A friend of mine reached the ripe old age of 30 this time last year and, due to lockdown, we were unable to get out and do anything for it. In a year with fewer restrictions (for now), a plan was hatched to go down to Warhammer World to hire some tables for a Necromunda and look around the exhibition hall. However, due to the weekend chosen being a LOTR event weekend, no tables were available; instead, we went down as a group to enjoy the rest of the facilities (which naturally included a pint of Bugman’s finest) and hopefully not spend too much on plastic crack.

I’ve dumped a whole load of pictures beneath the Read More (it’s a weird mix of whatever I liked the look of) but I just wanted to quickly add some thoughts. Firstly, getting down there to see my friends was a real joy – it was definitely a real treat to get out and about, relax in the pub and then browse a lot of pretty models. We managed to introduce some of the party to GW’s fantasy offering (I forsee some ratboys in the future) and had a fun time just geeking out.

Second – for all the issues you might have with GW (be it the over complicated rules, the large prices, the tone of the settings or many many more things about them as a company), it’s hard to leave Warhammer World not excited about the hobby. Seeing all the models, painted by the pros and nestled among the dizzying collection of dioramas, is just a reminder of how Cool Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 can be. Just walking through the halls fills your brains with ideas and inspiration – I think Games Workshop does some incredible design in their models, be it tiny details or strange and bizarre methods of fitting the pieces together. Something that I also noticed was just how open and friendly the venue was, with plenty of families there as a group and taking part in the hobby (highlights included the family all doing a painting demo and the dad being dragged around by child while staring at the Forgeworld models in the display case)

Third – I actually came having spent relatively little (picking up the exhibition ticket and getting a rather tasty burger and a few drinks). This is mostly because walking around the gallery reminded me of just how many cool Games Workshop models I have in my collection needing assembly and painting. Seeing giant pieces like Morathi and War Cry terrain all assembled and painted reminded me of all the cool ideas I should get back to. As attractive as NEW NEW NEW is, I have plenty of fun things to enjoy painting and then put into battles using the setting of my own devising and whatever rules I feel like.

That said, I did look at the new AoS Dragon Riders and go “that person would be a super good looking knight on the right horse…”. So I might be making a trip to the bits library at some point.

Anyway, enjoy the photos, I’m going to go finish off the monthly update post.

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