Forge World Newsletter #243: Ramming speed Mr Worf!!!!!!

[MC Tic Tac]

Hi There,
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
Caestus Assault RamThe 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.

Space Marine Infantry Upgrade Sets Available to Pre-Order Now:


MkIII 'Iron' Armour Set
Mk III Iron ArmourThe 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.

Umbra Pattern Bolter Pack
Umbra Pattern BoltersThe 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.

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.

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.

Following last weeks' update to the Death Korps Army List, we received lots of questions from you and so we have compiled this free FAQ to help answer these. Thanks for all your queries and please keep them coming!
We have also prepared a parallel update to the Imperial Armour Volume 5 Renegades and Heretics army list that you can find here, again it's a completely free download for you to enjoy.

LInk to the Caestus Assult ram Experimental Rules:
[url]http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/c/caestus.pdf[/url]

So all SM can have a Storm Raven now, but better!!! Poor old Blood Angels


MKIII Iron Armour:
[url]http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/MK-III-IRON-ARMOUR.html[/url]

Heresy Era Special Weapons
[url]http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/SPACE-MARINE-SPECIAL-WEAPONS-PACK.html[/url]

[BlackKnight15624]

After I JUST finished painstakingly converting MkIII marines and rummaging around in my bitz box for Rogue Trader era weapons, they release this. I'm mad. And yet extremely ecstatic as well.

[Shotgun Justice]

holy boarding action Batman!
This was a special friday, I may still be in the office at 7.15pm but wow that has woken me up!

The Caestus is the [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KUJE2xs-RE#t=0m48s"]BOMB[/URL]

The rules are exceptionally exciting, it could perhaps do with an increased transport capacity of 1 (or 2) to allow a character to lead the squad but other than that happy happy joy joy.

The rules conjur a beautiful image of it engaging afterburners, melting a hole through a hull at the same time as smashing through, immediatley unloading the firefury battery, seconds later furious angles of death disembark bolters screaming.

[MC Tic Tac]

The rules conjur a beautiful image of it engaging afterburners, melting a hole through a hull at the same time as smashing through, immediatley unloading the firefury battery, seconds later furious angles of death disembark bolters screaming.

Well thats the idea!

But all SM chapters can use it, and IMO though a bit more exspensive its better than a Blood Raven, faster too!

[Dr. Doctor]

The Caestus is in my opinion what a SM skimmer transport should be, it kind of looks like a mix of a land raider, land speeder and thunderhawk with a little WW2 landing craft thrown in for good measure.

[DrLove42]

Hey, this is what they wer ein the concept art stage of development at the Forge World Open day a few months ago. Looks better in the model than the artwork did...

[codiddy]

looks pretty sweet!

[Nabterayl]

What's the link to that Renegades and Heretics army list update?

[gwensdad]

If those mk3 marines are fully compatible with the "regular" marines, I'm tempted to get 10 mk3s, 2 tactical boxes, and then mix and match parts.

Or wait for the mk4 and mk5 kits and mix and match with "modern types"

[DrLove42]

Am i the only one who thinks that from the side it looks like a dogs skull, without the jaw bone? Long snout, 2 eyeballs and ears...