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Acceptable in the '80s: Marauder Orc and Goblin Army

August 20, 2014, 1:53 am
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Hello all... We arrive among the pages of White Dwarf 124 today and have a look at a very well known release of the Marauder Orc and Goblin army, otherwise known as Uzgrim's Marauders. For me, this was 'the Warhammer army' of the time and I can recall this spread of photographs being pored over by myself and my schoolyard friends avidly. Even now, its a great looking army made up from the rather good goblinoid range that the Morrisons put out in the late '80s. Though of course, they are no Kevin Adams sculpts! 


Many of the models we have seen before, such as the goblin chariot, but many are fresh to this release. One thing that strikes me looking through these miniatures are all the little handpainted banners added to most of the units. Considering that the 'Eavy Metal team painted these as a favour to the Morrisons, they have done a really good job here to say the least. 

One thing that I have spotted here is a return of the strange bulbous mace head weapon seen on earlier goblins in the Citadel range on one of the fanatics - a nice touch! As with all the goblinoids from Marauder there is a distinct Mongol feel to their armour and weapons. This 'look' really helps differentiate the two ranges. 



As with the Dark Elf force before, the army was accompanied with a little bit of background and more interestingly, a series of illustrations to help create the banners shown in many of the photographs. I can recall asking my mum to copy these at work (as at that time they only photocopier I ever saw was in the hospital my mother helped run) and coloured them in very badly with my Citadel Colour paints. 

My efforts at painting banners and flags wouldn't improve really for a further twenty-five years!

All in all... This is a great army. I wish it was still available today!
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White Dwarf 123: 'Eavy Metal Space Marines!

August 21, 2014, 7:17 am
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Most of the pages of White Dwarf 123, and many of the subsequent issues, focused on the new ork rules for RT. These were complex and rich in background, and can be best described as 'Realm of Chaos' for the Space Orks. Bryan Ansell told me that if he had remained at GW he would have continued this process and produced glorious books about the Eldar, Imperium and so on and so forth. Many of the colour pages ogf the magazine consist of shots from these publications (there were three Ork books in the end), though there are a couple of fantastic pages that deal with  space marines in the studio collection. 

And they are astonishingly different to what we have come to expect from a space marine. Its worth pointing out here that GW had just produced the Space Marine Paint Set, and with it came the first Space Marine Painting Guide - so interest in painting marines was at its height. Only, though the guide 'suggested ideas' there was still plenty of room for your own interpretation and I doubt very much that a player would have been ridiculed for painting their marines 'incorrectly' back then. Nor was there any effort by GW to make the marines they published generic. 


This first page has some fantastic stuff on it. So much fantastic stuff that I don't really need to comment on the models, though I will because so many of you readers tell me that you love to hear what I have to say about these lovely old models. Quite why this is the case still bemuses me, but I am happy to waffle on regardless. The first thing that strikes me here are the abundance of painted banners, and as many of you will know, this kind of thing is right up my street, though they probably took longer to complete than the actual models. Freehand designs abound on these and there are a wealth of ideas here for the old school gamer and painter. Note the Night Lords terminator captain, the first time the renegade chapter was represented by a 28mm model in White Dwarf. There are also so rare images of some of the earlier variant armours put out by Citadel, though I am not really knowledgeable enough about these models to be certain if they were every actually released. Any one know?


This second page also has a number of interesting models worth discussing. The marine on the motorbike jumps out at you straight away and is very, very similar to the same model available today, only the attached flag is a freehand design. The Grey Knights are also worth a mention, these are very ornate and decorated models and ooze power and menace in a way that the modern plastics don't. Its also nice to see some of the Genestealer plastics get some love from the 'Eavy Metal team in the guise of the plastic terminators, which look very strange to our eyes today. Finally, the beautifully painted Salamander force on the bottom of the page is just a work of art is it not? And all presented in a personal style of painting that has all but vanished in a painting culture that, to my eyes anyway, seems far too preoccupied with technical proficiency and too far removed from creative, imaginative passion. But I digress....

To conclude, these are probably the most exciting space marines I have ever seen. If I ever get around to doing Rogue Trader, I shall certainly be starting here for my inspiration. I hope so of you old school fans are also inspired by this excellent work. 

As an additional treat, I have included a version of the original Space Marine Painting guide, via my lovely Chico Danks. Its a bit worn out through constant use, and Chico tells me that he often consults this document when he is painting marines dressed in filly ladies' underwear, suspender belt and all! It really is worth scrolling through this document to have a look at the painted examples of each of the chapters, including a great shot of the original Leman Russ model, which I have had the good fortune to see with my own eyes. Thankfully, I have not had the misfortune to see Chico in his 'painting gear'. 

Orlygg

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Retail Detail: What GW shops were like in the 1980s!

August 21, 2014, 10:50 am
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In the days of strange opening hours, one man stores and aggressive sales tactics, its easy to forget just how fantastic going into a GW store was back in the 1980s and very early 1990s. The walls of blisters, the stacks of big box games, the strange, random fantasy stuff that you have never seen or heard anything about before, roleplaying games, computer games, books, funky t-shirts, painted models (which you could actually SELL to the store) and loads of punters. I can recall it was actually difficult to get into some of the shops due the the ranks of shell-suit clad youths with centre parted haircuts that stood in your way. If you are in need of any more nostalgia, have a look at this post about Guy Carpenter's time in GW retail. Well worth a read! 

What we have to look at today are extracts from the 'Spotlight' articles White Dwarf ran in the 1980s and early 1990s. The premise was simple: to document that goings on in and around a particular store, here in the UK and in the US too. What follows is a quick look at the Nottingham and Fairfax stores. 

Nottingham's article has some really interesting little nuggets of history. Firstly, have a read through the gaming league information. Considering this is just one shop, there are enough players for all the major systems to have their own actual league, as well as named rising stars of the gaming scene mention in the article. This kind of culture around a store was still around when I returned to the hobby in 2004 and I can remember the gaming room in the Poole store very well. The internet has largely replaced the need to find fellow fans of games but a space to actually play in is still essential to this hobby. 

There is also mention here of 'The Citadel Miniatures Museum' where all the classic '80s miniatures would be displayed for viewing. Now, its hard to comment here about this. Is this an early attempt at the miniatures gallery at Warhammer World? Or something different? Truth be told though, the museum this article describes is indeed under construction as we speak and will be housed at the Wargames Foundry in the coming years. Exciting!


This second page contains some interesting stuff too. The first thing that strikes is the small number of actual GW stores. The Forthcoming Events just for this store put the current social calendar at GW to shame, with painting competitions (with prizes, judged by actual Studio staff), region heats for GD and the Marauder Blade, as well as modelling workshops with Tony Cottrell and an auction! Hang on a minute, that is a great idea for a future Oldhammer Day! An old school auction!

And lo-and-behold, Nottingham's Official Robin Hood and friend to Oldhammer, Tim Pollard makes a rather roguish (or should that be rakish?) appearance among the staff at the shop too! Can you spot him? His interview is well worth a read if you have missed it as is his collection of original artwork. I wonder if the number of staff is in anyway suggestive of how busy the shop actually was then, especially as the store had both a manager and an assistant manager!


Its much the same on the other side of the Atlantic, with gaming leagues aplenty and regular in-store events to help draw you into the hobby. Obviously, they didn't have the access to GW worthies as easily as the UK stores but they made a real effort to create a sense of community. Its a little known fact that Design Studio types, such as Jervis Johnson and John Blanche, actually did US tours at this time. No doubt flying over on Concord's business class and visiting each US store in turn. Andy Craig, Tim Prow and the other 'Eavy metal boys had to make do with smaller tours of the UK. 


Aside from the Leagues, there are loads of other fun sounding things going on. Special mention should be made of Megabowl and Deathbowl, two Bloodbowl variants that I can recall from the old days that are seldom mentioned today. Megabowl was created by putting two astrogranite (polystyrene) sets together for a four way mash up with four teams playing while Deathbowl included all of the traps from Dungeonbowl on the playing surface. The other in-store games exhibit more variation and imagination that the battle reports from the last issues of WD I bought. And, I really like the idea of 'The Pit', a kind of gladiatorial battle which would make a welcome competition for an Oldhammer Weekend wouldn't it? Hmmm... Some thought required there.

Another familiar face appears here from Games Workshop history, none other than Tim Olsen, who we last saw serving Ben Elton is this amusing video about the early days of miniature/RPG gaming and was an employee in the original shop in London. Its well worth viewing the other two parts as well, especially if Treasure Trap was your thing! 




And here I shall leave you. Though I have one thing left to say... If you thought that the days of playing Space Hulk, or Adeptus Mechanicus or WFB in front of walls of metal blister packs was over... You'd be wrong! 
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More New Oldhammer Blogs of Note

August 22, 2014, 7:30 am
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As many of you will know, I like to promote worthy and up and coming Oldhammer blogs whenever I can. It wasn't long ago that I cobbled together a list of my personal favourites from our community. Today is no different, as I have recently stumbled across two exciting new bloggers and I would really appreciate as many of you clinking on the links below and heading over to explore what these news sites have to offer. Of course, if you have a Blogger or Google+ account I hope that you will show your support and follow each of these immediately. 

Additionally, if you are a new Blogger in the Oldhammer Community and you want a little bit of promotion, or even if you are more established and what a bit more advertising, then please just let me know and I will happily review your site. Email me at the usual address realmofchaos80s@yahoo.co.uk.

Right then, lets move on...


The Cult of the Four Armed Emperor immediately suggests genestealers and does not disappoint. These are not the more modern 'generic gribbly' genestealers, but the original subtle alien monsters who slowly and cleverly took over worlds before consuming them. Though, these aliens are not the sole focus of Archae Opteryx, the blog's author, as there are also so excellent old school skaven paint jobs on offer. And not the odd model either, but whole ranks of the chittering buggers! 

Let's have a look at some of his work...


I love this unit of skaven and really admire the painting style that has been used. Andy Chambers iconic skaven force seems to have been influence to my eye, but it may be the case that these filthy rats were inspired by other forces. Of immediate interest to me are the hand painted shields and banners which look suitably filthy, but are yet packed with skaven iconography. 

Wow! Just wow! Aren't these just some of the most fantastic painted genestealers you have ever seen? I mean, that magus is just exquisite and blends old and new school painting styles perfectly. Archae Opteryx has a very good grasp on how to paint purple too, as the painters among you will know, is not an easy colour to make look that rich. I certainly shall be observing this model in closer detail when I come to paint the colour next time. Outstanding work indeed. The converted (I am assuming here) limo behind them is also very true to period and fits the rest of the models extremely well. 

The excellent painting is not merely focused on the aliens though, as these outstanding Brood Brothers will clearly show. There is a very interesting choice of models making up the unit here, and Archae Opteryx goes on to show a number of close up shots of these miniatures individually on the blog. 



The really shortly named pw is the author behind WD-92 and has named his new blog after the first issue of White Dwarf that he bought. There isn't much to see here yet but there seems to be some attempt at painting up the Marauder orc and goblin army I blogged about not so long ago. I wish him all the luck in the world in this mighty endeavour and hope to see freshly painted goblinoids soon! 



Visit http://wd-92.blogspot.co.uk/ to show your support! 

Orlygg
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Acceptable in the '80s: Marauder Giant and Giant Slayers

August 22, 2014, 11:26 am
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Ahhh! The Marauder Giant! For a long, long time this was THE Warhammer giant and was a popular choice for Golden Demon painters well into the 1990s. I can recall being obsessed with the model back in the day but I don't think I ever saw the miniature itself until I bought one last year. At the time, I was ever so pleased to have picked one up so cheaply and set about immediately cleaning it up and prepping the model for painting. As another who has handled one of these will know, it weighs a ton but is so beautifully designed that it fits together so smoothly and needs the minimum of gap filling with putty. 

I never got the model finished though, and recently dismantled it for stripping once more. My reason? I am not sure, but I feel out of love with the model despite its many good qualities. I have searched my mind for the reasons why and I think its just a case of over exposure. The giant was so successful for so long that they are absolutely everywhere - just try a eBay search for Warhammer giant and you're sure to hit a least 10 in the first few minutes. 

My feelings aside, its a beautiful sculpt and a great piece of engineering and any Oldhammerer really needs one in their collection. Though not as large as the earlier Citadel Giant, its still a big beast and its sheer size is a spectacular sight just glued together as bare metal. Have a look at the diagram to see all the different pieces in the image below if you are not familiar with its dimensions. 

The Marauder Giant Slayers are also fun, though they are not a patch on the Renaissance styled dwarfs we have discussed previously. They have a fair bit of variation and the odd amusing feature, such as the peg leg on one of the character models, but I prefer the Citadel ones released as part of the dwarf range. They seem too cuddly to me and don't really represent the frenzied deathwish viewpoint that the background suggests. I own them all and have long considered painting them up as they a amusing little chaps, perhaps as part of a scenario using the giant also. Time will tell where that project will go! 


Mention must be made of these line drawings for Dark Elf cavalry. They are part of GW's increasing move away from single cast models into the era of the multi-part kit, though in truth this had been on the rise for some time. We will have a more detailed look at these models in a later post as some beautifully painted examples were published later. 

Until then I shall leave you with a question - are you a friend or foe of the Marauder Giant? Is it a model that excites you? Have you a painted example in your collection? Or are you like me, a bit over exposed? 

Basically, do you love or loathe the model?

Do share! 

Orlygg

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Whiate Dwarf 124: 'Eavy Metal Special

August 23, 2014, 12:16 pm
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This week we are having a look at the models that appear in White Dwarf 124 and many of them will be familiar to readers of the Lost and the Damned. Within that eldritch tome, two warbands are described in quite a bit of detail (in fact the same article is also present in this issue of WD) and a spread of miniatures are shown off. These models are from that same set of warbands only within the pages of White Dwarf we get to see them in a little bit more detail. 

The first of the warbands to appear is that of Lothar Bubonicus and doesn't it look beautiful - in a Nurgely way I suppose! Some of the models here are obviously part of the previous Studio collection, such as the Mike McVey converted chaos warrior on chaos steed and Skrag the Slaugheter, but the rest seem new to this force. And a lovely varied bunch they are. Stand out pieces for me are probably the most obvious, namely the fantastic standard bearer and the brilliant Palanquin itself. The definitive Nurgle warband published during the Golden Age. 


The arch rival of the Plague Lord is of course Tzeentch and he is well represented by Thunderfist, his champion. As you would expect from a god seeped in mutating magic, there is a little more conversion work to be seen among these warriors of chaos, with the most striking being the quite disturbing chaos spawn. Its worth pointing out here once more that your warbands don't need to be totally preoccupied with 'traditional' chaos units... This one makes great use of orcs! 


If one Tzeentch warband is not enough, here is a second one! This time we have a page chronicling the forces of one Warwing. One glance at him is all that is required to see that we have here one the greatest RoC era conversions ever built, yet alone painted. It really is a triumph! The rest of the band is pretty good too, especially that Tzeentch symbol covered minotaur!  


Genestealer Cults remain very popular to this day. Looking at this page of material it is very easy to see why. You can really get creative with the brood brother units and the limos. I am lucky enough to have seen many of the models arrayed in the photograph at the bottom of the page with my own eyes


Steve Mussared will be a name very familiar to readers of this series and his work is always well worth careful studio. here we are treated to many of his Khorne models, pretty all of which are converted in some way. I love the two fleshounds with the dragon heads and reptile tails and like all truly great conversion these seem to be very simple in execution but the standout piece here would have to be scratchbuilt chariot! I am assuming that the chariot itself was built up with putty and the wheels look to be custom jobs. The charioteer is a converted '80s bloodletter with a bloodthister whip. The draught animals, if animals is the right noun, look to be centaur bodies topped with bloodletter torsos! 

Don't they look properly twisted and macabre? 


Our final page throws up more work from another familiar name to this series - Mick Beard! He makes good work of the Marauder ogres we discussed recently and the unique alpine dwarf. But it is the Advanced Heroquest diorama that really impresses. 

Orlygg
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Preslotta Ral Partha Werebear

August 24, 2014, 12:26 am
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Just a quick post to share the model I painted up last night. A bit of a departure for me as it isn't Citadel, but Ral Partha and is apparently a model of a werebear- whatever a werebear might be- from 1983. Cast in England. I intend to use it as an ogre or small giant, most likely in a barbarian force. After painting chaos for some long and thinking about units and so forth I fancied doing something totally different. I picked this model up online a while back for pence really, and always loved the face so thought it worthy of some time. 

I wanted to play about with two things with this paintjob. Firstly, I wanted to develop my flesh painting skills and adopt a new colour palette, so instead of darkening the basecolour of flesh with red ink, I used an orange instead and I am really rather pleased with the results, especially on the face. Speaking of the face, isn't it wonderfully sculpted and full of character, something (to be anyway) that digital sculpting just cannot achieve. Secondly, I want to work on detailing faces properly and really took the time to blend the hairline into the face, something quite simple to do with a larger model.



The base is a bit bare for a model of this size so I intend to add some mushrooms and rocks with putty at a later date.

All in all, I am very pleased with the results, especially considering that I only spent about three hours on him.

What do you dear readers think of him?

Orlygg
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Old Eldar Concepts

August 25, 2014, 8:34 am
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I found these rather yucky scans of Jes Goodwin's Eldar concepts online. and I thought they might be worth a share. They first appeared in White Dwarf somewhere in the 120s if memory serves and were a rather apt discovery after the minor discussion we had with Bryan's undeveloped plans to do 'ork style' book projects for all of the major races in Rogue Trader. Perhaps these pictures were to be part of that project or perhaps they are just mere concepts. Though the adjective 'mere' is not really appropriate when talking about Jes Goodwin's work is it?


As I have already said, the quality of the images is not great but we can certainly see enough to instantly recognise many of the Eldar themes that are style used today, some twenty-five years later. I have always been enormously impressed in the amount of work that just goes into a concept and its background.


One difference that strikes me here are the way the unmasked faces are treated. To my knowledge, there was little use of tribal tattoos or markings in later editions, but the Eldar on some of these pages have remarkable '80s style hairdos and eye shadow... Or is that just me?


Looking at all these drawings make me wonder where they original inspiration for the Eldar came from, beyond the fact that they are really just 'elves in space'. Ultimately, the Eldar remain the most unique and original design produced for Warhammer 40,000.
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Beware the The Midlands Troll!

August 25, 2014, 9:46 am
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Last week I had the pleasure of painting up the pre-slotta Werebear model from Ral Partha and some eagle-eyed readers on the Facebook group noticed that the model bore a slight resemblance to the Mighty Avenger, Bryan Ansell himself. Steve Casey was quick to point out that there was indeed a Bryan Ansell model out there that shared a striking resemblance to the Werebear, and here it is... The famous (or should that be infamous?) Midland Troll!

I had such a good time painting up the previous model that I decided to spend some time this Bank Holiday Monday painting the other one, only with the green tunic replaced with a mighty Foundry T-Shirt! 


Yellow is a very difficult colour to paint I have found and this was the first time I ever worked with it over such a large area but I feel that I have handled the tone reasonably well. Its simple a Sunburst Yellow basecoat worked up with Foundry's Boneyard Light in the same fashion as the Werebear. I was also keen to work on my skin painting once more, this time trying to nod towards Mike McVey rather than Kevin Dallimore. 


The two models hare exactly the same base, and I managed to get a 'Chico style' (ie blurry) picture of the bottom of the base before I stuck it down. I plan to add a few more items of detail to the bases of these two models until I would consider them finished. I sculpted some mushrooms earlier on today and I shall be painting them up and adding them to the bases - perhaps with a little static grass too - in the near future. 



I hope you enjoy my painting efforts!

Orlygg
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A Sort of Anniversary Inspires a Miniature Sort Out!

August 26, 2014, 6:12 am
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I have just had it pointed out to me that I missed an important anniversary (no, not the wedding!) and ought to make mention of it. Three years and five days ago I started my Warseer project log entitled 'Orlygg's Retro 'Realm of Chaos' Project Log. 

This was in the days before Oldhammer. 

Of course, this was some months before Zhu Bajiee's seminal post that gave the community a name (and a neat image to act as a badge), though Oldhammer Founding Fathers, such as Thantsants, Erny and Garth James, were blogging in semi-isolation. It was finding these three blogs on a wet February Sunday afternoon that brought about a massive change in my wargaming hobby, for here were some guys (albeit just three) who were interested, nay passionate, about the very same period I have been trying to recreate for some years. 

The trouble was, blogging looked a bit complicated. You had to sign up for things, and move pictures around and post links and all these other things I had no idea how to do. So I used what I knew about... Warseer! Eventually, I out grew the thread I was using and drew up the courage to start Blogger. 

I have never looked back! 

So considering that today was another one of those cold, wet miserable days (only in August) I decided to celebrate this anniversary by (finally) sorting out all of the painted models I have painted in the last three years and 5 days. And then I arranged them on my Welsh Dresser for display. After counting them all I have discovered that I have painted 230 old school Citadel/Ral Partha/Marauder miniatures in that time, not including the commissions I have done for other people. 


My now famous (and award-winning!) Realm of Chaos inspired Slaanesh and Khorne armies take up the entire top shelf and make up some 110 models in total. 


The bottom shelf contains everything else in my collection, including some pieces that are rarely seen online, such as my embryonic undead force here.


I also have a handful of painted skaven, Skrag the Slaugheter and some Nurgle beastmen, minotaurs and characters. 


Chaos daemons don't get many mentions on this blog, though I have painted some over the last three years!


Another embryonic army, Orcs and Goblins. I have recently come into possession of some big units of goblinoids that might have to see the attentions of my paintbrush over the winter months. 


Foundry Bretonnians, the Adventurer's Cart and all of the models I have collected and painted for my Warhammer Bestiary project - I suppose I should get back to that too! 


My spined dragon perches on the end of the shelf (don't worry, he is stuck on with blu-tak) and hides the Coatl I painted quite some time ago now!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you readers who make this blog the success it is. Thanks for all your emails ( I really should start publishing them in my own 'letters page'), presents through the post or in person ( I am still so greatful to the fellow Oldhammerer who just gave me a Ambull model!), page views (over three quarter of a million now, and nearly 50,000 in the month of August too!) and all of you other bloggers who's work and writings keep me entertained everyday. 

And guess what... You can do it too!


This is a leadpile - I know you have one, even if you deny it to yourself!


This is a draw full of painting equipment. I know you have one of these too, no matter how small! 

And here is the link to get your blog started!   https://www.blogger.com

What are you waiting for?

Orlygg
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What's Your Ultimate Oldhammer Moment?

August 27, 2014, 2:41 am
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The internet seems to be awash with various people, some of whom display remarkable stupidity, drenching themselves with icy water for charity, or just because everyone else is doing so. Its a curious part of social media. Oldhammer has not been immune to these odd little trends either, with the recent 'Top 10 Favourite Miniatures' posts spreading across the community and making quite excellent reading for us all. 

With Rick Priestley and John Stallard
So I was hoping to start another one for us in the blogging community, only this time we will be considering our own personal 'ultimate Oldhammer moment', whatever that may be. 

Of course, these moments will be as varied and personal to each blogger as the 'Top 10' lists were. But I suspect that the stories that make up these moments will be well worth sharing. The only trouble is actually choosing your greatest moment out of everything your Oldhammer experience has thrown 
Meeting Bryan for the first time! 
at you. After all, was your Ultimate Moment chasing down that rare model you have been after all these years, acquiring that essential publication, beating a painting challenge or just getting a big game in? Due to the difficulty of picking just one moment, let's say you are allowed a couple of 'Runner up' options, too!

Now this post hasn't come without thought, and I have spent a couple of days pondering over all of the wonderful things that Oldhammer has done for me over the last couple of years. Its rather hard
With Tony Hough and Kev Goblinmaster Adams.
when you have to choose just three but I think I have succeeded. Meeting plenty of old school legends is definitely up there (as these pictures will show) so I would happily place those experiences as one of my 'runner ups'. 

The other 'runner up' is less tangible and has no photographic evidence to show off. Its when this blog became a search term on the internet! It meant that people were actively Googling this blog because they were eager to read my rambles about Old School British Fantasy gaming!

Quite, why is still a bit of a mystery?

For me, the greatest moment I have had so far as part of the Oldhammer Community is actually something I that I have not mentioned much, as it wasn't really anything to do with me, though I took part. It was the game that Warlord Paul put on for Steve 'Citadel Collector' Casey, Nik Dixon, Thantsants and myself at Slayer Gaming in June.

That game became known as the Battle of the Burning Tower and can be read in full here on Warlord Paul's personal blog, the Black Hole!

Why did I choose this rather obscure event as my all time greatest Oldhammer moment then? Especially after many other glories (winning that limited edition wizard for instance!) and surprises? Well, to me the answer was simple... That rather small key game had everything I have ever wanted from a wargaming experience. Let me elaborate further on what I actually mean...

Firstly, everyone who attended the game had brought with them their miniatures, all lovingly collected and painted over quite a long period of time, with specific models painted up just for the purpose of that game. Some of the models on show were really well thought out (Steve Casey's Klint Westwood and Clyde were brilliant, and ultimately needs to be replicated in my own collection) and despite the varying styles, all looked superb on the table.

Chaos run in fear of the undead while the Deathfist advances. The Citadel Collector aka Steve Casey looks on, lovin' it!
Secondly, the game was beautifully run by Paul. Now, I suspect that a great number of you who read this blog have probably never played a properly crafted GM scenario. In these situations there are no 'line them up and knock them down' approaches and you really don't know what is going to happen. Buildings cease to be just blocks of scenery and become rather exciting prospects. What do they contain? A friend or foe? How can they be best used? Under Paul's guidance, the game was developed and ended with a nice set piece battle - which is the spectacle that so many of use crave.

Thirdly, we made up rules and narrative as we went along. By questioning Paul, we were able to establish that the tower may contain flammable materials (on a roll of 6, which of course we got) but only after a fireball spell was cast. The result? A massive explosion which killed the guards but miraclously left Klint and Clyde alive but rather singed! There was no need to flick argumentatively through the rulebook and waste playing (or chatting) time rules lawyering. Paul was in charge and has probably the greatest working knowledge of Third Edition anyway. The result of this was that the game ran so, so smoothly and the hours melted by rather alarmingly!

We roleplayed conversations between the major and minor characters, which added another dimension to the proceedings.
Additionally, we were in a non-Oldhammer environment. remember, when you are gaming at the Foundry or around a fellow Oldhammerer's pad you are playing to the converted. They know what to expect, but to the eyes of gamers brought up on and totally over exposed to the horror of twenty-first century CAD designs our legions of beautifully painted old school models (nearly all of which were individual models and not plastic clones) are truly a thing to see! It was a proud moment for us all to chat to other gamers about our collections and accomplishments as a community.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, was the camaraderie between us all. As gamers, we all clicked and there was no silly one-up-mans-ship going on, just a shared appreciation of the scenario and game. And that is the most important thing about what we do in my opinion. I am sure many of you will be familiar with the antithesis of this and may well have come off badly to unsportly opponents in the past - Kroot conga line anyone?

Well that is all from me. But I hereby lay done a challenge to all of you who have a blog. Take the time to consider your greatest Oldhammer moments and share them with the community. If you have a blog, post about it, if you don't have a blog then share your moments in the comments sections below.

Orlygg
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Painting BOYLdrik the Oldhammer Goblin

August 27, 2014, 8:25 am
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One of the highlights of the Oldhammer Weekend this year was the Oldhammer goblin, or BOYLdrik as he is now kind of officially known, made for us by the one and only Kev Adams. I haven't seen too many of these painted yet but I thought I would spend a bit of time this afternoon painting him up. He isn't slottabased by the way and has a solid base, similar to other Foundry castings and has the word 'Oldhammer' on the side of the base like miniatures of yesteryear. 

I decided to cover this with greenstuff and then base with sand. I also tried out a new basing technique that I am trying for my undead army, something to suggest that the soil is poor and many of the plants have died. For the actual painting I had no real rhyme or reason and just went wild on him. I added yellow ink to the basecolour for his skin and ended up with nice retro vibrant green flesh. Some people have asked about the model's scale and that on Foundry goblins in other ranges, so I have shown BOYLdrik alongside a classic 1980s gobbo for company. Not much in it really, when you discount the enormous hat! 


All in all, a great fun model to paint in a single sitting, which is what you would expect from the Goblinmaster!

If you were at BOYL this year I have a question for you. 

How did you paint yours?

Orlygg
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Has the brilliant Aly Morrison left GW for Wargames Foundry?

August 28, 2014, 1:30 pm
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About twenty minutes ago this rather enigmatic photograph appeared on the Wargames Foundry Facebook page. It reports to show the veteran sculptor who created of a great number of our favourite classic '80s sculpts wearing the Wargames Foundry staff uniform! 

The tag line 'Aly Morrison trying on the Foundry staff uniform for size!' is included with the image to boot!

Take a moment to think about it...

Bryan Ansell, Kev Adams and Aly Morrison all working with the Wargames Foundry's resources? That would be interesting wouldn't it?

Or it could just be an amusing photograph taken during Cliff Ansell's recent birthday celebrations and anniversary of the Wargames Foundry? Hence the cluttered tables and bric-a-brac of celebration. 

Time will tell...

But its fun to speculate! 

Orlygg
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Acceptable in the '80s: Dark Elf Cavalry and Cold One Riders

August 29, 2014, 9:39 am
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We have reached issue 125 of White Dwarf now in our history of Warhammer Third Edition and the big releases this month are the excellent Marauder Dark Elf Cavalry and Cold One Riders. I have seen a number of very well painted versions of these models over the last couple of years and I have always fancied having a go at them myself. Sadly, I have yet to win any auctions for any of these beautiful models!

Let's a have a look at them then shall we?


The first thing that may well strike you when studying these models are the distinct differences between them and the Bob Naismith range from three years before. These models are chunkier and more military in their look. I don't know about you, but there seems to be a late Roman feel in the design, especially with the cavalry figures on the top of the page. 

It appears to my eyes that there is a single creature model ( an armoured horse and cold one) and a range of interchangable bodies and weapons. Lots and lots of options then, and perhaps more importantly, a range of attachable weapons, showing once again a sign of things to come. 

The second page from this advert shows off those addition weapons in line drawn extra detail. 


Spears, hand weapons and crossbows certainly give you plenty of options when it comes to putting these models together and reminds me very much of the more recent GW box sets from which you can build different types of units. The small print at the top of the ad conforms this, telling us that units of 'Doomsteeds, Dark Riders, Helldrakes and Doomdrakes' can be created from these models. 

The painted colour schemes are also worth a mention, with the orange, red and black look being quite striking. I have always painted my dark Elves in golds and purples and these two units have shown me that other schemes work just as well. 


Well, before I disappear int the ether of the Realms of Chaos of the 1980s once more, I shall leave you with this advert for the original GW Warhammer Novels. Expect a series of posts about this books coming in the weeks ahead as I hope to re-read them and review them for your old school enjoyment!

Orlygg
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'Eavy Metal Special: White Dwarf 125

August 30, 2014, 1:00 am
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The selected painted models in this post were printed in White Dwarf 125 and continue our exploration of old school style miniatures from the Bryan Ansell years of Games Workshop. Following on from my last post, we have a further assortment of chaos miniatures produced by the talented hands of the painting department. Though there are a couple of Khorne and Slaanesh models here, which look to date from the Slaves of Darkness era only with new bases and shields, the majority of the space was dedicated to Nurgle and Tzeentch, which is only right due to the imminent release of The Lost and the Damned. 

The Tzeentch stuff really is a riot of colour. If I remember correctly, the very name 'Tzeentch' was suppose to represent the sound of magic spells being cast, and their colour schemes really should represent the chaos of colour that magical spells would produce. They are made up of the raw essence of warp magic in their daemonic form. Orange, yellow and blue seems to predominate, and its probably worth taking note of these themes if you are considering an old school painting style like I do. 

The standout model here (and the term, 'stand out' doesn't really do the model justice) has to be Ivan Bartlett's Dragon Ogre Champion. A truly remarkable conversion, let along paint job and that banner! Certainly one of the best I have ever seen. The three shield motif is one that Ivan uses from time to time in other pieces of work, and I can recall seeing a Nurgle standard bearer in Bryan's collection that followed a similar design. One that I shall have to replicate one day, I think! 

Oh, and this was the model that inspired my retro basing style by the way. 


Now here is a model that needs no introduction... Ivan's War Altar of Nurgle. An immortal piece of converting and painting and a model that is very well remembered by the great number of people. Its probably fair to say that this model is one of the greatest pieces of fantasy modelling ever produced and is chock-a-full of great ideas. The rib cage, the huge wheels, the skeletal oxen pulling the creation along, the brass bell, the malicious crows in the branches and the brilliantly modelled tree. 

It makes you wonder what ever happened to a model like this doesn't it? Or the Dragon Ogre Champion for that matter!

Well, thankfully I can answer both queries...

Here's Steve Casey, the famous Citadel Collector, admiring one of Bryan's figure cases at Stoke Hall alongside Garth 'Warhammer for Adults' James. But what's that I can spy hiding away on top of the cabinet? 
Yes, the War Altar of Nurgle is safe in the Ansell figure collection, though we were so over awed by the Chalice of Doom we didn't ask to get the altar down. Hopefully, in future years we can get a closer look at this model and capture some digital images of the model as it deserves a proper investigation. Luckily, Steve Casey has done some work on chronicling this famous model on his personal blog, Eldritch Epistles, and his post can be found here.

Steve also goes on to report that the Dragon Ogre Champion is now in the collection of Orclord in the US. He has taken a series of modern photographs as part of his collection and they can be seen here too. 


The other miniatures of note in this issue have, largely, been seen before in various other publications. Paul Benson's distinctive painting style is the stand out piece here, though the simple but effective orc champion conversion by Kev Adams is very well known and was published wildly during the 1980s. 


A second page again chronicles well known models, though Steve Blunt's Nurgle Chariot is a fitting end piece of this article. Comparable to the War Altar, this is another iconic piece of conversion and painting work that many of you will remember well. 

We will be looking at this model in greater detail later on today! 

Orlygg
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The Painted Collection of Steve Blunt - Winner of the 1989 Slayer Sword!

August 30, 2014, 8:01 am
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Earlier on today, I posted up an article about some historic miniatures that appeared in WD 125. One of those miniatures was the famous Nurgle Chariot by Steve Blunt, which won the Slayer Sword in 1989. I am happy to be able to bring you a special post packed with loads more of Steve's iconic work from the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

I am able to do this because Steve has a really interesting, but sadly not very often updated, blog called Paint Splats and some years ago photographed much of his work and published it all on line. Some years ago, in the early days of this blog I mentioned this blog and shared a few of the pictures he posted up. Time has moved on, and that post is buried deep within the Realm of Chaos 80s archive, so I felt it appropriate to do a new, more detailed post about his work for all you old school fantasy fans. 

I have organised the work chronologically and have used Steve's own notes to help flesh out the details about the models, and where possible, the positions each piece finished up in at the Golden Demon Awards that Steve attended. All of his quotes are presented in italic with a SB.

I big thank you should go out to Steve Blunt for painting this stuff so exquisitely back in the day, and for taking the time to photograph his collection for us all to enjoy. I do hope he doesn't mind me stealing his photographs and words and sharing them once more! 

Right, let's go back in time to...
1987

SB: Like most people my age I started painting with enamels but by the 1980s had moved on to acrylics, and the relatively new concept of using a black undercoat!  Whilst I did use a few Citadel paint sets at the time, Windsor and Newton Artists tube acrylics were the predominant paints used.

On the day of the grand finals in Nottingham, one of the lasting impressions I came away with was how dull my figures looked (albeit relatively realistic) when compared to many other entrants. No doubt in part due to the more transparent nature of the tube paint over the black undercoat. Over all an enjoyable day out with one gold, two bronzes and a highly commended, although the gold was a surprise as I felt this piece was my weakest entry at the time!  The gold fish did go down well though! The competition report with more pictures of the event and other entries can be found in White Dwarf 93.

Looking at the pictures now, it is glaringly evident how the standard of painting has improved over the past 20 years or so!

Single Mounted Figure Category, heat winner and Honourable Mention
 This is a fun model to begin with. I am not sure from which range this model comes, but it appears to be some kind of mounted bard or elf with a sturdy looking horse. The three different green tones work really well on the clothing of the mounted figure and the yellow and red stripes on the hose match very nicely. I also like the way Steve used blue, orange a yellow to make more of the horse furniture, and the colours complement the greens perfectly. Note how simple the base is at this early stage in his career.
Dragon Category, Bronze Demon
This model won Steve a Bronze Demon and looks similar to the famous stage by stage version of the same model that appeared in White Dwarf in the same year. Here the base is a little more built up with detail, though the quality of the sculpting on the plants is primitive to say the least. Still , they work when viewed alongside the rocks and the rather realistic looking muddy grass. The addition of the books add further interest, but leave me rather puzzled to why they are present. Are dragons big readers?
Single figure Category, heat winner but unplaced at finals. 
A lovely model, with well matched colours with the red and blue and certainly something to try myself. Steve's ambition is beginning to really show in this model, and just look at the added details he has included in the paint work. Additional patterns on the robes as well as a rather livid scar on the arm make a characterful model more characterful. The hexagonal base is a real plus too. 
Conversion Category,.Gold Demon
 This model won Steve his first gold, and as he stated earlier, he felt this to be his weakest work! Again, I am not sure of what model this was based on but it seems to be some kind flying goblin or orc. The base is also very worthy of study as it appears to be made up of natural materials that have not been painted - on at least don't look like they have been painted by me! The addition of the fishing rod adds some welcome 1980s zany humour that seemed abundant in the early Fantasy Miniature books. 
Monster Category. Heat winner not placed at final
 The green on those jewels really draw the eye in don't they? A great model from one of the minotaur ranges of the 1980s and based with more natural materials

 Not entered into the competition but contemporary to the other models in this section.
 If you read through Steve's blog in more detail, he goes on to talk about how he tried several times in the 1980s to build up a dwarf army, though he never succeeded. These lovely dwarfs were to be part of the aborted force. These old lead dwarfs are a lovely range, and full of very characterful faces and these are beautifully painted examples. A joy to study this one. 
Vignette Category. Ogres and Snotling, heat winner not placed at finals
 Jes Goodwin ogres face off against a rather cheeky looking Kev Adams snotling. You can see how realistic the tones are here, thanks to the W&S paints Steve was using at the time, which just goes to show you don't have to use wargaming acrylics to paint a miniature up well. 
Diorama Catagory. Bronze Demon
This is a fantastic looking, and highly detailed, diorama that according to Steve's notes, sadly no longer exists and this is one of the few photographs of it. This is a great example of the 'spot the model' type of work that rewards careful study. If you are anything like me, you will spot something new each time you look at this model. Classic minotaurs, orcs and chaos warriors are just some of the goodies you can spot here. I wonder how that minstrel ended up in that cage?
1989

SB: By this time I had now swapped to a white undercoat in order to brighten things up a bit after the 1987 experience but still combined with the same Windsor and Newton Artists tube acrylics. I suppose this year represented a bit of a purple patch for me as not only had I managed three gold demons and the Slayer Sword, I had also managed to complete five pieces in as many months, pretty prolific for me!

Mounted Figure Category.  Chaos conversion, Gold Demon.




Those of you with sharp eyes will recognise this model from my previous post as it appeared as part of the expert conversions section, and it was also featured in the Fantasy Miniatures book for 1989. It really pleasing to see these images, as they allow us to have a look at different angles and unveils details we have been unable to see for some years. Which is a strange feeling sometimes, especially if you have been studying a model for over twenty years! I love the snake that coils around the rocks on the base, and the detailing on the trident. A couple of years on, Steve's bases are much more sophisticated and detailed, though the natural looking style and ideas remain. 

One thing that I have never noticed before about this model before, and has been highlighted by these photographs are the multicoloured lines on the chainmail. 

Monster Category: Greater Demon of Tzeentch, heat winner but not placed at finals.



This model have an wonderfully detailed base with loads of sculpted fungi growing off a treestump. There seems to be some kind of daemon headed snake monster grappling with the Lord of Change and perhaps that rather innocent looking treestump is its home?

Conversion Category: Great Imperial Dragon-Minotaur Lord conversion, Gold Demon.




Ahhh! Now here is a model that I really do recognise, only this time it comes from the winners section of the Fantasy Miniatures book of 1989. I can honestly say I have spent years studying this particular piece and always wondered about it. Now, with the wonders of digital photography much more of its detail have been revealed to me, including a closer shot of its shield. And it really is a masterpiece is it not, and worthy of the gold it won!

At this point, Steve's work on his bases seems to switch from fantasy to classical in their style, and this is a great development. The nod to the Ancient World is continued further with the addition of a Roman style helmet for the minotaur. Is that the head of a temple dog on the base?

 Standard Bearer Category.  Elf standard bearer not placed.  




If this was not placed, I wonder what the rest of the competition was like for Standard Bearers? The work here just goes to show how far I have to go with my own banners until I reach (if indeed I ever do) the giddy heights of these old masters. 

 Vignette Category.  Nurgle Chariot; Gold Demon and Slayer Sword Winner.





An immortal classic. What can be said about this model and worthy Golden Demon Slayer Sword winner!? INCREDIBLE! Its really pleasing to be able to take a closer look at this iconic model all these years later, and with the clearer photographs it really is possible to spot loads of new little features that have been lost for a quarter of a century or more. I have noticed, for example, the red and green snakes that coil through the base of the chariot as I was working on this post. 

One of the all time greatest fantasy models by anyone anywhere. 

1989-90


SB: During this period I only completed a few smaller pieces, none intended for competition entry which was a relief. As usual Windsor and Newton Artists tube acrylics were the paints of choice.  First up another Dragon conversion based on the Citadel Rock Dragon, this time with a more medieval flavour.


Wow! Now here is a model I have not seen before and its a real treat. I love the idea of a dragon standing up dressed as a medieval knight- especially considering he has heraldry consisting of a green dragon too! Great fun and a rather nifty base too!



These models were another attempt to complete that dwarf army, and if you look closely you can see that these were clearly never completed. So even the old masters of this hobby have draws full of uncompleted projects!

This is a conversion of one of the Citadel C28 giants produced in the mid 1980s and sculpted by Nick Bibby. This has seen some work, with the right arm being bent to support the dwarf and the beer barrel being cut away so it appears that this giant is carrying a poor dwarf! The axe embedded in the giant's boot tells a wonderful story. So simple. So effective. Beautiful to see. 


Next up is that chaos sorcerer with some minor conversion work. Like the giant, Steve's sense of humour comes through with this one, and I really like the way he has repeated the cloud and lightning motif on the robes too. 

Ork weirdboyz and according to Steve, one of the few 40K pieces he ever did. A beautiful banner too! 

This is another minor conversion. Can you see the added beard on this rather illustrious wizard? The base was made up from three other wizard models and one can be clearly seen in the stone. By this point, it is clear that Steve has really developed up hi skills with creating bases and his work is excellent. Got to love those mushrooms! 

1991

SB: A total of 17 goblins go to make up this piece, almost a unit. The initial build was done very quickly in about a month, the caravan being predominantly made from balsa wood and some bits and pieces from the spares box like wheels etc. As far as I can remember the relatively bright green goblin flesh was in vogue at the time and as usual W&N tube acrylic paints were used throughout. Unfortunately one or two repairs still need to be done to bring it back to original condition! Even though it got off to a flying start, in the end it took the best part of a year to complete the project, mainly a motivational thing rather than the amount of work involved.

Goblin Caravan 





When I first lay eyes on these photographs I was blown away and I feel this is the best of Steve's work that I have seen. I don't think it was ever entered into a competition, though I may well be wrong. The first place I ever saw this model was on Steve's blog and I cannot remember seeing it anywhere else. There is just so much going on in this one to even begin to make a coherent comment about it.. . so I won't both. My favourite part? Definitely the gobbo getting fired out of the cannon! 


1992

SB: This was to be the final time I entered Golden Demon, this time at the Birmingham NEC, an even bigger noisier venue!  The piece was finished in about two months and on the whole I was quite happy with it, especially as the competition basing restrictions were even tighter this year in not allowing any overhang of the pre determined base size, so a lot to squeeze in! The sculpting of the gold Minotaur when I look at it now seems very naive by today’s standards or even by the standards in 1992! But on the whole I don’t think it detracts from the piece too much. In the end the piece achieved a bronze demon in the diorama category, although no picture was ever published of it in white Dwarf etc. which was a shame, but there you go and here it is now anyway! This was to be the final piece painted in acrylics for a few years.






And so we end with this, another classical world inspired Golden Demon entry, but as Steve states in his quote, this one never appeared in a White Dwarf and there was not a book published that year of the entries either. Still, its fantastic to see it in all this detail. The Ancient Greek iconography is probably my favourite part of this model. 

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this journey through Steve's collection. There are loads of other models and great paint jobs on his blog so it well worth following the link at the top of this article and having a look. 

Right, I am off to read up on The Lost and the Damned! 

Orlygg

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On the Boil: Emails, Gifts and Great Links

August 31, 2014, 6:05 am
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The summer is nearly over and the stark reality of having to return to work looms large. Actually, I have already been into school to work with my colleagues on our classroom as well as sorting out a few details with the other teacher, Catherine, who I share a Year 2 class with. I also teach a day in Year 5 and a day in Year 6, and I was pleased to be reminded that most of these children will be away on the School Journey for the first week or so at school, leaving the remaining children with a project to complete. The school has chosen Australia as a topic and after the Site Manager scavenged some 44 high quality tiles from the skip I decided on teaching the children to create aboriginal style artworks on them. 

What that and a two week mini project with the Year 2s about the dinosaurs I can imagine myself being pretty busy in the coming weeks. You may have noticed a sharp increase in the amounts of posts I am putting out (but perhaps not in actual quality (: ) as the holidays provide plenty of time. Sadly, things will slown down from here but I will try and blog at least a couple of times a week. 

Something else that I often cannot find time to do, largely because I check them just before big, is respond to the many emails that I receive from you readers. I read them all, but sometimes struggle to respond to you all, so I have decided to do an irregular posting of the best of my emails in an attempt to answer you personally, and to share many of the stories that can past on to me. 

I also hope to use the opportunity to share the other bits and bobs of Realm of Chaos 80s news too, that would be otherwise too small to share in a post of their own. 

Long term students of White Dwarf may also recognise the title of this post and I hope it amuses you!

Right, to the emails first!



Dear Orlygg - 

Just a little while ago, I read on Realms of Chaos 80s that you would consider reviewing new Oldhammer blogs. I'd be very happy if you'd take a look at my new site -- it is:


Any feedback that you have would be much appreciated - I'm pretty new to the miniature blogging business and am still figuring a lot of things out (hence the recent posts on miniature photography). I'm just about to start a series about my Oldhammer orc army.

Incidentally, I wanted to thank your for your site. It's a real service to the hobby. It's especially true for all the interviews you've done with the greats from Citadel's past. It's a true oral history of the hobby. As someone who lives outside of Britain and doesn't get a chance to meet any of these guys at conventions, it's a real pleasure to get these insights and memories.

Matthew

Thank you Matthew for those kind words of support and I am glad you enjoyed the interviews I have done. I am just in the process of completing a new one with Oldhammer favourite, Tony Yates, who has a collection of models to rival Bryan's, with many of them originals that he has made himself. So look out for that in the coming days! I would also love to interview Bob Naismith and Nigel Stillman, so if anyone knows of their contact details please do send them on to me! 

Reading through your blog it seems to me that you don't really need any help at all. You have a great mix of factual posts and painted material. And that painted material is excellent, and your minor conversions really bring the word of Third Edition to life! I also enjoyed reading the theory behind your approach to painting and its clear that you put a great deal more effort into 'thinking' about the miniatures you paint than I do! 

I am sure that the two teaser pictures I have posted up as headers to this letters will draw plenty of new followers towards your blog. All that is left to be said is 'keep up the good work' and I look forwards to reading your next installments. 






Hi there,

Its a lovely wet bank holiday here in London, and I thought I would send an email to thank you for all the hard work that has clearly been put into your fantastic website - what a great source of information and nostalgia! The interviews with the old GW guys are great.

I got into 40k (mainly painting the miniatures) as an 11 year old in about 1994 (eg the period where everything seemed constantly in transition with all the mixed metal/plastic figures, and barely any variation in poses). An older cousin gave me his copy of Rogue Trader - as well as a few WD's from about 1991 which I have kept ever since, was at the time blown away by it. Despite seeming a world away in style by that time it was of course far more "grown up" and sci fi. Reading it kind of made the current stuff feel instantly far too serious yet also rather childish and I lost interest completely after a couple years. 

I picked up the book again about a year back and thought it would be a lot of fun to start a little collection again only this time with all the models that back in the day were already discontinued. Your site, and a lot of the sites linked from it have been invaluable in inspiring getting back into painting, It had not occurred to me that there would be such a wealth of interest in the old school stuff out there.  

Have built up a decent amount of old school marines, love the original dreadnought model. Perhaps they can be played somewhere one day If I can get my head round the rules again!  Painted them in a (I think?) suitably old fashioned comic bookish style :) Used a mix of the old hexagonal pot citadel found in the loft, as well as some new Coat d'Arms paints which I did not know were available until I read your blog. 
      
Again, thank you for all the effort put into the site - it is excellent.

All the best

Owen


Owen, I think your story is a similar one to many. A brief, candlelight bright period of youthful interest followed by a shift of interests to beers and girls. Once sanity returns, the old interests come creeping back and suddenly you are spending hundreds of pounds a month on eBay on little lead men. You are also right about many people not knowing about the interest in old school Citadel stuff, in fact all of us can probably remember asking the question 'am I the only one left who likes this stuff?'. Having had a hand in the building of the Oldhammer Community I often wonder what it must feel like to spend years in the wilderness collecting and enjoying old school Citadel stuff, only to discover Oldhammer for the first time. Hopefully, the feeling is akin to walking into the fantasy shops of yore back in the 1980s! 

I am also glad you have found out about the Coat d'Arms range from Black Hat miniatures. I use these paints quite often and always spend some time at Salute chasing up the colours I need. I can also recommend the Foundry paint system too, so if your are after a new colour I would suggest trying out their range too! 






Hello Orlygg,

I hope you don’t mind me using your ‘Do you recognize this clock’ mail to contact you. First off thanks for your website and all the obvious love and hard work poured into it. I love reading up on all the old memories and even bought a new Man Mangler to replace the one I sold off years ago, just might turn into another ‘Olderhammer’ person (as soon as I find the time). Also a million thanks for the post showing the original miniatures in Bryan Ansell’s house. That post was just – for lack of a better description – an epic walk through nostalgia.

Anyway, the reason I contact you is your post on the Eldar concept artwork. Your scans are rather bad and I have the issue on the shelf (WD124/April 1990). Since these drawings managed to inspire a lifelong Eldar obsession in me, I thought it might be nice to get you some better scans. Attached are small versions of the scans, you can get a zip-file with the large versions from my Dropbox here:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26821718/Eldar%20concept%20artwork.zip. I hope you enjoy this and once again thanks for your website (and sorry for potentially abusing the mail-address mentioned on it).

Best regards,

Merijn Gelens

Thank you so much for the much better scans of these lovely pages. I have shared them here so fans can have a better look and I will change the images on my post shortly. I am glad that you enjoyed the trip through Stoke Hall, and I can tell you that there was an deep sense of awe in all of the Oldhammerers who got the chance to do so. I can say, that the photographs you saw are only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to Bryan's collection. Some of the key pieces have been catalogued by Steve Casey over on Eldritch Epistles and his site is well worth a visit if you haven't already. I am sure there will be plenty more of this collection to admire in the coming years. 




Hi,

Just wanted to drop you a message of congrats on your blog anniversary.  I started collecting in about 1986, and although I see myself as a reasonably accomplished painter (not quite at your levels, but not terrible either), and also am an awful self-motivator.  Many ideas running through my head for my several thousand models, but never getting around to any of them.

Then, I stumbled onto the Oldhammer Forum, and soon after, your blog.  Since then, I've cataloged my 3rd Edition Chaos stuff (for insurance purposes), and cleaned up/based about 30 of them, ready for priming.  Momentum is building.  The sheer number of models you've painted in 3 years is fantastic and I've realized that I only need to finish a model a week to get a good start on a solid army.

On the topic of Chaos, do you have any specific blog pages you could point me to that would have better pictures of a couple of the models that you show on your shelf?  Namely your Skrag, and the Nurgle Champ called Voight.  I am looking to paint my warriors in plain silver armor, with some chequerboard patterns, and only the Champs being in God colors.  If you have any other models done this way, I would be interested in them also.

Thanks,

Colin


Okay Colin, I have selected four models from my collection that seem to fit your criteria, including Skrag and Voight. Its very tempting to just paint a model silver, wash over with black and then drybrush over the top with a lighter silver, but then I haven't really got a good result out of this method. I tend to darken my base down with black and coat the entire model with this, and then highlight the armour up again in much the same way as I do with other colours of armour. I always save by sharpest silver for painting the extreme edges of the armour plate.

I have also experimented with glaze washes over the top of painted armour. Blue and green inks if suitably watered down can result in some great finishes - in fact now that I am thinking about it, Skrag was completed with a blue glaze.

Have a look at this photo for some inspiration!


Right, next up are some new miniatures for my collection. As you will know, I have but a ban on eBaying until I have painted loads more of my miniatures. Trades are fine, though I shall allow buying essential things like shields, paints and brushes and things like that online. Well over the last couple of weeks I have picked up some interesting pieces.

First of all I would like to thank the fine gentleman who gifted me the model Ambull you can see in the photograph below. We have met at both of the Oldhammer Weekends and enjoyed a great chat but I cannot remember his name at all! If you are the pleasant chap who donated this fine miniature please get in touch so I can thank you properly!

Secondly, I am just in the process of completing a trade with Simon Jones from the Facebook Group. My Chaos Dwarf crossbow unit will be receiving some re-enforcements now, hopefully in time for the Halloween game, with four new models to join the unit. A fifth is undercoated and ready for painting. And finally, I picked up these lovely metal shields for £1.50 elsewhere and the seller was kind enough to include some plastic Marauder shields for free! You have gotta love those old Citadel metal shields!


Finally, I have just received these characterful banners in the post from Spain of all places! They are great fun and would certainly suit a Nurgle champion or Daemonic power and make up part of my 'painted by other people' section of my painted miniature collection. These were painted by Luife Lopez and are the first part of  a little parcel he sent me. Hopefully, the miniatures will arrive in the near future too!




Talking about Spain, I have had a request from Carlos Pantojo Martinez to suggest you all visit his blog, OldhammerSpain in the near future. Its Spanish language but very easy to translate using the Google tool to do so. 



Expect some excellently painted miniatures with an emphasis on classic Realm of Chaos era models, as well as some classic dwarfs! 

Enjoy

Thank you to all of you who have contacted me over the years and I apologise for the tardiness of my replies sometimes. Hopefully, this new 'One the Boil' idea will encourage me to respond a little faster and share your stories too! So if you haven't a blog, don't care to comment but what to share your story, your photographs or some one trinket (no Ray-Bans please) that you think your fellow readers may enjoy. Then drop me a line to the usual place - realmofchaos80s@yahoo.co.uk

Orlygg
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Old School Fantasy Cottage with Extension

September 2, 2014, 12:43 am
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I have spent the last two evenings working on the paintjob of this lovely Fantasy Cottage. It is, of course, based on the Phil Lewis' classic cottage from WD 130 which I built earlier on this year. To create a bit of variation, I added a second room as an extension on the left hand side and this was built very simply using exactly the same methods as the rest of the house. In hindsight, I feel that the sloping roof on this extension may not be pronounced enough but no matter, as its now complete and ready for the tabletop. 

As you will probably see, I changed the mix for the colour of the roofing tiles, switching from Ultramarine Blue to Enchanted Blue and this resulted in a far more fantastical (my son as Disney) colour. Again, in hindsight I am not sure if I am totally pleased with the effect and may well try out a third blue next time I build a cottage (I have one more that needs completing) but I shall wait a see how I feel after a  few games with it on the table. 


I also varied the colour of the brickwork on the chimney flue and I am a lot more satisfied with this. The colour is warmer and much more brick like. Inks were mixed in different combinations and amounts to help weather the stone. Flicking painting in different hues over the brick work also helped to age the building somewhat so it fits suitably into the fantasy world of old school Warhammer.


The walls themselves were very easy to achieve. I painted the boards with a Bleached Bone/Flesh mix and undercoated the wooden beams with Flat Earth, from the Flames of War range - as its very similar to the old Snakebite Leather colour of old. The wood was then washed with brown ink and drybrushed back over with flesh and Bleached Bone once again. Green and yellow inks were then employed to weather the wood and pannelling in places. Finally, I worked up the walls with white until they looked suitably bright enough. The whole wall section was then aged with ink blobbing and paint flicking. 

You have probably noticed by now that the roof has been treated a similar way with inks and flicking. Only here, I used black and white paint to suggest age and the droppings of all those fantasy birds! 


I made the windows a little warmer in tone. I used Ultramarine Blue as a base before washing over with blue ink followed by green ink. When I dig out a bit of gloss, I intend to paint of the surfaces of the windows to make them shine light glass. The final touch was to add a little chimney pot, made from cutting off a section of the plastic tube that protects new paint brushes. 


And here is the finished job alongside my original model for comparison. Critical comments please as I am keen to apply everything I have learnt to the final building I am going to use to represent the little crossroad hamlet on my battlefield.

Also, if you happen to know of any links where I can find odds and ends to decorate the bases I would also be very grateful - you know the stuff I mean: boxes, barrels, tools, animals etc.

Orlygg
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Fighting Fantasy: You Are The Hero Review! Serious Oldhammer Alert!

September 2, 2014, 4:47 am
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I must admit that I was amazed that my copy of You Are The Hero: A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks arrived through my post box this morning. As far as I was aware, the book wasn't yet available and was due to be published next week. 

To be honest, I didn't even know about it (or the Kickstarter that funded its creation) until last week when my friend Stuart mentioned the book on the Oldhammer Facebook page. Following the link, it really wasn't much of a struggle to convince myself to click on the 'buy' button and get my hands on a copy.

I am now really, really glad that I did, for the book is a joy! An absolute joy! 






The book itself is organised into about thirty chapters and to say that those chapters are comprehensive would be an understatement. The first couple of chapters concentrate on how Ian and Steve met, how GW was founded and how the first Fighting Fantasy book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain', was conceived, designed and produced. Then there are a series of chapters that document the art and artists that made the series so appealing and enduring, including many concept sketches and loads of previously unpublished material. John Blanche, Ian McCraig, Martin McKenna and many more are included and quoted. 




Subsequent chapters chronicle the books in the order they were published, with every title explored in varying depths. Warlock, the famous magazine devoted to FF, gets a chapter to itself, and Derek the Troll makes an appearance too! Chapters detail the development of F.I.S.T, the Sorcery books and the other enterprises Steve and Ian were involved in, including the fascinating story of Goldhawk - or FF for younger readers! 





With an entire chapter to devoted to 'lost books', there are plenty of opportunities for even knowledgable fans like myself to learn something new, and many of the cancelled books were new to me! But the chapters on the boargame versions are of particular interest because it is here that the old school world of Warhammer, Citadel and FF are the closest linked. Even the plastic Fighting Fantasy Heroes range put out by Citadel get a lengthy mention. 

Bryan is even quoted! 





The final chapters look to the future, with sections detailing TinMan's excellent gamebook apps and incredible new Sorcery series from Inklebooks. 

Even if you have a slimmest interest in FF this book is worth buying. Every page brings a new memory, a new fact and a bigger, broader smile! 

Go buy it!





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On the Boil: New Oldhammer Blogs and Miniature Swapping!

September 2, 2014, 11:27 am
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Back so soon you are asking? Well, that is because in recent days we have seen a explosion in the amount of good and potentially good blogs out there and as ever, I am keen to support them and encourage as much as my readership to join them as possible. 

Painted Lead Miniatures



First up the new personal painting blog of our good Oldhammer friend, Marcus Ansell. His blog has not been up for long but it already has plenty of interesting stuff worth exploring, most notably this excellent rendition of the classic Talisman Minstrel. 

Painting with the Foundry System (alongside a few W&S inks his dad gave him) Marcus produces bright, sharp models which 'pop' with detail. Obviously, working at the Foundry and living on top of the most exciting collection of toy soldiers in the world means that this blog is certainly one to watch. After all, who knows what might be posted up next?

Hopefully, some more Talisman figures. 

http://paintedleadminiatures.blogspot.co.uk/


Oldhammer Melbourne

Nathan Firth has been a regular contributor to the Facebook Group for some time now and he has recently started up a blog. He has even gone as far as accepting my challenge of coming up with his Ultimate Oldhammer Moment. He is clearly grappling with the system, though his photography is rapidly improving and I can share with you some of his chaos miniatures below! 


Check out Nathan's blog here http://oldhammermelbourne.blogspot.co.uk/

As with all of the blogs I try and promote, please do visit and if possible click the Followers link (either the old one or the newer, Google+ thing) as traffic, comments and page views really do inspire our colleagues to paint, play and collect more. Its in our own interest, as then the Oldhammer blogosphere is permanently full of exciting reading for us all to enjoy! 

Miniature Swapping


What do you think of this beauty, eh? Its a Elf wardancer and looks like it was painted by me doesn't it? But you would be wrong, its a gift from a Spanish Oldhammer friend of my, Luife Lopez. We have carried out a 'miniature swap' and its something that I would like to do again with as many people as possible really. 

The premise is simple. You paint a model for a Oldhammer friend, putting all of your skill into it, and post it off while at their end they are doing the same. The result, a new miniature in the collections of two Oldhammerers. Talking to Andy Craig over the years has shown that this was once common practice within the famous Design Studio and among the elite '80s painting circles - Fraser Gray etc. 


As a bonus he also sent a few extras. Namely a modern plastic Plaguebearer and a Psychostyrene Dwarf. The dwarf has a rather expertly shaded shield which has inspired me to try out a simple technique on one of my own. That is the beauty of swapping models with other painters, you get to really study their ideas and techniques, which in turn inform your own. 

If anyone else fancies doing a miniature swap please get in touch and we can arrange something. they really are great fun and worthy of your time! Email me at realmofchaos80s@yahoo.co.uk. 


As a final bonus, Luife also included a sculpted Tzeentch disc for me! It was something that I was not expecting and was a real surprise when I opened up the packet this yesterday! 
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