News and Updates
New AT-43 Images
Rackham released some new AT-43 images in Cry Havoc Online #2. First up is the new Cog Prowler. This is probably the Cog’s version of a size three Strider. There are a couple funny photos of a mass of the new Therian Storm arachn. The Storm arachn appears in Operation Frostbite. Lastly are two great photos of the upcoming Red Blok Dotch Yaga. It is good to finally see some new stuff coming out for AT-43 again.
Rackham later released an even better photo of the Dotch Yaga.
[Updated: 1MAY09]
Shoulder of Orion — Now Available
Bell of Lost Souls, the popular Warhammer 40K site, now has its first board wargame available. Shoulder of Orion is a two-player boardgame of sci-fi boarding actions. It is provided as a PDF and players will need to print and cut out the components.
Its really easy to learn, offers a set of 6 different fleets with differing playstyles and plays fast. Face off with a friend as deadly Colonial Marines or the brave Naval Crewman in a race against time to control the ship!
The heart of Shoulder of Orion is a set of 6 deck-tiles with different objectives and corridor layouts types on them. The players will take turns laying these down and construct a different board each time you play.
Once the board is built, you assume control of one of the six fleets of the Shoulder of Orion world, and begin your battle for control of the ship. You will hunt your foe through dark corridors, capture or defend shipboard objectives, be wary of the deadly robot, and fight your way to ultimate victory and control of the ship.
Battle Foam — Videos
Battle Foam now has some informative videos detailing their products. There are two videos covering their trays including an overview of their foam trays along with a custom foam tray design tutorial. The latest video covers their two new model transport bags. All of the videos are reasonably well done and very informative.
Update: The bags are now generally available at better hobby stores. I got a chance to see them in person and was very impressed — they look better in person than they do online. The bags are very sturdy and well built (and large!). The foam was not as stiff as I was expecting but still good enough to get the job done.
[Updated: 10JUL09]
New 15mm Buildings and Terrain from Battlefront
Tabletop Gaming News had an exciting bit of…well…news that we do not think got as much attention as it deserved. Buried in their Battlefront GF9/WI purchase questions article was the following great news (highlights, edits and links added by us),
…will GF9 be working on new Flames of War terrain products and will we see an increase in the number of terrain products that GF9 produce for FoW?
Oh yes indeed! Jason (Jason Buyaki, terrain builder extraordinaire) has been very busy for us and with a few products we did not manage to get out last year 2009 will be a bumper 15mm year. We have a complete range of painted European houses, three story (all interchangeable) buildings in 24 variants, 8 destroyed variants and a wonderful church. We have a new range of painted dug-in scenics, new river sections and roads for both town and country made in the same flexible rubber as our river set all in full painted ready to use state. In the last quarter we will have a selection of Market Garden items for the end of the year, which will likely include the Son bridge, a Bailey bridge and one end of Arnhem bridge to represent it on the board as the full thing takes up a little too much space on the gaming table.
Also see Flames of War Releases — 2010.
Incursion Beta Rules Available
Grindhouse Games released beta (test) rules for its upcoming weird WW2, sci-fi board/miniature game Incursion. Also available are test rules for the initial Allied and German units.
The rulebook is a 30 page pdf. The rules themselves comprise ten pages with another three pages of missions, eleven pages of cards, and six full-color map-tile pages. The cards and map tiles are rather uninspired but this of course is just a test pack and certainly not indicative of final art.
The rules are rather straightforward and reminiscent of Space Hulk. Incursion uses action points and command points. The big innovation over similar games is the use of the Battle Cards. Essentially the Battle Cards add extra chrome to the game without the need for a lot of extra rules. The cards cover things such as extra ammo, armor piercing ammo, jammed radio, snafu, and a whole lot more.
Overall it is a solid initial effort and hopefully the gaming community will provide lots of feedback to further develop and improve the game.
Also see our APE Suit miniatures review and the Grindhouse announcement.
Plastic Valkyrie — Confirmed!!
Well it is a rumor no longer! We now have photos of the actual Valkyrie sprues and a whole lot more. It even looks like there is a new flying base design. The Ammo Bunker has a great selection of photos taken at the recent annual GW Design Studio Open Day 2009. Also shown are the new plastic Catachan troops as well as the new plastic Cadian Command Squad. See more photos.
Bell of Lost Souls has a nice post with photos as well. They now have a shot of the Valkyrie interior as well.
Games Workshop now has a step-by-step Valkyrie building guide.
The gents at Battlefoam already have custom foam trays to hold the Valkyrie.
[Updated: 6MAY09]
Incursion — Update
Tabletop Gaming News has some new information about Grindhouse Games’ upcoming Incursion boardgame,
Incursion is a much different beast than Space Hulk. It’s played on squares and has action points but diverges rapidly from there as you’ll see shortly. The two games are however similar enough in “feel” that we expect to be at a, shall we say, competitive disadvantage? :-)
This will certainly affect our plans and I must say that without the marketing and distribution machine of the big guys and the breathing space for the game to take root, there is little sense in ploughing another 40 grand of money I don’t have into this thing just to get a boxed game out especially given the economic woes my architecture firm is suffering.
Tough times people, tough times.
The good news is that we do have a backup plan. You guys will likely get a free game out of this deal and loads more cool art, graphics, fluff, and especially miniatures. This all just means we have to move a little more cautiously and grow the game itself organically. We still have to work out the details of how we’re going to manage this but it will likely begin as free downloadable loveliness. The field is no longer wide open and we are, after all, just a few dedicated folks with a lot of passion, skill, and a need to do good art and design…and not enough money, by a lot, to take on GW. Read the rest…
This is a real shame especially considering that, while Space Hulk will certainly be great, GW is not known for innovative games so it seems to us there would be plenty of room for both games in the market.
Plastic Imperial Guard Valkyrie — Photo?
Plastic Legions has a photo of what they think is the upcoming plastic Warhammer 40,000 Valkyrie kit for the Imperial Guard. If it is the new plastic version it looks just like the Forge World version right down to the ill fitting canopies.
This is all now confirmed.
[Updated: 15FEB09]
Space Hulk Returns?!
Well Bell of Lost Souls dropped a bombshell! They have a rumor that a completely redone Space Hulk game will be released by Games Workshop sometime around September 2009. The game would include new plastic Terminators, probably the same as those in Assault on Black Reach (and maybe the Genestealers from Battle for Macragge?). They do indicate that the rumor is certainly shaky but Space Hulk is one of our all time favorite games so we will take what we can get!
UPDATE: The rumors are true, Space Hulk is back but only in a limited release.
[Updated: 17AUG09]
Shadowsword Available for Order
Games Workshop’s latest Imperial Guard Baneblade variant, the Shadowsword/Stormlord, is now available for advance order. What is great about this new kit is the number of variants you can make. Bell of Lost Souls has a nice posting that shows all the options. GW even released a video that shows full views of the major variants.
The new Ork Stompa is also available for advanced order.
The View from the Turret 
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