A wave of new blood joins the pack...

It has been an interesting couple of weeks, with many thousands of points worth of new miniatures being discovered (they really did multiply in the boxes I had them away in), and new artists joining the team to see this Warhost completed over the next couple of years.

So who are these mysterious and talented folk? Glad you asked...

1. Matt from Above The Tabletop - Now in charge of seeing the Eldar flyers get a good seeing to. With solid airbrush skills and experience dealing with Eldar in general, i've no doubt Matt will nail it.

2. Steve from Third Fate Creations - As noted in a previous post, Steve is in charge of all eight titans, plus Towering Knight Destroyers AND Super Heavy Flyers. There are some very interesting creative ideas being mulled over, with the Flyers being sent out in the next couple of weeks.

3. Shaun Acker - Wraithknights and Wraithlords in abunance are Shaun's gig. Having seen his work with everything from Nurgle to Space Marines and 28 years of painting under his belt, keep an eye out for lumbering death dealing machine goodness.

4. Pierre Loyvet Artworks - A little deviation from the miniature front, Pierre does amazingly detailed illustrations (you may have seen his Blood Angels and Black Templar artwork - plus a kick arse Eva Unit-01). I have got in touch with the promise of sending him my book layout when the wordy stuff is done. Pierre, i've no doubt, will bring my finished miniatures to life in all their glory - tying the book, table and miniatures together in illustration.

Eldar Planetscape - Spires & Landing Platforms

Elliot from CustomTerrain.net emailed me last night with sketches based on the ones I sent him a month ago (designs that Games Workshop were originally going to make, yet didn't) for inspiration.

The lad has been brainstorming ways of forgoing too many interconnecting platforms, instead opting for integrated Webway Gates for travel between buildings. A MUCH better idea. This isn't to say there won't be a bridge or two, however this direction works very well and allows for a more dynamic table game play wise.

Interchange Spires, Landing platforms etc are on the agenda, of course with the much larger Webway Portals (both medium and almost Titan sized in nature).

For now, I will leave you with the concept sketch that is going to manifest in the coming month. There are a few surprises i've not mentioned in this post, i'll leave those for later ;)

Yes, that is a Jetbike flying into an Interchange Spire...

More of the project can be followed here.

From Forge World with Love...

Normally there is a lot of discontent out there with Games Workshop and Forge World by proxy. This post is to highlight just how bloody amazing Forge World's customer support is.

Yesterday, I was in the process of preparing an Eldar Vampire Hunter and Raider for shipping to the US (Steve has been waiting patiently to give these bad boys a coat or two). Upon opening up the Vampire Raider, after it sat in its box for almost a year, I found that bits had been broken (and missing) from the kit. So I sent off an email to Forge World to see about replacement parts - I was not disappointed.

Within a couple of hours, I had an email reply, stating the parts would be cast up and shipped out to a location of my choice (Steve of course being the obvious recipient). This act alone took a huge amount of angst out of my system. A couple of hours later I had another email reply, stating the molds are being retooled, so the parts could not be cast up - instead, they would send out a completely new kit - I almost peed myself.

THAT is customer service :)

Why am I so excited? Well, a little back history perhaps. In the first quarter of last year, Forge World underwent some management changes - whether this extended to the operations and logistics dept's i'm not sure (although it would certainly seem they're much better now). I had eight items over multiple purchases miscast, missing pieces or just broken prior to this internal change. Since then, I have had a call from the Sales Manager and every issue resolved in a manner exceeding my expectations. Don't get me wrong, i've always had the issues resolved, however the quality control now seems to be a lot better (from multiple sources).

Why do I now love Forge World long time? Let me count the ways;

1. Excellent Customer Service - I'm looking at you Simon.
2. Since Andy came on board as Games Development Manager, the rules are getting better - ACTIVELY reviewed for balance (just take the Tau XV107 and Irillyth's new rules).
3. Quality of miniatures - I mean seriously, they beat the parent company hands down.
4. Quality of product - This used to be an issue... not so any more from what I hear.

In short - Faith restored. To the staff of Forge World, thank you.

One request though... if/when IA:11 is revised... please have that snotty Imperial Guard commander smeared from here to Jupiter by the Corsairs in the fluff, no body likes an upstart Mon'Keigh ;)

Eldar Corsair Update Confirmed

Roughly a month ago, I had a chat with one of the managers at Forgeworld about the Imperial Armour 11 Corsair list - and whether they would be seeing an update to bring them in line with 6th Edition 40k. The answer was, "I've actually been hounding them to get started on it, and they did say it would begin next week!".

Fast forward a month and I decided to follow up, this time on their Facebook page. The response, as of early this morning, was as follows;

"Hi Dave, the last update I had was at the middle of last week. It was mentioned that the update was about half completed. Part of the reason it is taking a while is that it is a fairly significant update that the writers have to try and fit around their current writing schedule.

I'll try to keep you all posted if we get any more news. It is something we do get asked about frequently, both here and via email."

So there you have it, expect a decent overhaul of the Corsair army list in the very near future folks. As to what this entails, fingers crossed the good folks at Forgeworld keep us in the loop!

Just for effect, here's a shot of a mates (Nigel B, who's Void Dragon Nightwing Interceptor featured on Forgeworld's Facebook page a week ago) Void Dragon and Sunblitz Brotherhood army, which is currently fighting at Birmingham tournament as I type this. Give 'em hell son ;)

 

*Wasps, Hornets, Corsairs, converted Jetbikes, Warp Hunter and a Nightwing Interceptor... Pure Forgeworld goodness!

Unreleased Spiritseer - Iyanna Arienal

Seriously being spoiled here. Vincent has just sent me photos of the latest work of art, my original copy of Juan Diaz' unreleased test sculpt Iyanna Arienal. He has done a water manupulator theme with her, complete with clear resin raging water effect for the base - certainly not something I was anticipating, what a surprise!

More about Iyanna can be read here - http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iyanna_Arienal

And here are the pretty pictures;

Dave's Eldar Dataslates - Part 1

With all the crazy attention that the latest LVO lists have attracted lately, Eldar are most certainly not going to be flavor of the month. Despite this, i've been messing about with the idea of some unit specific (of not Craftworld themed) Dataslates. None of the below are intended to be over powered, merely to add some synergy, bringing the lesser considered units back into the "appealing" bracket. Ideally, i'd love it if these were used to overload choice to the point where the common Serpent spam lists are a tad less common.

Feel free to have a mess about with these in friendly games, play testing as you go along. With each, i've provided a little forethought into why I believe they could be a good thing. As with any experimental fan made rules, I fully expect good and bad comments - please do comment on how the rules have gone in a game. Naturally, i'd like to hear from those who have given them a go, rather than outright "that won't work" responses :)


Star Striders - An Alaitoc themed Dataslate

Forethought: Rangers really got attention back when the Craftworld Eldar supplement was released. The reason for this was their Ranger Disruption table, which was extremely nasty when you got one roll per unit on the field. Whilst it was open to abuse, the list did add flavor. As Rangers currently stand, they make excellent backfield objective holders, yet aren't used all that often in the midfield or for true fire lane control akin to their Anti-MEQ Dark Reapers comrades.

Rules: An Eldar or Corsair list may take the following formation, consisting of 2+ units of Eldar Rangers (or Pathfinders if Illic is present)

Upon rolling a successful assault by an enemy unit/model, yet before models are moved the Ranger (or Pathfinder) unit targeted may roll 1D6. On the successful roll of 5+ (4+ for Pathfinders), the Star Striders fade into the shadows. The enemy unit does not successfully assault this turn and models remain stationary. The Star Strider formation may make this save once per game, per formation (not per individual unit in the formation).


Cosmic Serpents - A Saim Hann themed Dataslate

Forethought: Vyper Jetbikes (although the Jetbike term has been dropped and appended though editions), seem to have lost their shine since 4th Edition. Warp Spiders, Shining Spears, Crimson Hunters and even weight of fire from Swooping Hawks. Forgeworld's Hornet overshadows the Vyper in almost every way and the Wasp can outlay sickening amounts of fire, whilst using Jump-Shoot-Jump capabilities. There are literally 10 different Fast Attack options and the poor iconic Vyper is right at the bottom.

Rules: An Eldar or Corsair list may take the following formation, consisting of 1+ Vyper Jetbike squadrons with the following conditions;

A Vyper Jetbike Squadron may "pair" with a single Windrider or Corsair Jetbike unit, if present as part of a normal Troops selection. For every three (3) Jetbikes in the unit, an additional Vyper Jetbike in the Squadron may benefit from the following "pairing", or none may benefit at all. E.g.: Two Windrider units nine (9, 18 total) models in number can be "paired" with two Vyper Jetbike Squadrons of three (3, 6 total) in number.

"Paired" Vyper Jetbike Squadrons within 6" of a Windrider or Corsair Jetbike unit may use the movement rules for Eldar Jetbikes as listed on page 45 of the Core 6th Edition Rulebook. The Armoured Steed clause does not apply as Vyper Jetbikes have no toughness characteristic. Vyper Jetbikes Squadrons are treated as an individual unit, not as part of the Windrider or Corsair Jetbike unit it has "paired" with.


Khaine's Brides - A Biel Tan themed Dataslate

Forethought: Quite a few cries were heard when the Howling Banshees were left practically untouched this edition. Adding insult to injury, they've lost their ability to take down Terminators with their new found AP3 Power Swords. They are still a wonderful unit for Counter Attacks, however. As synergy is key with each unit of an Eldar army list, I felt a little flavor was needed to make them appealing in a Counter Attack sense.

Rules: An Eldar or Corsair list may take the following formation, consisting of 1+ Howling Banshee units. The unit must number ten (10) and include an Exarch with the Fear Exarch power.

When charging an enemy currently in assault with another friendly unit, a single squad in addition to the Howling Banshee unit may also treat the enemy as being under the effects of the Banshee mask, for that charge turn only.

Well, that is the first installment in a series I plan on doing. Stay tuned for the next batch, as I will be working on more than just the five major Craftworlds as this progresses :)

Most importantly, remember to have fun!

TSoM: Feng Shui your Coffee Table

Luke & Adam from The Sound of Machines have just released a fancy pants Coffee table book (or PDF/ePub if your Coffee table has its own iPad/tablet), chocked full of their larger projects over the last few years.

As they've done a good chunk of my Eldar (with still a good chunk to go), I thought it only right to plug them into the blog for a bit of exposure ;) - See what I did there... pretty picture Coffee table book... exposure...? No?... well I tried.

What I can tell you is it makes the new White Dwarf: Visions look pretty tame.

The book is 226 pages of full colour crazy - Whilst the Eldar make a solid appearance, they aren't the only pretties in this compendium of colourful commissions. What does the book contain you ask? Well let's see...

Eldar
Cang Dragon
Ogres
Zombies
Death Guard
Nurgle Daemons
Orks
Iron Man (Yep, f*&k you, he's Iron Man)
The Lost & The Damned

Below are a few samples from their new portfolio release (borrowed with permission!);

Themed Eldar Table - Ruins & Ridges

Elliot from CustomTerrain.net has flicked me a couple of updates over the weekend, both quite tasty. The first being the completion of the mountain range and the second being worn ruins.

First up, the range;

And the ruins;

The full project log can be found here.

A New Artist Emerges - The Titan Host & Thundering Skies

After 12 hours worth of discussion, idea pitching and general all round craziness, a new artist joins the fold - This time to tackle the big boys of the battlefield.

Steve, from Third Fate Creations, has been locked in and taken up the torch in a bid to bring some insane airbrushing techniques to the Warhost. So what's the list you ask? See below;

1x Armorcast Phantom Titan - To be built as a Warlock Class Battle Titan
2x Forgeworld Phantom Titans - The twin bodyguards of the ancient and revered Warlock
4x Forgeworld Revenant Titans - Two of each type, in paired formations
1x Armorcast Revenant Titan - Stumpy needs some love too (he was my first titan!)
2x Towering Destroyer Knights - To compliment the Rogue Trader Eldar (stay tuned...)

1x Vampire Hunter Super Heavy Flyer - An escort for...
2x Vampire Raider Super Heavy Flyers - The kind that make Magpies look insignificant

All up, eight titans, two knights and three super heavy flyers. No small task, sure, but one hell of a detachment when completed.

To give you an idea of the level of awesome Steve brings to the table, here are some of his amazing works of art;

* Fingers crossed Steve is ok with me posting these here! :)

Stay tuned, there's bound to be some pretty awesome WIP shots as this project gains momentum in the coming months.

Juan Diaz Prototype Farseer - Coloured in!

Good ole Vinny has just sent me an update of two WIP Farseers he has been sorting out in the last two weeks. One of which is Juan Diaz' prototype Farseer, originally pegged for the 2006 release (although never made it). Only 12 of these puppies were cast up, so I count myself very lucky to include it in the Warhost - only made better by Vincent's handiwork!

Vincent has applied an Autumn/Maple theme to this Farseer, and done a sensational job doing so;

And the second Farseer - Or Earthseer, complete with summoned rock shards and cracked motif on the cape (really different and inspiring!);

 

And a close up of the cracked cape...