Warhammer 40,000 3rd Edition Ruins [Desert Edition]

In the far days of yore, there was the Warhammer 40,000 3rd Edition Box Set.  Many of my buddies wound up getting that box, so our club generated lots of these ruins around the year 2000 and 2001.  We didn't really have a club back then, just my living room.  So, all the terrain from all those sets were donated to our budding terrain collection.

These ruins are various ages, but the oldest are 20+ and this is the third or fourth time I've revisited this particular set.  I got my first set in '98 when 3rd Edition dropped, and I continued to acquire new ones from various sources over the next decade.

Admittedly, these ruin sections are not the finest examples of the terrain-maker's art, but they have certainly acquired character over the decades.  To that end, I find I can forgive their cosmetic shortcomings - many of these were done long before we ever even knew how to use much of the material we were trying to use.

"Enemy interceptor inbound!"

Many of us tend to neglect the terrain portion of the hobby for years, and these ruins are quite nostalgic for me.  They make up the mainstay of two of my tables, and much of it could honestly use a little more TLC.

"Go for the eyes!"

While my craft has certainly advanced over all this time, I probably won't ever have to 'start' over with these - but I can't say that for my other set of ruins.  Those are going to require some actual work to make presentable again - but again, like these...I probably won't start completely over.

Old Units & Warhammer Legends

Inspirobot thinks you can do better with all that money.

So, recently Games Workshop dropped a huge chonk of stuff onto Warhammer Legends.  In addition, a large swath of stuff was removed from Forge World's Imperial Armor books.  Like, 200 units.  FROM THE GAME.

You likely already know what I'm talking about.  You guys remember when they used to claim continued support for any army they ever sold?  Huh?  You remember that?

I'm not going to go into detail on what I think about this move, but as far as generally-accepted practices go I would say it isn't one and shouldn't be.  It's so silly I've decided that I hardly even care - not because it doesn't affect me, but because I'm numb to the pain.  Therein lies the strength.

I find I'm just not really interested in a lot of stuff that GW is doing these days.  Sorta, but not really.  Rules design and coherence has been sketchy since 2012 and everything needs constant collation and updating.  I mean, I love Warhammer - but this constant points changing has got to stop.  In 8th and 9th we'll probably skip right to power levels across all modes over the ridiculous new points system.  I'm not really a competitive gamer anymore.  I'll deal with it in that setting, but in our increasingly more casual games it's a disservice to listen to the metamongrels who constantly force this.

While I'm not declaring that this is an Oldhammer exclusive blog...I'm probably steadily leaning that way as time goes on.  I like a diversity of rulesets, so it's unlikely that I sit with simply ONE version of a ruleset I own six or more completely different versions of already.  We'll use, create and convert any rules or models we want to make our games interesting - you know, how they used to encourage us to do.

Just like with D&D there are so many old editions that actually provide valid ways to play.  So many things that have been lost in the current version of the game.  I have toyed with the idea of attempting to bring every rule and unit from my vast collection of tomes into one work, a sort of 'ultimate' edition, if you will...but that way lies madness.  I mean, vehicle design rules, Legion of the Damned - pretty much everything that the current IP stands on the head of to even be a thing.

It's obvious GW doesn't really care HOW we play the game, and I don't really care what they think anyway.  They can't make up their minds as there are too many goons out there trying to break the rules.  The current rulesets do have their own cool things, don't get me wrong.  I like it, in a way.  I can always use the models for whatever I want.  Any model - in any edition.

Warhammer 40,000 Kill-Team

I've played every version of Combat Patrol / Kill-Team in every edition since 3rd.  It should go without saying that we'd also be taking on this version of the skirmish rules subset, but this edition is a little different.  It's a full-blown game on it's own, and Games Workshop has really lavished production on this version.

So, in approaching Kill-Team I saw an opportunity to actually use some of the smaller sets I've managed to cling on to over the years but never blossomed into a real army.  It would also serve as a place I could collect a few new models without the commitment required of a full army until I got ready to make that move.  If ever.  Instead, Kill-Team would be composed of DIFFERENT forces than my main 40k armies.

Kill-Team is one of the most anticipated games on our roster.  As larger 40k forces require more time to muster, the Kill-Teams in my area are becoming activated.  Almost every gamer I know has a Kill-Team, and if they don't they have friends they can borrow one from.

If you have a 40k army, then you have a Kill-Team.  40k aficionado?  Collect a Kill-Team from a new army.  If you're in the Iron Seer's area - prepare yourself.  Kill-Team campaigns have been planned from the get-go!

We'll be using all the Kill-Team material from the Core, Commanders, Elites and the Kill-Team Annual 2019.  Other Kill-Team materials will be considered, but by and large Arena will not be part of the program.  Even so, plenty of Kill-Teamery to get caught up on in the meantime as we begin to explore a new corner of the 40k universe through our campaigns, armies and terrain building.

Get ready to carve out your own piece of the Nemesis Sector.

Warhammer 40,000

Today, I introduce Warhammer 40,000 to the blog.

I was going to wax lyrical about how I came to be a wargamer.  I was going to talk about where I first heard about it, how I came to have my first armies, my first campaigns and settings in the 40k universe.  That got a little long though, so I decided to get right to the point.

Warhammer 40,000 was my first miniatures wargame.  It was a long time ago.  I have a lot invested in it...but I haven't really talked about it for several years.

Age of Sigmar was the last straw for my old club.  We were one of the first clubs to call it out.  We even went online and decried GW to all our fellow fanbois - and suffered.  We called it the Spring of Discontent, and much Games Workshop was sold, traded and vaulted away.  You could say we were 'put-out' about it.

So Games Workshop faded from view, a place long behind us.  Many thought we were never to return - but in an ancient vault somewhere here in my lair, 40k waited.  During this Long Night, boxes were shuffled, stacked, moved, dropped and otherwise shown contempt for.  Not so for other wargamery going on, but for the Games Workshop stuff there was now a stigma.

It has gone on like this for many years.  Now I understand that a six-year break isn't much for some folk.  For others it is.  For me, it was...I had a lot of Warhammer stuff, but like the current ordeal with Star Wars...I just couldn't.  Even.

Then, a while back - things began to change.  We saw Necromunda return.  Games Workshop, even though they perpetrate things like Age of Sigmar and Primaris marines - seemed to be hearing us.  Us grognards from the older demographic.  It must have been because we were showing all the new gamers NOT-Warhammer.  Whatever happened, I attribute it to the Spring of Discontent, because soon after our disavowance of GW others would begin to take up the banner and move away from Games Workshop in general.

Last year I bought a Codex.  To my great surprise, I greatly enjoyed it.  So I spoke to some of the guys, and again to my great surprise - folk were all about it.  A return to Warhammer 40,000?

We'll need a new campaign setting.  I guess I'll get on that.  Meanwhile, dig up your armies and clean the dust and grime off.  Fix the broken bits and get your order of battle straight.  More on the campaign setting soon...

Welcome to the Nemesis Sector.

Space Hulk Genestealers: A Saga

Genestealers breed in iterations...and apparently get painted that way also.

So, when Space Hulk first came out I got it as a present.

For some reason, I decided I didn't want to play it with the club until it was fully painted.  As the club drifted away from GW products, Space Hulk got shelved again and again.  Now that I'm no longer affiliated with that club, I find it's one of the projects I'm most keen to finish.

Iteration 1 - or, how to NOT use ArmyPainter Quickshade.

Problem is, I've tried this a couple of times.  I've got a couple of different batches of genestealers, each of them look slightly different because they were done at different times with different paints.  However, they are all done with QuickShade.  I'm not totally done with the genestealers for Space Hulk, so that means the rest of them will have to be done with QuickShade as well.

Iteration 2, wherein the application of medium has been more explored.

Overall, I've never felt comfortable with how any of these turned out.  This was my very first project to use Quick Shade on, and I made a lot of mistakes.  Such was the way of 2009-2011.  I tried out a lot of new products during that time, but Quick Shade was honestly one of the hardest to wrap my head around.

Getting the Quick Shade to do what you want can take a little practice.

Eventually, several projects after these, I would be able to actually use Quick Shade.  I had just been so used to not using such...blanket measures.  Once I had done a few, it became easier as I understood how the material would behave and what paint would look like once it was applied.  All in all, I still like Quick Shade, though I don't use it much.  There are more than a few projects I mean to use Quick Shade on, including the rest of Space Hulk.

I mean, I already started it.

I'm going to leave these as they are, much as it pains me.  I still have several Genestealers to do for the Space Hulk set, so we'll see if I've improved any.  Probably not, as it's been a few years since I used it.  Hopefully, I'll remember the lessons learned these years back and they will turn out much better.

Mostly not to be as sloppy.

Space Hulk

Space Hulk,  3rd Edition (2009)

What!?

9+ years ago??  I got this for my birthday as a present from the Lady...and I let it sit unplayed for almost a decade.  Despite constant urging from club members I refused to play it until it was fully painted...which never happened.  Shameful display.

Ok...well I guess nine years happened.  Anyway, in true fashion I am finally ready to begin this project since 4th Edition was published in 2014.  There were a few rule tweaks and extra missions in that version, but I'm quite fine with the box I have.  It's almost pristine, with only some of the card punched.  I am really looking forward to finally puttin this on the table.

I do remember Space Hulk in the 90's.  The two middle-aged guys who were the only other Warhammer players in town were all about it, and I got to dive into Deathwing quite properly.  I had Vengeance of the Blood Angels on Playstation (1).  That was my jam.  It was creepy and scary in a way I really had never encountered before.  Warhammer 40k today doesn't have that weird background music, it's all orchestral fanfare and Gregorian-style chanting.

***[DID YOU HEAR THAT?]***

I don't know why I never got around to finishing it, as I had started once or twice.  With the breakneck pace of the old club, I just never found time to do this one justice like I wanted to and kept putting the project off.

Painting back on schedule, even though it's all different and it's going to be like 3 distinct tones / colors.  As I said, I started once or twice and you can really tell with the set.  I'm just going to have to eat it in the upcoming galleries.  I'll have genestealers with slightly different colors, and that's just how it is.

Campaigns!  Yes!  We're going to be doing the main campaign as soon as the set is finished, which shouldn't take that long.  After that, we're going to start exploring what we can do with Space Hulk, and what's out there we can obtain and adapt.  This is going to be cool.