The Golden Age Of 40k

It was Neil101's comment "The golden age of 40k " in okkiW's previous entry that made me ponder the current status of our beloved hobby. We truely are living glamorous times at the moment, that's for sure. I'm not just talking about the level of painting and the quality of GW's current line of minis, which both are at their best I think. That's just the frontline.

There has been a lot happening on the (less) quiet homefront, the 40k blogsphere, things that have made the past couple of years - especially the couple of last months - gleam like no other. The bloggers around the world are writing about the way they practice their hobbies and displaying their masterpieces for the rest of us to study, like always, but the soup is thickening.

Not only that, but we are networking, uniting, and pushing the creativity even further with the collaborations and joint-operations such as Yggrasilium Pilgrimage and the INQvitational. These kind of happenings are just what the scene needs to grow deeper and juicier! These are the spinners that only the most visionary masters are able to put in the motion.

I guess that the INQ28 and =I=Munda movements have had a lot to do with the success of the current era too. The INQ28 movement in particularly has taken some serious wind under its sails, thanks to the active and passionate community that has been producing some grandeur visual and verbal arts around it.

Here's but a few of the blogs that I think have had a lot to do with the current status of the scene. The  blogs are more or less attached to the gray spectre of the Warhammer 40.000 and Inquisition, telling their own tales of the hobby, polishing the era with their wonderful deeds and creations...

INQ28 by Molotov

The first spark and the spirit keeper. Molotov is the ambassador of the INQ28, that goes without saying. The blog is the first thing that made me interested of INQ28 scene and the Inquisitor game and gave me the first spark for Spiky Rat Pack's Punk Moth operation.

Opus Maius by Neil101

The master of Mechanicum. Neil's incredible talent of building scenery and making it feel like alive is fantastic. The way the gothic walls, rusty pipes and war torn ground turn in to the worlds of death and despair is palpable in Neil's projects.

MiniaTextures by JRN

The slayer of daemons. The flawless execution, that is the signature of Mr. Nielsen's style. JRN's linear perfection has been guiding me in many of my projects, giving me the spirit to push my limits even further. It sure is great to follow the ponderings of person with such merits.

Eternal Hunt by KrautScientist

KrautScientist's twisted experiments and wonderful kit-bashing has had a huge impact on my visions. His intuitive working method is pleasure to follow, every bit of background he writes with the passion most of us can only dream of.

Legion of Plastic by Migsula

Father of the fire, source of the endless inspiration. Migsula keeps on surprising me whenever he unfolds another spread open and reveals his next grande project. I've once had a chance to study Mig's minis at close range and was in an instant blown away by their imaginative narrativity and fine implementation. It is my obsession to study Mig's minis and learn the way he's doing his magic.

The Tears of Isstvan by Fulgrim

Seer of the horrific beauty, painter of curious visions. Fulgrim is frighteningly close to the truth of what the dark and cold 40k universe feels like. Whenever I feel like I've lost the touch of creativity, dwelved too far away from the spirit and need to have something to help me get dragged back to the sorrowly world of 40k, I schlep to Isstvan and get my dose of inspiration from the wise words of Fulgrim.

Last but not least is PDH who writes P&M blogs at the DakkaDakka community.

There are those who kit-bash and then there's PDH. Peter has found the very essence of the kit-bashing, creating amazing shapes of personalities, character after character, finely finishing every one of them with great amount of detail. There's no gang even close to those that PDH has put together, such is the marvel in them.

The artists of these fine sites have given us plenty of accomplishments to wonder and admire, yet we too seldom write or talk about their achievements. This is me raising my hat to you sirs, saying thank you for being around and sharing your wonderful thoughts with the rest of the community. Without you guys Spiky Rat Pack's grand operation Punk Moth wouldn't exist. It would be just another small dying sun in some dark corner of mind, withering away from the lack of attention.

Rats live on no evil star.

Then there are the Demigods. They are wandering in the mids of us ordinary mortals, raising our spirits to the levels that we could only dream of. A bit corny way to put it, but that's the way I'm able turn my thoughts in the words.

Art by John Blanche (a page from Emperor's Will by Black Library).

John Blanche himself has been pushing our spirits to the outer limits with his presence. We are lucky to have such an inspiring star as guidance, showing us the path to the glorious depths of the dark future. His fierce art and enthusiasm towards the hobby is a constant source of inspiration for us. I guess we can never thank him enough for the work he is doing, can we?

But I'm a dog, what does that make of me?

Summa summarum, I have a feeling that we truely are living the golden age of 40k, right here, right now. It's like a handful of hobbyists have found the furthest and darkest corner of the galaxy, the one that pulses the real essence of the grim and dark Universe of Warhammer 40.000. We are shaping it to something wondrous. It's a bit lone in there, but I'm glad that we've got the Internet, the place where we can share our thoughts and get connected with the like-minded people.

God damn mad dog.