Howdy Readers! Welcome to January’s issue of A Tale of Many Warlords. Lets waste no time and get right into introductions, First up we have the Master of Disaster, and a very good friend of mine- Mike!
Mike P
An Epic Saga of Mike’s Miniatures: A Tale of Battlefields and Brushes
In today’s opening exploration, we delve into a topic that captivates the mind and sparks curiosity. Join me on this journey as we unravel the intricacies and discover the nuances of bringing Warhammer to life. From its historical roots to its contemporary relevance , we embark on a thoughtful exploration that aims to deepen our understanding and ignite meaningful conversation along the way. Welcome to a journey of discovery and enlightenment with our exploration my Hobby.
Rewind to two decades back, my journey into the realms of Warhammer began during the days of my youth in Middle School. It was a defining moment when I laid eyes on my inaugural Warhammer Models – the gallant Bretonnians, encased in the enchanting allure of an ancient Battalion Box.
From that pivotal moment, I found myself utterly captivated. The allure of the hobby became irresistible, compelling me to immerse myself in any way possible. I embarked on my inaugural journey, assembling my first army – the Warhammer Fantasy Vampire Counts. I eagerly earned every penny, even raking leaves and mowing lawns for a chance to expand my collection. The enchantment deepened as I delved into the mesmerizing pages of army books, developing a profound love for the old world and everything associated with Warhammer and Games Workshop. So intense was this passion that it led me to start another army, and thus, my quest for amassing an Empire Army began.
From the enchanting realms of Warhammer Fantasy, my passion for the hobby flourished. A delightful memory that still echoes in my mind is attending the Midnight Release/Mega Battle for ‘Battle of Skull Pass’ back in 2006 – an event immortalized by the poster that proudly adorns my collection (still can be seen in the above photo). As the years unfolded, I expanded my horizons, assembling an Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum) Army for Warhammer 40,000 and delving deeply into the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game during my High School days. The pinnacle of my Warhammer Gaming golden age unfolded between 2007 and 2011, where playing all three systems at a Games Workshop at the Bel Air, MD store became the epitome of my tabletop adventures. I mean I was there every Saturday, every Sunday, and when I was finally able to drive I was there on week nights too. Reflecting on those years, every game I play today carries the spirit and memories of that golden era.
Then came the first heartbreak in my hobby journey: the closure of my local Games Workshop. A familiar sorrow for many seasoned hobbyists, it marked a somber and perplexing chapter. Determined not to relinquish what had become a significant part of my life, I persevered by redirecting my hobby pilgrimage to a store thirty minutes south, nestled in White Marsh, MD. Far from surrendering, I took a leap and applied to join the store as a part-time employee. To my delight, I secured the role and served as a part-time team member at the White Marsh Games Workshop from 2012 to 2013. Every moment was a joy, engaging in discussions about the hobby with longstanding enthusiasts, newcomers, and everyone in between. It was more than a job; it was my calling.
Regrettably, in 2013, that shop met a similar fate when it was closed down by Headquarters. This event marked the onset of what many seasoned hobbyists refer to as the ‘Hobby Dark Ages.’ It’s a phase where we still cherish the hobby but find ourselves detached, not keeping up with it as passionately as we’d like. It’s a shared experience among enthusiasts, a period of hiatus that everyone eventually encounters. My own Hobby Dark Ages persisted until 2017 when I had the pleasure of meeting new hobby buddies. This rekindled my fervor, and I once again found myself deeply drawn to being an integral part of this vibrant and awesome community.
Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with amazing individuals within various Warhammer hobby communities. My journey has taken me to tournaments and events spanning the United States and even across the pond to the United Kingdom. Throughout, I’ve remained dedicated to crafting my own Warhammer hobby experience to the best of my abilities.
Continuing my journey, I’ve taken a proactive approach by crafting my own hobby bucket list. This endeavor has led me to exciting experiences such as attending Adepticon, Las Vegas Open, and Warhammer World not once, but twice—stories that deserve articles of their own, reserved for another time. Among the aspirations on my bucket list, one goal stands out prominently—I am determined to establish and sustain my own podcast. In fact, a few years ago, I ventured into podcasting, creating my own show. Despite the initial enthusiasm, it didn’t progress beyond the third episode, but this setback only fuels my determination to make it a success in the future.
At present, my journey in the Warhammer Hobby is thriving. Nestled in the depths of my basement, I’ve curated a captivating hobby room—a haven where creativity and passion converge. Bolstered by a steadfast circle of hobby friends, our collective enthusiasm fuels the vibrant exchange of ideas and inspiration. Fueled by a resolute drive, I am unwavering in my commitment to advance my quest within the Warhammer Hobby. The combination of a dedicated space, a supportive network of friends, and an unyielding determination sets the stage for an exciting and fulfilling continuation of my Warhammer journey.
In closing, as I continue to embark on the ongoing journey of these articles, my aim is to delve into topics that currently captivate my attention as well as that of the audiences. Beyond sharing my personal projects (currently working on Warhammer Old World), I am eager to address questions that may linger in the minds of fellow hobbyists. Curious about the experience of conventions like Nova Open or Adepticon? Wondering about the logistics of a North American hobbyist making their pilgrimage to Warhammer World? These are the queries I aim to explore and demystify.
If you have your own ideas or burning questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Instagram @middleearth_mike. I’m here to engage with the community and bring forth content that resonates with your interests and inquiries. Until then, be good to each other and keep on hobbying.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Mike has to show us this year, an incredible painter, I have a feeling we will be seeing an incredible Warhammer: Old World dwarf army coming from him this year.
Next Up we have a new friend of mine and another longtime Warhammer enthusiast-Kevin!
About Me
I am a 38-year-old college professor and suburban dad of three. While I did a little bit of miniature wargaming in middle school, my real hobbyist career started after college for me, over 15 years ago. My very first army was Bretonnians, and while I have collected many armies since then, they have always remained my first love.
Granted, I was not a very good painter back then. This was just when Foundation Paints were just coming out (those are “Base Paints” for the youths), and so I was delighted with just doing one layer of paint and being done. I did try to paint all the knights different colors though.
About ten years ago, I sold (almost) my whole army. I just had my first kid, and I was not getting any games in, so I decided to sell the army and clear off some space.
I have regretted it ever since. The only painted miniature I have left from that army is one standard bearer on Pegasus, because I loved how the model turned out. It’s not my best, but I remain quite proud of it.
What I have been working on recently
I have admittedly really gotten into skirmish games these past two years, namely Kill Team, Necromunda, and Blood Bowl. A lot of folks in my area play these games, so I’ve been very motivated to get some miniatures on the table. As an added benefit to the Kill Team boxes, I was able to add to my terrain reservoir, which will hopefully come in handy with the games I have planned next year.
Some of the kill teams have been truly fun to paint, and less taxing than painting a whole army. Below are some of my favorites.
I have also started collecting an army for Epic…. Sorry, “Legions Imperialis”.
Another army that I have sold and regretted selling was my rather large Vostroyan 40K army, so I decided to recreate my Vostroyans in 30K (even though technically they did not participate in the Heresy).I’m not as excited about this army as I am about Bretonnians, but my friends are gearing up for a campaign so I figured I’d join in.
What will I be working on?
The number one hobby goal I have this year is to rebuild my Bretonnian army, only better. My main goal is to have each knight in its own heraldry, which much more thoughtful layouts of the coats of arms. I will be aiming to make some progress on these guys each month, hopefully a unit a month.
In addition to this project, I have a few other small projects to split up in between. Two Blood Bowl teams (Norse and Halflings), two kill teams (Votann and Kasrkin), and a new Necromunda gang (Cawdor) to split up my hobby work. I’m hoping I can share pictures of al of these guys as I complete them.
Kevin’s enthusiasm for his Brettonians has been palpable, and I think we have a lot to look forward to as we watch him recreate his army of yesteryear.
Michael S.
About Me
I walked into a Games Workshop for the first time about 16 years ago with no idea how much fun I’d have immersing myself in all of the aspects the hobby has to offer. From playing, painting, and reading as many Black Library novels as I can get my hands on, I’ve spent countless hours enjoying 40k and Age of Sigmar alike. Like many long-time fans, I’ve picked up and put down the hobby for periods. My most recent return to the hobby was in 2018, shortly after the release of 40K’s 8th Edition. I always tried to make time for hobbying during college, but it wasn’t until after I moved back to my hometown that I was able to make time for more regular hobbying and gaming sessions with friends.
Just over 5 years later, I find myself still enjoying the hobby just as much as I used to! Gaming and hobby sessions find themselves farther apart these days, but I still find myself coming back to miniature wargames when I get some free time.
What Have I Been Doing Lately
In the past year, I jumped on the Horus Heresy train. I had a great time playing my first few games and got a little in over my head reinforcing the 14th legion before my Age of Darkness box was fully painted.
In addition to making steady progress on my Heresy army, I’ve picked up a small Malifaux crew to hopefully get into some non-GW wargames. Putting the tiny models together was an absolute pain, but the sculpts themselves are beautiful!
In between larger goals I’ve also been taking time to work on unpainted units and develop a method for painting large units quickly. I’m guilty of having plenty of unpainted miniatures and getting far too invested in the details when I do get around to painting. I’ve been working on staying motivated and making sure I move quickly through rank-and-file minis so I can play with a fully painted army.
What Will I be working on?
Since the announcement of the Old World, I’ve been looking forward to finally getting a taste of Warhammer Fantasy. I was always too much of a sci-fi fanboy during Fantasy’s heyday to delve into the game, but in the past few years, I took a dive into Age of Sigmar and found a lot to love about the game. After playing a handful of games (and pouting about the double-turn), AoS quickly became my favorite wargame. When Fantasy’s return was announced, I immediately knew what army I would play…
You can expect to see lots of updates from me on the building, basing, and painting of the Old World’s spookiest skeletons.
Between updates and posts about my Tomb Kings force, I’ll also be aiming to include various smaller projects from my collection including various 40k and Sigmar models to break up the monotony. Here are a handful of pieces in various stages of completion that I am excited about.
Austin
About Me
I was introduced to the hobby by a friend of mine during middle school, soon to be 15 years back, when he brought in a Games Workshop catalogue. I was immediately enamored and begged my parents to let me begin playing, and for my birthday that year they brought me to the local GW and I picked out the Battle for Skull Pass set, with my initial focus being mainly on the Dwarfs. While I had a bit of a hobby low period in 2013 and 2014, by 2015, now having a job and no sense of finances, my hobby really kicked into high gear. The rest is history, and I have been playing not only Games Workshop games, but all manner of miniature games ever since – though now with a bit more restraint to my budget!
Over the past few years in particular, I have actually moved away from the likes of 40k and Age of Sigmar. While I have kept up with the Specialist Games, A lot of my hobby focus has shifted instead towards historical gaming. I have been thoroughly enjoying the likes of Black Powder and Bolt Action. Some of my friends are even musing over Pike and Shotte, so maybe we will see some of that from me in the coming months…
What Have I Been Doing Lately?
Over the past few years, I have committed myself to a myriad of projects, some of which have been false starts, and others of which I am very proud of. In terms of completion of projects this past year, I am all over the place – something which I am trying to remedy – but I have been able to complete several larger-scale projects, including two more Lord of the Rings forces: Theodred’s Guard, led by my converted Prince Theodred, and a Doubles half for the Black Gate Opens (which I plan to eventually make into a full army). I’ve also gotten a very solid amount of Prussians done for Black Powder.
In between the larger projects, I have been working occasionally on smaller ones, such as Blood Bowl teams and Necromunda gangs, as well as loads of Battlemechs. Though again, some false starts do mean I am left with some of these only partially completed, while others remain in-progress as palate cleansers.
Of course, my pride and joy of this past year has to be my Legions Imperialis force. This is perhaps my fastest force I have taken to completion, breezing through a fully 3000 points in only a few weeks. That said, I still have more to work on for it, including several Titans, as well as upcoming releases to bolster my forces and provide much needed transportation and fire support…
What Will I Be Working On?
Like some of the others here, the announcement of the Old World has brought me much excitement and jubilation. Initially, my plans were going to simply be to rebase and finish painting my Dark Elves, which would have been a fairly simple task as they are mostly complete. But as I was organizing my “pile of shame” and figuring what I could sell or what I wanted to keep, I came across a box of the new Age of Sigmar Squig Hoppers, reminding me of my start in the hobby with the Battle for Skull Pass set. And when a friend mentioned he was trying to get rid of a horde of those BFSP Night Goblins, I knew what I had to so. And so my main hobby goal will be the completion of a Night Goblin horde, the opposite side to the force I began with all those years ago! And I have even finished a test model!
Between my progress on the madcap maniacs, I’ll also be aiming to complete more models for my Corpse Grinder Cult gang, to aid in my group’s ongoing campaign, as well as finish off my Vampire and College of Life teams for Blood and Dungeon Bowl respectively. I will also likely work towards my initial plan of finishing off my Dark Elves, and updating them for the Old World – though perhaps much more slowly than initially anticipated. Besides that, some more Legions Imperialis will likely fly off my painting desk, and I even have some terrain in the works for that game that I am excited to show you all! Otherwise, who knows what else I will do in the meantime? I still have more mechs, as well as Italians, and Prussians, and even some sneaky magpies, that all need to get done eventually. Though whether the horde of cloaked hooligans will give me time for them or not is yet to be seen…
Jerry
After reading through these awesome write-ups and looking at some incredible models, I gotta say how excited I am to see the progress of each of these talented grog nards through the year. I will bring up the rear this time by giving a brief intro to who I am, how I got here in my Warhammer journey and how I plan to use 2024 to make some hobby progress.
I began my Warhammer journey about 20 years ago with the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring starter set; I was instantly hooked.
Fast forward a few years and I discovered my number one love: The Imperial Guard in 40k. I’ve collected four Imperial Guard armies in the 15 years since, painting several hundred infantry and scores of vehicles.
While the Guard was my first, greatest love, there has been other projects that have piqued my interest. I have spent a lot of time painting and playing Lord of the Rings and more recently the Horus Heresy. I actually just finished my second Horus Heresy army, a small Zone Mortalis Word Bearers force.
Like several of my other warlords, my recent interest has been focused on the new Legion Imperialis and Warhammer: The Old World. For most of the next year, my focus will be on building, painting, and hopefully playing a new army for each of these systems.
For Legions Imperialis I eagerly await the release of bikes of all variety to begin a small White Scars force. For The Old World, I intend to finish the Tomb Kings army I began over 10 years ago. I am incredibly excited for these two games as the predecessors of each game were discontinued before I expanded my hobby away from Warhammer 40k.
Knowing me, I doubt my attention will be completely focused on Epic White Scars and the Monarchs of Khemri. My mind already wanders to other projects in the world of Warhammer Fantasy….The Empire sure does look good these days. I also have a veritable mountain of terrain that needs work for Horus Heresy. Oh and one other project that looms large above my desk…
Thank you for reading the first installment of A Tale of Many Warlords! Now that we all know each other and have our feet under us, I look forward to seeing what my fellow warlords have in store for this year.
Please feel free to leave a comment below on what you think, what are you looking forward to the most? What models should the warlords paint first? Let us know below!
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