Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter: Impressions

"It is better by far to be an object of fear than of respect, for one is a truth of the soul and the other an illusion of the mind."

In terms of model releases, in the last two years, I have come to look forward to and anticipate one thing above all others, and that is the release of new Primarchs from Forge World.  These models are the distilled vision of each of their respective legions, and some of the most iconic characters in the 41st millenium.  If asked three years ago if I thought these characters, legends in 40k history, could be effectively produced as models, I would have said "no" without question.  How could anyone encapsulate all of the lore and myth that has been cultivated over 20 years since their creation?  Thankfully, I was proven wrong by the work of the incredibly talented Simon Egan (as well as Edgar Skomorowski), who not only harnessed all the creative energy surrounding these characters, but also added some of his own personal vision to the characters.  This year has been a good year for Primarch releases, seeing the release of Horus, Mortarian, and Vulkan.  After Vulkan was unveiled at the Horus Heresy Weekender in May of this year, however, word about the next Primarch was scarce.  It was a painful five months of nothing until Warhammer Fest (Oct 11-12th), where another of the Emperor’s sons was revealed, the King of Terrors, Konrad Curze of the Night Lords.  But even this was only a single cropped image, so the wait continued.  Finally, in the first week of December, the Night Haunter was released and shown to the world in his terrible splendor.

Horus Heresy Weekender 2014: Mortarion and Vulkan Impressions

"For within each frail human body is the will to grasp the stars and walk a path unto eternity itself."

People had pretty high hopes the Horus Heresy Weekender event two weekends ago.  And with all of the stellar models being released for the Horus Heresy in the last two years, it is obvious why.  The Heresy has always been a fascinating story, detailing a civil war of galactic scale, pitting brother Space Marine against brother Space Marine.  It was where some of the most iconic Space Marine Chapters came into being and where each were shaped by their own enigmatic and god-like Primarch.  When Simon Egan first showed his vision of Angron of the World Eaters, I was stunned with how effectively he captured the savage magistry of the gladiatorial fighter, exceeding all of my expectations.  With this release, Forge World showed to the world that they were capable of undertaking the herculean task of sculpting models for figures that hold a mythical status in the imaginations of most Warhammer 40,000 players (or at least the ones who have been playing for awhile).  It also began the slow, excruciating count-down until the next Primarch was sculpted.  Initially the task fell solely on the shoulders of Simon Egan, but quickly Edgar Skomorowski began sculpting some, as well. Even with the second hand and a span of two years, only 6 of the primarchs have models (of the 12 with rules).  Because of this slow release schedule, Forge World events like the Weekender have had the added excitement that they are often where the next primarch model is revealed.  This year’s Weekender event was no different, but instead of revealing one primarch and showing a glimpse of the next in some half finished WIP form, they showed two new primarchs!  Mortarion the Reaper Primarch of the Death Guard was unveiled and for sale at the event.  Unexpectedly, Vulkan, the Promethean Fire and Primarch of the Salamander Chapter was shown in all his fully sculpted glory as well!

Fulgrim the Illuminator Revealed!

At long last, the next Primarch is here!

This weekend was an exciting one for those of us who play Warhammer 40,000.  The highly anticipated Horus Heresy Weekender event took place in Nottingham, resulting in a wealth of new information (and models!) from Forge World’s vision of depicting the epic civil war that set brother Space Marine against brother Space Marine across the known universe.  What I was looking forward to most, however was the full unveiling of Forge World’s next Primarch, Fulgrim the Illuminator!

Fulgrim the Illuminator, Forge World's latest Primarch

Who better to define a Primarch's image then John Blanche? 

The Primarchs have always held a sort of mythic status in my mind, steeped in mystery and conjecture.  An unknowable quantity that was only spoke of in whispers, like all the best elements of Warhammer 40,000.  So when I heard models were being made, I was pretty skeptical, because unless the result was utterly spectacular, it was likely to add a level of finality to these figures that I would rather leave to my own imagination.  But as luck would have it, Forge World gave this herculean task to arguably their best sculptor, Simon Egan.  And the moment Forge World revealed their first Primarch, Angron the Red Angel, I (and I imagine most of you) craved to see the other’s rendered with the same magnificence.