Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2019 2:02 pm
Location: Niigata, Japan
Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:45 am
1980's Nostalgia...
Hello,
I'm James Barnes and I live in Kibogaoka, Niigata, Japan. I've loved collecting miniatures since about 1981. I first got into Citadel miniatures in 1984-ish when the 25mm FASA Doctor Who figs came out and in 1986 when a local comics and games shop began stocking GW products I really got involved. When I saw Rogue Trader on the shelf at the shop I was attracted to the idea of Space Marines because of repeated viewings of Space Battleship Yamato. I bought Rogue Trader immediately and playing it became my primary passtime. The first Citadel 40K figures hooked me into collecting more GW games and figures and led to wargaming avidly in many varied settings over the years. Within a few years I had an enormous collection of citadel figures and around 1995 ironically ended up working at the shop that had sold me Rogue Trader.
Unfortunately around 2005 a visitor to my home heartbreakingly absconded with my entire Citadel Warhammer 40K collection and because he mainly talked about his obsession with auction sites I believe he sold them on ebay. In 2010 I moved to Japan. As I have finally been able to move into a Japanese house (as opposed to micro apartment) and now again have room for a large wargames table, I have been interested in re-acquiring some of my most favorite nostalgic old Citadel figs in order to repurpose them into my 28mm Blake's 7 game which I have been developing for the past few years. I am investing many hours a day in writing, playtesting, and refining my Blake's 7 wargame into something along the lines of a Rogue Trader-style rulebook for the Blake's 7 universe.
I'm happy to see there are fans of the old stuff out there. Many manufacturers today stock figs that in my opinion lack imagination and are primarily marketing ventures or reactions to trends. If you look at some of the early Citadel SF figs, you can feel that 1980's vision of an SF future just radiating off of them. You can feel the enthusiasm of the sculptor for what he was creating! So aside from the fact that the're hugely nostalgic, they are also highly imaginative sculpts! The textures are just fabulous will all sorts of little wires and corrugated tubes running all over the fig alongside data pads covered in buttons, many varied sidearms, vents, and assorted pouches... The faces have lots of character. The poses are splendid too, and I have always liked the way "Oldhammer" figs will many times have the look of slogging or trudging through battle as if shrugging off incoming fire. Others have this low center of gravity which just makes them look all the more capable and dangerous. You couldn't ask for better sculpts. I love 'em.
I'm James Barnes and I live in Kibogaoka, Niigata, Japan. I've loved collecting miniatures since about 1981. I first got into Citadel miniatures in 1984-ish when the 25mm FASA Doctor Who figs came out and in 1986 when a local comics and games shop began stocking GW products I really got involved. When I saw Rogue Trader on the shelf at the shop I was attracted to the idea of Space Marines because of repeated viewings of Space Battleship Yamato. I bought Rogue Trader immediately and playing it became my primary passtime. The first Citadel 40K figures hooked me into collecting more GW games and figures and led to wargaming avidly in many varied settings over the years. Within a few years I had an enormous collection of citadel figures and around 1995 ironically ended up working at the shop that had sold me Rogue Trader.
Unfortunately around 2005 a visitor to my home heartbreakingly absconded with my entire Citadel Warhammer 40K collection and because he mainly talked about his obsession with auction sites I believe he sold them on ebay. In 2010 I moved to Japan. As I have finally been able to move into a Japanese house (as opposed to micro apartment) and now again have room for a large wargames table, I have been interested in re-acquiring some of my most favorite nostalgic old Citadel figs in order to repurpose them into my 28mm Blake's 7 game which I have been developing for the past few years. I am investing many hours a day in writing, playtesting, and refining my Blake's 7 wargame into something along the lines of a Rogue Trader-style rulebook for the Blake's 7 universe.
I'm happy to see there are fans of the old stuff out there. Many manufacturers today stock figs that in my opinion lack imagination and are primarily marketing ventures or reactions to trends. If you look at some of the early Citadel SF figs, you can feel that 1980's vision of an SF future just radiating off of them. You can feel the enthusiasm of the sculptor for what he was creating! So aside from the fact that the're hugely nostalgic, they are also highly imaginative sculpts! The textures are just fabulous will all sorts of little wires and corrugated tubes running all over the fig alongside data pads covered in buttons, many varied sidearms, vents, and assorted pouches... The faces have lots of character. The poses are splendid too, and I have always liked the way "Oldhammer" figs will many times have the look of slogging or trudging through battle as if shrugging off incoming fire. Others have this low center of gravity which just makes them look all the more capable and dangerous. You couldn't ask for better sculpts. I love 'em.
