My Favorite Minis
All miniatures are pretty great, but some are greater than others. I really can’t start talking about my favorite minis without starting where it all began… Britains The classic toy soldiers are absolutely where my love for these little people started. A local specialty toy retailer stocked Britains and my brother and I spent lifetimes drooling over the catalogs and peering through the display cabinet glass. Debating about which figure to get. Cowboys? Soldiers? Knights? Space aliens???? Sadly, Britains have been gone for a while. But I still have most if not all of them. I’m pretty sure some mounted knights were lost to the ravages of childhood play. As much as that pains me a bit, that’s what they were designed to do. To be loved and potentially lost. These were the days that I pined for “Indian in the Cupboard” to be a true story. Playmobil The next…
Warhammer 40,000
A few weeks ago I wrote about something strange happening (being interested in perhaps playing Warhammer Fantasy Battle). It happened again. One of my offspring has developed a real and growing interest in acquiring and playing a 40k army. I have not discouraged this. It’s made me reconsider all the 40k minis I’ve had since my own childhood. So I fired up a list at https://www.newrecruit.eu Turns out I have a roughly 1,000 point Space Marine army. Painted. š³ Including unpainted minis, it’s approximately 1,800+ points counting everything that forms up into a proper unit. That’s just the ‘Marines. I was really surprised. Shocked even that I’m sitting on a whole army. Though I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how these forces would turn out in a game. I’ve never read the Quick Start Guide, much less the full rules, despite being an original paperback Rogue Trader co-owner. I was always…
Sci-fi or Fantasy – Follow-up
GW continues to blur the lines between far-future and fantastical-past. I recently wrote about how Games Workshop mixes technology and mysticism liberally in both their fantasy and science-fiction settings. They’re at it again with their AdeptiCon announcements. Question: What GW setting features footsoldiers with machine guns and flamethrowers? If you said Warhammer 40k, you’re right! If you said Age of Sigmar, you’re also right! For more machine guns, also see the Cogfort. This ridiculous monstrosity is actually kind of awesome. I expect this to become one of those legendary sets that people will still talk about for years to come. But, it’s bristelling with machine guns (and flamethrowers) too. Which is cool I suppose, but kinda blows up the fantasy illusion in my head. Am I being a curmudgeon here, or is this genre-bending fusion just what these games need? Why is it that I find the anacronistic Wizard with…
Gargoylian Alert!
More of my favorite little creatures are coming out! The 2026 AdeptiCon preview has a trifecta of critters! Check these things out! I’ve taken the liberty to provide them names.
White Dwarf 522 – Idoneth DeepkinĀ in Darkwater
The March 2026 (White Dwarf 522) has card inserts for 3.5 Idoneth Deepkin heroes in the Jade Abbey (Icthil and Dorentar are alternate assemblies of the same model). Don’t miss Always Board Never Boring’s video: The Heroes: For a grand total of: $150.00 U.S. (plus tax). Ummmm… What? Four minis. $150+ Icthil The miniature is an Ikon of the Sea $40.00 U.S. Dorentar The miniature is an Ikon of the Storm $40.00 U.S. Narind The miniature is an Akhelian Thrallmaster $35.00 U.S. Vahadris The miniature is an Isharann Soulrender $35.00 U.S. As much as I love “official” minis… These expansion characters are pretty steep (deep?). But remember! You can use any minis you want. There are some decent 3D proxies available at myminifactory.com Alternatively, you could pick up the Warhammer Underworlds Direchasm Elathainās Soulraid box for around a quarter of the price of “official” minis and get a reasonable assortment of…
White Dwarf 521 – LuminethĀ in Darkwater
The February 2026 (White Dwarf 521) has card inserts for Four Aelven heroes, ready to delve into the Jade Abbey. Don’t forget to check out the video from Always Board Never Boring: The Heroes: For a grand total of: $148.5 U.S. (plus tax). Ummmm… What? Four minis. $150+ Iladrein Sunblande The miniature is a Vanari Lord Regent $43.50 U.S. Taysha of Tor Limina The miniature is a Scinari Enlightener $35.00 U.S. Zenthil Taior The miniature is a Scinari Loreseeker $35.00 U.S. The Lady Mylathir The miniature is a Scinari Cathallar $35.00 U.S. As much as I love “official” minis, I’m all about proxies to make games more affordable. I haven’t looked too hard, but I didn’t really see any good free or cheap STLs online. A pretty good option is Myari’s Purifiers from the Order Warbands: Heroes and Hunters set. These can be purchased from shuckers on eBay (or similar)…
White Dwarf 520 – GhoulsĀ in Darkwater
Warhammer Quest: Darkwater has its first expansion content. Ghouls. I’ve been a little slow making posts about Darkwater updates because they’ve been coming out in White Dwarf magazines. I’m incredibly fortunate to have a subscription to White Dwarf, however, that means that my issues aren’t delivered until midway through the following month. So, I’m a bit delayed. No big deal. As always, check out the video from ABNB: So, I just received my copy of White Dwarf 520 and will soon check out what the Flesheater Courts bring to the labyrinthine corridors of the Jade Abby. The Heroes: For a grand total of: $168.00 U.S. (plus tax). Ummmm… What? Four minis. $170+ Rawthroat Gorse The miniature is a Marrowscroll Herald $39.00 U.S. Porvyle the Bold The miniature is a Royal Decapitator $39.00 U.S. Friar Skinseam The miniature is an Abhorrant Cardinal $42.00 U.S. Bledivir Blackwing The miniature is an Abhorrant…
Something Strange Has Happened
For the first time ever, I’m feeling the urge to acquire and play a rank and flank game. Specifically Warhammer Fantasy Battle – 4th edition. This is completely illogical and out of character for me. I’ve always loved the minis, but battle reports, tape measures, and arguing about line-of-sight have never been my thing. Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis? I’m sure it’ll blow over. I’ll stop thinking about the 1992 classic soon. Just like I’ve nearly stopped thinking about the Sony PSP. I’m almost over it. 1992 was a pretty good year. Not quite as good as 1993 (in music), or 1995 (WARHAMMER QUEST), but still pretty solid. I was, and honestly still am a bit, waffling between 4th and 5th edition. The 5th edition box has better contents, over the somewhat boring goblins and high elves in the 4th edition box. But, for my own personal nostalgia, I’m more…
Getting Some Reading Done
Well, I’ve had a crummy cold this week so I’ve been laying around the house. The silver lining is that I’ve knocked out some of the Warhammer reading that I haven’t been able to get to. I finished reading a stack of Citadel Journals that I’ve been meaning to get through. They round out the complete Warhammer Quest ’95 expansions, wrapping up in the year 2000. I didn’t print out all of the Citadel Journals that have Warhammer Quest content. Much of it was rerun from Deathblow or White Dwarf. The Citadel Journals are now included on the White Dwarf List. I also knocked out a few White Dwarf magazines as well. Highlights include the Blackstone Fortress launch issue, Return to Hammerhal 1-3 (though sadly without cards), and White Dwarf 410… Issue 410 (September 2016) might be one of the best White Dwarf magazines of modern times. It has new…
Are miniatures toys?
Legally speaking; no. It says so right on the box: “Not Children’s Products“. Then why are they so fun? Back when I started this blog in earnest (March 2024) I wrote down a bunch of topics I wanted to hit. They are all saved as draft posts. This is one of those original conversation topics. You need tools, time, acumen, patience, light, space, and a whole mess of other things to make those models happen at the most basic level. It is very timely because just the other day I ran across a reddit thread about how a Warhammer player’s parent gave their “toys” to a toddler to “play” with. “Trigger-bait” or not, LOTS of people were triggered with similar experiences and trauma from long, long ago. Whole armies thrown in the trash, broken models, painted, or re-painted models, and all manner of destruction. It was awful. And it’s such…