Ahhh Rackham...Unparalleled elegance and dynamism in the miniature world... Fantastic breath-taking paint jobs... Amazing attention to detail unmatched this side of Tom Meier... Bow-legged, pigeon-toed, anorexic, monkey-faced women wielding impossibly large weapons...Huge, ferocious, hulking behemoths supported by spindly toothpick legs...
Love 'em or hate 'em, there can be no denying that Rackham has left its indelible mark on the miniature scene. While some take issue with their style, mainly for being so different from established miniatures proportions, no one questions the abilities of Rackham's designers, sculptors, and painters.
I'll get to the point. If you like Rackham, if you are considering playing any of their games, if you like miniatures, if you have a pulse, pick this catalogue up. It's nice. Very, very nice.
Everything about this catalogue is top notch. And while I did not personally count them, the back cover boasts of over 500 photos. All color. All fantastic paintjobs and scenery. It's truly impressive. There are images of almost every single current Rackham model. Sadly some older figures have been retired, like the kelt warriors 1 and minotaur.
Each faction has a brief description, sample army lists for both Confrontation and Ragnarok, and painted images of nearly every model in the range(and illustrations for the few that are not present) along with (gasp!) the figure's points value. Imagine that! Want to start a 300 point Confrontation warband? You can easily figure out what you'll need with the catalogue. Look mom, no army books!
The catalogue is written in both French and English. I assume that everything is the same, but it's all French to me. Along with the pretty pictures you get a brief behind the scenes look at Rackham and descriptions of the skirmish game Confrontation, the mass battle game Ragnarok, the new Hybrid game, and a preview of Cadwallon, a role-playing game due out later this year. The preview includes pictures of nine of the Cadwallon figures. Due to the thick padded armor most of the models are wearing, they seem to lack the normal elegance associated with Rackham figures unfortunately. The upcoming releases page doesn't do you much good at this point since those blisters shown are already available. One other note of interest is "The Other Peoples" which lists five new factions: the Cynwall elves (high elves), Akkyshan elves (dark/spider elves), Daikinee elves (wood elves), the Utopia of the Sphinx(?), and the Ophidian alliance(bad guys with a snake theme). To date the only elves released have been one daikinee elf in The Howling Pack boxed set and the Warriors of Blood, half-elves in the devourer faction. There is a illustration of a very interesting looking snake warrior that one must assume is part of the Ophidian alliance. Looks like Rackham has plenty more to keep them busy (and us poor).
There is also a brief painting guide. It's not especially comprehensive or as detailed as some of the articles you might find in Harbinger or White Dwarf, but you may pick up a tip or two. I know I definitely need to go find some 6mm cork board for sure (More elephant poo alternatives!).
On the downside, we can now confirm that the French are indeed liars. The cover clearly says 28mm fantasy miniatures. I've measured several Rackham models and the normal sized humans have fallen into the 33-38mm range. Note to Rackham: Measure the figures WHEN YOU'RE SOBER! We know you have a large wine industry, but no one on Earth believes you when you say 28mm. Sheesh. The only other negative is that you will be grasped by a strong urge to buy many, many Rackham models. I want one of these, two of that, a unit of those, and this army, and this army, and this army. Will...weakening...must...resist...aaaargghhh!!