New White Dwarf Review

It seems that Games Workshop have been changing lately, what with a return of the specialist game department and their return to facebook. Another seeingly retrograde step is to move back to a monthly White Dwarf magazine. 

Quick reminder: A few years ago they moved to a weekly format for White Dwarf. Up to this point, it had been monthly and I had loyally bought every issue since 130, way back in October 1990. I used to love it, but towards the end it had deteriorated badly. I never got into the weekly format, mainly because it was the time I was losing interest in GW and also it was hard to get hold of unless you were quick! 

So when I found out that GW were moving back to a monthly format I decided to check it out. I duly went down on release day and picked this up:

First impressions were good. It came in at £5.99 against say Wargames Illustrated at £4.95, so it's normal magazine price. It seems heavy and good quality, clocking in at 148 pages. It comes with a free mini - useless to me as I never liked Chaos even in my GW days, but free toys are never a bad thing. So far, so good. 

Into the magazine the first two pages are the editorial and staff photos, followed by two whole pages just for the contents list. 

After this there are 16 whole pages of whats new. It's all very glossy, goes to great lengths to point put how awesome everything is, and covers the whole GW universe - miniatures, books, terrain and computer games. What I then have a small problem with is after 16 pages of this, we then go into two pages of adverts. It reminds you we still have in our hands a GW catalogue and promotional magazine. 

After that there are two pages of readers letters. Sounds great, but a lot of these letters seem along the lines of "wow, you guys are doing a great job," without any real fan engagement. It left me a little cold. The next two pages are "Eavy metal" spotlight, and are photos of new minis. 

It is only at this point that we reach the first real article - The Tale of Four Gamers. A style of article used in the old White Dwarf, four gamers collect armies over several months, and document it. I like that idea, but each collector only writes two paragraphs, so it likes a real in depth analysis. 

The next chunk I really did like:

This is a readers army section. It features great photos of the army and plenty of text from the owner describing how he collected it. Also, a four page pullout of the army all nicely laid out.

We then have a large chunk of extra, and to my understanding, new, rules for several of GW's games. Thumbs up for this - it's far more like supporting the hobby. For me personally I can't use this but if you play these games, you're in!

I won't bore you with the rest in any great details. We have a very flashy battle report, some backgroud for Imperial Knights, a feature on terrain at Warhammer World and Blanchitsu. There is an article on various staff members Kill Teams for 40k, and a converting article (all GW pieces only of course), along with a painting guide. It finishes with some really nice photos of readers models, along with a side box contianing tips on photographing mini's. 

Let's boil this down. I am not unbiased - I fell out of love with GW a few years ago. I like the direction the magazine is going, and I imagine if you do all or most of your wargaming in the GW unuivese, there is plenty of stuff for you here, the  extra rules being a good example. 

But I can't help feeling it's a tired and souless effort in some ways. Monthly battle reports SOUND good but I feel its too much of a good thing. Back in the day they were once or twice a year and eagerly anticipated, and came with tactical maps etc. Now, they are every single issue, so the magic is gone. I also think Tale of Four gamers need more substance but has been done before and one bug bear for more is Blanchitsu. I know John Blanche is a hobby god and has some serious skills, but do we really need a regular monthly article showing yet more of his drab and dirty style miniautres, nice as they are? Not really. 

 

I found myself wanting more words. A quick flick thorough and I can't find a single page of just writing, or even mostly writing. The most you get is two thirds of writing and the vast, vast majority of pages are half or less. It's very clear that this is desgined to further GW's mini sales, and the abundance of flashy photos support this. 

I would also have really have liked to see some sneak peeks, and maybe at least a very small mention of Lord of the Rings and the other games, but the magazine exsists in a GW only, 40k/Age of Sigmar bubble, which I think is a shame. GW is a massive part of the wargaming hobby (like it or not), if only as a gateway, and it's a shame GW doesn't capitalise on this. 

Final verdict: Good, but could do better. I will only buy this again if there is an issue with something for me in it, such as the upcoming return of Blood Bowl, but I will not be resubscribing as it stands. But, if you live and breath the GW universe, it's worth cover price. 

More Polish Infantry

Managed to get another 10 standard rifle infantry done for the ongoing Polish army project.

All rifle armed and destined to bulk out the platoon's rifle squads, they are all from Early War Miniatures.

Once more I can't seem to get the photos right, one has come out very dark despite some editing and the models being under two massive daylight lamps! Oh well, you get the idea.

As I previously mentioned an order has fallen though for a large chunk of Polish stuff, which was needed to complete the infantry platoon and HQ. I can get the minituares from elsewhere but I am awaiting a webstore to reopen to put the order in.

What that means is that I have an Bofors AT tank gun with horse limber and an AT rilfe to go and I'm done with what I have. Good job the general back log is big enough to keep my busy!

Polish Light Mortar Support

The Polish forces are continuing to grow, very slowly, but I am getting there.

I have managed to add some light mortar support to my forces. In keeping with the Battlegroup Blitzkrieg force structure, I am trying to work my way through and cover all the options. A platoon can have up to two light mortars so I have bought two and painted two. Each has it's crew of three and then the option for three assitant loaders, which I have also painted up.

Here are the photos (some have come out a little dark for some reason).

Team 1:

Team 2:

These are all from Early War Miniatures. There isn't a great deal of variety in posing, especially amongst the 6 extra loaders, who were all the same pose bar one. I had hoped to get some more minis from another company but that order has fallen through, so it's all Early War Mini's at the moment. I don't suppose it's a major issue as they are an extra that might not see much use. They can always double as infantry in any case.

Next up for these guys are a chunk of ten infantry and a 37mm AT gun with Limber. I am hoping to get the infantry done before the end of the month.

Oh, and if you haven't already give the blog a follow or pop over to my facebook page to give me a like, as there is some news coming soon.....

Epic Reinforcements

I have returned from a rather nice two week break away in Cyprus, enjoying the sun, pool and more than a few cold beers. I am now off work on my shared maternity leave for a few months. I am hoping, as I have said before, to get stuck into the hobby as a result, as much as two small children will allow. The only down side is I am not getting paid whilst being off, so new purchases will be more or less none exsistant. Its a good job I have plenty to be getting on with, though basic supplies are running low! Never mind, I have a cunning plan to boost income....

Anyway, a few months ago, I had a game of Net Epic scheduled, and decided to expand the force some what. I was lacking dedicated anti tank as my Leman Russ company, whilst a very good all round company, does not possess any real hard hitting anti armour punch. I added a support detachment of Vanquishers as a result. My army overall was also lacking in AA cover as I as relying on my Thunderbolts for air support, but they needed to be freed up for ground attack duties. I therefore added a detachment of Hydra's to the ranks.

I was lucky enough to have bagged a few of the old FW models for these two additions so I painted them up:

They were a rush job, so not my best work. The FW models also lack the stowage of most of the epic models I use, and I am not confident of scuplting in 6mm, so they stay basic in appearance. Sadly, the game never happened due to illness so they will have to wait for a while to see action.


In other hobby news, I will now be cracking on with my 20mm Poles as they remain my priority. Sadly, an order from a supplier has fallen through after waiting three months, so I am looking to order from somewhere else to fill the gaps. Updates soon.

Polish Preparation

Still trying to refind that elusive mojo that I had a few weeks ago that had me wanting to paint every spare moment I could find. I suspect it's just the normal summer malaise and it hopefully won't last too long. The good news is that I am not totally disinterested like normal, and still getting bits and bobs done - albeit not at the pace I was before.

To that end, the other day I managed to muster a little but of enthusiasm. I put it to god use, and assembled a big bunch of 20mm Early War Miniautres Polish for the next phase of the army:

Two light mortar teams:

A 37mm Bofors anti-tank gun team:

And their horse and limber tow. This is actually a french team but I figured I can get away with it:

A chunk of infantry:

And a final, lonely chap to be a medic:

I'm trying to cover all the options as I go, so each of the weapon teams has 6 gunners. Three will be mounted to each base, and the other three on individual bases. In Battlegroup, each weapon team has three gunners and you can purchase three to make the team more effective. I hope that doing this, I can cover most options in the book.

Just got to find the time and motivation to undercoat and paint the lot.

2016 - Half Way Point.

You may remember I tried to set myself a few goals for the year ahead back around Christmas. And since the 1st July marks exactly six months gone and six months to go, I decided to look and see where I was.

Here are my goals for the year and how I think I've gotten on with them so far.


- In terms of points using the above scoring system, I am going to aim for over 1000 points of painted minis.

Using the Analogue Painting system I wanted to hit 1000 points of painted miniatures. Sadly, at the half way point I don't think I've quite hit 400 yet. I've also noticed a dent in production now the summer months have rolled around the little boy has got bigger and more demanding. Still, with three months off work coming soon over late summer and autumn, I might yet catch up. Either way, I suspect I will beat last years total. So I count that as a work in progress.
 
- To complete at least two full 28mm Napoleonic battalions (so that's 48 miniatures done.)

Exactly half way on this one with a single battalion done. I am not sure when the second one will make its way up the painting queue but there is time yet. 







- I have my shelves of doom (full of unpainted minis, mainly dead projects that I refuse to sell) in my painting, taunting me from the corner. The total currently stands at 93 minis, so I shall aim to reduce this to under 60 miniatures by years end.

Least said about this the better. I haven't yet painted anything from the shelves this year, and I actually think one or two more models may have found their way out the painting queue and back onto the shelves so the numbers may even have gone up. Still, never say never and if the bug bites for some Skaven, High Elves, Orks or Tau, the number may go down. 








- General 28mm wise, I want to progress my two Bolt Actions armies, and move into at least one Ancients force alongside my napoleonics. I'd like at least two complete units for this ancients project.

So no progress on the Ancients, even though I have plenty of minis for them and I've only added one unit to my Bolt Action armies this year. But I am regularly gaming with a friend at BA so I may get the motivation to paint some more. 



- I want to start to gather 20mm forces for battlegroup games. No real targets on this, just want to see me making siginificant progress here.

I think I can call this one a success so far. The Poles are well on their way, and I have some Germans bought so that's all good. If I end the year with a singe painted army (i.e. The Poles), I'll call this complete. 




- 6mm wise I have two rough targets. In Epic terms, to buy no more until what I have outstanding is small enough to fit in to one box. Second, to move into historical 6mm. I know it's not for everyone, but it's a scale I have always had a soft spot for. It should also be fairly quick and easy to get armies together.

This is one with little progress. Some purchasing of historical 6mm has occurred but no painting. I haven't quite stuck to my promise of buying no more Epic stuff, but what I have bought is only small, so it's not all bad. And I've recently started getting the odd game of Epic in so the motivation might be sparked up. 


- Finally, bring my gaming table into action that I have in the garage. I've had this a few years and still not used it. 

The only one I'd call complete at the half way point. I'm pleased to say that the gaming has been fairly regular and steady, and more importantly nothing of mine that has touched the table has been unpainted! This is a big sea change for me, and I've promised to myself not to use any incomplete minis on the table if at all possible. 



I think you'll agree that progress is being made all round. I can't grumble too much when all said and done, the wife puts up with having a painting room and a gaming room, so I am blessed. And at least I do get some things done. Sure, I'd like more time for the hobby, but real life is demanding and has to come first. 

I have noticed my schizophrenic painting style seems to be calming down a bit. I am intending to work on projects rather than leap around all over the place. So at the moment, I am working on the next big chunk of 20mm Poles. Occassionally something will get pushed the front but they will be my focus - expect to see lots more of them this month.  

More Modern Brits

Once the test figure was down, I was happy to plow on with the other seven of these guys.

I found the camo quite time consuming to do in a batch, and I have to admit it sapped me of a little bit of motivation at one point. However, I soon realised that once you've done the camo on these guys, your pretty much done, and they didn't take too much time after that:

I have to say again, and I've said it lots of times before, the Empress Miniatures are lovely - so much detail. I am sure a very skilled painted could have a lot of fun with these!

These guys were one of the last few things on the desk before I go back to 20mm WW2 so it will unfortunatley be a while before we see anymore of these.