With the recent Beasts of Chaos releases, GW have delved into the depths of their archives - not deep enough to hit Mordheim unfortunately - to bring us these blasts from the past.
Gorthor is a mixed plastic and metal kit, and would make an awesome centrepieces for an army. Speaking of centrepieces, the 'rare' Wargor Standard Bearer is back - still in white metal - and so is  Ghorros Warhoof. We don't see Centigors get much love these days, so this is a nice commander for them. Chaos Devoted armies can add the Khorngor Command and the Khorngors as well as the Pestigor Command and Pestigors. Now if you're not a fan of the newer Chaos Warhounds, you can get your hands on the old Chaos Warhounds. Not entirely sure why you'd want these, but more power to you!
In books there's Warmaster, which basically looks like all the other Gaunts Ghosts books, except this guy looks more like David Beckham. It's actually not very smart. If I walked into the shop I wouldn't know if I had this book or not. Pick your game up, folks!

The Legio Ballista forces have been a very slow build - in fact starting back in the Epic days. More recently with the plastic Skitarii units - including the Kastelan - Legio Ballista had more of a flesh out, and not with the advent of Adeptus Titanicus, it's a chance to get some more Titans from the Legio on the battlefield.
What's interesting is to compare these new models to the older Epic scale models and see mow much bigger the Titans are! Strangely the vehicles are now to scale because in Epic they certainly weren't!
The level of detail on the plastic Adeptus Titanicus kits is excellent, with the Warhound being great fun to build with a brilliant result, but the Reaver is more fiddly - especially the leg armour and was really more of a pain to build than anything! Not in a rush to do more Reavers, but the Warhounds are the gift that keeps on giving.
++ It has not, BTW, missed my attention that every one of these photos is out of focus ++

The internet is alive with the sound of music - and that music is fanboys in exultation at the site of the new GW boxed game Blackstone Fortress. Building on the seminal Rogue Trader and Explorer Fleets fluff, we have a group of adventurers heading out to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations... oh hold on! It's actually good to see GW haven't forgotten the Rogue Trader - considering the game released just weeks ago and the Mechcanicum Explorator Fleets are pretty much a similar idea, just with more guns! It's actually the foundation of the 40K universe and a somewhat popular RPG universe as well, coincidentally reacquired by GW earlier this year. The range of miniatures in this set is very cool really, we see a Kroot outside the Tau forces (as they regularly are and not dissimilar to the one we did back in 2014), some Imperial Ratlings (maybe this will see an end to this xenophobic absolutist change to the fluff that was made somewhere in the mid-90s that saw the end of Beastmen and Ratlings and others in Imperial service), we see another Navigator and of course the much touted "Iron Man" (which was always an amazing piece of fluff, but this mini isn't really our personal vision of who they were), plus there's the bad guys - amazingly Beastmen return to 40K, new Chaos Marines, the Renegade Guard, tainted Psykers and the Ur-Ghul from the Dark Eldar range turn up too. Really there's a lot in this and the excitement is understandable - maybe it's GW's marketing that just isn't hitting home. Isn't it funny - even after all the work that's going into Warhammer Community, it's the actual community on social media that drum up all the interest and hype.
Outside Blackstone, Kill Team continues with more additions to the Commanders range with Crasker Matterzhek from the Genestealer Cults and Nemesis 9 Tyrantis from the Tyranids. So far all the Xenos names in this range of Kill Team have been on point! Amazing job.
In the world of books, there is of course a Blackstone Fortress novel - it comes in Half-The-Price-Of-The-Game Special Edition and Oh-Look-It's-Just-A-Book Everyone Else Edition. Not to be left out the Stormcast get a new novel, Hallowed Knights: Black Pyramid and there's an audio drama, Eight Lamentations: War Claw with some adventurers in some rather unusual outfits - I wonder if this is a look into the future...
Now when one becomes a Rogue Trader, the Imperium gives you sanction to do so - because in reality you really are just a pirate with permission to do stuff and bring stuff back, no matter the mess you make. Well, not this honour is upon you, because with every purchase of Blackstone Fortress from the webstore you could be sent your very own Warrant of Trade. Now personally I would have thought a Warrant of Trade would have been dripping in ribbons, honours, a wax seal - but no, it seems you just need a foil sticker. Who knew? Look, this is a cute idea, but really, if  Rogue Trader unfurled one of these in front of the leader of some far-flung world, they may as well be wearing an "... and all i got was this t-shirt". This is pretty naff, especially for such an expensive purchase. You can save over $30 online buying this game from somewhere pother than GW and this certificate cost about 10 cents to make. Not an enticement!

Games Workshop have ​put something on pre-order this week, and I'm not too sure they actually know what it is. Let us introduce you to the Citadel Assembly Handle - apparently it's to hold things while you put glue on something else. Personally I use my hands for that, but okay! What this actually is (GW - pay attention) is a copy of something that Gundam builders use - the little arms are actually for holding small pieces so you can paint them. Maybe GW should have asked the 3rd party that made this for them what it actually is! Now, there is finally the Citadel Painting Handle XL and the new tapered Citadel Water Pot - better for no spills! The paint range is also getting some new sets, the Citadel Ultimate Project Set and Citadel Project Paint Set with interlocking inserts, the Citadel Layer Paint Set and the Citadel Base & Shade Paint Set. There's new scenery with the Sector Mechanicus: Derelict Factorum plus some bundles- the bank-breaking Thermic Plasma Nexus Collection, the Sector Mechanicus Munitorum Munitions Hub (check out the bad Photoshop on this one- the work experience kid must have been in this day!), all the pipes with the Thermic Plasma Nexus,  and the Sector Imperialis: Imperial Sector bundle. Age of $igmar also get some terrain love with the Desolated Township, Azyrite Townscape (a good price this one in terms of outlay and return) and the Vale of Ghyran. 
Keep in mind, a bundle doesn't always equal value, so do the maths!
With news that the main Horus Heresy novel series is coming to an end, there two novellas forming part of the prequel - and they both sound like they will be fluff-impacting stories... Dreadwing centres around the Dark Angels and how The Lion is such an emo twat that his Legion actually have to work AROUND him to get the job done and Spear of Ultramar centres around the Ultramarines and why they didn't reach Terra in time to play a part in the final battles. In 40K land, Steel Daemon tells the story of a surviving Cadian just making his way in the world - even with that shocking haircut, The Bloodied Rose seems like Sisters of Battle hack and slash, Auric Gods tells the heartwarming story of how the Custodes just want to be loved, the Necromunda story Wanted: Dead and finally Death Knell, the backstory to the upcoming Space Marne Heroes miniature release. Age of $igmar get a look in too, with the Gotrek novella The Bone Desert, the Dark Elf story Heart of Winter, the last stand novella The Red Hours, and the Darkoath-themed Warqueen.
Yet another journal makes it's way to us - this time Nagash-themed. The quality of these is generally very nice, but the print job on the cover of this looks pretty ordinary to be honest!
There's also a Webstore offer on at the moment that if you buy everything in the webstore, you will receive this Brush Wallet - probably valued at around $15. Seems fair...! 

With the potato camera working overtime last night, it seems GW have decided to drop the whole Blackstone Fortress reveal in one rather epic video. This boxed set will be highly prized we would think - with not only new Chaos Space Marines and Xenos characters, but Cultists, Ratlings, Beastmen and more.

The next gang in Necromunda also got a look in and these guys are spectacular - possibly the best yet! House Delaque. We have dynamic poses, some great head sculpts, new weapons and a look that can be transferred straight across to 40K for Mechanicum, assassins - whatever you like. These will be big on the bitz market for sure! A must buy for us! The rules also get an update with the new Necromunda Rulebook combining the rules found in the Necromunda: Underhive boxed set plus content from Gang War, FAQs and Errata. There is now also, thankfully, the Gangs of Necromunda supplement with rules for all six of the House Gangs, plus Hangers-on, Brutes, the trading post and more.

Wrath and Rapture turns out to be a boxed game of Khorne vs Slaanesh. Seems those nice Fiends of Slaanesh models are from this set plus there's also Flesh Hounds for Khorne and more on the way!

The next Age of $igmar Battletome will be Destruction and looks like the mushrooms are back! Not much in this video, but maybe we should expect to see more of the weirdness... 

Meanwhile Warhammer Underworlds sees additions to the Darkoath range with the Godsworn Hunt. These are basically the new Chaos Marauders, skirmishers for the Slave To Darkness

The Orks are the last of the Xenos races to get a Codex release for the latest edition of Warhammer 40K. Some would say that this means that the new edition is right around the corner - but would we ever be so cynical?
The Codex is available in the usual flavours; the 'Uman Jam Collectors Edition and the Stompy Stomp standard edition. In terms of miniatures, this release is based around Speed Freeks - the boxed game from last week. The emphasis on mobility is writ large with four new vehicles; Megatrakk Scrapjet, Boomdakka Snazzwagon, Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy and the Deffkilla Wartrike. There's also an amazingly detailed terrain piece, the Mekboy Workshop, plus the usual themed Dice and Data Cards. As well as the new stuff we have pretty much the entire Ork range reboxed - minus some so we assume there will be more next week - the Ork Warbiker Mob, the resin Ork Kommandos and resin Ork Tankbustas, Ork Warboss Grukk's Boss Mob (you can also get the Nobz without him), the Ork Lootas/ Burna Boyz combi-kit (the best heads of almost any Ork kit out there), the excellent Ork Stormboyz, plus the venerable Ork Boyz kit with lots of great bits and packed with character. Speaking of character, the old Ork Gretchin kit is back, plus if you want to take a punt on Orks but you're not sure, the Easy To Build: Ork Boyz is around - also a great way to get alternative heads. To lead your Ork WAAARGH why not consider Ghazghkull Thraka? Pair him with the very expensive Ork Nob With Waaagh! Banner (he's the same price as a box of Boyz) and maybe one of a motley crew of characters - an Ork Painboy, the resin Mad Dok Grotsnik or even an Ork Mek.
What's really interesting about this range is the amount of years and editions of 40K it covers. Have a look at how the Orks have changed and also how reasonably priced their units are. Sure you can need a lot of Ork Boyz, but doing so won't break the bank!
Away from Orkiness, Sly Marbo gets an online re-release *yawn*, BUT how cool is this? Realmslayer: A Gotrek Gurnisson Series is back out... WITH BRIAN BLESSED DOING THE VOICE OF GOTREK. By the Gods this is cool. In the world of books, Blacktalon is out for Age of $igmar, the Voice of Mars paperback is also on it's way, as is White Dwarf November 2018. Now we still haven't received last month's White Dwarf, so any anticipation or interest is well and truly dead on this one!

Painting Monstrous Creatures is not a thing that comes naturally to someone easily distracted by the 'new shiny'. Nor someone lacking discipline - but the Beasts of Chaos Ghorgon was not only a large miniature, but also something I was going to finish before starting anything else - and what a fateful decision that was! You see the Ghorgon is not only large... but PACKED with detail. It's actually an excellent model, beautifully done, with more skulls than an Undead army and more leather straps than a Slaanesh meet and greet.
There's also a lot of alternate parts - from hands to forearm armour - so I took that extra armour and gave him knee and shoulder armour to give him a heavier appearance. Haven't seen this done before, but I' sure I'm not the first.

The colour of the flesh unites him with the other Beastmen in my force (unit examples below) which is a Celestra Grey base, with a Skavenblight DInge/ Lahmian Medium wash and then progressively lighter Celestra Grey/ Ceramite White highlights. Painting the skin was a pain as I decided to avoid large areas of colour and instead went for a strokes - look closely, it gives texture to something would obviously not be a flat colour. Thought that with the scale of him, the skin needed some sort of texture. The touches of red fabric also unite him with the rest of my force. There is a lot of warm colours on him to contrast with the cool skin colour - the leather, the red fabric, the tongue and then there's touches of cool like the green and purple gems. The leather has had a few comments - this is actually quite simple - Terracotta base, Ratskin Flesh highlights and then a very watered down dark brown wash. It flattens the colours together nicely.
The metals are all rusted with thinned brown paint and some very watery orange in the crevices, but the sharp parts of the blades are clean of rust to show they had been sharpened for war.
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Overall I'm very happy with the result and would consider doing another, but after a bit of a rest! The Start Collecting Beast of Chaos is excellent value as it comes with this and some troops.

Bit of a small pre-order week today, which could actually be a blessing after the huge Nighthaunt releases for Age of $igmar and Kill Team for 40k - but what would a weekend be without at least something top tempt us. Personally I miss these being first shown in the weekly version of White Dwarf (not that our WD even ever turns up anymore) but the internet is a hungry beast, so here we have it. 
Next week sees the release of a new twist on an old favourite - it's Speed Freeks! Ork Klans via for supremacy around (you have to admit) a rather small area. These minis are really nice, the bikes not straying too far from art we have seen for decades and the buggies are a big improvement on the old model for sure. Apparently the buggies in this set are exclusive to this set, and with only the boxed set being released this weekend and no individual sets, it may be unlikely we know if they are for a while.
By the way, is it just us or does the book's cover art (below) look like Steve Bisley art?
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In books next week, the Limited Edition Corax: Lord of Shadows hits the shelves as does the Age of $igmar-themed Sacrosanct & Other Stories  plus a timely audio book release, Prophets of Waaagh! with a picture on the cover almost directly copied from a scene out of the newer Mad Max film.
In somewhat more exciting news, the Horus Heresy series is coming to an end (as such) with the Siege of Terra finally beginning. Next week sees the beginning of that part of the story arc with The Horus Heresy: Heralds of the Siege a collection of short stories - some in print for the first time and others were originally released as audio dramas.
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is it an exciting pre-order week? No - but it's one week closer to the glory of Slaanesh!

Hasbro have just announced part of their new War on Cybetron Siege line up will include some new Micro Master 2-packs, and by the look of it they have taken some inspiration from two other Hasbro lines - G.I.Joe and MASK. Have a look at Swindler (below left) and Stormcloud (below right) then have a look at the MASK vehicle Thunderhawk and the Night Raven from the G.I.Joe line.

Although not exactly the same, there does seem to be some serious inspiration. This is of course not the first time these properties have crossed over - in 2008 G.I.Joe brought out a Matt Trakker figure and in 2015 Transformers released a figure, Viper, based on the Cobra Rattler from G.I. Joe.

These crossovers are great fun - and for fans of the franchises a great addition to their collections!

​Kill Team - elite squads of troops pitted against each other, and this week Games Workshop have introduced the Commanders Expansion Boxed Set, which includes a 120 page book, 33 Universal Commander Tactics cards (7 cards covering the psychic powers from the book, along with Psybolt from the Kill Team Core Manual), 20 blank Commander datacards, a double-sided Commander token sheet.  
To go with this boxed set are Commanders for each faction - Ankra the Colossus Necron Commander, Feodor Lasko Astra Militarum Commander, Fireblade Twinflame T’au Empire Commander, Gaius Acastian Deathwatch Commander, Gitzog Wurldkilla Ork Commander, Magos Dalathrust Adeptus Mechanicus Commander, Torrvald Orksbane Adeptus Astartes and Vysa Kharavyxis Drukhari Commander. Each Commander is moulded in this new coloured platsic GW are using and come with a datacard, a skill tree card, 5 Tactics Cards (including 2 Tactics exclusive to this set) plus a sheet of tokens for use in games of Kill Team. Kill Team seems like Necromunda for 40K, so should make people pretty happy!
Away from 40K, last week we saw some cool new teams for Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault, well this week you can get some card sleeves for those factions - the Eyes of the Nine and Zarbag’s Gitz. 
In books, the next Primarch book is out - Vulkan: Lord of Drakes. There's been some good press about some of these, so be interesting to see the verdict on this one too.