We've had an influx of new players this edition and that's fantastic for the growth of the game! Starting the hobby can be daunting for most people though, with the painting, assembling, the game itself, and random people telling you this or that unit is horrible and not to get it. With so many decisions to make IRL (in real life) as it is, I thought I'd make it easy for our new brethren and set out a checklist of sorts as well as a few pointers to get them started.
Pick your poison. Do you like the lithe and agile look of Aeldari or are you more of a WW2 fan that fancies lines of rifle-toting soldiers marching in front of heavy battle tanks (the Astra Militarum will be for you)? Are you a person who prefers hulking, gene-enhanced super soldiers in powered armour or one that answers the call of a hive mind from the depths of space that hungers only for biomass? The universe that Warhammer 40,000 (or 40k for short) is set in, is full of dramatic moments and imagery that stimulates even the dullest imagination.
Picking a faction that appeals to you, is the single most important piece of advice I can give. Some players might get into the hobby for the competitive aspect of it, but not many will start out that way (it's more of a natural progression for some later on). Starting 40k with a race/faction that draws you in and that stimulates your imagination, will keep you in (and interested in) the hobby far longer than any of the game rules will.
Grab a set of hobby equipment:
pair of plastic cutters
a set of metal files or a hobby knife (be careful when working with sharp objects)
plastic cement/glue
Games Workshop has a handy boxed set that you can pick up along with your first purchase that comes with a set of paints and a brush as well (but minus files/hobby knife) though you can get the items individually if you know what you're looking for.
Paints. You can't be involved in a hobby that revolves around painting if you don't have paint! That said, you really don't need more than 3 to 4 bottles of paint to get you started. Pick a main colour, a brown or some other neutral colour, a black and a bottle white paint and you're good to go for your first few models. I won't go into painting for this article but the Two Thin Coats section has a few resources that can help you out with that.
Advancing beyond. Paint up your first few models, buy the next few that interest you, paint them up again, look to start playing some games (you can get the basic rules, called the Battle Primer, here) and if that faction's way of playing interests you, you can start looking to grab their respective Index that has additional rules and points costs to start playing even-pointed games with your buddies. You might also want to grab the Warhammer 40,000 rule book or share one with your friends as it has cool and inspiring artwork as well as fluff and the all the rules you need (beyond those in the Battle Primer), including those for tournament play.
As you paint more and play more, you'll start amassing a collection of paints and models beyond what you can field in say....a 1000 point army. That's when you'll start mixing and matching different units beyond the first few that you painted and figure out what goes well together and what doesn't. At some point in time, you might also start hearing other gamers talk about tournaments and decide that it might be something fun to get into as well. Whatever your reasons or competitive streak (tournament play is fun in its own way), REMEMBER that the best way to get the most out of your plastic models and your investment, is to build up and paint a unit at a time rather than impulse-buy all the models you think you might want which will be quite demotivating to paint all at once (speaking from experience here).
That's all I have for this short, midweek instalment of By the BenCH. Remember to share this article with your friends who are new to the hobby (via the sharing links below) and you can leave comments in the section below as well or email to th3crossroads@gmail.com. Subscribe to the mailing list to get firsthand information when a new article is available!
Cheers,
the BenCH