Forward march!

Our Horus Heresy campaign is set in a medieval world that has been influenced by some of humanity's technological developments - a peculiar mix of old and new, superstition and science. Although most battles are fought between the Loyalist and Traitor Legions, their campaign quest originally began as brothers-in-arms, collectively aiming to liberate Thracia Rex from a rebelling Governor and his insurgent forces. However, the timing of the galactic civil war was unfortunate, and the insurgency soon turned into an all-out civil war between humanity's finest.

For the first stages of the campaign all of our participants worked in co-operation against "non-player character" forces, more precisely the Thracian feudal guard as well as their alien and mercenary allies. To represent these detachments we've made dedicated models and vehicles, painted in the same palette and basing theme as our campaign board. We've had a really inspiring and relaxed approach with the militia forces with @wrhd_ollie, as we've just been crafting a unit here and there and completing the paintjob and basing in one sitting. Suddenly we've ended up with a small feudal guard army in our hands!

In the next posts we'll be showing some of the Feudal Guard units on our Instagram - hop on the Heresy train!

+++ Thracia Rex Feudal Guard Facebook Gallery +++

I am Kroot: The Surefoot Kabal

War Head's Kroot Mercenaries army was (like many others) a Ropecon project that we started way ahead of the main event in 2015. I think we spent around ten months planning the force, sourcing parts and models and finally building and painting the chosen units and their vehicles.

Our original idea was to create a rather traditional fieldcraft/ranger force to be used in combination with our greenside Tau Empire army, an uniform basing theme would've allowed them to be used as an independent detachment or as a part of a Tau army list. I however wanted to steer the theme to a renegade auxiliary force that would include darker shades and sharper edges - the moodboards included a lot of post-apocalyptic scenes, old and new Mad Max, some Gorkamorka elements, desert, pirates and a lot of scratchbuilding possibilities.

Army pictures and additional project musings in the War Head Facebook gallery below!

+++ I am Kroot: The Surefoot Kabal Facebook Gallery +++

Summer Landscraping

This is Ollie and Teemu for the past few weekends - a proper Servitor state of mind, slowly but purposefully planning and constructing new miniature scenery! We're only a few sessions away from being able to show you some new War Head tournament terrain and getting gaming events going again. Stay tuned!

Speaking of terrain building and miniature landscaping, these Chaos Space Marines are a prime example how some detailed basing can elevate (pun intended) an already cohesive force to another level of battlefield atmosphere. Here's a list of our "go to" basing elements in army building:

1) Cork or hard bark for crags and uneven surfaces. Watered down PVA glue underneath the primer helps preserve the fragile parts during gaming. Just use a modelling knife to remove any straight edges and lines and to break up the even surface texture in cork sheets to maintain a realistic look.

2) Texture paints. AK Interactive has awesome and affordable terrain pastes with which you can apply the basing material and its basecoat simultaneously. Ready-made effects such as Asphalt, Beach Sand or Muddy Ground can be a neat shortcut to shaping the lore and mood of your thematic army.

3) Grass tufts. A hassle-free addition to any bases and great for adding splashes of colour or tonal variation for contrast. I often go for slightly larger tufts and split these in two or three before attaching - one pack will last much longer! A slight drybrush or a matt varnish can help ground the tufts in the overall basing palette.

4) Pigment powders. Another great way of adding interesting hues and earthy look to one's basing game. These can also be applied to the models themselves to introduce additional narrative in the force - maybe they have already been patrolling for a long time? These can be fixed with pigment binder, isopropyl alcohol or varnish, but it's not a must if you brush them in the basing thoroughly and can live with a few specks of powder in your transportation foams.

5) Resin accessories. Details such as skulls, ruined statues, roots and more are available from Green Stuff World and are part of our usual assortment. Great for giving that extra oomph to your HQ choice or a special character!

As usual, shoot us a message or visit the store for technical tips and product ideas!

Ropecon-bound!

War Head is ready for Ropecon! We'll be around in Messukeskus as usual, enjoying the unique Con atmosphere again after couple of off-years. It wouldn't be a Ropecon without War Head's colourful Warhammer Classics Bazaar, but we've also got a treat for you -  we'll be having an open presentation for our feudal world terrain project. Come check out what went into the build and how Thracia Rex has been developed since for our Horus Heresy campaign!

"What does a medieval town look like in a science fiction setting? Dark fantasy merges into forgotten technology and ancient superstition in Thracia Rex, a feudal world terrain board created for Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy games. War Head's project took 15 months to be finished and the terrain was put into gaming use right away - the entire town and thoughts behind the project are now presented in Ropecon for the first time."

Our event preparations are in full swing and we're soon getting some of our store's product selection transported to the Ropecon venue. Especially the hobby accessories and certain miniature ranges in our assortment will for the most part be available from our booth in Messukeskus. This means that even if our webstore stock indicates a product is available from the store, it might be with us in Ropecon, and could temporarily not be available from the store in Hakaniemi. If you want to make sure something is in stock before your visit, please call us or send us an email, and we'll be happy to help out.

Thanks and see you in Ropecon!

Ropecon is usually a deadline for many painters looking to finish their armies in time for the tournaments.

This was the case for us as well, as we completed these two commission armies in time for the occasion!