The Making of Warhammer | Fourth Edition: Boxing the Behemoth
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- Part three of the complete making of Warhammer - a series looking at the development and release of the greatest war game in tabletop history!
Whilst 40k instantly sky rockets, Rick Priestley returns to his other creation to refine and simplify it for a new generation: Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th edition makes the game more accessible than ever, even going so far as to put brand new plastic miniatures in its starter box!
This new drive towards younger consumers and an overall shift to a more formal and corporate way of working marks the beginning of a major change for Games Workshop and its games - play time is over.
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Chapters:
00:00 Open
01:34 Introduction
03:20 Ansell's Parting Gifts
10:48 Warhammer IV
29:41 Close
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Links & Sources:
Massive shout out to the Realm of Chaos 80s and John Wombat blogs who have conducted interviews with many of the key players from Games Workshop in this era.
[Citadel Flyers, adverts, and Catalogues - Stuff of Legends] www.solegends.com/
[1] johnwombat.wordpress.com/2020...
[2] realmofchaos80s.blogspot.com/2...
[3] realmofchaos80s.blogspot.com/2...
[4] www.solegends.com/citcat198603...
[5]
doggysdoings.blogspot.com/2011...
[6] johnwombat.wordpress.com/2020...
[7] realmofchaos80s.blogspot.com/2...
[8] White Dwarf 154 (October 1992, pg27-31)
[9] Dragon Magazine 189 (January 1993, pg113-114)
[10] realmofchaos80s.blogspot.com/2...
[11] www.lostdecademiniatures.com/a...
[12] archive.org/details/CitadelJo...
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Just to say hi and that I really enjoyed your piece on WH4 - and also the previous two on the earlier version of WH - plenty of stuff in there that even I'd forgotten - well it was a long time ago and all that. I don't recall exactly when Battle Masters hit the streets - 1992 according to our friend the interweb - but with all the Milton Bradley/Hasbro projects there was always a much longer lead time than for our own games. In fact, BM was very much steered by Bryan Ansell, who designed the game itself, so although it came out after Bryan had left GW that was only a matter of MB's timing. Once Tom Kirby took the reins we were really too busy on our own projects to do further work for MB, although we did do some further model design work it was rather reluctantly done and MB soon found other sources of design.
As a side note - Bryan's original design for BM envisaged a lot more troops, but MB insisted on expending a chunk of the budget on the tower model - which we all thought was crazy when you could have quite a lot of figures for the same 'plastic'. The MB team insisted on including the tower to give the game 'verticality'... we had a bit of to and fro on that!
Keep up the good work.
Fun small fact - The copy of Reaper in the first video of the series I got you to sign at a BOYL a few years back!
The tower model on its own was a nice piece. I’ve got one obtained second hand just a few years ago that has featured in quite a few recent fantasy games…
Thanks so much for this comment, and thank even more for the incredible work you’ve done to build this hobby! I, for one, owe you a great deal for all the amazing experiences I’ve had playing your games, and I doubt I’m alone in that.
Interesting to hear more about Battle Masters development, I didn’t realise Bryan Ansell was so instrumental in it. I’ll definitely cite you when I get round to a BM video!
Please forgive this shameless bit of self interest, but if you’re ever interested in chatting through and documenting some of the early history of your work, just let me know
I'm sure you get this all the time, and rightfully so, but thank you so much for your contributions to Warhammer and adjacent games over the years. It has shaped the imaginations of millions, myself included.
The worlds you helped create are a big part of my forty years of gaming. Thank you!
You could tell Games Workshop had hit the mainstream in the early 90s when Warhammer 4th edition and Advanced HeroQuest were included for purchase in the Argos catalogue!
Ah man, I must have missed AHQ being in there. That would have completely changed my list for Santa!
And 40K, that's where I got mine... 😂
They carried Space Marine in the Argos catalog too
That 4th edition art is absolutely incredible.
Agreed
Rules were too
I haven't watched the video yet but I just want to say that I love both this series and your whole channel for basically being the only channel in existence that has high-quality content focused on Warhammer Fantasy.
Thank you for saying this! I love these games, especially Warhammer, so spending the time researching and talking about them has been such a pleasure
Used to make paper cutouts for the units I didn't have in Fantasy Battle and play on the floor, pretending to play my high elves against my cousins dwarves. He still won when he came over for holidays, I was such a Timmy.
4th edition was where I first started playing WFB. I'd been playing 40k and historicals before that but 4th was where I sold my soul to Chaos!
4th edition had some wonderfully appealing armies, I think I’d collected most of them by the end of the edition!
Rumour at my local GW back in that era was that some kid put his eye out on one of the goblin spears from that 4th ed box set, but of course a lot of people liked to tell a lot of tall tales. One kid insisted that in the upcoming 40k 3rd edition the Lion was going to return, and clearly that's some kind of nonsense that's never going to happen...
I think I heard a similar story causing the end of the plastic measuring sticks!
This is the gold standard. As someone who got into the setting after end times I really think 4th eds art is what really got me. Just unparalleled.
Some magnificent art from the 4th Ed era!
The real measure of the care you put into filming these is that your recordings take a cat's sleep-groom cycle.
Oh and also the great detail, research (love the design background, always) and, of course, actual archival images. (Wait, are the 90s archival now?)
Sleep time is the only time she’s not making completely reasonable demands for constant attention!
That box was where I really started too, a Christmas gift one year along with all the metal models for those things that were cards in the box. I was made up as a 13 year old. I had long been aware of GW games, from the mid to late 80s as an already veteran D&D player by that time. Some golden memories.
The 4th ed illustrations are mind blowing. Jaw droppingly beautiful
My father still has two copies of Battle Master, since he figured it'd be a good way to get me into the hobby and it was a cheaper way to buy the minis at the time...he never did get around to cracking that second box to paint them...
As a Junior-high student who lived, breathed, and dreamed in Games Workshop technicolor in the early 90s, your videos hit me right in the nostalgia gland. Thank you!
I’m glad it sparks a nice nostalgia hit!
Love this series. You could easily have got by by just playing the nostalgia card, but you went the extra mile and it's great!
Glad you’re enjoying it! It surprised me how much I got into the behind stuff as I was researching, just felt right to try and bring some of it to light!
This is the version which introduced me to the game too, and so many people of my age in France.
So glad I met the right people who owned Battle Masters and 4th !
5th came soon after in my case, and that's the one I played most. I wish I never stopped and sold most of it. I kept all my skavens tho, I'm sure you'll appreciate that !
Great series. I was fortunate enough to begin playing Warhammer at 1st edition and Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. I have many fond memories of these games.
Oh wow this video had a cat instantly. LOVE IT
It was a race against time before she awoke!
I got into Warhammer in 3rd Edition, but 4th is when WFB really broke into a more mainstream crowd. This brings waves of nostalgia!
Up until 3rd it had a very different ruleset. Especially first and second edition. By third edition, some modern mechanics had started to solidify, but it still was still very different. 4th is when it truly became a war game.
And this is when I came along! I entered the game along with my champion, Vlad Von Carstein, the fantasy version of mid-80's Dave Vanian. Six months later, I would enter the 41st millennium alongside Mephiston, The Lord of Death. And that's why I am who I am today.
It was a dynamite era!
Thank you for making this series. Warhammer and wargaming in general has been an absolutely HUGE part of my life for over 30 years now! Its so cool learning about the early days!
Omg as soon as i saw those gobbos i had an immediate memory of pain. And then you referenced it later in your vid!
Fourth edition was the first one in Spain, I think. The first I and my friends played. So many fond memories fighting each other every weekend!
This was the period I was interested in it, with those miniatures with brightly coloured paint schemes that were fashionable back then
I still have a drastik plastic orc somewhere in my collection. Loving this series!
I’m glad! I’ve never actually seen one of those Drastik boyz in real life - on my list to track down at some point!
@@jordansorcery there's not much of it left. To be honest I had forgotten that it was called this is been so long. I think I got it back in 88/89!
My first ever miniatures were from the Warhammer 4th boxed set, bought second hand for me as a birthday present by my parents when I turned 9. I had seen and wanted to play Warhammer 40k, but they hadn't been able to tell the difference between the two games. I didn't havethe heart to tell them they had got it wrong, so from that point on I became a Warhammer Fantasy player and I never looked back until Age of Sigmar. That box made me into a High Elf player, I still have most of those pointy spear boys to this day along with my metal Dragon and Griffon miniatures(in pieces of course). I miss the extensive Lore that was present in the 4th edition Army books, there was so many grand tales that are not often referenced or are done so only casually nowadays.
This one in particular was such a trip down memory lane. Hilarious that you noted the stabbyness of the goblin spears, I remember that so well. I got the box when I was about 14, had to get it shipped from Australia because nowhere local to me in New Zealand stocked it. Thank you for the video, it's a work of art.
Great episode. This was probably the largest change in the direction of GW and Warhammer since Ansell took over from Livingston and Jackson.
I got into the hobby with HeroQuest and 4th was the edition I played the most growing up, but honestly, looking back now as an adult, the art, style and overall feel of the first 3 editions (especially 3rd) is just so much more interesting. Bill King‘s „Moorcock grubby realism“ description was spot on!
Absolutely, it’s fascinating to see the change in the products, art, writing, and other material being released through that transition. It paints such a picture of change
I couldn’t agree more. I still loved what they did but the previous visual feel was better.
Thank you for another solid overview. The transition of garishly bright Herohammer, always important for Skaven to look squeaky-clean-bright. 😉Squeak-squeak! 🤩🐀🌠
It’s pleasing to see that there’s still a relative grubbiness to many Skaven, even during the reddest red period at GW!
Got my start with this set as well. Soo many hours sunk into lovingly looking at the art, reading over the rules, and moving those elves and goblins across the dining table.
Absolutely superb! Loving this series, as many have said one of the best Warhammer (mostly) hobby channels on the 'tinternet. Following this episode I had to dust off and take a look at my old Drastic Plastic Orcs and plastic regiment minis. Still cool. Thank you for the detail and nostalgic trip.
Happy to have inspired a little orcy reminiscence! Thanks for the kind words, Matthew!
WFB 4th edition was MY edition, played the heck out of it during my 1992-96 school years, having been introduced in 89 at the tender age of 9 to Hero Quest.
These days while I see talk of how it's this persons favourite or that person's dislike, I rarely see talk about one of the most important sections in the Rulebook which means with the Bestiary Book, you actually have an almost complete system without the need for the army books, the Points Value "Appendix" at the back!
With the wealth of plastic kits today, it's very easy to build armies in the classic Oldhammer era look by using those points costs and the Bestiary stat blocks and bring a new lease of life to the old books, just think, the three Oathmark Dwarves box sets can give you the core of a decent 1000pt army, or use Gripping Beasts Dark Ages Warriors kits and make a rough looking human army in no time at all!
Another fantastic video, this is a brilliant series, really like how you’ve woven 4th edition into a wider context of GW at the time.
4th is right there with 3rd for me as the core of my early years as a wargamer. I think during this ‘era’ I’d moved on from playing just Fantasy, to playing (or having plans to play) anything and everything GW made. As a painter, Mike McVey was probably my first painting hero, but it’s amazing how those tiny black and white pictures on the contents page of White Dwarf have extra personality to the writers and designers, pre-internet it gave a brilliant connect to the studio for teenagers playing at home.
Would love a video on GW and literature, would be really interesting to hear the development towards Black Library.
Great stuff, thank you for doing these.
I’m glad you’re still enjoying them! I’m really interested in spending some time on GW books, such a brave era for GW that
I too started my addiction around this period. While today I'm more in love with the grittier and weirder Warhammer world of the 80s, this era also still holds a special place for me. The rules were horribly clunky and unbalanced, but we absolutely no idea as we were just teenagers as it was the only thing we knew.
I’m the same: I love this edition for what it meant to me at the time, yet over the years the older Warhammer has appealed more and more
I am really enjoying your videos. Been listening to them while building and painting my "new" Warhammer The Old World armies... got a pile of 400 25mm square bases ready
I've decided to stick with the smaller bases, but I need to get a whole load sorted for my new Empire army so I know the challenge!
The in-depth videos have lived up to the quality of the first overview video. These are a great watch! Looking forward to the rest!
Thanks so much for your support! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the series!
What an unexpected blast from the past. Great video :)
Brilliant video. 4th Edition was the pinnacle of fantasy wargaming. My friends and I used a house rule to limit our armies to two characters max and it made the games far more balanced
That’s a great house rule for 4th/5th I think, a little bit of at home balancing can go a very long way!
Me and my friends house ruled so much stuff that it was hardly warhammer any more. But we never bothered to get any of the newer edition rules after that
Great history again. You make several references in many of your vids about games, character names and events that showed that once upon a time GW wasn't afraid to laugh at itself and embrace the inane
That box was my 1st introduction to warhammer, I remember getting repeatedly poked by the spears.
Already seen this one. But here I am back to listen Jordan inform me of the past mysteries and poke at my nostalgia. Best of times
I give this video a +5 feline score.
Thank you for this series. Yes you have inspired me to dig out my 2nd and 4th Ed rules and introduce 4th, to the school games club I run. Happy days ahead!
Haha arcane magic also included ice spells! Very important as the empire only had 8 separate types of magic already
Great vid. Looking forward to the next one
I was also a child of 4th edition (although I had tinkered with 3ed and Warhammer Armies thanks to my best mate). Like you, it got it's claws in and never let go, and now Warhammer has defined my career. Rick, Andy, Jervis et al have a lot to answer for!
I remember the Christmas. When my dad got me Hero quest and Battle Master. I was way to young to understand the rules. And didn't have anyone to play with me. But wow i fell in love with the miniatures!
this series is so well-researched and presented! fantastic!!!
Thank you!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and am looking forward to exploring the later editions. Thanks for making these quality videos.
I’m glad!
15:59 that really struck a chord 😂😂 those little goblin spears were deadly!
They were so dangerous!
This is amazing, can’t wait for more. Content like this is what’s needed on YT!
I think that was the most comprehensive vid on the subject that I’ve seen. Well done!
Thank you!
This series is great.
I started playing with 4th in late 1992. It was a special time in wargaming.
A most excellent series of videos. I’m still torn between WFB3 and WFB4. WFB3 felt better but was so complicated that we didn’t play or finish that many games. As soon as WFB4 dropped, loads of games got played. I preferred the WFB3 push back rule and did not like the ‘fail LD and whole unit gets wiped out’ replacement. But then I had just painted those 50 gobbos! WFB4 properly ramped up the fluff though with all those books, that was really good.
Thanks! I had an orcs & goblins army around 4th edition and it was so much fun!
I remember getting Battle Masters in 1994 here in Oz. It was fun to play, and a gateway into Warhammer. And the units, terrain pieces and the tower all came in handy to supplement my later armies. Truly a nostalgic memory.
They were my favourite HE archers of all time. I wish you could still get them.
Really enjoyed these Making of Warhammer series, great stuff!
I’m glad, thank you!
As someone who only got into Warhammer by the time Age of Sigmar rolled around, I gotta say these videos have been super interesting.
After a lengthy social media hiatus I've got a lot of catching up to do and this is the best way to kick it off. As always, your ability to present information in a thorough, concise and entertaining matter is almost unparalleled, sir. I can't wait to catch up on the rest of your videos!
It's impossible for me to be objective about the change from earlier editions to 4th, because the second I see that colourful art and those lovely pristine McVey high elves with vibrant red sashes, nostalgia hijacks my brain. I was a kid who fell in love with Warhammer around the shift from 4th to 5th ed, and I love that vibrant, yet grim world.
That era captured my imagination so much, I definitely owe my love of the hobby to a lot of it! I still love it a great deal, though have found more appeal in the earlier art as the years have gone by as well!
4:ed was the time when i starten collecting warhammer, by god I was a terrible painter. Still paint to this day and I go all out goblingreen bases and the most bright colorschemes I can. It was a special time with those crazy colors.
The armies of that era were vibrant to say the least!
Spells were included in the army book in this set. I think there were 6 cards you could photocopy from the back of the book.
You’re quite right!
Also, funny that you mentioned Chaos Dwarves and their struggles with getting army lists when now they received a proper DLC for TWW3.
They always come back!
Excellent work - as always!
Thanks, Nis!
Mate I have to say these videos have been fantastic. It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and made some minis to a UA-cam video, and the combination of your fantastic content and the hype I have for TOW has me feeling cheery af. So thank you for the effort you’ve put in!
Thank you for saying this, appreciate you giving them a watch!
I need part 4! Hook it straight to my veins.
We need another video in here STAT!
Excellent channel, going from strength to strength from something that started out relatively strong anyway. I love your presenting style and content is just nostalgia heaven. Bravo Sir, keep up the good work.
Thank you, appreciate the kind words!
I love this edition. I was introduced to Warhammer through an old set a friend had gotten from his brother. He never played it, so had no problem gifting me a high elf archer. That was my first miniature. This was in 2003, so we were well into 6th edition, but to me Warhammer always gets me to that transition time between herohammer and 6th. I still have that archer BTW, first among the hosts of the Asur!
Those High Elf Archers remain iconic to me!
Fantastic video series ! Very well documented and you are great story teller ! Although I started on the 6th edition, I saw glimpses of older versions in my youth, and I just love the old art that came with it ! Please keep up the good work ! :)
Thank you!
Just received a copy of 2nd edition warhammer fantasy today and thought of you :D remembered the new episode should have dropped by now and I see I was late!!!
Never too late!
Another great instalment. Your brief mention of Battle Masters bought back memories. Luckily I still have my copy. In fact I bought another set off eBay last year with a crazy dream of combining two playmats and two giant Imperial and Chaos armies. Of course it’s never happened.
I cannot imagine a living room floor big enough to house two of those game mats!
Awesome series. I no longer play, but started with the first edition and this brought back loads of great memories. I enjoyed you cat chilling out in the background too.
Thanks Jordan for this one. I am glad you gave 3rd and 4th ed their own video. I started playing Warhammer Fantasy Battles after this edition but I remember collecting the Empire and Orc and Goblins from this edition and using the models from Battle Master to expand my Armies. As a side note, a friend who owned Hero Quest introduced me to GW and 40K in 1993 from where I played most of their games including WFB.
4th ed was where I jumped on board with Warhammer and I stayed all the way to 7th. The amount of times I was impaled on my own goblins' spears...
So many scars!
@@jordansorcery the number of times I'd pull my hand away and they'd be embedded in my flesh. How did they sculpt something so sharp? They could have made a fortune with that monofilament technology!
Excellent Video, i can't wait for 'my' era in the next couple videos! Also no spoilers but the sleeping cat does something at ~25 minute mark.
Another great video. I received Battle Masters, and the included mailer was sent away for a GW catalog, a sample White Dwarf, and that got me hooked
They knew what they were doing!
Wow, had to have another magazine added to my hoard because of this video. I had no idea Red Giant existed and it was focused on Fantasy Warlord.
LMAO!!! That ending.... 🤌🤌
I remember the big green free catalog at this time, must track down a copy. And how the models seemed to match my HeroQuest board game. Love the look of the elves.
Those early 90s green and red catalogues were amazing! So full of promise
Thanks so much for giving us a look at the history and evolution of the company that we love/hate/love! This was a pleasure to watch -and learn.
I’m glad it was enjoyable and informative! Thank you!
Excellent video bud - you've researched thoroughly and present it well. looking forward to the next video...
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Another great look into Warhammer history. Looking forward to the series on GW trying to break into publishing fiction.
The highlighter sound effect grew on me as the video progressed.
Thanks Crimson! Mixed views on that sound effect, think I might lower the volume next time at the very least!
Probably best. Less is more.
Absolutely brilliant 👏. Also my first edition played. Epic
I loved that box so much, incredible memories from my start with the hobby!
This warhammer videos are really interesting
HAHA this was "my set" as well. My brother and I received it as a shared Christmas present one year, and share we did. We played out games with those plastic armies (gah! that goblin spearman is hanging out of my finger! The spear is actually a spear!) then we moved on to making our own armies. I still have our original game books and army books from that time (Skaven and Wood Elf) and have managed to hang on to some of the miniatures from that time too.
Funnily you showed WD 155... that was my first ever copy of WD too! Goodness, I read that thing cover to cover multiple times a year!
Now that’s a tremendous Christmas gift!
I have this set. Its one of my most prized possessions.
It’s a classic!
I need more!
GW seems to have forgot it’s the 40th anniversary of Warhammer Fantasy Battle… it’s very good that you haven’t 🤜
another great vid. thanks.
Thank you!
Fantastic series, so well researched, and the love for the games really shines through. My formative years with GW were partly in the Red Period, the very colourful style has stuck with me, even today ~30 years later my models still come out in very vivid hues! Looking forward to the next part.
Cheers Ben, glad you’re enjoying the series! I only wish I’d learned to paint at some point in the past 30 years!
The 4th edition box was awsome! The high elf spearmen in the box should of had a warning "sharp" label lol. They could draw blood easily !
should of?
Absolutely! Those guys were carrying real blades!
Thx mate
Best one yet. Keep up the good work on this excellent series. 👏
Thanks Stevo! Now the hard work begins - 5th edition onward are the ones EVERYONE remembers!
Skeleton horde (with the bone chariot) have been my defacto dnd skeletons since the mod 90s.
Fantastic minis!
4th edition was my first box.... I remember my first game on launch day.... At least Xmas that year was easy.
I started with 4th when a mate had bought it. I had already bought fantasy warriors, which had 102 dwarves and Orcs. So we played warhammer. By the end of the 90’s I was jacked off with GW’s constant changes to the game and stopped. However, over the last 8 years or so, I now play 3rd edition and love it.
One of the best things about retro gaming is that it becomes so much more about playing on our terms rather than the company’s - there’s a wonderful freedom to that
I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into your videos. Every time you say something deserves it's own video is just good news to me! yay more videos!
There’s so many topics on the list now!
I agree, the box gob/high elves was also my 1st introduction, Great rules but....too clean shiny to me, because i played Warhammer RPG and blood bowl since 1989, so to me, Warhammer died around 1996. Sad.
This is amazing, so looking forward to 5th edition!
Interesting that mentioned Fantasy Warlord in relation to WH 4th but not Grenadier's Fantasy Warriors, which had a boxed starter set with 2 plastic armies (Orcs and Dwarfs) the year before the WH 4th. Great Video none the less!
Fair point! I felt Gary Chalk’s view, throughly clearly a very personal one, helped paint the broader picture of the environment GW was in at the time, especially as he was a former creator for the company. That said, Warhammer didn’t develop in a vacuum so perhaps I could have said more!
@@jordansorcery Totally agree. I own all 3 games myself (You can probably spot them on the shelves behind me) , but Warhammer got the most play out of them over the years :)
Hey Jordan, brilliant video and series so far. Cant wait to watch more of your documentaries!
A piece of feedback for future videos: the highlighting sound is really quite distracting for headphone users as it's effectively white noise of your beautiful voice!
Thanks again and keep it up
Glad you’re enjoying them. Feedback noted on the highlighter, it got a few comments so I’ve left it out of the latest video!
@@jordansorcery thanks man, i noticed the recent upload. I am really looking forward to watching it!