Halandaar

Was very pleased to break my vow-failing streak in last year's edition. I have a disgraceful amount of stuff to paint this time, hoping to have a good one on par with my old ETL outputs.

For those who either can't or don't want to sit through a 45 minute video for the answers, transcript below. I tried to leave it mostly verbatim, just cleaned up a bit.

The existence of these doesn't feel fundamentally different to me than the printed MDF terrain in the Kill Team starter set, which as far as I remember was pretty well received as an idea. Chuck a frame or two of these in the inevitable 11E Combat Patrol starter set, and the also inevitable 2027 Hachette Partworks 40k collection, seems like a win for almost everybody likely to pick those products up. If they are also available unpainted (seems plausible), that's a bonus.

Obviously we've had a few characterful boxes already (Hell's Last, Gaunt's Ghosts) but the recent trend of GW being happy to mix model types/factions/species in those sets (see Wardens of Ultramar, Masters of the Maelstrom, also The Blacktalons and Saviors of Cinderfall in AoS) has me hopeful we might see a few more. They could very easily do flavourful 5-6 models boxes based on several BL characters: Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Ciaphas Cain, Talos & First Claw, the Ezekarion and so on. Personally I would love to see the annual Black Library model be more along these lines, although cool standalones like Oltyx/Valgul would be good too (isn't there supposed to be a Solomon Akurra mini on the way?) Then you have all the great characters from the history of the 40K game who were just removed because they didn't have official or in-production minis (as opposed to being removed because they were killed off in the lore i.e. Tycho, Xavier, Aun'Va etc): Drukhari are probably missing the most with Asdrubael Vect, Baron Sathonyx, Kheradruakh, Duke Sliscus, Urien Rakarth, even Kruellagh if you want to go back that far. For Craftworlds the obvious one is Kharandras, but also there's Iyanna Arienal and Nuadhu Fireheart who had rules in the olden days. Who else have we got? Nazdreg, Zagstruk, Kaptin Badrukk (feels like a return could be on the cards for any of these with the Ork overhaul, but Nazdreg feels most likely), Doomrider. Obviously there are a bunch of Space Marines but meh, I think we have those guys pretty well covered already unless there's an option to bring the Forgeworld characters in to the main line - I'd love to see upscaled plastics for Tyberos, Asterion Moloc, and official minis for characters like Lias Issodon and Malakim Phoros to get some proper representation of more successor chapters out there. Basically, make them all. They're all cool.

I wouldn't write it off just yet. Removing "free" Crusade content from the Codexes everybody buys anyway in order to sell narrative-focused players a standalone expansion book is exactly the sort of decision GW would make.

For anybody still interested in a list of Spearhead issues, I created a list over at The Grand Alliance for that purpose

I'm enjoying that a few of these seem to be just as much references to Gorkamorka Rebel Grots as they are to 2nd Edition Gretchin.

Just a general update that the Fronteris battlefield terrain pack and Tigurius character pack are both still available direct from Hachette

Kindly unhide the second post and I will edit out the relevant parts, it's still useful to have an available post there at the top of the thread. Edit - Post now amended, tyvm

Clanrats coming up this week!

Agreed, Stormcast characters are popular as the basis for Inquisitor conversions and I've seen a few Drukhari Grotesques built from Rat Ogors. From my point of view the Pusgoyle Blightlords will supply some wings for a Death Guard Daemon Prince when they eventually come out.

Also contains a Medium Shade Brush; between that and it being three paints rather than two, it's one of the only Paint issues put out in any collection by Hachette that actually makes a saving.

Think Beastsnagga Kill Rig is the only existing 40K kit at this price point (there are several in AoS: Lord Kroak, Glutos Orscollion, Gordrakk, Ionus Cryptborn, The Glottkin)

I mean this is right in the price range several of us predicted six weeks ago. Not sure why it's surprising.

You and everybody else I would imagine, not least the scalpers!