Allied armies, new rulebooks and a sinister tape measure

This Saturday just gone was a rather special day at Warhammer World. Not only was it the release of the new Warhammer 40,000 book, but it was also the first day of the Warhammer 40,000 Doubles Weekend. As you can imagine, jubilant hobbyists from up and down the country (and from all over Europe too), flocked to the heart of the hobby that is Warhammer World to get hold of their new book and play some intense games of Warhammer 40,000.

The Warhammer World store opened at midnight with over 100 eager customers desperate to get their hands on the new rules. Many of them were playing in the Doubles Event, which would start only nine hours later. In hotel rooms all across Nottingham, wargamers sat reading the new rules until the early hours of the morning, learning how they would affect their armies and, in some cases, even trying them out on the floor in their room. Sugar pots and kettles became difficult terrain features and boxes of complementary tissues were turned into makeshift bunkers. Other hotel residents reported being woken up by the sound of rolling dice from the floor above.

On Saturday morning the gaming hall was, as you'd expect, absolutely packed with hobbyists. Nick Bayton, the chap in the very yellow shirt who was in charge of the event, went round and got a few pictures while everyone was busy gaming. Costumes, it seems, are a popular part of the proceedings...

He was also kind enough to get a few pictures of the best painted army nominations. I have included a large selection of the pictures in the galleries above, but you can see the rest on the Warhammer World Facebook page, along with a few other shots of the day itself.

And in other news:

Don't forget that in only nine days time Warhammer World will be hosting the Warhammer 40,000 Open Day. I'm sure you've seen all the Facebook updates about the event and, as you can probably tell, we're all very excited about it. Tickets for the Open Day and the Cataclysm event on the Sunday after will be on sale on the website until Monday, so if you want to get your hands on them then you'll have to be quick about it.
The Hobby demonstrations and Studio seminars have now been confirmed and you can see the times for each of them in the pictures below.

Tickets to the Hobby Demonstrations and Studio Seminars will be issued on a first come first served basis, so to ensure you get the time you want, make sure you get there nice and early. You can also pick up your tickets from Bugman's Bar on the Friday before between 6 and 8pm. To find out more about the activities going on throughout the day, check out this page for more information. We'll also be revealing what's beneath the big blue tarpaulin on Saturday too - I wonder what it could it be.

And in other, other news:

Mitchell Stevens sent us these pictures of his new Servo-skull tape measure, which he has lovingly painted to look just like a real skull. It's cool Mitchell, very cool.

But also a little bit creepy...