As I delve back into the hobby, I’ve noticed loads of cool blogs, such as Oldhammer, Realm Of Chaos 80s, The Citadel Collector and Warhammer For Adults amongst others, that are dedicated to the early editions of Warhammer and the hobby in general. So when I noticed Oldhammer were having a weekender, amusingly called Bring Out Your Lead, here in Nottingham at Foundry Miniatures, I thought it would be rude not to pop in for an hour or so, check out some Spirit Of The 80s  action, take a few photos, and have a mooch about.

They also have a Facebook group for organising games
https://www.facebook.com/FoundryArena

For those of you who don’t know, Foundry Miniatures are currently run by Marcus Ansell, son of Brian Ansell of GW/Citadel fame in the 80s, and they do a huge range of historical miniatures, with some of the older fantasy GW and Citadel stuff. It’s an awesome place, they have loads of gaming tables with amazing scenery (check out that Blood Bowl stadium), a bar, snacks, free tea and coffee, racks upon racks of blister packs, and a really cool open house vibe with the Ansell family, Foundry staff and even luminaries such as Rick Priestley, John Stallard, Tony Hough and Guy Carpenter popping in and milling about.

One of the best things I noticed as I walked in was a cabinet full of some absolutely classic miniatures you’d recognize from early issues of White Dwarf. I must admit freaking out a bit seeing the Cockatrice and Genestealer Cult from WD124 in the flesh, including those limos! I’ve dumped these photos into a gallery for your viewing pleasure – http://imgur.com/a/shtpp

RTB01 – Imperial Space Marines, and below it, the Genestealer Limo

Looking around the room it was great to see loads of older dudes getting stuck into games of Warhammer and having a great time, no bickering over rules, just rolling dice and having a laugh. I must admit to not knowing too much about the early editions, as I was a Space Marine/Adeptus Titanicus gamer at the time and entered the world of Warhammer in 4th edition, but had been an avid reader of White Dwarf going back to about issue 100 and always enjoyed reading the battle reports. So it was nice just to stand back and take it all in. There where so many well painted armies on display too, which made me feel guilty about my unpainted Pile Of Shame™

There was a large table hosting a Realms Of Chaos open table game, which was quite fitting as it was the 25th anniversary of Slaves To Darkness, where various Chaos warbands face off against each other in a complete free for all. If you’re not familiar with the mechanics, in RPG style, you roll off to create your character and warband, with various attributes and mutations, that can range from fickle to beastly in true Chaos fashion. Here’s a great link from Realm Of Chaos 80s that guides you through it – click me

Highlight of the day was having a chat with the thoroughly pleasant artist Tony Hough (GW and Fighting Fantasy artist) as he guided me through his portfolio of illustrations. Again, many of them are classics you’d recognize from Rogue Trader, Slaves To Darkness, and early issues of White Dwarf. It was absolutely fascinating to hear about the stories behind them, such as the abandoned first attempt at Battlefleet Gothic which became Space Fleet, and finding out that Tony will be illustrating the Fighting Fantasy mobile app that’s out soon. Also, you really appreciate seeing these original pieces in the flesh, as you can see the finer details that get lost in translation when going to press. He has an online gallery of his work and there’s also a Facebook page

Just an Eldar titan caught in a mosh

Amazing sense of scale, just look at that Reaver titan on the left

So, even though it was a very brief visit, I really enjoyed it, and was struck with how positive everything was, and what a great sense of community these guys have, some had even made the trip over from Europe!