Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 17: Roboute Guilliman and questions concerning Space Marine Anatomy

Loyalist Primarchs in 40k...

We begin this episode by talking about some of the new Tzeentch releases before shifting into discussing the third Triumvirate boxed set, including Roboute Guilliman, Cypher, and Grand Master Voldus. We spend a lot of time pondering the egregious anatomical issues of the vast majority of current the Space Marine models, and how they were remedied by Simon Egan with his series of Primarch models. We finish out the episode talking about our current work to build a better proportioned true-scale Space Marine.

A look back: The miniatures of 2016

With 2016 coming to a close, we thought that it would be fun to take some time to consider what miniatures were released this year, and comment on our favorites. Anyone who has followed the site for awhile will know that we largely focus on Games Workshop models, though we have tried to give mention to quality releases from other ranges. This year, however, nearly all of our time was spent with Games Workshop models, with nothing beyond that spectrum really capturing our attention. Feel free to let us know in the comments what other companies we overlooked in 2016, however.

A look back: The miniatures of 2015

Looking back, it is clear that 2015 was a fantastic year for the miniature wargaming hobby.  And while many companies have had a strong year, I do not think that any miniature company can compare to the frantic release pace of Games Workshop.  Warhammer is gone to be replaced with Age of Sigmar, the Adeptus Mechanicus finally have models, and the Horus Heresy is no longer restricted to resin models.  With the year coming to an end, we would like to take some time to look back at some of the fantastic models released over the year, from Games Workshops, as well as some companies, talking about our favorites.  Finally we will reveal our overall favorite model of the year.  On to the models!

Tyranid Malanthrope - Musings on Forge World's Tyranids

Creeping death.

When people think of the models that Forge World produces, I believe that most think of their impressive battle titans, tanks, and more recently their vast range of Horus Heresy models. Few, I suspect, think of the tyranids. I think this stems largely from that fact that many of their older, stellar kits have been discontinued with the release of plastic counterparts from Games Workshop.  And while I love the convenience of plastic, many of the Forge World Tyranid models were actually a good example of the increased level of fine detail possible with resin.  But today, few probably even know of the existence of the original resin Trygon, let alone have seen one in person.  I recently had the pleasure of assembling Forge World’s Tyranid Malanthrope kit, seeing the quality of the sculpt first hand. I wanted to spend a little time here to tell you about the model.

Roboute Guilliman: the Avenging Son Impressions

‘A capacity for the theoretical is admirable, but a stomach for the practical is priceless.’

As the dust settles from the grand reopening of Warhammer World last weekend, there is a lot to be excited about. The excitement primarily stems from the models that Forge World unveiled, including the long awaited, and utterly cyclopean, Warlord Titan!  But this post is focusing on another God of War that was revealed to the world this weekend. Although only a fraction of the size of the Warlord, this next model is no less mighty, perfectly defining the Emperor’s noble ambitions at the onset of the Great Crusade. I am speaking of course of the next primarch from Forge World, Roboute Guilliman the Avenging Son of the XIII Legion (thanks Recalcitrant Daze for the excellent pictures from the event!).

A look back: The miniatures of 2014

It is hard to argue with the notion that 2014 has been a remarkable year for hobbyists, one which has seen the release of a huge range of fantastic miniatures. Similar to last year, we thought that it would be appropriate to go back and take a look at some of our favorite models released over the year. Fortunately, it was not just a single company that dominated the scene, with Games Workshop, Forge World, Wyrd, and Corvus Belli, each releasing a host of excellent models.  Without further ado, we are going to go through each of the aforementioned companies and talk about some of their standout models for the year and select our favorite.  Finally we will reveal our overall favorite model of the year.  Now to the models!

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.

The Genesis of a Space Marine: Unboxing Vulkan and musings on a conversion

Another Primarch, as impressive as the last!

By now it is probably not a surprise to anyone that I am a huge fan of Forge World's primarch models (http://betweenthebolterandme.blogspot.com/search/label/Primarch). I have written about them at length on numerous occasions, and eagerly await each new release.  Despite my inherent urge to collect all of them just for the sake of having a complete collection, it is not very practical.  For single models, they are very costly, and often require a  significant time investment to assemble and fix their casting issues. Furthermore, inherent in their nature, they are all from different Legions.  And no matter how fanatical about the models, I simply cannot collect a small army for every Legion such that each Primarch has a place.  To get around this to some capacity, I considered trying to use some of the models for conversions, but their cyclopean scale made me hesitant and I shelved the idea, waiting for some inspiration to push me past those initial musings.  That inspiration came when Migsula of Legion of Plastic, unveiled his newest project, the Vlka Fenryka.  Taking what he learned from his Legion project (creating a true-scale Alpha Legion army), he set his sights on the Sons of Russ, and set out to create a band of warrior-gods from the 13th company.  Unlike his Legion project, which he restricted to only plastic, he has fully embraced Forge World and has begun to create warriors using some of the Primarch models.  And while a talented modeler like Migsula dabbling with some of the finest miniatures in the world is exciting by itself, it was the stream of posts that followed (along with the accompanying discussions in the comments section) talking about his artistic vision, that set my imagination racing and rekindled my desire to use some of the Primarch figures as a basis for conversions.

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!

Horus the Warmaster, Primarch of the Sons of Horus

Forge World's release of Horus offers yet another reason for us to open our wallets...

We knew it was coming for a while now, ever since Forge World released Angron of the World Eaters.  We have all tried our best to wait as patiently as we could, but as of last week it finally happened. We are now graced with a model for Horus Lupercal!  To fully appreciate the significance of this, it is necessary to think back to when we all got into this hobby.  Like many of us, I first learned about Warhammer 40,000 because of Space Marines.  Those little colorful armored soldiers captured my imagination, with their iconic Boltguns and bulky power armor.  And while pushing miniature warriors around a table may have been something my capricious teenage mind could have quickly gotten bored with, the rich history Games Workshop crafted around their models kept things from becoming stale.  There was alway some intriguing thread to follow and to set my mind wandering, whether from a short story, codex book, or just an axiom that adorned the border of a page in the rulebook.  But one story stood above the rest and became an integral part of my vision of Warhammer 40,000:  the Horus Heresy.  This vicious civil war set the galaxy to burn as brother Space Marine turned on  brother Space Marine.  And at the center of this conflict were two figures: the Emperor, and his most trusted son, Horus.  At the climax of the Heresy, they met in single combat.  And although the Emperor ultimately prevailed, he was left virtually dead in the process and needed to be entombed within the Golden Throne to survive (although his vitality is still a point of contention).

Ferrus Manus: Unboxing

Ferrus comes with the most pieces yet of the Primarchs!

Frequenters of this blog might already know how impressed we were Simon Egan’s third primarch model, Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands, selecting him as our favorite model of 2013.  Although I spoke at length about various aspects of the model when he was initially unveiled, I never actually did an unboxing to show off the components of the kit like I did with Fulgrim.  Although I have had the kit for a little over a month now, I had a few issues with some of the components not being cast well.  Having just received replacement parts in the mail, I decided now is a good time to show everyone the kit and to talk a little bit about Forge World’s excellent customer service.

Lorgar Aurelian of the XVII Legion

"All I ever wanted was the truth."

Gamesday UK has just passed, and what an exciting time it is to be in the hobby!  True to recent form, Games Workshop had little to do with what made it exciting, with Forge World completely stealing the show.  Much like last year, they revealed a whole host of wonderful looking models (with only a few disappointments), primarily focusing on expanding the Horus Heresy range.  With Ferrus Manus just being revealed a few weeks ago, I was shocked to see another completed Primarch when pictures started flooding the internet Sunday night.  No rumors or hints suggesting who was next, simply Lorgar Aurelian of the Word Bearers!

Ferrus Manus: The Gorgon Primarch of the Iron Hands

Glory to the Tenth Legion!

Perhaps I should stop being surprised by it,  but every time Simon Egan releases a new Primarch model (or any model for that matter!) I am stunned.  The level of seamless detail he is able to achieve, without weighing his figures down, is astounding.  This is only magnified in an age where so many miniature companies are transitioning into designing their models completely via computers and 3D printing the results.  His newest model is no exception to his excellence, and could quite possibly his best Primarch to date, which is quite a statement considering how magnificent Angron and Fulgrim are.  Now the Gorgon Primarch of the Iron Hands, Ferrus Manus has a model!

INQ28 - Inquisitor WIP

He who allows the alien to live shares in the crime of its existence.

With Guardsman Vell complete, I have now set my sights on converting an Imperial Inquisitor of the Ordos Xenos. Fond memories of Dan Abnett’s Eisenhorn trilogy convinced me that I should convert an Inquisitor with a subtle undercover look, rather than an Inquisitor lord marching into full-fledged war against against Chaos, donning brazen power armour littered with litany papers and circled by servo skulls and mechanical cherubs. And while there is nothing really wrong with that, it portrays a different scale, one more inline with Warhammer 40,000, where you command huge armies and the individual gets lost amidst a sea of bodies. I want something more personal and individual. More espionage and intrigue than plasma guns and chimeras.

Fulgrim the Illuminator: Unboxing

Fulgrim unboxed!

Since his reveal a few months ago, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to get my hands on Simon Egan’s latest Primarch, Fulgrim the Illuminator.  I was very impressed with his first Primarch model, Angron the Red Angel, and wanted to see how his next compared.

Having just received Fulgrim from Forge World, I wanted to take a few pictures and show you all of the parts and do a few quick comparisons to Angron.  Enjoy!

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.  

Horus Heresy: Unboxing Abaddon and Loken

The newest set of Horus Heresy characters in all their unassembled glory!

Having only been released to the world last Friday, you can imagine my surprise and excitement to have returned home to find that Abaddon and Loken had arrived from Forge World! I have been anxiously looking forward to taking a closer look at the models, and thought that others might be interested in seeing some pictures of the different components of the set.

Horus Heresy: Garviel Loken vs. Ezekyle Abaddon

Forge World's take on the Horus Heresy keeps getting better and better.

In case you were still uncertain of Games Workshop/Forge World’s most talented sculptor, Simon Egan’s next masterpiece was just revealed on Forge World’s website, a battle scene depicting the faithful dual between Garviel Loken and Ezekyle Abaddon.  It has only been a few months after his stunning vision of Angron, Primarch of the World Eater was released, showing the world that Forge World’s ambition to recreate the the Sires of the founding Space Marine legions was not one of misguided arrogance.

Egan’s strongest talent is probably his ability to sculpt unique, emotion filled faces.  Rather than simply recycling one of the over-used space marine unhelmeted heads, Loken and Abaddon's faces were sculpted to be genuinely unique (like Angron, both even have eyebrows sculpted!).  The anger he has crafted into each of them is remarkable. Thankfully, both of their heads are actually to scale and not comically large (unlike the new World Eater Rampager squad...).