Category Archives: Peter Holland

Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Warhammer 40k

Rogue Trader Collecting

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Last week I listed a number of sets on ebay that I knew I’d never get around to painting or even playing.

This was a bit of a watershed moment for me as I’ve hung on to some of these kits since I first bought them back in the 1990’s. The realisation I came to was that I do more painting more than I do playing. This is down to various factors but mostly time.

What has this got to do with Rogue Trader I hear you ask?

Well after I came to this realisation I thought perhaps if this is the case I should gather a collection together of figured that have historic significance to our hobby and that I can paint up to my highest standard without feeling rushed about getting them done for some game or other.

I got into the hobby in 93′ just as 2nd edition Warhammer 40k came out. There were still some fabulous metal miniatures knocking around then from the 80’s you could buy and I would spend hours looking through the pages of mail order catalogues thinking about which models I could try and convince my parents to buy for me.

Now, I have my own money to spend on this hobby and I have (hopefully) improved my painting standards enough to do these classic miniatures justice.

So this week I made my first purchase of a Rogue Trader era miniature.

RT105 – The Imperial Commander

This model was later renamed to Marneus Calgar in the very late 80’s and early 90’s. But the miniature itself is stunning. One of the very few diorama pieces Citadel have ever produced as a product and it’s based on piece of amazing artwork.

Simpler times indeed….

So here’s my first miniature. It’ll take a while to paint but I’m hoping to do it justice. I’m aiming to base this on a larger round base rather than one square one shown in the picture, perhaps complete with the rug, wall and banners shown in the artwork. Still debating the cold one pets.

This will take me some time, but after this the options are wide open on where to go next. I have my eye on the original Leman Russ miniature with Freki and Goki as the next collector piece. Is there a particular Rogue Trader miniature you think I should get? And if so why?

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Games Workshop, Hatchette Part Works, Peter Holland, Warhammer 40k

Warhammer 40,000: Imperium – Issue 6

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Firstly, it’s been a decent week for me and getting things painted up. The Primaris Lieutenant (issue 1) and the Necron Warriors (issue 2) are now finished. Work has started on the Primaris Assault Intercessors.

Void Dragon 1st Company Lieutenant Osfirth
The Necron Warriors

This week we’re given three Primaris Aggressors which again is fantastic value, with three of these costing £20+ on the games workshop website we’re getting these for £9!

Granted they’re only equipped with flamers rather than bolters, but even so!

This week’s edition goes into more detail about the Necron nobles such as the Royal Warden (issue 1) or the Necron Overlord (issue 7).

Once more we’re given my favourite fluff builder for the Aggressors as well as the painting and build guide for them. This issue probably includes the most used paint as well in the form of Abaddon Black.

As I have now got both the Royal Warden and the Lieutenant painted up and finished, I thought it would be fun to play through the first scenario given in issue 1. Please bear in mind that this first mission is just teaching you the basic movement and ballistic skill mechanic. There is no hand to hand combat.

Halt the Awakening – Mission 1

The Void Dragons


The Necron invaders have already begun to transform Megaria into an alien fortress. Across the surface of the moon, the Space Marines battle Necron phalanxes in the shadow of towering Necron obelisks and ruined Imperial factorums.

Imperial forces have identified a repair station beneath the surface of Megaria as a key target. If the Void Dragons can prevent the Necrons from repairing their android legions, perhaps the Imperium may yet counter the Necron threat and reclaim the Ramasus system for the Emperor.

Having landed on Megaria the Void Dragons spread out, scouting the ruins and searching for Necron strongholds. Strange readings from beneath the planet’s surface revealed the presence of alien technology.

A small force of Space Marines have made their way through a crack in the moon’s crust and into a Necron repair complex. As they explored the ruins the tomb-like structures Canoptek defenders slew many of their number and the rest became separated by the alien labyrinth.

Lieutenant Osfirth finds himself near the repair complex’s core. With his brothers unaccounted for it falls to him to stop the Necrons awakening.

The aim of this mission is simple. Lieutenant Osfirth must destroy the Royal Warden before he can repair the nodes and awaken the rest of the Necron Forces inside the tomb.

Battle

With the Royal Warden taking the first turn he heads towards objective one while firing at Osfirth. Luckily Osfirth’s armour is too strong and he shrugs off the hits.

Eventually the Royal Warden claims first blood and pierces the armour of Osfirth.

The back and forth continued but the Warden manages to activate the first two objectives. By this point both warriors are battered and bruised.

With only one objective left the Royal Warden makes a dash for it and manages to activate the final node.

Victory: Necrons

Lieutenant Osfirth bruised and bedraggled drags himself away from the combat before the Necron reinforcements arrive. His only chance now is to link up with his brothers scattered throughout the complex.

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Solo Wargaming, Warhammer 40k

Solo Wargaming – Part 3

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So work has continued a pace with the solo wargaming system which I’m hoping to have ready for people to play with from 1st January.

The cards as shown in my previous post will come in their own box (imagine Warhammer 40k data cards) along with a small leaflet on how to use them effectively.

Broken Ranks Action Card

I’m going to print a set if these soon for testing and a few at Woehammer will also be having copies to test with. Once I’m happy with where these are I will post a video on the website on how the whole system will work.

In the meantime the cost of printing out these cards is expensive, but with your support I can make it a reality. Please consider supporting us through Patreon. For as little as £1 a month you can help me make these a physical product which you can buy,

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Peter Holland

The Woehammer Painting Competition

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This is just a reminder that we have a painting competition taking place where the winner gets their choice of a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box. We wouldn’t be able to give away this fantastic prize without the support of our good friends at SCN Hobby World. Why not join their emailing list and receive 25% off Games Workshop products whenever you place an order with them?

To enter you’ll need to paint a miniature with a base size no larger than 50mm and send it’s picture to thewoehammer@gmail.com. you’ll also need to send a small fee of £1 to the same address via PayPal. Your miniature doesn’t even have to be a Games Workshop model, it can be from any range you like.

One of your pictures must include a picture of your email address on a handwritten note. This should prevent people using internet photos for their submissions.

The closing date of the competition is 30th November where submissions will be placed into groupings of four and placed on the Woehammer Twitter account for a poll. The winner of these polls continue into the next round and so on until only one submission remains.

There you have it, get painting! If you want to find out more then either please leave a comment below, on my twitter profile or as an email to thewoehammer@gmail.com.

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

A Life in Wargames, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Warhammer 40k

Bryan Ansell – A Life in Wargames

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Bryan Ansell started with his life in wargames by founding and designing for his own miniatures company Asgard Miniatures. He also had his own fanzine named Trollcrusher.

In 1979 Games Workshop approached Ansell to found their own miniatures branch Citadel Miniatures. The company was set up to allow Games Workshop to be self reliant for its miniature purposes, allowing her to create the miniatures for all the games which Games Workshop had the license for at the time. This took their reliance on other miniatures companies such as Ral Partha away.

In 1980 Ansell wrote his first wargaming rules called Laserburn which he had published via Tabletop Games. Although only a foot note in gaming history, Laserburn contained many elements and wargear of the future Warhammer 40,000 game, such as Power Armour, Dreadnoughts, Jet Cycles and Bolt Guns.

By 1982 Games Workshop was depending on the sales of Citadel Miniatures and Bryan Ansell brought out all of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s shared in Games Workshop and all the operations were eventually moved from London to Nottingham.

Laserburn which you can still find today as a PDF.

Ansell worked with Richard Halliwell and Rick Priestley on Games Workshops‘ Warhammer Fantasy Battles. This was originally designed to be given out for free to encourage customers to buy the new Citadel Miniatures range.

Along with Rick Priestley, Alan & Michael Perry, Jervis Johnson, Richard Halliwell, John Blanche and Alan Merrett, Ansell was responsible for the Warhammer boom of the mid to late 1980’s.

He later left Games Workshop to Tom Kirby in 1991 and instead focused on his own company Wargames Foundry, a company which sells historical miniatures. These miniatures were originally sculpted by the Perry Twins for Citadel Miniatures, but were no longer sold as part of the Games Workshop fantasy ranges. Ansell took a number of figure molds used for historical and fantasy figures under Citadel Miniatures and Games Workshop, and they have become part of the Wargames Foundry range. Wargames Foundry continues to sell a range of metal figures for historical, sci-fi and fantasy war gaming.

Although not as prolific a writer as some of the other people focused on in “A Life in Wargames” Ansell has been involved in the rules development of 15+ games.

References

Wikipedia – Bryan Ansell

Wikipedia – Laserburn

Wargames Foundry

Board Game Geek

Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

War in the Heartlands – Day 2 Summary

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So it’s come to a close, War in the Heartlands touted by many present to be the best Age of Sigmar tournament this year.

The touches that have gone into the event is plain to see even for those of us following on twitch and Twitter. From the handouts, the food and the celebrity video intros to each round.

I’ve included a number of tweets from various Twitter users that have been posted throughout the weekend.

https://twitter.com/markthebeastman/status/1451947806017658882?t=2kmIejOMgvLi1eemKKJPdA&s=19
Our very own Declan managed a fourth win
https://twitter.com/tzaangorjack/status/1452352748935057418?t=JSi1-vAX6Q1eQxlWw2B4VQ&s=19
https://twitter.com/markthebeastman/status/1452340786192961549?t=Nq5zqBPH0Cv5wncdaLvc1w&s=19
https://twitter.com/markthebeastman/status/1451947806017658882?t=2kmIejOMgvLi1eemKKJPdA&s=19
Games Workshop, Hatchette Part Works, Peter Holland, Warhammer 40k

Warhammer 40,000: Imperium – Issue 5 Review

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I’ve managed to get some painting down this week, even if it is some base colours.

Primaris Lieutenant

The Primaris Lieutenant nears ever closer to being finished with just some detailing, his backpack and the base to go.

Necron Warriors

The Necron Warriors are also nearly finished with their weapons and bases to be finished.

Assault Intercessors

The Assault Intercessors are some way from being completed with only their white armour segments having been laid down so far.

Skorpekh Destroyers

The Skorpekh Destroyers have only had their base coat of Iron warriors metal completed.

Issue 5

So issue five is here with a shiny new Space Marine Captain who is unique to the Imperium series. I’m not a massive fan of the sculpt but I’ll paint it up and see how I feel about it when it’s done.

This issue sees the usual painting guides and construction guides for the captain as well as the now very loved (by me at least) fluff generator.

We also learn a little about the wargear of the Space Marines in the 41st millennium. There’s also a short story which introduces you to the Chaos Space Marines of Crimson Slaughter as they clash with a chapter of loyal primaris marines.

There’s another battle, this time the captain faces of against the three Skorpekh Destroyers from last issue.

Next week we have three Primaris Aggressors, which again is a full unit and excellent value for only £8. The week after there are no models but at two paints. That week should give me the opportunity to catch up on this ever growing back log at least…..

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Solo Wargaming, Warhammer 40k

The History of Wargaming – Part Two

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Part one

Following the developments of the three Johann’s wargames, wargaming attracted very little attention until 1870 when Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian war.

This victory over France was claimed by many to do with Prussia and her wargaming tradition as Prussia had no tactical edge in weapons, numbers or the training of its troops. The only difference were the Prussians were the only army in the world to practice wargaming.

Following this the first Kreigsspiel manual was published in English for the British Army in 1872. While in America, Krieggspiel was introduced in 1882 and used on US Naval Colleges from 1894.

Little Wars (1913)

H.G. Wells developed the first set of rules to play miniature wargames in 1913. Known as Little Wars, these rules were intended to be basic and fun. They did not use dice or tables for attacks. Spring loaded cannons would fire pellets to physically knock over enemy models while models in hand to hand combat had a specific number of models removed depending on the sizes of the two forces in combat.

Little Wars never caught on, which was perhaps due to the World Wars and public sentiment towards those wars.

Jack Scruby (1955)

In 1955 a Californian named Jack Scruby began making inexpensive wargame miniatures out of type metal. However, his major contribution to the hobby was in creating a network of wargamers across the US and UK. At the time waragming was niche and wargamers struggled to find each other. Scruby organised the first wargaming convention which was attended by fourteen people. From 1957 to 1962, he self-published the world’s first wargaming magazine The War Game Digest through which gamers could publish their own rules and battle reports.

War Games (1962)

Meanwhile in the UK, Donald Featherstone had started writing a series of influential wargame rules which represented the first main stream publishing of the hobby since Little Wars in 1913. Titles such as War Games, Advanced Wargames and Solo Wargaming saw such an uplift in the popularity of the subject that many other authors were able to publish their own rules as well. This combined with emergence of popular miniature manufacturers such as Heroic & Ros meant that the UK hobbyists had a large collection of rules and miniatures to use.

In 1956, Tony Bath published what was the first ruleset for a miniature wargame set in the medieval period. These rules were a major inspiration for Gary Gygax’s Chainmail (1971), which in turn became the basis for the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons.

From 1983 to 2010, Games Workshop produced what was the first miniature wargame designed to be used with proprietary models: Warhammer Fantasy. Earlier miniature wargames were designed to be played using generic models that could be bought from any manufacturer, but Warhammer Fantasy’s setting featured original characters with distinctive visual designs, and their models were produced exclusively by Games Workshop.

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.

Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Solo Wargaming

Solo Wargaming – Part 2

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Following on from my previous article, I wanted to share my progression to date and how I envision the whole system working once its up and running.

There will be a total of three different card decks used in any game.

Battleplan Deployment Deck

This deck comes with a cover card denoting how the deployment draw is carried out, what each objective number is and how to layout any scenery.

Battleplan Card

The deck also includes a number of other cards. A card is drawn for each Card Controlled unit in the army. This card then details how that unit will be deployed and in what order. The order of their deployment is determined by the number on the shield at the bottom of the card. This acts as an initiative order for deployment.

Battle Tactic Action Deck

There is an overall Battle Tactic card for each tactic in the game. At the beginning of the game you would take the overall cards for Monstrous Takeover, Ferocious Advance, Aggressive Expansion and Conquer and shuffle these together. One is then drawn at random which will be the Card Controlled army’s Battle Tactic that turn. The following turn the Broken Ranks battle card is added in and the one used in the previous turn discarded. In turn three the remaining battle tactic cards are added with used cards continually being discarded.

The Broken Ranks Battle Tactic Card

The Battle Tactic Deck which contains the actions for the units are then shuffled together with 1/5 of the deck of Battleplan Action Cards and one of these is drawn for each Card Controlled unit in the game that turn. These cards denote how and when these units move and shoot etc.

Broken Ranks Action Card

I have started a Patreon for anyone who is wishing to support me in this endeavour, and you can support from as little as £1 per month. Proceeds of Patreon will go towards making these into Physical products.

Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games

I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.

For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.

Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.