Isn't it a lovely day when the world's collide - not physically obviously - but when there's a crossing of paths, a confluence of events to briung a smile to the face of the cynical hobbyist. Today, merry warriors, is such a day where The Powers That Be at Games Workshop have brought forth miniatures in one game, that could be used in another, and it's a cult faction too - the Chaos Dwarves!
Long left out of the main factions, the Chaos Dwarves have been shunned in the worlds at large, but still they manage to pull themselves up by the boot straps and still get a team together to play Blood Bowl. Today sees the pre-orders for the new plastic Chaos Dwarf Blood Bowl Team: The Zharr-Naggrund Ziggurats, and what a fearsome team they are, especially supported by their minions the Hobgoblins. These are all great looking minis, and supported by two Star Players - Zzharg Madeye and H'thark the Unstoppable plus some heavy hitters in the guise of the Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaurs (all in resin) they are sure to be popular. There is also the Chaos Dwarf Team – Double-sided Pitch and Dugouts Set, Chaos Dwarf Blood Bowl Team Dice Set and Card Pack plus they are the main focus of Blood Bowl Spike! Journal Issue 18.
Now the confluence of events spoken of just seconds ago, is that in the Warmhammer: The Old World rules, the Chaos forces can take allied Chaos Dwarves. So now, with just a few accessories, you could turn these elite athletes into battleground friends or foes! Guaranteed these will be a hit! 
Speaking of Chaos, since it's somewhat of an easy transition - Warhammer: The Old World is bringing back some classic and much-loved plastic Chaos minis. The mounted ​Chaos Knights, excellent Chaos Chariots (even if the crew are very dated so replace those), the Marauder Horsemen (amazing for Space Wolf heads) and the very dated and a bit janky Chaos Marauders. All multi-part, multi-pose solid miniatures you must take to your home and love. There's also the somewhat comedic Chaos Warhounds, who honestly just want to curl up by your fire and be loved... while chewing on your forearm.
The recent release of Necromunda: Hive Secundus, we now have some resin warriors to supplement the ongoing disaster that is "the other Hive Spire". Led by the amazing-looking Lady Haera in Sthenian-pattern Hunting Rig, we also have the foul denizens of the Many Armed Emperor, Hermiatus, the Second Son, a Malstrain Alpha, and the frankly hideous Malstrain Coalescence. They all look pretty great, and it's a pity we don't get these in plastic really.
The more recent Warcry box, Briar and Bone, has had it's warbands released individually, with the Teratic Cohort (adding some great new units to the Bonereapers) and the Twistweald (for the Sylvaneth) now ready to join your Age of $igmar forces on the field of battle. Hopefully this is a sign of some new minsi for the Bonereapers especially as the Kavalos Centari, Teratic Prowlers, and Aviarch Harpies add so much to their look and feel. 
In books this week we have the new Above and Beyond in Hardback telling the story of daring do in the skies and (takes deep breath) The End and the Death: Volume III The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra Book 8: Part 3 in paperback. In many ways the Horus Heresy series is a true triumph, but frankly this is the end, and not before time.

This week sees the next edition of Kill Team released - which is noteable for a few things: new packaging, a price increase on exisiting Kill Teams, and the return of terrain in the mission boxes. Games Workshop made a big deal of the last few mission boxes not having terrain in the last edition, so could this be a change to that decision or is this just the case for the launch box? All will be revealed in the fullness of time!
We launch this new edition of Kill Team with ​Kill Team: Hivestorm a new mission set and miniatures, featuring the new Killzone: Volkus terrain. As with all Kill Team sets, Hivestorm boasts two new Kill Teams - the Imperial Tempestus Aquilons and Tau allies, the Vespid Stingwings. Both of these teams can either be built as Operatives for Kill Team or as standard infantry for their faction. Both of these Kill Teams are noteable in their own way - the Vespid as it's the first time we've had Vespid in plastic and they're sporting a more wasp-like design, and the Tempestus Aquilons as it's the first time we have had Imperial Guard with jump packs since the launch of Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader in 1987 - more specifically the Compendium in 1988 - (excluding the Elysian Jump Troops from Forge World). If you order this box from the Warhammer online store, you will also get the new Wound Counter Bases, which we can assume is GW testing the waters on a mechanic that was being used years ago in Dust Tactics and other games. To go with the launch box, there's also the new Kill Team: Core Book available for those who want to start the new edition without a Hivestorm purchase. This includes all the rules you need to play, and rules around the only currently offical environments supported in this editon of Kill Team; Volkus, Bheta-Decima, and Gallowdark. There's also the Kill Team: Approved Operations Card Pack 2024 and the Kill Team: Equipment Pack. These last three items are all in Kill Team: Hivestorm, so it's great to be able to get them separately without having to mortgage the cat to buy Hivestorm. 
Also availble this week are a selction of Kill Teams, repackaged with a sheet of tokens for enhanced gameplay. The Kill Teams include the Corsair Voidscarred, Drukhari Mandrakes, Nemesis Claw, Ork Kommandos, Space Marine Scout Squad, Hernkyn Yaegirs, Blooded, and the Brood Brothers. As stated previously, there is a price hike on these, so if you're just after the minis, hunt around your local independent stores for older stock. Of course we need each of these Kill Teams to have Data Cards, so we have those for the Corsair Voidscarred, Drukhari Mandrakes, Nemesis Claw, Ork Kommandos, Space Marine Scout Squad, Hernkyn Yaegirs, Blooded, and the Brood Brothers as well.
With the Core Rulebook currently only supporting three environments, we have a re-release of those too, with Killzone: Bheta-Decima and Killzone: Gallowdark, but it's just the terrain and playmat in each box.
Keep in mind that Kill Team is a two week pre-order window
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​Now we know a weekend can't go by without the Community crying out "Where's the merchandise that will clutter my shelves and gather dust?" - well fear not, friend - we have the next wave of Tomy Plushes. From next weekend you can choose from a Watcher in the Dark, Servo Skull, Nurgling, Ripper, and a Purple Sun of Xereus. Joy abounds!

Here's a question - how old is too old? In the context of this week's pre-orders we're talking about suitability of old Citadel Miniatures being released as Made To Order (MTO). This only really comes up as the Chaos range is one of the biggest and oldest, therefore we have models being offered that are over 35 years old - which for a collector or hobbyist doesn't really matter, but does that interest the gaming community? There's also a question about quality as a lot has changed in the past 40 years - sculpting, scale and even the material. These thoughts come up as this week we have four Classic Chaos miniatures up for pre-order - and they vary quite widely in era and... let's say quality when it comes to contemporary expectations. First off is the Sorcerer Lord on Chaos Steed, which is a great model, have a close look at the horse for example, as it has an ethereal element to it's look. Personally this could easily be transferred to any Chaos army. Then we have two contenders that have to be from the late 80s (late 90s actually. Beefweaver to the rescue!) - the Daemon Prince with Axe and Daemon Prince with Sword. These both have the exagerated features of the day, those strange folded wings (which when using metal as your material make sense), and the very static pose. It's curious to consider, when seeing these, how far back can you go and the minis still be considered "good". The last of the four this week is the Chaos Spawn, from a later era, and really beautifully sculpted (I'm tempted to think this might be Juan Diaz - which it's not, it's Aly Morrison, thank you again, Beefweaver!). You can see this mini being directly transferrable to today's aesthetics, and therefore well worth brining out of retirement. What is curious is the hope that Games Workshop might bring some back some of the many many Chaos Lords and Chaos Warriors from the mid-late 80s who had so much character. That would be quite cool!
In books this week we have the new Twice Dead King Collection, which features the novels Twice Dead King: Ruin, Twice Dead King: Reign, and the short stories Severed, One Million Years, The Life of Jethras the Martyr, and Patience. These are all presented in Limited Edition hardback packaging, with coloured page edges etc etc. Maybe not the most attractive of the Nercon offerings, but for Necron fans i'm sure it'll be a drawcard. Having read only some of these, Twice Dead King was a bit disappointing, but Severed is great!  
It's also a White Dwarf week, with #504 taking some pages to explore the Kroot.

They are legion - yes the Skaven have leapt from the new Age of $igmar boxed set, Skaventide, added some extra nasties and taken to the field. It's interesting, the Skaven needed a huge redesign, and now we have it, personally some of this doesn't hit home for us. Don't know what it is... maybe with time it will become more obvious. Anyway, on with the show!
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Now here's a curiosity I haven't seen discussed, the new Battletome for Skaven is called "Chaos Battletome: Skaven". Why Chaos?  Maybe we'll see a greater alignment of the Skaven into the Chaos Powers or maybe the Horned Rat will be more prominent in the Pantheon of Gods. It was the way in the past to have Khorne, Nurgle and Tzeentch aligned Skaven (do we want to see Slaaneshi Skaven? Me thinks not!) so maybe it is the way of the future! Anyway, the new Chaos Battletome: Skaven comes in two flavours - What's That Smell? Standard Edition and Please Don't Show Us Skaven Pink Bits Gamer’s Edition. Yes, no Collectors Editon, it's the new Gamer's Edition which replaces the Battletome with a smaller format book and tucked in the back it has a set of expanded Warscroll cards with expanded rules for your Spearhead, Armies and Regiments of Renown. Time will tell if this scratches the same itch that the Collectors Editions did, but as it's a very practical addition for players rather than collectors, the feedback will be very interesting.
​ Let's start off with the big guy, Vizzik Skour, Prophet of the Horned Rat, a big lad as the centrepiece for the Skaven. If The Horned Rat is taking greater prominence (as he did in the edition before Age of $igmar) then he will be wreaking havoc. The other leaders for the Skaven are Krittok Foulblade and the Clawlord on Gnaw-beast (previously in the Skaventide boxed set), both nicely dynamic miniatures, with Krittok being a particular fave. The Skaven had always had interesting leader models, and this new edition is on the same path. Speaking of leaders, we have two different types of Warlocks - the technical tinkerer Arch-Warlock (who would make an excellent base for a Dark Mechanicum Magos), and the Warlock Galvaneer who is more into harnassing warp-energy. If you'd prefer a Grey Seer with added hitting power, then Thanquol on Boneripper is probably more your cup of tea! Let's get into some troops there's the elite Stormvermin and their less talented kin, the Clanrats, who can be supported by the very cool-looking and temptng Acolyte Globadiers, Warplock Jezzails, Plague Pack, and the Rat Ogors (who almost look like they've each been done by a different sculptor). The Skaven love technology and the tradition of mad machines continues with the Warpspark Weapon Battery, Warp-Grinder,and Doom-Flayers all lending a hand, and occassionally not being helpful at all. The Skaven have their extremists as well, with Master Moulder and the Brood Terror of Clan Moulder also being released on pre-order this week. For Spearhead fans, the new Spearhead Skaven gives you a mix of older models plus the new Clanrats. There is of course the ubiquitous release of themed Skaven Warscroll Cards and a Skaven Dice set.
Just when you thought it was safe to look at a pre-order week, the dread has returned - Made to Order Middle-Earth!! These are all metal minis and include Heroes of the West (Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Gandalf the White, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Éomer, Éowyn, and Faramir), Gandalf the White on horseback, the brilliant Minas Tirith Command (Set 1 and Set 2), Warriors of the Dead, and Frodo and Sam in Orc Armour. The bad guys include the Fall of the Witch-king, Mordor Orc Captains, a Warband of Easterling Warriors and a Mordor Troll.
​In books this week Dawn of Fire Book 8: Hand of Abaddon in both Special Edition and standard paperback, Dominion Gensis in hardback, the Tome of Fire trilogy is all put together in the Lords of Nocturne Omnibus, and the Temple of Silence in paperback. In merchandise theres' the AAA: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Desk Mat. As the owner of a white desk mat, can I suggest this will become very dirty very quickly!

Only a few weeks after their release in an Army Box, the latest Horus Heresy faction, the Mechanicum, have arrived in their individual sets. The faction is released alongside the Campaigns of The Age of Darkness: The Martian Civil War book bringing rules for both Mechanicum and Dark Mechanicum for the first time. Structured more like a feudal army than a typical Heresy Era force, the Mechanicum is led by a human-machine hybrid, the Archmagos Prime - a brilliant new dynamic miniature in plastic. The epitome of machine domination, the Thanatar Cavas Siege-automata (available for the first time in plastic) is a massive beast of a machine. Then there's the Castellax Battle-automata Maniple - two spindly machines specialising in close combat but also packing some medium and long range hitting power (including a xenos-sourced darkfire cannon). The real winner in all this is the Thallax Cohort, the Mechanicum version of Space Marines. These are great minis - fiddly to build but they look brilliant. The only vaguely human force in the Mechanicum arsenal are the Tech-thralls Covenant, twenty pseudo-zombies who bulk out the land forces and flood the enemy with bodies. The main transport is the Triaros Armoured Conveyor, a chunky machine that can transport both the Tech-thralls and the Thallax, while plowing through the enemy with it's prow. All these minis have been available in Forge World resin before, but this plastic release makes them much easier to build (yes Castellax i'm looking at you) and a lot easier to convert. The Mechanicum release also has a really lovely set of Mechanicum Dice.
Alrighty, Warhammer: The Old World is again bringing character and old school grimdark back to Warhammer, and this week it's the turn of Chaos. What looks like a great resource is the new Arcane Journal: Warriors of Chaos, which is apparently packed full of lore and goodness. In terms of miniatures, the first thing to say about this release wave is that it's huge, the second would be that some of these minis have only just left the Age of $igmar range, and the third would be that some of these are absolutley ANCIENT!! A mix of old Forge World resin, metal and plastic kits, this really is a walk down memory lane, and you'd have to question if some of thee minis really needed to be released, while others are a very welcome return! Let's start with the brilliant Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount (metal), a deceivingly simple but excellent mini - the Champion of Chaos (plastic), Chaos Lord on Manticore (plastic), Champion of Chaos with Additional Hand Weapon (metal), Sorcerer of Chaos (plastic), and the truly ancient and pretty horrible Sorcerer of Chaos on Chaos Steed (metal). Next up are the troops, with the formidable Warriors of Chaos Battalion being the head of the spear, sporting 32 x Chaos Warriors, 10 x Chaos Knights and 2 x Chaos Chariots. This box hits hard and the enemy stays down! Outside the battalion box, there's the Chosen Chaos Warriors Command (metal), the Chosen Chaos Warriors (metal), a big box of 32 x Chaos Warriors (plastic), the Chaos Warriors Great Weapons Upgrade Set and Chaos Warriors Halberds Upgrade Set (both in metal). There's also some beasties, with the Dragon Ogre Shaggoth (resin), Dragon Ogres (plastic), two ancient - and some would say awful - kits Chaos Ogre Command and Chaos Ogres (both in metal), the old Chaos Dwarf Hellcannon (resin), and a few kits many people may never have seen - the Chaos Trolls (resin), Skin Wolves (resin), probably one of the best dragons Forge World ever did in the Warpfire Dragon (resin), the plastic Chimera, and the infamous Gigantic Spawn of Chaos (resin). That's a huge collection of minis, some unseen for a very long time. Also in this release there's the Warriors of Chaos Dice Set and Warriors of Chaos Reference Card Pack.
We saw the Dwarves rolled out in Warhammer : The Old World a little while ago, and now here's some more - all older and metal, there's some absolutely brilliant miniatures in here. Led by the previously rare Dwarf Queen, we also have the ​Dwarf Thane, Battle Standard Bearer, and Lord, the Dwarf Lords (including my favourite miniature of all time), the Dwarf Runesmiths and the Dwarf Slayers of Legend. These are all Made to Order, so don't get too excited about them arriving any time soon.
In books this week we have The End and the Death Volume 1 (Paperback) The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra Book 8 and another in the series of maps for Horus Heresy, The Imperial Palace Undone Map.

It's not the longest game system name in the world, but geez it has to be close, for today the new Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game - Lord of the Rings: Rise of Angmar expansion is up for pre-order bringing with it a brand new book and a bevvy of lovely new resin miniatures. The evolution of Middle-Earth miniatures is very impressive when you see this week's pre-orders - to think that the Perry Twins (and others) painstakingly hand sculpted those early ranges with putty and now we have these incredible digitally rendered minis that really are world class. It is a shame that the scale of the Middle-Earth minis was made to be 25mm and not the 28-30mm of traditional Games Workshop minis, becuase it would be great to see these miniatures mixed into traditional Fantasy armies! Anyway, we digress, let's lead off with the new Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game - Lord of the Rings: Rise of Angmar Expansion Book which sees the Lord of the Nazgûl (known as the Witch-king of Angmar in this timeline) form Angmar and take on the divided kingdom of Arnor. Leading this fight are some mighty heroes, here rendered in Forge World resin, Eärnur, the Last King of Gondor, Aranarth & Argadir, Heroes of Arnor (a personal favourite) and the Knights of Arnor. These new miniatures are all stunning. Truly dynamic posing, rendered beautifully and painted exquisitely in these examples (below). Two evil creatures stand against these heroes and lead the forces of Angmar, Nazthák and the Shadow of Rhudaur, Heroes of Angmar. Supporting them are Aldrac & Fráecht, Heroes of Carn Dûm and their Warriors of Carn Dûm, plus the feared Werewolves of Angmar all in Forge World resin. There releases aren't the first time we have seen the forces of Arnor in the Middle-Earth game, in fact they date back so far that we're going to be be getting a collection of metal miniatures returning. Lead by the Kings of Men, King Arvedui & Malbeth the Seer, Lords of the Dúnedain, Erestor and the very lost-looking Círdan, the Warriors of Arnor Warband takes to the field alongside the Rangers of the North and the Dúnedain of the North. Meanwhile, in the black corner, we have the Shade of Angmar, and Gûlavhar, the Terror of Arnor. 
The cornerstone of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k universe, the Space Marines, have a new army set, this time introducing the Blood Angels into 10th Edition! The Blood Angels Army Set contains the new Codex (in super-duper-limited-edition), Datacards, two new primaris-scaled minis; The brilliant Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost and Astorath the Grim, plus 10 Jump Pack Intercessors, 10 Assault Intercessors, and a Brutalis Dreadnought. The set also includes four of the brand new Blood Angels Upgrade Sprues and the new Death Company Transfer Sheet.
Missing a bit of Horus Heresy action? Well it's all in Legions Imperialis scale these days, with the ​Legion Sabre Strike Tank Squadron, Leman Russ Exterminator and Annihilator Squadron and Termite Assault Drills on pre-order this weekend.
In books we get to learn more about Morvenn Vahl, the High Lord of Terra and living saint, in Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith. A great miniature, it will be interesting to see where they go with this book.

Necromunda has been slowly expanding from the core Hive City and with Hive Secundus now firmly being fleshed out as a horrorshow of ruin and Genestealer infestation, it's time to expand on that and introduce you to ​Necromunda: Book of Desolation. This is a bit of a leap in Necromunda with the idea of the Genestealer infestation being not just contained to the Hive but also outside, plus there's rules to allow you to have your gang metamorphise into various stages of Malstrain mutation. Not only that but there's also rules for the new Van Saar Tek-hunters and various Spyre Hunters. Van Saar are now not only providing the weapons for the really dangerous jobs, they're also doing the really dangerous jobs. With the help of some "discovered" Xenos tech, the rich and powerful can now take some very expensive options into battle too, donning new armour to become Orrus, Malcadon, Yeld, or Jakara Spyre Hunters. This is a dip back into old lore with the rich kids proving their worth while being nigh-on impregnable in the most expensive weapons systems money can buy. Field these new beauties with the new Spyre Hunting Party Gang Tactics Cards and take your game to a new level. While Van Saar are making their presence known, Delaque's favourite bounty hunter, Yageloth, the Master of Whispers has rocked up - and when Delaque are around you just know something sinister and a little more subtle is going on. With your Spyre Hunters and Tek-hunters, you'll want to give them a hefty opponent, and fresh from the places we should stay away from, we have the Malstrain Genestealer Abomination Gang. Want to guard some assests and take fewer casualties? Well the Trazior Pattern Sentry Guns are for you. You get four in this set, two with twin grenade launchers and two with twin heavy stubbers. Last for Necromunda this week are the Hive Secundus Gang Tactics Cards.
Completely away from Grimdark of the far future, we have the horror and wonder of the far lost past, with The Hobbit: Hunt for the Arkenstone, the new board game allowing you to be one of the Dwarves and hunt for Arkenstone. It's all in the title really...
Warhammer: The Old World keeps on giving with some excellent classic kits, the Watchtower of the Empire, Sigmarite Chapel of the Empire, Walls & Fences, Arcane Ruins and Fortified Manor of the Empire (which is really three of those kits combined) and the very old Warhammer Hills. 
Not everything in the Old World is "old", with the new plastic Dwarf King With Oathstone and Dwarf Slayer of Legend on pre-order this weekend. They can lead a collection of more venerable troops who have reappeared to populate the Old World; the Dwarf Miners, Dwarf Gyrocopters, and the Dwarf Cannon & Organ Gun set. The Orcs also get some backup, with the new resin Ogdruz Swampdigga, Da Troll Calla and a personal favourite, the classic Black Orc Mob back in the range (at a hefty price bump)!
In books we have the ​Krieg Special Edition and White Dwarf #503, which hits the shelves this coming Friday.

​The Inquisition - the various Ordos of the Imperium, are the beating heart of enforcement throughoput the galaxy. Where the Imperial Guard conquer, and the Space Marines annihilate, The Inquisition act as judge, jury and executioner in all matters - and you can now field them with the new ​Codex: Imperial Agents. Field the Ordos Xenos, Ordo Hereticus, or Ordo Malleus, and now included in this Codex are rules for the Imperialis Fleet commanded by Rogue Traders. As usual Codex: Imperial Agents is available in Hammer Time Limited Edition or For The Emperor Standard Edition.
Inquisitors Kyria Draxus and Katarinya Greyfax, two excellent minis, can lead your forces, while a number of minis previously available in the Blackstone Fortress set; Ministorum Priest, Deathwatch Captain Artemis and Navis Nobilite Navigator have also mustered for battle. Now when it comes to the Inquisition, the Officio Assassinorum do the silent deadly work, so you'll need a Vindicare, Eversor, Callidus (Lady Deadpool repaint anyone?), or Culexus Assassin to do that for you. It's interesting GW didn't take this opportunity to do some Made to Order of the older sculpts. Lower down the scale of minion, the Inquisitorial Agents box gives you multiple options to build your hatchetmen, while your more elite helpers like the Rogue Trader Retinue and Voidsmen-at-Arms Elucidian Starstriders have also joined the party. 
Now if you like the sound of taking The Emperor's Justice to the galaxy, then there are some excellent boxed sets on the way. If you like a mix of the units mentioned above, then the Combat Patrol: Imperial Agents is for you. With some added extras and two units of Adeptus Arbites, this is a very cool set. When it comes to the real hardmen and women of the Inquisition though, you need to call on the Ordos, so the new Imperial Agents Battleforce: Ordo Malleus, Imperial Agents Battleforce: Ordo Hereticus or Imperial Agents Battleforce: Ordo Xenos may be more your speed. All of these are available for a limited time and would have been brilliant platforms for exclusive box art, but unfortunately not. Anyway, if you want them, you'd better line up and get them! To field Imperial Agents you'll need the Datasheet Cards: Imperial Agents and of course the Imperial Agents Dice.
​A little outside the Inquisition but in the realm of the Imperium, the new and limited edition Celestian Sacresant Aveline miniature is here and would be a stunning centrepiece for any Sisters of Battle force.
Like the idea of the game Space Hulk but want to play it in Warhammer 40k? Well the new Warhammer 40,000 Boarding Actions book is here with rules for every faction in the game so you can fight in the tight confines of any ship. 
In books there's the new Daemonbreaker in both Special Edition and Standard hardback, Daemonhammer in hardback, the Ravenor (20th Anniversary Edition) in hardback, the Exorcists-themed Oaths of Damnation in hardback and the Saints and Martyrs Adepta Sororitas Omnibus in paperback.

++ Note to our Japanese reader, that this week's pre-orders have been delayed in their entirety to Japan ++ 
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For those playing along at home, the Mechanicum (predecessor to the Adeptus Mechanicus of Warhammer 40K) are a walking horror show! Very few things typify this than the Thallax, cyborg murder machines with the brain and central nervous system of a human implanted into it, then pumped full of drugs to keep its battle rage hard for heresy. The plastic Thallax make their debut in this week's pre-orders as part of the ​Mechanicum Battle Group. With the Mechanicum being an entirely resin force under Forge World, and one of the first factions in the Horus Heresy, this new boxed set sees the Thallax, Castellax Battle-automata, Tech-thralls and Triaros Conveyor released in plastic for the first time. This is a huge deal for the Horus Heresy and a brilliant addition to the range. Plastic Castellax is an answered prayer to hobbyists as the resin versions are a horror to make! As a big fan of Thallax, this is actually exciting as they are an incredibly faithful reproduction. This new set comes with three new transfer sheets - the a Mechanicum Macro-Constructs sheet and two Mechanicum Construct sheets. Also in the world of the Mechanicum, we have the new Knight Battle Group: Castigator and Acheron, giving you two variants of the Cerastus chassis. Valued contributor Steven tells us that this set actually saves you money by buying in bulk - around $200 AUD - compared to if you bought two seperately.
In the world of mini Horus Heresy (Legions Imperialis) it's time for a legendary battle. A battle purported to be the largest armoured conflict of all time - Tallarn! The new Legions Imperialis – The Devastation of Tallarn book takes you to the poisoned planet and introduces new Battle Honours, Veteran Detachments, Formations of Legends, and new Formations and Detachments for the Legiones Astartes and the Solar Auxilia. Want a quick reference instead of lugging around a book? Well the Legions Imperialis: The Devastation of Tallarn Cards are for you! In any armoured battle you need armour, and praise be to the Gods the Shadowswords/ Stormblades/ Stormswords combi-kit is here. Heavy hitters sharing a common hull, this set lets you choose between these types to build up two models, plus it includes the Solar Auxilia vehicle transfer sheet. It's not just big chassis this week, it's also big guns with the Leman Russ Executioner/ Demolisher Squadron combi-kit, with eight tanks you can construct in either type. This kit also comes with the Solar Auxilia vehicle transfer sheet. Adeptus Astartes get some armoured love too with the Sicaran Arcus/ Punisher Squadron combi-kit allowing you to build four of either type.
​We have some Made to Order this week, and it's Prince Ulther’s Dragon Company - two very old sets. You can get the Command or Warrior sets - or both, You do you!
This Friday sees White Dwarf 503 hit the news stands, and apparently this adds layers to the lore of the Leagues of Votann, probably the least loved 40K faction by Games Workshop (except potentially Dark Eldar). Bungled at release, nerfed very quickly, these great little minis have been exceptionally hard done by.

Well it's Starter Set Season, and joy be upon us all. Unfortunately (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) the Starter Sets for this edition of Age of $igmar just seem to miss the mark - let's have a look...
Here's the big one - the Warhammer Age of Sigmar – Ultimate Starter Set, it has the minis and the play tools, but it's missing a rulebook. Well it has the Spearhead rules, but not the full game rules, not even a little chibi version! They're not being too subtle about moving people to Spearhead mode, are they? Next up, the Warhammer Age of Sigmar – Starter Set which comes with most of the minis, but no rules, not even the Spearhead rules! This is probably the cheapest way to get a taste of the new minis (minus the heroes and with half some of the units), so could have very easily been called "The Miniature Taster Collection" and left the rest of the stuff out of it. Finally we have the Warhammer Age of Sigmar – Introductory Set which comes with a few minis, some paints and the TWWB (The World's Worst Brush). Not too sure who this is aimed at either. Even if you bought this, are you really going to take five Stormcast over to your mate's place? So as you can see, all of these don't quite hit the mark. Sure you can go and buy the Rulebook, or even fork out on Skaventide, but as the Ultimate Starter Set is the same price of the previous edition's full boxed sets, how is this motley offering designed for people trying to get into the hobby? Seems like they were designed by an accountant not a hobbyist.
Okay, so you've mortgaged the cat, sold your sister and you now have minis - it's time to paint! There's three new hobby sets - Stormcast Eternals Paint Set which has three Stormcast, some paints and TWWB and the Skaven Paint Set, which includes some paints, five Skaven and TWWB. Both good ways to get into the hobby for newbies - just throw away TWWB, go to the local craft store and spend a few dollars on a multi-pack of brushes. The last of the new hobby sets is the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Paint and Tools Set which is actually pretty nifty, especially as they are full pots not dinky mini pots.
Again for this edition we have the Getting Started With Warhammer Age of Sigmar book. These are a great repository of lore and articles on modelling and painting. I bought a couple of copies for my nephews for one of the previous editions, and it was great! Latter ones weren't as good, but it's really worth passing these on to anyone you think might be interested, plus they come with a two minis. 
Away from Age of $igmar, we have Warcry - the little engine that could of the Warhammer world. The latest expansion is Warcry: Briar and Bone, sees us returning to the Gnarlwood (yawn!) as the Bonereaper's Teratic Cohort take on the Sylvaneths' Twistweald, who definitely pulled the short straw as they are infested with painful plants and bugs. As if being a living tree-elf-spirit wasn't bad enough! Both of these sets are nice, and the Teratic Chort brings brand new units to the Bonereapers.
Previous Warcray warbands have leapt from the last boxed expansion giving you access to the Lumineth Reamlord's Ydrilan Riverblades and Nagash's cowled wunderkind, the Pyregheists. Also from that expansion we have the Idol of the Old Ones terrain piece which can happily join your Seraphon forces/ terrain collection/ pile of shame with pride. This is on my list!!
In books this week we have the hardback of Lioness of the Parch and the paperback of ​Blacktalon.
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Apologies for the brevity of this update, I accidentally deleted the first one, so this is version 2.

Necromunda have decided to do a similar format to Kill Team, and instead of having the terrain in the expansion boxes, the terrain will now be separately available. In some ways this is good, but when you're introducing a whole new battlefield, it seems like double handling. Thus we have Necromunda: Hive Secundus, the second largest Hive City on Necromunda gets a look-in, and boy is it a mess! It's also infested with Genestealers and of course their friendly Cultists. Both the Cultists and Genestealers have been twisted by their anger at having GW block certain releases in certain markets, so there's a new spin on them. Meanwhile, their adversary, the Van Saars, backed by the Imperial House, bring some new weapons to the melee, and are backed up by two reformatted Xenos armoured suits - easily the highlight of this set. One of the terrain sets to accompany Hive Secundus is these weirdly organic looking Hive Data Stack Cluster. Very different feel, so I'm sure people will be into these for something different. The other terrain set is the Ruined Zone Mortalis - the classic Zone Mortalis, but melted, broken, smashed, to depict the destruction and chaos inside Hive Secundus. Great idea, but it makes them hard to stack, which is the idea in a massive Hive City. Two new stand-out characters this week, with The Proxy and Fixer, both in resin and beautifully sculpted and painted. Fixer especially is right in line with the original look of the Imperial House in both Confrontation and Necromunda.
The Warhammer: Old World is back after a hiatus that is way way too long, and this time we have the Dwarves! The new ​​Arcane Journal: Dwarfen Mountain Holds, if it's anything like the others in this series will be a great guide to "Lore and More", while the release of the Dwarfen Mountain Holds Reference Card Pack, Dwarfen Mountain Holds Dice Set. and brand new Transfer Sheet (this is really cool!) will get your troops on the field.Speaking of troops, the Dwarfen Mountain Holds Battalion box gives you a tonne of them. There's also some fantastic new leader sets , the plastic Dwarf Lords with Shieldbearers (a must-have), the new and vastly improved ​Ungrim Ironfist, the Slayer King of Karak Kadrin which is just an amazing model with great bearing (in resin), and Dwarf Thane with Handgun on Oathstone, also in resin. There's also a reappearance of the plastic Runesmith. All of these are brilliant! These new releases are supported by a bevy of classic, and old, miniatures, including the Dwarf Command Set, Slayer Command Set, Dwarf Slayers, Doomseekers, the very ancient Imperial Dwarves Command and Imperial Dwarfs (who I think have to be 40 years old by now), the Dwarf Warriors, Dwarf Quarrelers, Irondrakes/ Ironbreakers, Hammerers/ Thunderers. Guided by the trusty Dwarf Engineers (in metal) there are of course some war machines, including the Grudge Thrower, Flame Cannon grizzly Goblin-Hewer, Dwarf Bolt Thrower, The Anvil of Doom and Bugmans Cart.
In books this week it's the Death Korps of Kreig Dead Man Walking in Special Edition. Not only is the cover in black and white, the writing inside is too. Very special. Very limited! 
Horus Heresy loves a map, and now Necromunda has a new map too, Carta Galactica: The Secundan Exclusion Zone, showing you Hive Secundus and a whole lot of eradiated desert!

With Games Workshop still trying to get the new Age of $igmar: Skaventide to be a rip-roaring success, we have a mediocre pre-order weekend, with offerings from Black Library. It does look like next week may be the Mechanicum for Horus Heresy, if that keeps you nullified. It's quite literally the only thing on the horizon that is keeping us interested in Warhammer at the moment, which is a bit of a sad state of affairs, frankly
The undoubted most-interesting most-underrated character in the Horus Heresy novels is Ahriman of the Thousand Sons. Now, in the Warhammer 40K timeline, we have the new Ahriman: Undying novel. This is available in both hardback and Limited Edition formats.
Unrivalled combat mistress, Lelith Hesperax is here with her new novel Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives. Games Workshop have this listed as a hardcover this week, but in Australia and New Zealand it's just the Limited Edition version for now.
​The already-sold out Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith Mega Limited Edition is up this weekend, following the tried and true format of the Emperor's Spears collection from some years ago. Limited to 1,750 copies and presented in a magnetic-enclosure box, the hardback novel is accompanied by 56-page cloth-bound book, The Book of Saints, telling selected short stories of Adeptus Sororitas legends, plus there's six postcard-sized art prints showing artwork from The Book of Saints.
Paperbacks this week see the return of Fall of Cadia for the 1500th time, and the Mechanicus vs. Emperor's Children Cultists in Genefather. 

With the 4th Edition Age of $igmaron pre-order last week, this week there's some extra goodies and the new core book for those who didn't jump into the Big Box. As an aside, it's interesting not to see the Big Box not sold out - I wonder if we're going to have a repeat of the lacklustre sales of Dominion, the 3rd Edition Big Box...
Get ready to end the new era with the Warhammer Age Of Sigmar Core Book, available for pre-order this weekend. Available in $igmar Simp Limited Edition or We Miss The Old World Standard Edition, we're predicting this will be the last hoorah in the Age of $igmar before Games Workshop may decide to bring back The Old World into the main universe.
Now if you want to jump straight into Age of $igmar, then you'll be needing the Warhammer Age Of $igmar General's Handbook 2024-25. But I bought the rule book and the Faction Cards, why do I need this other book? Well, friend, the General's Handbook brings you up to date with the latest narrative events in the Warhammer Universe, plus it gives you the new Matched Play Season Rules 2024-25, including the Grand Alliance-specific battle tactics, 12x Battleplans, the new Tournament Organisers Pack, the all-important changes to endless spells warscrolls and rules, some Advanced Rules for applying to matched play Battlepacks, the Citadel terrain types, and some blank sheets to fill out. If you want to be one of those competitive sporty players, then this is for you!
Warhammer Age Of $igmar: Spearhead – Fire & Jade Gaming Pack is a way to get the four new pieces of terrain at a cheaper price - not but seriously, this will give you a Double-sided gameboard designed for Spearhead games, the plastic push-fit pieces of terrain, 36 x Spearhead cards and the entirely disposable 6" Plastic range ruler and 1x 3" plastic range ruler. Get into Spearhead with this set as it seems to be the game mode GW are really pushing this edition.
The big pre-order this week are the Faction Packs, which is basically a set of cards with your Faction's unit profiles and abilities, army rules, the new Spearhead rules etc. These are available for all Factions, so you can quickly get up to date with the new rules - Stormcast Eternals, Skaven, Hedonites of Slaanesh, Maggotkin of Nurgle, Disciples of Tzeentch, Blades of Khorne, Slaves to Darkness, Flesh Eater Courts, Nighthaunt, Soulblight Gravelords, Ossiarch Bonereapers, Sons of Behemat, Ogor Mawtribes, Gloomspite Gitz, Orruk Warclans (also containing rules for both the Ironjawz and Kruleboyz), Fyreslayers, Kharadron Overlords, Sylvaneth, Idoneth Deepkin, Daughters of Khaine, Lumineth Realmlords, Seraphon, and Cities of $igmar.
Dice, we all love dice (even though there's none in the Big Box, but fear not, there's Dice Sets for Grand Alliance Destruction, Grand Alliance Chaos, Grand Alliance Death and Grand Alliance Order.
Also available this Friday is the next White Dwarf, issue #502.

After weeks of completely impenetrable Warhammer Community articles, the new Age of $igmar edition is here - Skaventide!! So what do you get in the box? Being a new edition of Age of $igmar, you get the 272-page hardback Warhammer Age of Sigmar Core Book, which of course includes all the rules, plus the new game mechanics for siege battles and tunnel fighting. Games Workshop have been pushing the new Spearhead game mode pretty forcefully from Day 1, so the 144-page hardback Spearhead: Fire and Jade book is also included to guide you through the "fast, tactical, small-scale battles" of this mode of play. Lets get onto the meat of the box though, the new miniatures, all of which are in the push-fit format, unfortunately. You get 24 x new Stormcast Eternals, including the new Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-stalker, a Lord-Terminos with his Memorian, a Lord-Veritant with Gryph-crow, a Knight-Questor, three spiky Reclusians with their Memorian off-siders, three of the redesigned Prosecutors, and ten of the tweaked Liberators - all of which fit into the new proportions first seen in the Dominion boxed set - the previous edition of Age of $igmar. Now to face these servants of $igmar, we have the Skaven, one of the original factions in Warhammer, they are back with a much-needed update. They are led by a Clawlord on Gnaw-Beast, a Grey Seer on a very cool base, a Warlock Engineer, a heavy artillery support piece, the Ratling Warpblaster, three Rat Ogors, three Warplock Jezzail snipers, and forty Clanrats who have needed this update for many years. Bless their little pink tails... The set also comes with four pieces of push-fit terrain, which is actually pretty cool! Away from the minis, what would a boxed set be without the double-sided cardboard game board (so exciting), a set of Spearhead cards, seventeen General's Handbook cards which thankfully include the 2024-25 Season Rules cards, Battle Tactics cards, Battleplan cards, and a Score card. There's also the accessories to help the new players, with two plastic range rulers... and interestingly, no dice! I think I need to check out the new rules!
​Now if you order this through the GW Webstore, you can get the Objective Markers for free. 
Meanwhile we of course have themed books, with the Skaventide novel available in Special Edition and Hardcover. 
The other book this week is the new fourth edition of Warhammer World: Dioramas. This 88-page paperback has photos and insights into the dioramas at Warhammer World, including the new Warhammer: The Old World siege.

Twas the week before Ao$ 4, and all through the land, not a pre-order was listed, at least none that we wanted...
​It's one of those weeks where anticipation is building, for next week we enter that cycle leading up to the release of a new edition. We've seen the minis, we've been bored senseless by the endless articles about points and rules, and now here we are, on the precipice of the dawning of a new age - the Age of $igmar! As such, this week is one of those weeks where we save up our dollarydoos in anticipation of a big splurge, and the licensed products get rolled out.
Makers of things that are almost cool enough to buy but end up gathering dust on the coffee table, Starforged, have a series of Space Marine Chapter Banner Magnets. You can choose Imperial Fists, Ultramarines, Dark Angels or Blood Angels, and make your fridge part of your hobby! By the way, the imagery used on these banners has to be over 25 years old and it's awesome to see it still being used.
Meanwhile, Japanese toymaker Tomy, have another entry in their series of fluffy minions - this time the Gryph-hound Plush. Grab this now before you have to use one of those claw machines in your local video game arcade to get one... because that's where they will be in 6 months!

Some much-needed love for the Horus Heresy Community in this week's pre-orders with some plastic and some Forge World resin love!
A joyous plastic release is the much-anticipated Legion Command Upgrade Set, which includes all new pieces to convert your Space Marine Command Squad. Interesting choice to have power swords/ Charnable Sabres instead of gladius', but the two banners and plumed helmets are pretty great, and the shields - so cool! There's also a new transfer sheet in here as well, with some new designs. Now if you would like to get yourself a Command Squad in one foul swoop, then you can also get the Legiones Astartes Command Squads - in both MkIII and MKVI flavours - which adds 5 models to the Legion Command Upgrade Set. Curious that this came before the expected re-release of the MKIV Space Marines, scaled-up to match their Brothers.
Now Horus Heresy loves a character, and this week we have four in resin on pre-order - the White Scar's Hibou Khan, Seeker of Atonement, Sons of Horus' ‘Little’ Horus Aximand, Captain of the 5th Company and Tybalt Marr, Captain of the 18th Company and former Iron Hand Shadrak Meduson, now Master of the Shattered Legions and owner of the most preppy haircut this side of Pluto!
Along with these releases are two re-released transfer sheets, Legiones Astartes Infantry Markings and Vehicle Markings Transfer Sheet - both vital to your Horus Heresy forces.
New kids on the block when it comes to Horus Heresy, but if you like your armies BIG and your troops tiny, then Legions Imperialis is for you! This week sees the pre-order of two Battle Groups, one for the Legiones Astartes and the other for the ​Solar Auxilia. These are joined by new Support Elements, the Legiones Astartes Predator Squadron and the Solar Auxilia Leman Russ Strike Squadron. If you've been holding off, now you can get an army in a box, so go forth and magnify!
The previous smaller-scale games Adpeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis now have their minis wrapped up into Legions Imperialis, with a whole lot of repacking going on. So what's on offer? Well you can take to the air with the Fire Raptor Squadron, Storm Eagle Squadron, Xiphon Interceptor Squadron, Avenger Strike Fighters or the Thunderbolt Fighter Squadron. Or you can pound the earth in mighty mechs with the Warmaster Iconoclast Heavy Battle Titan, the Cerastus Knights Acheron And Castigator, the Acastus Knights Porphyrion, Warhound Scout Titans With Turbo-Laser Destructors And Vulcan Mega-Bolters, Warhound Titans With Ursus Claws And Melta Lances or Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titans. It's a great shame that GW didn't just add the new Ursus Claws And Melta Lances sprue to the existing Warhound Titan kit to create one all-encompassing kit - this would have been the perfect opportunity - but alas they again forget service as something they offer their customers. In fact just have a look at the price rise on all these repackaged kits and you will see we are much more loyal to GW than GW is loyal to us. Happily for many, there are also two terrain kits too, the Civitas Imperialis Spires and Civitas Imperialis - these kits always sell out very quickly! 
In books this week we have The Horus Heresy: Siege Of Terra Book 7: Echoes Of Eternity in paperback, and the next in the series of maps, this time it's the ​Sanctum Imperialis Palatine Map.

Sisters of Battle, or the Adepta Sororitas, have the distinction of being probably the first faction released due to public pressure. They'd been in the background since being taken off the main stage, but when Games Workshop brought them back, it caused a storm! The miniatures themselves are brilliantly detailed and pay serious homage to the originals, while at the same time adding extra layers of lore with the new units. Though personally not a fan, we really hope that there is a big fan following for them, because credit where credit is due, GW did go all out on these minis! Which brings us to this week, and the release of the Codex: Adepta Sororitas for 10th Edition Warhammer 40K. The Codex is available in two denominations - Flay and Pray Collectors Edition, and Righteous Zeal Standard Edition. Along with the Codex, there is a new Battleforce, Army of Faith, which includes the new Canoness with Jump Pack, one chunky tank/organ (Exorcist),  5 x Zephyrim, 10 x Seraphim, and three Adepta Sororitas transfer sheets. There's also a new Adepta Sororitas Combat Patrol, which includes 1 x Canoness, 5 x Celestian Sacresants, 10 x Battle Sisters, 10 x super creepy Arco-Flagellants and two Adepta Sororitas Transfer Sheets. The recent trend of releasing the Blackstone Fortress minis separately continues, with the ​Ministorum Priest with Vindictor also on pre-order this week. As tradition would (mostly) hold, there's a set of Adepta Sororitas Dice (cunningly coloured so you can't see the pips on the dice faces) and Datasheet Cards also on their way.
From the purity of the Sisters of Battle, to the heresy of the followers of the Many Armed God - yes it's the other faction that was demanded by fans, and also brilliantly executed by the miniatures team, Genestealer Cults. This faction has to be the single most kitbashed faction in Warhammer 40K, being the basis for many Blanchitsu, INQ28 and other fan-led universes, as well as a brilliant source of weapons options for Imperial Guard AND a fantastic range in and of themselves! With a collection of unique vehicles, the Genestealer Cults really is the miniatures range you could turn into almost anything - from rogue Guard units, to Rogue Traders, civilians, Necromunda gangs, armed miners, a motorized gang holding a planet hostage, deep space explorers - the look is almost universal! In fact the have been the basis for Space Skaven too. So this week, the new Genestealer Cults Codex for 10th edition is also on pre-order, available in Galactic Liberation Collectors Edition and Clandestine Long Game Standard Edition. The new Battleforce - Biosanctic Broodsurge - has the brand new Benefictus mini, an Abominant, 5 x Aberrants, 2 x Goliath Rockgrinder/ Goliath Truck combi-kits, 10 x Neophyte Hybrids, and 10 x Purestrain Genestealers. Meanwhile, the new Genestealer Cults Combat Patrol is a fast hard hitting collection featuring a Jackal Alphus, an Achilles Ridgerunner, 5 x Atalan Jackals, and 10 x Hybrid Metamorphs/ Acolyte Hybrids (the ones you can add Skaven heads to and make Space Skaven). We also have the ​Genestealer Cults Dice (always brilliant!) and ​Genestealer Cults Datasheet Cards, with pretty purple edging!
Speaking of Warhammer 40K 10th Edition, this week sees the pre-order of the new Chapter Approved: Pariah Nexus Mission Deck which gives you updated cards for deployment, primary and secondary objectives, new Secret Missions, and new mission rules, plus some pop-out objective tokens. Also in Pariah Nexus-land, the new Mission Objectives are incoming. Now these are large markers that you place on the game board (or maybe hover over it if you prefer) to show the control range of a regular objective. That seems like a brilliant idea, right? Well it is until you look at the outrageous price. This is the sort of pricing that angers the Community. A crazy price for what is essentially 6 markers. Really, GW, take a look at yourself!
Back to some minis - the new-ish Ork Big Mek comes with some customising options and an especially poorly executed model, the Shield-Captain - who has all the right elements for a great miniature, but he's horribly proportioned. Now they use computers, couldn't they just have stretched him?
In books this week we have the new Siege of Vraks novel with comes in Special Edition and Hardback, plus two "Black Library Classics", Rose in Darkness in paperback and Creed: Ashes of Cadia in paperback.
It's also a White Dwarf week with issue 501 hitting stores this coming Friday - except it is delayed in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

It must be getting very close to something big - one would assume the new edition of Age of $igmar, because the pre-order weeks are getting smaller, and a little more niche. Something is in the wind...
​ But before all that, this week it's Kill Team! [insert drone noise] The new format of Kill Team is to give us a smaller box, mainly concentrating on units rather than terrain, which is much kinder on the wallet, but for us it sort of takes some of the emersion away. Still, here we are with the new Kill Team: Termination [insert drone noise]. The adversaries this time are the Hernkyn Yaegirs representing the Leagues of Votann, versus Genestealer Cults Brood Brothers, Imperial Guardsmen who have truned their back on the Imperium in favour of The Many Armed God. The Hernkyn Yaegirs are brand new coat-wearing scouts, and their look is pretty cool, taking the coats from the Hernkyn Pioneers (the ones on bikes) and kitting out some dudes and dudettes to be all Matrix-style. The Genestealer Cults Brood Brothers however, are the current Cadian Infantry with a new Brood Brothers Upgrade sprue - as was the way with one faction in each Kill Team box from almost Day 1. The character models in this faction are also pre-existing minis from the Genestealer Cults range too. Fear not though GSC fans, you have some new troops on the way in the form of Necromunda! Stay tuned [insert drone noise]. Kill Team: Termination also comes with an 88-page rulebook, two token sheets for both factions, datacards for each unit, two decks of assets, tactical ploys, and strategic ploys, and two transfer sheets. The afore-mentioned terrain are the new Termination Plasma Genatoriums, of which you get two. Quite a neat little set, and many may get this for the GSC upgrade sprue alone, so watch eBay and FB Marketplace for the other units being listed soon.
In books this week we have the brand new Mike Brooks novel, Lelith Hesperax: Queen of Knives in Limited Edition. This is a stunning looking book with red-trimmed pages and all the bells and whistles we've seen before. Probably well worth a read for the sadly-ill treated Dark Eldar hobbyists.

Bit of Australian vernacular to headline today's update, but it was out there, so welcome to the language!
Because we're on a bit of a theme here, let's start this week with the delayed release of the new Slaves to Darkness: Darkoath Army Set, While the rest of the world get's this army box split up into individual units this week, Australia and New Zealand get the Army Box and some of the individual units. So let's take a brief look at the new incarnation of the Chaos Marauders, the mortal followers of the Dark Gods. This range is a vast improvement to the old minis, bringing exceptional dynamism what was a pretty static faction. it's still to be seen if there is the multi-pose options of the previous releases though! The Darkoath Army Set includes 20 x Darkoath Marauders, 5 x Darkoath Fellriders, a really evocative Chieftain on Warsteed, the warscroll cards and tokens, plus Battletome Supplement: Darkoath, which is an expansion for Battletome: Slaves to Darkness.
The major pre-orders this weekend are also Darkoath-themed, but around the latest Dawnbringers, Book VI, Hounds of Chaos, which is available in Horn of Despair Collectors Edition or Spiky Doomsayer Standard Edition. Harking from this very book is a new set, Slaves to Darkness: Abraxia’s Varanspear, starring Abraxia herself on her vile steed, plus three of the now-classic Varanguard heavy cavalry. This truly impressive set is joined by Slaves to Darkness: Brand’s Oathbound, a bit of a celebrity addition to the Darkoath - probably spending a lot of time signing autographs and kissing babies - after their appearance in the short animated episode "Monsters" on Hammer and Bolter. Very interesting set who would add some flavour to any Darkoath force - do check the pricing though. Celebrities do not come cheap! There's also the return of two deadly ladies, the brilliant Krethusa the Croneseer and a personal favourite Sekhar, Fang of Nulahmia. Hounds of Chaos also sees a new Chaos terrain piece Slaves to Darkness: ​Nexus Chaotica, which includes optional icons for the four major Chaos Gods.
Middle-Earth gets a bit of love this week with a new boardgame, The Lord of the Rings Quest to Mount Doom – a Middle-earth Adventure Game. This takes you through the adventures of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and includes the major players cast in gold plastic.   
Blood Bowl gets a new player this week with Warseer Jordell Freshbreeze (which you have to admit sounds more like a deodorant than a dude) in resin taking to the field.
There's some Made To Order terrain on pre-order this week, starting off with what was a very rare and expensive kit, the Void Shield Generator which is joined by some great pieces like the Haemotrope Reactors, Theramic Plasma Regulators, Alchomite Stacks, Ferratonic Furnace, Pyrolation Incinerator, Sub-cloister and Storage Fane and the Conservators (with bonus crate!).
In books this week we have the new Darkoath: A Gunnar Brand Novel (yet another thing to get their autograph on) and Realmslayer: Legend of the Doomseeker in paperback.
Now if you're into cute and fluffy, then Japanese toy maker Tomy have released three new Warhammer-themed plushies: a Spanna-grot, a Gnasha-squig, and a Little Unclean one. These have been listed by independent stockists for some time, but now Games Workshop have them too.

Alrighty, as Australia and New Zealand are just getting our hands on the Darkoath Army Box, we won't be getting the units individually any time soon, but for the rest of you, it's time to celebrate! You can pre-order the Darkoath Chieftain on Warsteed, Darkoath Fellriders, Darkoath Marauders and the very cool Darkoath Wilderfiend. Having a look at the sprues for these guys is interesting, with the Chieftain's weapon option being an entirely different torso, not just a different hand... Well, colour us intrigued!

While we all take a break as Games Workshop enters the foreplay period of the Age of $igmar Version 4.0 (some would say "lacklustre approach" if the reception to Spearhead is any indication) we hobbyists enter a little bit of limbo with yet another Lord of the Rings Made to Order weekend. To be fair it's not a bad thing, and do we really need new releases every week? It's hard to keep up! Plus with the recent passing of Bernard Hill, who played him in the Peter Jackson films, maybe it's appropriate. It would have been nice of GW to maybe have made reference to that though...
Anyway, what have we got? Well, play the main attraction of the fillums with the 
Heroes of Helm’s Deep - the gangs all here (minus the hobbits who were of course off galivanting, getting lost, getting high, being hunted etc.) or, if you prefer a bit more of the mainline Rohan, then the Defenders of Rohan may be more your cup of tea. There's also some space for the Rohan themselves in all this - it's not just about the Fellowship - with ​King Théoden (Warg Attack), Gamling (Warg Attack), and Éomer, Knight of the Pelennor, plus a pair of sturdy Rohan Commanders all taking to the field.