Servitor Crusade: On the new 40k.

First post of a new blog, though I don't know that many people still read 'em. I decided to do one after posting a few miniatures on Face Book and having them generally well received. Hopefully it will serve as a bit of an impetus to convert and paint more miniatures.

This blog will discuss 3 main topics:

- Painting and Miniature Conversion.

- The tabletop and roleplaying games produced by the British company Games Workshop, particularly Warhammer 40k but also certain Old School games such as Warhammer Fantasy Role Play.

- Old School Roleplaying games and play philosophy.

Today we will look at some miniatures from the Games Workshop Dark Imperium Boxed Set with some plague bearers thrown in.

You can't fault the Dark Imperium boxset for value for money. I was particularly impressed that it contained a hard back rule book. I am still a little unsure about the scale difference that now exists between different marine models but I do think the sculpts in this box are of very high quality. I still have the blight drone and pox walkers to complete, the blight drone is very nice but I do feel that the pox walkers are a little over sized, I might use them in conversions instead.

On the whole I am a great supporter of what GW has done with 8th Edition 40k. I started 40k during the Rogue Trader era and my fondest memories of the hobby are from playing narrative war bands generated from the Realms of Chaos books. It is good to see the return of core rules that support more narrative play (power points and faction key words), my primary interest in 40k is in building models and war bands that support my conception of the 40k aesthetic. The 40k aesthetic advanced by John Blanche, Paul Bonner, Ian Miller, Adrian Smith and Jes Goodwin in their art and miniature painting is, I think, the main reason for the hobbies longevity and enduring appeal. Encouraging a wide variety of armies and play possibilities would seem an important step in allowing hobbyists to explore the 40k aesthetic.

In the current era I feel that the aesthetic is maintained by sites such has Iron Sleet, The Convertorum and Ex Profundis that produce really fantastic work on a regular basis.

I hope that the following models demonstrate something of my understanding of the 40k Aesthetic. Several of the models have very minor conversions, in the future I want to use this blog to explore original painting and conversion.