Those of you following the progress of his entry on his Wraith Gate website will not be surprised to learn that the Overall Winner in HobbytownUSA Dallas' 'Mighty Beast' Modeling Contest was Michael Sanford, with his stunningly converted and painted Lord of Change! Representatives of HTUD will be contacting Michael directly to set up a special prize worthy of his effort; thanks to HTUD and Games Workshop for hosting and sponsoring another fun Citadel Miniatures event!
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Result: A Mighty Beast Modeling Contest at HTUD
New Plastic Venerable Dreadnought
Next to the iconic space marine in power armour, perhaps the most recognizable, representatively '40K' image of the hobby is that of the dreadnought, the lumbering, towering, two-legged engine of mechanized, armoured fury that has been a constant in Imperial armies since the days of Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader V1. There have been good dreadnought kits (virtually all of the pewter versions of the present, familiar 'square sarcophagus' design, which pushed metal-model construction about as far as it could go), bad dreadnought kits (virtually all of the 'rounded' designs which preceded the above, and which looked clumsier and more primitive than ork versions of the same era) and ugly dreadnought kits (the inexplicably insectoid, four-armed 'Space Crusade' designs, though 'strange' is probably a fairer description than overtly ugly). As Citadel have increasingly converted to plastics, dreadnought kits have gone from strength to strength, from the standard multipart/multiarm dread to the 'Assault on Black Reach' snapfit dread to the awesome Ironclad dread.
But the brand-new, all-plastic Venerable Dreadnought kit represents a new standard, for this line of iconic models.
Molded in the familiar Citadel high-quality hard styrene, the new kit packs some 75 pieces onto the sprue, all of them rife with detail and cast virtually flash free. The details catch the eye initially--there are rivets, aquila, skulls, terminator- and battle-honours and scrollwork all over the parts--but what quickly becomes more impressive is the amount of customization sculptors Colin Grayson and Tom Walton have incorporated into their design: this Venerable Dreadnought has not only the expected multiple plastic weapon arms (including, for the first time, an all-plastic plasma cannon and an anthropomorphic power fist like those seen in 'Hours Heresy' artwork) and a wealth of accessory options--it has *seven* different sarcophagus shapes and four additional front armour plate designs.
The sarcophagus varieties particularly impressed me: the gothic breastplate/helmet/arch look familiar from various Forge World resin dreadnought options and the previous metal VenDread is there in two versions (and three helmets!), and these will no doubt prove popular design choices--but there are also two 'flat front' looks which echo the traditional dreadnought faces in more ornate style, both of which can be built with or without visors depending on whether the constructor wishes the entombed space marine to be visible...and the model can even be built *without* a front plate at all, with the dreadnought's operator exposed head-and-torso (an especially appealing option for those whose chapters dictate different colours for personal armour and vehicles, such as my Void Phantoms, though it has an undeniably disturbing, 'chaotic' look which will form the basis for many a Renegade conversion, I suspect).
The multiple weapon arms can be built modularly two ways: if a hobbyist finds one of the three shoulder guard designs especially preferable he can affix those permanently then 'slot in' the chosen gun from game-to-game, or if he wants certain arm accessories (ammo hopper, power pack, etc) to match the chosen gun arm, there are sufficient housings to allow whole arm switches on an as-needed basis.
And the Venerable Dreadnought kit is compatible with the other three current Citadel plastic dreadnoughts, for even more modularization.
Games Workshop has treated the 'dreadnought among dreadnoughts' with deserving respect through the release of this new plastic kit. Virtually every space marine commander, when going to war on the tabletop, takes a dreadnought along; now none of them need look quite the same.
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'Mighty Beast' Modeling Contest at HobbytownUSA Dallas!
HobbytownUSA Dallas announces it's 'Mighty Beast' Modeling Contest! With the latest releases in their game systems all centering around the monsters of the Warhammer, 40K and Lord of the Rings universes--Tyranids, Beastmen, Fell Beasts, et al--Games Workshop has made it a great time to model the monstrous, and HTUD wants to see your best efforts!
Hobbyists may enter one 'beastly' model in each category (Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40K and Lord of the Rings). The model must be primarily a Citadel miniature (conversions are encouraged from that base), must be purchased from HTUD, and must be assembled/converted/painted by the submitting participant.
It is up to that hobbyist how they define a 'mighty beast:' while this certainly includes Monstrous Creatures, Dragons, Giants, Minotaurs, Ogres (and Rat-Ogres), Hydras, Trolls, Stegadons, etc, it could as easily be something Daemonic, or a less-enormous but equally 'beastly' character model, such as a bray-shaman, ethereal or saurus-lord; you choose to submit what you consider *your* mightiest beast!
Submissions may begin immediately and are welcome for display in the glass cabinet in the games section at the front of the store, but *must* be brought to HTUD by end-of-business Sunday, March 21, 2010, where they will be displayed until the end of the month. Prizes will be awarded for 'Mighty Beast' in each category noted, as well as a 'Youngbeast' and a Best Overall 'Mightiest Beast!'
The Hivemind calls; the Brayhorn sounds; the Witch King summons! The time of the Mighty Beasts is at hand--at HobbytownUSA Dallas!
XMax Games 40K Campaign: The Defense of Moon XM
Moon XM is a mysteriously important Imperial world, officially home to the Adeptus Mechanicus since Cog-sanctioned Explorators first discovered it (and christened it Moon XM or 'Moon 1010;' the Mechanicus simply refer to it--and their secluded stronghold thereon--as 'Binary'). Moon XM circles the gas giant Castus Inferior in a peculiar double-locked orbit, one side of the proto-star always facing its star Castus, the other always facing deep space, Binary likewise in perpetual lockstep with each. Life on the moon survives only in the eternal terminator zone, a thin band encircling its circumference neither impossibly hot--as the boiling sunward face ever is--nor eternally frigid as the spaceward side is. Moon XM is catalogued as a world rich in geological resources, particularly rare metals, and benefits from proximity to stable interstellar transit points; its peculiar astro-orbital state is, on the other hand, emphatically not stable, with howling wind-, ice- and sand-storms approaching any terminator-edge (and racing unpredictably across the moon with the slightest orientation shift by either sun or planet) and days-long eclipses when the other system planets--which are not orbitally locked--transit between planet and star; but so long as the precarious gravitic dance of Castus and it's lesser sibling holds, the Imperium has deemed something about Moon XM valuable enough to justify the risk.
Moon XM is also now an Imperial world under seige--as irresistible tendrils of the Tyranid Hive Fleets have reached out across the galaxy, to claim it.
It was not laid seige to unawares. As the first hints of peril approached, a respected xenobiologist named Shemrun Bushep working on Binary pieced together what was happening--and knowing the approaching Shadow in the Warp would smother any astropathically transmited pleas for help, launched his findings in an older Mechanicus technology, a warp-capable message drone. That drone fell from the Immaterium without reaching its destination--but its priceless contents were rescued from the clutches of the advancing Great Devourer by an Eldar Farseer, Kaze of the Aurora Craftworld, who sounded the clarion call of alarm to the Imperium.
Even now, in dramatic response, the masses of the Imperial Guard, the agents of the Inquisition and the strike forces of the Imperial Space Marines rally to join the Adeptus Mechanicus in defense of Moon XM. The Eldar have augured that defending the monkeigh world is in their ultimate interest and have joined, as well. The integrity of communication has not been secure, however--and in the defenders' wake, Chaos and Dark Eldar have come raiding, and Orks spoiling for the fight, while enigmatic Tau and malevolent Necron embassies have advanced upon Moon XM to observe from high anchor.
So have all the races of the forty-first millennium chosen to involve themselves in the throes of deadly battle, to determine whether Moon XM--and whatever priceless mysteries it may hide--will stand against the invasion...or be forever consumed by the Tyranid scourge!
XMax Games in Dallas invites all North Texas hobbyists to play games of Warhammer 40K in-store beginning February 2010 and count the results toward determining the fate of the Imperial Moon XM! A running tally of in-store games will reveal whether the world is weathering the invasion...or falling to the Hivemind. A Tyranid victory over •ANY• opponent swings the balance toward destruction, an Imperial victory against any opponent restores order (though at risk), and the results of battles involving other races affects the outcome as well, depending on who defeats who--as such carnage affects planetary Stability, regardless of combatants!
The outcome of the Defense of Moon XM campaign will be determined by Stability Points, awarded per game; Tyranids are trying to reach Destabilization of the world, the Imperium to achieve Stabilization. The bigger the battle, the greater the impact, as hobbyists will use dedicated special scenarios, under battlefield conditions unique to the Moon itself, all culminating in a Spring Break climax event in March 2010 that will seal the fate of XM--and perhaps reveal it's hidden secrets, as well!
Defense of Moon XM Campaign Scoring
- A TYRANID army vs ANY IMPERIAL army: 3 SPs ('Stability Points') toward Stabilization or Destabilization for the winner
- A TYRANID army vs an ELDAR or TAU army: 2 SPs toward Stabilization or Destabilization for the winner
- A TYRANID army vs ANY OTHER army: 2 SPs toward Destabilization if Tyranids the winner, 1 SP for Stabilization if Other the winner (simply for killing bugs and diminishing their resources)
- ANY IMPERIAL army vs ANY OTHER army: 1 SP toward Stabilization if Imperial the winner, 1 SP for Destabilization if OTHER the winner (even Eldar, to represent the cost in resources for allies fighting when a larger threat looms)
- An ELDAR army vs ANY OTHER army: 1 SP toward Stabilization if Eldar the winner, 1 SP for Destabilization if Other the winner (unless Imperial, then see above)
- ANY OTHER army vs ANY OTHER army: 1 SP for the winner to assign to Stabilization or Destabilization as winner elects (this allows Tyranid vs Tyranid, Imperium vs Imperium, etc, battles to still have some campaign impact, as the planet is marginally Destabilized by the bug-on-bug carnage, or slightly retrenched by an Imperial force achieving a high ground, even at the cost of other Imperial blood, etc, and allows armies of any other sort to engage each other and direct the result as the scenario indicates, or as they choose)
- Battles fought at 1500 points or greater: 1 Bonus SP for winning army to assign as they elect
- Apocalypse battles (minimum 3000 points a side): 1 Bonus SP for winning side to assign as they elect
- Special Moon XM Campaign Scenario played: 1 Bonus SP for winning army to assign as they elect
All scores are cumulative (for example, if a Tyranid army of 3000 points playing a special Moon XM Campaign Scenario posted at Adeptus North Texas in an Apocalypse game defeats an Imperial opponent, they would earn *6* Stability Points toward Destabilizing the Moon=3 SPs for the victory over a direct defender, one more bonus for playing at 1500 points, one more bonus for playing at the Apocalypse level, and one more bonus for the scenario).
The Great Devourer has stormed the 41st millennium with renewed vigour in 2010--and now, it has come at last to Moon XM. There has never been a better time to begin a new Tyranid army, or reconfigure an existing one. And while the stakes for Imperial armies are obvious, every race in Warhammer 40,000 has something to gain--or lose--across the astrally divided face of the Mechanicus moon. Perhaps the locked orbits of Binary and it's world--a seeming odds-defying galactic coincidence--are not the accident of astrophysical circumstance they seem...and the moon's secret, something yet a third race willing to fight to keep hidden...
Will your army rally to the conflict? And will you save the world--or destroy it? The answer will be found on the eight new game tables available for play any time from Noon till Midnight (and 2pm till 10pm Sundays) at XMax Games' spectacular new 40K campaign, beginning in February.
The Defense of Moon XM has begun!
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Thursday Night 'Ring' at GW Grapevine Mills
Lord of the Rings Strategy Battles and it's larger-scale supplement, War of the Ring, will take center stage at Games Workshop Grapevine Mills Thursday evenings this spring, as Chris, Adam, Erik, Mason and the staff invite hobbyists interested in learning these games and veteran generals of Middle Earth alike to come war for control of the 'one Ring to rule them all!'
Initial games will be smaller in scope, to help players build the army of their choice and master the game's dynamics; subsequent Thursdays may see special events such as tourneys and megabattles if interest proves sufficient.
If you are a fan of Tolkein's prose, Jackson's films, GW's excellent, character-driven rules and/or the stunning line of dedicated Citadel miniatures, Thursday evenings at GW Grapevine Mills will be the place to immerse yourself in tabletop wargaming across the face of Middle Earth! Contact anyone at the store for further details about Thursday Night Rings!
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