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Hi All. First thing's first, what an awesome community!

I've got a story, so here it is for you all the read. The story of someone returning to the hobby totally by accident.

So, I'm approaching 30 and used to work for GW when I was 18, I won't lie, I had some great times but if you don't live and breathe the hobby it's probably not for you. I did at the time but then life and ambition got in the way. I've since gone and started a successful business in a totally different market (something that was always a hobby) but working 70 hour weeks and being responsible for the livelihoods of 14 staff for years does take it's toll!

About 4 months ago I got a call from my parents who were clearing out the garage with the classic "I've got some of your old warhammer here, what do you want me to do with them?" I had honestly not thought about GW in years and I had got rid of pretty much everything I had thought, I was intrigued....

I was handed a figure case and 2 carrier bags, one with a load of sprues, one with a load of paints, put them in a cupboard where they sat for a month. Until one evening, I'd had a manic day, couldn't be bothered to go to the pub, weather was crap so wasn't going out on the bike and I had watched everything on Netflix! Curiosity got the better of me and I grabbed the figure case out and took a look at what was in side. First impressions were it weighed a tonne!, mainly because inside in the bottom 2 trays were a total of 80 metal black orcs, about 24 boar boys and a tray of undercoated Dark Angels, plus a FW death guard dread and a DG rhino. There were also more black orcs in the bag, a heavy bag. I sat there and then thought "I wonder if I'm any good at painting still?"

I always thought I was a pretty good painter, not as good as some of the stuff on here but a solid 8/10, I was always the one who was tasked with painting the GW shop models. I remember the last thing I painted was a terminator chaplain and some DW terminators for a painting competition, which I was fortunate enough to win. I won an original fantasy artwork book that was wrapped in a linen map of the old world, which I still have and have since been informed is worth a fair chunk of cash. I rummaged through the other bag which contained a load of paints and brushes; brushes were in good nick, most of the paints were dry. No matter, I sat on the web for hours having a look for inspiration, where I stumbled over Dakka and tbh it's brilliant, I check it whenever I have a few mins spare and read through a lot of the hobby blogs for inspiration.

So, the next afternoon I ducked out of work and went along to the old workshop where I used to work. I got chatting to the guy who ran it, I say guy, he runs it on his own, when I was there there were 3 full time staff and 6 part timers, not sure what this says about the state of GW's retail operation, but again, when I was there, online retail wasn't what it is now. First thing was the range of kits blew me away! the detail in the plastics, the flyers, the large scale stuff, it's all brilliant. I bought a load of paints! One thing about being older is being able to afford what I want and not scrimping on certain things so I can buy models (i.e. not buying new brushes when I should!) and went to work. I was instantly hooked again! I reckon I stayed up until midnight working away on a squad of DW terminators. I deliberately didn't buy any models because I had a habit of not finishing things so i thought I would treat myself to some new kits when I had painted everything I already had basecoated. That was until I walked into an independent stockist near one of my shops a few days later where they had a load of GW stock at not only old prices but old prices with 25% off! I walked out with 3 boxes of DW knights and a venerable dreadnought.

Anyway, I'm now a squad of terminators, a squad of veterans and a squad of knights in. You can tell the order in which I painted them and where I've improved and picked up new techniques (I'm still terrified of airbrushes) and I'll post some WIP pics up when I get some time/good light.

Anyway, thanks for sharing in my story!

Welcome back, Brother. Just in time for a new Dark Angels codex too!

Welcome back! Looking forward to seeing your DA (as a fellow Deathwing player, TDA for the win!) You should definitely start up a P&M blog here, they can be amazingly motivational!

I agree. I think that this is actually a golden age for the state of GW's kits

Start a plog!

Welcome back! It's always great to hear the history of folks who're attracted towards gaming.

"One man" stores seem to be increasingly common, and I can't honestly say how I feel about that. Staff turnover is also alarmingly rapid in that respect. I've lived in the same town 5-6 years and couldn't count the amount of managers we've had.

The game and community are wilder than ever before and the kits are excellent.

I don't remember of time worthy of more criticism and praise than now.

I recently got back into the hobby when I played back in 2010-2011. But I remember at least here in the US there used to be a lot more GW retail stores.

I live in Manhattan and there is a total of 1 store with 2 tables for the entire city of 15 million people and its run by 1 guy who is there all the time 6 days a week. He does the stocking, the counter, everything.

I think at least in the US the hobby is dying esp. due to Warmachine and Infinity, etc being cheaper and being more fun.

But I'm like you, I'm age 27 now investment banker and now I can actually afford the hobby. I only back partly because all the models and codexes (not just Space Marines!) got updated and seemed like a golden age of 40k.

Maybe in the UK it is still the dominant sport?

When i was heavily involved, the retail stores seemed like the lifeblood of the hobby, and as stated, ours was able to sustain several staff for a small store. Now the retail side just seems like a slightly more (for some people) convenient way of getting hold of product, but otherwise GW are relying on communities such as this to drive sales and "hype" amongst gamers. I cannot see GW doing much to attract people into it or people back to it other than people like myself who stumble across it. but perhaps that isn't their plan. The results for the investor relations page on the website makes for some interesting reading

I had the same initial experience. The local GW in Bromley was great. Had about 5 or 6 people working there at all times, always busy and had multiple full size tables upstairs to play at night and weekends. All the staff were dedicated players in their own right. A real community feel. I haven't been back in over a decade so I don't know the state it is in now.

Welcome to dakka.

I never worked for GW but have plenty of friends who did, both here in Australia and in the UK.

Most of the players who I knew that played WHFB and 40k in 2+ years ago have moved onto Warmahordes or infinity, including me.

Welcome back! Really enjoyed reading your story and can't wait to see your models!

Hi,

Welcome to Dakka

Hooooly crap. Welcome back, dude. Interesting reading your impressions. I started way back in 3rd Ed, I completely agree about the state of the models. I remember how tiring it was lugging around a full miniature case of the pewter Plague Marines for my Death Guard army...

I'm very interesting at hearing about your impressions on the rest of the state of the hobby, with regards to the community (in-person), the ruleset, fluff, etc. once you get a chance to catch up to all of that!

Belated welcoming, and that's an interesting story. ^^

Maybe try out some other miniatures games, if any of the models strike your fancy! I say this because another thing that's changed in that time is that there are a lot more options besides GW models than there used to be.

Did you play Warhammer Fantasy at all?

Hello! Welcome to Dakka Dakka!