​Well here we are, the star of the Games Workshop Nova Open Previews, the brand new Middle Earth edition, The Lord of The Rings Battle of Osgiliath. It's a pretty hefty box, with a new campaign, new rules and some new minis (alongside some old ones). As with much of the Lord of the Rings product, this is pretty pricey, and a different scale to the other GW minis, but form all reports it's a fantastic game to play, so go forth! 
Speaking of new minis, there's a lovely new plastic Elrond, Master of Rivendell, who (as with previous characters) comes in both mounted and on-foot versions, plus a handy standard bearer. But what to play in this new edition? Well by chance there is a multitude of mew army boxes - and frankly they're all pretty great with the  Isengard Battlehost, Minas Tirith Battlehost, Mordor Battlehost, and the Rohan Battlehost all on pre-order this weekend, plus the Ruins of Middle-earth terrain set and the Final Fate of the Witch-king diorama thing. You've got the new minis - what could be better?? What about Rivendell and Garrison of Dale Dice Sets? How fabulous!
Heresy is the gift that keeps on giving - if there's supply - and the new Deimos Pattern Predator Battle Tank is now where! It's a really nice looking kit with some cool details, especially the hatches under the turret gun. There's also two Heavy Weapons Upgrade Sets for Heavy Flamers, Multi-meltas, and Plasma Cannons
and one for Volkite Culverins, Lascannons, and Autocannons. A interesting addition this week are the Age of Darkness Reference Cards, which you think would have come out with the game!
Warhammer Underworlds: Nethermaze have an awesome new gang, the Gorechosen of Dromm. and the Deadly Depths Rivals Deck. 
Add to your Chaos Daemons army from the other week with the Datacards.
In books this week the beautiful Special Edition of Awakenings is here, plus the standard hardback, there's also some Heresy offerings with The Horus Heresy Print on Demand Collection 11 (which includes 
The Buried Dagger, Garro, Titandeath, Heralds Of The Siege – a Horus Heresy Anthology and Slaves To Darkness) and Mortarion: The Pale King in hardback.
It's also a White Dwarf week with issue 480 on offer.
If you're in the mood for some miniature collections with a limited edition art print, then it's the week for you: Tyranid Tendrils of the Hive Fleets Collection, Fighting for Ur-Gold Collection, Deepkin From the Ocean Depths Collection, and the Skaven Fight-fight, Kill-kill Collection.

Alrighty, we're back into the dark - not Zone Mortalis this time, but a Space Hulk - with Kill Team: Into the Dark. This is the first time we have seen Imperial Navy enmasse, and the first Kroot update in twenty years with the Kroot Farstalkers. As much as the Kill Teams themselves are interesting, the same can't be said for the terrain - it looks someone at a steampunk flying ship and vomitted it up on the game mat. Too ornate, and seemingly less compatible with the Zone Mortalis kits than they could be. It's a real shame and potentially a missed opportunity.
Now if Kill Team is your bag, then you'll want to get your hands on the Kill Team: Annual 2022, which includes new missions and rules including those for a number of Kill Teams including the Elucidian Starstriders & the entourage of Rogue Trader Elucia Vhane, the insane Gellerpox Infected, Skitarii Kill Team the Hunter Clade, Tzeentch's own Warpcoven, the Genestealers Cults Wyrmblade, and those bouncing happy killer Elves, the Void-dancer Troupes of the Harlequins. Probably a must for any Kill Team fan, and it saves having to be bored senseless by White Dwarf. Happily, this week also sees some of these miniatures available for the first time separately - the Phobos Strike Team, the Traitor Guard Blooded, the Elucidian Starstriders, and the Gellerpox Infected.
However if this is your first time in Kill Team-Land, then there is also the Kill Team 2022 Rules Collection, which gives you the Kill Team Core Book, the Kill Team Compendium and the afore-mentioned Kill Team: Annual 2022. But wait, there's more... the rules for the previous expansion Kill Team: Moroch and the Killzone Moroch terrain are also previewed this week too.
​Books more your speed? The Astra Militarum get a run in the paperback version of Volpone Glory, and everyone's favourite loyal traitors star in the Soul Drinkers Omnibus, also in paperback. 
Now if you did like the look of the new Kill Team, then ordering through the Games Workshop webstore will secure you a Kill Team: Into the Dark Token Tin.
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As Horus Heresy is all the rage, Forge World this week have a number of Made to Order upgrades available - the Death Guard shoulders for MkII and MK IV, plus Cataphractii shoulders and the excellent Death Guard torsos, plus the runic Space Wolves torsos, that really don't get enough attention!

Chaos players rejoice - your demon-fix is upon you with the new Codex: Chaos Daemons - available in Tantalizing Tentacles Collectors' Edition and Persistent Suspicious Lump Standard Edition. Tired of those Imperial or Xenos foes? Well drown them in the demons of your choice using this handy book. Happily there are new minis too, with the new Possessed and Accursed Cultists sets out too. There are apparently lots of "cosmetic options" in this set, but having a look at the sprues it's not that exciting. It's interesting these aren't just sets or mutations to add to existing kits really...
More Chaos goodies with the Combat Patrol: Chaos Daemons (which is oddly only Khorne), the Chaos Daemons Dice Set, and some Made to Order - the Classic Flamers of Tzeentch, Classic Horrors of Tzeentch, the mini consistently voted one of the worst of all time the Classic Beast of Nurgle, the Classic Masque of Slaanesh and the Classic Karanak, who is a very good boy! A very good boy indeed!
There's also some more Blood Bowl with the Snotling Pitch – Double-sided Pitch and Dugouts Set, and the Blood Bowl Snotling Team Card Pack and Dice Set on their way for your happy little green players.
Bit of hobby supply this week with the Essential Citadel Colour STC Brush Selection on offer, These are great synthetic brushes, so if you don't feel like supporting the fur industry, then these are options. 
It was with much excitement that Siege of Terra: Echoes of Eternity was being released for pre-order today, but alas the scalpers and newbies got to in and sold out in Australia in 2 minutes. For the rest of the world though, ​Siege of Terra: Echoes of Eternity is available in the wizz-bang Limited Edition and normal Hardback. I, for one, am pretty sad to be having this hole in my collection, but it's just a book...

​A mighty box steps forth this week, pitting the magic of the Lumineth Realmlords against the sorcery of Tzeentch in Arcane Cataclysm.  This new Tzeentch character is awesome, and being a recent convert to the Lumineth, this box is a great get! 
Also on Age of $igmar we have reinforcements for Chaos, with the new Chaos Legionnaires
(who are a bit hit and miss TBH) and the awesome Centaurion Marshal, who is a really striking model, but lacks weapon or head options. Guess we have to wait for the hinted Centaurs coming in the new Beastmen range. While we're with beasts, the Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur, Realmscape: Megadroth Remains, and the beautiful Realmscape: Cleansing Aqualith
are now available separately, certainly a great time to add that to your Lumineth forces from Arcane Cataclysm. The Skaven are a favourite, and the Deathmaster model is so thematic an full of character. It would be amazing to see an update for this horde army one day. From the great to the just-plain-weird, the Sylvaneth Lady of Vines... I mean, what the actual??
Now if you love yourself some Warcry, but White Dwarf is a total waste of time and trees, then the Warcry: Compendium brings you recent White Dwarf articles all together in one nice book. 
Two new minis on the scene this week are Drekki Flynt, and the awesomely moody Cado Ezechiar - The Hollow King... which may or may not be making his way to our hobby area!
Now, there's been a lot of Horus Heresy lately, and this week we take a bit of a turn towards the rumours that Heresy may be linking Adeptus Titanicus up with Aeronautica Imperialis to relaunch the Epic scale range. SO today we see Warhammer: The Horus Heresy - Aeronautica Imperialis Rulebook, Aeronautica Imperialis: Vanaheim Area of Engagement, the Aeronautica Imperialis: Legiones Astartes Aircraft Cards, and the Aeronautica Imperialis: Divisio Aeronautica Aircraft Cards appear and we think "hmmmmm". Epic is one of the best supported games in the 3D printed world, with some absolutely incredible miniatures that FAR outstrip the Games Workshop version of years past. In a way it would be cool to see Epic back, but it would equally just be nice for GW to release a ruleset update, some vehicles and maybe some Primarchs and just let the fan community keep producing the amazing products they do. 
Books!! Well if Dorn is your man, then you had better start pressing F5 on the webstore because Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader (Limited Edition) is on it's way. Earlier this episode we introduced you to Drekki Flynt and Cado Ezechiar - well praise be you can both hobby and read with the Drekki Flynt Book and Miniature Collection and the Cado Ezechiar Book and Miniature Collection. You can of course just get the The Arkanaut's Oath and the The Hollow King in hardback without the mini... but why?

This week also sees the deletion of some venerable, long serving heroes of the Aledari, with some of the oldest models still in the range going the way of the dodo - Phoenix Lord Fuegan, Phoenix Lord Karandras and Phoenix Lord Baharroth having been released during the first wave of the Jes Goodwin Eldar releases. A little younger is a personal favourite, Phoenix Lord Asurmen, plus three in the newer look for Eldar, Illic Nightspear, Prince Yriel and the ​Autarch Skyrunner. The older minis in this collection are white metal and with the others in the GW resin.

If you're a fan of the Horus Heresy, then this week is a BIG one - but in true GW style, they've made it confusing with options and... oh you'll see!
So the second of the Leviathans is up for pre-order this weekend, the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with Ranged Weapons. And he's a beast! Now there's also a second version of the second version, this one is the Leviathan Dreadnought – Locked and Loaded
which is the same kit but with two of the ranged weapons sprues. Now if weapons sprues are your thing - then you can also get the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought Ranged Weapons Frame on it's own, which I guess makes sense if you got the close combat guy last week, and now want some pew-pew for added dakka. Now, for the little brother, the Contemptor Dreadnought which comes in standard, but also in Contemptor Dreadnought – Ultimate Loadout 
which is the standard guy with an extra Contemptor Dreadnought Weapons Frame 1
and Contemptor Dreadnought Weapons Frame 2. Clear as mud!
One of the most loved Horus Heresy vehicles is the potent and fast Sicaran Battle Tank which has been available from Forge World for a fair few years now. Well here's the new plastic version and it's pretty much a direct transition, in fact there's some swapability of parts according to the internet. If you like tanks and you've been patient not buying the big box, then your reward is here - the Spartan Assault Tank. This is a really lovely kit, easy to build and a pleasure to paint. Highly recommended., though personally we think it's a bit small in terms of scale.​
More good stuff from the boxed set, the Legion Praetor with Power Axe and the Legion Praetor with Power Sword are here, plus the ten-man Legion Cataphractii Terminator Squad and Legion Tartaros Terminator Squad.
Probably a really good opportunity to say this here, and the Community has been pretty quiet on this front, but the box art for the Horus Heresy range is excellent! Probably some of the best we've ever seen.
The Horus Heresy wasn't all just Space Marines you know - no - the Mechanicum were well in up to their augmented elbows, which is why the release of the Liber Mechanicum – Forces of the Omnissiah Army Book is so exciting. Who knows what plastic goodness we will see comes from this - our bet is on plastic Thallax and Castellax. In honour of the Mechanicum entering the fray, there's a reboxed and updated collection of Knights with Horus Heresy era transfers - the Knight Questoris and the Age of Darkness Armiger Helverins/ Age of Darkness Armiger Warglaives combi kit. See below for the Heresy transfers.
Away from space battles, there's a new set for Warhammer Underworlds: Nethermaze, Hexbane's Hunters. As per the current trend, there are animals, this time a nice set of war dogs!
Blood Bowl is back, not with new minis, but this time the Elven Union Pitch – Double-sided Pitch and Dugouts Set, Dice and Blood Bowl Elven Union Team Card Pack.
Fair few books this week, with the very cool Warboss (Mega Limited Edition)
, the Aeornautica-themed Outgunned in Hardback, the final part of Dark Imperium, Godblight in Paperback, the Paperback version of Urdesh: The Magister and The Martyr, The Wraithbone Phoenix in Paperback, and finally, Fabius Bile: The Omnibus.
It's also a White Dwarf week, with the new-look White Dwarf 479 out on Friday.

Well for those of us in Australia, New Zealand or Japan today is the day the first of the two Big Boy dreads makes it to our shores. That's right, the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with Claw & Drill Weapons has arrived. We are of course all waiting for the ranged version with the pew pew, but this is a good start. Now if you have a Forge World version then you can also get the plastic 
Leviathan Siege Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons Frame to add to your existing mini, so really everyone wins - apart from Ferrus Manus (who died before the Heresy even got going).
Now the rest of this week's pre-orders are all from Forge World. Happily the Dark Angels get some love with ​Marduk Sedras – Lord of the Twenty-third Order. Pretty stock standard stuff for the 1st Legion, no surprises. This week also sees the new Dark Angels MKVI Shoulder Pads and Dark Angels MKVI Heads, which have met with much more happiness than the Space Wolf ones.
The 1st Legion may be the progenitors of the Space Marine Legions, but the 3rd Legion are the Emperor's favourites (at least temporarily) and this week we get some classic Made to Order goodness with the Emperor's Children MKII Shoulder Pads, Emperor’s Children MKIII Shoulder Pads and Emperor's Children MKIV Torsos. We've got these and they're very nice! 
Meanwhile, in more Made To Order news, the White Scars MKII Torsos and White Scars MKIV Shoulder Pads are also back.
It will be interesting to see if we get these releases week-by-week in Legion order, so next week maybe we will see the new MKVI Emperor's Children, and so on. Be great to have a new character for each Legion too.

​We've said it far too many times, but Warcry has produced some of the best miniatures to come out of the Warhammer universe in some time, and it's interesting to see - with the low sales for Dominion - if Warhammer see the future of the Warhammer universe in the look and feel of Warcry or the shininess of the Age of $igmar range. Certainly it's a new feel, and this week we get to pre-order the new Warcry: Heart of Ghur, which brings new minis and launches a new edition of this skirmish game. The seemingly Nurgle-aligned Rotmire Creed vs the Khorne/ Realm of Beasts-aligned Horns of Hashut give us an interesting look at the human level idolatry of the Chaos Powers, though GW seem to spending a lot of effort on the leaders, but less time on the followers, which gives these newer forces a less than interesting appeal. Compare these forces to the original Warcry Warbands like The Splintered Fang or the Corvus Cabal, absolutely awesome sets with not a misstep in them! Be interesting where we go from here, but hopefully the quality keeps up and we don't lose the dynamic poses and interesting spin on this universe.
Now if you do order this from the GW webstore, then you'll get the Heart of Ghur Combat Gauge for free!

Warhammer 40K continues to offer more Chaos goodies, this week not only expanding the Cultist range, but also adding some heavy-hitters for Space Marines.
Now if you have already dedicated your soul to The Warp, then this week's releases can all be snapped up in the Renegades and Heretics Collection, which also comes with a signed and framed print. However, if you are made of more mortal stuff, then you can pick and choose from some very cool models his week. 
First up is the Warpsmith, straight from the mind of Jes Goodwin many moons ago, it's now available in miniature format, and he's awesome - plus with options heads, shoulder pads and melee weapon, having one is not enough. The Warpsmith brings with him some Chaos Space Marine Warpy Boys, the Chosen. Two sprues of slice and dice action to add some elites to your current forces. Now Chaos isn't all power armour, in fact many have pledged themselves to the Dark Gods, and those anointed to lead are the Dark Commune. Part Dark Eldar, part robed loons, this single sprue is pretty cool, but for the not-too-enticing-price do not expect customising options, which for these minis is a huge shame! And here come the sheep, the weak minded, the greedy, the power hungry and the ones who want to make a serious fashion statement - the Chaos Cultists. This is more a multi-part kit than a multi-pose kit, nd if you look at the minis, each pose has a mirrored version, so there's quite a bit of copy-paste here. These will fit in perfectly with the excellent existing Cultists of the Abyss set. Maybe a bit of a missed opportunity here to have lots of options, but for fodder this is the way of the world. Now when we talk about big boys, these guys come to mind - the Warpforged: Venomcrawler and Obliterators set. Many have waited for Obliterators to be their own kit, but for now this looks like it. They're big, they're mean, they're might unclean, and probably a real bugger to paint!
++ But wait, wasn't there some progenitor Chaos content this week? Read on, Supplicant ++ 
Away from minis and into merch, this week there are three new McFarlane Toys action figures - the Chaos Space Marine Action Figure (with a very cheap colour paint app), the Chaos Space Marine (Artist Proof) which is awesome and the Emperor's very own, a Dark Angels Intercessor (Artist Proof).
Books is yet another beautiful Special Edition, this time, The Devastation of Baal.

If you're not aware, in many senses Australia has been the Keepers of the Flame when it comes to Horus Heresy. Many of the biggest and first Heresy-themed podcasts come out of Australia, and while Heresy sat in a pseudo-limbo, we kept on. This devotion and loyalty has unfortunately not been reciprocated by Games Workshop as Australia and New Zealand will miss out on the release of the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought with Drill & Claw Weapons and the Leviathan Siege Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons Frame. So when will Australasia see this beast, this leviathan? One can only speculate!  

Kill Team Nachmund was the first time we have seen Eldar Space Pirates since the very early days of Rogue Trader, the progenitor of Warhammer 40K. Like many, we jumped on the opportunity to have them in our mits... and they have sat in the boxed game in the hobby room ever since. So, Kauyon, you can avoid these budgetary flights of fancy and also enjoy the Corsair Voidscarred/ Corsair Voidreavers combi-kit in a much more measured way. Also from the Kill Team Nachmund boxed set you can get your hands on the Chaos Legionaries (with their cool upgrade sprue) and the Kill Team Nachmund rule book, all available separately in this week's pre-orders.
Speaking of books, if you're in Australia or New Zealand, the Nachmund stuff and the following books will be all you're getting this week - more on that later! The Sisters of Battle-themed The Rose at War in hardback, a novel based on one of the best minis from the Ossiarach range is also coming with The Vulture Lord in hardback, the third book in the Vaults of Terra series, The Dark City in hardback, the novelisation of potentially Games Workshop's least successful boxed game relaunch, Dominion, is out in paperback, and the very reason to LOVE the Necrons (their character-filled novels) with the Twice-dead King: Ruin in paperback out and about!

Unlike the rest of the world, well certainly the UK and US, there's two minis not available to the AUS/NZ market this week - the weirdly crab-like Vartijan Exo-Driller for Necomunda (it's growing on me though) and the new newly repackaged and consolidated Knight Questoris. This kit now comes with all the options to build one of the six Imperial Knight variants and also the Canis Rex pilot mini, which all in all is an awesome box and I'm sure highly prized by bitz collectors. By the look of the Armigers on the GW Webstore we may see those and the War Dogs in a similar style box soon too.

​As we calmly and patiently wait for the new paints to be released, and droll at the new Angron Demon Prince model, we have a weekend of Made to Order models - some good, some bad, but all "classic". Interestingly, the first one for today is a plastic mini, the more recent Chaos Exalted Champion, but he's not the only Chaos boy in town, the classic Tzeentch Sorcerers are back; the 
Chaos Space Marines Sorceror with Force Sword, Chaos Space Marines Sorceror with Force Axe, and the Chaos Space Marines Sorceror with Plasma Pistol. These are all good models, but isn't it interesting to see how far we have come.  
Building on last week's classic Blood Bowl, this week we also have some very old Skaven models. First up is Ikit Claw, a really great model, almost to the standards of modern sculpting, but the rest are definitely showing their age... Classic Thanquol and Boneripper, the Verminlord, Queek Headtaker, Deathmaster Snikch, and one of the strangest Skaven models from the past, the Plague Lord Nurglitch.
In books we have the last Limited Edition; Helbrecht: Knight of The Throne. These Limited Editions are really beautiful, and this one has a lot of really nice thematic additions, like the colour of the page edges.

Let's start with the big attention getter for most in this release and that's the Contrast range, which promises better coverage and a more intense pigment; Garaghak's Sewer, Black Legion, Ratling Grime, Mantis Warriors Green, Aeldari Emerald, Gutrippa Flesh, Karandras Green, Striking Scorpion Green, Ironjawz Yellow, Bad Moon Yellow, Imperial Fist, Kroxigor Scales, Briar Queen Chill, Frostheart, Pylar Glacier, Asurmen Blue, Celestium Blue, Stormfiend, Leviathan Purple, Luxion Purple, Sigvald Burgundy, Dreadful Visage, Doomfire Magenta, Baal Red, Magmadroth Flame plus the reformulated Hexwraith Flame and Nighthaunt Gloom.
The Shade range isn't as long, with a range that will be brilliant for subtle shading; Kroak Green, Poxwalker, Targor Rageshade, Mortarion Grime, Tyran Blue, Berserker Bloodshade and our favourite, the Soulblight Grey, which is dirtied up a bit could make an amazing change to many hobbyist's difficulty with doing a realistic white. The rest of the existing Shades range has also been reformulated, with the Gloss version of Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, and Reikland Fleshshade, plus Cryptek Armourshade Gloss being discontinued.
Also on the way is the new spray, White Scar, which promises less of the sandpaper finish and like the other Contrast sprays, a smooth even finish. They really are a big step up!
Now if you want to get these in sets, plus a little bonus gift, then the ​New Contrast Paints & Mug and the New Shade Paints & Mug Bundles are for you!
Away from paints, there a cool new decal sheet for the Thatos Pattern Hab Modules, so jump on these as they disappear!
Now to the crappy, sorry CLASSIC, release of the week and it's the miniatures that back in the day tuned me totally off ​the idea of mutations, it's the Skaven Mutations and Chaos Mutations in Made to Order. However, on the positive side, there are the metal Blood Bowl Trophies which look really nice!
Next week there's also White Dwarf 478.

Hot on the heels of the Horus Heresy over the last few weeks, the children of the Heresy, the Chaos Space Marines return to the world of Warhammer 40K with their brand new Codex, which comes in Coming of the Dark Collectors' Edition and Horus is My Daddy Standard Edition. There's also the new Combat Patrol: Chaos Space Marines with the awesome CSM minis, Datacards and 
Chaos Space Marines Dice.
The Horus Heresy Boxed Set is now being broken up so the elements can be bought separately. If you are looking at this, do the sums first, because the box is actually much better value overall. So this week you can get the Wish I'd Known About This Earlier Age of Darkness Rulebook Special Edition and the Magnus Did Nothing Wrong Age of Darkness Rulebook Standard Hardback. There's also the Legion MKVI Tactical Squad, available in a box of 20, or if you want something specific there's the Legion MKVI Heavy Support Squads and Legion MKVI Tactical Support Squads.
There's also some older favourites from the first Horus Heresy Boxed Sets; Geigor Fell-hand and the Legion Cataphractii Praetor & Chaplain Consul. Like some added extras? Then there's two new Legion Dice sets for Imperial Fists and Sons of Horus.
Some of the best minis in some years are the Genestealer Cults, and this week there's their new Combat Patrol, which is a great set.
The next in the Primarch book series is here too, with Mortarion: The Pale King (Limited Edition) plus the hardback version of Ahriman: Eternal.

As we wait for the Horus Heresy release next week, Games Workshop have finally listed the next Joy Toy action figures in the series. These have been available for some time at retailers, and cheaper I might add, so do look around and see the prices as they are very competitive compared to the ones listed today. I have had the Blood Angels Death Company Intercessors for a few months, and they're awesome. They pose nicely, they are very steady and the paint jobs are solid and very good compared to many other action figure lines around. If black isn't your thing, then you can go for the Ultramarines Intercessors and their witchy-poo Primaris Librarian​.
These really are worth a look, especially at other sellers.

We can be pretty harsh to Games Workshop - the pricing, the shitty release weeks and the quality-sporadic designs - but to be fair to them, this Horus Heresy relaunch has been pretty perfect. Sure the wait time sucks, but the weekly teasers, the surprises and the amazing range of new plastic products is truly impressive. If you look at the breadth, this is well up there with any 40K or Age of $igmar release, and probably better executed. The thing that has stuck out to us has been the respect with which they have spoken to fans, old and new about the lore and the miniatures. There's not too much assumed knowledge to annoy the beardies and enough to excite new people. It's a very fine line to draw in this part of the hobby because, despite being pulled into the world of the Horus Heresy by Titanicus and Space Marine back in the late 80s and having stayed in touch with it all this time, even an old soldier gets attacked in the openly toxic Heresy Community. Even the stalwarts admit to the toxicity, and it sucks - especially having been around to see the lore change more than a few times. So many experts with such little time actually understanding the nuances. Anyway, again, well done to Games Workshop and Forge World for getting this all up and running. Forge World's deletion of products over the years has done a HUGE amount to make recasting mainstream, but Games Workshop seem to be bringing it back with these amazing new releases and some nice social media support.     

The Horus Heresy is here, so grab your wallet and dive in, because if you've picked your side, then there's bundles to save you time and scrolling for both Committed Loyalist or Fervent Traitor. Now the core The Horus Heresy – The Age of Darkness itself is a beast; 2 x Legion Praetors, 10 x Cataphractii Terminators (the older plastics), 40 x MK VI non-multi-pose Space Marines, a Contemptor Dreadnought, and a mighty Spartan Assault Tank. It also comes with the rulebook and some play aids. Fan of the background, lore and want to field units just for your Legion? Well the Loyalist Liber Astartes and Traitor The Liber Hereticus books not only have shared profiles for many units common to every Legion, but also unique rules for every Legion, including Unit Profiles, Warlord Traits, Rites of War, Wargear, Faction Abilities, and Unique Reactions (a new mechanic for Horus Heresy). On the miniatures front, there's two awesome weapon upgrade sets - the Legiones Astartes Special Weapons Upgrade Set for Legion Tactical Support Squads and the Legiones Astartes Heavy Weapons Upgrade Set (Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters) for your Legion Heavy Support Squads. The nice things about both sets is they give you enough to actually arm full strength squads! Infantry need transport, and by the Gods Old and New, we finally have the Deimos Pattern Rhino in plastic. It's interesting it doesn't include the Cyclone Missile Launcher, so popular at the time, but this is a great looking kit! Transport aside, what else do massed Legions need? Big guns - and the new Kratos Heavy Assault Tank gives that in spades. Look at that Volkite bristling on the hull and turret... it's an expensive kit, but it's a beauty. The progenitors of the MKVI armour we see in the new Age of Darkness box are of course the venerable Mk III and MK IV armour types. Both seeing extensive service in the Horus Heresy and the Great Crusade, these sets now come in boxes of 20 miniatures to fit the maximum squad sizes for the Legions. Having build well over 50 of the MK III Tactical Squad and 20 of the Mk IV Tactical Squad, we can tell you these are excellent, multi-pose kits, and at the price, you get the extra 10 minis in each set for around 50% off.
If the Thousand Sons are your bag, then Ahzek Ahriman is back available separately, and a nice mini too. 
You would have seen the new Forge World Sons of Horus and Imperial Fists Mk VI Heads and Shoulder Pads upgrade sets. These weren't listed in the GW pre-orders this morning, but were on the Forge World site, which wasn't what we were told a few weeks back. Go check out the Imperial Fists Mk VI Heads and Shoulder Pads upgrade sets over there, or of course you can check out the Sons of Horus Mk VI Heads and Shoulder Pads upgrade sets and know you picked the right side ;) 
Away from minis for a minute, there is much excitement about the return of the Forge World Legion transfers, and they come in each Legion flavour; Dark Angels, Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, White Scars, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, Night Lords, Blood Angels, Iron Hands, World Eaters, Ultramarines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Sons of Horus, Word Bearers, Salamanders, Raven Guard, and Alpha Legion. Now of course nothing says Legion loyalty like themed dice, and of course the old Forge World dice have reappeared in glorious technicolour. Blessed be your role for the Dark Angels, Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, White Scars, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, Night Lords, Blood Angels, Iron Hands, World Eaters, Ultramarines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Sons of Horus, Word Bearers, Salamanders, Raven Guard, and Alpha Legion.
Want to know who was fighting where? Where to send your troops next? Well check out the Carta Galactica: The Imperium of Mankind map.
There's of course some Heresy-themed books, Cthonia's Reckoning which comes in Special Edition and Hardcover and the anthology, Lupercal’s War which contains 21 short stories. Want to know where you're up to in one of these books? Well have a look at this totally over-the-top Horus Heresy Bookmark.
There's generally a sweetener to the big launches, and if you order from the GW webstore, there's these tokens... an exclusive mini would have been cooler!
In other mini releases this week, we have the very nice new Forge World Grimbeorn and the Beornings
 from Middle Earth. 

The promise of plastic Traitor Guard has LOOOONG been something the Community have asked for, and this week we get our first look in the new Kill Team boxed set, Moroch. It's Traitor Guard, who include the officer and Ogryn from the Blackstone Fortress set vs. Phobos Marines, who come with a new upgrade sprue. It also comes with the newest Imperial terrain, so really this is a pretty good set if you're a 40K player - especially if you plan on splitting it. The Guard haven't really had much love online, which is a shame considering how long we've waited. Also available separately this week is the Kill Team: Phobos and Kill Team: Blooded Dice Sets.
The bigger release this week is the new Codex for Chaos Knights, which comes in Spiky Stomping Collectors' Edition and Toe Jam Standard Edition. Also on offer is the amazing Knight Abominant, a new War Dogs combi-kit that includes options to build the War Dog Brigands/ War Dog Stalkers/ War Dog Karnivores. The older War Dog Executioners/ War Dog Huntsmen combi-kit get a dusting off, and we see a reboxed Knight Desecrator/ Knight Rampager combi-kit. With the Codex comes the Datacards: Chaos Knights, but no dice this week.
Necromunda terrain in flying our way, with the Ash Wastes box getting split to give us the Thatos Pattern: Extended Hab Module, Thatos Pattern: Hab Module and the ​Thatos Pattern: Platforms & Walkways which are all so so tempting for our ongoing terrain mission!
Finally the Hive Fleet arrives for Australia and New Zealand as Codex: Tyranids arrives. Supplemented by the new Combat Patrol: Tyranids, Parasite of Mortrek, Datacards and Dice Set. Took them a while, but they are here!

It sounds like a Death Metal album, and maybe it is, but this week it's all about the Echoes of Doom, the new Age of $igmar boxed set featuring Sylvaneth vs Skaven. In fact along with the boxed set there is also two collections, the Echoes of Doom-Doom – Skaven Collection (not sure if the second 'doom' is meant to be there, but it's listed so why not!) and the Echoes of Doom – Sylvaneth Collection. These come with extra minis and a print.
​The last Warcry boxed set has been broken up, and you can get your hands on one of the most unusual and dynamic forces GW have released for a while - the Tarantulos Brood, and the Robert E Howrad-esque 
Darkoath Savagers. There's also two terrain sets (almost identical) the  Ravaged Lands: Pit Dredger Camp and Varanite Syphon Camp.
In the world of Warhammer 40K in the meanwhile, another boxed set has been broken up, giving you the option to get the Adeptus Custodes Blade Champion (who comes with alternate heads and weapons) and the Reductus Saboteur (who has a scarred or non-scarred head option). Speaking of those golden boys, the new Combat Patrol: Adeptus Custodes is also on it's way.
Books this week is The Horus Heresy Print on Demand Collection 10, which you can also buy individually if you like - all hardbacks too: Ruinstorm - Book 46, Old Earth - Book 47, The Burden of Loyalty - Book 48, Wolfsbane - Book 49, and Born of Flame - Book 50. Also in books this week, it's Godsbane in hardback.
It's merchandise time, and here we have some little cuties from ​Semic, the Ultramarines Primaris Space Marine Helmet Keyring, the Blood Angels MKVII Space Marines Helmet Keyring and the Primaris Space Marine Metal Helmet Keyring. Interesting to see the MKVII in there, so maybe not all hope is lost after all.

The Nighthaunt range just keeps getting better and better, and this week we see the pre-order for the new Battletome: Nighthaunt - in both Rattle & Bones Limited Edition and Bone-daddy Standard Edition. There's also a new character model, Awlrach The Drowner in a very small boat for a ferryman and some ranged troops that are absolutely awesome - the Craventhrone Guard, who unfortunately only come in a box of five. GW have also collected a few of the characters from previous releases to create the Ethereal Court, plus the Warscroll Cards and Nighthaunt Dice.
The vicious death-dealers, the Daughters of Khaine also get their new Battletome - which comes in Crown the Queen Limited Edition and Razor-sharp Standard Edition. No new models, but there are Warscroll Cards, but no new dice.
The Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game™ gets a new expansion with Defence of the North, which also includes narrative elements as well. No new minis, but yet again we get a deluge of old ones - Lake-town Captains, Easterling Mounted Commanders, some cool Easterlings Dice, Durbûrz & Grôblog, Goblin Kings of Moria, Ashrâk & Drûzhag, Goblin Shamans of Moria, Khazâd Guard, Moria Blackshield Warband, Captains of Erebor, Warg Marauder, Dragon, and the Moria Goblin Prowlers.
In books this week we get the new Vincula Insurgency in hardback, and next week sees White Dwarf 476.

Amongst the flurry of (the frankly disappointing) Warhammer Fest, the once-darlings of GW have returned - Knights! And not just any Knights, the Chaos Knights in a brand new Army Set which includes the Abominant (with the new Volkite combustor and an electroscourge flail) two War Dogs, the new edition of Codex: Chaos Knights with exclusive cover art, datacards and two transfer sheets. This is a big step up from the older Knight with a Chaos spiky sprue in the box!
Now if your taste is more in the Imperial part of the galaxy, well you're in luck; Codex: Imperial Knights is here! Available in Stompy Stompy Collectors' Edition and Tally Ho Standard Edition, these add new rules and more to the battlefield monsters that are the Imperial Knights. There's also the Imperial Knights Datacards, but no dice for you.
Also in Warhammer 40K-land, War Zone Nachmund: Rift War, as new "narrative supplement" (not sure they have used that term before) is here - in both Reign of Terror Collectors' Edition and Event Horizon Standard Edition.
In books, your friend and mine, Old Kath gets a new tome, The Triumph of Saint Katherine in hardback, the paperback version of the Space Wolves The Helwinter Gate is here (just in time for it to get chilly in the southern hemisphere) and volume two of ​The Chronicles of Malus Darkblade in paperback arrives. We do wonder if Maleus Darkblade might get a shiny Collectors Set at some point...

Necromunda has left the Hive and moved to the lawless lands beyond! Necromunda: Ash Wastes is the first Necromunda expansion to not take place in the alleys, tunnels and manufactoriums of the Hive itself, and it will be interesting how the community will take it! In essence they seemed to be after a Mad Max style aesthetic, but is that what they got? Time will tell, but the massive new box is certainly a standout. If you're just keen on the Nomads themselves, then you'll be happy to know that the Ash Waste Nomads War Party, the Ash Waste Nomads Dustback Helamites and the Ash Waste Nomads Gang Tactics Cards are also up for pre-order this week - a smart move by GW. Maybe not such a smart move is the inclusion of the Orlocks in the set. It absolutely goes with the background, but without fresh paintjobs, or alternative colour schemes, these minis look very out of place. Would be potentially be more interesting to have a new Gang or even a different type of Enforcer. Suffice to say, the Orlock Outrider Quads and Orlock Vehicle Gang Tactics Cards also come out this week if you want to add to your existing Orlock gang.
Australasia doesn't get all the books this week - but we do get Penitent – Bequin, Book 2 in paperback, and the Carta Galactica map, featuring the Western Hemisphere of Necromunda.

So what does the rest of the world get? The reissue of the Imperial Infantryman’s Handbook, the amazing looking Limited Edition Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, and very oddly, the Forge World Orlock Upgrades. There's something very odd here. Forge World aren't in stores here - everything comes by mail - so why are these not released for Australasia? It's not like they have to be in the country...

It's amazing how even after all these years the Sunday Preview still holds so much power on Warhammer Community - so much expectation and restrained excitement, only to be royally shat on when you scroll down to the very bottom to read this:
"Unfortunately, these pre-orders will be slightly delayed in Australia and New Zealand – you’ll be able to pre-order your Norse teams from the 23rd of April"
So while the rest of the world gets Norse Blood Bowl (which frankly does not entice personally), those of us down here who pay a premium on releases, get three books... three books. Surely the premium we pay is to make sure we get these things airfreighted and on time, otherwise what actually are we paying for? Here's an idea: dispatch them a week early - Hell, dispatch them a month early! It's frankly just poor service and especially while fans in this part of the world are STILL waiting for the Tyranid release. Surely Games Workshop don't receive and dispatch goods on the same week. Surely it's sitting in a warehouse waiting for it's release window. Got delayed at sea? Well fly some out, OR still put it on pre-order but tell us it's going to be a while longer. That's okay, we will wait, just give us the opportunity to feel included!

With that out of the way late shave a look at what some of us get this week, then we'll move onto what others will get...
Anyone who saw the original covers for the Bequin series will have to admit they are some of the best covers GW have produced in a very long time. Well on pre-order his week is the Special Edition version of Pariah – Bequin, Book 1, and it's another triumph! Also on pre-order this week is the hardback version of the Sigismund: The Eternal Crusader novel, which I have been told has an appearance by some of the War Hounds Legion! Very cool. And we also have the paperback of Traitor Rock.

Now, for those in other parts of the world it's a pretty cool week for you - because the Norse have invaded Blood Bowl. with the Norsca Rampagers, Norse Team Card Pack, Norse Team Dice and double-sided Norse Pitch and Dugouts heading your way. There's also Spike! Issue 14 with all the tips, tricks and tactics to field the beer-fueled Norse.
Forge World have also come the party with the Yhetee and their champion Skrorg Snowpelt, plus some Norse star players, Thorsson Stoutmead and  Ivar Eriksson.