Games Workshop seem intent on making urban warfare the way of the 40K future - from City Fight to the new Urban Conquest, there have been supplements, White Dwarf articles, and now entire boxed games making sure you are smack bang in a city when it's time to rumble! I'm sure the explosion of terrain recently (only a good thing, frankly) means GW see this as a very marketable prospect, this week's new Sector Imperialis Manufactorum is another great entry into the recent terrain releases - so is urban warfare the way to go from now on? No more Cold War style open fields for hoards of tanks, artillery and aircraft, not to mention titans and walkers? Skirmish is the future, long live the skirmish!
The Gloomspite Gitz continue their sizeable release window with a number of interesting releases - the Loonboss (who has a separate head under the helmet for some reason) gives you a second leader option from last week plus there's also the insane Loonboss on Mangler Squigs/ Mangler Squigs combi-kit which gives you a third leader option! Leaders need advisors/ minions/ yes-men and the Gobbapalooza set gives you multiple weirdos. Did someone just liberally hand out magic mushrooms at GW HQ and everyone got to design something weird? In the big-boy category the Rockgut Troggoths are a very customisable unit in a tonne of pieces. It's curious to see GW go towards so many Easy Fit sets and then this one is so many pieces - not complaining, just curious. The winner of the Most Needing To Go To The Dentist Award is the Dankhold Troggoth/ Dankhold Troggboss combi-kit - both unattractive but incredible detailed and theme-y models. The Sneaky Snufflers is a cute little set - but check out the price... this is for one sprue!!
Another 40K product this week is a Death Guard Paint Set with three minis - not bad value if you want some full sized paints and to test some schemes.
Fair few books for your shelves next week - the next Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 15 Anarch is here, as is the new Blood Angels: The Complete Rafen Omnibus featuring all of James Swallow's Blood Angel novels. The Warhammer Chronicles continue, this time with classic stories, Wulfrik, Blood for the Blood God, and Palace of the Plague Lord all bundled up in Warriors of the Chaos Wastes. And finally the next Horus Heresy audio drama, Nightfane​ continues the story of Ultramarine Aenoid Thiel and his Red Marked.

We first caught sight of the Gloomspite Gitz from the Warhammer Underworlds set Zarbag’s Gitz. They were cute and a bit weird and similar in theme to the Malign Portents Champion Fungoid Cave-Shaman Snazzgar Stinkmullett. Each of the other champions has a force (except for the Darkoath Warqueen Marakarr Blood-sky) so I guess it was going to happen eventually! That leads us to today when we get a fairly wide ranging release of course headed up by Battletome: Gloomspite Gitz - which comes in both Opioid Fungus Limited Edition and Portobello Standard Edition. This rag-tag army is lead by Overlord Skragrott the Loonking who is an amazing miniature - lots and lots of character - but he is over $50 for a single sprue! Luckily for us there are also a bevy of new miniatures including the Squig Hoppers who can also be made to represent Boingrot Bounderz who very much wear the Labyrinth/ Brian Froud influence on their sleeve. Froud's influence on this range has been downplayed a bit, but it's definitely there! As with a lot of the Gloomspite Gitz range, there are Squigs, so this Squig Herd set would likely be the backbone of any of your forces. Sporting the more traditional GW look of the long hoods, the Fanatics are a very dynamic kit which can either be made up as Loonsmasha Fanatics or Sporesplatta Fanatics - but like the overlord, be aware of the price point. It's only 5 minis after all! Like the Beasts of Chaos release, there is a shrine, this one the Bad Moon Loonshrine  which is packed with detail and also a new entrant into the physical magic items, the Endless Spells: Gloomspite Gitz. Being re-released are the old Grots set, the Stabbas/Shootas combi kit, but it's a pity GW didn't give us a helmet upgrade sprue in here to bring them in line with the newer minis. Themed dice are the way to go for the past year or so, but these Squig Dice are awful! There are of course Warscroll Cards: Gloomspite Gitz and if you order the Battletome online then you get a set of Gloomspite Gitz Art Cards.
This is an interesting release - really moving the old Grots out of the Ork realm and giving them their own flavour, but is this something the community have been after? We will see, but with Seraphon desperately needing an update it's curious this is here now. We're sure there's method to the madness because it's been a hot bone of contention around the place....

Another small pre-order week as we head into the New Year, plus yet another relaunch of the magazine that just doesn't seem to be hitting the mark!
White Dwarf is getting yet another relaunch - it's really only cosmetic though as what they're really doing is just breaking it up into sections for each universe - like the GW webstore. If you look over the content, White Dwarf Jan 2019 is basically exactly the same with GW are even teasing the return of Index Astartes - which they also did earlier this year and it never ended up happening. Subscribers, however, will actually be getting something, and that's an exclusive cover with unobscured art (right). This is cool - finally something for the subscriber - but Beardy Hammer, after many decades of getting White Dwarf and adding reviews to this site, will not be going along for the ride. The White Dwarf subscription over the past few years has been an absolute disaster - issues would sometimes be weeks late, inquiries to GW Mail Order in Australia were responded to rudely with no apology or even a time frame when issues might arrive, then when the subscription was running out there was no notice given so we could resubscribe. An inquiry about this to GW Mail Order was also ignored, then a second inquiry was responded to officiously with no dialogue entered into about notifying subscribers when it was ending. Frankly Customer Service in Australia is a joke, but sales of White Dwarf on the shelf are also falling, with local GWs only getting a few issues in each month. Will this soft relaunch do anything to improve what is arguably the seminal miniatures publication out there? With bad service to customers and many broken promises (Titanicus being a year later for example) and recent mistakes in listed pricing you'd wonder if they even care!
Apart from White Dwarf, there are two other pre-orders - the Made To Order Vostroyan range and Inferno Book 2. Not a huge start to the year, especially with the lacklustre response from the Community surrounding the Gloomspite Gitz. Just redo the Seraphon and keep everyone happy, GW!

Only one pre-order this week, and it's not even a pre-order - it's in the shops now!!! That's right, the reimagining (well actually it's pretty much a straight copy) of Jes Goodwin's 1991 Noise Marine is here.

The model itself is very cool, especially if you like a bit of retro stuff.
The proportions are half way between a Primaris and a normal Marine, so it would fit into the current direction of the minis quite well. Be really interesting to see the conversions that will come out of this mini, as the pose is open to some fun for sure!

Realm of Chaos, the seminal books from 1988 that brought the Warhammer and Warhammer 40K universes together in a shared demon pantheon and that brand is now back with (what one can think is the first in a series) Wrath and Rapture, a boxed set bringing the forces of Khorne and Slaanesh into conflict. Including some new miniatures, and admittedly some pretty old tired ones, this set sees a new version of Karanak, the Hound of Khorne (right), new plastic Flesh Hounds, the new Infernal Enrapturess and the new Fiends of Slaanesh... plus the tired old minis! The set also comes with two different rules sets - one for 40K and one for Age of $igmar. Interestingly no themed dice this week or a novel tie-in so it seems like this set was really just thrown out there, and if this is the extent of the love Slaanesh fans are going to get from GW, then people will not be happy, especially after the amount all the other Gods have received over the last few years. Want to add to this force? Well mortgage the cat and we have the Realm of Chaos: Wrath, Rapture, Decay and Change Collection which includes Wrath and Rapture plus the Star Collecting Nurgle and a Start Collecting Tzeentch sets.
Graham McNeil's The Crimson King is also out in paperback next week, so there's some extra witchy-poo action for you, this time in the Horus Heresy universe.

The Resin Overlords at Forge World have two new Adeptus Titanicus releases - the Civitas District War Zone Alpha and the Civitas District War Zone Beta. Seems like a lot of money for something you could build at home, but there is a lot of detail to enjoy.

Imperium Nihilus is here with the first part, Vigilus Defiant delivering a sizeable 200 page campaign book - coming in both Collector's Edition and standard versions. This campaign promises much in terms of the forces involved and hints of key players turning up - heralded by none other than the new Primaris-enabled Marneus Calgar, Ultramarines Chapter Master with his bodyguard and Haarken Worldclaimer, Herald of the Apocalypse - supposedly promising the return of the Warmaster himself... but which one? Both miniatures come with a helmeted and bare head, but offer not much poseability. The long-awaited Chapter Approved 2018 is also out next week with the Warlord Edition coming with extra bits like a roster pad, datacards and Stratagem cards for the Sisters of Battle plus a sheet of tokens. There is also a Standard Edition too which still includes the Beta rules for the Sisters of Battle, so keep your hat on. Question is, will anyone actually field them? In terms of other minis next week, the old plastic and resin Ultramarines Honour Guard are back in the spotlight, possibly looking a little short next to the new Primaris. The Necron Cryptek is now available separately too - a very dynamic model for the Necrons and adds punch to that immortal force. There's another carry case heading our way - the Warhammer 40,000 Carry Case will happily hold your Space Marines and what ever other troops you need to transport. The protection provided from this case does look minimal, so be aware!
As the Horus Heresy draws to a close the books will be themed around the crusade to Terra and the eventual siege, thus Guy Haley's book Titandeath. This is sure be a hit with the Adeptus Titanicus crowd. The new Audio Drama Hubris of Monarchia is out too - full of Ultramarines goodness. 
We don't usually do much on Forge World because a) their new pricing structure is a crime, b) their products are lacklustre, c) their service is pretty poor - but beside all that they have some interesting models coming out this week: Blood Bowl Orc Team Booster, the beautifully rendered Denethor and Irolas from Middle-Earth and two new weapons sets for Cawdor. In a way it's a bit of a pity they chose to mix the look of Cawdor with the old Ratskins gang as this cobbled together look doesn't entirely match their old look and makes them seem like hobos with guns!
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VIGILUS - THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY?
As you would see from the top picture, there is a very cool pin you get for free when you order Vigilus Defiant from the webstore - great idea and it's a really nice design too! But how about, instead of a pin, you got a small sheet of decals? Like the ones that came in the Spear of the Emperor Deluxe novel set. This means that hobbyists can play the game, then add these campaign badges to their best force from the campaign or even theme an army around this part of history! If you had ten for the shin armour, four for the shoulder, maybe some tiny ones for banners, shields or Power Fists and a larger one for a vehicle. That's it. That would all fit on one of the normal sized decal sheets - even an Adeptus Titanicus sized sheet. As a hobbyist I would be more tempted to buy the book, even if that pin is very nice! Just a thought GW!

It's not often we lead with a book - but exciting news is that Visions of Heresy is back, revised and updated! Hopefully this retains the old pictures as well as new, but we checked the page count and it is more, so here's hoping!
Necromunda gets a pretty big boost with not only the excellent Delaque gang who are sure to be a hit in the post-Blanchitsu world, but also the new Necromunda Rulebook which compiles the old Necromunda Rulebook, rules content from Necromunda supplements so far and the latest FAQs and Errata. There's also Necromunda Gangs of The Underhive which is the rules and options for all the gangs, bounty hunters and more. Now if you like the sound of that, then you can get both in a Slipcase Edition. Of course the Delaque release also has the Delaque Gang Dice Set and the Delaque Gang Cards.
Blood Bowl is also getting a bump this week with a great looking Champions of Death team, themed dice and of course Shambling Undead Cards Pack. There's also two new playing fields - Blood on the Snow Pitch and Undead Pitch & Dugouts. The Blood Bowl magazine Spike #4 is out as is the Spike! Almanac 2018 which compiles the first 3 issues plus the FAQ rules... bit odd this isn't the four issues for the year! Good old GW.
Now - Battle Boxes - the Christmas tradition for all good boys and girls! This year we get a pretty good cross section - Space Marine Primaris Interdiction Force, Imperial Fists Supremacy Force (with the brand new Imperial Fists Primaris Upgrade Sprue), Idoneth Deepkin Deepsurge Raiding Party, Daughters of Khaine Devoted of Morathi, Death Guard Infection Cluster,  Adeptus Mechanicus Fist of the Omnissiah (this is a really solid core set!), Seraphon Starclaw Strikehost (which is interestingly close to a force described in the Honest Wargamer as being a very competitive list to field), Necrons Dominion Spearhead, Slaves to Darkness Godsworn Warband and the Craftworlds Asuryani Bladehost (another solid choice).
After the last few weeks of Middle-Earth action, there's one more - Thorin Oakenshield & Company.
In books, there's a new omnibus out - Knights of the Empire telling tales of the Old World Knights.
White Dwarf December 2018 is also on pre-order next week, but since the subscription service in Australia doesn't seem to work, we won't be partaking of that.
Now to go mortgage the house to get all this stuff!

As you may know, we tend to take a pretty cynical view of the more recent additions to the Games Workshop universe, but this weekend they held their Vigilus Open Day in the UK and no only did they preview a bunch of new minis - but they frankly they knocked this out of the park!
The first sign this was going to be a good day was this guy (right) the classic Noise Marine based on Jes Goodwin's original sculpt - and it's bloody amazing!
GW have of course hammed it up with a video (below) but have a look at the details on this guy - that mane of hair, the classic animal prints and platform boots. This is a triumph and we need multiples of them!
It wasn't all about this guy though - there's a tonne of good stuff to check out...

The Vigilus Campaign, currently making it's way through the 40K Universe is about to add some more heroes - this time we have Magneus Calgar in Primaris armour and a new Black Legion character -  Haarken Worldclaimer, a perfect accompanying leader for the current Raptors! There is also a new campaign book, which seems to have a lot of Primaris Chapters (including the Sons of the Phoenix and more) plus the Dark Angels and their Successors. I still think this will bring Abaddon and potentially a Primarch back, but the internet is full of rumours, so our two sense worth isn't really needed!

Genestealer Cults has been a massive hit, and now not only have they introduced a throwback mini of the Cult Leader looking over a battle plan, but also light vehicles. If this doesn't somehow also give Imperial Guard more light vehicles to fill the old Rough Rider slot, then that would be a massive shame.

Forge World also previewed their massive new Warbringer Nemesis Titan which is basicaly a walking artillery piece with a crew on the upper deck. This is truly a beast and a huge undertaking for anyone wanting to take on this project! Curious this wasn't released in Adeptus Titanicus scale first to see what the mood for it would be like. It does make us wonder how close we are to the Imperator Titan at this rate!

It's not all 40K - Age of $igmar also got a look in with their latest demon vs demon boxed set that pits Slaanesh and Khorne against one another. We've already seen some of the new minis, but this final reveal showed us Karanak and a harp-playing Slaaneshi. More details to come for sure!

So you've built your Adeptus Titanicus Warlord and some Reavers and those super cool Warhounds and the tiny little Knights - now what? Well, Games Workshop are proud to present not only two Knight variants, the Cerastus Knights, a mighty new version of the Warlord Titan, this one with Plasma Annihilator and Power Claw but also the most expensive decal sheets known to humanity. Yes friend, you can get the Adeptus Titanicus Legio Mortis and the Legio Gryphonicus Transfer Sheets for $34 AUD each - that's about $7 per square inch! Bargain... 
Now if you didn't buy the boxed game, then you missed out on the Adeptus Titanicus Accessory Sprue. Fret no more, it is now available separately.
How's your paint selection going? Stuck in a box, unloved and lacking sun? Well, no more, friend, for there is now the Citadel Hobby Project Box, the Citadel Paint Box and the Citadel Paint Racks all to keep your paints safe and also versatile enough to also act as paint racks! Joy...
Lets be honest, fellow traveller - Space Marines can be a tad boring at times, but Aaron Dembski-Bowden has set about making his own and they star in this glorious Spear of the Emperor (Limited Edition) bundle - and what a bundle it is. This is awesome! Have a look at the extras - everything you would need to add these guys into the Warhammer 40K universe. The normal edition isn't out for another 6 months, but I have to say, even with the price, we are very tempted to get this. Very tempted... 
Also in books, the paperback version of The Emperor's Gift is out. Grey Knights vs daemons. It's a thing.

Okay, well Games Workshop have united their Hobbit and Lord of the Rings ranges under one banner; Middle-Earth. The new book Armies of The Hobbit allows you to field the forces in battles from the not-as-good-as Lord of the Rings films.
To go with this release are two new miniature sets - Gandalf the White and Peregrin Took (both mounted and on foot) and Théoden King of Rohan (also mounted and on foot). These are both beautiful sets with very intricate and finely done miniatures - both also in plastic giving ultimate flexibility to convert! These sets are just brilliant and if there hadn't been an expensive book this week a must-buy! Surely every Middle-Earth hobbyist would want these...
There's also some Gandalf the White Dice this week and more miniatures than you could count! The entire Hobbit range has been re-released (mostly as Mail Order Exclusives), so if you are tempted by this range, now is the time to jump on board. Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, the Mahud, Corsairs, the Numenor and characters aplenty!

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!