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What was your very first 40k army?

Space Wolves.


When / why / how did you buy it?

I used to go into the Beaties toy/hobby shop a lot whenever I went into town with my mum on a Saturday, and I'd just wander around and look at all the toys, really, plan out my next ask from Santa six months down the line or whatever. Occasionally, I'd have some pocket money and they'd have something at a reduced price and I'd buy something for a punt.

The year was oh, maybe 2000ish and I was in Primary 6 or 7. And Beaties had a bunch of these toys like super discounted - it was a game called 'Havoc'. I never did buy the base game, but I got a couple sets of these models - they were rubber prepaints, not dissimilar to HeroClix style minis, and I had no idea what they were but they seemed cool. I bought them, found out in the literature inside they had this story attached and there was this whole crazy game you could play with them. This seemed awesome to my mind, and I took them into school to show my friend who geeked out on stuff like this with me (we'd already had peewee entries into Magic: the Gathering, and whatnot) and he basically turned around and was like "Oh man, if you like that, you're going to cream yourself when you see this Games Workshop thing my brother was into."

So, he showed me a White Dwarf and some catalogs and I begged my mum to take me into Games Workshop on Saturday. She did, and I bought with my pocket money a starter paint set for Warhammer 40,000 - the one with 5 Monopose Marines (Sergeant and Missile Launcher included), 8 pots of bolter shell screw-on lid paints, brush, etc. The guy there said he'd give me a painting lesson if I undercoated my mini and came back, and so I did.

We didn't really know about what priming was or why you needed to do it, and we didn't want to spend another tenner on a spray paint, etc so I just brush painted my little bolter dude with Chaos Black and brought him back in on the bus with my mum. I faintly remember some of the black paint had rubbed off a bit in my hand on the way in. The guy showed me how to paint my little Ultramarine dude, and that was that.

At least, until I started reading about Space Marines. Before I even go onto painting my second dude, I discovered that Space Marines had all different chapters and the first one that immediately spoke to me was the Space Wolves chapter. I just loved the grey and yellow scheme, and the ginger snow viking in power armour on the Codex front cover slaying the Ork, and the Wolf imagery was just absolutely awesome. Shortly after, I bought a pot of Shadow Grey and repainted my combat squad as Space Wolves.

The army really got started when my family were on holiday in Blackpool, and I had a little holiday money and with that money I decided to spend it on my current obsession - Warhammer. The Sunday Young Bloods under 14s learning day required an HQ and two troops, so, we popped into Games Workshop Blackpool where I bought the Space Wolves codex (since it was so standalone and unique, I didn't really need the full SM codex back then - so I could make do on a single £4 supplement), another Combat Squad, and I'm sure I asked for advice on what HQ to pick - the guy in the shop handed me a Librarian blister pack and said "Rune Priest", so I took his advice and bought it.


Do you still have it?

My memory is extremely hazy from this point on as to what actually happened next. My Space Wolves eventually ended as I was prone to chasing the next exciting thing that might have me winning games, and I went from Space Wolves onto Khorne Berzerkers onto Tyranids and then moved to Warhammer Fantasy, but I do remember at least getting some Blood Claws and some Long Fangs - my first awkward encounter with plastic/metal hybrid miniatures, an old-style Rhino (which I don't ever remember using). I don't remember to who or for how much or how I sold them in the end, but eventually they were lost forever - mostly.

And now? Well, I moved onto Warhammer Fantasy (trying a number of armies including Skaven, Empire and Dark Elves before settling on Dwarfs), and stopped playing Warhammer 40,000. A couple of years from then, I stopped playing Warhammer as I got a bit older and my priorities shifted a little bit.


Is the love still strong?

10 years later, I got back into the hobby with Age of Sigmar, and I picked up 40K when 8th Edition dropped. Since I had 10 Chaos Space Marines leftover from a Night Lords 40K in 40 minutes force I never got around to finishing, I decided to go that route, and that was all well and good for a few months and I was enjoying painting bolters and whathave you again.

Somewhere into my 40K journey, I discovered that 30K and the Horus Heresy was still a thing and I got it in my head that although I was already playing Chaos Marines in 40K (and was feeling a bit uneasy about it due to the whole Primaris thing), it would be really really cool to go back and revisit my first love as a Horus Heresy project as an adult with a bigger focus on the hobby side of things. Horus Heresy as a game and a setting was just very nostalgic and it felt like a really fitting tribute to my first steps into the hobby. And that absolutely ballooned from there! My Wolves entirely eclipsed and replaced my Chaos Space Marines in the end, and I've got about 10,000 points of it now with 9000 of those painted already - there's a whole bunch of them in my Gallery.


IReturning to the previous question - Do you still have it?

Only two feint remnants remain. I still have my Games Day Space Wolves Wolf Priest, which to be entirely fair, I got from Games Day and painted some time after I had sold my Space Wolves army. I actually recently stripped it, gave it a plastic Heresy-era Bolt Pistol and I'm now using it as one of my Speaker of the Dead models for my Heresy Space Wolves. I've got a side-by-side before and after pic here. Aside from that, I've got an old old old metal Wolf Guard with Power Fist model in one of my cases of childhood miniatures at mum's house, still painted like I imagine the rest of my army was with thick shadow grey armour and inconsistent and smudgey yellow shoulders, coloured 'outside the lines'. Next time I'm home, I'm definitely going to grab and and take him with me as a trinket to see how measure I've come.

Unpainted Night Lord models. Love enough to dedicate a few user names to.

Plus the red wings I've incorporated into a tattoo piece are directly from the Night Lord chapter symbol, so it's my unofficial 40K tattoo.

Still, I started the collection during the glory days of the 3.5 codex, and they never quite fit into any modern 40k for me. Right now I use them as a Killteam.

2nd edition Space wolf army and no I don't have it anymore. After a longer hiatus ( 25 years) I am back with my home-brew chapter

Blood Angels- My friends had all got into it over the summer holidays so i was late to the party, one of them had started with BA but wanted to switch to DA so sold me a buuunch of the metal characters, the codex and a few plastic marines. I loved them, absolutely pored over the codex and added the "mega force" for christmas and a metal furioso dreadnought that i painted as death company.

When i got back into the hobby nearly 15 years later i pulled all the old stuff out and decided to start fresh and sell it all as a job lot, apart from my dread, as it was my absolute favorite model and the first i bought brand new. I replaced the arms with auto-canons and repainted it, its now a staple in my Imperial Fists army, dont think ive played a game without it.

Im not so much in love with Blood Angels of today, i still have that original codex and everything in it is just a little more simple and less convoluted. I had to buy myself the original metal Tycho model, aswell as the original captain Cortez, theres just something about those models that i dont feel GW has captured in a while.

What was your very first 40k army?

Tau.

When / why / how did you buy it?

White Dwarf 264 back in 2001. First White Dwarf, first real experience with 40k. The Battesuits seemed highly customisable and far more dynamic than most of the other miniatures available at the time. I liked the idea that someone wanted to make things better rather than destroy everyone else. Started with a battleforce back with their 3rd edition codex, added another with their 4th edition book, scattered in a few units of broadsides and crisis suits along the way.

Do you still have it?

About 50% of my Tau army was bought between 2001 and 2006. I repainted the whole army over a 2 week period in summer 2013, along with adding a pair of Riptides, some conversion parts for the Broadsides to make them into HYMPs, and ripped off all the weapons to magnetise the whole lot.

Is the love still strong?

Not really, I went off Tau when they lost allies in the start of the 7th. I played in a pretty competitive meta at the time and crutched heavily on a full FS bomb with Tigirius allied in for Gate of Infinity. When that went away I kinda lost interest. I'd also bought all the models that I thought I'd ever want and didn't want to buy more to keep up with the times. I'm committed to my second love, Chaos, now.

In my local scene Tau got a terrible wrap during the 7th edition. I didn't enjoy playing them, my opponents didn't enjoy playing against them. They felt very one dimensional with little counterplay other than trying to leaf-blower your opponent off the board. Many players here are very causal and getting shot of the board is a pretty dull experience. Tau lost some ground in the 8th edition but the stigma sticks, (and battle suits suck... I have about 15 of them).

Ork back in 2nd ed my brother took the marines and I got the other half

Didn’t play for many years while in the military
Suffered a TBI in 2010 and needed something to rehab my brain so my brother recommended miniature gaming. Which honestly worked great

Still got em just don’t play 40k anymore, 7th ed codex was the final straw

Love is strong but don’t play 40k anymore

My first 40K models were the RT-01 marines.

However, I count my first attempt at building a real 40K army instead as my Tau army. I bought them the year the models came out, but didn't actually play with them until late 5th/early 6th.

Still love them, and it's the one army I've managed to keep up on being fully painted, down to the last drone.

What was your very first 40k army?

Space Wolves


When / why / how did you buy it?

When:
A very long time ago. Spring of '93. It was built using & abusing the RT list that 1st appeared in WD (#150 something) And then when 2e arrived I expanded/re-built it using the shiny new Codex.

Why:
To lay an unholy smackdown on our one Eldar player in the spring tourney the local shop was hosted each year. Mission accomplished. 25 years later he still remembers that loss.
Mr. Eldar (aka Dan) thought he was going to dominate everyone/anything he'd face. And the rest of us got to hear about this. Over & over & over & over. For months.
Before this I was a WHFB (3e - Chaos & Dwarves) player who only occasionally sat in on a 40k game running a few squads of a friends Squat army. I didn't own a single 40k model or even the rulebook. My interest in the sci-fi end of things was at best low. That changed.

How I bought it:
As I built the force at the last moment (about 2 weeks before playing it) after Dan had finally irritated me enough? With great difficulty involving a lot of phone calls, much driving around to hobby shops within a 100 mile radius, & some expensive mail order.
I didn't need a lot of stuff, but at the time assault cannon & cyclone missile launcher termies were very hard to find. It wasn't that places were sold out, but rather they only stocked a single blister of x at a time & didn't re-stock regularly. At least in my area.


Do you still have it?

Yes. Though like I said, once the 2e codex arrived that initial core got rebuilt/expanded. The initial termie assault cannon/cyclone abuse had served it's purpose so the models got absorbed into a force better suited for regular play. And IIRC the list changed in 2e & the combo or quantities wasn't valid any more. But I still have all those original models I bought for that tourney.


Is the love still strong?

Yes.
But to be honest the SW have never been my favorite 40k force (that honor goes to the IG), just my 1st.
As the 2e years passed & I built other 40k armies I played the SW less & less. Playing mostly IG, some Tyranids, then Necrons. By 3e I was rotating armies on a monthly basis. When the 3e SW codex came out I decided that I wasn't going to expand the army with any new (3e era) models. The style didn't match my RT/2e stuff. I'd still adjust pts & use newer units, but the only models that'd get added to this army are RT/2e pieces & conversions of. And I've stuck to that. My SW are a vintage force. That said? There's a few 3e+ bits & bobs that've crept in over the years - a plasma gun or two, FW shoulder pads, various bases, things like that. But there's no current termies, modern vehicles, weird crap like cybernetic wolf riders, flyers, etc.

I've skipped an edition or two due to lack of local 40k players & interest in other minis games/genres. But that's changing. So soon I will return to the 40k tables. I think I'll give my Wolves the honor of leading that charge.

 Ratius wrote:
What was your very first 40k army?
When / why / how did you buy it?
Do you still have it?
Is the love still strong?

Orks (Space Orks) This glorious box:
2001, traded it to a friend for some LEGO set
Yes! Terribly painted with mold lines, and super glues streaks, and with no barrels drilled out. The spare bits on the sprue like the full shootas are awesome since they come with grips.
Love is still very much strong, but I would give a lot of money to GW if they update this kit with new shiny plastic.

My first army was Space Wolves, heartily recommended by another player after I had stuck around a few game nights to admire armies and get a feel for the game. I liked the paint scheme and everyone seemed eager to share some SW lore tidbits which generally where amusing in one way or another.

Purchased a Rhino, some Grey hunters and a land speeder to test the waters only to split two newly released 'Assault on Blackreach' boxes with an Ork player a few weeks later when I decided to commit to the hobby. Between the miniatures and paint I spent most of my savings at the time...

I still have all the stuff and half of it is still unpainted (shame, but I had no wolfy bits for terminators). The collection has grown a tad over the course of 5th ed. But I dropped the hobby with the advent of 6th.

Only to return in 8th and with the recent codex drop I'm looking into fielding the space vikings once more... though I'll have to finish painting some Tau first. So there's some affection left for sure.

My first army was Blood Angels and they are still my favorite. It's was their fluff that drew me to them not so much the vampire aspect but the cool primarchs who sacrificed himself to defeat Horus. Also Mephistons back story was great.

What was your very first 40k army?
My first army for 40k was Chaos Marines back in 98-99 or so. Wasn't my first army though. Fantasy Wood Elves were. My Chaos was a mishmash of all different Chaos styles with a focus on Khorne and Kharn.

When / why / how did you buy it?
Back in 1999 or so. My friend and I wanted to get into 40k after having always played fantasy. We were teenagers in high school. Bought it from pocket money / allowance I saved up. He got into Ultramarines and hasn't swayed since.

Do you still have it?
I still play Chaos but most of the old stuff is somewhere in a box somewhere in the attic.

Is the love still strong?
Sure. Chaos is the most interesting faction.
I am waiting on new (Primaris) Chaos Marines and new Khorne Berzerkers to rekindle the love actually!

Eldar. 3E. Ulthwe. Black guardians. Seer councils.

I wish I could have been around during the 7E Eldar meta. Sounds... filthy.

My very first actual minis were a box of Khorne berserkers. I've returned to Chaos for 8E.

Orks
Back on 5ed with assault on black reach
Yes
Of course, chopaz and dakka make such a refined combination

Eldar, back at the start of 2nd edition along with Space Wolves as they were the first two codexes released. But Eldar were the ones I stuck with and I lovingly repainting them each time my painting improved to keep them current. Eventually it got to the stage where they couldn't take any more layers of paint and I decided to sell them and start a new Eldar army from scratch sometime during 5th edition I think. I remember how upset I was when I actually sold them, I hadn't realised the level of sentiment and nostalgia that had built up around them.

I didn't actually buy a new Eldar army, I had so many projects ongoing I told myself I'd finish off everything else first so I could focus on them. 8-10 years later I realised that magical time when everything else was finished would never actually come and with the release of the 8th edition codex I decided to just ditch all my other projects and get that new Eldar army at long last. I'm still painting it up but it feels good to be back with my first "love".

Interestingly despite not playing them for such a long period I never really stopped seeing them as my primary faction. When I got the new army I re-bought some of the old style models as a homage to my original Eldar army and my memories of 2nd edition.

Great thread and I am enjoying the reponses!

In 1996 I joined the 40K world and I picked Dark Angels because they looked cool (Dark and green). Mind blown when I bought the Codex and learned the secret.

I still have those minis, although some of my 1997 Canadian Grand Tournament models were made invalid by 3rd Ed (Assault Squad with power weapons) and are now my son's Flesh Tearers. Azrael and Ezekiel are still getting it done on the table.

I am still a Dark Angel first and foremost!

It’s pretty cool to hear how everyone fell in love with their armies. Opens some new perspectives.

Started with Space Marines. At the time, I went with the Ultramarines since I bought the codex after the miniatures. After learning how some people made their own chapters, I tried my hand at it. They became the ‘Space Clowns’, and the painting scheme was absolutely dreadful. When your devastator sergeant has Ronald Mc Donald hair, you know you’ve messed up. Changed them to Salamanders soon after, and considered the Space Clown affair a ‘reversible mutation in the gene seed.’

Almost all of my 40k games are solo fluff fights (too shy to meet new players), so my love for an army mostly comes from the narrative put together over the course of battles.

That force is still my favorite to use. Most of the units have had at least one shining moment at some point, which set their ‘personalities’ for future conflics. The strike force had two characters given names. The first was Tactical Sergeant Nethro, who was later ‘promoted’ to company exorcist (an excuse to have a chaplain/company champion without needing the gear). Nethro would eventually develop a fierce rivalry with a daemon prince. Chronus was ‘distinguished’ for running towards a leman russ tank while injured, and destroying it in melee range.