Mole Mortars are back, An Emperor Easter-Egg and Flying Guardians - Some cool 40k things!

Getting all eggy on you all! Here’s a couple of cool Easter Eggs I’ve come across recently I wanted to share.

So these are not direct responses to my posts, which I note under the Warped Marginalia posts, but they are top-of-mind for me as I’ve been doing reading and scrolling as part of my research.

Firstly, I’d covered the old-hammer model version of Marneus Calgar before. So it was with delight that I saw someone note there is a hidden easter-egg in the classic image of Marneus Calgar from White Dwarf 97! Eagle-eyed BlueSky user ‪Stannis‬ noticed that on the left of the image is a poster on the wall, of The Emperor himself. This image, it seems, is a copy of the image of The Emperor from page 137 of Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader!

(Image - Left, Marneus Calgar from White Dwarf 97, right, middle is the detail of that poster on the wall and, right the Emperor from page 137 of Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, oh and the current incarnation of Marneus)

Pretty good spot!

Staying with some Rogue Trader action, I had also written about the Eldar’s original (and now reprised) incarnation as pirates & mercs. (Indeed, I played Kill Team this weekend using my Corsair Voidscared unit, pic). So I very much enjoyed the most recent Codex Compliant video from Snipe & Wib (Patreon) which covered the evolution of the Eldar Guardian models, noting there was a kit that allowed conversion into that original Rogue Trader pirate form!

(Image - Left, An Eldar Guardian with Forge World ‘wings’ and the classic image of the Eldar from pg. 89 of Rogue Trader. Both stills from Snipe & Wib’s video. Current Guardian incarnation)

I’ve always loved Eldar, indeed they were my second army when I got Rogue Trader in 1987.

I had also looked at the newest incarnation of the Tarantula weapons platform, so was excited to see another classic from that same issues (White Dwarf 99) - the Mole Mortar! Here called ‘Cthonian Earthshakers’ from this article:

These high-tech mole mortars are a real blast from the past – with a heritage dating back all the way to the Rogue Trader era. Cthonian Earthshakers are a hybrid of technologies that fire an explosive payload deep under the surface to emerge unexpectedly amid the enemy.

(Image - Cthonian Earthshakers in action, from Warhammer Community)

Those origins can be found in White Dwarf 99, pg. 62:

The Mole mortar employs an inverted mortar launcher and special ammunition to launch a subterranean shell or 'tunnel-torpedo' which burrows its way underneath the battlefield. The mole mortar was actually developed to attack tunneling vehicles, but was so successful it is now used as a short range assault weapon in its own right.

(Image - A Mole Mortar in action and below it the technical drawing of the Rogue Trader era Mole Mortar. Both from White Dwarf 99, pg. 63)

Finally I’m happy to say I grabbed one of the ‘Full Page Advert’ tiers of the exciting ‘Secret Passages #2: An Old School RPG and Oldhammer Magazine’ on Kickstarter! Excited to support this fanzine while also promoting my work here. Win-win (and James, the editor, is such a kind and helpful person! Thanks, James! Issue 1 is here btw)

Thanks once more, for reading!

Note! There is more about this project here. The direct chat for this project is here. You can comment here or find me on BlueSky.

Also note! This book project is a personal one and not affiliated with any company that, in my day job, I work with or partner with.