Chimps In Space

Although the magazine is the usual £1.50 for 80 pages this month it’s had something of a diet and is now the smaller page size that we know and love today. A whopping 30% of the magazine is adverts (including a competition for Predator, which had just been released) which is the 4th highest so far and way ahead of todays levels. That does of course se my rather generous “This is actually slightly useful” determination of if something is an advert. In fact modern issues would get rated as lower if they didn’t have the prices printed on the pages of new miniatures as they would have been ‘Eavy Metal pages back in the day. Anyway, I digress.

Along with smaller pages comes a new look and feel for the magazine, and it’s this one that I always associated with my glory days with the hobby back in the late 80s.

Culture Shock

Why has White Dwarf shrunk? It’s because the Dark Future and Blood Bowl books are that size and they want to have more cut out and keep pages of new rules. This is really annoying as issues that I’ve sourced from ebay quite often have missing pages because of it! Binders were soon sold as well and I have less than fond memories of of my 40k rulebook which had fallen to bits being kept in a binder and having to use those sick on reinforced hole strengtheners in order to keep it all under control. It was the same thing with the D&D had a similar nightmare issue when they started releasing their monster lists in binders. Now there was a problem waiting for the iPad to be invented. Interestingly they say that many gamers now buy two copies so they can cut one up and keep the other, which I really can’t see people doing today. Mind you whether they actually did back then either is another matter, I know I certainly wouldn’t waste gaming budget on two copies of the magazine.

Upcoming products include Adeptus Titanicus (few more days to go for us) and an Empires campaign system for Fantasy Battle. I wonder if that was Mighty Empires or if there was another product between them, I honestly can’t remember.

Illuminations

Colour pictures by David Gallagher

First Impressions

David Langford may be gone, but the new look book review column starts off with a review of a book with one of his short stories in it. David Pringle is behind the reviews now, in fact he was a commissioning editor for Games Workshop for several years working on their fiction side.

Advanced Maneuvers

Here we have it, the first cut out and actually fit with the rulebook pages for Dark Future. It’s an expanded movement set of rules for a game that I think would be forgotten if it hadn’t been in White Dwarf so often.

Rewards of Chaos

Another Chaos book is released, Realm of Chaos, and of course it has mistakes in it. Here we have some pages of cute cut out sections to paste over the book. Manual book patching, why do they never do that now? Oh yeah, because it’s dumb.

Three-Wheelers

Trikes for Dark Future. This makes it boring. Am I going to have to find a copy of Dark Future on ebay and have a play to find out if it’s any good? I hope not.

Extra Time!

Blood Bowl rules for cheerleaders and medics.

Norse

A new Warhammer Fantasy Battle army. As you can imagine there is a slight Viking theme.

Element of Risk

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay isn’t dead yet. In the meantime it steals pages from wargames. As usual it’s a monster article.

Chaos Renegades

Chaos Renegade army list for 40k. I was starting to think there wouldn’t be any 40k content!

Back then a Chaos list could include Ork henchmen. Bring that back!

Twenty-Four hours at Carik Mound

24 hour game of fantasy. For Charity.

Key # Now

A very out of place article about Shades, which was an online multi-user game set up due to frustrations with MUD. It cost 25p a minute on cheap rate, or you could get an annual sub for £79.95. Now this certainly isn’t the first and neither was it the most advanced, but it’s still one of those proto-MMOs that were around back then.

The question is why is it in the magazine at all. I can’t see the Games Workshop connection at all.

Letters

It starts with a note saying how Letters is sometimes dropped to make way for content. Nothing else of note really.

‘Eavy Metal

Dark Future cars and how to convert them.

New 40k Releases

• Harlequins. Range of 15
• Techmarine. No servo harness, he has to make do with a spanner.
• Imperial Assassin
• Space Marine Scout. I had always remembered these debuting with the plastics…
• Chaos heavy weapons. Now 11 models and 7 gun types including Grenade Launchers and Conversion Beams as well as the usual suspects.

Well this issue was almost a total washout for 40k, only being saved by having the Chaos army list. Far too much Dark Future and WHFRP for my tastes.

The first year is done, we are back to september and 40k has been out for a full 12 months. £1.50 again for 80 page we are back up to 22% adverts. Not that we mind because this month brings us some rather special things. The cover is of Eldar Harlequins.

Land Raider!

Screw the Rhino, what we really need is a proper tank. An early version of this has appeared in print last year, but this is the proper plastic model. History and rules for this classic tank which for many years was the most visually recognisable thing about 40k after beakie armour.

Illuminations

Colour pictures by various young artists

Critical Mass

David Langford is a bit closer to the start of the magazine again, but it sounds like he’s had enough…

Rocks Away!

Rules for the Goblin Stone Thrower in Fantasy Battle

Culture Shock

Summary of the 1988 Golden Demon finals.

Codex Imperialis

If the introduction of the Land Raider wasn’t enough for you then how about a revamp of the Space Marine army list? 12 pages of new fluff, organisation and rules for Marines. Librarians, Techmarines and Chaplains as well as Tactical, Assault and Devastator squads. It’s all looking rather modern all of a sudden and anybody today would recognise this as a Marine army.

Harlequins

Eldar Harlequins arrive on the scene with some rules and fluff.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Warhammer fantasy roleplay adventure

Chaos on the Pitch

Chaos for Blood Bowl in cut out and keep pages.

‘Eavy Metal

Dark Future models. Not the best looking models ever made.

Street Fighter

Pedestrians and small arms for Dark Future in cut out and keep pages.

New Warhammer 40k Releases

• Land Raider
• Chaos Renegades (now 18 models)
• Chaos Renegade Heavy Weapons (6 models)
• Chaos Renegade Slaanesh Riders (2 models, rectangular bases)

Well this is it, Space Marines as we know them have arrived. They have the vehicles to back them up and the  force chart is looking like the marines we know today. Needless to say this was an issue you just couldn’t miss.

£1.50 for 80 pages again, but I call foul on the number of adverts! It’s down to 17% but only because I can’t count the many pages of Eavy Metal that are counting as adverts! Not fair! On the plus side there’s an advert on the inside of the front cover for the Imperial Land Raider. Available late summer…

More Monstrous Regiments

More badly drawn banners.

Culture Shock

Stop sending models back because they’ve turned a strange shade of blue! Can’t remember ever seeing this myself, but they say it’s normal and doesn’t cause a problem.

40k Kickstart

Now that’s a reference to a UK kids show called Junior Kickstart that is long gone so you’ll be forgiven to not recognising it.

New bike rules to bring them into line with last month’s vehicle rules.

Ancient Spirits in Kislev

Warhammer fantasy roleplay stuff.

Chapter Approved

Imperial Robots. Now there’s a unit that has been lost to the midst of time, although hints of it exists still in the pre-crusade fluff. The interesting thing about these is that you had to program them before the game, and not in an interesting Robot Rally kind of way. These rules certainly need a try on the battlefield, if only for a laugh. They don’t look that fun. This a very hefty set of rules coming in at about a bazillion pages.

Realm of Chaos

The book has come. Chaos is here for fantasy battle and 40k!

The Colours of Chaos

‘Eavy metal painted models for Chaos. Words, pictures and a conversion guide for mutations.

Mutating Metal

Big, Strong and Stupid

Cut out and keep blood bowl rules for large monsters

Critical Mass

Poor David Langford is getting pushed back in the magazine it seems.

Portrait of a Highway Warrior: Redd Harvest

Fluff for Dark Future. It’s set in 1995 it seems. Don’t remembering that happening…

‘Eavy Metal Extra

What’s this? Strange shapes on the page? If I was to mark them out on plastic card I’m sure that would be interesting. Indeed this is the first of the famous Rhino conversion articles that actually game you the plans for doing it. The two variants are still functionally Rhinos but with a bit of creativity for the top hatches and fronts.

New Warhammer 40k Models

• Robots
• Emperor’s Children (5 models)
• World Eaters (8 models)
• Chaos Renegades (7 models)
• Space Ork Warriors (now 36 metal models)

Another important issue with handy rules for bikes and some very good modeling articles. The robot rules were long but next to useless on the battlefield if I remember rightly. Still, you would be hard pressed to argue that this isn’t getting towards classic Dwarf.

£1.50 again with 80 pages and an unchanged percentage of adverts this month. Dark Future on the cover. The contents page were printed in a nearly unreadable yellow!

This issue may just be one of the most important so far…

Culture Shock

A monthly adventure comic is on the way.

Vermillion Pawn

Warhammer fantasy roleplay encounter.

Critical Mass

David Langford on books.

Chapter Approved

The first big problem of this mad blogging plan is that this article has been cut out of my copy! Oh no, but luckily I have the 40k compendium that contains these rules (I checked with somebody else who owns a copy to make sure they are the same).

This is it folks, the biggy. Vehicles in 40k. The rules before had been slightly light, but now we can go full out because we have got our first tank. The Rhino is here!

It starts with a summary of the existing turning rules, which don’t change. Vehicles can turn either left or right for a portion of their movement. The example given is of a vehicle that can move 10″ moving forwards 3″, turn left through 3″, move ahead 2″ then right for the last 2″. Vehicles have an arc that has a radius of their movement for that turn. Ouch, that’s got to be painful to use in practice as you have to measure 10″ out at a right angle from the vehicle and then make the turn around that point, but it does give some nice speed/maneuverability considerations. Bikes can turn on the spot as well to any angle, but tracked vehicles can just pivot 90 degrees in this way. You can move backwards by only your acceleration value.

There’s also rules for how many weapons a vehicle can have, which is a lot more flexible than today.

We also get new damage charts.They are a lot more complicated than today but broadly similar.

Letters

Down to 2/3rd of one page…

The Long and the Short of it

Elves and Dwarves for Blood Bowl. What’s this? Indications you should cut out and keep these pages by a dotted line and holepunch indicators. That could become important over the next months…

On the Boil

Questions about characters and careers in warhammer fantasy roleplay.

Weapons of Chaos

Chaos weapons for warhammer fantasy roleplayand fantasy battle.

Crush, Crumble and Chop

Some war machines for fantasy battle.

‘Eavy Metal

Pictures of Rhinos and some conversions. One used plenty of plastic card to add a top turret and two side ones… We have out first predator conversion.

Iluminations

Black and white pictures by Carl Critchlow

Rampaging Rhino

Rules and history for the Rhino. Notes about STC templates, the fact that Orks have been known to loot them and even the Imperial Guard gets to use them. Hang on, is that the first mention of Imperial Guard? It’s followed by two pages of colour schemes for camouflage and various colours including codex grey.

Get Da Boyz!

Orcs and Goblins for fantasy battle from Warhammer Armies.

Warhammer 40k New Releases

• Rhino armoured transport. Box of three. £9.99
• Rhino Marines. 8 metal marines to hang off a rhino and poke out of hatches. £2.50 for 2 marines, an upper torso and a hatch converter.
• Eldar Artillery. Gun platforms. £2.50 for two guns and two crew.
• Squat Bikes. The classic squat trikes and bikes. £2.50 each.

Well there we have it, proper vehicles have entered 40k in a meaningful way. So far all but one army can use them (Eldar) and a couple of important bits of information has been dropped in along the way. We have Imperial Guard now for a start, which is a relief as Army just sounded daft to my ears after all these years.