Army Collection

To kick off the overload of minutia, a general overview is necessary. Back when I first started the hobby, I purchased the second edition starter box, containing a load of snap-together Orks and Space Marines. My friend and I played a few long games with a sparse understanding of the rules, then moved on to a different hobby (role-playing games.) Since Space Marines were in big suits of armor and far more high-tech than Orks, that was my choice - but as Space Wolves, at least in paint scheme.

From Space Wolves

After I stopped playing the game in seventh grade, the Space Wolves languished in a box until I came to Athens for college. Then they came back out in force, where I lost or fought to a draw every game I could get my hands on. I was terrible with the Space Wolves, a fact which I blame completely on their style of play. And their baby blue paint job. The Space Wolves gave way to a 13th Company list, which I was nearly undefeated.

From Daemon Hunters

During the later years of the Space Wolves reign of failure, I started mixing in Daemon Hunters, mainly because the minis looked awesome. They are, unfortunately, very difficult to use - so they too were set aside. The Grey Knights were a blast to paint, mainly because I did it well (a fact that I had to have hammered into my head -- I thought I was simply doing a mediocre job with my typical anal retentiveness.) In the end, I traded the Grey Knights that that I had collected, about two squads, to my roommate for minis in my next army.

From Eldar

After much debate and gnashing of teeth, I finally broke down and purchased the Mega Army Box for one of the most beautiful armies in 40k: the Eldar. The concept way Biel-tan, an exceptionally viable list in Fourth Edition, and I rapidly expanded my collection, aiming for at least one force organization chart choice of every unit in the army book. Since the Eldar have a huge number of unit choices, I currently have well over 6,000 points and more than two large Games Workshop army cases full of the minis. As mentioned above, I was semi-commissioned to finish off my twelve Daemon Hunters in exchange for a squad of Wraithguard and Eldrad.

While my Eldar were growing by leaps and bounds, my Space Wolves were sitting in a closet, taking up precious shelf space. I eventually traded them for a bunch Sisters of Battle and Cadians, something I had wanted to do for a while. The Sisters are currently being stripped of their paint. Since this process is new to me, it's apparently taking about a year to do. The Sisters, however, have definitely been moved to the back burner. Using oven cleaner (as opposed to the newly discovered Simple Green) as a paint stripper was a pain, but I also didn't have much of my next army until recently, which will be a wonderful ally.

Also during the Eldar expansion, I was semi-commissioned to paint a friend's squad of Space Marines in exchange for a squad of Death Korps of Krieg (DKoK). DKoK miniatures are positively beautiful, so this was something I had no ability to turn down. That squad led to more squads and more tanks, so I currently have over 1,000 points of DKoK in various stages of assembly, none of which are in any stage of painting.

Given the armies I had up to this point, it would appear that the Races of Order were my preferred choice, which is quite true. Until the Chaos Daemons came out. Originally designed as a bridge into Warhammer Fantasy (a plan which failed due to simply not liking the game,) I've collected Daemons through purchasing and trading and now have a decent army of all four Chaos Gods. Now with a bit over 2,000 points in a competitive format, my Daemon army is stable.. Until I start focusing in again. There are definitely interesting units out there whose siren call I won't be able to resist in the long run.

And in a recent development, I've fallen for another Army of Disorder. Through a series of backroom, shady deals (it was at a swap meet, which was actually in the backroom of Classic City Comics and Games - not much shade, though,) and some sly haggling, I've acquired a sizeable Ork army. The number of miniatures required to make a decently fluffy Ork list, the sloppyish paint job required, and the haphazard tactics have somewhat pushed me away from the Orks, but sometimes a deal comes along that you can't resist - particularly when it's prepainted.

So, there you have it: a long history of my 40k collection. I've traded and bartered my way out of a Space Marine background, and I currently own Eldar, Sisters of Battle, Death Korps of Krieg, Chaos Daemons, and Orks. While I enjoy it, my hobbying moves at a snails pace -- but I'll be sure to make it look a lot faster by posting far too many pictures.