Scorched Archive

Getting Back to the Table: Part I

The first post from misterjustin following his return to 40k gaming after a 14 year break. The series will chronicle each step in getting a 750 point Black Templar army from list to table.

Almost twenty years ago I was introduced to Warhammer 40k (Rogue Trader era) after being asked to paint some Orks for a friend. Being a fan of the limited strategy games available at the time, such as Risk and Stratego, it didn’t take long for me to see the possibilities. I got my hands on a copy of the Rogue Trader book, some “finely detailed” miniatures (many of which I still have), and set about upping my geek quotient considerably.

I played an Ork army until shortly after the release of the second edition. I got to enjoy exploitable rules that allowed me to arm snotlings with grenades and run them in to enemy lines. In late 1993 I entered college, went back to D&D, and by 1994 or 1995 I had given up the painting hobby. By 1997 I had given up on D&D as well.

Fast forward to 2006: The elder of my two younger brothers, with whom I did not get along, gets married. My wife and I, planning a vacation, decide to visit him, his new wife, and my other brother as part of our holiday. While I’m there we get to talking about the recently released “Dawn of War” video game. This leads to talk about how he had gotten in to 40k table-top gaming a few years prior… and suddenly we’re in his garage, looking at his table and miniatures and… getting along.

I was suddenly plunged in to the excitement of the hobby. Here were new Space Marines and Tyranids. These were exciting new models with much more possibility than the 30+ pounds of miniatures in my own garage. Sitting in boxes. With paints and brushes. In my garage. Because I could never bring myself to get rid of the whole mess.

Say… I know… I could paint some of my old Terminators and give them to my brother. That would be fun!

The rest, as they say, is history.

Now, after finding so many resources online, and painting again almost daily for a year, I find myself with a respectable pile of new 40k miniatures taking up space in my home. “Why not,” I asked myself, “put together a small army and see whether or not you still enjoy the game?”

And so, to make a long story even longer, I found myself posting a 750 point Black Templar Space Marine list online for feedback and ordering bits I would need to outfit my first army since the days of Squats and robots. Why Black Templar Space Marines? Largely, being a hobbyist first and foremost, becuase even if I don’t get to the table I will enjoy painting and modeling these miniatures. I’ve been doing a lot of Black Templar and black/white themed Imperial Guard models on commission so I could fit my own models in while I worked on those.

At this point I have a list, 4 Crusader sprues, and enough bits to outfit 26 Black Templar Space Marines.

Coming up: building the list