"A beginning is a very delicate thing."

Hello, and welcome to the blog. I'm something of a lapsed wargamer. I've been collecting miniatures and playing Warhammer 40,000 off and on since 1996 (right around the end of the "red" period of Second Edition). Around 2009, due to changing finances and changing priorities, I took a break from 40K. I continued to read some blogs and forums to at least keep up with "the scene," and had a couple of friends who soldiered on through Sixth Edition ("Everyone uses flyers and fortifications now," they tell me), but it was tough to muster much enthusiasm when it looked like the focus of the game was now cramming as many vehicles as possible onto a 6' by 4' board. I had always favored smaller, more narrative-driven games, and I felt like I had been left behind. At least, until I found Tales From The Maelstrom. Here was something that really spoke to me, narrative-focused games with unconventional forces, well-written battle reports, great scenery and miniatures, a mix of vintage and modern.

I had always had a bit of a Rogue Trader fetish, starting back in my early days on the Internet, stumbling onto rec.games.miniatures.warhammer and the Rogue Trader Cult site. Eventually I acquired some of the old rulebooks through eBay, as well as a goodly collection of vintage miniatures. I was never able to get anyone to play with the old rules, but I loved having the books as reading material. The artwork and background were so evocative back before the universe became a grimdark parody of itself. It was such a relief to see what was happening at sites like Tales from the Maelstrom and learning of the greater Oldhammer community. It got me back in the game, so to speak.

So that brings me to now. Wargames were always a tough sell for many of my friends, although they enjoy boardgames and tabletop RPGs. I've found that it's much easier to get someone to play a miniatures game if they don't have to buy and paint a bunch of stuff beforehand (just look at the runaway success of Fantasy Flight Games' X-Wing Miniatures Game), so my current goal is to paint a variety of small forces suitable for playing Rogue Trader. This blog will chronicle my progress in that endeavor. Whether I can entice anyone to play remains to be seen.

Remember, the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed...