A cardboard box, with the Black Library logo on it, underneath a Christmas Tree

This year’s “Mega Edition” release from Black Library is the new Blood Angels novel from Guy Haley, Darkness in the Blood. I don’t know much about the plot yet (the book flew under my radar until very recently), other than it follows on from Dante and the events of Devastation of Baal, and features both Dante and Mephiston – two of my all-time favourite Warhammer 40,000 characters.

The Mega Edition is very reminiscent of last year’s Spear of the Emperor1: a sturdy, themed, presentation box contains a gorgeous hardback copy of the book, and packed in under the book is a whole set of goodies. From the design printed on both the box and the book cover, the main theme is of Dante and Mephiston as reflections of each other (or them representing the two sides of the Blood Angels themselves?) – Dante is the virtuous, golden-lit angel, while Mephiston is dark, sinister, and somewhat daemonic. Either way, it looks cool.

As far as extras go, I personally think this year has even more value than last:

  • There’s a thick, hardback, leather-bound journal, featuring a similar cover to the Limited Edition version of Dante.
  • A badge in the image of Dante’s death mask.
  • Bronze, silver, and gold coins (perfect for in-game objective markers). There’s a different design on each.
  • Some very pretty Blood Angels-themed dice in a small bag.
  • A big, metal, bookmark in the image of Dante’s Axe Mortalis. I think this might be more effective at it’s job than last year’s purity seal bookmark.
  • A sand timer for some reason? I haven’t timed it yet to see how long it runs for, but it’s pretty and ornate, featuring chapter badges and red sand. Part of me wonders if it shows up in the story.
  • An art card, featuring the cover art from the regular edition of the book (which will be available in a few month’s time)

Like in all of my recent book unboxings, I’m impressed with the high quality of both the materials used, and the overall presentation from Black Library. This box set feels special in a way that a lot of “special editions” across most media don’t nowadays. Everything has a weight to it, and as I mentioned in my Solar War unboxing, it’s all very “tactile”. Take a look at the pictures below for an idea of everything crammed into the box. Unfortunately the photos don’t convey just how nice all this stuff is to hold.

I can’t wait to dive into the story now!


  1. It appears I haven’t uploaded the photos from that particular unboxing. I should fix that – it was lovely. ⤴️

I have some laser-cut acrylic stand inserts for my Detolf, which due to their design, reduce the amount of space available on the original shelves quite a bit. These extra shelves and brackets look like a much better solution, so I might need to hunt some down.

(I also need to get a second Detolf, but that’s another story…)

Box

The box itself has a card sleeve with the product photo over the main box, which features the artwork from Warhammer Fantasy Battle 5th Edition (the best edition, don’t @ me)

Instructions

I didn’t really need these, but it was fun to flick through the instructions, for old times’ sake. For those unaware, the last picture is of a “datafax” – every vehicle in 2nd Edition had one of these, which gave the profile, armour values, and damage charts.

Parts and Contents

The parts I received were in good condition – which I expected, as this was a still-sealed, never-been-opened box! The blister pack and transfer sheet both showed a lot of discolouration, beyond what I’d expect for the age and unopened state, and more than shows up in the pictures; I suspect at least one previous owner smoked. As I was about to assemble everything, I wasn’t concerned by this.

Mould lines weren’t really an issue on the plastic parts. There are a couple of regular problem areas on this kit – the grab rails, and the exhausts – but most other parts were fine. The metal parts had the usual assortment of metal tags and casting imperfections, but nothing out of the ordinary or problem-causing. I’ve had more issues with 2019 GW metal castings than I had with this kit.

Assembly

The original Rhino chassis, which forms the basis of the Immolator kit, is so simple and straightforward to put together. Glue the two halves of the hull together, add the hatches and track sections, and you’re pretty much done. The only thing you have to be mindful of, is some of the parts and connection points are small and/or fragile. I broke one of the top hatch handles just by holding it too tight between my forefinger and thumb, and had to carefully glue it back together before assembly. I did quite a bit more clean-up than 14 year-old me would have, to take care of gaps and mould lines. Modelling knives, clippers, and sanding blocks will be your friends if you ever have to build this kit yourself!

The metal parts of the kit were always a little annoying to work with. The tolerances and variance are much bigger in a spin-cast part than injection moulded plastic, so things don’t quite line-up or fit right. I did as best I could, with a bit of filing, bending, and using some superglue to gap fill where needed. I completely forgot to take pictures of the turret assembly!

I did allow myself a couple of nods to modernity – I added 3mm x 2mm magnets to the tracks and turret, to make transportation easier and stop the turret falling off all the time. To speed things along I used my power drill on the slowest setting, rather than my pin vice.

Finishing Up

After building the Immolator I sprayed it with with Halfords Grey Car Body primer to make sure paint would stick to the metal areas as well as the plastic. Once the primer was dry, I sprayed it with a couple of thin coats of Retributor Armour to match the rest of my Sororitas.

I knew the old Rhino kit was smaller than the current kit, but I hadn’t realised by how much until I put the Immolator next to a Razorback. It’s easily 25% smaller.

When I started opening the box for the Immolator, I was a little intimidated… mainly because I’d never find another in this good a condition if I messed up! By the end though I’d enjoyed myself so much I scoured eBay to find a retro Rhino kit to work on next!

For the last 24-18 months or so I’ve had a background project to recreate my original Adepta Sororitas (nee: “Sisters of Battle“) army, in advance of the new codex and plastic release. With that release looking more and more imminent, I really need to get my skates on! By my reckoning I’ve got roughly three months to finish up, maybe less!

John Blanche illustration used on the Sisters of Battle codex in 1997

The original army was purchased by fourteen year-old me on release day in 1997. I’d saved up my paper round money for several weeks to afford it, after falling in love with what had been previewed in White Dwarf the month before. It’s a tiny army by modern standards (roughly 545 points in a Patrol Detachment), but it was a decent sized force in Second Edition, and I loved playing it. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the army was given away by my mum a few years later, once I’d moved out for university and had fallen out of the hobby. Since coming back to the fold, it’s been the one army I’ve really regretted not having any more.

I’ve already collected and painted the two Sororitas character models from the original army – a Canoness and Standard Bearer (now called an Imagifier), and I’ve started painting the two squads I’ve acquired so far: a ten-woman Battle Sister squad, and five Seraphim. I also need to paint a banner for the Standard Bearer, to truly finish it off. Long-time readers will know I have finished painting some Battle Sister squads this year, but those were bought to bulk the collection up to a “full size” Eighth Edition army, and aren’t part of the core project.

There’s still a five-strong Retributor squad to get hold of, but the problem I have here is I can’t for the life of me remember exactly what I armed them with twenty-two years ago! I’m pretty sure it was four of one weapon type – either Multi-Meltas or Heavy Flamers – but given the time period it could well have been a mix of all three. I think I’m going to go with four Heavy Flamers, as I remember I painted at least one of these “back in the day,” and I’m certain it wasn’t for the Battle Sister squad (which had a Heavy Bolter). Plus, I’ve never really liked the “Sabbat” helmet shown on some of the Sisters models, which is why I’m reasonably sure it wasn’t the Multi-Meltas.

When I started the project I knew that some of the models were going to be really hard to get hold of in a usable condition, and for a reasonable price. While many are still available from Games Workshop, several are long out of print: namely the Canoness, Standard Bearer, Immolator, and an “Imperial Missionary with Plasma Gun”. Of these, I thought the Immolator was going to be the hardest to acquire, but I found one on Saturday. Now I just need to get the Missionary. They occasionally pop-up on eBay, but usually in a bad condition, and for a higher price than I’m willing to pay for that condition. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I can’t get hold of one at this time – it’s no longer a game-legal choice, and I’m concentrating on the Sororitas – but it would be nice for completion’s sake!

1997 'Imperial Missionary 2', armed with Plasma Gun
Got one of these to sell? Let me know!

So, roughly 21/22 models to paint in the next couple of months, with a currently unknown target date for completion? Sounds doable, right? Well, yeah, if you’re not as slow a painter as me, and hadn’t started a Genestealer Cults army in the meantime which needs cleared from the painting desk… If the codex is due in October, I’m reasonably confident I can make it; coming sooner and I’m less so. If anyone in the Warhammer Community team who might happen to read this wants to give me a subtle hint, that would be helpful! 😉 (Also, I’d love to write about the project as an article on the community site, once I have some more finished models to show off!)

With all that said, whether the new models are coming in 3 months, or 3 weeks, first I need to stock up on more Retributer Armour spray paint!

Ok, so I did manage to get a small session in. It was mostly spent trying to figure out the iconography of the Knight/Household, and painting tiny little candles.

Listened: S2, E2: Take A Step Back — The Best General, A Warhammer 40K Podcast

“In Season 2, Episode 2: Adam gets back to competitively play after some time away from the table and learns to deal with another loss, while talking perspective, fatalism of all things, and taking a step back with ITC Champion Brandon Grant.”

Glad to have The Best General turning up in my podcasts feed again!

In Season 2, Episode 2: Adam gets back to competitively play after some time away from the table and learns to deal with another loss, while talking perspective, fatalism of all things, and taking a step back with ITC Champion Brandon Grant.

Still plugging away at this Imperial Knight. There’s been a lot more edge highlighting than I’d planned to do. Shoulders, shield, and last of the trim left to do.

Work in progress Imperial Knight

In advance of Girl Wonder geting into the hobby, I’m putting together a flexible 4×4 gaming board. In your experience, how much scenery is good for this size of board, for each of AOS and 40K? Bonus internet points if you can show examples ?

This “Successor Chapters” booklet came with the collectors edition of the 7th Edition Space Marine codex, and it’s probably the most useful “freebie” I’ve ever received with a 40K book. It’s just page after page of example colour schemes and names.

And the resulting photograph. I’m not happy with how this model turned out in the end, thanks to trying to fix some avoidable mishaps, but I’m taking it as a learning experience.

Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarine Sergeant

Putting paint brush to miniature for the first time in weeks, with something just for fun, rather than for the tabletop. I kind of feel like I needed this. Today I discovered I love painting with a size 3 brush!

Has anyone seen any good conversion ideas for Imperial/Inquisition/Ministorum Crusaders recently? I’m weighing up whether to make my own, or get some of the old metal models from GW. Send me links, pictures, or even just your ideas, if you have them! ?

‪I had no idea the Canoness Veridyan model was so much bigger than the original Sisters. Even discounting her ridiculous heels, she’s a good head taller than the others. It makes me worry about how well the plastic kit will blend in alongside the old #PrimarisSistersConfirmed‬

Bit of a bad brain evening, so I’ve spent the time assembling more sisters to distract myself. Somehow I’ve ended up with a couple more Battle squads than I expected! Still got the Repentia to go…

Hopefully the weather improves soon, so I can get them primed!

After several hours of clipping, filing, drilling, and pinning, I’ve finally finished assembling the first of 2 Penitent Engines.

It better be amazing on the tabletop after all that…