Middlehammer Nostalgia

Yep, a whopping 72 pages

You have no doubt heard of Warhammer (even though it's now dead). Possibly you are also familiar with Oldhammer - an appreciation of the older versions of the game, usually from the 1980's. But what if you were a fan of the not quite as old versions, from the 1990's onwards? Well, fear not, because now there's Middlehammer, for fans of the game from fourth edition onwards, roughly the 20 odd years from 1992 to the End Times. There is a facebook page for all your nostalgic needs.

Nostalgia has struck me recently. Well, it is 25 years since I started with this game! Up in the loft to bring down the xmas decorations, I came across a box full of old White Dwarf magazines. Leafing through them, I was transported back to those first days in the hobby, hesitantly clipping off hundreds of single-pose goblins and elves and fumbling through a first few games on the kitchen table. No internet back in those days to hold your hand! I was hooked and collected High Elves, some Undead and later a few dwarfs. For some reason I never really appreciated the orcs and goblins. I must have taken the hobby very seriously back in the day, as they always seemed a bit comical, a bit silly to me. But looking through the old magazines now, I can see why they were so popular.

Happy Smiley Greenskins

Do not adjust your monitor, things really were that lurid in the early (middle) days. And orcs did really look that happy. You can understand my original hesitation, as a fan of all things grim and realistic. But perhaps you can also forgive me my nostalgia, if you can see the simple charm of these figures. From the same issue (no 159 from March 1993), the next few pictures from a battle report give a flavour of the articles that had me hooked in those early hobby days.

Green horde on a green battlefield

Three or four kilos of a full metal army

The battle rages on, I loved these articles

Finally, a look at another page spread, chosen at random. A lovely bit of John Blanche art on the left, and a classic Mark Gibbons black and white illustration on the right. And. So. Many. Words. There might have been just 70 pages in an issue, but each page was crammed with reading material. To read an issue cover to cover would take hours. Ah, happy days. 

Words. Lots of them.

Legal Disclaimer: All these images are from White Dwarf magazine, copyright Games Workshop. I do not have permission to publish them, but do so as an enthusiastic fan of those golden, middle days.