Sunday 8 September 2013

Oldhammer Weekend review. Part five.

Part one of the review.

Part two of the review.

Part three of the review.

Part four of the review.

And so to the conclusion. It's like the weekend is finally over, *sniff*. My photography is horrible and picks up all the glare from the glass and this is by no means a complete tour of the wonderful Foundry cabinets (because that has been done better elsewhere: Eldritch Epistles.) rather it's more of a personal view on the experience of being face to face with some classic childhood memories.

The first picture blows it straight away, this is neither a cabinet nor a childhood memory. It is, however, the Harry the Hammer artwork from the 1st edition front cover of our beloved Warhammer and so deserves a mention. It just hangs above the bar and is pretty damn cool.



You can't see a darn thing from here but the point of this picture is to emphasise the sheer wonder of getting close to one of the two Foundry cabinets. There is so much Oldhammer history collected in one place, it's overwhelming. Looking through the cabinets takes ages and once you're done you're left with the impression that the hobby really means something to so many people that it's hard not to feel a connection with their passion.



This one makes it into this post because I got that very feeling of connectivity, like when you read a line in a book and it's as if the author has read your mind. This is how I always pictured a Beastman unit should look. It's completely chaotic, with a small c as well as a large C. I'm not sure whether everyone remembers the Konrad books as fondly as I do, the bigger kids back then were rather disparaging of them in my local shop, but the representation of Beastmen in those pages stuck with me to this day. I am currently building a unit like this for the very first time.


Who hasn't got a memory of seeing a Genestealer Cult for the first time? I will wager for a lot of us it was this very one too. There are two exquisite limos, dozens of classic 'stealers and Brood Brothers and of course the sinister, cult hierarchy. The cult concept represents everything the 40K universe had to offer in those crazy days of the 80s and early 90s. There was corruption and seduction, the lust for power and glory, freedom of expression and inspiration, there was the marveling at the transformation of materials into models and most of all there was the joyful daydream of a stark raving mad vanity project of 70s prog-rock-esque proportions. That, is a 'stealer cult, that, is 40K.




Look at the picture for the count of three then come back to the text. Can you tell me what the models are? Probably not, because of that gorgeous, whacking great red banner! A well painted regiment is a joy to behold on the field of battle but a freehand banner of this quality is a thing of legend. Keep your Napoleonic colours and your medieval heraldry, give me a leering face or an incongruous, photo-real tiger any day!




This photo is all about the disgusting, glossy 'Thing-creature' crawling about at the back. It's conversions like this that elevate modelling into the same artistic sphere as painting or movie-making. It's pure, gruesome imagination pulsing insanely to life.



The Tzeentch warband. The Tzeentch warband. Dale Hurst's legendary warband is a touchstone for many a Chaos-worshipping Oldhammerer, and Gods I know I'm one. The attention to detail and the level of imagination involved is mind-boggling even to this day. Many an unwary soul first trod the dark path as a result of Dale's pernicious article in WD 135.



The second cabinet is all Foundry and though it's wonderful in it's own right and bridges the gap between the lost GW of our youth and modern times it would be better served if you viewed it in person the next time life sends you to Nottingham.



So that about wraps it up! No more Oldhammer Weekend for another year (*delerium tremens*). I hope you enjoyed the story as told through the eyes of an irrepressible gaming addict and nostalgia-addled lead-head.

Thanks for stopping by!

14 comments:

  1. Brilliant pictures there Paul. Glad you had a good weekend. I love the unit of beastmen (mainly Runequest Broo I think, the ones that came with separate heads in a purple box). The textured green Tetrion or Polyfilla bases are so Old School. There is a Runequest Manticore in the beastman unit as well I see...wonderful.

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    1. Many thanks Springinsfield, it was a fantastic event and I am sure my enthusiasm was obvious. All the Beastmen look great don't they? The OS bases are so much simpler than today's techniques, I wonder if it was deliberate to help focus attention on the model itself. Excellent work on ID'ing the models, thanks!

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    2. Looking again, the figure in the centre rank to the right of the banner (tall horns and spear) was sold as a Goat Headed Ogre (cast on head) in the Fiend Factory range, but is a Broo to all intents and porpoises. I remember a fashion for a very glossy almost lacquered effect in the early 80's. Lovely.

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    3. Ah yes, I do believe I missed one labelled up as such on ebay recently. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. The glossy effect was nigh on ubiquitous on the 1980s fantasy stuff but curiously absent on the post 1987 40K stuff, I wonder if that was a cut-off point for that particular trend.

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  2. Great stuff, thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you it was my pleasure Sean, thanks for looking.

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  3. Wooow! I'm short of words. What an amazing and lovely display! That's more than a collection, it deserves the name of 'museum'. Really gorgeous.

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    1. Glad you liked having a peek! It's just the tip of the iceberg too. Museum is a good way to describe what the Ansells have on their hands. The collection is priceless. They are just starting to search out and restore all the old molds too that were hidden in storage, so the classic human citadel miniatures should become more and more available at reasonable prices for collectors.

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  4. I dearly hope they have the old townsfolk molds.

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    1. That is the fervent hope of many of us! Marcus Ansell seems to think they are definitely there in storage, it's just a matter of finding them and seeing what it takes to get them back into production. If you contact the Foundry you can ask to be put on the email newsletter subscription so you will be amongst the first to know.

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    2. That would be incredible. What I wouldn't give for a weekend set loose in that mould room.

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