New Orks Available in Your Local Hobby Store

January 6th, 2009

The new Ork releases are available at hobby stores around the area now, including my personal favorite Parker Banner Kent Wayne in Cornelius, NC.  But along with this news, as you all knew they would be available at SOME POINT, GW has released a few new articles to help you in your own Ork Themes.

First up is the Ork Armies of the studio, a collection of beautifully painted models.  There’s a great shot of that rascally Ghazghull on the front page.

Next is Orky Scenery and Scenario.  There’s some examples of "Orkifying" imperial buildings and battle boards and a Waaagh! scenario.

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Painting a Black Grey Knight

December 31st, 2008

One of our members, Dave, posted a great and very detailed walk through on how he painted up a Grey Knight that fits in perfectly with his Black Templar army.  From start to finish and all the washes in between.  This is a great painting tutorial!

Forum | The Assault Phase

Tutorials, Warhammer 40K

Advanced Orders - Lizardmen

December 26th, 2008

While Skinks and Saurus Warriors are currently available, the new army book, all plastic Stegadon kit, Temple Guard, Chakax and Kroxigors are available to preorder online and at your local game store.  They are slated to be on the shelves the second week in February.

Warhammer Fantasy , ,

Is That Santa or Just an Ork Stompa

December 24th, 2008

Hot on the heals of rumurs coming from a random German online store, GW sent us all pictures of the new Plastic Ork Stompa, easily the biggest all plastic kit they ever released.  You’re going to want a spray gun for this one.  It’s due out in Spring 2009 officially.  Though rumors are that the exact date in the second week of March and could cost just under $100.

More information on this kit and the Shawdowsword Super-Heavy tank can be found in the next couple issues of White dwarf.

Games Workshop Releases

Orky Tidings This Christmas

December 23rd, 2008

Those thugs, the Orks, know Christmas.  They’re green after all, and like to paint red all over their vehicles.  Go Faster Red, green Orks, all by the light of shoota fire. 

Here are a couple treats.  Firstly, what best to get your favorite Ork player out there than Ghazghkull Thraka’s Greatest Hits

While the hits play in the background, you can whilst away the time reading to the little Grots the story of How Da WarBoss Stole Christmas by GregorytheImpaler as found on Deviant Art.

All da grots down in Grot-ville liked Christmas a lot. But da Boss who lived just north of Grot-ville did not. Da boss HATED Christmas, da whole Christmas season, please don’t ask why, noone quite knows da reason. It could be his Flash wasn’t screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, dat his bootz was too tight. But I t’ink dat da most likely reason of all, may have been dat his heart was two sizes too small.

But, whatever da reason, his heart or his bootz, he stood ‘dere on Christmas Eve, hatin’ dem foolz. Staring down from his Ork Hold wit’ a sour Orky frown, at dem warmly lit torches below in ‘deir town. For he knew every Grot down in Grot-ville beneath, was busy now, hanging a red-painted wreath.

“And ‘deir hangin’ dem stockingz!” He snarled through his tusks, “Tomorrow is Christmas! It’s makin’ me fuss!” Den he growled, with his Ork fingers nervously drummin’, “I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from comin’!”

For tomorrow, he knew, all da Grot gitz n’ boyz, would wake bright n’ early. They’d rush for dem toyz! And ‘DEN! Oh, da noize! Oh, da noize!  Noize! Noize! Noize! Dat’s da ONE thing he hated! Da NOIZE! NOIZE! NOIZE! NOIZE!
Den da Grotz, young n old, would sit down to a feast. And dey’d feast! And dey’d feast! And dey’d FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!

Dey would feast on Grot-puddin’, and rare Grot-roast beast! Which was somethin’ dat Boss couldn’t stand in da least!

And DEN dey’d do somethin’ he liked least of all! Every Grot down in Grot-ville, da tall n da small, would stand close togedder, wit’ Christmas bells ringin’. Dey’d stand hand in hand, and dem Grotz would start singing!

Dey’d sing! And dey’d sing! And dey’d SING! SING! SING! SING! And da more da Boss thought of dis Grot-Christmas-sing, da more da Boss thought, “I must stop dis whole thing!”
“Why, for fifty-three yearz, I put up with it now!”
“I MUST stop dis Christmas from comin’!”

“But HOW?”

Den he got an idea! An awful idea! DA BOSS GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

“I know just what ta do!” Da Boss laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat ‘n a coat. And he chuckled, and clucked, “What a great Orky trick!”
“With dis coat ‘n dis hat, I lookz just like Saint Nick!”

“All I need iz a reindeer…” Da Boss looked around. But, since reindeer are scarce, ‘dere was none to be found. Did that stop da Big Boss? No! Da Boss simply said,
“If I can’t FIND a reindeer, I’ll MAKE one instead!” So he called his Squig, Max. Den he took some red thread, and he tied a big horn on da top of his head.

DEN, he loaded some bags, and some old empty sacks, on a ramshackle sleigh, and he hitched up old Max.

Den da Boss said “Giddap!” And da sleigh started down, toward da homes where da Grotz lay a-snooze in ‘deir town.

All da windows were dark. Quiet snow filled da air. All da Grotz were all dreamin’ sweet dreams without care. When he came to da first little house on da square. “Dis is stop numba one,” the old Orky Claus hissed, and he climbed to da roof, empty bags in his fist.

Den he jumped down da chimney. A rather short toss. But if Santa could do it, ‘den so could da Boss! He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Den he stuck  his head out of the fireplace flue, where da little Grot stockingz was hung in a row. “Dese stockin’s,” He grinned, “are da FIRST things ta go!”

Den he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, and da whole room, and he took every present! Bolt gunz! Jet bikez! Meltaz! And kraks! Flamerz! Bioniks! Transplantz! ‘N Mekz!
And he stuffed ‘dem in bagz. Den da Boss, very nimbly, stuffed all da bags, one by one, up da chimbley!

Den he slunk to da icebox. He took da Grot’s feast! He took da Grot-Puddin’! he took da roast beast! He cleaned out dat icebox as quick as a flash! Why dat Ork even took ‘deir last can of Grot-hash!

Den he stuffed all da food up da chimney wit’ glee. “And NOW!” grinned da Boss, “I will stuff up da tree!”

And da Boss grabbed da tree, and he started to squat, when he heard a small sound, like da voice of a Grot.

He turned around fast, and he saw of small Grot! Little Cindy-Lou Grot, who was only a tot.

Da Boss had been caught, by dis tiny Grot daughter, who’d got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at da Boss and said “Santy Claus, why, why are ya takin’ our Christmas tree? WHY?”

But, ya know, dat ol’ Boss was so smart ‘n quick. He thought up a lie, ‘n he thought it up quick! “Why, my sweet little tot,” the fake Santy Claus lied, “‘Dere’s a light on dis tree dat won’t light on one side! So I’m taking it home to me workshop, my dear.” “I’ll fix it up ‘dere. DEN I’ll bring it back HERE!”

‘N his fib fooled da child. Den he patter ‘er ‘ead, and he got ‘er a drink n he sent ‘er ta bed. ‘N when Cindy-Lou Grot went to bed wit’ ‘er cup, HE went to da chimney ‘n stuffed da tree up!

‘Den da LAST thing he took, was da log for deir fire! Den he went up da chimney himself, da ol’ liar. On deir wallz he left nuffin’ but hooks and some wire.

‘N da one speck o’ food dat was left in da house, was a crumb dat was even too small for a mouse.

Den he did da same thing to da other Grotz’ houses,
Leavin’ crumbs much too small for da other Grot’z mouses.
It was quarter past dawn… all da Grotz still-a-bed, all da Grotz, still-a-snooze when he packed up his sled, packed up wit’ dem presents! Dem ribbonz! Dem wrappin’s! Da tagz! ‘N da tinsel! Da trimmin’s! Da Trappins!

Three thousand feet up! Up da side of Mount Kill Pit, he rode with his load to da tiptop ta dum it! “Sod off to dem grotz!” he was Orkishly hummin’. “Dey’s findin’ out now dat no Christmas is comin’!”
“Dey’s just wakin’ up! I know JUST what dey’ll do!”
“Deir moufs will hang open a minute or two, den da Grotz down in Grotville, will all cry boo-hoo!”

“That’s a noize,” grinned da Big Boss, “Dat I simply MUST hear!” So he paused. And da Boss put his hand to his ear. And he DID hear a sound risin’ over da snow. It started in low, den it started ta grow…

But da sound wasn’t sad, why dis sound sounded merry! It COULDN’T be so! But it WAS merry! Very!

He stared down at Grotville! Da Boss popped ‘is flash. Den he shook! What he saw was a shockin’ surprise!

Every Grot down in Grotville, da tall n da small, was SINGIN’! Without any presents at all!

He HADN’T stopped Christmas from comin’! IT CAME! Somehow or odder, it came just da same!

And da Boss, wit his Ork feet ice-cold in da snow, stood thinkin’ ‘n thinkin’, “How COULD it be so? It came wiffout shootaz, it came wiffout rigz! it came wiffout big mekz, tank bustaz, or squigz!” And he puzzled three hours till ‘is big brain was sore, DEN da Boss thought of somethin’ he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” He thought, “DOESN’T come from a WAAAGH!!! …  Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more!”

‘N what happened DEN? Well… in Grotville dey say, dat da Boss’ small heart grew three sizes dat day! ‘N da minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight, he came down wit ‘is load through da bright mornin’ light, ‘n brought back da giftz! ‘N da food fer da feast! ‘N he…

He HIMSELF! Da Big Boss carved da roast beast!

Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy , , , , ,

Imperial Guard Rumors

December 22nd, 2008

Making their way around the net and I blieve originally posted on WarSeer, there’s some exciting information on Imperial Guard updates coming this spring.  This is what I could pull up from the rumor post and around town.

Codex Release: May 2009.
New Commissar Lord
Master Psyker

Model Changes:
New sentinel frame, which contains all the weapon options. (flamer, multi-laser, autocannon chainsword, heavy bolter )
New plastic Catachan Command box set
New plastic kits. Cadian Command Squad, Catachan Command Squad, Sentinel, and Valkry
New metal models. Including Commissar Lord, Psychers, Officers, and Ratlings

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Games Workshop - 2009 Circuit Events

December 15th, 2008

 

The current tournament circuit is up on the Games Workshop web site.  None of them are particularly close to the Charlotte area, maybe the two Tennessee events are drivable.  Myself, I still plan on attending Adepticon, one of the largest and well run tournaments in America.

Games Workshop - 2009 Circuit Events

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The Games Workshop Design Studio Podcast - Design Philosophy IV: Interview with Jes Goodwin

December 3rd, 2008

GW has released a new podcast surrounding their design philosophy.  Jes Goodwin is a senior GW miniature designer and sculptor.  Jervis and Jes sit down and talk about Jes’s career and his thoughts around minature design.

Games Workshop - The Games Workshop Design Studio Podcast

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Reminder! Two Upcoming Warhammer Events This Weekend

December 2nd, 2008

Event #1: Warhammer Fantasy League Tournament Kick-Off

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Link out: Click here
Description: The League is basically a tournament spread out over a several week time period. Its purpose is to promote a tournament-type experience without the need to spend a full weekend dedicated to the game.  Dec 7th, Sunday is the kick-off where player assignments will be made.  Please contact wfbleague@pbkwcomics.com if you have not signed up yet.  (though they were due Dec 4th)

Start Time: 2:00pm
Date: 2008-12-07

 

Event #2: PBKW/Assaultphase.com Year End 40k Tournament

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Link out: Click here
Description: Prizes: (PBKW Store credit towards GW Merchandise) 1st place: $25+50% of pot. 2nd: $20+35% of pot. 3rd: $15+15% of pot. Prizes will be rounded to nearest $5.00 increments for sake of organizers’ sanity. Painting Contest: $40.00

There is a lot of interest in the tournament.  Please remember to be punctual, ie On Time.  If you have not had the chance to preregister, you can stop by Parker Banner Kent Wayne in Cornelius and pay the meager $5 entry fee.  Or at the least call the store or post in the link above that you will be going. 

Start Time: 12:00
Date: 2008-12-06

Campaign Days, Misc Events, Tournaments, Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy , , ,

Review - Army Builder 3 by Lone Wolf Development

November 8th, 2008

BLOT: Pro’s - Fast army list building, intuitive interface, easy to use; Con’s - Licensing mechanism is horrible, reliance on third parties to develop the rules files.

Army Builder is a software program developed by Lone Wolf Development, a very small software company that’s been developing and supporting the product since around 1998.  The programs purpose is to be used as an aid for creating and maintaining your army lists for various game systems.  And when your game system is one such as Games Workshop products, the rules and lists can be daunting.

ScreenGrab 

When launching Army Builder up for the first time, you are going to find that you will need to unlock the full functionality of the product by “Activating” it.  As long as you have an Internet connection, this is not a big problem.  However the way that Lone Wolf has designed the activation scheme, you can run into some pretty big problems denying you access to your purchased program.  More on that later….

LicenseActivation

Once you have your activated product, when launching in the future you will be presented by the army selection box.  Here you can choose any of the game products that you have downloaded rules for.  At first, there will be only a default game product there, and example system.  You see this program is really only an interface to display and work with army builder files.  But due to licensing, some companies (GW ahem) make it very hard for others to utilize their work. 

The program does have a connection to a storage area where certain groups can post semi-official army builder files for use with these game systems.  However, they are not supported by Lone Wolf Development.  They are instead developed by intrepid gamers doing us all a great service in creating and maintaining these files.  One such group is the AB40K Maintainers.  Simply click on the “Get Updates” at the top right of the program and download a third party AB file to use. 

With the systems downloaded, then as mentioned the army system box will display and you can select that system.

ArmySystem

After selecting your system, you can then select the army to use and any special rules set.

CreateRoster RulesOptions

Once you are in there building the roster you want, the intuitive interface makes it very quick to build an army based on the rules provided.  You can sort by troops, HQ choices, special characters, etc.  Quickly adding them you can see the points costs add up.  Selecting a unit you can see the options options available and the points it will cost to include.  Hovering over items and abilities gives you a run down of that particular line description. 

When you are ready, you even have a multitude of options for printing your list.  Including rules summary if the AB Files has them.

Outputoptions

For me, Army Builder has been the most useful tool I have for generating and analyzing my army lists.  And you can also use it with out limiting points as an inventory manager for all your figures.  Army Builder is neigh indispensable to me and has been a savior when I needed to create an army list for a last minute game.  It’s borderline addictive.

The problems….  While the product itself lives up to every expectation as a streamlined interface, that is it’s only expectation.  There have been occasions when downloading a particular army system such as Warhammer Fantasy or 40K, that point costs are off on some units, certain rules may be missing, or entire armies if the maintainer of the AB file has not gotten around to updating it.  In my case not too far back when I bought this latest version of the game so I can manage my new Daemon army, I set about to create a Fantasy army list.  I should have done my research because there was no Daemon army list to be had in the program.  Another case in point is that only recently have the 5th edition 40K rules come out though the product has been out over a month.   To be clear, this is not Wolf Lairs fault.

Thinking I would add it myself, I soon found how daunting a challenge it is to create your own armies or systems to be used in this program.  This means unless you are advanced with the Army Builder Creator, you are relying on these maintainers to get it right and to get updates done as soon as possible.  With nothing but the love of the hobby on their side, there’s no incentive to do this post haste just so you can use that brand new army or rule.  Work around these bugs by double checking your lists especially prior to tournaments.

The worst problem with the program though in my opinion is the licensing.  If you are a simple computer user and you don’t think that you will want your product on more than one machine and that machine is stable as a rock, you are probably not going to encounter the problems I did.

Here is the situation that occurred to me when I started using it.  I installed the program on my notebook, my primary PC that I take everywhere I go.  Ironically, my notebook experienced technical problems and needed to get replaced.  As a temporary solution I busted out an old computer and was not able to activate and use Army Builder, obviously because the notebook had the controlling license.  Wolf Lair did think ahead and there is a means that you can get a secondary license if needed, which I did and I used it on my temp PC.

Obviously now I couldn’t install it on my new laptop when it arrived.  I was being very anxious at this point with an upcoming tournament that I would have liked to use it for.  I sent in an email to support for help resetting the license and after a  couple days, no response.  I went to the forums and saw quite a number of other posts indicating they sent emails and have had no response.  I posted my own and “bumped it” every couple days until after a week I finally got a response and my activation code reset.

The activation is based on your hardware and OS configuration.  You actually are able to re-license on a new PC every 120 days according to the support response to me.  Being a techy person, I was already reformatting and updating my PC with a new OS in a few months and I’m currently using the secondary license already.

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