Lately we’ve been hearing all sorts of stories about our fellow hobbyists’ first miniatures, and what got them to dive into the world of building and painting Warhammer. We shared a few of our own historical artifacts on the Warhammer Instagram page, and today we’re digging a little deeper to hear the stories behind a few of them – from Warhammer TV’s Josh, and Warhammer Community’s own Rob and Darcy.
Josh – Chaos Space Marines
Josh: I painted my first miniature – a Chaos Space Marine – in approximately 2003 when I was quite young, and it spurred me to continue painting off and on until 2019, when I finished a Goliath gang for Necromunda. Shortly after, I became quite unwell and lost my vision for around a year. I stopped being able to paint Warhammer for the duration, but thankfully what remained of my sight eventually returned and I bounced back!
The experience reframed my approach to the Warhammer hobby and I began painting again, focusing on large centerpiece miniatures like Kragnos. The accessibility provided by these larger miniatures helped me learn to paint again with my reduced vision and, because of them, I was able to gradually tackle smaller and smaller miniatures until I was painting standard infantry again, like this Chaos Space Marine.
That miniature holds a special place in my heart, as it put me on the path to being a Warhammer Presenter. The hobby has been a comfort throughout all the highs and lows in recent years – so I hope you enjoy the photo. It's a good old hobby, and I’m looking forward to hearing about everyone else's journeys!
Rob - High Elves
Rob: While the High Elves weren’t my first foray into Warhammer – that came from the Space Marines Battleforce box that had the Crimson Fists on the front – they were the first miniatures I actually committed to painting. By the time I was glueing together Spearmen and Archers, I’d discovered that my greatest love in Warhammer was kitbashing and customising models,* and resolved to make my own High Elf Mage because I’d spent all my pocket money on some Silver Helms instead.
With a staff made out of a banner pole and two shield emblems stuck back-to-back, and a grassy lump on his base that was the previous occupant’s foot that I couldn’t remove, he’s delightfully slapdash, with a paint job to match. I had little interest in painting but had just learned about drybrushing, which sounded very cool and easy, so I… drybrushed his white clothes in blue. It looks horrendous.
I keep him around, though, because I think it’s easy to get caught up in others’ incredible paint jobs and conversions, and not give your own efforts the credit they deserve. We’re all learning and growing as hobbyists, and it can be difficult to appreciate gradual improvement without a reminder of where you came from – even if that reminder is looking in two different directions.
Darcy – Space Marines
Darcy: While this Terminator is not my first ever painted model – that unfortunately disappeared several house moves ago – it is the very first model I bought and painted with my own pocket money. Way back in the early 1990s I received the second edition of Warhammer 40,000 as a Christmas present and in between games set up across my bedroom floor, I remember spending ages looking at pictures of Terminator armour-clad Space Marines and wishing I owned some.
Around 1995 my wish came true as I finally saved up enough pocket money to proudly walk out of my local Games Workshop store with five Assault Terminators: two with thunder hammers, two with lightning claws and a Sergeant with a power sword. Being a diligent hobbyist, I set about pinning them before liberally applying superglue to hold the metal models together.
The colour scheme, including the exciting knee decoration, is for a Space Marine Chapter of my own invention – the Legion Reborn – who had a terribly tragic backstory that would see them subject to exterminatus if the Inquisition ever found out about it. It also had the brilliant side effect of being quite simple to paint.
Looking back, I love this little guy and he’s a fantastic reminder to me of how far I’ve come as a painter and hobbyist. There is a lot to be said for choosing a simple scheme that you can easily execute over an entire army when you’re just starting out. I wouldn’t recommend younger me’s preferred basing technique however – freshly ground black pepper and lots of superglue wasn’t perhaps the best idea I’ve ever had.
You can see more of the Warhammer team’s first miniatures on Facebook. Comment with your first painting attempts – we all started somewhere, after all, so be brave and share those nostalgic pics with the Warhammer community!
* Shout out to my high school friends who rolled their eyes at the ‘Space Marine Bomb’ – a lump of putty with half a Tactical Marine stuck in it.
