Forge World: Pre-Heresy Space Marines and more

I'm not going to bother much for words with pictures and commentary from Ead Brown below. The newsletter can be found here with some discussion here...

At last your wait is over! As you know, we've been whetting your appetite over the past few weeks with some exclusive sneak peeks and in this Newsletter we can proudly announce the first wave of our fantastic new Space Marine releases, with an array of full resin kits that are now available to pre-order. We've also got an FAQ on our recent Death Korps army list update and Experimental rules for you to download. Read on to find out more!

Thanks, Ead Brown

Space Marine Caestus Assault Ram

The speartip of our Space Marine releases is the intimidating Caestus Assault Ram. This hulking full resin kit, designed by Daren Parrwood, is armed with a devastating Magna-Melta, designed to carve through the hull of a mighty star ship, and wing-mounted Firefury missile batteries, capable of unleashing a storm of deadly micro-warheads in the seconds after an assault has begun. As you can see here, the Caestus is an intimidating behemoth of a miniature - measuring 9.5" long with a wingspan of 10" - that dwarfs even the might of a Land Raider with its ceramite-armoured bulk.

Assault Rams are void attack craft, intended to participate in close-range space boarding actions, that can also act as drop-assault vessels for direct orbital attack. There are many patterns of Assault Ram in use across the Imperium, but among the Space Marine Chapters, the multi-role Caestus is the most commonplace. Smaller than either the Thunderhawk Gunship or the Shark-class Boarding Torpedo, the patterns' chief advantage is its speed and phenomenal durability which make it a highly resilient assault craft, even in the most fire-swept landing zones. Compact and heavily armoured, the Caestus Assault Ram is designed to survive direct collision with an enemy, leaving only ruin in its wake.

The Caestus Assault Ram is available to pre-order for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd, and as an added bonus, experimental rules for this devastating attack craft are available to download here, fresh from the keyboard of Imperial Armour writer Alan Bligh. This isn't a cheap miniature coming in at 92 pounds... so using it as a count-as Storm Raven may not be so practical.

MkIII 'Iron' Armour Set

The first of our new Space Marine armour sets is this fantastic MkIII Armour Set sculpted by Will Hayes. The full resin kit provides enough parts to build 5 Space Marines in MkIII 'Iron' Armour, including two different sets of legs, shoulder pads, arms, torsos and helmets. You can see these here, along with a gallery of photos showing examples of how these brilliant parts can be combined with plastic Space Marine kits.

The MkIII 'Iron' Armour is a variant of the previous 'Crusade' pattern adapted with additional armour plates to the front, as well as a reinforced helmet faceplate and strengthened vambraces for the savage firefights of fleet-based boarding actions. This extra armour turns an already resilient Marine into an almost unstoppable juggernaut within the cramped confines of a ship. This detailed kit can be pre-ordered for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd. Not as expensive as the Assault Ram at only 20 pounds... but it is only 5 Space Marines. They aren't just any Space Marines! They are Pre-Heresy Space Marines.

Umbra Pattern Bolter Pack

The Umbra Pattern Bolter Pack is the first of a range of Weapon Packs that we will be announcing over the next few weeks. Like power armour, the sacred Bolter of the Astartes has undergone various design changes over the millennia, and the Umbra pattern first saw use during the latter years of the Great Crusade, produced in huge numbers to ensure that the Astartes were constantly supplied with effective firepower.

Click here to view a gallery of close-up shots of the parts and accessories supplied in this pack; veteran hobbyists will see shades of the venerable RTB01 box in the design of these fantastic accessories. The Umbra Bolter Pack, designed by Will Hayes, contains 10 detailed weapons and optional bayonets, and can be pre-ordered here for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd. At 10 pounds it doesn't work out so bad. Especially when you notice the awesome looking chainblades.

Space Marine Special Weapons Pack

The second of our new weapon sets is this fantastic Space Marine Special Weapons Pack, sculpted by Phil Stutcinskas. Each Sergeant is able to freely select his squads' armament for a given mission, and the Chapter Armoury contains many weapons that are ancient and sacred relics - patterns of weapons long since replaced by other designs that are nevertheless maintained diligently. This Weapon Pack contains 2 Flamers, 2 Meltaguns, and 2 Missile Launchers complete with arms, reminiscent of the venerable Rogue Trader-era miniatures fondly remembered by veteran hobbyists, and perfect for adding variety to your squads.

These weapons are compatible with the full range of Space Marine units available from Forge World including our new MkIII 'Iron' Armour. The set is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week beginning August 23rd. At only 9 pounds this is a real bargain. This could possibly be the cheapest way for a Space Marine player to easily get multiple missile launchers for units like Long Fangs, Sternguard and Devastators.

Additional Web Content Now Available

Since the launch of the new Forge World website we have received many queries about what had happened to much of our additional content - well worry no more, because many days of painstaking work has come to fruition. As you may have noticed, the image galleries in our Online Store are gradually being fleshed out, and the Downloads section has returned, complete with several updated documents for many older Imperial Armour books.

New Forge World Catalogue Now Available!

Our new 2010 catalogue is available now, and we are putting the finishing touches to a new Catalogue Supplement that will feature all of our most recent releases. If you would like a free copy of the Forge World 2010 catalogue, or the new supplement, please send an e-mail with your name and full postal address to forgeworldcatreq@games-workshop.co.uk