Games Workshop News Rumours: White Dwarf

White Dwarf is to be closed or restructured, depending on what dialect of corporate speak you use. The monthly magazine that has been with us since the seventies is no more. The Tyranid edition is the last.

What you will get instead are two magazines.

The new White Dwarf will according to the internet rumour mill will be:

"32 pages of whats new and exciting in the hobby this week, new releases and other news. There will also be new features that will include hobby oriented material, like techniques for painting and modelling, and new rules, and new authors"

and will sell for £2.40.

In addition, addicts will be able to buy a new and larger monthly, Warhammer: Visions, of which the ipad version is available right now  on subscription from the GW site for an annual fee of £45.

Difficult to know what to make of all this. Presumably there is some master strategic business plan that links (i) one man shops, (ii) ditching White Dwarf, (iii) ditching all but three games, (iv) dumping their brand lawyer after a series of embarrassing retreats and (v) closing the studio down but I'm damned if I can see it.

They couldn't possibly be just making it up as they go along - could they?

While on the subject of gossip, Warhammer Fantasy Battles appears to be in deep doggy-do with falling sales. It has never been as good a brand as 40K but I have seen suggestions that sales are down below 10% of GW turnover, possibly because The Hobbit is eating its lunch.

I know there have been recent attempts to push the game but the gossip factory is now suggesting that a new version is to be shelved at least for the immediate future.

Anyway, apparently there is to be a retail managers meeting soon in the UK to whip the sales staff, poor bastards.

Tootle pip.

The Red Flag

For the special interest of Comrade Rick of the Nottingham anarcho-syndicalist front - I give you carriers of the workers' battle flags, including the elite Trotsky Armoured Red Guards in the nifty red leather tights.

"Power to the People"

Yet More Bolsheviks

This strange shining yellow ball appeared low on the horizon to te south today so I took the opportunity to take a photo of my latest paint jobs.

Two more Bolshevik Characters dressed in colourful Tzarist military uniforms - the previous owners have no further use for them.

Minitaures as always from the 28mm Copplestone Back of Beyond Range.

Bolsheviks!

Finished some Bolshevik character figures for my Bolt Action Red Army, figures from Copplestone Castings.

From left to right:

Commisar Spart
Comrade Colonel Skunksy
Agitator Trump
Agitator Nina

All they need now are some troops.

Bolt Action: Freikorps Reinforced Platoon

I have finished my Freikorps army. Most of the models are Great War Miniatures with aditional material from Copplestone Castings or scratchbuilt. Well, almost finshed as no army is truly finished until I sell it. I may yet add a maxim gun and possibly more armour :) .

I use the German Army Bolt Action Sourcebook. The Acting Up rule still applies as the Freikorps were over equipped with officers and NCOs already acting down but not the Hitler's Buzz Saw rules.

The Freikorps were commonly recruited from WWI veterans, especially Stormtroopers, so are classed as regular or veteran.

I must apologise for the poor pics. The weather in Kent is somewhat unclement for outside photography.

The Commanders (361 points):

1) Major Von Clump (veteran) plus two escorts.
2) Baron Flieger, flying ace, (counts as regular leutnant) plus two escorts.
3) Feldwebel Muller (forward observation).

The Freikorps were well supported by off-table artillery including armoured trains.

Infantry Squads (372 points):

All infantry squads are equipped with rifles, a light machine gun, and copious grenades. They are tank hunters.

1) Veteran Section.

 2) Regular Section

3) Regular Section

Experten (115 points):

1) Flamethrower Team, Regular
2) Mortar Team, Regular
3) Anti-tank Rifle Team, Regular

Vehicles (280 points):

1) Self Propelled Gun: veteran, light howitzer firing into rear arc, unarmoured (80 points).
2) Light Armoured Car: regular, open topped, LMG firing into front arc, armour 7+ (65 points).
2) Heavy Armoured Car: regular, light howitzer firing into rear and side arcs, three MMGs, armour 7+ (135 points)

London 2300 (or so)

The Star Trek view of a future London.

Meanwhile, this winter in the real world, C3PO is spotted fishing off the North Kent coast at the site of the Roman fort at Reculver.

7th Edition 40K: Really???

According to the rumour mill, 40K 7th edition will be with us this summer, or maybe not.

It seems only yesterday that they released 6th edition and started new codices.

I will probably pass and jump in on edition 8 or 9. I realised the other day that I have only played two or three games of 6th since it came out but I'm not sure why.

I guess I'm just bored with 40K. Endless tinkering is no substitute for new creative ideas particularly when the system hasn't settled down long enough to get to grips with. It's all getting a bit like Formula 1 where they produce a new reg shortening/widening the front wing by one cm in an effort to make it less of a procession.