Alternative Primarch models

Am I the only one finding the pace of Primarch releases from Forge World to be unnerving? the Angron model looks great and captures all the ferocity of the World Eaters Primarch, but costs a hefty £50 and so far he is the only one of his brethren to have a model.

Many, many years ago GW released a Leman Russ model (!!) and that was up to date the only Primarch model. Now after Angron I'm pretty sure we'll see more Primarchs coming down the line as more Horus Heresy books are released from FW. But consider this - can we expect to see the 18-21 (depending on how you count them) Primarchs to be produced? unless the warp claims (Emperor protects!) the current GW management, no. All right. Let's lower the expectations. Can we expect the main ones, say pick your top 5-7, anytime soon? again, most likely not. Whew. What about 2 or 3 more Primarchs, and not necessarily the most popular ones? well that is more reasonable. Don't ask me why there are no Sanguinius, Perturabo or Russ models out there,  because they would be top sellers. Or why the price is more akin to silver than resin. Just imagine a line of Primarchs like these below. I'd be buying GW shares like crazy if I knew that was going to happen.

Fortunately, there are a few models outside of GW/FW that look pretty good. Scibor has some nice models for the Lion and Sanguinius. Hitech miniatures has some of my favourite unofficial Primarch models, like this Perturabo ("Proturbo" lol). The look of it seems definetely inspired by this Black Library cover:

Mortarion, with his trademark scythe:

Or the Lion, with his trademark Lion's helm and Caliban sword FTW:

Do you guys know any other good Primarch models out there?

Abaddon vs. Loken!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for since Horus Rising was released in 2006: the Forge World models of the Sons of Horus Captains, Mournival all-stars and rivals to the bitter end, First Captain Abaddon vs. 10th Company Captain Garviel Loken!!

Abaddon is of course wearing his black suit of Justaerin Terminator armor with a combi-weapon, Loken with his power sword. Enjoy!!

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/ABADDON_AND_LOKEN.html

New Nighthawk-pattern Storm Eagle?

This could be just nothing, or maybe there is more to it that just creative freedom on the writer's end. On the latest Horus Heresy book, Angel Exterminatus, we get a glimpse of 2 loyalist Space Marines using a variation of a Storm Eagle that one of them calls a "Nighthawk-pattern", and that is described to have "stealth capabilities" and to be "multi-spectrally camouflaged". The weapons descriptions seem to be the same as the current model though. I don't want to spoil you the (good) read that Angel Exterminatus is, so get yourself a copy if you want the full details.

"Coloured a dull midnight grey, its swept-back wings bristled with cannons, and its strubby prow with linked banks of heavy bolters. Missile racks on his upper fuselage locked into place with a clatter of loading mechanisms"

"'I designed the Nighthawk-pattern, remember?'
(...) 'You know, Sabik, I think the Mechanicum might give this variant their seal of approval after all', he said.
'Yes'?
'Yes', said Sharrowkyn. 'Eventually'"

It is interesting to mention that this is a conversation between an Iron Hand and a Raven Guard. Will we see something in the 6th ed Space Marines codex?

What makes me think there could be something behind it is that we have recently had the Ravenwing novel anticipating the new Dark Angels models, in this case the "shrouded land speeded" and the flyer. As Games Workshop continues to improve the synergies between their different business branches (40K, Black Library, Forge World) we might see this happening again in the future. For now take it with some salt.

Games Day 2012 Spain

Well I'm just back from the Games Day 2012 in Barcelona. What a day! I'm as thrilled and motivated to continue with my projects as I could possibly be. After all, it's difficult not to be inspired by so many great creations. Big dioramas or individual minis, the quality of Golden Demon participants was breath taking. I have to confess this is my very first Games Day after some ~20 years in the hobby, and will certainly not be the last one.

Huge battles with Flyers... yay

I'm also glad to have in my hands the GD'12 mini; this year is a very special one for me: the Blood Angels captain that was featured in the 2nd edition box. That was the box I began with so this sort of closes the circle. The mini is plainly awesome, and it was good to have the sculpter, Juan Diaz, around. He looked happy to be at home (well, 200 kms to the north but ya know) and was seemed content to give sculping tips to just everyone who swung by his table.

Golden Demon

It's difficult to convey my feelings after seeing so many great pieces of art. I consider myself a (relatively) good painter, and I've even won best painted army at a couple of tournaments, but the stuff at Golden Demon is well above my current capabilities. Some years ago I would have felt abashed but this time I'm just motivated to try and replicate this painting style. Things like creating shades, like line highlighting with different tones to reach almost a white, to paint faces in layers and not with washes... the list goes on and I made sure to take a pic on some minis that struck me the most. Below you can see some pictures.

Now, Anja from the 'Eavy metal team was there, and some of her creations too. The NMM Sanguinor, Astorath, Arjac Rockfist, Njal Stormacaller... these stood head and shoulders above anything else. I own the WD with the painting guide of the Sanguinor, you know full of high quality pics, but seeing the actual mini live makes you think she's sold her soul to Slaanesh (I'm kidding of course). I can only say, there were some incredible minis for the Golden Demon, whose owners probably spent weeks if not months with them. Well I don't know how long it took her to paint those minis, but with GW's release schedule, I suspect only a few days. I *believe* with practice and effort I could one day get closer to a Golden Demon level, but I *know* I will never be able to paint like Anja. That said, GD level is good enough to me so I'll be satisfied if I ever reach that level.

Beautiful subtle NMM touches

An epic battle worth 100 quid

Forge World

People were buying FW stuff like if there was no tomorrow. I had planned to buy the Space Marine Captain and Banner holder, and the new apothecaries, and began a small collection of a pre-heresy Legion. Instead I've decided to hold myself until I can paint those awesome minis to the level they deserve, and thus set upon myself to try to improve and maybe next year I'll be ready for that.

Black Library

Graham McNeill was the BL's VIP and was kind enough to have a Q&A session with the audience. But what caught my attention was some of the new books. Priests of Mars from McNeill himself looks tasty, especially after the monumental Mechanicum, and Fear to Tread's cover with Sanguinius fighting/falling to a demon gave many people a heart attack. Unfortunately the Black Library won't speed up things for a while and the final battle of Sanguinius vs. Horus in the Vengeful Spirit won't come anytime soon, but the reminiscence of the cover is evident.

Conclusion

Any 40k hobbyist worth his salt will greatly enjoy these events, and I love how you have so many different aspects of it available in just one event. You can play, paint, create stuff, talk to other fans and folks from GW, and also spend too much in FW goodies. I had a blast and I'm definetely looking forward to next year's edition.

Forge World Rant

19 frigging days to process an order comprised of a pack of rhino doors and 3 space marine torsos, from a recently launched kit.

Charge 20.5GBP for that.

Add 15% on top for shipping and handling

According to their website, expect 10-14 days of transit.

And then pray you don't get too much bubbles.

Nicely done, Forge World. Another happy customer.*

*Dear reader, if you happen to be a Forge World supervisor, please note the sarcasm intended in this last sentence.