WARHAMMER WORLD TRIP

WARHAMMER WORLD TRIP

 

 

 

 

This Sunday me and the gang popped down to Warhammer World to see the changes to the new store and the exhibition centre.

 

Upon driving into the carpark you see that the Rhino has moved and is now parked next to the new and very modern looking entrance.

 

Following the steps around the outside wall of the building we could hear the sounds of battle ensuing in the main hall. Banners hang from the wall and give some great photo opportunities to say I was there. Once reaching the top you are straight into the Games Workshop store and the familiar layout. Having not being in a GW store for a while now it was interesting to see a lighter amount of stock, with the new touch screen pads that playing Candy Crush on would be awesome. gives the store complete access to the full stock. With Warhammer World being just across the road from the warehouse means that anything they don't have will be in your hands in around 2 hours. So plenty of time for a pint and some food.

 

Now the real reason for the trip for me was the exhibition centre as having been an ex-employee I had always enjoyed painting the models and then seeing the mega displays at Games Day. There is a ticket price of £7.50 to get in, and some may think that this is steep but I try and equate it to something of comparable cost. So I have picked a film which is roughly the same price and around 2 hours. So if I am wandering staring at models for more than 2 hours then good value for money in my eyes.

 

So with stamp on my hand and encouraged by the staff to take as many pictures as I wanted in I went.

 

Now I am not going to give a picture by picture step guide as I don't want to spoil the surprise if you decided to visit. You have 4 major displays to work your way through the first being focused on Warhammer then into 40K and then the jaw dropping mega display and then more 40k before leading back to the art exhibition area. All in all it us around 3 hours to go round the displays and I have over 100 photos and so much inspiration to get my new army started.

 

I have posted some pics below to whet the palette.

 

 

 

 

But that's not all there are 2 other stores in the new Warhammer World. You have a Forge World dedicated store, which is laid out like a jewellers so make sure you leave your wallet at home as it will tempt almost everyone. The last store is Black Library and with all the range and stunning artwork, and one of the group said all it was missing is couple of wing back chairs so you can sit down with a snifter of Brandy and settle in to a good book.

 

So a great day out topped with some gaming.

If you have some spare time over the summer holidays or in the evenings get yourself down there. Just leave the credit card at home.

 

See you on the flip side

 

 

 

Void Sirens

Dreadball Void Sirens

Just after Crimbo Mantic Games  had a nice sale where a bunch of us took the plunge and bought into Dreadball. Having a look through the teams I was drawn to the Void Sirens, something about their tight fitting white and pink suits and their buxom charms had me hooked. So now into March we finally round to playing so to assemble the team.

What do you get in the starter box. To be honest I had no idea as the box gives nothing away apart from that it contains eight premium plastic corporation players and that to find out more visit the website.

To be honest this did irk me as it did take a little while to work out which season they are form and then to find the contents. Not being a seasoned Dreadball player I can be forgiven not knowing this straight away.

• Female Corporation Team
• 4 Plastic Female Jacks
• 3 Plastic Female Strikers
• 1 Plastic Female Guard
• 10 Clear Plastic Hex Bases
• 1 Mantic Point
• 1 White Mantic Carry Case with Foam

So checking through the box I have 8 figures still no nearer to knowing a Jack from a Striker to a Guard 8 bases but then I guess having only 8 figures 10 is not needed. Mantic point check, carry case (not what I would use to transport figures) check.

I know that some people are big fans of the Mantic Games figures and style, but I am sitting on the fence, having assembled and painted a lot of plastic in my time they kinda sit in the middle some of the detail is quite crisp, but I do feel that they are still learning on placement of the figure in the mold and mold lines on the models. Also I am not a big fan of the shaped peg system to assemble figures as I have found in the past that if there is an area that will cast poorly it is this and will lead to frustration in assembly.

So with about 2 hours of cleaning and cutting off the pegs and pinning I finally got the team together. 

Not the best picture in the world but was late when taken. Having learnt that by calling it by stages I am loath to complete. So next step for me is to get them undercoated and decide on a colour scheme.

See you on the flip side

Star Wars Armada

Star Wars Armada is the latest game in the Star Wars license from Fantasy Flight Games. So far we have seen them tackle dog fights in X-Wing, Tabletop skirmish and campaign games in Imperial Assault. Now it is time for the capital ships to take to space and add more destruction to the space lanes.

So what ya gonna get for your creds?

The first release due in a couple of weeks is the starter set which I will be doing an unboxing of as soon as it arrives. The starter set gives you the start of your Imperial and Rebel fleets along with rules and the cards to make your fleet unique.

Following on from the core set will be Wave 1 for the Admirals to increase the size of their fleets and try new tactics to beat their enemy.

• Victory -class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack
• CR90 Corellian Corvette Expansion Pack
• Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack
• Assault Frigate Mark II Expansion Pack
• Gladiator -class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack
• Rebel Fighter Squadrons Expansion Pack
• Imperial Fighter Squadrons Expansion Pack

This wave is expected to be in the UK in around 4-6 weeks after the Core set release. This will be just in time for the Spring events being run in your LGS around the country.

I am super excited about this release as in as much as I love X-Wing and the ships and the game play I have been feeling for a while that I seem to spend a lot longer looking at cards and combinations to try and counter the latest release. 

With the advent of a large scale ship game I am feeling that it will be less about the cards and more about the tactics of ship and fleet positioning.

See you on the flip side

2015 First Figure of the Year

2015 

First Figure of the Year

My first figure of the year is from a company called Hasslefree Miniatures. The company is run by Kev and Sal since 2004 and they have a great range of figures in their store. So click the link and go check them out. 

Hasslefree Miniatures

Tony is from their Modern Adventurers range. He has a certain resembalance to Ed from Shaun of the Dead. I tried to copy the clothing that was worn in the film. I am quite happy with my results. 

However areas for to work on are skin tones and smoother shading. Also a little left to do on the mobile phone and the basing.

I will be making up a stat sheet for Zombicide and will post up once that is complete.

Comments as always are welcome.

Catch you on the flipside.

Model holder

Model Holder

I am not sure if any of you suffer the same problem that I have when painting over a long period of time, that your hand starts to cramp up and starts to effect the grip on the model. This was something that did not effect me as young gamer so I can only assume that father time is yet again catching up on me.

So the Mrs's needed to go shopping for some Christmas Cake decorations, so down to the local craft store. I had a peruse of things on offer and came across these.

Polystrene Bells which found fitted perfectly in the hand. Now the sharp minded of you out there will notice the problem straight away. For those who have 1 to many Christmas tipples it is the top of the bell which will cause them to fall over.

So out with the saw 

So after a few cuts I was left with 4 table looking model holders. A bit of double sided sticky tape and hay presto.

Well that's it for today.

Catch you on the flip side

IMPERIAL ASSAULT

IMPERIAL ASSAULT

'The Galactic Civil War rages on. After the destruction of the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's power is threatened. Stormtrooper legions surge across the galaxy in an effort to reassert their dominance, while elite Rebel operatives battle them at every turn. Against impossible odds they engage Imperial forces in their struggle for galactic freedom.'

Imperial Assault is Fantasy Flight Games latest release in their ever successful Star Wars Licence. It is a board game that allows 2-5 players to choose either the Imperial forces or the Rebel operatives. The game can be played as an ongoing campaign or as a series of Head to Head Skirmishes. 

So with the over view done time for the unboxing.

The first thing that you notice about this game is the size and weight of box. It certainly is taking front and centre on my gaming shelf.

Packaging

So with a large box and it feels sturdy and will take many a trip to gaming nights before you start to see any wear and tear. The artwork on the cover is fully of imagery and action certainly a draw on the shelf.  On the rear is the usual box shots and for the first time on an FFG box it is displaying the Disney logo.

I hope that this bodes well for the future and that FFG have managed to get a continual licence with the new franchise owners.

For me the packaging scores a solid 4 out of 5

First Impressions

Well I am going to start off by saying a I am Stars Wars fan, I always have and I always will. So there is a certain amount of bias. 

From collecting my box from Chimera Games  last Thursday after work I was almost giddy. But Thursday nights being our regular gaming night with my gaming buddies, we had already penciled in Cards Against Humanity and Betrayal in the House on the Hill. The box sat patiently in its bag until gaming had finished.

I think all through the evening the Emperor was quoting the immortal words ' You Want This'

With the patience of a Jedi I focused on the gaming at hand until the end of the evening.

Upon opening there were lots of OOOOHHHHSSS and AAHHHHHHHHHS. Ok not really but gotta make it sound good,

The figures were handed out and all of us were impressed with the sculpts. 

A quick flick through the books and the cards and I was sold that this is going to get played a lot.

Like I said I am biased but 5 out of 5 for me.

Entry Point / Getting Started

We all know what it is like when you get a new game. The owner runs off and reads through the book and then spends the first gaming session teaching the group how to play and answering the questions that they do not quite know the answers to.

So how well does Imperial Assault introduce new players?

There are 4 books in total in the box:

1. Learn to Play 

As the title suggests this is the book that you read first. 15 pages with a handy contents page so that you can see if you are missing anything. Then it takes you through your first game in a tutorial along with some extra rules.

2. Rules Reference Guide

This is a 28 page full colour rules book with a very good index on the rear cover. This gives detailed rules on how each of the rules work. Very useful for the person teaching new players.

3. Campaign Guide

This is a 44 page full colour campaign booklet.No Spoilers are being given. If you are going to play as the Rebels you are warned to STOP reading after the first page. But suffice to say there are 50 missions in there to make your campaign unique and repeatable.

4. Skirmish Guide

This 8 page full colour guide is where I think a lot of players will spend their time gaming. After all we all know that FFG love competitive play and support it very well. This is what you will be p;aying when you enter your Local Game Store tournaments. Very easy to read rules and a lot of fun.

To sum up I think that FFG have taken a long look at how to bring new players into the world of Imperial Assault, and cover it very well. So far I have played a couple of solo games just to get the pace and feel of the game and I so far have not come up against any rules issues. The books are very well laid out and very easy to read, supported by great examples to allow you to see the action on the table. One small thing that I would change would be the addition of 5 play sheets so that all the players can reference for themselves.

Score 5 out of 5

Contents / Value for Money

At £79 minus some discount for buying on day of release from my local games store, this on the face does not look like a cheap game.

But take a look at the pics below and see what you get for your money

A total of 34 figures including the AT-ST which is stunning. even if you just worked out the box price on the figures alone that would work out to be £2.32 a figure. With the quality being up there with some of the top companies very good value.

You then have the 4 rulebooks, 59 reversable map tiles, dice and over 200 cards and tokens. 

Having not put in much game time yet, but I feel that most games are going to take around the hour mark, I feel that I am going to get my monies worth.

And for those that play Edge of the Empire or Age of Rebellion you can also use this for table top battles as well.

Score 5 out of 5

So total score 19 out of 20.

In conclusion this is another great game from FFG and you can certainly see that they love the Star Wars universe and background as much as the fans do. I am certainly looking forward to playing this next year with the gaming group and seeing the future releases from FFG.

If you have any comments then please feel free to post them below. 

Catch you on the Flip Side 

Cerberus Unboxing

CERBERUS UNBOXING

Yawn yet another unboxing web blog I hear.

I did initially think that there was far to many of these around and I am a reader of a good many. However I do feel that there is room for more.

So I will be adding myself to this list. It will not be a weekly or regular blog section. More however on items that I have purchased and think that you will find interesting to see.

Unlike other sites I am going to score my unboxing's so that you can get an idea of the product. You may not agree with the unboxing. That is cool just leave a comment to say why, just keep it civil :)

So I will be scoring on the following areas out of 5.

Packaging:

Style of box and does it keep the contents protected. If on first opening I do find a broken component or piece, then I will go through the customer service channel of that company. As I do understand that picking errors can occur.

First Impressions:

So was it a wow factor like when Nan puts the Sunday roast on the table or does it make you feel all limp like at a speeding awareness course.

Entry Point / Getting Started

Is there a book that has READ ME FIRST over the cover so you know which one to ignore first. Or do you have to taken an evening course to break in.

Contents / Value for Money

So you have poured your hard earn wages into your latest purchase. Did you get Bang for your Buck? or are you left feeling like you should ordered another cheese burger for lunch.

So this will give a total of 20 points for each unboxing. I will also try and provide as many pictures and links that I can so you can get a good feel for the product.

This will be a work in progress so any feedback please feel free to leave a comment.