Friday, March 21, 2025

New Dice Solutions for 2nd Edition

While my initial set of replacement dice has been discontinued (the manufacturer doubled the cost of the items to the point where I wasn't comfortable trying to sell them), Baron of Dice, manufacturer of loads of excellent alternative dice have been slowly ramping up dice for other games, including - surprise - 2nd edition 40K or old edition Necromunda, etc.
 


 So if you're looking for Sustained Fire dice, Artillery (and Scatter) dice, head on over to Baron of Dice.  You may even notice that their artillery dice is...suspiciously similar to my version (using the exact same font...).  Guess immitation is the most sincere form of something...

How to Get Started with 2nd Edition 40K

Disclaimer: This is an updated version of an old post that Blogger took down because it's stupid filters think it's spam.


This post is a resource dump for players looking to get into 2nd Edition Warhammer 40K or those searching for a specific resource.  These are available in various other posts as they are produced/released.

*Note: Project Anvil produces a number of resources but we're also gathering the best online resources available.  If you created a resource located on this blog, please let us know so we can add our thanks!

Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition Components
 Warhammer 40K came with a load of cards, decks, tokens, templates, etc.  We've located the best PDF versions of these contents for you.   While old copies are occasionally available on eBay they're often in disrepair or incomplete.  We hope to provide as many of these items to you as possible.






 


Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition Vehicle Datafaxes
 Vehicles in Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition were provided with a datafax or a double-sided card which detailed their abilities, stats, and provided a special armour/damage table.  We're in the process of digitizing these into PDFs - collecting vehicles from various White Dwarf magazines, later releases etc.  In addition we're adjusting weapon listings to better match current plastic kits, etc.  In a few places we're adding some vehicles which did not exist in 2nd edition (the plastic Eldar Wave Serpent, and Ork Deffkoptas for example).  These will be updated as we release them.




Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition Necron Materials
 Necrons showed up in small numbers in 2nd Edition by way of several small White Dwarf articles.  We've combine them into a simple PDF including the Necron Destroyer datafax.


Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition Cheat Sheets
 We're producing a number of simple cheat sheets for various portions of the 2nd edition rulebook.  These cheat sheets serve to make finding and applying rules easier/faster (while the rules in the rulebook were quite good they often buried rules in large paragraphs which can take time to find during game play!)






Project Anvil Modifications
The modifications PDFs include rules modifications we've made to modernize or streamline elements of Warhammer 40K 2nd edition.  Due to the nature of these changes, players will be required to adapate wargear, unit rules etc. to the new system (i.e. you'll have to make some decisions on how certain things play out!).  These are obviously completely optional and not part of the original rule-set for Warhammer 40K 2nd edition.


 

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Farewell

Hey guys (the handful of you out there!), I've decided to abandon all hope for playing 40K in the future and have been selling off my collection.

I will not be adding more to this blog, unless I stumble upon some excellent resources.  I hope the resources here will continue to be used well into the future, and I've enjoyed my time trying to salvage the only edition of Warhammer 40K I ever enjoyed.

Edit: I had included a self-designed set of replacement dice for 2nd edition 40K, but the manufacturer subsequently doubled the price of the components, so I've removed the listing.  I have posted a replacement option in the latest post.


Monday, November 30, 2020

Inspiration: Duncan paints a 2nd Edition Blood Angel.

 This video popped up on my feed today, figured I'd add it to the blog.  Duncan Rhodes (now of Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy and of previous GW painting tutorial fame) does a retro paint job on a Blood Angel miniature from 1992.



Inspiration: Eldar Pirates and Dark Angels working together?

 After many moons of not gaming 40K (in any edition!), we finally played a proper 2nd edition game.  No modifications (except how we handle flamed units).  No PA Activations, etc...just classic 2nd edition by the book.

We took two 500 point forces and played cooperatively against a 1,000 Tyranids list.  Running my Eldar I opted for two small squads of Pirates, led by heroes...and a unit of Eldar scouts.  The Dark Angels, led by a Techmarine, ran two battle squads in rhinos.

We added a narrative mission focus, in case this turns into a campaign:

  • An Imperial world had ceased communicating with the nearest system.
  • A nearby Dark Angels frigate was dispatched to investigate.
  • Upon arriving in system, the Dark Angels frigate experienced long-distance communication issues.
  • The Dark Angels frigate was hailed by an unknown Xenos ship.
  • This Xenos ship turned out to be an Eldar Pirate vessel.
  • While prepared to destroy the Xenos vessel, the Dark Angels first accepted a hail from the self-proclaimed captain of the vessel.
  • The Eldar Pirate Captain informed the Dark Angels that the Tyranids Xenos had overwhelmed the planet.  The Pirate Captain and his ship were monitoring the Tyranid fleet as it was nearing the Eldar Craftworld of Yderis.
  • The Dark Angels acknowledged this possibility when their long-range communications failed, an issue consistent with evidence of the Tyranids hive fleets.
  • Within hours of translating in system, the Dark Angels came under attack from the Tyranid hive fleet.
  • A small combined party of Eldar Pirates and Dark Angels made for the surface of the planet, hoping to fire off a distress signal from the planet's communications satellites - perhaps the only communications strong enough to break the cloud of the Tyranids' fleet.

Our goal: At the start of each turn, if we possessed models inside the communications command building, we could roll a single D3.  If we acquired nine points, the message was sent successfully.

The odd alliance between Eldar Pirates and Dark Angels Space Marines attempts to hold the line.

The Dark Angels valiantly hold their line against the wave of Tyranid creatures.

The Space Marines fall as they engage the merciless Tyranids.
Using the other Pirate squad and the Space Marines as distractions, the last Pirate squad tries to reach the command station.
As the Tyranids swarm forward, one of the rhinos crashes into their lines, running down several creatures.
With their armour and skill, the Dark Angels plow directly into the Tyranid lines, firing boltguns and flamers out of the hatches of the rhino - hoping to buy enough time for the signal to be sent.
Unaccustomed to open warfare, particularly on the ground, the Eldar Pirates move up cautiously.
A squad of Eldar Scouts who had deployed inside the command structure are attacked by Hormagaunts within two turns - dying quickly.
One of the Pirate Squads and its hero engage the Termagants, hoping to buy more time.
With few weapons capable of harming the Carnifex, the rhino drivers resort to ramming - with little success.
Gargoyles spit acid all over the tactical marines - however, with 'Insane Bravery', they interrupt, gunning down several and driving them off.
 
 
In the end...we were victorious, but only just.  Our survivors included two damaged Rhinos (both of which had been sliced up by the Carnifex but luckily survived), one Techmarine and the Pirate Captain.  At the last moment they managed to fire off the message and leapt into the top hatch of a Rhino which was driving by.

Every other model was slain by a Tyranid, and we had a LOT of bugs left on the table.  We were suddenly reminded how vicious Tyranids were in 2nd edition.  We'll probably do more games in this series and continue our co-op struggle against Tyranids.

First, an apology!

 As with my other blogs, I didn't realize that Google had stopped sending comment notifications - so I just stumbled upon a dozen or more comments which I have never seen.  I apologize and will reply to those shortly!

I will now occasionally check the comments section as Google no longer notifies the blog owner.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Reference: Battle Reports from 2nd Edition

The following is a list of the battle reports featured in White Dwarf magazine during 2nd edition.  This list may be expanded (see below).

Issue 166 "Angels of Death": Blood Angels vs. Orks

Issue 167 "Bridge of Death": Space Marines vs. Orks

Issue 171 "Witch Hunt": Eldar vs. Orks

Issue 175 "Dawn Raid": Ultramarines vs. Orks

Issue 177 "Hold the Line": Space Wolves vs. Eldar

Issue 180 "A Bitter Harvest": Howling Griffons vs. Orks

Issue 182 "Blood and Fire": Ultramarines and Imperial Guard vs. Orks

Issue 187 "Heretic": Space Marines vs. Imperial Guard (Traitors)

Issue 189 "The Great Devourer": Tyranids vs. Imperium and Eldar

Issue 194 "Redemption": Dark Angels vs. Orks

Issue 196 "Civil War": Eldar vs. Eldar

Issue 200 "Kneel Before Me!": Chaos vs. Orks

Issue 202 "A Warrior's Duty": Imperial Guard vs. Eldar

Note: It was at this point that White Dwarf magazine changed into a bad acid trip.  The layout became absolutely terrible and it looked as if a child had discovered photoshop for the first time.  White Dwarf had changed in the previous 10-12 issues, but then it went completely off the rails.  This list may be updated in the future - but the "proper" battle reports disappeared in favour of short cliff-note game articles with...every graphical layer they could add.  This includes meaningless grids over everything, typeface over dark pictures, and if you like neon and random colours; all of them are included in almost every page.

Issue 213 (Abbreviated)
  • "Defend the Shrine": Chaos vs. Sisters of Battle
  • "Liberate the Relic": Eldar vs. Sisters of Battle
  • "Pierce the Darkness": Orks vs. Sisters of Battle

Issue 215 (Abbreviated) "Shadows in the Night": Space Marine Scouts vs. Orks

Issue 216 (Abbreviated) "Wings of Darkness": Eldar vs. Chaos

...at this point I stopped going through my available White Dwarf magazines.  My eyes hurt.  The battle reports were now four pages total (including huge intrusive graphics).  I'll check the rest sometime soon and see if anything changed before the launch of 3rd edition.  I doubt it.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Resources: Chaos Datafaxes 2020

New, we have some Chaos datafaxes, mainly conversions from some existing Space Marine ones, and a few new ones added.


Sample Datafax:

Includes the following Datafaxes:

  • Chaos Marine Bike
  • Chaos Rhino
  • Chaos Predator
  • Chaos Land Raider
  • Chaos Dreadnought
  • Chaos Contemptor Dreadnought (PA Creation)
  • Chaos Leviathan Dreadnought (PA Creation)
  • Chaos Defiler (PA Creation)
  • Chaos Vindicator (PA Creation)

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Resources: Datafax Templates

These are the art files I've been using to produce Datafaxes via GIMP, etc.






















Other races can easily be done by simply converting over a couple of colours (for Necrons and Squats for example - stuff I don't have on hand at the moment!).