Road to Necromunda - Ganger

Not much of a gang without a ganger.

So I have last week's leader built, but what now? Well in the rules it is rather clearly written out that for every special gang member you have: Leader, Champion, Juve you must match with a ganger. With this in mind, I built a gang member to chill with the leader. Enjoy the video.

Not a huge amount of thought goes into the creation of my figures. It is very much, what looks cool at the time. The only thing I knew was I needed a rifle, but here I was left disappointed. No actual rifles in a handheld configuration! Yes, there is a shotgun, but where are the autogun and lasgun options? All you get is an autogun in a holster, seriously disappointing GW. With little options, I plugged that on, along with a stubpistol and dagger to help round him out.

I see this model as a supporting character, guarding long tunnels as the others move in. But also wise enough to be prepared for some close combat fighting.

Let me know what you think and as always thank you for stopping by.

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Audio Review 54 // Horus Heresy Strike and Fade/Honour to the Dead/Butcher's Nails

Loving these short Horus Heresy Stories. Not only can I listen to a few a week, but it also helps me get through some of the anthology books as well. Win, Win. This week I managed another three tales. Stike and Fade by Guy Haley, Honour to the Dead by Gav Thorpe and Butcher's Nails by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. This is a killer author line-up and I expected big things from them. So let us see if I was disappointed.

Title: Strike and Fade

Author: Guy Haley

Run time: 12 minutes

Fluff: In the aftermath of the Isstvan V massacre, a group of Salamanders survivors lay a trap for their foes, a group of unwary Night Lords on the hunt for easy prey.

Review: We head back to long-forgotten Istvaan and some survivors of the massacre. A short but fun story pitting the Salamander survivors against the hunting packs of Night Lords. We are quickly introduced to war fatigued teams that are on the edge of death and join them in a conflict against their hated foe. There is a lot to enjoy about this story, sadly the Nightlords aren't one of them. They seemed as deadly as an Imperial Stormtrooper, never hitting a single shot and just dying out in the blasted terrain. Where are the threat and dangers? These Salamanders had some serious plot armour on the side. But a great little fun story to kick us off.

Amazon Purchase Link: Strike and Fade

Title: Honour to the Dead

Author: Gav Thorpe

Runtime: 1hr 10 mins

Fluff: Action-packed audio drama set during the Battle of Calth.

As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius - the True Messengers - still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death. With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline...

Review: This was an enjoyable listen. Made more captivating by the voice actors. We got a bit of everything in this story, from striding loyal and traitorous Titans, Ultramarines blasting away traitor troops and the underused viewpoint of Imperial citizens.

I felt tingles at the use of a child throughout the tale and how different Ultramarines felt about citizens in general, this is truly a dark time. But the way they played off each other was spectacular and well-deserving of more audio time. Deep down I am hoping the Child appears in future Thorpe stories, but I fear for its future as he is on Calth. I also really enjoyed Ultramarines being true Space Marines for once, they kicked ass and for once came across as exciting. More please Gav Thorpe.

Amazon Purchase Link: Honour to the Dead

Now to the final short story...

Title: Butcher's Nails

Author: Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Runtime: 1hr 5mins

Fluff: Original Horus Heresy audio featuring the Primarch Angron.

The Primarch Angron: gladiator-king and Horus’s lunatic attack dog. Never having hidden his resentment for his brothers, he now carves a bloody swathe through the galaxy in the Warmaster’s name, with the Heresy providing a convenient excuse to indulge his love of brutal warfare. When they are tasked with a secretive mission alongside the Word Bearers Legion, the World Eaters’ violent tendencies soon attract the attention of Xenos raiders, troubled by the portents surrounding the Primarch’s berserk fury and his ultimate destiny as ‘the Blood God’s son’.

Review: I was excited about this title appearing. 1) I feel like the World Eaters are underrepresented in the series. 2) They are normally poorly portrayed by authors, who just make them murdering madmen and 3) Kharn, I love Kharn during the Heresy, he is a truly noble soul who in any other legion would have been a true legend.

But back to Butcher's Nails. This story is set at the onset of the Shadow crusade with Angron and Lorgar travelling to Ultramar space. We have an upset Lorgar who is annoyed as Angron attacks every world and rage-filled Angron who is feeling stifled by his brother. The true highlight of this tale is actually the way these relationships all play out. We could have easily seen the story swing two ways - 1) Angron and Lorgar fight ultimately destroying each other or 2) they go their separate ways weakening Horus's forces. Instead, we actually get a third option, 3) a threat that ultimately unites them and forms a bond between the two brothers...well done Eldar forces, and allows them to go and rampage through Ultramarine turf.

Amazon Purchase: Butcher's Nails

And great way to end these three reviews. These are all strong titles and I highly recommend picking these up. I was torn between a favourite, but out of the three, I feel Gav Thorpe's Honour to the Dead gets the top spot. Do agree? Let me know in the comments.

I hope you enjoyed it? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms that I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.

Book Review 153 // His Terrible Visage by Gary Kioster

My short story reading is continuing at a healthy pace. I am really enjoying the freedom of not having to worry if I like a story or not as I know it will be finished soon. This has to lead to me taking some risks I may have avoided, one example is trying out new authors. With this in mind today I am reviewing a new to me, author and his Necromunda tale. So let's go!

Title: His Terrible Visage.

Author: Gary Kioster.

I am straight up happy for a Cawdor story, my main love is House Delaque (check out my youtube channel for Delaque fun) but closes behind in the rankings comes Cawdor. A house completely devoted to the God-Emperor and living off the trash of the other houses. To me, they come across as the ultimate underdogs.

This story is to be read as a reintroduction to the Cawdor way of life. But updated to the all-new setting. It showcases everything I enjoy about them, from the trash picking to only needing the will and glory of the Emperor to keep them alive. Though great from a lore angle I did find the overall idea a bit straight forward and I fear it should have just belonged in the rulebook on the fluff pages. Interesting to lore fanatics but can be easily ignored for better titles.

As always I hope you enjoyed this review. Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details.

Looking for a great Necromunda read? Follow this Amazon link to Necromunda Uprising (yes I get a kickback lol).

Cheers to reading this.

Beer Review 163 // Peche Mortel Framboise by Dieu du Ciel

Is it obvious that I love Peche Mortel? It must be one of my most consistently drunk brews. I have at least 5+ a year of Peche and I can't see that stopping anytime soon. It is truly a delicious beer, so when I had an opportunity to get the 2019 pack I jumped at it. Inside I found the Peche Mortel Framboise and was instantly worried. I have a bad track record with fruit beers, especially raspberry so fingers crossed.

At 9.5% with coffee and raspberry, this beer is giving a lot. At almost two years old, I cracked the cap and poured. It is a crazy deep brown, almost black, opaque pour. The head did not hang around and fizzed away to nothing rapidly, leaving not much to look at or photograph. The aroma is delicious though, with raspberries shining through, closely followed by coffee and some sweet toffee. On the first sip, you are hit by the booze, but as the beer warms and your tongue gets over the 9.5%, you get some bold dark chocolate and some sweet molasses. The coffee is present in the finish, whilst the raspberry surprisingly has taken a back seat. The raspberry is confusing me as it is present in the aroma but not really the taste, so strange. If I was to guess I would have expected it the other way around. Shows what I know. This is definitely a smooth beer and very enjoyable across a whole evening, I do wish I had shared it though as a whole bottle of 9.5% is hard to do these days.

I really need to go buy some more Peche very soon. So maybe a Quebec trip is needed soon. As always I hope you enjoyed this review. Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details.

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Comic Review 157 // Karyn: Concrete Sky by 2000 AD

As I continue to dig through my comic backlog, I discovered this week's issue. It sprang out as a must-read for a couple of reasons. 

1.  It carries on the theme from a couple weeks back of PSI (See Janus Volume 2)
2. It has Vampires! It's October, it is Halloween.
3. I actually didn't like my introduction to Karyn, so I am hoping this will turn it around.

Karyn Concrete Sky Collection

A collection of four stories from the world of Judge Dredd. The cover shows an Angellic Vampire swarming over Karyn with screaming faces. This picture is stunning and gives me hope for the stories within so let's go!

Instant heartbreak as I open the cover and see the blocky black and white imagery from the Janus issue...

Story: Karyn: Concrete Sky

Writer: John Freeman

Artist: Adrian Salmon

Okay, let's get into the story, a solid tale for the title piece. The MegaCorp are rebuilding damaged mega-blocks and a team has gone missing, as the supervisor goes to investigate he discovers their corpses. Soon the Judges are on site, but this time it is the exorcist branch. A rarely seen team who fight the paranormal. Judge Karyn is also on hand and is met with sexism and aggression from these Exorcist Judges, but she ultimately discovers the truth that the head vampire is in fact an infected judge who went missing a while back. Turns out he has been aiding the Vampires in rebuilding Old New York. Here the story gets a bit dull, as we discover the Vampires are just basically buying time to flee the underworld. Which they succeed in doing. The artwork as I mentioned in passing is not to my taste, I find the blocky black and white too jarring and it distracts from what could have been an interesting tale. It is also hard to side with the Vampires, as they could have fled without the Judges ever finding them. I just find it all a bit hastily written towards the end.

Story: Karyn: Beautiful Evil

Writer: John Freeman

Artist: Adrian Salmon

Urgh! Another Salmon drawn piece. I can understand this art direction. Judge Karyn was meant to fill a void left by Judge Anderson leaving, but it seems like they didn't want to give her a proper chance. Freeman has written interesting enough stories, but the art is a fail for me. I can fully understand why it failed. In this short one shot, Judge Karyn is investigating a murder of African art. She soon discovers one piece in the collection contains a cursed spirit who kills along near the stolen stone. Soon she is fighting the creature before ultimately destroying the art piece. A very good one-shot story, let down by the art. If Karyn had got more of these she may have been popular, sadly that didn't happen. It also seems to be the end of the Judge Karyn arc for now as we move on to a new character.

Story: Cabal

Writer: John Freeman

Artist: Adrian Salmon

Okay seems like the whole issue to given over this duo. A new character has been created and it would seem a colourist has been hired. Straight up the colouring really helps, it makes me want to go back and try it on the Karyn stories. In this story, we once again follow the PSI Exorcist Squad as they battle demons. Whilst this is happening with have Judge Shenker discussing the Exorcist Squads' future within the department with Chief Judge McGruder. Overall a strange tale, it was definitely a set-up for a new series, but seems to have failed as the character of Cabal is never seen again lol. Not the worst story, but with a lack of follow up there are way too many unanswered questions. Colouring Salmon's work was the true highlight here.

Story: Judge Hershey: True Brit

Writer: Alan Grant

Art: Doug Braithwaite and Dave Elliot

A confusing add-on to the collection. So far it has been PSI-filled and now we get a random Hershey story. Plus side Alan Grant is taking the lead, backed up some great artists. In this story, we discover that Chief Judge Silver and the Council of Five are on the verge of signing an agreement with Brit-Cit only problem is Hershey is late for the signing. Turns out she is busy fighting an Anti-Brit terrorist group. Classic Mega-city story and the strongest piece in this collection.

Overall this collection is a hard miss for me. Can't get past Salmon's work. This is the joy of art, it either hits or misses. Let me know what you think of his art style if you have read these stories.

I hope you enjoyed the review? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.

Road to Necromunda - House Delaque - WTF am I doing?

Something a little new today. I have waited and waited but now seems to be the right time to enter the hive. That's right! Time to start Necromunda. I'm not sure how far down the rabbit hole I will go, but I had the urge to make some Delaques, so I dusted off the Rulebook and Gang War tomes, but honestly, I couldn't be bothered with the rules, so I just started gluing models.

I had this idea of Delaque's being akin to spiders and ultimately downright creepy characters. So as I was imagining how the boss would look I started to collect parts. I like the cane as a suggestion of age, but can use it as a shock maul, I wanted him bent over, he spent his prime crouching and creeping which has lead to the curved back. 

With these basics sorted it was time to glue. I hope you will watch and enjoy the video. If you can go over to Youtube and subscribe you would make this old spider happy!

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Audio Review 53 // Horus Heresy Shorts - Serpent/Riven/Veritas Ferrum

Tripleheader today! I am slowly working my way through a load of Black Library Horus Heresy short audiobook/dramas, I have collected over the years. Conveniently most of these also fall under the umbrella of Legacies of Betrayal book 31 of the Horus Heresy series. So I can at least save some money and not purchase that book hahaha. Let us jump into this triple feature.

Serpent by John French and read by Toby Longworth

The first of two shorts by John French. I have found his work in the past to be enjoyable, so I have high hopes. If I remember correctly I got this as part of the Xmas advent calendar bundle. It really doesn't push the series forward in any real way. But what it does give us, is a rare insight into the Serpent Cult of Davin. How this cult works and how corrupted they are. It is an interesting story to listen to if a fan of lore and knowledge, but not really needed.

Veritas Ferrum by David Annandale and read by Toby Longworth

So in theory this story came before my Damnation of Pythos review and follows the main characters from this tale, as they ventured into the Istaavan system. We see through their eyes the destruction wrought on the Imperial forces and ride along, as they make extremely hard choices like aiding their following legions when aid is asked for. I am surprising myself with how much I am enjoying the Iron Hand stories. I have never really been that fond of them, but I have to admit that I am finding them surprisingly enjoyable. It's a great story that I honestly wish I had done before Pythos. 

Riven by John French and read by Toby Longworth

My third and final tale for this review, see us still with the 10th Legion aka Iron Hands. Focusing on Brother Crius, who it would seem has spent time in jail with traitors. This is due to the Imperial Fists being over-cautious following the open betrayal of their fellow legions. To say he is pissed is an understatement. Soon at the request of Rogal Dorn, Brother Crius alongside a force of Imperial Fist head off in search of survivors in the void. Sadly for him, he discovers a dead Primarch and broken-spirited brothers. Once again another amazing Iron Hands story, full of heartbreak and pain, it also contained a great void ship battle that was worth the price of admission alone. I feel this is a great introduction to Crius and I really hope the Black Library team has allowed him to do more with him.

With this, we are done for today. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you take a moment to check out my social media channels and feel free to use the Amazon links to get your own copies. Thank you for reading.

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Serpent by John French

Veritas Ferrum by David Annandale

Riven by John French

Book Review 152 // The Birth of Hunger by David Annandale

Got a few short stories reviews incoming in the upcoming weeks. They are all from the Necromunda title Uprising by Black Library. Mostly release during the Dark Uprising game release they seem to follow a theme of making the rules seem exciting and interesting.

The first title in the series is The Birth of Hunger by David Annandale. This opening tale is only twenty pages long but God Damn! does it set the mood and make me crave more of Annandale's writing. It does a great job of introducing us to the all-new Corpse guild and the newest Necromunda gang the Corpse Grinder. This is a sticking and eerie tale following one man's descent into the ultimate horror of cannibalism. 

This is dark, seriously dark, even for the Grim Dark Future of 40K. It is so well written and captures everything that I love about the setting. This would be the story I recommend to friends to introduce them to the setting. It has really made me want to pick up the game, but can my wallet afford it?

Buy the book: Amazon.ca Link

I hope you enjoyed it? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms that I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.

Beer Review 162 // Double Jutsu by Bellwoods Brewery

Welcome back to another day of Bellwoods. I can't express enough how much I enjoy their brews. They are so consistent that you know what you get will not disappoint. It may not always be a winner but it never disappoints. So I am pretty excited to be once again enjoying a Bellwoods beverage.

Double Jutsu by Bellwoods is of course a DIPA, clocking in at 8% and coming in the classic Canada tallboy 473mL can. The beer pours a bright opaque yellow, with a lively white head that hangs around, which is always nice to see. The aroma coming off this beer is packed full of peach and orange, it smells juicy which is wonderful. The taste is as expected, a bold, rich, juice-filled, big citrus hit of orange and lots of peaches as it warms up. I am surprised by the low bitterness level on this, it is extremely easy to knock back a can which is dangerous.

I am sure you can guess I rate this beer highly. If you get the chance to enjoy it, please do! Grab a pint, sit back and enjoy.

As always I hope you enjoyed this review. Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details.

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Comic Review 156 // Bad Manners by John Wagner and 2000 AD

I love knocking some titles off my TO BE READ pile of shame. This comic was brought over to Canada nearly 6 years ago and has sat waiting to be read ever since. Bad Manners collects three stories together tracking the final year of Judge Manners career. It tracks how the Justice Department s flawed in many different ways and shows the cracks appearing in a broken system.

The short series starts with the title piece Bad Manners. All the stories are written by John Wagner so you know you are in for a ride, but damn is this a dark opener! We follow a Juve who unluckily for him cross path with a Judge who is handing out a harsh side of justice. Soon this Judge is terrorizing the Juve and beating the crap out of him. Fearing for his life whilst still believing in the Justice Department the Juve reaches out to Judge Dredd for help. Unfortunately, Judge Manners discovers the call to aid and frames the Juve as a drug dealer, killing him in a failed arrest attempt. The artwork by John Burns is beautiful and really adds to the dark moody feel of the piece. This is a great opener.

We follow this up with a title called Flippers, once more John Wagner takes the lead, with the artistic skills of Wayne Reynolds. Before we get fully into this tale I should mention that Judge Manners is a bit of character in this story. He has at best five lines but does continue to show his character and a Tech Judge is becoming suspicious of his story. But with Judge Dredd around you know something will happen. Instead, this story follows a pair of judges who have taken their teamwork to the next level. Having discovered a child is on the way the pair attempt to steal money and flee, but sadly they are caught by Judge Dredd, moments from freedom. Overall a good story, interesting to see that Dredd really was obvious to them right up to the end. If they paid more attention to the world around them they may have escaped.

The final tale of this collection is called Rotten Manners - written by John Wagner and artwork by Paul Marshall. Once again Judge Manners has crossed paths with Dredd. With Manners being reassigned out of his old sector for unproven excessive use of force. Whilst on a routine patrol Manners discovers a guy handing out democracy fliers and gives him a beating, unknowingly leading to the perps death. As the case is discovered, Dredd remembers Manners being in the area and finally calls him for his corruption. Facing a one-way trip to Titan (a Judge Prison), Manners chooses to face off against Dredd. In an interesting turn of events, Dredd refuses to fight Manners, not wishing to grant him an easy way out. But as Manners draws his gun other Judges in the area gun him down, bring the reign of Manners to an end.

Overall this was a great read! It shows how all the perfect qualities of a Judge are actually only a short step away from a sociopath. It shows how the fear of the Judges can affect everyday people and worst of all it shows how those with the most power can abuse the system to the extreme. I feel this is a very valid view point of justice in general and shows the continuing flaw in the system.

I hope you enjoyed it? Feel free to comment below or seek me out on one of the many social platforms that I hang out on. Here is a quick LINK (Solo bio link) to my details. Cheers to reading this.

Miniature Monday // Oldhammer Spitgun Suzi

Something a little different today. I am painting up a 1980's 2000 AD Judge Dredd RPG miniature produced by Games Workshop. Titled Spitgun Suzi this model came in three styles. A long-barreled rifle, a shorter barreled version (this model) and a pistol corrupt version. As you can see there was no real attempt made to make them look different.

I decided to paint my version up to fit in with my local Block Gang the Blood Pact, hoping she will blend into this rough and ready group from Sector 102.

This was filmed on my new Sony ZV-E10 camera and is a part of my Adventure with Peps blogging: Solo Link to all my socials. As always thanks for watching!