Dystopian Wars: Prussian Destroyers and Escorts Review

Hello Slick here again. Destroyers and Escorts are now available for all the factions so let's take a quick look at our two ships. In general I'm a bit disappointed with the ships - both the models and the rules. This isn't to say that I leave these ships out of my fleet. They'll both provide useful assets. My major gripe is that if you look closely on both ships you can clearly see tesla coil weapons on the hull (front on the escort, rear on the destoyer). Why sculpt these onto the model if neither ships includes them as a weapon type? One might argue it's for decoration... well sorry, but they just shouldn't be on there then. The other issue I have with the models, specifically the destroyer, is that it just seems undersized compared to the fsa/britannian ones. While it won't really have an impact in the game it would've been nice to see a slightly large model rather than one that is really just slightly bigger than a frigate. Other than that the details on both are the same high quality as the rest of the range.

On to the rules...

Our escorts are great so no gripes there.

Destroyers... again not bad at all, but having a secondary weapon system would have made our destroyers awesome which is why the tesla coil being on the actual model really is annoying. Pack hunter + rear tesla could have been an interesting and effective option. Raise the points accordingly to match the extra weapon. As it is, I would say the FSA and Brittanian Destroyers are the most impressive of the bunch (model & rules), especially the FSA destroyers. It is going to be tough to deal with the crazy amount of firepower properly positioned FSA destroyers can unleash.

We'll be testing out the new ships this week so look for a battle report! In the meantime, what do you guys think?

Finecast Review: Astorath

Hello all, Slick here with a review of a recent Finecast purchase. I picked up a Finecast Astorath recently and compared to the metal one I had I'm very impressed with the detail and ease of assembly on this one. There was quite a bit of flash and mold lines were kind of bad in parts but overall great quality and not too much prep work was involved.

Assembly was a breeze. No pinning necessary and ready to go in a few minutes. $20 ish is probably a bit high for something this size but so far I'm impressed with the Finecast. I've also picked up a Terminator librarian to replace an unopened metal one I had. No assembly yet but a quick inspection revealed no real flaws on the model. I'll be painting up this Astorath shortly.

What have your experiences been with Finecast?

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #278

Hello all, Slick here. Forgeworld's latest newsletter brings a brand new dreadnought type to the game! The Crusade/Heresy-era Contemptor Pattern towers over regular dreadnoughts and stacks up nicely to the GK Dreadknight. In fact, this seems to be FW's answer to the new GK kit as they're very similar in size. I'm also loving the fact that there appear to be chapter-specific variants! The price is also pretty good considering the size of the kit. This one is definitely worth adding if you're a marine player (or even Chaos marines). What do you think?

"Hi there,
In this week’s newsletter we have for you a fantastic new Space Marine Dreadnought – the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought – along with the hotly-anticipated Carcharodons Transfer Sheet.

Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought
A true relic of the hallowed days of the Great Crusade, and of the heights of technological achievement once reached by the Imperium of Mankind, the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought was a mainstay of the armoured might of the Astartes Legions of old. Larger and stronger than standard pattern Dreadnoughts, the Contemptor’s systems featured many examples of techno-arcana steeped in the sacred mysteries of the Legio Cybernetica.
Due to their spearhead assault role in the epic battles of the Great Crusade, losses were high amongst these potent war machines, and in the shadowed aftermath of the Heresy the ability to produce or maintain the Contemptor was all but lost. However, some Chapters still boast these war-relics amongst their ranks, and whenever the Contemptor takes to the field of battle it is an echo of the power of ancient days.

The Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought, designed by Will Hayes, is a detailed full resin kit that allows any Space Marine (or Chaos Space Marine) army to field one of these ancient war machines. Will has also designed two unique weapon options: a Contemptor Pattern Lascannon Arm and a Contemptor Pattern Close Combat Arm (Fist). These two weapons can be used on either side of the Dreadnought body, which is itself a fully poseable miniature.
Experimental rules for this storied and ancient Dreadnought are available to download now from the Forge World website, and this kit and its weapon arms are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 25th July."

News: TippCon2011 Results!

Hello all, Slick here. Results from the inaugural TippCon are in! The event turned out well, especially from the organizer side of things. There were no real issues and the event ran smoothly from start to end. Pics from the event will be up soon! Results can be found here:

http://lafayetteindygt.blogspot.com/2011/06/tippcon-results-are-in.html

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #277

Hello all, Slick here with the latest newsletter from Forgeworld! Dark Eldar get a sleek new vehicle with the Reaper while marines get some old-school heavy weapons!

"Hi there,
In this week’s newsletter we are excited to announce four great new products: an addition to our Dark Eldar range in the form of the terrifying Reaper, a Space Marine Heavy Weapons set, and two decal sheets for the Eldar and the Astral Claws.

Dark Eldar Reaper
Akin to the Ravager, the Reaper is a swift and deadly gunship. Its sleek, dart-like hull is built around a single, monstrously-powerful weapon codified by the Xenosavants of the Adeptus Biologis as a Storm Vortex projector. This cannon operates much like the smaller Haywire blaster, and unleashes a cascading pulse of electromagnetic energy that is far more powerful than anything possible in a hand weapon. The vortex chamber at the Reaper’s heart is a cage for howling energies harvested from the spires of Commorragh itself, which when combined with its speed and manoeuvrability makes the Reaper an elegant but still devastatingly lethal weapon when compared to the brutal armoured warfare practiced by lesser races.

The Dark Eldar Reaper is a complete resin and plastic kit which contains a plastic Dark Eldar Raider kit and a set of detailed resin conversion parts, designed by Stuart Williamson, which allow the reaper variant to be added to any Dark Eldar army.
Experimental rules for this sleek and powerful craft are available now to download from the Forge World website, and the Dark Eldar Reaper is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June.

Space Marine Heavy Weapons Set
The noble Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes are supplied with weapons and armour by ancient alliance with the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some of the less common patterns of heavy weapons created by these techno-magi date from the hallowed and ancient days of the Great Crusade and the Astartes Legions of old. These shoulder-mounted patterns afford greater protection to the wielder as they allow less of the firer to be exposed to incoming enemy fire as they unleash their destructive salvo.

This Space Marine Heavy Weapons Set, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, contains four resin heavy weapons: a Plasma Cannon, Multi-Melta, Heavy Bolter and a Lascannon, as well as supporting and counter-balancing arms, and backpacks that can be used with the full range of both Citadel and Forge World Space Marine kits.
This detailed resin upgrade set is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June.

New Astral Claws and Eldar Decal Sheets
Our final releases for this week’s newsletter are two new additions to our range of A4 Decal sheets, designed by Kenton Mills and Paul Rudge.

The Eldar Decal Sheet is packed with over 1,000 individual decals that are suitable for use on both vehicles and infantry. Craftworld, Path and Aspect runes are all included as well as unique runes for the doomed Craftworld of Mymeara and the Corsair bands of the Sky Reavers, Sunblitz Brotherhood and the notorious Void Dragons.
The eagerly-anticipated Astral Claws Decal Sheet contains over 500 Chapter badges, Tyrant’s Claw symbols, blazons and the Maelstrom Warders heraldry suitable for use on both vehicles and infantry. The sheet also contains Chapter badges for the ill-fated Tiger Claws Chapter and is packed with the Astral Claws ‘true’ lion-headed Chapter device as well as the heraldry of Lugft Huron that became synonymous with the notorious Badab War campaign.

Both of these decal sheets are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June."

TippCon 2011 Tomorrow

We'll be at TippCon 2011 tomorrow! This is a new event in mid-Indiana with about 30-35 attending. Look for pics and hopefully some video.

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #276

Hello all, Slick here. FW's latest is a small update with the Astral Claws getting the upgrade kit treatment!


"Hi there,

This week sees the release of four hotly-anticipated Astral Claws upgrade sets. We’ve also got a few more details about Forge World’s presence at the Warhammer World Badab War Campaign weekend on the 25th - 26th June, further information about Games Day Chicago and a new date for your diary, Games Day Spain in Madrid on the 3rd July.

Astral Claws Upgrade kits
Prior to the Badab War, the noble Astral Claws were renowned for their duty, loyalty and victories in the name of the Emperor. Their fall from grace under the leadership of Lugft Huron is a cautionary tale to loyal Astartes Chapters of the dangers of hubris and pride amongst their kind.

These vehicle and infantry upgrade sets bear a variety of personalised heraldry, honorific badges and honour markings such as trophies and purity seals, and display the Tyrant’s Claw symbol that became synonymous with the Chapter during its Secession from the wider Imperium.

Designed by Simon Egan, the Astral Claws Rhino Door Set and Land Raider Door Set are compatible with the Space Marine Land Raider and Rhino vehicle kits available from both Games Workshop and Forge World.

Simon has also designed two detailed infantry upgrade sets for this most ill-famed of Chapters: the Astral Claws Shoulder Pads and Terminator Shoulder Pads. These accessories can be used with the full range of plastic and resin Space Marine infantry kits available from both Forge World and Games Workshop. All four of these upgrade sets are available to order now for immediate despatch."

News: Mantic Announces Warpath!

Hello all, Slick here. Mantic's latest newsletter features an interview on Beasts of War where they announce their foray into a Sci-Fi game with Warpath! If done right this might finally be some competition for GW on the sci-fi front. Time will tell!

Didn't catch Ronnie Live on Beasts of War?

Ronnie and Alessio Cavatore made an appearance on Beasts of War’s Live TURN 8 vidcast with a whole host of goodies and more than one unexpected announcement!

Missed it? Then catch the latest episode of Turn 8 here!

With Ronnie detailing the future of Mantic on the Turn 8 Show, perhaps most excitingly of all the announcements was this one...

Mantic is doing Sci-fi!

Warpath is the new sci-fi game and miniatures range from Mantic Games coming later this year - keep an eye out on the blog and newsletter for future updates, and get your friends to sign-up too because they won't want to miss out!