We got there at about 8:30 and got our Golden Daemon entries registered then went to join the queue for the Armies on Parade. At 9 we were let in and after setting up the Chaos Dwarfs and then handing in our Golden Daemon Entries Gia and I headed straight over to the Warhammer Forge Dislplay Design Team to grab a couple of tickets to the seminar and then on to a chat with Steve Whitehead.
First up was of course the work in progress K�?TDaai Destroyer that was sat in front of him on the desk A few items of note are that this is one of the few pieces that he is creating without any clear design or concept sketches and this is why it is taking so long. He went on to say that he has seen a lot of the conversions, sculpts and other work done on this site and often refers to it as an inspiration for his own work.
We also discussed at length the Bull Centaurs and the Bale Taurus. Many people on here have talked about the Bull Centaurs looking like they belong in the Beastmen army not the chaos dwarf army. This is basically because they looked to the beastmen army for how to go about sculpting them. They were never happy with the old concept of a dwarf being cut off at the legs and stuck on a set of miniature bull legs. They decided right from the off that the �?obull�?� should be the overriding factor for both the size and the way the creature is created. He drew reference to the early Beastmen which he called men in rubber suits and how the whole anatomy has been changed to be more bestial (low shoulders and the neck tapering into them and not a head on top of sharp shoulders like a human).
He also drew an interesting parallel with the GW range of dwarfs where the infantry are all at one size and the war machines �?otower over them�?� and the chaos Dwarfs the infantry are all one size and the war machines and monsters �?otower over them�?� so this was all part of the plan. As an aside I did find the comment about the warmachines towering over the dwarfs quite interesting as in my opinion none of them do at the moment so a possible hint of things to come?
Anyway enough of the speculating and on to the Bale Taurus. He said that he considered this as a failure as the concept he was trying to get across didn�?Tt really come through and most people didn�?Tt �?oget�?� it. The way he described it is as the living manifestation of Hashut called down and animating a statue or idol of Hashut and not a creature in its own right. The armour plates are not in fact armour plates on a creature but part of the idol that has been animated. While he acknowledged that it was a big and very popular model not many people realised what he was trying to do and as one of the first things sculpted for the Chaos Dwarfs if he were to do it again there are many things he would do differently.
He also made reference to some of the iconography on the Taurus and the forthcoming Destroyer saying they were actually representations of the dwarf ancestors (they are still dwarfs after all) but having become divergent and corrupted from the true dwarf ancestor iconography after thousands of years of separation and corruption.
A sad piece of news he did say was that the Destroyer will be the last thing for Chaos Dwarfs for the foreseeable future.
On the Black Fire Pass book this is still a long way away the Horus Heresy project took so much resource everything else has been pushed back. They now hope to have it finished by next Games Day. There were a few concept pictures on the desk but I was asked not to take any photos as soon as I got the camera out �O
Part 2 Forge World Seminar They blitzed through the presentation to get to the Q&A more quickly but here�?Ts what they presented. Warhammer Forge Next Book will (obviously) be Black Fire Pass Orcs and Goblins, Dwarfs, Empire and Monsters. The mornghul will be in the book and here�?Ts a picture. I know it�?Ts not a great shot but for reference the thing in its claws that it�?Ts resting on is a horse
A few pictures including a dwarf command group (much reference was made throughout the presentation and Q&A about the pipe and more miniatures should have pipes including Leman Russ should he ever get sculpted)
Imperial Armour Next book out will be Volume 1 issue 2. It will have all the Imperial Guard tanks that are currently on sale in there and no imparial navy this has been taken out and put in the flyers book. After that it will be Volume 12 focusing on Necrons see pictures
A Baby Pylon Some flying things It is a huge campaign covering an entire sector and not just one planet Horus Heresy Obviously the big story was the release of this book. Tony started by asking who had bought one and about 75% of the room put their hand up. He wanted to know why the rest hadn�?Tt and why those that had hadn�?Tt bought another one for �?oThe Wife�?� There will be some legion specific Contemptor dreads (Death Guard and World Eaters being First up) with pictures shown.
Heavy support squads (devastator squads) with heavy bolters and autocannons as well as more weapons options sculpted with the early marks of power armour in mind. A legion Champion and Master of the Signal are both modelled. There will also be a large influx of Mechanicum models the first of which will be a sort of Mechanicum marine in power armour called a Thallax. They are described as just the brain stem and a few vital organs in a big suit with a more advanced power supply that will be able to power �?oall sorts of interesting Death Rays�?� The mechanicum was covered in more detail in the Q&A Sons of Horus Justaerin Terminators are WIP
As is the next major character box (Angron being the first) which is Abaddon V Garviel Loken.
Book 1 is Betrayal and Book 2 will be Massacre Isstvan V 4 legions (Iron Hands, Night Lords, Salamanders and Word Bearers) Mechanicum New Vehicles Q& A to follow
Cool, I really enjoyed the read, and the photos. Thanks for sharing this info. Especially for those of us who live on the oher side of the world, and will probably never go to a GD.
A lot was covered here and I can�?Tt remember it all (I should�?Tve taken notes) but I�?Tll get as much down as I can remember
In no particular order other than my intermittently firing neurons
While Warhammer Forge is an on-going part of the business there are no fixed plans beyond then end of the Black Fire Pass book. They would like to cover every race in a book but this will obviously take quite a while and their resources are currently very stretched thanks largely to the Horus Heresy thing.
They still intend on doing every model in the Monstrous Arcanum book. There are lots more monsters waiting in the wings including the elementals for all the colleges of magic. They had to severely limit the first Monstrous Arcanum book. They had concepts for so many monsters that it would take years to get them all made so they trimmed the book down to have a reasonable chance of releasing stuff in a decent time frame.
Someone asked if they would be making models of all the Primarchs the answer was yes all of them except Russ (though he was joking and then mentioned he should have a pipe)
He also mentioned that they would be producing more than one version of some of the Primarchs hinting at the daemon prince versions being released at some point further down the series. The Emperor will also get a model when they eventually get to the Siege of Terra. Each will be cin a box similar to the Angron box now released.
They went into great depth about how the rules for the Primarchs were developed the process and concept was very much how each Primarch would actually work on a battlefield; Angron just killing stuff Horus being the tactical genius and giving a boon to the army and so on. Alan Bligh started this particular section with saying that he knew they would not please everyone but that�?Ts what they decided to go with. Yes he know what every Primarch does in the game an no he wouldn�?Tt tell us They will work how one imagines they would in a battle.
They do however come in their own Force Org slot called Lords of Battle which is also where the Fellblade sits.
They talked at length about the Mechanicum and their roll in the Heresy. He mentioned Skittari, Knights Ordinatus and of course titans of all types.
Orks were asked about and Tony said they would be revisited in grander scale and the possibly of a Gargant was mentioned (smoking a pipe)
Some one asked about the two missing Legions and was told we could tell you but then we�?Tde have to kill you, followed by there is no information on these at this time.
They said they would not be visiting the Great Crusade. Tony said words to the effect that you do one thing (40K) and people ask about the bit before (Heresy) then you do that bit and people ask about the bit before (Great Crusade) and before you know it you�?Tre making stuff for the Napoleonic wars.
I can�?Tt remember much more now but if I do I�?Tll post it (except the bits about pipe smoking)
Part 4 General impressions As some of you know I went along this year with our little girl Gia (one of a pair of twins) this is the first time I have been to a Games Day with a small person in tow so I wanted to make sure that she had a good time as well as me and was worried about it being too much for her or not what she was expecting or wanting. On balance we both had a great time after the doors to the main arena opened we had a bit of a wander around looking at stuff and then joined the line for the Conversion Competition. I was obviously helping Gia as much as I could while still trying to complete my own entry and 20 minutes is really not very long at all. The staff were wonderful and really made Gia feel like she was doing a good job, we happened to be sat next to some lad who apparently knew one of the staff on the Conversion competition and consequently we seemed to get a better than average selection of sprues :)
We finished our creations and handed them in and were accosted by some random bloke who turned out to be MLP. What a nice guy and although she was very shy Gia was especially excited that you had made a point of looking for her miniature in the Young Bloods cabinets and liked what she had done. It�?Ts great to put face to names some times and we both really appreciate you took time out of your day to make yourself known to us.
We spent some time looking at the golden daemon entries and the armies on parade entries all of which were very impressive and it was obvious a huge number of man hours had been put into these entries. We then headed off to the sales area. A 20 minute queue just to get into be able to buy anything and we were told once in there there was an hour and a half queue to get to the Forge World stand. If it had been just me I�?Td probably have gone for it and parted with a tidy sum for some of the Heresy stuff but as I had Gia with me I didn�?Tt think it would be fair on her (who was already feeling tired after a 6am start) to make her stand in line for this amount of time. We got a few bits and bobs and then went for some lunch. We sat at a table and got chatting with a French guy who again was a really nice chap and we spent a bit of time reminiscing about Bloodbowl and Adeptus Titanicus before heading off to the seminar. Gia was pretty wiped out by this time and didn�?Tt really get what the seminar was about but she understood I wanted to do it and was very well behaved while the seminar was going on.
Once the seminar was over we went and picked up all our entries from the various competitions and then sat up in the stalls while the results were announced.
All in all a great day and while we didn�?Tt go home with any trophies Gia was very happy and went home planning her entry for next year.
One last thing (I said I�?Td add more as I remembered it) on the desk in front of Steve Whitehead was his personal sketch book with some great concept sketches of some slaanesh and tzeentch demons when I asked him about them he said they were stuff he�?Td done himself at home and had also done some sculpts. If/when Warhammer Forge do demons he�?Ts going to present them at that time for consideration.
Cool… thanks for the interesting read Vogon! I bet it’s loads of fun being able to go there with your daughter… I hope I’ll be able to do the same thing one day with my kids.
Thanks for a great report! Happy you had a good time, and of course it’s a shame there isn’t much more for the CD in the future but I think we’re covered at this point barring the hobgoblins, right?
Though I’d think you’d need about as many IG Renegades or Guardsmen for an army as you would hobgoblins, no?
The Bale Taurus makes a lot more sense as a “Living statue”, but TBH if mine hadn’t already been undercoated in brown when I bought it from an acquaintance I probably wouldn’t have considered painting it as such. But I really, really, really think it would looke AWESOME as a statuesque being with a grey-ish paintjob.
I also can’t understand why someone wouldn’t like the BCs, I think they’re FANTASTIC and I trust the Destroyer will live up to the same potential level of detail with the ancestors and little scenes featured on the armour.
Thanks for a great report! Happy you had a good time, and of course it's a shame there isn't much more for the CD in the future but I think we're covered at this point barring the hobgoblins, right?
Satan
Well the said they're not doing Hobgoblins because of the points/£ ratio. As they're used in large blocks people would have to spend a fortune on their units... I don't quite see the issue as I'm pretty sure people would buy them anyway no matter the points value. I mean the Mangler squig for example is 1.8 ppp (points per pound) which is really bad value if that's how people buy things! Hobgoblins would be 2 or more ppp if they sold them for £25 for 10. Personally I wouldn't care and am happy to throw my disposable at Forgeworld.
Anyway, the main other thing I wish they would have done is a weapons pack for infernal guard for Blunderbusses and Great weapons, but to be fair you can use Fireglaive models for either.
The following is what they haven't released:
Lammasu mount
Castellan Battle Standard Bearer
Hobgoblin Khan on foot and Mounted
Bull Centaur Taur'ruk
Blunderbuss Infernal Guard
Great Weapon Infernal Guard
Infernal Ironsworn(Normal infernal guard are basically the same though)
Hobgoblin Cutthroats
Hobgoblin wolf Raiders
Bull Centaur Command group
During my chat with Edgar (who sculpted the Bulll Centaurs) he did talk briefly about weapons options and command bits for them but he said once the basic models had been completed he had been pulled off onto other things but he would like to go back to them and finish them off. He also said that he personally thought that Great Weapons would look cool. Hope for something in the future? I don’t know but it as least being talked about.
Also one other thing I remembered last night there will be no more epic or Battlefleet Gothic from Forge World due to resourcing issues.
I’ll continue to add more as things occur to me.
Cheers
Vogon
P.S. In the seminar they did say when using the first trial rules for Angron he wiped out over half an army and a fellblade before finally falling to the entire shooting output of the rest of the army. The rules have been tweaked since
Well the said they're not doing Hobgoblins because of the points/£ ratio. As they're used in large blocks people would have to spend a fortune on their units... I don't quite see the issue as I'm pretty sure people would buy them anyway no matter the points value. I mean the Mangler squig for example is 1.8 ppp (points per pound) which is really bad value if that's how people buy things! Hobgoblins would be 2 or more ppp if they sold them for £25 for 10. Personally I wouldn't care and am happy to throw my disposable at Forgeworld.
Anyway, the main other thing I wish they would have done is a weapons pack for infernal guard for Blunderbusses and Great weapons, but to be fair you can use Fireglaive models for either.
The following is what they haven't released:
Lammasu mount
Castellan Battle Standard Bearer
Hobgoblin Khan on foot and Mounted
Bull Centaur Taur'ruk
Blunderbuss Infernal Guard
Great Weapon Infernal Guard
Infernal Ironsworn(Normal infernal guard are basically the same though)
Hobgoblin Cutthroats
Hobgoblin wolf Raiders
Bull Centaur Command group
MLP
Yeah, that argument doesn't make sense to me - I think the avg. army would have about as many Hobgoblins as an IG one would need Elysian or DKOK infantry. I can of course understand that more people would be expected to purchase Elysians or DKOK however.
That's an extensive list! Some upgrade packs for those would be nice though, and maybe just a bunch of alternate heads or shields for the Ironsworn.
Ah thanks for the reminder...
During my chat with Edgar (who sculpted the Bulll Centaurs) he did talk briefly about weapons options and command bits for them but he said once the basic models had been completed he had been pulled off onto other things but he would like to go back to them and finish them off. He also said that he personally thought that Great Weapons would look cool. Hope for something in the future? I don't know but it as least being talked about.
Also one other thing I remembered last night there will be no more epic or Battlefleet Gothic from Forge World due to resourcing issues.
I'll continue to add more as things occur to me.
Cheers
Vogon
P.S. In the seminar they did say when using the first trial rules for Angron he wiped out over half an army and a fellblade before finally falling to the entire shooting output of the rest of the army. The rules have been tweaked since ;)
Vogon
An ugrade pack would've been great, as right now I'm trying to figure out how to make some BC banners that wouldn't stand out so much that I couldn't remove them using magnets or confuse anybody if I didn't want to give them a FC...
Shame about the BFG - IMO they should've taken over that game or Necromunda or Mordheim and run with it. It still has loads of potential, just like BB (evidently) has. Real shame.
Shame about the BFG - IMO they should've taken over that game or Necromunda or Mordheim and run with it. It still has loads of potential, just like BB (evidently) has. Real shame.
Satan
Another neuron fires.....
They were asked in the Q&A if they would be doing any Blood Bowl Teams. Tony looked very shifty said no because of resources and moved back onto the Horus Heresy.
Shame about the BFG - IMO they should've taken over that game or Necromunda or Mordheim and run with it. It still has loads of potential, just like BB (evidently) has. Real shame.
Satan
Damn! That's just reminded me I wanted to ask the guys designing Warhammer quest and talisman if they'd ever considered making a Mordheim or Necromunda game. Either game would be amazing if done well.
@Ravenswood I’m sorry I don’t know about a size comparison. Apparently it was on display somewhere on the Forge World Stand but I didn’t manage to see it myself. But as it is complete I should think it will be on sale fairly soon.
Damn Vogon, totally phenominal report!! Really apprecite it. And good on ya MLP, keeping the kids feeling good about their efforts is important and something lots of folks easily forget!
As for those Dwarf command… they’re looking great… great enough to be fodder for conversion to my Chaos Dwarf legion!! :D
Sorry just had another thing occur to me. A guy on the �?oDigital Products�?� stand was waxing lyrical about the new 40K psychic powers app. I asked if they were going to do one for WFB. He said that he wasn�?Tt allowed to talk about upcoming developments but that would be a �?oreally good idea wouldn�?Tt it?�?� and a significant look.
Again nothing to definitive but certainly what I would consider a positive response.
