The original space hulk game contains 6 missions, but these were vastly expanded by missions in White Dwarf (which appear to be subsequently grouped at least partially, into the Deathwing Expansion almost verbatim).

Pitfall

My opponent and I have progressed to these missions, the first of which is Pitfall – the first mission set on two levels: terminators can plunge down below, and the Genestealers can scamper up.

Command units

Subsequent to this we moved onto the first mission which expanded the arsenal and the board – chainfists, assault cannons, and bulwarks – to say nothing of the captain and librarian.

Ostensibly sent in after the decimation of the main terminator force, to wipe out the remaining Genestealers after the events of the first 6 missions.

Happily, as the Genestealer player in this mission, the Assault Cannon had a catastrophic malfunction on the first shot of the first turn, obliterating the weapon and the Marine instantly. Unfortunately, the Librarian had 40psi points, which expending 4 per combat effectively made him invulnerable and unbeatable in hand-to-hand, and he was able to sneak off the board for a minor victory.

The expanded game was brilliant, and definitely felt more like a wargame/boardgame hybrid than the original. The next steps include a points-buy system which is even closer to the main 40k game, and time well tell if that sweetens or sours the mixture.

Figures

As may be seen from the game shot, these first few ‘expansion’ games were played with some undercoated armless bodies, and so there was an immediate requirement for painted figures. I went with the RTB9 terminator squad box, with the Cyclone, Thunder Hammer and Lightning Claw ‘booster’ miniatures:

These are magnetised to permit the deployment of a number of combinations, though would likely benefit from a few additional bodies and duplicate arms in due course.

They are painted with zenithal undercoat and some very basic contrast paint usage.