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Hi guys,

My name is Roland, 39 years old, father of 2 doughters.

Played all kinds of Games-Workshop wargames since 1995 and been very active in Dutch communinties. Even ran the Dutch Dakka Dakka forum (can not be compared, but you get the idea) and we had several tourments, demo's and other community activity's every year.

Around 10-15 years ago I kinda left the hobby completly but as many not indefinitly.

Since a couple of month's I'm back! Because I still had a kinda intresting dutch domain laying around I started a personal blog.
It's in Dutch so you can read it trough Google Chrome translation. But try to repost the first 11 posts here as a translation aswell.
My Return of a 40K Noob blog

At this point I'm painting again, building my first scenery and had some battle experience.
Also joined a local wargaming club and trying all kinds of DIY stuff like making my own dacals.
And, just bought my first 3D resin printer which I will be unboxing this week (I hope!)

My Space Marine army till today where only a few Characters, a box of Infitrators and Eliminators. But got a box of Intercessors today by mail (bought it 2nd hand) and a 2 new boxes of Agressors and a Tactical Warsuit. Kinda my favorite models so far. Guess it could be a good 750 points on the table now.

ps. sorry for my crappy English. I'm not the best language wise...

Hope to hear any feedback.

Cheers,
Roland


Here a first example of my skills so far and The Jade Dragons! Much to learn, but I'm a very happy hobbiest!



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Part 1: Returning to the miniature gaming hobby! The beginning…
Maybe 10 years? Or probably even longer than that. It took a while, but the decision is made. I am coming back to the miniature gaming hobby!

Not that the hobby has ever really disappeared from my life, but actively playing, collecting and even staying up-to-date has really gone on the back burner. I will probably touch on my history with the hobby again in another blog. But I have been triggered to start again. In fact, have already chosen to start!

It all started with ...
Well, very simple. I missed a nice hobby. Actually for a while.

Half a year ago I decided to really start looking for a hobby. It was time for me-time again. Due to the lack of space I was looking for something that could be small and found the hobby of “coloring”. With Alcohol Markers that I bought on Aliexpress, I soon started having a lot of fun with colors of fantasy / sci-fi / steampunk-like creative expressions.

For inspiration and tutorials I went to watch a lot of YouTube videos and then you automatically fall into other creative hobbies. Including making dioramas and scenery was also shown. That in turn stimulated thumbnails of videos.

Meanwhile we had also bought a new house and the prospect was good! This young man would get his own man cave again !! And so it started ...

Warhammer 40,000
Yes, it gnawed. Maybe secretly much longer I think now. But after I bought my house and I was (and still am) mega busy doing jobs on my new home-sweet-home, the need arose to check the Games-Workshop website again. And there they were… 40k Space Marine Infiltrators… (ohh, yes, Covid-19 was already underway!)

No seriously, I hadn't been to the official Games-Workshop website for a long time and had no idea. But compare my old experience of 2th edition Space Marines with those new dude's… love at first sight!



So this is the beginning. I have decided (and we'll see how it goes) to share my experiences around this re-entry into the miniature hobby with the world. I had kept this domain name all these years. We will therefore also make it useful.

Tips for my blog are always welcome. Next time the blog I think will be about my first steps after this reunion with all that beauty. What did I do to obtain information and what did I think about it. I will also receive my first order soon, so unpack party! And I also took my old models from the attic that I still have. So that will be delicious too!

Until next time.

Hey mate,

Welcome back to the hobby! I had an extended break before jumping back in with my first real army a while back too. It gets hard to find time between work and family and commitments, but I have found too that keeping a blog is a good motivator to make the effort.

The first pic is a bit overexposed I think with the light from above but from what i can see the colour scheme looks unique and visually interesting. I like the bases and love that they match with the terrain! Would love to see some more pics of the finished squad.

Good luck with the next steps. I'll be following along!

 tzurk wrote:
Hey mate,

Welcome back to the hobby! I had an extended break before jumping back in with my first real army a while back too. It gets hard to find time between work and family and commitments, but I have found too that keeping a blog is a good motivator to make the effort.

The first pic is a bit overexposed I think with the light from above but from what i can see the colour scheme looks unique and visually interesting. I like the bases and love that they match with the terrain! Would love to see some more pics of the finished squad.

Good luck with the next steps. I'll be following along!

Yeah, guess your right. Blogging sure helps in extra motivation. Got the same issue, lot commitments besides from the hobby. But try to get as much time as possible. Guess Covid-19 does help a bit on this part, less social, more at home time. I do have a big housing rennovation going aswell

True, the picture is highly overexposed. I made a new one to show the white (which is exctually off-white by Vallejo) and it's shading better.

I will be reposting my official blog here first and translate it to English trough Google Translate for the most part. But guess I will be translating my official blog aswell to a multilangual blog.

Yeah, the whole point of my Space Marine project is not just the miniatures and the army. It's a gaming table, scenery, art, photography, blogging and even 3D printing aswell. So I try to progress in all those directions. The army will be slowly build and painted. But I do want to play it atleast once a month at my local gaming club (besides Covid conditions...)




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Part 2: Where should I start with Warhammer 40k?
[bSo I kind of impulsively decided to reboot with Warhammer 40k, but where should I actually start? In this second blog I will tell you my first steps back in the tabletop miniature hobby![/b]

Impulsive is of course a big word. It wasn't that impulsive to think about returning to the miniature hobby. However, thinking that you start with a large army in Warhammer 40k is of course a bit over the top. Still, because I have extensive but mostly old experience with practically all Games Workshop games from the past, I dare to say that a serious army collecting suits me.

But then. Thinking you are doing it is different from actually doing it. I know that I can be quite a dreamer at times like this. So time for action! Back in the day, my only information was the White Dwarf, the local shop and the small circle of players there. Later on with the rise of the internet and forums I was involved in one of the larger forums in the Netherlands at the time. So visiting forums seemed like a good starting point.

In addition to YouTube which I had already discovered as a perfect source of lots of interesting material about the tips & tricks around starting, I signed up again on my old nest GWhobby.net. Then came to the conclusion that they had just moved to Spelhobby.nl... hehe

Forums help you with information, tips but above all a first introduction to new community friends. In the end, playing alone is not really an option of course, so making friends or at least making connections is so much fun. Who knows what will come of it.

Anyway I started looking for where to start with Warhammer 40k. Because the hobby has expanded and you don't just put together an army and choose models. Although I already knew that I was going to choose Space Marines.

My 3 useful tips for making Warhammer 40k army choices
After many videos, and reading other experiences and asking around on the forum, it was clear to me that it is quite personal. That is why I have memorized these 3 tips for myself as a guide.

Tip 1: What kind of player are you and which playing style will you like the most?
For me this was quite simple. I want a more all-round army because I like variety and can therefore vary and experiment with my army composition. Basically just keep all options open. I thought I first wanted to focus on fast combat, but that turned into more detail when I became more involved in all unit types (see tip 3). Anyway, all-round would suit me best because I can vary in the long term.

You also have other playing styles, of course. Such as focus on shooting, combat or with large groups (hordes). Or many tanks. Dedicated armies full of elites or many flying or fast units etc etc. Just think of your own personality. If you are quickly bored like me, all-round might be something. Do you like to be fast and in the foreground look at combat armies. If you prefer a bit more wait-and-see and defensive, go for shooting. Etc. In my opinion, staying with yourself will give you the most fun in the game, also in the long term.

Tip 2: Which models do you like?
Purely a matter of taste, of course. I completely fell for the Space Marine Infiltrators models. They just look so sweet. For example, in every army there are of course super cool but also lesser models. At Space Marines I'm not a big fan of the Scouts, the Landspeeder and the Rhino tank. Think they just need an update or something.


Source: Games-Workshop.com

The point is, if you don't think the models are bold enough, painting will be quite a task and you might get bored again. It is not cheap, so there is a risk that you will let it go completely in the long run. Anyway, it can still demotivate you and that would be a shame about all your effort and of course money (although a hobby can cost money of course

Tip 3: Are the statistics good for your models of your choice?
Yes and that immediately brought me to my first purchase. How do you actually find out. Well, a Codex of course (or via http://wahapedia.ru/). Next time a bit more about experiences with this, but of course what you need is the statistics of your models or their Data Sheets.

I myself went for the Codex. But to be honest, what really helped me is the YouTube channel from Auspex Tactics. That guy tells (especially at Space Marines) in 15 minutes per unit kind of everything you should know and more. Super handy! I listened to it as a podcast in my car. So in a few days / weeks I was pretty sure what models would suit my style.

Here an example of his channel.



Next time more about my experience with the Codex and also my first Battle Roster experiences.

Cheers,

Roland

No clue what happend. But my post got tripled somehow... just try'd to edit it after my initial posting... a 'copy/paste' smily was inside the message, went back with my browser and reposted. Guess at that point the forum acts as it's a new posting.. very sorry for this mess...

#howtodeletemypost?

Somehow I posted double and something went wrong with my first post... sorry for that... How to delete this one?!

Part 3: My first Space Marines!
So it was going to be Space Marines. Already had ideas for my own chapter, with my own color scheme, even conversion ideas, etc. etc. So my head ran over on inspiration and enthusiasm. But then, what choices would I make and above all, which Space Marine models would I buy first!

As mentioned in my previous post, one of the most important choice criteria is that I will choose models that appeal to me. Never thought they would be the strongest or most logical army choice. Despite this statement, I thought it would be good to investigate what all those "beautiful" models really can do. I also had ideas about my own ways of playing during battles. First impression was that frontal attacks, fast and a lot of close combat would appeal to me the most. Marines can certainly do this, but in the end it is of course an all-round army (unless I took Blood Angels or Space Wolves) In other words, it was time to make an Army List! Well, maybe ten ...

Easier said than done. No idea what the value of models is these days, or rather what they can cost and how they would fit into my game and first army. You guessed it, I was in desperate need of the Space Marines Codex. This happened at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis and when 9th edition wasn't really on any offical radar, and so all retail business where closed, even online this type of trade was less and less or sold out. So it was not possible to go to the store. Because I had run out of patience I finally decided to buy the digital (simple) version of Space Marines Codex online.

Space Marines Epub Codex :(
Well, I finally got my hands on the gold! I thought… Once downloaded I used 101 applications to read it properly. Large letters, small letters, cannot zoom. Lots of bizarre situations… So my first hobby purchase already started with a nice disappointment.

Weeks later I still can't manage, approached customer service and did everything, but it still sucked. So definitely not recommended to buy an epub Codex at GW. Maybe I will tell you more about that in another post, but it annoys me so much now that I will let it go for a while beside this BAD REVIEW!


The digital Codex version of GW is NOT recommended.
Obviously buy one yourself and not copy or illegally download boys and girls. Just buy your real booklet on GW or better still locally.

Anyway, with the small font I could read a bit and my search began. But actually I soon found out that I was missing information for myself (then you have bought a book and still not enough ...). That's how I came back to YouTube for help. I missed a tactical insight, the actual use on the battlefield, the relationship with buffs and strategems. You can't get that out of your Codex quickly. That is experience from many years of playing… Many movies later about the miniatures that appealed to me gave me a reasonable idea of ​​what I would like. And there I was… ready to make an Army List again after many years. Pen and paper at the ready… pooh, that should be easy, I thought (yes I was literally ready). Of course we live in 2020 and no longer in 1990 where paper was still the norm. Phone grabbed, Google open and ...

There was BattleScribe! Eureka! What a handy tool with all the Data Sheet and rules in it (not as nice as in a Codex, but still). First on the PC, later also on my mobile with the BattleScribe App (not yet figured out how to exchange the files, but that will probably be possible).

Puzzle with BattleScribe for my ultimate Army List!
And there I finally was. Second attempt! IReady, set, and "go".

With my first Army List I finally discovered how the point build-up really worked. How quickly it rose or was not too bad. How in Warhammer 40K 8th edition Command Points were in relation to Detachments and with the idea I should have as many as possible what that physically meant. How many HQ units I would need, for example. And what they could do with Buffs and Special rules etc. Strategems suddenly came around the corner as they also complete the list. Well, all in all it turned out to be more than I could have imagined. Only selecting an army on the basis of cool miniatures and a bit of an idea with my game type preference turned into a rules hunt and extra knowledge / information drift. In other words, even more YouTube videos ...

Anyway, I can tell you, I still don't know everything (because I think that will only come after playing dozens of games). But I managed to compile an Army List after 3 extra tries of 1800+ points. I still have to divide the last 200 but that will come.

Anyway, there is a basic list. With models that I like, that I know have strengths that appeal to me and that I dare say that I would like to try my first games with that list. It is very realistic that this “First Official” Army List will have many more brothers and sisters. I will be saving a lot more variety of models and can therefore vary in my game style. But you have to start somewhere. Well it worked!

Now I can also start saving! Or SHOP as my daughters would say. Next blog post, my experiences with my first order and of course a real unpack party.

Please write your experience as a comment below. And do you have that Epub working properly? I would like to come back to it. Let me hear what you think of my blog.

Cheers, Roland

Part 4: Bargain hunting for Space Marines!
With a first Army List in hand, I had a reasonable idea of ​​what I would like to buy. The bargain hunt could begin.

I would have preferred to go to my local store. Feeling that cool hobby atmosphere again like back in the day. But that's not going to happen with Covid-19, at least not a few weeks ago. The logical first choice to start online is of course to view the Games Workshop online store. After all, they are the masters of all of this, so you also expect everything to be masterful. What you can also expect at Games Workshop is that their retail price will be the highest of all. In the meantime, the webshop had really just reopened since the Covid-19 crisis, which of course also meant that other retailers around the world would be supplied again. Time to shop!

To be honest, I realized that I actually had some other choices to make. Because as a wise man told me, and I wanted to impose an extra rule on myself, DO NOT BUY TOO MUCH AT THE SAME TIME!

The versatile hobby
Nicely said, and sounds logical, don't buy too much… But there is an idea behind that in my eyes. Because add up the number of facets of this wonderful hobby. Think that most people are surprised what you do within this hobby. For the other NOOBs among us, just a list and then I'll probably forget things ...

Collect

Model building & converting

Paint

Scenery & gameboards

Rules & Tactics

Play!!

Social

Lore & art

3D printing

In my case, web / blogging

There is so much to tell about on all these subjects, of course, but anyway because there are so many subjects, I really decided to start slowly with point 1. Collecting. Because it is possible to finish the list from top to bottom (not that they are in order or something…) but the hobby is just so interesting because of this great variety of facets. In addition, and that is a second wisdom that I can still very well remember from my past. Collecting is easy, in fact, very tempting. But the step to follow-up matters often does not improve. Because where will you start? And pooh… modeling is also quite a lot of work. Before you know it, those models are gulping dust…. No, I will try to avoid that as much as possible. My current own game rule is. Buy some things that you "really" can't pass on, like your "hottest models" and start assembling and painting them. If you are at least 50% on the road, then you can start thinking about a sequel ... let's see how long I can keep that up ... (can already tell you, it's damn difficult to almost impossible!)

Reflection does you good
This dude from Tabletop Minions (not the best YouTuber as far as I'm concerned, but touches some interesting topics) makes (too) serious videos on his channel. So don't take it too seriously, but it's always good to get a little reflection from someone else. You can really do something with it and make your own choices because of this can be just a bit easier.



A little reflection from others about how best to start again or be new can really help you on your way. Bring grains of salt with you, of course


Just talking about it with people around you can also help aswell btw Eg. at a forum or local club ...

The actual shopping could begin
Army list ready, buy game rules ready, let's google! I decided to buy a set of Troops and at least one HQ model just because it's cool. Since I really liked everything with Phobos armor and especially the Infiltrator models, my shopping basket list was quickly known ...

Okay, so put the Games-Workshop.com website aside, Googling those models! First instinct, local, and I mean Dutch sellers. Rather give them my money anyway. Especially after Covid-19.

Now I am a reasonable Nerd when it comes to online stores. I have built many from my profession and so I know a bit about what I look at when I open a webshop. Downside… I set high standards for the web store itself. Second factor was price. Google is not crazy, they know that I also order things abroad and so my search result soon got me to international websites.

But to be honest, I was not very happy with what the Netherlands had to offer me. The combination of my irritation for bad web shops and price was clearly a factor to look further. That's how I ended up at Element Games, Wayland Games and FantasyWelt. The latter two reasonable online stores and prices are more than ok. The first especially the prices.

Shiny new vs second hand
The beautiful pictures of Games Workshop in the web stores everywhere. The same sales texts everywhere. How well they do that. Little retail discounts here and there. But bottom line with shipping and other matters not that much difference.



In any case, it sank in that simple online ordering would take a little more time. Anyway, there were more ways to get my minis of course. That Shiny new with box and I know what else appealed to me, but let's see if there is still some dust in others. Ebay, and the dutch version and certainly forums were my next stop! It is full of miniatures it turned out.

But ... I've been looking at new and old offers on numerous sites for a while ... what a mess! No, I still watch now, but never really what I'm looking for. Apparently I want those new shiny models.

Bits stores and recasts
Still a little more searching, reading etc. yes, and then it gets a bit more dark (read on, there is light coming ...). Bits stores, no, I had never heard of them. In fact, I was amazed that they also offer the models from, for example, the starter box. What seems. Those web shops order whole boxes, empty them and sell the individual contents for a little profit. Unbelievable that this itself can only be a business model. Smart, but still. Just checked on a dutch forum what they thought of it and what their experiences were with it, but got positive feedback. So now there were 2 easy to build HQ models on it (the rest had apparently become out-of-stock) and at most bits stores everything was already away from 8th edition starter boxes. So that was my first order. 2 HQ models from the 40K starter box.

Not very dark, but still. I had heard the word “Recast” somewhere. And yes, it will be more shady. The world of 3D printing, especially Resin printing, has already been busy with this phenomenon. In fact, 1 search on Google quickly gave me results. Also Aliexpress has, if you click around a bit, just recasts that you can order right away. Let's throw it on the table right away. THIS IS ILLEGAL! Hopefully everyone can think of that for themselves, right? Or DO NOT. Do not buy.

Best way to buy from your army as far as I can see now
So conclusion. The best way for me to slowly gather my army was to buy really new and at a discount retailer somewhere in Europe until my local store would open again and I have time to actually go there. I did that in this case at Wayland Games my first box Troops and ordered another HQ.

And therefore also at the bits stores. In this case I bought from Bitzstore. But think I would buy it everywhere and not necessarily from them. That also applies to Wayland Games, although they do have a savings program which I can value.

Anyway, by now there were 10 Infiltrators, 1 Captain in Phobos and 2 Lieutenants on their way. First part of my army in the making!

And then I ended up, tell more about this next time, on a forum of my local games club called Hive Novio. I post a few things about my start there and before I knew it there was already someone who could offer me a number of nice extra mini's. I couldn't resist that and now I also have 3 Eliminators and 1 Luitanant in Phobos Armor ready to be painted.

A bit from an unexpected source that this went so easily and nicely. From now on, although I am apparently going to look more for new and shiny, I will first ask in my own local network. Think that when you specifically ask the question, people are more inclined to think about what they still have. And sometimes it is easier to conclude that they do want to part with it. Besides that it is simply very favorable in terms of costs, of course also a lot more ecological and fun to trade a little with each other. That also keeps the hobby more alive in my eyes. Thanks to Bob for this new insight!

The party could begin! Unboxing!
Yes, I have to admit it all took me quite a while for his first order with 2 until then relatively unknown web shops somewhere in the EU.

But there it was. And what a coincidence, both were there for me on the exact same day after a long day of work. At that moment you are like a little boy, so happy.


Think my wife must have seen something like this ...


This was the actual first loot!

As far as my shopping experience. Longest blog so far and much more to tell about it. Anyway glad that I have seen most of the types and corners of this collection, I think. If you have any tips or additions to this, please let me know in the comments.

Next time more about the new local club and in particular the importance of socializing in this hobby. And of course how things are going now that I have my first minis at home. What's next?

Greetings from the Netherlands!
Roland

Part 5: The work can begin! Pliers, knife and glue at the ready
In my previous blog I wrote that I would write about the social aspect of the hobby. But changed my mind. This subject will be covered enough and is now a daily part of the hobby. Definitely will dedicate a serious blog post to it, but for now…. knife at the ready! The hobby of modeling can finally start again.

To work
The first unbox party was over and of course you want to start. Because collecting is fun, but the real thing is much more fun! But you do need the tools for that. With past experience in my pocket, I had already turned my shed and tool case upside down. However, that was more for the serious DIY work at home. Then it occurred to me that an uncle of mine once gave me some Revell paint in a beautiful storage box. Never given much attention but kept it laying around. Time to see what was hidden in there.

Well, that was quite a surprise. In addition to plenty of paint (on a trepanation basis, so I don't have any real use for that), there was a full set of tools for modeling. Ideal for me to start with! In my tool case I also came across some useful things. I was really only missing some new brushes, dishes, trays and a cutting mat.

Good tools are half the job
Here is an equipment list for beginners that I have now mainly used when assembling my Space Marines:

Hobby knife holder

Craft knives

Model making nippers (narrow and thin)

Tweezers

PVC glue

Second glue

Cutting mat

Tray for parts that are left over from your sprue

Easy Build & Primaris Marines

I just started to assemble the two Easy Build models. Both on one small sprue of their own. What struck me is how smart the mold lines are nowadays across the various separate parts. They are so well processed on the parts that cleaning these lines seems to take much less time than it used to take (or so far my memories go). Real fantastic work!


First Easy Build model! Magnificent!

That's how the Easy Builds were put together. The first models still 100% with second glue, but it was soon tipped that PVC glue is really better for PVC models. Coincidentally I had both and I switched. Second glue is a little less liquid which I find more pleasant and of course dries really quickly. But understand that PVC glue is better and of course also a bit cheaper, although I don't really think that is a good argument.

Infiltrators box, another level
This box was a bit different from those Easy Builds. It even included a serious assembly guide. I don't remember that from 2nd edition models. Hahaha. Also a lot of small parts and even better, a lot of choice how you would glue it. In the end I chose to copy the standard line and thus the booklet. First set is still a matter of practice, I thought.


Wonderful evening gluing! Do not forget your beers and nuts and enjoy

It is wonderful to be so active with the hobby again! In the end it took me a few sessions (I don't have a lot of time) to assemble all my models. But they are constructed! Really beautiful.

Only, then I changed my mind… what is smart now. Finish the color scheme and buy paint and base coat them? Or the bases first.

My next blog is the answer!

Cheers, Roland