizing them to your hearts desire. Then one may paint them however they wish, in what ever way or color you may wish. And then finally, you may even create a thrilling narrative focused around your army. Over the course of your hobby, you may collect hundreds of miniatures, providing you a excellent way to not only stimulate your brain, but engage in hundreds of creative exercises as well allowing to express yourself. The possibilities are only limited by your skill.

What I plan to do with this blog

The majority of this blog will feature both my thoughts and opinions on current upcoming models, projects and other features that I will be working on; that alone will cover the aforementioned aspects of the hobby. But in this blog, I will be able to better vocalize and explain my particular fascination and opinions on this blog. I specifically will be focusing on Warhammer, and mostly just the hobby side, but I may delve into non-Gamesworkshop brand products, as well as sometimes posting my speculations on topics such as table top tactics, or future releases.

Who are YOU?

Well, hopefully, somebody who is interested in learning about wargaming, or some one who might find my particular reviews either funny or helpful. But if your not one of those, then you might possibly be someone already interested in wargaming; in which case, welcome brother! Here, you’ll find a plethora of little tidbits of information you might not already know. Or maybe you just like immersing yourself deeper into the hobby, as well as hearing another point of view. In which case, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay just as much as our newer brothers in arms!

Contact me!

If you have any questions or any comments, you can reach via the email or twitter below! Happy wargaming!

Cav121@txstate.edu
@VetterThe2nd at Twitter.com

Howdy, reader. I’d like to thank you for taking a moment to read through this blog post, and then I’d also like to help explain what exactly this blog will be. Primarily, it will be dedicated to my hobby; miniature wargaming. Now what is miniature wargaming? Well, it’s a bit complex, but if your familiar with role playing games then you can picture it as that taken to a massive scale, with players collecting, constructing, painting and eventually waging war with their army of plastic or resin miniatures.

That said, this specific post, and later posts of Model Musings will be focused on the collecting and construction side of my hobby. And I think that there is no better way to show what I mean than to simply jump into into.

The background

The Immortis Guard are a set of miniatures and unit for the Ossiarch Bonereapers faction, which originates from the game Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and is produced by the company Games workshop. They cut an imposing figure above the battlefield, standing twice as tall as their smaller brethren. With their tetrabrachius design, they possess four arms each, with two wielding a massive tower shield in two, and carrying a deadly halberd in the other, they fulfill the role of body guards and elite shock troops, who can stand defiant against any who would approach. The model kit also allows one to build a unit of Necropolis Stalkers, who wield a blade in each arm, and are imbued with four separate souls.

The kit

The kit provides for the construction of three Immortis Guard or three Necroplis Stalkers, and comes with an instruction manual, as well as three 3×50 millimeter bases. With easily over 50 pieces spread across two sprues, it is a testament to Gamesworkshop’s technical mastery. The most striking aspect is the number of faces given, as 16 total heads are included in the set; each one able to combine together into one quad-faced head for the Stalkers. The Immortis Guard portions of the sprue are quite eye catching; their massive shields are prominent, and while you only get one per Immortis Guard, they are easily the star piece of the entire kit. The other highlight of these towering constructs is the detail of their bodies; where metal plate ends, bone begins. Looking at them, you can see the cracks of where bone is fractured, as well as where ossified slabs of bone meet one another. They accomplished their goal of both making it clear that these are made from the remains of the fallen, and that they are also recently constructed. If there were any complaints about the details proper, it would be that perhaps too much of the model is given over to the Bone aesthetic, and that the faces, specifically the “Bone Nose’d” faces are rather silly.

The Construction

After over-viewing the kit itself, the real challenge of building the Immortis Guard comes with the arms; the torso and legs are a snap to put together, and when it comes to the head, it couldn’t be easier. The long, cape like coat tails that flow around the legs are actually part of the torso, removing the dread of trying to bind together a thin line of plastic with a slot. The helmet and face are two separate pieces, which means that there is little to no problem in attaching them to the piece that slots into the the torso and acts as a neck. But the arms are what makes this kit so dreadfully tricky; unlike the Necropolis Stalkers which has a blade for each hand, the Immortis Guard must line their arms up perfectly to grip the Halberd and the shield. Thus, if they aren’t precisely lined up, they will be misaligned, and will not properly glue to the torso. To avoid this, glue the arms to the shield and halberd, and then to the torso. If done improperly, this will cause the the arms to either pop off of the torso, or pop off of the arm sockets.

The Paintjob

Just like most of the other Ossiarch Bonereaper units, there is a balance of armor plate, cloth weapon and trim, followed by a massive amount of bone. This provides painters with a interesting challenge of trying to figure out where to put what color, and how to evenly balance out the bone color. The Immortis Guard, however, do possess more armor plate than most other Ossiarch models, allowing for a painter to put a little more focus on that section then the average model. Their helmet’s crests are a wonderful piece, and help give them a more elite feeling, suited to their role as the bodyguards to the heroes of the army.

The Playability

Unlike many of the newer Gamesworkshop kits, the Immortis Guard are very solidly constructed; outside of maybe their collar trim, you’ll hardly find anything that’s flimsy or thin, and as for the actual body and torso, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything breaking off mid-battle. While the same could not be said for the Stalkers kit, whose arms may be knocked off if not properly aligned, a well built Immortis has three points of connection to the torso, making it very unlikely for either the halberd or the arm to fall off. However, due to their fixed arms, fielding groups larger then 3 will feel a bit odd; their design is made to give them a swaggering, prominent feeling, and

Final Rating:

The Immortis Guard receive a good 7 out of 10 giant bone shields.

Overall, the Immortis Guard is a kit that is rather well made; it takes advantage of Gameworkshop’s mastery over plastic, and crams in so much detail, while still remaining a cohesive design. It’s presence over the other Bonereaper models makes it really strong visually, with the massive armor plates giving a really tough look to them that can only really be found in the Mortek Guard kit. They work splendidly as a collection piece, and as for a game piece, you’ll find them delightfully sturdy.