Saturday 22 September 2012

‘New’ White Dwarf Review

“At the end of the epic quest lies daemonhood, spawndom or a bitter hate-filled death”

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So Thursday afternoon I picked my post out of the mailbox and found the new White Dwarf had arrived. Two happy days early. Smile Having avoided Twitter and most blogs for a few days now so as not to tarnish my first impressions I was very pleased to receive it two days early. Now normally White Dwarf reviews are WarLlama’s area not mine, but this is something special so I figured I’d stick my oar in. And I mean it, this issue is really something special. This is a change on the level of ‘Fat Dwarf’ if not bigger.

First of all some external changes that have gone on. This is the October 2012 issue, not issue 394. Looks like there will be no more numbers, not a big problem but perhaps a little sad given how high a number we had come to. The general layout of the cover has taken a change, bold headlines, new (pictured above) logo and back to a quote on the spine. Speaking of which, where is the rest of my Dark Angel spinal image? Whilst my WD collection is not as impressive as Nick Simmerson’s I have about 100 issues lined up on display and I gave this years issues their own box for display.


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The cover doesn’t just look different, it feels it as well. Thicker paper for the cover and gloss images on the front and the back, it’s a very fancy affair.


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IMG_1725 And whilst it’s clear from the outside of the issue that this isn’t your granddads White Dwarf it’s the content that is what really matters, and it has changed that much is sure. As we’ll see throughout the magazine there is a pretty dense, photo heavy layout. At 152 pages this is 25% larger again than the previous issue. The new releases section of the magazine and the back section that covers hobby centres and independent stockists are larger than ever but beyond that there is only one, double page spread that could be described as a true advert. I’m not saying that the entire magazine doesn’t try (quite hard and effectively) to sell GW products, but everything else is slotted neatly into articles and features. Those there are plenty of.

So after the preamble comes the New Releases section, 46 pages of it. The focus is on the new Chaos Space Marines codex and figures coming out, some stunning stuff, but the focus of this review is White Dwarf itself. However to get a nice photo of some new models here and show off something pretty special from the magazine I present this…

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On top of this we see that White Dwarf has a four page, opening up spread, quite a way to display new products. Each featured model includes a description of it in terms of fluff and a ‘discussion’ on the model from a visual standpoint and a little about gameplay. These write ups were done by various members of the White Dwarf team and are initialled to indicate who wrote it. I feel that this is one of the many little touches throughout the new WD that give the feeling of a much more modern, mature and ‘professional’ magazine than we’ve received before. Alongside all of the new Chaos releases are multiple pages about Black Library and Forge World releases, plus a double page on Relic from Fantasy Flight Games, the 40k version of Talisman. Plus a mention of the upcoming Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition coming soon from Cyanide. There is another two pages about digital products, most notably White Dwarf Digital Edition, that’ll be a discussion for another day…

Army of the Month is the first true article, it provides a look at Ben Johnson’s (formally of the Bad Dice Podcast) Skaven army. The introduction to the piece includes an explanation as to their plans for showcasing armies from the studio as well as armies from the larger community. Ben’s Skaven was a great example, a fantastic and detailed looking army.

The images that fill this issue are almost all tagged by a little number (Ben Johnson’s Forge World Vermin Lord is number 3) that matches with one of the small sections of text, this provides a greater amount of detail than a simple caption and a description and purpose to every picture. A considerable amount of information is included in these blocks throughout the issue. IMG_1728

Jervis’s two page write-up about some part or another of the hobby (this time comp. and army limits) is in there the same as it ever has been (recent article about how the focus of his focus has changed over time aside), and is as enjoyable, amiable and ‘hippie’ as ever. Again the new formatting, and mug shot add to the feel of a more mature magazine.

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Can you imagine anything more GQ in your White Dwarf

Next up is a battle report, no spoilers here about the results, a whole world of conspiracies exist to debunk the meaning of ‘winning’ a bat. rep. any way. Andrew Kenrick (the previous WD editor) as the Alpha Legion vs. Adam Troke (40k 6th. designer) as White Scars. This is a 1,750 point battle where they openly and up front say they want to showcase the new things for the bad guys. So not a very narrative game but a pretty decent battle split up in to first turn, mid game and end game. Again there is some serious photo density across the pages with bullet point descriptions and a mixture of third person and first person looks as to what was going on. I enjoyed the report and the style, it felt like a good game of 40k played between generals who were both trying to win.

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The Rivals was a discussion between a Warhammer Fantasy Vampire Counts general and a Dark Elf general, I’ve only browsed through it as neither army interests me a great deal. However the format was that of a discussion between the two with point and counter point raised and debated. A very interesting idea for the future, and again read like an FHM group interview article.

You’ve probably already seen the video of Angron the first of Forge Worlds Primarchs to be released for their upcoming Horus Heresy book. But here is a picture of him and a description of how Simon Egan went about sculpting him. The rest of the cover article about the Horus Heresy goes in to some details about the upcoming book, ‘The Betrayal’ and the Horus Heresy series of Black Library novels. It is a light read that I as a fan of the series and figures found to be enjoyable if not overly ground breaking. The side bar about the HH’s real life timeline was interesting, now I want the Horus Heresy CCG that was launched at the end of my ‘get a girl and life’ absence that so many of us take from the hobby. IMG_1732

Bringing out all of the big guns for this premiere issue we also find John Blance weighing in with a Blanchitsu and a lovely self portrait, done in the style of a 40k Inquisitor that I’m sure many will recognise. Then his article goes on to discuss John’s Inquisitorial Warband, the art he has whipped up for them, the figures he has converted and the lovely archaic accoutrement he has assembled to go with it all. A really inspiring little article that continues to show that no matter your opinion on his art style, he has a real mastery over the aesthetics of the GW games.

Also a popular series of articles from the ‘old’ White Dwarf is the Citadel Hall of Fame, and returning here is a double page on the Necron C’tan The Nightbringiner. With a whole page going to a picture of the studio figure and then a couple of close-ups as well, there is not too much text here, nominated and defended by ‘Eavy Metal’s Anja Wettergren and accepted by the figures sculptor Alex Hedström. There is comment about what a joy the model is to paint and the lovely flowing lines, all well and good and true. What I’d like to have seen is some images of other versions and uses of The Nightbringer, especially as comment is made as to how many times and how effectively The Nightbringer has been used as the base for detailed and varied conversions.

Parade Ground & Kit Bash are both showcase articles, the first looks at loads of varied figures from the collections of members of the studio team. To call these figures basic would be a disservice, but at the same time they are for the most part simply examples of well done, out of the box units from GW’s three games. Lacking any great focus it’s hard to pick much to stand out here, although Duncan Rhodes’ dragon skull bearing Peasants are fun. I’d have rather seen a varied selection of figures about a theme of some kind, one army, one figure, one painting style, etc. Kit Bash was exactly that, three different Ork Bombers, again more detail could have been added, but for those looking to kit bash their own Bombers, or any other Ork vehicle there is definitely inspiration to be found here.

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Battle Ground give the detail about a project that I’m talking about, six pages describing the pieces, effects and idea that went into the Urdek Refinery; one of the themed boards that was used in the 6th edition 40k rule book. This has the mixed blessing of being made up almost entirely from GW terrain pieces, meaning that it is nice and clear what has been used to do what and anyone could recreate or take direct inspiration. Of course the down side is the fact that only those working for GW can afford to work on this kind of scale. Still the article does contain a lot of great ideas and goes through the thought process behind a lot of the decisions. A lot can be learnt here, I really hope that alongside massive pieces like this the future of Battle Ground pieces include ideas for small scale and home made pieces of terrain. Also note the red word at the start of each section heading, that is carried out throughout the entire magazine and is another of the little touches that add to the smart feel of the design.

IMG_1745 Continuing the useful hobby tips section as we near the back of the magazine, is Paint Splatter. The focus here is on Chaos Space Marines. Various Legions are described in the format to the left here along with rust techniques and detail on how to copy the studios different Daemonfire (chaos glow) techniques. Also included is a section on Ork Dakka Jets and tips from Ben Johnson from the start of the magazine on how he painted his banners and warpstone for the Skaven. The image to the left is a Sons of Horus Forge World marine, they also cover Emperor’s Children, World Eaters and Death Guard in their heresy-era colours.

Jeremy Vetock, occasional stand-in for Jervis, GW games designer and all round ‘hobby champion’ also has his say in this issue, he talks about dreaming big and wanting to make his games as epic and perfect as possible. The article itself is an interesting read, I hope that if he stays a regular contributor his articles include a little more in the way of details on top of the inspiring but vague thought.

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After 17 pages of store listings, recommendations for going to a Hobby centre, following them on Facebook, subscribing to White Dwarf et cetera, comes the final section of mini articles, This Month In… Covering four different operations, White Dwarf, The Design Studio, Forge World and Black Library. These are great little reads, just a few pages each. I felt they really captured a lot of what I wanted to hear about things in general and also really gave the right feel about the hobby from White Dwarf and some honest to God decent information about the other teams’ work.

All in all I’m very pleased with the new White Dwarf. There are facets that can improve and I hope the quality of thought behind the articles continues. I like the lack of advertising throughout the entire magazine and I wouldn’t even begrudge one or two article appropriate half pages more if they felt they needed them, although they can hold off on the full barcode and price point idea of previous terrain articles for example. Not being  the hardest of reviewers I’m going to give this issue a 8.5/10.

For WarLlama’s sake here is a picture of the issue’s advert, I know how he loves them. Plus the last page image, I guess we all know what the focus of November’s issue will be (to be released on October 27th).

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"A wizard is never late!"

4 comments:

  1. Cheers, I appreciate the photo mate!

    It's amazing we almost gave it the same score. I loved this issue and your review is great. A lot better written with a lot less swearing than mine!

    I totally agree with it feeling like a more mature magazine.

    ps I'm very jealous of your organised collection, I'll be heading to ikea next week to get mine sorted out!

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  2. Thanks, glad you liked it. took me an age to write, I got the magazine on Thursday. I wanted to give it 9/10 myself, but thought I must try and be harsher. ;) And God to think I din't even mention the Horus Heresy poster, double sided with Angron on one and a battle vista on the other! Very cool

    Enjoy Games Day! I can't wait for the write up and T-shirt pics.

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  3. No tshirt this time I'm afraid. Ran out of days off to get it sorted, so i'll be going hipster to make myself a bit more noticeable!

    Blimey, yeah the poster. I'm going to stick it battle side showing on my wall of 40k

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  4. I'm really excited in your design. I can't wait to build it.
    babbit bearings

    ReplyDelete