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For the first time in quite some time I feel compelled to review a book. As this recently came out and I had some Christmas money left (along with a free shipping voucher that happened to come my way) as well as being suitably impressed with the previous two Forgeworld Masterclass books, I thought I'd get this one. The thinking went that the previous two masterclass books were excellent and this being made by the Forgeworld team should mean that this book will be a nice resource to add to the collection. Hmmmmm.

I've now had a proper chance to flick through it. It feels a little rushed and (dare I say) a little light on the content:

First the good bits:
- Typical high production standard that follows on from Forgeworld's recent efforts. All nicely presented and well laid out.
- The guides as they appear are good. Clear step by steps and other talk on how certain techniques are used
- The three primary guides are quite comprehensive
- Overall, this is a nice pretty book to flick through while sat on the bog

And the naff:
- Comparing all three masterclass books together, this is by far the weakest of the three.
- It's also the shortest book of the three.
- There's a lot of what I'll call “Warhammer: Visions syndrome”. Pretty pictures and some brief flavour text seem to make up a not insignificant chunk of this book. Pictures that you can see on the Forgeworld website. The two primarchs and the Istvaan V diorama are particularly bad for that. The primarchs don't have anything beyond flavour text and pictures. No discussion on techniques, colours or methods. Nothing on painting Iron Hands or the Emperors Children, even though Ferrus and the Istvaan diorama is shown. Though you do get a bit on painting Ferrus' metallic arms.
- Beyond the three primary guides (Knight Styrix, Imperial Fists Falchion, Ultramarines Solar Auxilia Dracosan) the rest are comprised of small snippets appearing through the book for the rest of the showcased pieces. The rest being simple “This is how this was done” in simple steps.
- A minor niggle for most, but no authors are given? Who are painters?

Something else that's bothering me, and that's the subtle change in painting style that's used here. In the previous masterclass books, particularly the first one, there was a lot of grime and, dare I say, realism in how the pieces were painted. Emphasis on weathering and making the tanks look lived in. Here, things are a lot cleaner and much more of a caricature. There's a lot of GW's main studio 'Eavy Metal style in use here. Also, and it's inevitable in many ways especially with FW's new paints, but the adherence to in-house products gets a little tiresome. The first two books weren't shy in use of oils and other companies products to achieve some excellent looking results. Here it's all Layer this, Drybrush that, mix 3, 4 even 5 paints to achieve a certain colour that (I suspect) matches a single colour from another company.

Now, don't get me wrong, this book does have useful techniques. If you are new to the masterclass series, you will find something useful in this book. However, if you have masterclass 1 and/or 2, and have been able to put some of the techniques to use, don't make the mistake in thinking that this will be of a similar style to what you are used to: You'll find little thats new here.

Overall, I am disappointed in this book. I was expecting a new Masterclass 1 book, but instead it feels like I've got a delux version of Warhammer: Visions. Pity, as I am a massive fan of what Forgeworld put out. They're the one part of the GW company that has avoided being swallowed by the marketing department. However, I can feel their insidious influence in this book and, personally, I think FW have just lost a tiny bit of their soul in publishing this.


TL : DR
An average book that compares poorly with the superb Imperial Armour Masterclass Volume 1 and not quite as superb but no less excellent Volume 2. Some useful techniques are here, but nothing really new for owners of previous masterclass books. Finally, the insidious shadow of the marketing department make themselves known. A bit too Warhammer: Visions in places.

Final score
5/10

That's a pity I was really considering picking it up

Thanks for the review. Shame really but quite predictable due to the new paints and the different direction Forgeworld seem to be going now with the Heresy.

I like to own nice books but they must be worth the money when you consider painting guides are all over the internet.
Thanks for the review, I'll steer clear of this.

I was close to buying this as I had heard the others were quality books. Thanks for the honest assessment and indirectly convincing me to grab the first two.

No worries gents. Honestly, some people will find some use in it. As for me? I am thoroughly disappointed with it, so much so that I have now contacted Forgeworld to return it, something I've never had to do with a Forgeworld product before (beyond miscast replacements).

Should anyone else be considering it, I would recommend that you at least check out some of the reviews or at least try to get a good overview or feel of the book before buying sight unseen. There was a video review posted that I wish I saw before I bought it.

ah crap. I ordered it on the basis of how good the first two were. That's a real shame (I didn't receive it yet).

Thanks for sparing me the money.

 aka_mythos wrote:
Thanks for sparing me the money.

This. Bought and loved the first one, bought and found the second one kind of entertaining but redundant, not going to bother with this one. The difference in style is really disappointing. I wonder if it's a legitimate shift with the 30k stuff, or if GW management told them to include more mentions of GW products and cut out any reference to the fact that non-GW stuff exists at all.