As a kid I loved anything mediaeval. Some of my earliest memories involved picking up a stick from the ground and clashing with my brothers or a friend. We were King Arthur and his knights of the round, or Robin Hood and I Little John. From here we progressed to Dungeons and Dragons and then finally, when old enough and allowance accumulated, Warhammer.
Now we had these figures before us, unbuilt and unpainted. My child sized hands and child mind bent to task to built and paint. I remember the shein of Mythril Steel painted on a Bretonian knight as it charged across the table towards its Lizard foe. I was enthralled, and Mythril Steel was painted heavily, perhaps too much so on many. I still like those colours today Mythril and Tin Bitz feature heavily in my armies.
Time moves on and so do our hobbies. I put Warhammer aside for years until my then girlfriend and now partner started working at a Comic Book Shop/Hobby Shop now called Kobald's Corner. Driving them to work one evening I stepped in and saw a group of guys standing around a table, and upon that table Warhammer Armies displayed in all their brilliance. I probably paid a few months rent to the owner of that shop.
The Warhammer community flourished there. My brother rejoined the hobby with his cool High Elves, and I took to the field with a Gentlemanly display of Dark Elves. Okay, so I was no better. Sixth edition was just being phased out at this point and seventh saw armies rise to extreme coolness. Everyone thought their army was the coolest and a ragtag group of six players bloomed to upwards of twelve. When the owner had to add more tables for people to play we knew Warhammer was in a good spot.
Then came Eighth.
The community felt cheated, suddenly our well built cool armies were too small. More! GamesWorkshop demanded, buy more! We did, for a time. But as I moved three blocks of forty Night Goblins across the table I began to realise, too late, that I had been had.
Now there are stirrings on the wind, whispers of a new promise land. I can see that shining knight once more charge across the land.