A Guide to Warhammer at The Dragon

So you're interested in playing Warhammer, but you don't know what it is all about. Your friends play, and you want to too, but then you find out it's pretty expensive, and maybe a little complicated. Well, we're here to answer all your questions.

What is it?

Warhammer is a military strategy game, in which a player creates an army from available miniatures and fight another player's army in a one-on-one battle. Players roll dice based on the statistics of each model or unit in order to determine combat results throughout the game.

How do I get started?

There are two games in the Warhammer universe, Warhammer Fantasy, and Warhammer 40,000, otherwise known as Warhammer 40K. Fantasy is the sword and sorcery game, and 40K is the science fiction game with guns and tanks. Once you choose which game you're interested in, you should probably get familiar with the rules. You can do this one of three ways... a) buy the starter box set or rulebook for the game, b) come into the store on Friday nights from 5-9 to check out other people's armies, ask questions, get help assembling models and painting; then pick up the rulebook when you're ready to start really playing, c) use a friend's models and play with them to get the hang of things, and borrow their rulebook to read the rules. Once you choose an army, you should buy the army book or codex, which will tell you everything you need to know about the miniatures for your army.
Once you have an army book, you'll notice that each model in the army has a point value. The usual army size is 1700 points for 40K, and 2000 points for Fantasy. You should sit down with the army list and decide what you want to spend your points on. Once you've figured that out, you have a shopping list. You should start buying core units first, and an HQ. Once you have 2 troops and an HQ choice, you can play, even if you don't have the full point value. But always make sure you play against someone with an army of equal point value.

How do I assemble my models?

You should get yourself a pair of clippers to cut plastic miniatures off their sprues, and children under 12 should get parental help with this. Do not use a model knife to cut out minis, as this can be quite dangerous. Metal miniatures often have pieces of extra metal on them, called "slag", which should be cut off. These bits are usually thin straight bits sticking out from the mini. If you aren't sure if something is slag or not, bring your mini in on Fridays from 5-9, and we will help you. Then you need either Plastic Cement or Super Glue to put the models together. Plastic Cement should only be used on plastic miniatures, and will bond them better than Super Glue. Super Glue should be used to bond metal to metal, and metal to plastic. However it will also bond skin, so be very careful. If your pieces don't fit together properly, we can teach you how to use pins, and epoxy putty to make things look better. Games Workshop provides a full line of tools and glues to assemble your miniatures. The next step is painting (see below), and then it's time to flock. Flock comes in grass, sand, gravel, and snow, and you just brush watered down white glue on the base of the mini, and then sprinkle on the flock and dust it off, until enough sticks to the base for it to be covered. Again, we can help with this step.

What do I do about painting?

First you need spray primer, either black or white. If you don't prime your miniatures, the paint will rub off very easily, and all your work will be wasted. Second, get the paints you need as indicated on the item you are buying, or in your army book, or based on your own colour scheme. There are paint sets for beginner, which have a good assortment of basic colours and a brush. Some even come with extra miniatures to practice on! Make sure you get brushes, and be careful cleaning and storing your brushes so they will last a long time. Come in on Fridays from 5-9 for help with painting. Just bring in your miniatures and brushes; we provide the paint!

Why should I use Games Workshop paints?

The GW paints are specially formulated to work on miniatures. They are watered down acrylics. Enamels and regular acrylics are too thick, and will fill in the detail in the mini. You would end up sacrificing a good mini for cheaper paints. The GW primer is formulated to work with GW paints, and we cannot guarantee that another spray would work as well with the paints, or with plastic models. Other types of primer can cause a plastic miniature to bubble, or a metal miniature to lose its detail.

Why is it so expensive?

Well, it's not as bad as it seems. Your army will be mostly composed of plastic regiments, which are a good value for the number of models you get. When it comes down to it, you'll probably spend less on a Warhammer army than on a video game habit. After all, one army will last you a lifetime, but one video game will not. The company has been around for over 25 years, so you can be assured that you are getting quality and service for your money, and that this is not a fad. The Warhammer hobby offers things that no other miniature line offers. a) It is well supported. There are constantly new additions to the hobby range, to individual armies, and to the colour range. b) You can expect to be able to travel anywhere in the world and find Games Workshop stores, and play games. Games Workshop is also unique in providing tournaments and Games Days all over the world. c) You can call the mail-order line at any time to get answer on rules and armies. d) If you have bought a miniature and it is missing pieces or not moulded properly, we will replace the miniature for free. You will be hard pressed to get this same guarantee from any other miniature company.

Ordering

So we don't have what you want? We do Games Workshop orders every week, so that we can get new releases right away. So, if you want something we don't have, just ask one of the staff to order it for you, and it will come in on the next order. We will call you when your order comes in, and hold it for one week.

Bits and Specialist Games

You can order individual bits from miniatures, from our bits catalogues. These orders take a little longer to come in (up to 6 weeks), but if you want to do a cool conversion, we can help! We can also order things from Specialist games - Blood Bowl, Battlefleet Gothic, Epic, Mordheim, Necromunda. Browse our in-store catalogues!

White Dwarf

Do you want all the latest updates as soon as they happen? Do you want painting tips? Do you want to know the month's new releases? Make sure to pick up White Dwarf magazine every month for all that, plus events coverage, battle reports, and more!

Missing Bits?

Sometimes you might find a piece missing from your miniature when you open it up. So what should you do? Bring the opened miniature back to us, with its original packaging, so we can check it out and gather info for Games Workshop. We will then replace the miniature for you at no cost. If we don't have another one in stock, you only have to wait until our next order comes in to get your replacement. Simple!

 
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