Review - White Dwarf August 2017
Time flies when you're having fun. Feels like just yesterday when we were reading July's White Dwarf and BAM, it's August. This month's White Dwarf is special to me because it follows on the heels of my first love's codex, the Space Marines AND it's got an awesome painter's tool (more on that later) and the return of Index Astartes! For the uninitiated, Index Astartes was a White Dwarf feature that gave more insight into the various rites and operations of the Adeptus Astartes (aka Space Marines) and covered various first founding and successor chapters.
As usual, the first few sections detail the new releases this month (Aggressors & the Repulsor!!! Woot!!!) and there's a huge bunch of kits incoming (my poor wallet...) including the full multi-part kits for Intercessors, Hellblasters, Inceptors and the Primaris Chaplain and Apothecary which join the ranks of the true-scale Marine heroes. More importantly, it teases the upcoming Grey Knights and Chaos Space Marine Codexes which will be out in a week's time, making this the fastest release rate of Games Workshop Codexes ever.
Tactica Imperialis (the new Tactics feature beginning last month) is a bit disappointing this month as it only spans 2 pages and covers using stratagems, including some of the upcoming ones. With the addition of new stratagems in the Codexes, will we start seeing more troops being taken to fill up Battalion detachments for Matched Play?
The newly resurrected Index Astartes (much like the Primarch Guilliman) covers the Rites of Initiation (the creation of a space marine) and updates the old fluff to include the larger, more advanced, Primaris Marines. Following that is the cover feature, "The Birth of Angels", that talks about both the design of the Primaris models and their in-game use.
It's not all 40k this month though as Pete Foley talks about Tournaments for Age of Sigmar (AoS) in "The General's Almanack" followed by a 2v2 Battle Report between the Disciples of Tzeentch and the Warriors of Order. It's a bit of a mismatch but a fun read nonetheless.
Worshippers of the Chaos Gods also get a little treat in the form of "The Ultimate Guide to Traitor Legions" this month which is an 8 page feature of the Traitor Legions.
*Astral Hawks Veteran Sergeant done by Aidan Daly
An interesting (hobby-wise) feature of this month's White Dwarf is the Space Marine Challenge that the 'Eavy Metal team set themselves. The 'Eavy Metal team is the renowned Games Workshop team of miniature painters that paint the majority of miniatures you see on the box art as well as within the Codexes. The entries and small interviews done with the participants are pretty cool and allow you to gain some insight into techniques and kit-bashed parts used.
This month's Illuminations segment features grand, awe-inspiring vistas and artwork used for various multi-page spreads for Age of Sigmar. One thing I like about the transition to Age of Sigmar from Warhammer Fantasy is the potential for cool artwork and ideas as the new mortal realms opens the door for more exploration than the old single-world based Warhammer Fantasy universe offered. Also featured is an awesome piece by Kevin Chin which The Crossroads was able to meet up with for an interview recently (keep an eye out for that interview in the coming days!).
The Painting Masterclass feature this month got me super excited as a painter as it talks about colour theory and features a colour wheel (squeal)! And not just any 'ol colour wheel. It includes the closest approximations of GW colours on it as a handy reference!
The article goes through the basics of colour theory including complementary, analogous, triadic schemes, monochromatic schemes and case studies.
To wrap it up, we have a feature on Chris Peach's cool looking and heavily converted army of Hallowguild that was featured in last year's Armies on Parade and which has grown considerably since then. The Kitbash and Paint Splatter sections focus on converting a Dreadknight for the upcoming GK Codex and how to paint Grey Knight Terminators.
Although I'm a bit disappointed with Tactica Imperialis this month (though admittedly, there's only so much one can write about using Stratagems without revealing all of them in the unreleased codexes), the inclusion of an extremely useful reference in Painting Masterclass and the return of Index Astartes put this White Dwarf at a spot marginally better than lasts month's issue.
Verdict: 8.5/10