If you've read any of our reviews on Warhammer Visions in the past you would have realised it can get pretty brutal - expectations so heinously dashed often get that kind of reaction - however in the past few months Warhammer Visions has started to take quite a different turn and become more about the product of the community rather than rehashed pictures or the never ending parade of Golden Demon entries from 4 years ago. The last few months have shown some really great armies from hobbyists of varying skill and levels of experience - just like us - we all vary in skill and experience and showing that in this big glossy magazine has to go some way to making the hobby potentially more accessible. This month for example, we have four reader armies, plus a readers showcase AND the Golden Demon: Space marine finalists - so that's a pretty good spread all up. So what else is in this issue and is it worth your time? ++ More After The Jump ++ |
Sorry, but this New Release section stinks of "buy me" and less of "check out this cool stuff".
This thing is awesome! Love those cogs and the shattered ground looks very cool.
Mortgage the cat and prepare for some big brushes and a lot of flocking... I said FLOCKING! Far out... :)
This is Jason Lee's amazing Salamanders army. The detail on these guys is truly excellent. Have a look at the paint jobs on the Sternguard. If you have Salamanders and would like some inspiration, look no further. This is flame paint jobs done well! Very much worth a look especially with the amount of space they dedicate to it. Good big photos - maybe a little over exposed in terms of photography, but the miniatures are well worth your time.
It's a big statement, but do they really get that much love? The last Codex was hella-boring and having a look at what is meant to be a detailed look at the Chapter reveals they really don't have that many miniatures of Dark Angels. This is the First Legion - yes tainted by a 'terrible secret' (the Terran Dark Angels were tired of being discriminated against so they kicked up a stink) - but they are the First Legion!! Come on, and with such cool iconography (lets forget the Native American era shall we) to show, why don't we have a more publicised Forge World Upgrade Set yet? It's out but we never see it, not even here...
Where are the loving pages flowing with Successor Chapters? Not cool!
Reader's Models is also pretty varied this month. Not sure about the colour balance on some of these. We'd noticed that sometimes people's miniatures look better on their Twitter than in Warhammer Visions.
Celso Mendez's Sons of Horus I saw online a while ago and think they look better there than in this issue. They are truly excellent Sons of Horus too!
He keeps the reds really RED while still making them weathered and aged. Love that War Hound!
++ I had a look at the Death From The Skies book today BTW - it's got some great pictures and guides to squadrons and aces - but for $90 AUD it was too rich for me ++
My first DIY Chapter were yellow and man was it a pain, but these look great! If you have Imperial Fists then have a look at these. Well worth it. Guarantee you take some ideas away with you.
Verdict
Is this new direction they taking a good idea? For the hobby and community I would have to say YES.
Showing people's forces is a great idea and frankly is some of, if not THE best content here.
The Dark Angels section was very disappointing and that was not a New Releases section in my mind!
However, if you have Salamanders, Imperial Fists or Mechanicum, then there are inspirational parts to this issue that you should at least glance at - but having them for future reference could only be a positive!