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I'm in my mid/ late 30s and have been a fan of Warhammer (40k & WHFB) since I was in single digits.

For those of a similar age I'm sure you can recall goblin green bases, the first release of Necromunda, the Last Stand at Glazer's Creek, Blood Angels vs Orks & Bretonnians vs Lizardmen...or perhaps you remember back even further to Rogue Trader?

I cannot say I am an expert fan of any particular part of the hobby; I'm an average painter, my grasp of the rules is basic and my knowledge of the background lore is spotty, but by God I do love Warhammer...despite the fact I only bought my first mini in my 20s!

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that recently I came to realise that Warhammer has simply always been there, in one way or another; sometimes only barely, but it was always there. And with the exception of my friends and family, it is almost the only other constant in my life- remembering, of course, that friends and family come and go, too.

I find it comforting and kind of awesome that the hobby is such a great part of my life and will hopefully continue to be so. That I can wrap myself in nostalgia but at the same time be part of a current (and evolving) community is actually quite humbling.

Anyway, excuse my rambling. I was wondering, can you relate to this feeling at all?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I should add that I'm fully aware of how GW has changed and how some of the company's business practices are...questionable...I'm not a blinkered 'fanboy', but I make a distinction between the hobby, the company, and the community.

I know exactly what you mean. I was there October 1987 at Games Day when Rogue Trader was released and I fell in love with right there and then. I skipped 2nd edition due to a lack of players and more of an interest in tabletop RPGs but I still would think about it and ponder buying models again even if just to paint them. It wasn't until 3rd edition when I came back that it really became a dominant of my life. Even now I still think about it when out for a walk, quiet moments at work and spending time reading about in on the internet. I'm playing a lot more now under 8th/9th than I ever was in the previous twenty years and it truly is a constant in my life.

Outside of work, pretty much everyone I know is directly or indirectly linked to the hobby.

My best mate of 30 odd years and I bonded over Warhammer.

Whilst I’m far from active in the hobby these days (outside pressures, not exactly by my preference) it’s still a pretty constant slice. I wouldn’t be here on Dakka otherwise.

Just rather than duking it out across the board, I’m much more into background discussion and that, to the point I now have a complete set of Rogue Trader era books, the original Adeptus Titanicus, most 2nd Ed Epic books (just missing Titan Legion’s, which will be a Very Special Purchase in due course) and I’m just three Codexes away from a complete set of 2nd Ed books. Yes, even Codex Assassins, which was a proper “blink and you’ll miss it” release.

I've played/ followed 40k since 1989. I skipped 6 and 7 because GW cancelled my original favourite army (GSC) and was at that time ignoring my 2nd favourite (Sisters of Battle).

That didn't stop me from paying attention, and when the GSC came back at the end of 7th, I knew something had changed. I knew that the company was starting to remember its players.

I've lost much of my "circle of gamers" - everyone I play D&D with is online now, and while there is TTS, it's not something that I'm interested in.

But the game itself, the models, the stories... They are still there, and I'm not quite sure where the time would go if they weren't.

Gaming in general, yes, GW in particular, no.

I didn't own any GW product at all from the end of 4th to six months into 8th. A majority of that was spent on Warmachine/Hordes, but there was a span where gaming just didn't fit into my schedule and it was an itch in the back of my mind the whole time.

I find them constantly disappointing. I started in 2nd ed. less than a year later they went to 3rd and changed a lot about the game. Then the codices starting coming out with little to no balance (as opposed to 2nd being more balanced IMHO). I quit after 3.5 when it was obvious that GW wasn't interested in supporting their already existing armies except marines. I got back into it in 8th since it looked like GW was finally making an effort to balance their armies out. Then came 9th and it's a disaster all over again. I may consider jumping back in around 11th or 12th ed. (probalbly in another 3-5 years).

Absolutely. Real-life sucks but whenever work was awful or my family let me down, I could just sit at my desk and paint my little dudes.

For me it's not 40k specifically, but gaming in general. Miniatures gaming, RPGs, & to a degree boardgames.

Not counting the various Avalon Hill games of the 60s70s my brother & I played (or tried to play - we were too young for some of them) with our dad, my gaming began Christmas day 1980 with the D&D Basic set.
RPGs brought me into contact with miniatures games. Chiefly Battletech & then WHFB. Others including historicals & 40k followed. CCGS (chiefly MTG) & eventually boardgames as well.

The pendulum swings back & forth between RPGs/some minis & Minis/some rpgs.
Right now the minis part of my hobby is ascendant.

Gaming has been a fun part of my life for 42 years now.
I hope it'll be part of the next 42 as well.

And when I'm dead?
You know those marble spheres you see in some cemeteries? I want one - carved as a d20 - marking my grave.

I know exactly how you feel. I got into Warhammer in the late 90’s early 2000’s. It’s the one constant I’ve always had. I only played like one or two games during 6th-7th edition but I never stopped building and painting my collection. I haven’t played a single game of AOS but I still have my Skaven and Lizardmen armies and I still look at my models and old codexes from time to time.

I got introduced to Warhammer in college, around 2002. Since then, I graduated, went to law school, started a career, met my wife, moved across country twice, and just recently had a baby.

Outside of my family, Warhammer is definitely the biggest constant in my life. I don't really have any active friendships from prior to playing 40k, and as I've gotten older, it's one of the few ways I really meet new people.

I think it's because the hobby has so many facets. it's creative, there's a collecting streak, you can play narrative or competitive, or you can just read lore.

Been into warhammer properly since the eye of terror campaign in the early naughties and I remember being fascinated by it from before then - I dived in after the 90s version of 'liking' it for about 5 years.

And thereve been times I burned out and there have been times when I primarily painted and played other games- warmachine in particular.

But there has always been this elemental and primal draw of warhammer that its never really been too far away. It draws people in and inspires people. On the warhammer community thing that store in Thailand that built a titan out of car scrap was incredible. I've never seen someone do a warjack in thr same way.

Me and my wife went to warhammer world and she 'got' it - maybe not for herself but she sees the draw. And my greyhound peed on some models so that means he likes them too, I think. :p

And the thing I like about warhammer is as I've gotten older and my tastes have changed, I still like warhammer. Maybe for different reasons to before but its always there and I like to think ill be a grumpy old seventy year old still putting together necromunda terrain.

Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Yet here you are....

ccs wrote:

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Yet here you are....

7 Posts, and six of them are whining about how 40k has sucked for a decade or more. Sounds like he's still in the hobby to me

I know this is a 40k forum, but Warhammer as a brand has been a constant for me and much of my friend group. While I'd probably have more "breakthroughs" paying for therapy, the hobby, gaming and the friends I made along the way have helped sustain me through thick and thin.

ccs wrote:

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Yet here you are....

And here is a prime example of why I'm getting tired of this site. If you don't agree with something someone says then rebut it . Don't attack the person feel free to attack the statement(s) they made. It's all too common now that attacking the person rather than discussing the difference of opinion is the accepted way to act. Did this statement add anything to the discussion? I don't think so. Why do people feel the need to just "mouth off" rather than letting a person's opinion rest with that person.

Person A doesn't like something that you like. Then either point out where they are wrong or just accept that not everyone likes the same things that you do.

/rant

 Polonius wrote:

ccs wrote:

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Yet here you are....

7 Posts, and six of them are whining about how 40k has sucked for a decade or more. Sounds like he's still in the hobby to me

If he doesn't play and paint one model per year, then what kind of a hobby is it. It is as if someone touched a football once a year and claimed to be a football player based on that.

Another example.

On Saturday I’m moving house. Not just house, but town. Same English county, but whole new area.

Aforementioned bestie of 30+ years has lived there for a while, and just bought his home. The town is also home to Chaos Cards, an FLGS with an attached gaming room.

I fully intend to run a Necromunda campaign there once I’m settled, as a way to meet new and other nerds. And who knows, maybe even a Nerd Lass (though that’s not my only avenue on that count).

There aren’t many other hobbies with such a crucial social aspect.

The wargaming hobby, yes. But for me it's Lotr much more than 40K. I'm playing 40K since about 10 or 12 years, but the game has changed a lot since then, even the miniatures are a whole new world compared to back then.
Lotr however? Same rules and miniatures since 2001 and it took Warhammer many years to have miniatures of a quality comparable to lotr.

If we go further, one of life's few constants for me is Star Trek. It's been awesome since I was 6 and whenever I rewatch TNG/DS9/Voy/ ENT or the movies it's still awesome even 25 years later .

Expanding on the crucial, if not fundamental aspect? From my experiences as a GW Till Monkey, a lot of the kids getting involved were (possibly are. My experiences are 12 years out of date), kinda socially awkward.

Whilst not exclusive to GW itself, as any FLGS worth its salt can offer the same, TTWG appeals to those who might not fit in anywhere else. With a decent staffer to oversee things and ideally prevent Exclusive Cliques, those kids (oh hai tiny wee me!) can socialise with those of common interest.

As pre-teens and even (I feel a bit weird saying this, but bear with) pubescent kids are still very much learning social mores, and us Nerds aren’t necessarily the most social to begin with? It can genuinely change a kids life.

Again, I am not holding this up as a virtue exclusive to GW, but the wider hobby.

I’ve arguably shown more noobies the ropes than most others on Dakka. And to see those kids social skills really start to bloom is pretty rad. The Odd Kid who is a pain in the arse can, with a bit of patience and a guiding hand, develop better social skills quite quickly. The overly confident kid (or at least the one projecting over confidence), can be reined in without making them feel useless or unwelcome.

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Absolutely not having a go - your 40k experience is just as valid as mine but for me while the GK ridiculousness and necron 'eccentric academics' silliness made me nope right out of 40k it was primaris that brought me back. I genuinely wish they were the Space Marines we had fifteen years ago; I'd have never left!

Deadnight wrote:

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Absolutely not having a go - your 40k experience is just as valid as mine but for me while the GK ridiculousness and necron 'eccentric academics' silliness made me nope right out of 40k it was primaris that brought me back. I genuinely wish they were the Space Marines we had fifteen years ago; I'd have never left!

Whereas I’m here for the more eccentric parts.

I bloody love that 40k’s internal history is quite contradictory, but only because it’s meant to be a mythology rather than a properly documented history. No party within is a reliable narrator, which leaves us Nerds with a lot to discuss, debate and even have screaming arguments about (though ideally not the latter, though I can’t deny its existence).

Leo_the_Rat wrote:

ccs wrote:

Uptonius wrote:
Warhammer hasn't been constant for me. It was from 3rd Ed to about ... Nemesis Dread Knights. That was the moment that Warhammer shifted from "awesome" to "maybe I'll paint a model once a year of I have nothing better to do".
And Primaris?... Final nail in the coffin.

Yet here you are....

And here is a prime example of why I'm getting tired of this site. If you don't agree with something someone says then rebut it . Don't attack the person feel free to attack the statement(s) they made. It's all too common now that attacking the person rather than discussing the difference of opinion is the accepted way to act. Did this statement add anything to the discussion? I don't think so. Why do people feel the need to just "mouth off" rather than letting a person's opinion rest with that person.

Person A doesn't like something that you like. Then either point out where they are wrong or just accept that not everyone likes the same things that you do.

/rant

I was politely implying that I don't believe them. You know, since this person went to the effort to join a forum largely dedicated to something they claim to not have been involved in for 5-10+ years.
Anyways, I really don't care wether they like 40k or not. I care even less if they (or you) agree with me.

It used to be Warhammer but now it's tabletop gaming in general. I might not always play Warhammer but I'll always be building/painting/playing something. As the years have gone by and the game has gotten more expensive relative to inflation and other games, and the rules have become poorly written and overly bloated, I've started becoming more open to trying other systems. The more other games I play, the less I like the 40k/AoS rulesets.

Yeah, it's like when somebody keeps posting on social media "I'm totally over my ex" nobody believes them.

The people that are done with the hobby are DONE.

All the Best Men at my wedding were individuals who I played 40k with in my teens.

I agree with the OP's sentiments. It's not been particularly important most of the time, but it's always been there. And whenever I wanted to engage with it, it was a good feeling.

I started the hobby in the late 90s as a kid, but 40k (or miniatures in general) has not been a constant in my life. I mean I quit the hobby a couple of times, both for long perdiods (5-6 years each) because at some point in my life I had other priorities and/or other interests. I never quit due to the state of the game though.

I came back a few times and still love 40k but I can't say it's been a constant in my life.

Not really. It's just one of the hobbies I enjoy because it is low maintenance and doesn't involve sitting in front of a computer.

My LotR armies have a few figures that I bought and painted when Citadel got the licence the first time around. When slottabases were new! Coming up for 40 years in the hobby.

I dipped out of mini wargaming for about a decade in the 90s to concentrate on RPGs, and I've had the odd year when I painted nothing, but I always come back. Slapping paint on a mini, making scenics and talking nonsense over a gaming table remain a big hobby for me.
My wife isn't into gaming, but loves history and visiting historical sites, so it's a part of my broader interests we share.

Lots has changed, lots remains the same. GW is a very different beast, minis are a lot nicer.
Plastic has made the hobby so much easier. No more blocks of Milliput for bases, and no enamel paint and turpentine stinking up the bedroom at least!