December Update

December is about over and in a way I'm glad. While it was a GREAT month, it was a busy and stressful one. I wasn't able to get much reading in and as a result, after more than a month, I'm still only half way through Fulgrim. Which is a shame because it really is that good.

For Christmas the only 40K related thing I got was a squad of Grey Knights, which is perfect as it is exactly what I needed for my next step in my GK Army! Hopefully in the next week or two I'll have an opportunity to start painting again and can share my progress with everyone.

Until then, Happy New Year!

What happened to November?

Just an update for those who read my blog. November has been extremely busy with changing jobs, school, holidays and life in general. I have managed to get in a few more games since my last battle report, all learning games and resulting in either defeat or ties. I am definitely getting more comfortable with the rules and how things work though, which has been my ongoing goal lately.

I took a break from the 40K novels to read a couple other books on my shelves, though I am currently back on track with the Horus Heresy, with Fulgrim. I was also contacted by Pat from the 11th Company and while we missed our initial meeting due to family matters, in the near future we'll be meeting up to do an interview for the 11th Company podcast and possibly a book review or two.

Last but certainly not least, my newest short story was published by Open Casket Press, in the anthology Horror Carnival. I also have my own Amazon author page now! This next month, December promises to be a busy one with photo work for my business, getting used to the new job (and continuing to look for more gainful employment unfortunately), the holidays and final exams in school. I am looking at a couple projects within the Alabama 40K community in the new year though, so stay tuned for that. More posts will be coming probably at or around the holiday as I get some of my time back after finals. Until then!

My first Battle Report: Space Marines vs Grey Knights

The Battlefield

            Battle scars littered the edge of Forge City Refin. Buildings torn apart in the south overlooked the plains, littered with gunship debris, craters and what was left of the natural rock and forested landscape, of which only a couple patches remained. Dead north was the last rock and concrete Bastille of the renegade Space Marines. Coming from the Northwest, the last company of the Forgotten Champions made haste as the Grey Knights strike team landed.

            In the Northwest, Captain LeMarty of the Forgotten Champions, ordered his Terminator squad to the Eastern rock formation, knowing that under it led to the secret tunnels under the devastated city and led it, while ordering one of his tactical squads to lay down covering fire from the rock formation in the Northwest. He sent his other Tactical squad due South and into the city, hoping to bring cover fire to bear and secure a cache of ammunition left in a building there. He ordered his Assault Terminator Sergeant to take his squad and head for the Bastille, seeing that a squad of Grey Knight Purifiers headed towards this key area.

            Using the Bastille as cover, the Purifier squad quickly scaled the rocks to it, while their Brotherhood Champion, Castellan Crowe headed along the East face of it to provide covering fire for a Terminator squad heading towards the natural rock formation in the East. Meanwhile the dedicated transport of the Purifiers, a Razorback, skirted the edge of the city in the South, heading to delay or cutoff the tactical squad heading there.

Round One

            Knowing that timing was of essence and no clear fire lanes presented themselves, the Space Marines made haste towards their goals. The Razorback going at combat speed along the edge of the city took a pot shot at the Assault Terminators seeking to route out the Purifiers, who continued to climb up and into the Bastille. A terminator fell to the Psybolt ammo of it’s heavy bolters. The Grey Knight Terminator squad continued towards its destination, while Crowe fell back to provide covering fire for the Purifiers.

Round Two

            Still running towards their individual destinations, the Space Marines were annoyed and ready for battle, as no targets presented themselves. Believing the Grey Knights to be falling back because of being outnumbered two to one, they were anticipating the bloodshed to come.

            The Razorback continued at combat speed towards the Tactical squad heading towards the city and firing on the move, brought down a Tactical marine who was too slow to duck and cover. Meanwhile, Crowe having taken cover in a crater shot towards the Assault terminators with no effect. The Terminator Squad, secured the opening to the tunnels and waited for the clash of the incoming Terminators.

Round Three

            Howling in their fury, the Assault Marines finally reached their prey, only to lose one of their number to the Cleansing Flame of the Purifiers and another one to a Nemesis Halberd before they even swung. The Purifiers lost one of their numbers. The Tactical squad heading towards the city made it to the building and took up defensive positioning, while the Terminator squad led by Captain LeMarty closed in on the Grey Knight Terminators who were still under cover.

            Crowe left the crater, heading towards the Grey Knight Terminator Squad, but slipped and fell in the uneven ground. The Grey Knight terminators scaled the rock formation to deny easy access to themselves and to ready a counter attack, while the Purifiers struck back with a vengeance, killing yet another Assault Terminator, without losing one of their own. The Razorback, without a target sped up to cruising speed and popped smoke.

Round Four

            The Assault Marines continued their assault on the Purifiers, now down to only two members and while the clash was mighty, the remaining Assault Terminators fell. The Terminator squad finally came into visual contact with the Grey Knight Terminators, but was ineffective in their shooting and out of range for the assault. Both Tactical squads hunkered down in their individual locations, with no enemy in sight.

            Meanwhile, with the Assault Terminators down, the Purifiers went to the East side of the Bastille and sighting the regular Terminators to the East opened fire. The Psycannon barrage of fire was impressive, but nothing connected. Crowe, picking himself up left the crater and continued to make towards his own Terminators, while the Razorback moved into position to get a firing solution on the Tactical squad in the city – but was unable to connect. The Grey Knight Terminators fired down and into the oncoming Terminators and found one mark and then risking the terrain, charged into them with full force. Terminator against Terminator, but only the sounds of combat, no fatal screams were to bless this field of battle.

Round Five

            The renegade Space Marine Terminators, glad to be in assault with the Grey Knights found nothing to kill, while the same held true for the grey Knights. The clash continued, even as the Grey Knights struck back, standing toe to toe, each not giving an inch, or a life. Meanwhile the Purifiers raced to the West side of the Bastille to find a firing lane towards the Tactical squad in the Northeast, but their range was just too short to be effective. The Razorback slammed into the ruins of the other tactical squad, unleashing the heavy bolter, but was unable to connect.

Round Six

            The clash of the Terminators continued, with the renegades finally losing one of their number. The rest of the battlefield waited with anxious breath to see what would happen, the Razorback being assaulted but to no avail. Crowe, caught up in communication with support from orbit, stood his ground and when the razorback backed out of the ruins, caught one of its tracks, leaving it immobilized.

Round Seven

            The clash of the Terminators continued, finally bringing the squad down to only one Terminator and the Captain. While the Terminator ran, the Grey Knights surrounded the Captain and cut him down.

Winner: Grey Knights

Current Status of my Grey Knight Army

HQ: Castellan Crowe 150 pts.

• Still needs painting and assembly.

Troops: 5-man Purifier Squad 146 pts.

• About 75% painted.
• 2 Psycannons, 3 Halberds
• Razorback with twin-linked Hvy. Bolters, Psybolt ammo 50 pts.

Troops: 5-man Terminator Squad 250 pts.

• About 75% Painted.
• Subbing in Apothecary for Terminator w/Warding Stave.
• 1 Warding Stave, 1 Brotherhood Banner, 1 Hammer, 1 Halberd.

Total 596 points.

Book Review: Salamander

If I wasn't already a fan of the Salamanders Space Marine chapter, I would be after reading the first book in this triology. An outstanding tale of Space Marine brotherhood, with insights on how Space Marine chapters react to each other when they aren't immediately known to each other and a ton of lore for the Salamander fan.

Rich in detail, character development and story, this is a worthy title in the Black Library line of Space Marine books and has me ever more excited about this great chapter.

Book Review: Flight of the Eisenstein

Excellent book! The action, emotional quality and character development in this book supercedes or is compatable to the series before it. I was previously a fan of James Swallow with his Blood Angels Omnibus, but this work elevated him even further in my enthusiasm for his stories.

The book concentrates itself around the point of view of one central character - Nathaniel Garro, a member of the Death Guard and his escape from the Istvaan masacre and bringing the message of Horus's Heresy to Terra. An outstanding tale and my new favorite in the series.

WIP: Grey Knights Razorback

A tad crooked and not perfect, but I am happy with the results of my first Razorback - heck any 40K vehicle. A lot of painting still to do on it and some more assembly, but it's getting there!

Book Review: Galaxy in Flames

Where Horus Rising excelled at character development and False Gods pushed the plot forward, the strength in Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter was in the detailed action and combat scenes. It was difficult for me to get into this book for the first 40-50 pages but I am glad I slogged through them, because it turned out to be an awesome action-filled combat book. Much as movies like Saving Private Ryan brought World War 2 to gruesome life, so did Galaxy in Flames did for the Horus Heresy and the battle of Isstvan III.

It is a toss up for me on which book I liked better so far - Horus Rising or Galaxy in Flames. This book was all about the combat and the detailed battle scenes were second to none. All through these first three books of the Horus Heresy, you can't help but wish that the Warmaster would change his direction - though as a player we already know the answer to that.

Well written, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and learning more about Garro. The Flight of the Eisenstein is also by James Swallow, who wrote the Blood Angels books and my favorite series (Blood Angels Omnibus) that I've read in the 40K Universe up to this point.

Newb Army A.D.D. Update

Since determining that I would be focusing on building two Space Marine chapter armies and combing them as I built each up, I've finally decided on which chapters.

I am thinking of going with a White Scars army and a Salamanders army. While still in the developmental phase and potential army list building, I'm looking at a Fast Attack army for the White Scars, focusing on bikes and Drop Pod Assaults and the Salamanders focusing on heavy support and a mechanized force.

I'm also seriously considering bringing in a Veteran Squad in either or both armies of Deathwatch to add some extra firepower and flavor to the armies. I haven't decided which or both yet to include them in. Again, all of this is just developing concepts.

I am pretty sure about the Salamanders, but the White Scars is still out for debate, even if an internal one. The other factor is since it is possible that the next edition will be out by then, I might see what is in the box set like with Assault on Black Reach and make a decision then that may affect the second army. Rumors have it that it will be completely Xenos and Chaos versus Eldar or something like that, but I'm in the camp that it doesn't make sense, as Space Marine armies are too successful to GW for them to drop them but of the edition starter box, but we will see.

Book Review: False Gods

False Gods pretty much takes up where Horus Rising left off. The shift to Chaos is a pretty quick and slippery one, though you can see that the setup for such a fall took a long time to setup. False Gods has a quicker pace than Horus Rising and I found myself getting worried for a couple of the characters. How it all ends up I suppose we will find out in the next book Galaxy in Flames.

Overall I think this book was on par with Horus Rising but because the pace seems quicker, there is a loss of character development that Dan Abnett worked hard on setting up. It's not that there isn't any character development, it's just not as in depth as in Horus Rising. Still, I am very much enjoying the story of the Horus Heresy.

Couple photos from 'Ard Boys Semi-Finals at Bud's Place

Only a couple of photos of models that were present and a store pic.

Newb Army A.D.D. Part 4

As discussed in my last post on the subject, I like the idea of building two armies at once and thus leaving me with 3 armies to field when they are done. Granted this means it won't be until late 2012 at the earliest and realistically into 2013. This means that both Dark Eldar and Blood Angels have been pushed off the shelf - for now. I definitely want to play these armies in the future, but since this is the harsh arena of process of elimination, they are gone. For now.

This leaves the choice of building a Chaos Space Marines and a Chaos Demon army together, or building two Space Marine armies together. So which two do I go for? Some things to consider:

• I already have or will have a Grey Knights army. In both of my options I'm still playing around with Space Marines, though in one I can also play with Demons.
• Space Marines armies are a dime a dozen, but building them is usually cheaper (according to some).
• 6th Edition will be out by the time either of these choices are built. Can probably count on these both being updated to 6th edition by the time they are built with new codex's.
• Both have great support through Forge World and GW shows them all some love.

In the very long run, I expect I will have several armies. So no matter my choice, no matter the armies I've already shelved, I will eventually get around to the ones left behind. I am very drawn to the lore and fluff of the 40K universe and very much into the hobby aspects of it as well. This logically means that as I go forward in the hobby, the better my painting, army building, etc. will become. So with all that in mind, I've decided on my winner...

The Space Marines.

The next step is to decide which two chapters I want to build. In a perfect world, I'll choose two that compliment each other, just in case I get half way through and settle on a unified army of two chapters instead of two individual chapters. In a perfect world I'll end up with two outstanding armies.

So my next step is to decide which two armies. They will both need to be radically different in terms of tactical organization, so I'm not just playing the same army painted two different ways. My options are nearly endless with the combinations, but I will be keeping to established chapters from the lore of the 40K universe. Possibilities include but are not limited to:

• Ultramarines
• Salamanders
• White Scars
• Ravenguard
• Howling Gryphons (Badab era)
• Carcharodons (Badad era)

Considering I still have a lot of time as I build my Grey Knights army, I have plenty of time in deciding which two chapters. I'll be sure to update my thoughts here on the blog of course. I hope this exercise helps other newbs out there in deciding what they want to run by taking a good hard look at all of the options out there. I know it helped me. Before running through these posts, I was considering Dark Eldar, but I like this choice better. The Dark Eldar can be my 4th army!

WIP: Grey Knights Razorback

I can see now why people have so much fun painting tanks. Fairly straight forward and a lot easier than a regular miniature. Most of the pieces, and the chassis has been primed. Some white, some black, a lot grey.

I don't have weathering powders yet, but I do intend on getting them in the near future. For now, I've just done some work with highlighting/dry brushing on the tracks and using Badab Black Wash on the smokestacks and floor of the Razorback.

I didn't go super detail on the interior communications wall, as in the end it will only be visible from a few inches away and in an enclosed space. However, I think it will show up just nicely once it is all put together.

Next up, I need to the rest of the interior and then I will put the Chassis together and start working on more details and getting the outside hull painted appropriately.

New Items from Forge World

The very cool looking Dark Eldar Tantalus (above) and Land Raider Proteus (below). Not available for order yet and debuting for sale on September 25th at Game Day.

Newb Army A.D.D. Part 3

When I left off last, I had narrowed down my selection of potential second armies to the following:

• Blood Angels
• Chaos Demons
• Chaos Space Marines
• Dark Eldar
• Space Marines

I've decided that in the wake of Battleforces availability and my own desire of collecting, that a possibility will be to make two armies at the same time. This might not make sense though depending on the army/armies I choose. Let's look at the possibilities.

The Blood Angels is a strong army, with fluff that I really like. No, I'm not a romantic emo-vamp lover, but I like the Blood Angels from what I've read (codex, Omnibus) and from what I've seen on the gaming table.

The Dark Eldar is an awesome looking army, with a roguish style that appeals to me (I usually end up playing Rogue characters in RPG's, MMO's). I like the fluff, their models, the tactics. I don't even mind the fact that they are glass cannons.

Chaos Demons. Awesome looking models and from what I've heard, a decent army.

Chaos Space Marines. According to various reports I've heard and read, I really like the versatility of this army. I like the fluff and think that some of the traitor marine chapters look really good in the modeling aspect.

The Space Marines. I have no doubt that while it will take years, I'll have plenty of Space Marines. I'm particularly interested in building chapter fluff armies, including Ravenguard, Salamanders, White Scars, Ultramarines, Howling Gryphons and Carcharodons. Maybe even pre-heresy Luna Wolves.

As I mentioned in the beginning it may make sense in making two armies at once depending on the mix. For examples:

• Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Demons. It is my understanding that Chaos Space marines can have Chaos Demons in their ranks. To me it makes sense to build these two armies together, with perhaps a little more emphasis on the Chaos Space Marines and finishing off with a Chaos Demon army when building them.
• Space Marines chapters. This makes sense to me, though also means that while building the armies I may be playing fluff, with two chapters representing until each chapter is done. Not sure which two chapters I'd start with though.
• The Blood Angels and Dark Eldar IMO are pretty similar and if I go with either of these armies, while I am sure I will get the other I'm not so sure I'm interested in building them together if that makes sense. It just doesnt' feel like a good mesh like the above two examples. Whichever army I do go with between these two though also means I'll be pushing the other one back until a later date.

With this all now laid out, I think I really like the idea of putting together two armies at once. This means by the end of the project, I'll have 3 armies to field. Stay tuned for the next post when I declare the winner. Maybe.

WIP: Grey Knights

I got a lot done today in the hobby (for me at least). I got the first coat of Skull White painted on the helmets and shoulder pads of the 5-man Purifier Squad.

I also started on some weapon details for my Terminator/Paladin Squad.

Last, but not least, I have the whole chassis cut from the Razorback sprue and have started to prime it. I'll be finishing the prime later tonight before work. If, I can keep this up, I'll have the start of my army done in no time!

Newb Army A.D.D. Part 2

I think a great place to begin when deciding which army I would like to collect next is to present which armies I do not want and why. This will either help or might just be an exercise in the process of elimination. In either case it seems a good place to start.

• Armies I'm not interested in:
• Black Templars. Not crazy about the models nor the background from what little I've been exposed to.
• Dark Angels. As with the Black Templars.
• Sisters of Battle. Cool models and was one of the first things that exposed me to the 40K iniverse that caught my attention. I'm just not crazy about their special rules.
• Orks. They just don't appeal to me. I like fighting them, but don't see myself as an Ork player.
• Tyranids. While they do look cool, I'm just not into them right now. As a side note and I have to admit some selfishness here, if my wife ever gets into 40K, she has already declared that the Tyranids is what is most interested in. This means if she does end up playing one day, I'll most likely have access to a Tyranid Army anyway. While tempting to collect to maybe push her a little into 40K, at the end of the day if she does not get into it, I'm not ready or willing to be stuck with a Tyranid army yet.
• Eldar. I like the lore and fluff about these guys, I'm just not crazy about their models.
• Tau. Communists. 'Eh' models. I'll pass.
• Space Wolves. While powerful and looks good, I'm just not crazy about them. Passing for now.
• Necrons. Upcoming release soon, expected bad-assery. I remember thinking these models were cool looking way back in the day. Here and now though, just not that interested. Passing for now.

So a lot of No's and passing for now's in this list. What's left?

• Blood Angels
• Chaos Space Marines
• Chaos Demons
• Space Marines
• Dark Eldar
• Imperial Guard

Of these, I'm going to put Imperial Guard on the shelf for now, mainly because I do have a vision for an awesome IG army in the future, but not prepared for the work I know it will take. This will be an army of mine one day, but I'm thinking it won't be until my 3rd, 4th or 5th army at best.

Next time, I'll take a look those armies remaining and see if I can't distill them down even further and perhaps even come up with a couple of finalists.

Newb Army A.D.D. Part 1

So here I am, just getting started on my first army - the Grey Knights. Scheduled to perfection, or not, I should be fielding a full 2000 point army by my birthday in March or shortly thereafter with some for a sideboard.

Yet, I'm already thinking of my next army. The one that will come after the Grey Knights. I'm considering making purchases for it as early as the end of this year or the beginning of next year while still finishing up my first army. Army A.D.D. is in full swing.

Not many people know this - actually only 1 or 2, but my first army was going to be Space Marines. Then, even as I was budgeting out and preparing to buy quite the expansive army (used) the Blood Angels came out and caught my eye. My first game to end in something other than a loss was proxing a Blood Angels army (a tie, I've yet to win, though in fairness have barely played just over a dozen games).

Then the Grey Knights came out and I was ready to start buying my first army and they were all shiney and new, seemed easy to paint, had some powerful options and I really like the fluff. Grey Knights it is and I'm very happy with them and looking forward to playing them more. It's even looking like by next month I may be able to get my game on in a more consistent manner.

Perhaps because I do like to plan out so far in advance, I'm in the mode lately of trying to figure out what armies I want to eventually have and which one should go next. Or should I build two armies at the same time? I figure I'm not the only one with 40K Army A.D.D. so I decided to write about it - not just for my own sake but other newbs out there as well. So let's look at the army choices out there:

• Dark Angels
• Black Templars
• Blood Angels
• Grey Knights
• Space Wolves
• Space Marines (various chapters, themes, pre and post heresy)
• Chaos Space Marines (renegades, pre and post heresy, etc)
• Chaos Demons
• Orks
• Tau
• Eldar (various Craft worlds)
• Dark Eldar (various Kabals, Cults and Covens)
• Imperial Guard
• Sisters of Battle
• Tyranids
• Necrons

So a lot of choices to made and thats not counting the themes, organization, historical, etc. that are within each of the armies themselves. Before moving on in another post, a couple of things I know I need to consider are:

1. My current Army. The Grey Knights is an Elite army, good for mid-range shooting and a middle of the board game strategy (for the most parts). They are MEQ (Space Marine Equivelant) and are indeed Space Marines; just specilaized. If, I want to go in another direction with my second army, I need to keep this in mind.
2. Do I want to go with more shooty or more assaulty with my next Army? What strategies do I want to work with?

In my next post on the subject, I'm going to explore what armies I don't want to go for and then start looking at those who may be contenders.

WIP: Grey Knight Stuff and Hobby Updates

I haven't been able to find too much time lately for painting and assembly, but I did manage to pick up my first Razorback and have started clipping the pieces from the sprue and seeing how they will eventually go together. I've decided that this Razorback will be straight from the box without any conversions, so I can learn how to put one together. Future Razorbacks for my Grey Knight army will include doors from Forge World.

Painting-wise, I manage to do some Mithril Silver highlighting and some Gryphonne Sepia Washing earlier this week.

And then earlier tonight added some Burnished Gold highlighting to the gold lettering...

... and started on the Beached Bone layer for the helmets and shoulderpads of the Purifiers and start work on the skulls and seals. Only a couple of models made it this far (the Beached Bone layer) but I may get a chance to finish this layer later tonight, along with some more clipping out the Razorback.

My next step, after finishing the Beached Bone layer, is to wash the areas (except shoulderpads and helmets) in Gryphonne Sepia wash and put another layer of Beached Bone on the helmets and shoulderpads. I'll also finish clipping out the Razorback. My goal is to have all of this finished by mid-week, but as with everything that I schedule beyond work and school, we shall see.

In other hobby news, I will be going down to Bud's Place on Saturday morning to watch the first round of the 'Ard Boys semi-finals, which I am looking forward to. I've started Galaxy in Flames and a book review of False Gods will be appearing on the blog here later this month. Other than that, I've just been listening to a lot of podcasts and exploring themed and fluffy Space Marine lists (especially those for Salamanders and Ravenguard).

Book Review: Horus Rising

After reading this great novel, I have to say that I am glad I waited until I understood some of the 40K Universe history before picking this book up. While the book is written in such a way, that the universe will reveal itself to you as you go, there are some reveals in this book that just make so much more sense and has much more of an awe factor if you wait until you have some of the basic concepts of the 40K universe down. Specifically who are the Xenos, the Imperium, Chaos and perhaps a little bit about Space marines in general.

This information I came across outside of the book through the fluff in codexes and the general rulebook, along with conversations with friends more knowledgeable about the 40K universe than I. The result is that I was able to follow the novel pretty well and was genuinely surprised and completely understood the significance of some of the reveals in this book.

I've heard good things about Dan Abnett the author and had even listened to an interview with him before picking up the book. I did find it a tad slow getting into for the first 30 or so pages, but by then I was sucked in and kept coming back for more as the story progressed. So much so, by the last third of the book I had a hard time putting it down at all.

Strongly recommended but IMO more for someone who has at least some of the basics of the 40K universe down first. I think the reader, like myself, will get just that much more enjoyment out of it.

Why 40K? Part Two

Conclusion

While many other games have a variety of these aspects, Warhammer 40K is the only one to have them all. Furthermore they are so interwoven that it becomes this incredible well rounded hobby that scratches the itch of so many of my interests.

For examples:

Social Aspects, Cooperative Play and Competiveness is found in most other gaming systems, sometimes seperate, sometimes together.

I still like a good RPG and fantasy world and while some are on par with Warhammer 40K (D&D worlds such as Forgotten Realms or Ebberon; MMO world's such as Eve Online and World of Warcraft; RPG worlds such as Rifts; fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth), I can't think of any that I would put above when encompassing all of the other aspects named here. This isn't to say an interest in these other fantasy worlds doesn't still exist - they do!

Intellect, Artistic Aspects, Cinematic Imagination and Story-Telling can be found in other games as well, especially those of miniature table-top wargaming and many RPG's, but again with the lack of other aspects to be found. When it comes to story-telling and fantasy worlds, the only other gaming system even half-way close to 40K is D&D and then yet again, falls short in the other aspects of the hobby.

The Warhammer 40K sparks and satisfies my eclectic interests of:

• Story-telling
• Artistry
• Gaming
• Reading
• Writing
• Photography
• Fantasy Worlds
• Tactical Intellect
• Scenario building
• Miniature hobby including terrain building
• Social

All of these are wrapped into one incredible hobby. And that is the answer to my "Why 40K?"

Why 40K? Part One

After listening to so many episodes of Independent Characters (a podcast), the subject of "why 40K" has underlined many of the topics discussed. Wanting to define my own purposes behind why 40K, I came up with the following reasons of why I am so attracted and attached to Warhammer 40K.

Social Aspects

While it is true that other game types has this as well and I have social circles surrounding RPG's, MMO's, card and board games, the community surrounding 40K is that much more intense (in a good way) due to the similar aspects we all get from the game from other factors. The RPG and MMO social networks are just as strong and fulfilling. There are other aspects though that bring this to even more fruitation. 

Competitiveness

Not just in the form of who won what game, but who has a cooler army or a better painted army or a more fluff orientated army, etc. etc. While a marginal part of what I get from Warhammer 40K, it is still a part of it and beyond the simple W-L methodology of many games. This allows for people to shine despite a W-L record.

Artistic Aspects

Modeling and especially painting allows me to express myself creatively as well as admiring the works of others. Above all else, this facet of Warhammer 40K is something I haven't found elsewhere, though realize it does exist in other miniature games. However, other miniature games don't necessarily have the other aspects as listed here. Furthermore the artistic talent of writing to be found in the game is superb, with the only other game system coming close, being that of Dungeons & Dragons. While I haven't done this yet, I look forward to branching my own writing talents into Warhammer 40K as my experience and knowledge of the 40K universe grows and the mechanics of the game.

Intellect

This is not a game for those of low intelligence. Tactical mindness, a love for problem solving and figuring out the meta-game of Rock-Scissors-Paper, mathematics and project management all are integral parts of the Warhammer 40K hobby and game.

Cinematic Imagination

While found in other gaming systems as well, such as RPG's or MMO's the militant and dystopian vision of science fiction meets well with my own interests in the field of science fiction is exciting. The story telling of the Warhammer 40K universe is broad and deep, with aspects found not just in the rule books but in the short stories and novels as well. Learning and reading this type of background and then seeing it displayed in front of you on the gaming table is an awesome experience.

Fantasy World

The universe of Warhammer 40K is large and well categorized and documented. Not so much "all" the information can be brought together in a database and not have several holes, but the fact that it is constantly being added to and filling those holes. It is one of the top fantasy worlds IMO and I love exploring such places.

New items from Black Library and Forge World

Some new stuff from Forge World today:

Been looking for that new Servitor with Conversion Beamer for your Grey Knight Army? Here's a new one from Forge World that will do!

VALTHEX ASTRAL CLAWS MASTER OF THE FORGE

How about boarding marines for Forge World encounters? Or perhaps new Thunder Shield Space Marines?

SPACE MARINE BOARDING ASSAULT

And from Black Library we have an upcomng release for audio!

Gaunts Ghosts salvations reach