The Horus Heresy has given hobbyists the opportunity to really expand their universes - going 10,000 years into the past to see the machines and armour of the greatest conflict in human "history". The expansion of the plastic range for the Mechanicum (the former guise of the Adeptus Mechanicus) has been a huge leap from the cumbersome resin kits that have come before. Easier to make, handle, paint and convert, the completely different look and feel of the designs also addds new options and challenges for the hobbyist. Well this week we have some more Mechanicum goodness with some new vehicles and a new infantry unit. Lets start with the Krios Battle Tank/Krios Venator combi-kit, a mid-sized armoured conveyor giving you pultple weapons options for different roles. You can decide between the lightning cannon or irradiation blaster of the Krios Battle Tank, or the Venator with it's pulsar-fusil. All variants are heinous energy weapon-endowed monsters and they will ruin your day. Add the Volkite secondary weapons on the sponsons, and we have a devastating armoured fist! Speaking of armour, the Karacnos Assault Tank (based on the Triaros Armoured Conveyor chassis) is the very definition of Iron Rain, bringing a deluge of morar rounds to your target of choice. Meanwhile, another adaption of an existing chassis, the Thanatar Calix Siege-automata is an absolute beast, sporting a big laser (instead of the Hellex pattern plasma mortar found on the Thanatar Cavas Siege-automata) and a Graviton Ram, this behemoth will be coming through your enemy's walls and tanks with very little resistance.​  On the other side of devastating, your flesh bags won't be lasting long once they make contact with the Ursarax Cohort, the close combat version of the Thallax. Sentient close combat killers, the Ursarax add jumppacks to their armoury, meaning no one is safe. A great addition to the Mechanicum, it's a pity the heads are so clunky looking! There should be enough extras in your Thallax kit to fix that issue! 
In books this week it's the new Farsight book, Blade of Truth in hardback. Find out what the Tau apostate is up to these days - it probasbly won't be great for anyone in his forces' way!

Kill Team really was an amazing breath of fresh air - your favourite faction now had a special ops team, extra gear, extra roles, and (for the most part) some excellent dynamic posing. It added character to a world that seemed to be a lot of massed armies. This has changed a bit this time, with the two factions in Blood and Zeal being a bit more like Warcry warbands than Kill Teams - but the premise is still there. In Kill Team: Blood and Zeal we have two brand new Kill Teams, one based on existing lore - and evenm some older minis - and the other a new force for a very important counter-faction. First up we have the Sanctifiers, who just have to impose The False Emperor on everyone! The set includes a group of Zealots including a Conflagrator, Death Cult Assassin, Drill Abbot, Miraculist, and a Confessor. Some of these minis may look familair - and that's because they are direct tributes to some classic older models. The counter-faction are the Goremongers - Khorne-worshiping zealots, but these guys have been added punch with heavily enhanced bodies to make them the perfect fast killing machines. In their ranks we will see the Goremonger Blood Herald, the Impaler, the Skullclaimer and the Stalker, all for the very first time. Both brilliant looking forces, these will very easily fit into any Cultist, Sisters of Battle or Guard army, and i'm sure the Goremongers would be some of the very first troops to make planetfall for Khorne!
We also have two Kill Teams from the previous boxed set now available seperately - Kill Team: Wrecka Krew for the Orks and Kill Team: Ratlings for the Imperials. There's also the Kill Team Datacards for the Wrecka Krew and the Ratlings. The other miniature release this week is the Killzone Upgrade: Compound Siege, giving you walls and barricades to make your street fighting even deadlier!
It's also a White Dwarf week - so White Dwarf 510 will be available next Friday... though by the look of the contents, it's a bit of a snore-fest.

Sorry - but it's one of those weeks! Yes we have divided releases and delayed release, but fear not, we've got it covered!
Those bouncy fun kids of Necromunda have a few releases for us this week - see below for the bulk of them - but the kits everyone is getting on pre-order this week is the Zone Mortalis: Ruined Underhive Sector (really just a larger set of the Ruined Zone Mortalis) and the Thatos Pattern Fortified Hab Module. The Zone Mortalis: Ruined Underhive Sector depicts the very worst parts of any Hive Spire - the broken, the degrading, the unloved. We have crushed and melted wall sections, gates and walkways plus corroded pipes and more. This is not the place they put on the travel brochure! This set is like the other larger Necromunda sets and comes in a hefty box, making it a must for scenery builders. Sure it makes no sense to have the pylons melted like that or the roof would cave in, but just ignore that logic and enjoy. The second kit is the Thatos Pattern Fortified Hab Module which is the military version of the Thatos Pattern Hab Module, but with more armour and guns! This is a natural fit for the Wastelands, being both a watchhouse, fortification, trader station, dive bar and more in the minds of a skilled hobbyist. Lots of thematic scenarios could be built around this piece of terrain!
Australia and New Zealand (and potentially Japan) finally get the delayed release of the Warhammer: The Old World wave of Elves, with the excellent Lord on Dragon/ Archmage on a Moon or Sun Dragon/ Dragon Mage on a Star Dragon combi-kit leading the charge. For the army builders, the The High Elf Realms Battalion has finally arrived, as have the very ornate Swordmasters of Hoeth. The classic Eagle-claw Bolt Throwers (and don't we need more bolt throwers these days!!) in plastic along with the High Elf Realms Dice Set and of course the muchy-desired Arcane Journal: High Elf Realms are also finally here!

Missing to Australia and New Zealand this week, is the new Necromunda: Tribes of the Wastelands expansion, the new Sha’dar Hunters and Anthromite Spinewyrms kit, the Ash Waste Nomads: Weapons & Upgrades and the Tribes of the Wastelands Gang Tactics Cards and Gang Dice.

Goblins are such a huge part of the Warhammer universe - and despite their diminutive size, and their evolution into the Gloomspite Gitz during Age of $igmar - they remain a strong piece of the visual lineage, and some of the characterful minis in the range. This week the little psycho-jerks get their new rules and units, with Destruction Battletome: Gloomspite Gitz 
available in Jumping Death Mushrooms Gamer's Edition or Spears to the Knees Standard Edition. The Green Menace also get some great new minis, with one of the standout releases for a while Droggz da Sunchompa 
finally getting an individual relaase following his inclusion in the Army Box (which is still available from some independent retailers). Do keep in mind how small this guy will be, but personally I've found Goblins to be an absolute joy to paint and would happily do this guy any day! There's two other leader kits, the Snarlboss on War-Wheela/ Frazzlegit Shaman on War-wheela - again who doesn't love chariots - and Snarlboss and Wolfgit Retinue which adds a leader to the existing Snarlfang Raiders. Speaking of wolves, there's also the ​Snarlpack Cavalry who look like heavy hitters and add yet more wolves to the army, which when you think about it makes some fo those Space Wolf bitz some nice customisation fodder. Chariots galore as the Sunsteala Wheelas add yet more wolves and bring some of that John Blanche red back from the good old days. One of the most thematic Gloomspite Gitz weapons was always the Doom Diver Catapult, and it's had a mighty update, making it top-tier for Goblins everywhere. Something that's interesting in this release is the move away from the mushrooms that really stuck to the Gloomspite Gitz in their first incarnation in Age of $igmar. Guess we're seeing less of the Bad Moon wizardry and more of the pointy end of the Goblins! Speaking of those yellow whackos, here's the new Gloomspite Gitz Dice, which hoepfully have the lustre in real life that they do in these pictures! This is a pretty great release - it's full of character and dynamism, some cracking looking minis too. Good job Games Workshop. Don't always give you a pat on the back, but this one is deserved!  
In books this week we have Callis & Toll in paperback, the delayed release of Lucius: The Faultless Blade in fancy Limited Edition format, and while the rest of the world gets White Dwarf 510 on preorder this week,  the Great Southern Lands are a month behind with White Dwarf 509 

Well it's an exciting day - the mighty Legions of Slaanesh, the Paragons of Martial Virtue, have marched into our lives. Drawing heavy influence from drawings of Adrian Smith and the Champions of Chaos miniatures of the late 80s and early 90s, this long-awaited force has burst into our lives, and we are more than excited! It's been a long time coming, and although we only get the Champions of Slaanesh – Emperor's Children Army Set on pre-order this week, in time we will have more minis and a Combat Patrol box that looks amazing! But first of all let's look at the Emperor's Children Army Set which is headed up by the brilliant new Lord Exultant, who has multiple build options, and carries all the arrogance one from the IIIrd Legion needs to personify. He's backed up by line infantry in the form of two Tormentors/Infractors combi-kits (20 minis in all), plus two Noise Marines kits (12 minis in all). The Noise Marines are sure to be a big drawcard, with a brilliant glow-up of their weapons and armour, which are both ornate and imposing. Being an Army Set there is also the new Codex: Emperor’s Children (with exclusive cover art - from the afore-mentioned Adrian Smith), Datasheet cards: Emperor’s Children and the new Emperor’s Children Transfer Sheet. We know there's more minis to come, including the Flawless Blades who look amazing! 
In other Warhammer 40K pre-orders this week, it's the civilisation that birthed Slaanesh themselves - the Aledari! The new Combat Patrol: Aeldari includes a Spiritseer, five Wraithblades/Wraithguard, five Warp Spiders and – ten Dire Avengers. But really, don;t they just pale into nothingness next to the glory that is Slaanesh? Yes, yes they do...