We've had an interesting week here with colds, tooth removal, floods at work and a new kitten called Mab joining the family.
During all this I have found myself pondering a bit of a Warhammer or 40k project and worse yet, I am contemplating doing it in 28mm scale, despite my attempts to move to a smaller scale!
I have to admit that I have typed up this post and deleted it about half a dozen times in the last few weeks as I seem to dither about just what I am going to do with myself hobby wise. Maybe it's some part of me wanting to relive my youth and rediscover the enjoyment of collecting and painting an army before leading it into battle or maybe just that the smaller scale stuff lacks a bit of the character of the larger figures.
It's a rather odd position to find myself in but I can't seem to shake the feeling that I want to explore some good old fashioned 2nd edition 40k or even 4th edition Fantasy Battle. The problem is that almost all of the figures from the period are now out of production and the likes of Ebay seems to have changed from a good source for reasonably priced figures into a place that sells overpriced recasts or 'pro painted' tat.
I'm thinking that the solution may be to use current figures and paint them up in the classic stylings of early to mid 90's classic GW. Now if I go down this route I will need to set myself quite a few limitations and provisos before going mental and buying a ton of plastic and then never painting or indeed using it.
What I need is a plan and some easily attainable objectives to turn whatever half baked scheme I come up with into a usable and enjoyable hobby experience rather than a project that get started then abandoned like so many have before.
Therefore, I think I need to go for the following guidelines:
Maximum spend £20 a month. If I overspend one month, the next month has a smaller budget to reflect this.
No buying of any more gubbins until the existing figures are painted.
Aim to build and paint 100 points of figures a month.
Build a selection of useful scenery to go with the project over a twelve month period.
Blog the process!
Now the other thing I need to settle on is an army to aim towards. Whilst I would love to recreate my old Dwarven host, I don't think I have the space to put together a multi thousand point army. I think I should set myself another guideline.
Aim to put together a force of 250, 500, 750 and eventually 1000 points with the aim of having a small warband or patrol ready to roll.
Now what should I do about an army to settle on? I'm thinking one that doesn't require a huge number of models so a Skaven horde is possibly something to avoid for the sake of my sanity!
Saying that, I am tempted to try out a force I have never had before so we shall have to see!
Unsurprisingly, I am not sure if this is a project I want to begin just yet or whether I should start it in the new year once the silly season is out of the way...
Anyhoo, I think I've rambled enough for the evening so I'm off to bed and will hopefully sort out what on earth I am going to do about my latest hobby delusion over the next few days!
In the meantime, All the best!
Not to enable your decision, but there are numerous 'oldhammer' groups on facebook. Quite a few have lots of material move across them being sold. I think the prices are better than on ebay.
ReplyDeleteWhy not give more structure to what you are buying and write the army lists in advance?. You can even plan your budget per month around it. Or write a small campaign with two smaller forces and collect both so you are building towards games that form both a target and a reward?
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of this. I think you've got to be a bit careful on what you buy, as ebay seems to have realised that there's money in that there Oldhammer. If you've got old models from back in the day you could strip them with Dettol. Also, it's worth looking for broken models, if you don't mind repairing them.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered using GW models for a non-GW force/game? A warband for Frostgrave could be a good opportunity to make old models and treat each one as a character. I find that the fun vanishes as soon as I'm batch-painting models for squads, but each to their own.
Welcome back to the 28mm fold, Richard.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not locked into genuine Oldhammer lead, the Mirliton/ex-Grenadier minis are a good alternative. Not nearly as expensive as Ebay prices, and the sculpting style (mostly Mark Copplestone) and size are a good fit with Oldhammer figs.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI'm a French guy with the same thought that you.
Nostalgic about my first years in the Hobby, and thinking about restart Wh4ed and Wh40k 2nd with the new plastic fig. As the price of old metal is so expensive.
Maybe a "weapon choice" between us?
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions folks!
ReplyDeleteI am still swithering about what exactly I am going to do but have made some progress and will be posting an update in the next day or so with my plans for the remainder of the year!
All the best!
This has been on my mind also, since modern 40k and Warhammer have such a plethora of parts to more exactly model the classics. The new Genestealer plastics for example allow more accurate retro modelling with modern plastics. You can have 2ndEd Flamers etc on modern Marines so easily now. Also I feel ensuring models are less complicated and the paint work is strong and bold will readily sell the look.
ReplyDeleteI have collected over the years Space Orks and Fantasy Chaos Warriors with the same intentions. It hurts to say that ebay is not an option for that anymore.
ReplyDeleteI can recommend those few Oldhammer Kickstarters that run now and then. They are better priced and have the same quality as old GW models.