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| 'I like these calm little moments before the storm.' |
Thump...Thump* Hello? Is this thing on? Ahem right, about me.
I've been gluing my fingers together and spilling paint on the dining room table since my early years. I wrought havoc amongst my Dad’s lovingly constructed Airfix flight line and in an act of self preservation, he equipped me with modeling tools of my own and a small selection of kits; setting me on the path I’m still lost on today; a map would have been handy.
My first encounter with gaming was back in the day, during the early 80’s when I was serving hard time at a boarding school in the middle of rural England. I picked up a copy of Games Workshop’s Judge Dredd role-playing game as I was a big fan of the 2000AD comics and spent many a happy hour persecuting the Perps of Mega City One. With its range of Judge’s and other characters, the game also introduced me to the world of lead miniatures, yes they were once lead younglings, before the dark times…before Health and Safety!
Not long after, GW released Rogue Trader and it really put the hook in me from the start; that defiant last stand of the Crimson Fists on the cover is still a stirring piece of artwork. I was fascinated with the dark brooding, gritty 40k universe; above all I thought the Space Marines were the ultimate bad arse warriors.
I picked a Chapter from the line up of twelve pictured in the rule book; I can’t remember exactly why I chose the Blood Drinkers, it may have been something to do with American Football, it was big in the UK at the time and I supported the Red Skins, the team colours may have influenced my choice. Whatever the reason, I have been a loyal Blood Drinker player ever since; fielding them in both 1st and 2nd Edition, also in Space Hulk and Epic, generally sticking it to the Emperors enemies wherever they were found.
My devotion to the cause has ebbed and flowed over time with the demands of the real world; tailing off with of 3rd Edition and completely missing the 4th. But in my middling years its back with a vengeance, thanks in no small part to some of the excellent writings of The Black Library; whose Heresy series returned me to the 40k fold.
These days I play as and when I can with a small group of close friends who I grew up gaming with, we are all long of tooth, short of hair and fairly laid back gamers. I’m reading a lot of Dan Abnett’s work and developing an unhealthy fondness for the Imperial Guard. I love the ‘fluff’ of the 40k verse and never miss an opportunity to develop back story and create new campaign settings; in fact my gaming probably takes a bit of a back seat to my writing, painting and modeling.
By starting this Blog I hope to draw all those aspects together and both balance and enhance them (sounds very Zen I know, there will be candles later) but in the main share my enjoyment of the hobby with my friends and the ever expanding online community.
So here it is, dedicated to all things 40k and my own little corner of the Pax Imperialis; stay a while, enjoy and remember. ‘The Universe is a big place and whatever happens, you will not be missed.’
At least, not until Tea Time.