How Physically Dangerous is 40k as a Hobby?

I have just stabbed myself at the base of the thumb on my left hand with a games workshop hobby drill. Because it was a drill bit, as a penetrating stabbing instrument it was pretty blunt. It hurt quite a lot. It slipped as it was being used to drill holes to create an new slot for a metal mini in a 60mm base. There is a 2.5cm scar at the base of the first finger on my left hand where I sliced completely through the skin, down to the tendons with a very sharp hobby knife while working on a metal mini. Fortunately the tendons were not harmed. There are other scars from previous injuries from working with metal and resin minis. Is it just my bad luck or do other enthusiasts also get injured with this hobby.

Should GW get sued through a class action in the states for their culpability in encouraging people to get involved in the hobby. Been watching Damages.

Armageddon Pattern Medusa Bits from Forgeworld

One thing about the Forgeworld range is that the components often come attached to multiple bits of resin flashing. A bit of warping of the components is also not unusual. So here are the resin bits as supplied by Forgeworld before the cleanup. The floor pan of the Medusa has warped sides and the and the armoured room has a massive bit of flashing attached at as ever a strategically vulnerable part of the component. Anyway off to work with the saw, vise and sandpaper, to sort things out. These Forgeworld conversion kits are not for the faint hearted.

Armageddon is back next year according to Faeit 212

Good news. The final minis for PBI of the Steel Legion army assembling here have been delivered and the first Forge World Armageddon pattern Medusa has also been delivered just in time for the rumour that the supplements issued by GW will feature Armageddon again.

Here is what is supplied by Forgeworld for their Armageddon pattern Medusa.

 Two logoed resealable plastic bags. Minimal instructions. There is nothing other than the sheets shown. There are 2 Chimera sprues. One for the lower hull and chassis assembly and the other is one of the 2 accessories sprues containing track guards. Then there are 18 resin components. Many of these require significant cleaning. Finally there is one brass grating component. One of the resin components is markedly warped although this is not unusual for Forgeworld. But a bit of hot water and support should straighten it out, so no need to send it back for a replacement wit a warp else where. Overall probably an adequate building challenge for £54 UK pounds.

Steel Legion, Valhallans etc etc reappear on GW site

Short post to record the above. The minis are now split between the Imperial Guard Troops choice section and the collectors sections. What has GW been doing? Were these ranges removed to see if anyone noticed?

Mordian Iron Guard, Valhallans and Steel Legion Boxed Sets Available

The boxed sets of a squad of these famous IG regiments are now still available from GW. They have been moved to the current Imperial Guard Troops choice location on the web site. That's the good news. The bad news is that the officers, lascannons, missile launchers and assault weapons are still not available to buy. Something is going on for the IG.

Painting Block - revisited and unlocked

A month or so ago some of these minis were pictured in this pose when painting block was blogged. Hopefully the picture shows that painting block has been over come. Don't know how however. Base coats on the Ogryns, Saint Celestine finished, the bases for the Seraphims sorted, the paint scheme on the grey blue chimera progressing to Steel Legion and the Steel Legion flamer mini progressing with base coats and 2 arms created from plastic minis and in addition a new steel Legion mini to complete the Steel Legion veterans. Only 2 more missile launcher teams to be recruited (via ebay since GW have ditched the Steel Legion) to complete the planned Steel Legion army. It will comprise an HQ squad with 2 platoons of 2 squads each with 2 heavy support squads for each platoon. And as a third troops choice a squad of veterans with an autocannon. For heavy support there is a Demolisher and for fast attack a single Bane Wolf plus 2 Chimera transports. obviously the armoured support needs to be expanded. Requires a bit of thought. Suggestions welcomed.   

Seraphim - redoing the bases

The original GW connections between these mini's feet and their base was never popular here. So initially they became birds on a wire. The wire unfortunately allowed too much wiggle on the battle field particularly because the minis were top heavy. Osgiliath which has provided ruins for the bases of other models was bought with the idea of providing the Sisters with better support and less wiggle. So here they are now enjoying the ruins of Osgiliath, with less wiggle and more stability.

  

White Dwarf just needs .........................

July's White Dwarf is here. The glossy fat format introduced last autumn continues. This format has been met with little enthusiasm at least on the internet. Why so? There are at least 156 pages. The photography of the miniatures is superb. The set piece double page displays of models are amazing. What else is there - besides the editorial there are as regular features Jervis Johnson and Jeremy Vetlock's opinion led columns, Paint Splatter advice on painting, War Diary - the preparation of 7 hobbyists to produce a display army, then there are the design studio, forgeworld and black library sections, and not to forget the apocalypse battle report.

Why does it all seem so flat when clearly a lot of effort seems to have been put in to producing a high quality product. What exactly are its weaknesses?  Well, on the downside its not a coherent read. It makes no attempt to hide that its prime role is to advertise the latest releases, and that is at least honest, but there are so many, many of them each month leading to new model shockitis. Games Workshop seems to have gone into overdrive in the last 12 months in creating new and excellent additions to its ranges of miniatures, which is a good thing from the hobby point of view. But as a result the reader of White Dwarf is overwhelmed with the new product. Clearly this is seen as a good thing in the marketing plan, but too much shock and awe will overwhelm the reader who as a human outside of the 40k universe needs a comfort zone from which to appreciate the latest development. And that comfort does not exist at present. There is no attempt to soften the blow for the hobbyist with, possibly some sort of a heads up, as used to be on the last page or probably more importantly some sort of continuity from issue to issue. Last month was Eldar this month it is Apocalypse. In the past White Dwarf offered both continuity and a comfort zone, often with an army featured over several issues and a wider range of core systems covered in each issue.

Is this a fair analysis of what is missing from White Dwarf, or are there other ways in which it could be improved?

One final thought is that with the prices of new releases always edging upwards the minis must have moved out of most people's pocket money range. Which market segment is the target of Games Workshops apocalypse formations.