Warhammer may have exploded in popularity in the last ten years, but there are still many model collectors and gamers who fondly remember the first ten, a time when minis were made from lead alloy, the rules were written like actual spell-books, and yellow paint was pure hell to use. Many contemporary model makers are inspired by the ‘Oldhammer’ era of miniature design: today we’re looking at BeQuest Miniatures’ recently launched Kickstarter campaign for a new range of daemon models heavily inspired by GW’s classic Realm of Chaos.
Games Workshop miniature design has moved on so much in the last thirty five years that younger gamers might not even recognise these as an homage to Warhammer models, but the greybeards definitely will. Jonas Marquardt, the man behind BeQuest miniatures, has sculpted fifteen unique daemons that would have looked right at home in the armies of the four Warhammer Chaos gods back in 1988.
The Chaotic Realms miniatures will be spin-cast in white metal by Hagen-Miniatures, a studio that has delivered several projects for Marquardt before. The nine Change and Plague daemons are on sale for $57 (€50), the six Blood and Lust daemons are going for $40 (€35), and you can get all fifteen plus any stretch goals for $91 (€80). The Kickstarter is live until 12.59 am PT / 3.59 am ET / 8.59 am BST on August 21.
Marquardt says the Oldhammer sculpting style appeals because of the “individual character of each miniature – maybe it’s nostalgia but I really love the look of them, and heroic scale makes miniatures [look] great from far away”.
He cites a whole slew of classic GW sculptors as inspirations – Aly Morrison, Trish Carden, Bob Olley, Jes Goodwin, Kev Adams – and also the contemporary Oldhammer sculptor Drew Day Williams.
He sculpts using “a mix between milliput and greenstuff, mixed at a 40/60 ratio, by hand”. “Miniatures are built up around a metal wire armature”, he explains, “and I’m using a variety of different sculpting tools to build up anatomy and further details – dentist wax carvers, silicone tools, and others”.
Is your Warhammer: The Old World faction packed out with Oldhammer miniatures, either original 1980s Citadel sculpts or modern retro figures? Do you play older editions of the game? I’m actually part of a slow-running Realm of Chaos campaign at my FLGS, and always keen to chat about Warhammer figures and rules older than I am in the official Wargamer Discord community, so hop on by and share your stories!