Army Painter – John Blanche Masterclass Volumes 1 & 2
I was quite excited when the Masterclass Volumes 1 & 2 by John Blanche were announced, and I bought them as I like the Blanchitsu style we've seen over the years, and I already had a project in mind where I could put them to use!
This is not a review, but merely an unboxing. I am going to use these items for an upcoming project and will refer to this when people ask me how I painted the miniatures.
I previously treated myself to his Voodoo Forest art book, among others, and I even had the honour of meeting him in person at BOYL (Bring Out Your Lead) in 2023. He was responsible for much of the aesthetics of Warhammer and the Grim Dark. I loved his conversion pages in the codices and army books — I'll try to recreate some of these in my retro projects. These new paints would provide a great foundation for bringing some of these ideas to life. However, as I prefer the second edition of 40k and fourth/fifth edition of WHFB in their goblin green bases and 'red phase', a project that would really thrive on that palette is Turnip!
Star Wars Legion – ARF Troopers Unit Expansion
As part of the new releases from the AdeptiCon Roadmap, there are lots of new plastic kits, including the ARF Trooper Unit Expansion of the Galactic Republic for Star Wars: Legion.
The box contains eight miniatures: a Jedi Knight and seven ARF Troopers, one of whom is armed with an RPS-6 Launcher and the others with DC-15A blasters. The RRP is 55 USD.
ARF stands for Advanced Recon Force, and their squad is led by a Jedi Knight — a male Zabrak, similar to Agen Kolar or Eeth Koth.
The Star Wars games by Asmodee/Atomic Mass Games cover two time periods: both take place in the Star Wars universe, but are divided roughly into the Clone Wars era (22–19 BBY, or Before the Battle of Yavin) and the Galactic Civil War era (4–5 ABY, or After the Battle of Yavin).
It is not uncommon for tabletop wargames to be divided into different time periods; for example, World War II rule sets such as Flames of War and Bolt Action are also divided into early, (sometimes) mid and late war.
Age of Sigmar Stormbringer Magazine 68 to 73
The penultimate delivery for Stormbringer arrived last week! Including the premium bonus content. Amazing as this subscription started last year in January and it was surely a long run.
In todays unboxing we're covering the issues 68 to 73, with miniatures, terrain and some paints, but more on that further below.
The overview on the issues so far can be found over here, along with the detailed unboxings of older shipments as well:
- Stormbringer issues 01 to 03
- Stormbringer issues 04 to 07
- Stormbringer issues 08 to 13
- Stormbringer issues 14 to 19
- Stormbringer issues 20 to 25
- Stormbringer issues 26 to 31
- Stormbringer issues 32 to 37
- Stormbringer issues 38 to 43
- Stormbringer issues 44 to 49
- Stormbringer issues 50 to 55
- Stormbringer issues 56 to 61
- Stormbringer issues 62 to 67
Marvel Crisis Protocol – Inhuman Royal Court
Today, we will be reviewing the fourth box in our Marvel Crisis Protocol series: the CP166 Inhuman Royal Court.
This affiliation pack, CP166 Inhuman Royal Court, has an RRP of 64,99 USD and contains four miniatures.
As the Inhumans were not as prominent or successful in the MCU — they "only" had a TV series that was cancelled after one season — I would like to briefly introduce the Royal Court. They are the ruling body of the Inhumans, a genetically advanced offshoot of humanity created by the Kree. Residing in the hidden city of Attilan, the Royal Court governs their isolated and highly stratified society. Each member plays a unique role, balancing political, philosophical and military responsibilities, and protecting Inhuman culture and interests from outside threats.
If you have access to Disney+, you can stream the TV show there.
The set includes the following items:
Marvel Crisis Protocol – Guardians of the Galaxy
We've already shown you two Guardians of the Galaxy here: CP126 Yondu and Nova. Now it's time to cover the Guardians of the Galaxy Affiliation Pack CP222, which features three well-known Guardians and Cosmic Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider? Yes, but more on that later.
The CP222 Guardians of the Galaxy Affiliation Pack has a RRP of 64.99 USD and contains four miniatures from the Guardians of the Galaxy affiliation. The other Guardians are currently not available and are probably in schedule for a redesign (CP16 - Gamora & Nebula and CP20 - Drax and Ronan)
The set includes the following items:
Marvel Crisis Protocol – Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing
After Star Wars Legion and Star Wars Shatterpoint we jump to Marvel Crisis Protocol, who had their own roadmap introduced at Adepticon by Asmodee / Atomic Mass Games. In this case we have a double-feature and cover Yondu & Nova as well as Elsa Bloodstone & Man-Thing. But each in their own review, continuing with Elsa and Man-Thing.
The second character pack, CP186 Elsa Bloodstone & Man-Thing, is available for a RRP of 44.99 USD. Slightly more expensive than CP126, but we have larger miniatures and more content in here, which justifies this decision, but more on that within this review.
The set includes the following items:
Marvel Crisis Protocol – Yondu and Nova
For the next Marvel Crisis Protocol reviews, we have a double feature of character duos, starting with Yondu Udonta and Nova/Richard Rider. Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing will receive their own unboxing and build review.
This character pack, CP126 Yondu & Nova, is available for a RRP of 39.99 USD. Both heroes are probably best known for their appearances in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, but more on that below.
The set includes the following items:
Warhammer The Old World – Grand Cathay Battalion
We are pleased to welcome a brand new army to the Warhammer The Old World tabletop - the forces of Grand Cathay. Those of you who play the Total War: Warhammer Series know more about this than those who have stuck with the miniature game, which is why we are going to cover the battalion in a slightly different way.
Games Workshop sent us the Grand Cathay Battalion boxed set, which is available for pre-order from June 21st and will officially be released on July 5th, with an RRP of 145 EUR or 110 GBP.
But before we unbox the battalion and take a closer look at its contents, we want to introduce Cathay in a similar way to how we did it with the first two Old World factions:
Black Seas – Master & Commander Starter Set
Warlord Games is establishing itself as a major player in the world of naval wargaming. It started with Cruel Seas, which covers the coastal battles of World War II at a scale of 1:300, and has expanded to include the Age of Sail with Black Seas, which is also at a scale of 1:700 and accompanies Black Powder.
What better way to introduce someone to these new systems than with a proper starter set? They did just that with Strike Fast, Strike Hard! for Cruel Seas, and have now done the same with Master & Commander for Black Seas.
This box can be used as a two-player starter kit or as a large starter fleet for one player, as the ships are generic and can be used by any nation. The set includes the 96-page rulebook, nine vessels and lots of gaming material, which we will take a closer look at below. The Master & Commander starter set has an RRP of £59.
Star Wars Shatterpoint – Wisdom of the Council Squad Pack
As mentioned in the Outer Rims Terrain Battles Pack, we received several items from Asmodee from the Adepticon Roadmap for 2025. Among them were two Shatterpoint sets, Wisdom of the Council and Requesting Your Surrender. Today's review will cover the Council Squad Pack, which includes Jedi Masters and Padawan.
The SWP 50 Wisdom of the Council Squad Pack has an RRP of 49,99 USD and contains four miniatures for the game.
- Jedi Master Shaak Ti, Togruta
- Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, Cerean
- Ithorian Padawan Learner
- and a female Padawan Learner who can be built either as a Human, Zabrak, Nautolan, or Rodian
This squad pack is set in the Clone Wars era of the game.
The miniatures are all inside a single sprue, as well as the four 40mm bases. And we get a lot of game material in five (!) different languages - English, French, German, Polish and Spanish. This will be streamlined in upcoming products.
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