White Dwarf 166

WD 166 is all about 40k.  So much so I didn't photo anything else.

I used to collect White Dwarf.

From about 1996 to somewhere around 2012, I had a subscription or I picked it up monthly from the comic shop.  Sometimes, I missed a month but would always pick up the back issues relatively quickly.

In the grim farness of the dark future, there is only war.

From issue 226, the drop of 3rd Edition, I have a complete run until the end of the magazine.  I don't count the reboot of White Dwarf - 409 is where I stopped.  Never even opened that one.

Like plasma cannons or multi-meltas?  Too bad.

I picked up a few older issues here and there and added them to my collection, but mainly focused on what was happening 'now'.  Now, in my old age and several years after having stopped collecting periodicals in general...I want more White Dwarf.  Luckily for me, there's still more than half of it out there.  So, I'm relaunching my White Dwarf collection with a new target number - WD166.

Less than 100 orks led by a normal size warboss.

So that's about 80 issues or so to track down, but it's totally worth it.  Those old issues seem to be less expensive than what's current, so it's not really a financial problem to complete this.  2nd Edition is where I started playing 40k, so it was a good target point - I actually remember a lot of this.  Especially since we'll be playing 2e 40k for a bit coming up, it made sense to start collecting here.

I only wish I was this fly.

What I will say is that it's very strange to see the old stuff after so long.  I remember what it was like when armies weren't very big, and mostly comprised of infantry.  I've seen 40k morph a lot over the years, and even despite my recalcitrance to join current editions I've kept my finger on the pulse.  The difference in every aspect of the hobby has more contrast than night and day, but I suppose that's just the evolution of design.

The art, the miniatures, the design, the language and the magazine layout itself are all products of it's day...as is to be expected.  Maybe I'm just marveling at how long ago this stuff really is...but it really is the change in design that's most thrown me.  I really enjoy a simple design, and will be keeping that in mind as I go forward.

Check out the tiger stripes on those guardians.  Fleek!

Not that I'm pining for days of yore.  The aesthetics HAVE changed, and that's not only ok it's necessary.  Things happen, things change, you get over it and move on.  I for one welcomed the change to a more realistic vibe...I guess that really started to happen 'twixt 2000-2004.  It's just interesting looking at how things have changed.

Easily 1000pts of Dark Angels in 2nd Edition.