WHITE DWARF · MAY 2009
The Imperial Guard codex arrives with command squads, Valkyries and a three-battle commissar narrative. War of the Ring tactics, new skirmish profiles, vehicle modelling and a Chaos Lord masterclass broaden the issue.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
Mark welcomes the Guard release and its eagerly anticipated plastic aircraft. Three battles follow a commissar through different stages of his career. He also describes plans for a Middle-earth campaign linking skirmishes with larger formation battles. New rules and miniatures are presented as prompts for further stories rather than isolated releases.
The new codex combines the Guard’s background, regiments and army list in one volume. Troop and vehicle rules accompany a full-colour gallery. Its one-hundred-and-four pages portray disciplined human soldiers supported by enormous numbers and armour. The release notice establishes the publication that the later design feature explores.
Five plastic specialists can become a company or platoon command group. Alternative weapons, medical equipment and two banners support different roles. The pieces also blend into other Cadian kits. Spare components let the collector spread character and equipment across a larger army.
The Jungle Fighters gain a plastic command kit with specialists and numerous spare parts. New heads, weapons and long knives personalise the five models. Two banners allow company and platoon identities. Shovels and additional equipment can also decorate the surrounding force.
The plastic aircraft delivers troops quickly while providing covering fire. Alternative guns, missiles and rocket pods change its armament. Door weapons can be stowed or manned by separate crew. A substantial new flight stand supports the large model at a suitable flying height.
Small abhuman snipers carry equipment full of individual character. Telescopes and snacks add personality beyond their rifles. Their specialist shooting role complements the Guard’s ordinary infantry. The notice introduces Dave Thomas’s new metal figures as both practical soldiers and enjoyable painting subjects.
Three specialists connect the command squad to support beyond its immediate infantry. An Astropath assists reserve coordination, while naval liaison obstructs enemy arrivals. The Master of Ordnance calls down distant bombardment. Their metal models make those different institutional roles visible.
The psychic officer embodies a dangerous power distrusted by the troops around him. His service walks a narrow boundary between loyalty and damnation. Mark Harrison revisits an established Guard character type in a new sculpt. The notice emphasises the figure’s latent threat as much as his ordinary military affiliation.
A senior Commissar becomes a separate headquarters choice. Rich decoration marks him as a veteran of many campaigns. The sculpt communicates defiance and authority in the face of overwhelming enemies. Its introduction anticipates the named officer whose career provides the issue’s battle narrative.
The redesigned plastic walker can become either a Scout or Armoured Sentinel. Every weapon configuration is included alongside smaller upgrades. Four pilot heads support Cadian and Catachan collections. Jointed legs greatly expand posing possibilities, helping multiple walkers look individual within a squadron.
Two matching bundles support the Guard’s best-known plastic regiments. Each contains a command squad, twenty infantry, three heavy-weapon teams and a Sentinel. Their common structure provides different visual themes at the same collection scale. The notice presents them as starting forces or substantial additions to an existing regiment.
Martin Footitt’s Gretchin carry extra ammunition for their masters. Mark Harrison’s pirate characters explore a more unusual part of the Old World. A flamboyant human captain and undead rival represent different dangers at sea. The notice brings functional army helpers and narrative collector figures together.
The anthology gathers new stories about loyal and corrupted Marine champions. Deathwatch, Salamanders and Night Lords are among the featured forces. Their different loyalties let the collection explore both sides of the setting’s superhuman warriors. The notice identifies the publication without treating its external stories as magazine articles.
Calard faces greater responsibility after an invasion and his father’s death. His new knightly status offers little respite from threats to Bretonnia. A further terror soon challenges the land’s defenders. The notice continues his story through the duties attached to the title rather than only its prestige.
Three connected novels follow Justicar Alaric against Chaos. Psychic power and specialised training place the Grey Knights against the Warp’s worst creatures. The collected format provides a longer view of that continuing struggle. The notice introduces the omnibus as a character-led exploration of daemon hunters.
A short adventure accompanies the introductory Warhammer game. The story offers action and heroism within the setting’s dangerous world. Its accessible length is aimed at readers entering Black Library fiction. The notice connects the narrative to the familiar boxed battle without reproducing the tale.
The resin engine stands roughly sixteen inches high. Missile, laser and gatling weapons create a varied armament across the towering frame. The notice identifies its designers and points to Imperial Armour for the rules. Its focus is the scale and modelling presence of the kit rather than a new datasheet.
The giant Ordo Malleus commander is linked to the Siege of Vraks. His resin figure comes with an Astropath, sword bearer and exorcist. Those attendants express the different functions of an Inquisitorial retinue. The notice names the sculptors while introducing the character’s authority over the siege army.
The expansion gives attacker and defender markedly different army options. Deep-striking attackers can concentrate on elite and fast units, while defenders gain extra heavy support. New fortifications provide the physical focus of the invasion. The preview announces a cinematic format and forthcoming scenery without supplying the complete missions.
Robin explains how ordinary soldiers, massed armour and military discipline define the new Guard. Orders make infantry flexible rather than merely inferior versions of other armies. Combined squads and tank squadrons increase the scale available within ordinary selections. Regiment descriptions, designer recollections and a sample army connect those rules to collecting and background.
The aircraft’s printed profile includes armour, access points and transport capacity. Grav-chute deployment allows passengers to disembark after a high-speed move. Scattering or an impossible landing carries significant risk. The Vendetta is described as an alternative gunship configuration, while the page stops short of a full army-list entry.
Alan and Michael Perry trace the range from Aly Morrison’s early Imperial Army figures. Bomber jackets and Marine-derived helmet shapes precede the later regiment identities. Catachans and Cadians establish recognisable visual themes without simply copying historical uniforms. The designers stress translating archetypes into the distinctive forty-first millennium.
Company officers gather veteran specialists and institutional advisors around them. The feature links each support model to its broader military role. Numbered component guides then show the equipment in both plastic command kits. Banners, special weapons and medical details explain the range of possible builds.
Mat follows the game phase by phase to explain how movement establishes later advantages. Shooting can drive weakened companies back and spoil their charges. Heroic actions and Epic Heroes provide flexible ways to change timing or exploit a flank. Monsters and magic work best in support of the army rather than as isolated solutions to every problem.
Three magazine teams enter the doubles tournament with very different armies. The Kenrick brothers perform best, while the Tau and Eldar pairing eventually wins its final game after a difficult run. Reliance on Lysander exposes the Marine team when reserves arrive late. The report values the weekend’s opponents, preparation and shared stories alongside the results.
Each partner supplies a force capped at five hundred points. A headquarters and troop choice form the minimum core. The combined army must fill its initial elite, fast and heavy options before adding more. The event rules explain why the teams’ thousand-point lists differ from an unrestricted single-player army.
Andy Smillie treats tournament preparation as a puzzle built around the actual missions. Every selected unit needs a clear job and unnecessary upgrades reduce efficiency. Practice against varied opponents reveals where small changes matter. He combines a strong competitive aim with enjoyment of new armies and a weekend among friends.
The new models gain ordinary Strategy Battle Game options. Warriors of the Dead and Morannon Orcs can carry banners subject to the stated army limit. Eligible peoples can also upgrade warriors into hornblowers. A surviving horn increases the army’s Courage, giving the newly available musicians a distinct skirmish function.
The Elven hero controls elemental forces with Nature’s Wrath and Call Winds. Natural sixes on casting dice can return the spent Will through Wild Channelling. Winds push a target away and leave it prone. The profile gives several Elven armies a new specialist rather than importing its mass-battle abilities unchanged.
The Dwarf bodyguard chooses a particular hero to protect. When close enough to that hero’s combat, a free Heroic Fight helps him reach the threatened leader. Nearby Dwarves also reroll failed Courage tests. The complete profile turns the figure’s protective identity into movement and morale support.
The exiled Goblin builds influence through bats, spiders and Wargs. His courage supports those creatures and a modified Fury protects them. Enrage Beast greatly increases one animal’s power for a fight. A punishing hit afterwards makes that temporary strength costly, reflecting the exhaustion caused by his magic.
Amdur joins the Easterlings with heavy armour and an Elven-style blade. Killing an enemy hero restores spent Might. His presence also functions as a banner for his countrymen. The profile emphasises an aggressive duellist whose victories strengthen the surrounding force.
Elite royal knights gain a dedicated profile for the skirmish game. Heavy armour, shields and barded pureblood horses support their role as the king’s protectors. Expert Rider preserves their mounted proficiency. The entry lists the Rohan forces in which they may appear and the equipment included in their cost.
Three games follow a young commissar from a jungle evacuation to senior command. Catachans escape Necrons, Cadians break a Chaos defensive line and Vostroyans face Tyranids in his final battle. Each encounter demonstrates a different strength of the new Guard. The story ends with the officer killed by a Lictor, while the players reflect on orders, reserves and their changing fortunes.
A trapped Catachan force waits inside ruins for a Valkyrie. Fresh Necron units enter from the jungle each turn without normal Phase Out. Saving the commander earns victory, while evacuating another squad can salvage a draw. Aircraft availability and the inability to board immediately keep the rescue uncertain until the last moment.
Orders and small heroic actions keep the Catachans alive as the perimeter collapses. Demolition charges and Ratling fire thin the metal attackers. A late Valkyrie survives damage long enough to carry away the Command Squad. Von Blacke follows with the remaining survivors, giving the Imperial side its victory and the story a bitter confrontation with the rescued colonel.
The Guard must push a scoring unit into the enemy deployment area. A long battlefield and prepared Chaos defences make that advance difficult. Extra fast-attack choices support the assault, while defenders gain more heavy support. Restrictions on outflanking protect the perimeter from being bypassed too easily.
Massed artillery and coordinated orders begin dismantling the Chaos line. Von Blacke’s combined squad survives Berzerkers and bikers before resuming its advance. A clever Chimera transfer carries another scoring unit through the defences. Delayed and misplaced Chaos reserves cannot reverse the result, leaving a convincing Imperial victory.
Both armies defend an objective while trying to destroy opposing units. A secretly rolled mission adds faction-specific opportunities after deployment. Those bonuses can reward killing major threats, holding ground or advancing particular models. Random objective values and hidden goals make the final score more complex than a simple exchange of casualties.
Phil seizes the initiative and uses middleweight Tyranids to occupy the Guard’s firepower. Armoured Sentinels hold several broods in combat while vehicles break through towards the alien objective. A hidden Lictor kills von Blacke before his bold attack can succeed. Neither side completes its secret mission, but Tyranids win fourteen to nine.
A conversation with psychologist Ian Baker leads Jervis to consider remembered luck and player behaviour. Striking failures attract more attention than routine success. Good players exploit fortunate openings and recover from setbacks instead of abandoning their plan. Studio anecdotes and superstitions illustrate the discussion, which leaves Jervis curious enough to propose a further dice experiment.
Nick fits a plastic Empire commander to a metal Pegasus by adjusting the saddle area. Putty fills the remaining gap and a slate base supports the pinned mount. The unused ornate horse then carries a spare knight as a Preceptor. The paired examples turn leftover parts into a second useful character.
Chad and the studio personalise Guard vehicles through equipment, markings and altered silhouettes. A command tank gains aerials and extra armour, while a Sentinel demonstrates the new legs’ poseability. Aircraft and different regiment schemes illustrate varied approaches to camouflage. Chad’s extraordinary prototype Baneblade closes the gallery with a heavily mechanical personal project.
Chad combines the tank with accessory and Baneblade components. Aerials identify a command role while fuel tanks and additional plates suggest extended operations. Steel Legion grey-and-pale camouflage matches his other vehicles. Squadron stripes and campaign transfers finish the military identity.
The walker gains communications equipment for command or long-range reconnaissance. A Dreadnought base and ruined masonry show off the jointed legs. Matching camouflage ties it to Chad’s tank. The following examples compare other poses and explain company and squad markings.
Chris gives an ace aircraft a sweeping eagle-wing design using a paper template. Chipping and scorched engines show that the decoration has seen service. A second aircraft uses jungle camouflage and shark teeth. Modern helicopter photographs provide a reference without requiring Navy colours to match the attached infantry.
Mordian warning stripes, Valhallan angular camouflage and Cadian wilderness tones show how one vehicle family can serve different worlds. A Vostroyan Basilisk carries unusual red markings and a worn loading area. Tallarn equipment covers a transport prepared for long patrols. The gallery links paint and stowage choices to each regiment’s operating conditions.
Chad’s long-running Baneblade conversion imagines a Techpriest-built experimental tank. Bare metal expresses reverence for the machinery itself. A glowing plastic sphere becomes an unusual power source. A hard-wired servitor and unfamiliar devices fill the chassis with possible functions rather than a fixed published profile.
Joe turns the Games Day-exclusive Lord into a display model on a slate-covered plinth. Grey and white layers simulate reflective steel, then coloured glazes give the armour an arcane hue. Contrasting cloak surfaces and elaborate freehand gold show how the same controlled brushwork handles different materials. The guide includes both detailed recipes and an explanation of the non-metallic-metal method.
Joe plans the reflections for a frontal viewing angle before painting. Grey midtones are shaded down and built towards very bright edge highlights. Tiny white dots mark concentrated reflections. Purple and turquoise glazes tint the finished steel without replacing its contrast.
The horns lighten towards their bases to draw attention towards the face. Thin stripes preserve a natural surface texture before dark tips and damage are added. The shield receives carefully blended grey reflections. Fur and chainmail gain related but distinct finishes through pale grey, dark washes and selected bright details.
The explanation treats reflective paintwork as a pictorial technique applied to a three-dimensional figure. Planned light points determine sudden changes between dark and bright areas. Strong black-to-white contrast and environmental colour make the illusion work. Geometric diagrams and illustrated examples provide a framework that still requires practice and smooth blending.
The pale lining uses separately coloured recess washes before returning to light grey and white. The outer cloak blends blue into red along its surface. Khaki highlights are mixed with the colour beneath rather than laid across it indiscriminately. Related methods also paint bandages and the loincloth without making every fabric identical.
Joe sketches the ornate freehand decoration on paper before applying it to the finished armour. Leather brown and white become non-metallic gold with a dark outline. Grey edging suggests another metallic surface around the design. The helmet repeats that approach and receives the armour’s coloured glazes.
Small accessories reuse the larger model’s established techniques. Brown straps gain warm highlights, while progressively paler lines create wood grain on the axe shaft. The pouch returns to a cool grey sequence with a dark wash. The pendant follows the golden helmet recipe, preserving consistency across the smallest focal points.
Keith answers a reader asking about the White Dwarf’s large beard. A pale grey foundation receives dark washes before the midtone returns to the raised hair. White highlights can be built gradually or applied more directly. Care near the face avoids an artificial heavy outline at the beard’s edge.
Anja explains how intensive practice took her from a new painter to the studio team within a few years. She approaches each project individually while often favouring cool colours and unusual challenges. Her selected models combine reflective painting, detailed freehand and carefully themed bases. A varied gallery makes those preferences visible across fantasy and forty-first-millennium subjects.
Turquoise armour contrasts with ochre and yellow wings on one of Anja’s favourite projects. A purple-tinted grey complexion keeps the figure cool and unnatural. The sword uses simulated metallic reflections. Small red accents are unusual for her palette but tie several details together.
The diorama begins as a Christmas present and draws heavily on Plague Cart components. Its driver becomes a Necromancer with an Empire Wizard scythe. Zombies and even fencing reuse parts of the same source kits. Cool painting reinforces the unified undead scene.
The competition theme asks for a figure after the battle. Anja makes the base central to that story and chooses natural earthy tones. Muted greens contrast with bronze and silver armour. Freehand initials on the cloak add a final element of Imperial identity.
The resin Guardsman attracts Anja precisely because it differs from her usual fantasy subjects. Green and brown cloth sit beside rusted armour. Warm orange lenses provide a sharp focal point within the subdued palette. The result adapts her preference for controlled contrast to a different setting.
A changed helmet crest provides the only major conversion. Lacquered green armour complements dark blue leather and cloth. The sword’s non-metallic finish contrasts with the shinier body. The page revisits the miniature painted for issue349 as one of her personal highlights.
Anja chooses this studio figure as a favourite professional project. Cool blue and turquoise accents illuminate eyes, gems and the staff. A gold craftworld rune decorates the rear of the robe. Numerous smaller freehand symbols finish the cloak edge.
Anja recasts the familiar figure visually as a Dark Elf. Deep turquoise cloth gains a freehand design around its lining. Rich purple on the blade and belt complements that cool cloak. The project adds her interpretation to a miniature already popular among other painters.
Gaming clubs give hobbyists regular places to play, paint and discuss their collections. Some focus on campaigns while others practise for tournaments or host inter-club events. The feature describes starting a group around available friends and a suitable venue. School and library clubs receive particular attention as ways to broaden participation.
Rik and Matt visit clubs rewarded for sustained support of the wider hobby. Oxford and the Sad Muppets combine their meeting into an inter-club evening. Morley and Redcar show how school facilities support painting, scenery and games. Realm of Battle awards recognise organisation and outreach rather than only tournament performance.
All substantive release reviews, design features, printed profile updates, tournament coverage and event rules, three separate scenarios and battle reports, vehicle workshops, painting recipes, masterclass subsections, showcase projects and Frontline community features are indexed. The2005 Strategy Battle Game and2009 War of the Ring rules are distinct. Routine catalogues, calendars, directories, advertisements and referenced external content are excluded.