Competition Winner & All-new Miniatures Announced; Battle Report; Fancy Dress; New Hobby Centres

So, The Island of Blood was launched on Saturday and what a day it turned out to be, as hobbyists from far and wide gathered in Hobby Centres around the globe to celebrate the launch and pick up their copy (or copies!). This morning our inbox was flooded with pictures of the day's celebrations and we found them so entertaining, I thought I'd share them with you below.

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  At the Leamington Spa Hobby Centre, creatures of all shapes, sizes and colours gathered to celebrate The Island of Blood. Can you spot the Skaven Assassin?

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  Nothing says 'hobby nutter' quite like a giant beard and a massive axe! I wonder if the chaps in Leamington realise that it was The Battle for Skull Pass that came packed with Goblins and Dwarfs...

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  This hobbyist, also from Leamington, found a solution to the age-old question of how to make yourself look like a convincing Pegasus Knight - dress your motorbike up as a Pegasus, obviously.

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  This regiment of Skaven players gathered in Berlin and killed off all of the local High Elf players. Of the regiment's two musicians, only one appears to understand how their instrument works.

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  A real life Jekyll and Hyde, this chap games with High Elves right up until he downs a strange elixir (Skavenbrew) and transforms into a hunched Skaven player. If you click on the image you'll see a rare bottle of 2010 Elven wine.

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  In the Badalona Hobby Centre in Spain, an enthusiastic hobbyist bought five copies of The Island of Blood! Luckily, he remembered to take his minion along with him to help carry them home.

This is my favourite picture that was taken on The Island of Blood launch day. Saturday really was the happiest day of Rafa's life: not only did he get married, but he also got a copy of The Island of Blood, a fact his wife looks slightly less impressed with.

If you picked up a copy of The Island of Blood over the weekend then you'll find today's article, The Island of Blood: Battle Report, particularly exciting and informative. If you were tied up over the weekend and haven't yet secured your copy then you can order one here and be gaming with it by the weekend.

And believe it or not, that's just the beginning of the celebrations: the 23rd of October is the global The Island of Blood battle day, when every Hobby Centre around the world will be hosting a refight of the Battle for the Island of Blood between the forces of the High Elves and the Skaven. We'll feature the results, as well as highlights from some of the most impressive games from around the globe, here on 'What's New Today' - so if you want to be part of the action and help make wargaming history, make sure you pop along to your local Hobby Centre and get involved. To commemorate the occasion, we're even releasing two special edition miniatures, Prince Althran on foot and Warlord Spinetail. Both miniatures will be available from the day of the global battle (23rd October).

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  If you've read the 'Getting Started' book from The Island of Blood, you'll know that Prince Althran is the Elven Prince who rides the Griffon. This model depicts Althran on foot, which means you can use him in smaller games or as an additional hero in larger ones. If you click on the image you'll be able to see the whole miniature.

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  Warlord Spinetail is aiding the Skaven in the battle for the Island of Blood, while secretly nurturing a scheme that will see him gain leadership of Clan Klaw. Spinetail can be used as a Skaven Lord, Hero or unit champion. Again, if you click on the image you'll be able to see the whole miniature.

Also at the weekend, just in time for the global battle day, we've opened three new Hobby Centres: one in Denton, Texas in the USA; one in Lyons, France; and one in Pforzheim, Germany. If you're in the area then pop down to get involved in the Warhammer celebrations.

Thanks to everyone who entered 'The Great Gameboard Giveway', it was tremendous fun looking through all of the many, many images we received. You've even inspired a few of us here at Games Workshop HQ to make some more terrain. However, there could be only one winner and that man is Jeremy Dale from California. I'll show you Jeremy's piece on Wednesday along with a selection of the other entries.