Painting Oldhammer Part 1
A guide to painting Warhammer like its 1994 and musings about the current state of the miniature wargaming hobby. The first part is more of a retrospective plus thoughts on Warhammer. The second part will dive into the mechanics of painting.
Silver fox Sarge from the Warhammer 2e box set
Why I Paint Miniatures
If you were a kid growing up in the 90s, you were probably fed a steady diet of Saturday morning cartoons, Gushers, Ring Dings and "Xtreme" marketing - yeah, I used an "X" there. Tony Hawk and the X Games were a thing and people still used land line phones to call their friends. Computer games were still pretty boring (Doom is the exception) and so kids usually had to go play outside for entertainment (what a nightmare). With all that sugar coursing through blood streams and Xtreme stuff going on, it was hard to believe a new emerging market for tabletop wargames was emerging, and that kids of the era could set their skateboard down for five minutes to play such a thing.
In 1993, the Warhammer 40,000 Second Edition Box set was released. What a release it was. I was jonesing after this thing for months, skulking around my local hobby store in Topsham, Maine. The problem was that as a 10 year old I didn't keep a great reserve of pocket cash, and the whopping price tag of $75 was a big expense back then. Luckily I was pretty adept at begging for stuff that I really wanted and eventually my mom caved. I was interested in the game, but mostly I was incredibly excited about getting my hands on "SPACE MARINE" miniatures. I mean, look at these guys - they had freakin' skulls on their helmets and bright red armor. Few things are more metal than going into battle dressed in shiny armor with weird, oversized guns.
The Warhammer 40k 2nd Edition Boxed set featured Space Marines vs. Orks
For an adolescent kid, this game was quite a challenge. The rules were complex and the miniatures were of course unpainted and required assembly. But the contents of this box inspired a TON of creative thinking and interest. The photographs of colorful miniatures on fields of grassy alien golf course terrain kept me coming back for more. Maybe through time and applying myself, I too could be the proud owner of a wargames table with expertly painted miniatures. Feverishly, I continued to buy miniatures and terrain, all the while doing my best on the painting side (usually not very good). I've been obsessed with this hobby ever since.
Space Marines fight Eldar in northern Wisconsin
For me this era represented peak Warhammer. The bright colors, the fanciful banners, the ridiculous lore were all factors that gave the game an escapist and whimsical tone. Since then it has taken a dramatic turn for something more serious and "hardcore" which spoils a degree of the fun involved. The designers and writers of Warhammer, Rick Priestly, Jervis Johnson and Andy Chambers, created the setting as a parody of a post-capitalist society run-amok. Humanity becomes a mega-dictatorship in the 41st millennium that worships one godlike-super being and reverts to medieval style bureaucracy.
Basically it was silly. I prefer to keep the silliness of the 90s style alive by eschewing the generally accepted painting styles of today. My miniatures will continue to be VHS technicolor abominations thank you very much. To affect this style is to follow a painting scheme favored by GW throughout this period. Fortunately, you can still find a ton of resources both from the original White Dwarf articles and on YouTube if you'd like to emulate it. In this article, I'll share my recipe for painting 90s style Space Marines, but you could use it to recreate basically any of the miniatures using the same philosophy. First, just a disclaimer: painting in this style is not easier by any means. Like anything else, you can make it as complex or simple as desired depending on the results you're looking to achieve. To achieve "perfection", it can be a bit maddening due to the amount of precision required in layering and highlighting. To see what I mean, check out an expert painter who still uses this style. Goblin Green (a.k.a Will) is a Golden Demon finalist and a disciple of the 90s school. Check out his stuff on YouTube or Reddit. In my opinion, he's probably the best painter out there who uses the OG style.
Will (a.k.a Goblin Green) achieves god-tier results that would give Mike McVey a run for his money with patient layering, glazing and highlighting
Getting Started with Oldhammer painting
Getting started with this type of painting is the same as any other: you're going to need some brushes, some paint, and a place with some reasonable natural lighting (basement painting sucks, but if you have to do it it's manageable.) I'd also recommend securing a wet pallet if you don't have one. It's optional, but it certainly makes painting easier, particularly in this style where you'll be wanting to ensure your paint is nice and thin as a general rule.
Our example in this guide uses Space Marines painted with the Blood Angels theme (lots and lots of red as you might be able to tell), so our paint selection will reflect that.
Blood Angels of the 2nd Company - They really enjoy red things!
The Paints
Miniature paints have come a long way since the 90s. Citadel paints were just about the only game in town back then, but now hobbyists have a huge selection of options, ranging from the old standby Citadel to many smaller labels that offer high quality paints. I primarily still use Citadel mostly out of availability at hobby shops, but also occasionally dabble in Army Painter. You can probably find color equivalent options in almost every paint line:
Undercoat Layer (Primer) - Pure Red (Army Painter)
Base Layer 1 - Evil Sunz Scarlet (Citadel)
Base Layer 2 - Corvus Black (Citadel)
Base Layer 3 - Leadbelcher (Citadel)
Details - White Scar (Citadel), Averland Sunset (Citadel)
Highlight 1 - Wild Rider Red (Citadel)
Highlight 2 - Trollslayer Orange (Citadel)
Shading - Agrax Earthshade (Citadel) or Nuln Oil (Citadel) or another black / dark wash, Reichland Fleshshade (Citadel).
Not all of these paints are required. In part II of the article, I'll be deliving into how you could stretch some of these to reduce the paints required. Stay tuned!