This 2-volume book arrived in the post yesterday.
"Talking Miniatures" , by John Stallard and Robin Dews, chronicles the early days (most notably the 80s and early 90s) of Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures through interviews of many people who worked there at the time. I already read a few of the interviews, and it brings back a lot of memories and nostalgia. It is also a nice complement to "Dice Men" (by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson), which described the very early days of Games Workshop.
I was a real GW junkie during my early gaming days. I bought the 1st edition of Warhammer when it was first published, and it opened a whole new gaming world for me (before that, I played mostly board wargames, I had'nt even played an rpg yet :-)). So many of the events and games and miniatures described feel very familiar to me, although I never knew or met any of the GW/Citadel staff. But I was an avid GW gamer (these days are long gone, I'm not the target audience anymore), and still have quite a lot of those early games and books and miniatures.
But anyway, after reading through a few of the interviews, I realized a couple of things:
- Although I didn't feel like that at the time, as a gamer I experienced a period in the history of fantasy gaming that was still very close to the early days. So perhaps I was a pioneer without realizing it ;-)
- It is stated several times that the Warhammer books (and especially the 3rd edition book) created an ideal to strive for as a wargamer: photographs of spectacular gaming tables, which were the dream of many starting hobbyists. I do indeed remember me drooling over many of these photographs, thinking it was something I could never achieve ...
- Something else which struck me, but I also never gave much thought, is that the slottabase was a very clever invention. It allowed for miniatures to be manufactured with less metal, but it also allowed for regiments to be formed in neat blocks without having to cut out one's own bases.
- Rick Priestley (one of my wargaming heroes!) mentioned that Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition was quite unplayable ... which I found very odd, because this is the edition I played many battles with., and which I felt was perfectly playable at the time. But anyway, thanks for letting us know! :-)
An enjoyable read, and a must for all GW/Citadel fanboyz, past or present ...
And here are some of my early credentials ... (my 1st edition box is gone, all 1st edition stuff is in the 2nd edition box ;-)).
