My 40k story, and I am sticking to it

In the 90’s I lived in Irving, Texas. There was a comic book store called lone star comics! That is the place I would go to buy my comic books one day I was just browsing the store and a came across the Ultra-Marines codex I looked through it and liked what I saw so I bought it! Then I bought a devastator Squad! At first I stated with the Ultra Marines! They also played 40K at the store I would hang out there to watch them play! One of the guys ( Josh ) at the store noticed me hanging out watching them play and asked if I played I said no, not yet I just started getting in to it, and I told him I had a few squads ready! He told me to bring them by and I could play with them!

Well I did that the next time I was there they showed me how to figure out the points for each model and we started playing there was 3 to a side space marines against Tyranids we got are asses kicked but after that first game, I liked it! Then I bought the game I think it was the 2nd edition in 1993! But I found out about blood angels it did not take long before I had a blood angels army! They had just come out with the death company so I bought some jet packs! When I brought them to the store to play, Josh from the store said uh oh death company with jet packs, and some of the guys there said hay you cannot have them with jet packs ! And Josh said yes he can! So I won that day!

Then we started have gaming parties at each other’s houses mostly mine because I had a piece of play wood with Astra-turf glued to it plus a had a kick ass stereo, so we had a many good games good times good times! Then Necromuda came out and we played the hell out of that game! OK then the Chaos Marines came out I just had to get them as soon as I had them ready to play every one wanted to play me because I was the only one who had a Chaos Army! So I moved to Seattle in 96, I was not playing anymore but where I lived in Federal Way Wash, they had a store called the game store so I would get my 40 K stuff there but I still was not playing! Then I broke down and joined the gaming league and played for a while then stopped but I was always getting more 40 K stuff to build and paint! At the mall they had a Games work shop store too I stopped by there to get some stuff sometimes it was a very small store and had nowhere for gaming then it moved to the supermall where the store was bigger but I never went there to play! So then it was more of a hobby!

In 2003, I went overseas to work in Iraq for 4 years but I packed up all my 40 K stuff to store at a friend’s house I do not know why I did that I just as easily could of left them at my parents’ house! When I was in Iraq I went to Berlin Germany I was just walking around looking for a place to drink some good beer so I ended up at the mall they had an Irish pub but it was not quit time for them to open so I walked around the mall to check it out and low an behold they had a games work shop store there I took some pix so when I find them I will post them! Anyway I came back from overseas in 2006! I do not know why I never went to my friend’s house to go get my 40 k stuff, maybe I just thought one day I would go over there to get it! I was staying with some friends when I came back from Iraq, it lasted about six months then I had to get out of there! So I packed up my van and moved here Rio Rico AZ, but it was not long after I found a couple of gaming stores in Tucson and started an Ultra-Marine Army!

In 2008 the company I worked for in Iraq called me back to go to work so I went back to Iraq to work, things were going great. Then November 08 I received a call from my mother saying my dad was in the hospital! I came home New Year’s Eve December 31st 2008! My father was in and out of hospitals for over 2 years and he was not getting better. During all that time I was working on my 40 K stuff for stress relief it helped me get through those rough times. I even bought the Black Reach set but I have not done anything with it since I base coated the models I called my friend up In Seattle to ask if he would send me my 40 K stuff and I told him that I would pay for him to ship it to me, I even sent him a plastic foot locker to send my stuff in but he has not sent it and it has been awhile, this weekend I am calling him again! But I still have not played a game with any one yet! Last year December 16 2010 my father passed away. Boy was that hard to take!

As of right now I am working on an Imperial Guard unit from the Rouge trader era 1989 I bought on E-bay and today a Space Marines Combat Squad arrived today! So now it is still a hobby for me. Warhammer 40K has brought me through good times and bad! Now I am trying to improve my Painting technique! And looking at some of the models you guys have posted I have a long way to go!!!!!


Darryl Johnson

Thanks for sharing your story! I'm sorry to read about your father. You have certainly taken 40k with you lots of places... and probably met lost of us geeks across the globe!

What you will like (or at least I hope!) about is that we are trying to preserve that 'old school' feel. We design from fluff to concept to game mechanics to stats. Recently, many of us feel that GW has gotten the other way around (stats are critical, then the game mechanics, then concepts and finally the fluff... trampling over original concepts just because they don't fit the stats... read the Blood Angels or Grey Knight Codexii!) You will see that we are trying VERY hard to make sense of everything, so you can play 'the fluff' rather than 'the rules'.

Another thing is that you (and everyone else!) that has the time and desire can join the Staff. The requirements are minimal (play games, understand the rules, be friendly, etc) and you can help developing Death Squads.

I'm looking forward seeing pictures of your models! There are lots of GREAT painters and hobbyists around, that for a picture of your models, would gladly praise your creativity or gently push you to a better you. At the same time we had lots of wieners... hehhee... who always said they are terrible, but ended up surprising everyone with amazing work (I'm looking at you Master Kiwi!!!)

Thanks Mordheimer!
I know what you are talking about! When I was playing my Blood Angels Army I had lot of Death company models and the had jump packs I liked them because they can get in there and start kicking ass right away, Then the came out with the rule to prevent this! You took a Blood Angel Squad and had to roll dice to see how many of that squad would become over taken by the Blood fever!!!!!
I did not like that because I had made up stat sheets for my army one was for 1000 pts , 2000 pts and 3000 pts so when I went to play I could pick the army I wanted depending on the points of the game! Now you can under stand when I have to pick apart my sqauds to become the Death company!
What I want to say is, well let me strart with this! When I was playing with the guys in Texas one was all Orks, the one girl that played she was Tyranids Josh was Imperial guard and one was Eldar we called him mr. Cheese because he had all the models the had special rules like Warp Spiders he would use them to attack you then warp away to another place on the board to hit you again! Well as to 40 K rules I would say it is Cheese But then they made the game easyer to play and faster, but there was nothing wrong with it before they changed it!!!!

Darryl Johnson