Donkey miniatures from Essex Miniatures and Warlord Games
It may not have escaped readers attention that I like Donkeys… and Eeyore does as well. It’s just Bears he’s not sure of.
And so when Essex Miniatures were selling miscasts at Warfare last year I knew I had to rescue some of them… and they joined one I already had from Warlord Games.
Donkeys in Wargaming
They maybe won’t get a lot of play in some of the more cut throat wargames, but I can definitely see them as backdrops in Skirmish games. Or forming part of a baggage train for Napoleonics.
There really is no limit as they are perfect for the background and can even be moveable terrain if you fancy something a bit different.
Pictures
2nd from left is the Warlord Games one… (I think!!)
What about the minis?
The miscasts weren’t too bad. the legs were a little thin so I need to be careful there, but very happy with them and the white metal used was good quality. They were very quick and simple to base and paint as well. Grey is sort of a given here, but the baggage they were carrying allowed for some use of other colours. Primarily Contrast paints to keep things quick.
The Warlord Games one is noticeably better quality, but that is because it’s not a fair comparison. But the size of the models are great and they look like a small coherent pack together. Painted in the same manner as the Essex Miniatures ones.
All four were finished with Matt Varnish (3-4 coats of varnish). They are still metal so they’ll chip if used aggressively. To try to save wear and tear I have also magentised the bases and they will be stored with my Generic Silver Bayonet collection for now.
Buying a Box?
Well, err no… Essex Miniatures don’t have them on their website and the individual one for Warlord Games was a gift at a Trade Show some years ago. They do at least have some donkeys available. (Search for Mules if you are struggling).
But there are loads of companies that make animals for painting (in plastic and white metal). If you fancy painting your own animals then grab them from your FLGS or favourite manufacturer.
Necromunda is a classic gaming system and – despite some changes between editions – remains mostly with its roots in old editions of Warhammer 40k. The support from the Specialist Games Studio is also superb with new gangs and models released regularly.
And the stories are great fund also – including this older gem by Mike Brooks from the Novella Series that Black Library produced some years ago.nto a Book Review A Line in the Sand by James Barr.
From the Book
In the teeming hives of Necromunda, from the highest peaks to the lowest depths, life is a constant fight for survival. When an ambush in the Underhive goes wrong, and a Guilder gets killed, an Escher gang suddenly find themselves outlawed. Now the hunters have become the hunted, and everyone is after their blood – enforcers, bounty hunters, even other gangs. With their leader dead, Jarene has to take control and save the lives of herself and her sisters in arms, as well as restoring the honour of their gang. For the fateful ambush was no accident, and the true culprits need to face justice.
Review
Jarene’s gang is (mostly) entirely dead. Caught in an ambush by Goliaths after the death of a Guilder. She has two choices, hide forever or avenge them.
But Necromunda isn’t a Hive that allows people to disappear if the Guilders are after them and so despite her best efforts she is forced to prevent the danger… but who can she trust?
When writing Warhammer 40k novels, I always enjoy reading about things that aren’t from the tabletop. (Or at least not common on the table top). Mike Brooks does a great job here of describing the Underhive, the tunnels, passages and creatures that reside. And the peril of just existing.
The ambush and destruction of the Escher gang is a great start as this would often be the end of a story in Necromunda the game. But here it is a starting point. He captures the rivalry between the Houses of the Hive, but also the competitions with the Houses themselves. So Jarene is left with the fundamental question – who can she trust.
Verdict
As a Novella it is short, but that results in Mike Brooks ensuring the pace is kept high – and there are no spare chapters in here. It is a great story, that brings Jarene’s struggle to the reader in quick, sharp vignettes. As she lurches from one crises to another, as there is no respite in the Hive.
My only critiscm is of Black Library – when these were first relesed the series was great value, with 10 books costing £30, but they are now only available electronically at £5 which seems high. Equally it is a shame they changed the format from paperback to hardback for Novella Series 3 later – but that is a different gripe.
If you are looking for a fun Necromunda story or just love Escher gangers then this is a great story – and a must for the collection.
We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but if your friendly local book store doesn’t have this available, we have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.
Returning to my occasional series of How to Paint, I’ve picked something a little different.
Renedra are a foundation of the UK lead belt – based in Cambridgeshire … not everything makes sense! But they have been around for a long time and are known for their bases and scenery.
Whilst purchasing the basing equipment for my Blood Angels from the ever reliable Firestorm Games, I picked up their Outbuilding to paint.
Following a successful painting year last year where I completed a Horus Heresy force (Blood Angels) and a Legions Imperialis horde (Solar Auxilia) this year I have challenged myself to get a 2,000 point army of Blood Angels for Warhammer 40k.
Renedra
As mentioned, Renedra offer loads of stuff and I have used them extensively for simple bases and plastic bases for historical models.
This is the first time I have taken a bigger leap and decided to paint one of their buildings. And it was all for my Silver Bayonet games.
Silver Bayonet requires a lot of scenery (in common with lots of skirmish games). And Renedra offer some great historical offerings from the Outbuilding to a full castle.
Renedra’s pretty castle… but it’s big so comes at a price.
Pictures
What can you use it for?
I’m planning on using this for Silver Bayonet, but any Skirmish games set in Medieval or Fantasy settings would benefit from this. It’s a great line of sight blocker and wouldn’t be out of place on an Old World table or for Kings of War. Used as an impassable terrain feature probably.
Paints Used
Scenery needs to be painted quickly to keep me interested… otherwise I spend too long on pipes and then don’t paint any toys. I also like it to be interesting but also blend into the background. So I needed a colour scheme which wouldn’t overwhelm my drab (dark) Russians for Silver Bayonet.
Starting with an undercoat Black, I gave it a very heavy drybrush of Rakarth Flesh (this could easily be done with a rattle can too).
Then I added some Dyrad Bark for the wooden beams, and finally added the roof. This took a little longer with Aggaros Dunes (Contrast Paint), and then a Drybrush of Screaming Skull. This is great for some stark highlights but also to make it not quite fully dark.
The basing is mostly Russian Mud from Vallejo Diaroma, with some static grass and tufts to add a little variety. Keeping with the simple approach. This took about 2 hours to paint in total, including waiting for the Contrast to dry, and I’m very happy with that.
It also helps with my Woepoints Challenge.
So that’s How to Paint a Renedra Outbuilding — graphic below.
Buying a Box?
This is a great little kit and with an RRP of £6 its also good value for money. Solid plastic which is easy to glue with poly-cement. I just added a 5″ blast marker as a base but any, thing suitable can be used.
As always ask at your local FLGS, directly with Renedra or use our affiliate link with Element Games for a small collection of Renedra buildings.
I often read non-fiction books on the commute to work (audio books), and until this year rarely reviewed them on Woehammer. But this year I’ve decided to include more non-Warhammer books on the basis that if I find a topic interesting, our readers may do so as well.
From the Book
Callum Wray and his lovers have survived the Vampire War and finally get to live life. That is until events begin to take on a dark edge and spiral. Soon the darkest parts of the Shadow World are coming for the four and it seems the dead do not stay dead. An Urban Fantasy Romance with a polyamorous foursome (Two guys two girls).Magic, Vampires and shapeshifters. Action, humour and spice. There are some scenes which may be triggering.
Review
This is not like my usual reading, with me not really knowing which tags to apply, so I think I’ll call it Urban Fantasy. Despite this and the risk of reading self-published books I enjoyed reading this!
Callum, Catherine, Hannah & Luke are in a group polyamorous relationship… and they happen to be mages and werewolves. In a USA where Vampires and Werewolves are fighting a Shadow War in the background of usual society.
The writing style and approach is not a method I’ve read often as its first person, but rotating through (mostly) the 4 main protagonists. It is mostly done by chapter, with it being very clear who is the narrator in each chapter. This makes it easy to follow and there’s no ambiguity about who is talking or thinking which is great… the reader also gets to delve into the minds of the four main characters as they try to stop Vampires and other makes from bringing the Shadow War into the public domain.
As a self published book there are a few errors which have crept in, but nothing that prevented me rattling through the chapters, although unfortunately the first few chapters have a few more mistakes than later chapters… so if you read this stick with it! Hopefully AJ Brown can get an editor in the future if this does well.
Overall I would recommend this but (perhaps strangely) not to my regular followers… this is definitely different! But sometimes that is a good thing. Read the content warnings before you buy – the book does include some romance and Public Displays of Affection, but I didn’t think it was gratuitous or over-done… this is not a romance novel though!
AJ Brown has released a new book recently in the same world and I’ll try to get to it next year so keep an eye out on my reviews for that.
Verdict
Not the usual fare for Declan (or Eeyore) and a bit of a departure from Woehammer… but it’s got wizards, werewolves and vampires so I’m calling it at least adjacent. I enjoyed the book, it was fun and full of interesting backstory hooks that we are given a glance at, but which we’ll hopefully get more from in the future. Read the content warnings, and it you think it may be for you grab a copy!
We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but with print of demand items, this is more difficult. We have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.
Following a successful painting year last year where I completed a Horus Heresy force (Blood Angels) and a Legions Imperialis horde (Solar Auxilia) this year I have challenged myself to get a 2,000 point army of Blood Angels for Warhammer 40k.
Blood Angels
I have always collected Blood Angels. However as I don’t play 40k very often I only had one completed army… And it is all firstborn. So 2026 is the year I finish a more up-to-date Blood Angel Army.
This also forms part of the Woehammer Slow Grow challenge and the Woepoints challenge which is great for keeping me motivated.
So, in January I have finished… 2 Brutalis Dreadnoughts
Pictures
How do they play?
Blood Angels are traditionally a ‘ABC’ (Always Be Charging) Legion. But in 10th Edition they can struggling to destroy vehicles in close assault. And so the Brutalis is a great addition to the legion to fill this gap.
Two of them may be a little excessive for a small force and I would intend to use 1 at 1,000 points and only add the second later to keep the balance of assault versus shooting right in a Blood Angel army.
However, I haven’t played Blood Angels for so long that this is all theory hammer and the wise words of ‘BA Commander’ who knows a lot more than me on the subject.
Paints Used
Blood Angels are red! And so I picked up lots of Colour Forge Sanguine Red for the undercoating and gave both models an even undercoat (on top of Black). I then kept the rest of the model simple with Black Weapons, some gold items picked out and of course transfers… lots of transfers.
I use the Micro Sol & Micro Set for mine and it makes it so much easier.
However, I have been unable to give the models a full Matt Varnish coat due to the cold English weather so there are still a few streaks of varnish showing around the transfers. These will disappear with a coat of varnish in good weather… so roll on July!
The basisng is something I’ve been torn on for a while. Ideally I wanted a Baal red desert base but… it just doesn’t work well on the tabletop for red models. So I’ve stolen borrowed an idea from YouTube!
This takes some more time than I would usually spend on bases, but the contrast to the red is very nice. So that’s Vallejo Rough White Pumice, Zandri Dust, Ushabti Bone, Seraphim Sepia and a Screaming Skull very light highlight. Check out the video for a great explanation of the process.
So that’s How to Paint Blood Angels Brutalis Dreadnoughts — graphic below.
Buying a Box?
These were in the Leviathan box (which is why I have 2), so you may find them cheaper second hand or on Ebay. However the kit is also a permanent fixture in the Games Workshop catalogue. That all means – ask at your local FLGS or use our affiliate link with Element Games. They are £52.00 RRP.
A Guide for a GM looking to expand their stories in the Star Trek Adventures Galaxy.
Our friends at Modiphius have recently released a new book for their Star Trek: Adventures RPG. It’s their Exploration Guide, and they were kind enough to send us a copy for a read and a review. Thanks to them for supporting Woehammer!
Modiphius Entertainment
Regular readers may be better acquainted with the wargames that Modiphius sell (and they’ve got more than a few including Fallout and Five Leagues from the Borderlands). But they also have an extensive range of RPGs (role playing games) including the Star Trek Adventures series – now going into it’s second edition.
Star Trek Adventures
Star Trek Adventures RPG provides the players and their GM with all the tools needed to play through Star Trek episodes (or ones of their own imagining). It uses the 2D20 system from Modiphius and it is great fun! I’ve loved Star Trek since The Next Generation, and my credentials go all the way back to joining and Star Trek society at university, so I’ve been a fan for a long time.
Exploration Guide
Book Cover: Modiphius
The Exploration Guide is a full colour, hardback book of 144 pages with a full colour double side map of the Alpha and Beta quadrants. It includes everything a GM needs to create their own missions on the strange new worlds which are present in the Star Trek galaxy.
As with most expansions there are some new character options, but where this book really shines is the creation of sectors, solar systems, planets and biomes. And if that sounds like a lot of potential you would be right.
Each section is beautifully illustrated (with artists credited… /cough), and with many, many tables for generating the next away mission.
A Federation vessel escaping from a pulsar (Art: David Metlesits)
And did I mention the tables… I love the tables. My RPG playing goes back to the days of Traveller, and I sometimes struggle with story telling when being a GM, so a table is great to prod me into action. Just remember to bring the D20s… no D6s here!
Hmmm… tables! Maybe I need to get better at taking pictures from books!
Playing in Biomes
The majority of the book covers nine different Biomes from cave systems (complete with 60s polystyrene if you want), to deserts and everything in between. In each section there is a description of what our intrepid explorers might meet, the sub-types of biomes and potential threats and advantages of being there.
Of particular note here is that each section is crammed full of mission ideas and story hooks. For when you are struggling for inspiration.
So grab your GM, D20s and an exploration party and soon you may find yourselves in a Temperate Flower Forest, in the middle of a recent Burn Scar that has torn through a Glade. But remember the mission: There’s a distress call from deeper in the Forest.
And if I can do that in a few D20 rolls, imagine where it can take you!
Buying a Book?
The book costs £35, and as always, buy where you play; so check your local FLGS to see if they have a copy or can order in.
Alternatively check out Modiphius Entertainment’s own website.
If you are in the UK, you can find them at Dragonmeet at the end of November on stall D22.
What’s the conclusion?
This is a great book and a brilliant edition to a franchise I love… so it was always going to go down well. But the production quality, artist credits on the superb pictures and tables, tables, tables… have all combined to definitely convinced me it’s worth recommending.
So we give it 5 Woehammers!
And just in case you run other sci-fi RPGs or skirmish wargaming, and you’re looking for inspiration the solar system generation, and the biomes sections of this book are mostly rule agnostic and you could easily use this in another setting as an aide for idea generation.
Thanks again to Modiphius for providing us a copy to review.
Battleforce boxes are back after their successes since 2020. These are a fantastic way to get into a new army or even add to an existing one, but what’s inside them and what is the saving?
Prices in 2024 were around £150 each so with the October price rise, I expect these to be £160 each (update! £155 each). In the meantime I thought our readers would like to know the value of the toys… so see below against each box:
Battleforce Boxset
Cost
RRP
Skaven – Skryre Warpswarm
£231.00
£160.00 (Est)
Soulblight Gravelords – Lances of the Crimson Keep
£245.00
£160.00 (Est)
Gloomspite Gitz – Dankhold Rampage
£229.50
£160.00 (Est)
Slyvaneth – Outcast Spitegrove
£231.50
£160.00 (Est)
There’s good consistent value in each box, with Vordhai pusing the Soulblight Gravelords to the top of the pack. In fact Age of Sigmar is consistently better value than the 40k Battleforces based on RRP.
There’s a lot of big characters in here (except the Skaven), suggesting the boxes are aimed more at the ‘new army’ crowd… that said the Skaven one looks like a great expansion for Skaventide released last year.
It is a surprise to see no Stormcast here either, given they were in the box in 2024, but they have done one box per Grand Alliance so I guess that’s fair!
These are best ordered from your FLGS especially if they can get them in, and make a few pounds, dollars, euros from them in the expensive Christmas period.
Alternatively, if you regularly use Element Games, you can pick them up there… using our affiliate link (for which we receive a small contribution to the site)
So what do you get inside and how much would it cost you normally?
Skaven – Skryre Warpswarm
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Arch Warlock
£25.00
20 Stormvermin
£71.00
Ratling Warpblaster
£35.50
3 Warplock Jezzails
£32.50
5 Acolyte Globardiers
£35.50
Warpspark Weapon Battery
£31.50
Total
£231.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£71.00(Est)
Soulblight Gravelords – Lances of the Crimson Keep
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Prince Vhordrai
£118.00
10 Blood Knights
£89.00
3 Fellbats
£38.00
Total
£245.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£85.00(Est)
Gloomspite Gitz – Dankhold Rampage
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Trugg, Troggoth King
£64.50
Dankhold Troggboss
£49.50
6 Rockgut Troggoths
£80.00
3 Fellwater Troggoths
£35.50
Total
£229.50
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£69.50(Est)
Slyvaneth – Outcast Spitegrove
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Drycha Hamdreth
£40.00
Spirit of Durthu
£49.50
15 Spite Revenants
£106.50
20 Dryads
£35.50
Total
£231.50
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£71.50(Est)
So what do you think good value or not? Will you be picking up a set?
Battleforce boxes are back after their successes since 2020. These are a fantastic way to get into a new army or even add to an existing one, but what’s inside them and what is the saving?
Prices in 2024 were around £150 each so with the October price rise, I expect these to be £160 each (Updare, they are £155 each). In the meantime I thought our readers would like to know the value of the toys… so see below against each box:
Battleforce Boxset
Cost
RRP
Emperor’s Children – Blissbound Warband
£224.00
£160.00 (Est)
Voltann – Cthonian Prospect
£227.50
£160.00 (Est)
Tyranids – Crusher Stampede
£219.00
£160.00 (Est)
T’au – Farsight Cadre
£211.00
£160.00 (Est)
Space Marines – Iron Halo Strike Force
£223.50
£160.00 (Est)
Chaos Space Marines Hellforged Warband
£217.50
£160.00 (Est)
Astra Militarum – Krieg Siege Platoon
£204.00
£160.00 (Est)
There’s a range of value in each box with Krieg having the lowest value; which considering the Space Marines includes a half-set in theirs is a little disappointing.
Meanwhile the latest Daemon Primarch gets to bring along some of his mates, and the Tyranids leave all their little guys behind.
I may pick up the Astra Militarum, but it will definitely hurt my Woepoints pledge, and a lot depends on that final RRP which we will update when we know.
These are best ordered from your FLGS especially if they can get them in, and make a few pounds, dollars, euros from them in the expensive Christmas period.
Alternatively, if you regularly use Element Games, you can pick them up there… using our affiliate link (for which we receive a small contribution to the site)
So what do you get inside and how much would it cost you normally?
Emperor’s Children – Blissbound Warband
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Fulgrim, Deamon Primarch
£105.50
6 Flawless Blades
£76.00
6 Noise Marines
£42.50
Total
£224.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£64.00(Est)
Votann – Cthonian Prospect
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Brokhyr Iron-master
£35.50
Ironkin Assistant & 3 E-COGs
inc above
3 Brokhyr Thunderkin
£38.00
2 Cthonian Earthshakers
£35.50
10 Cthonian Berserks
£80.00
Kapricus Defender
£38.50
Total
£227.50
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£67.50(Est)
Tyranids – Crusher Stampede
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Neurotyrant & 2 Neuroloids
£69.50
Screamer-Killer
inc above
Tyrannofex
£42.50
Haruspex
£54.50
Maleceptor
£52.50
Total
£219.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£59.00(Est)
T’au Empire – Farsight Cadre
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Commander Farsight
£42.50
Riptide Battlesuit
£74.00
Broadside Battlesuit
£40.00
3 Crisis Battlesuits
£54.50
8 Drones
inc above
Total
£211.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£51.00(Est)
Space Marines – Iron Halo Strike Force
Warhammer Community / Games Workshop
Unit
Cost
Space Marine Captain
£27.00
Company Heroes
£42.50
5 Sternguard Veterans
£40.00
5 Hellblasters
£20.00
Ballistus Dreadnought
£44.50
Redemptor Dreadnought
£49.50
Total
£223.50
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£63.50(Est)
Chaos Space Marines – Hellforged Warband
Unit
Cost
Lord Discordant on Hellstalker
£49.50
Venomcrawler
£49.50
2 Obliterators
inc above
5 Havocs
£40.00
10 Legionaries
£42.50
Chaos Rhino
£36.00
Total
£217.50
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£57.50(Est)
Astra Militarum – Krieg Siege Platoon
Unit
Cost
Lord Commissar
£29.50
Krieg Command Squad
inc above
20 Death Korps of Krieg
£65.00
Combat Engineers (Team)
£29.50
2 Artillery Teams
£80.00
Total
£204.00
RRP
£160.00(Est)
Saving
£44.00(Est)
So what do you think good value or not? Will you be picking up a set?
When 10th edition Warhammer 40k was released, Peter told us what he would do with Orks in the new edition. Despite being a primarily Age of Sigmar site, this has proven to be a popular article and so (eventually) I am expanding the series.
As with all these articles, there are some affiliate links for Element Games (UK) and Amazon (US) if you want to buy them. But Bricks and Mortar first! You’ll miss your FLGS if it shuts down.
Combat Patrol Blood Angels
Like the other boxes the Combat Patrolbox is filled with goodies and makes for fantastic savings when you’re starting out in collecting an army for 40k. They are RRP of £100 (US/UK), but most FLGSs provide a discount on this.
Inside the box you get:
Blood Angel Captain (£26) 10 x Assault Intercessors (£40) 6 x Sanguinary Guard (£74) Blood Angel Upgrade Sprue
That’s a total of £140 if you were buying these kits separately, meaning you get a saving of £40.00. Plus the upgrade sprue.
Total So Far
This is 490 points towards our target of 1,000 points.
Getting to 1,000 points
To get the Blood Angels Starter Army to 1,000 points we’re going to add a few extra units that’ll give you something different to paint and increase your speed towards the enemy.
This gets us to 975 points, and if you are worried about Tactical Squads disappearing in a future edition just swap them out for an Intercessor Squad.
Codex Costs
As everyone who buys from Games Workshop knows, once you’ve got the models you’ll need the Codex. For Space Marines that normally means two are required. And Blood Angels are no exception, so you’ll need Codex: Space Marines (UK/US), and Codex Supplement: Blood Angels (UK/US). Total £57.50 (Ouch!)
Total so far at RRP: £318.50 (not cheap, but remember this is Space Marines, and the second-hand market is worth looking at either locally or on Ebay)
An HQ choice is mandatory, included in the Combat Patrol, and gives you a nice model to lavish your new painting scheme on. Paint the Tactical Squad or Intercessors first to get a scheme you like though. Don’t expect miracles from him, but he’ll be able to attack smaller units and hold up larger ones.
Tactical Squad
Tactical squads are great for holding objectives, and their bolters can kill many opponents with low or limited saves. If you are concerned about the old armour disappearing in the near future, you can use Intercessor Squads for these instead.
Assault Intercessor Squad
Iconic Blood Angels (and included in the Combat Patrol box) these guys are great at assaulting the enemy and throwing out a volume of attacks. They can force the enemy to react by getting near them, but they are slow… so…
Rhino
The Intercessors get a Dedicated transport to get them to the enemy quicker, and get killing sooner. Don’t expect it to survive a direct hit from Lascannons, but the speed here is essential to get the most out of the Intercessors.
Baal Predator
Iconic! A close assault predator which will rip through enemy troops. Don’t expect it to hurt other tanks though so you need to be a little careful with deployment and moving. Keep it near the Rhino and you’ll be able to break through a lot of what will stand against you at 1,000 points.
Dreadnought
Whilst I have chosen the ranged Dreadnought here to provide some anti-tank firepower, any Dreadnought can be used in this force. Ebay (UK/US) is a great place to pick up Dreadnoughts as they are often in starter sets. This is also a way to save some money.
Sanguinary Guard
6 Sanguinary Guard form your hammer. With their Jump Packs they will get to the enemy quickly alongside your Rhino and Baal Predator and their or spears can rip into the enemy on the charge.
Another iconic unit and another painting scheme to learn as well.
WHAT NEXT?
If expanding the Blood Angels Starter Army to 2,000 points I would definitely pick up another Combat Patrol box set, and augment the Sanguinary Guard with Jump Pack Assault Intercessors.
Another Iconic unit is the Death Company, and they are great if you want to try painting and highlighting black.
Alternatively, if you like the way the tanks play pick up a Land Raider Crusader as another transport vehicles and put the second unit of Assault Intercessors in it.
I hope you enjoyed this Blood Angels Starter Army article. How would you build a 1,000 point list from the Combat Patrol Box? There may well be aspects of the codex or units that I have not included that you think should be, so why not let us know in the comments below.
I am always on the lookout for my next ‘Sharpe’ series. And in my attempt to find one I have decided to go to the War of Spanish Succession. (Duke Marlborough, Blenheim, and battles against the French.) Our hero in this case is Daniel Rawson.
So onto a Book Review Drums of War by Edward Marston.
From the Book
We come across our hero, Captain Rawson, deep inside the war-ravaged borders of Europe, as he fights alongside the brave and resolute Earl of Marlborough in defeating the, self-proclaimed, ‘invincible’ French army. Yet victory is short lived, blunted by the dissenting voices of the Dutch, who secretly seek to wrestle the power and life from Rawson’s compatriot, Marlborough. In these hostile and insecure times, Captain Rawson is called on to succeed in his biggest, most daring mission to the rescue of a celebrated tapestry-maker turned spy from inside the fortified Bastille – the pride of a despotic France.
Now alone behind enemy-lines, the undaunted Rawson must apply all his guile and wit in his rescuing of the renowned prisoner and his beautiful daughter, Amalia – a delicate girl to whom Rawson’s friendship soon blossoms into something more. However, unbeknownst to Rawson the French and Dutch have already combined to plot both the assassination of Marlborough and the reclaiming of his power. This time Europe is beginning to close in on him, and it will take all of his self-sacrifice, skill and sincerity to once again rescue the war and the army’s pride from out of the clutches of the betrayers.
Review
Daniel Rawson is a Captain in the 24th Foot in the army of Duke Marlborough. Having been promoted from the ranks, Daniel’s ability to speak English, Dutch and French is invaluable. So he is sent to Paris to find the whereabouts of a Dutch spy.
He sneaks into Paris via the front door, finds the daughter of his target and moves her to a safe house… whilst falling in love with her – and vice-versa. He finds out her father is in the Bastille, and having determined there is nothing he can do, returns to the camp, attempts to rescue him.
If this is starting to feel unlikely, fear not. There is a second story throughout the book to keep our attention on the 24th Foot. A newly arrived drummer boy is being victimised by a Major. And he turns to Daniel to help him. This could be a perfect opportunity to bring the book down to earth. But because Daniel is sent to Paris he can’t do anything to save the drummer.
Upon escaping Paris, Daniel and his party and captured, promptly escape and return to the army. All in time to fight the Battle of Ramillies.
Daniel join’s the Duke’s closest advisors, is involved with a cavalry charge, and saves the Duke.
Verdict
Oh dear… Daniel Rawson is there nothing you can’t do? And herein lies the problem. At no point in the book did he fail to do something he attempted. Sure he was ambushed… but escaped. That was the greatest bit of peril in the book. And that’s without the whole Bastille debacle.
The secondary story is also weak with a very unsatisfactory ending. I will try book three, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope given this book.
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