WARHAMMER 40K COLLECTION

HISTORY

My journey into Warhammer began long before online shopping, algorithms, or instant access to global markets. It started in comic shops.

As a child, I collected comics obsessively. Over time, my local shop began displaying tabletop games alongside them. In an era when new stock arrived unpredictably, each monthly visit felt like an expedition. The anticipation of discovering something unfamiliar was part of the experience.

Trips to Singapore broadened that world. Comic stores there were larger and more vibrant, often with dedicated gaming sections. For the first time, I saw players engaged in tabletop systems such as BattleTech, revealing a scale and depth far beyond conventional board games.

Back home, choices were limited. There was Dungeons & Dragons, a handful of smaller titles, and Games Workshop’s Warhammer ranges. One particular box captured my imagination completely: Space Marine, the first edition of what would later be known as Epic. The box art alone was powerful and unforgettable.

The price, around RM169, was significant at the time. I saved for it, and a friend helped purchase it when I could not travel to the shop myself. Opening that box became a defining moment. We began playing together and gradually drew in more friends.

By 1992, I had started painting miniatures. Epic-scale models were challenging, and Citadel paints of that era were often difficult to control. While painting taught discipline and patience, I eventually realised that my deeper interest lay in collecting and building forces rather than finishing individual models.

As I became a regular buyer, my local shop began bringing in more Warhammer stock. I placed orders through them, sometimes waiting weeks or months. Availability slowly improved, reinforcing a steady cycle of acquisition.

In the early 2000s, e-commerce changed everything. As an early adopter in Malaysia, I began purchasing from Amazon and later eBay. This opened access to second-hand collections that were previously impossible to obtain. One memorable acquisition was a large Ork force containing well over a hundred Rogue Trader and early Second Edition miniatures. At the time it likely cost between RM1,000 and RM1,500. Today, the same collection would command several times that amount.

I continued collecting steadily until around 2006. As professional commitments increased, the hobby gradually receded into the background. It remained part of my life, but largely inactive.

In 2025, I returned with a more deliberate and focused approach. Instead of collecting broadly, I began concentrating on filling specific historical gaps, particularly within the Rogue Trader range. Many miniatures from this period had by then become increasingly scarce, reinforcing the need for more selective and purposeful acquisition.

From the beginning, my collecting philosophy has prioritised building coherent and playable forces rather than attempting to own every sculpt variation. That principle remains unchanged. However, over time I have also come to appreciate the importance of preserving representative sculpt ranges from the Rogue Trader era, both for historical completeness and long-term archival value.

RETURN TO COLLECTING

Since resuming serious collecting, the main challenge has shifted from acquiring miniatures to organising and cataloguing them effectively. Establishing a structure that reflects the full historical span of early Warhammer production has become essential.

My collection now covers a broad timeline, beginning with certain pre-Rogue Trader releases, continuing through the Rogue Trader era, and extending into the later stages of Second Edition. While I do not aim to complete every sculpt variation from the Second Edition period, I hold a comprehensive and representative selection of miniatures from that era. Rogue Trader nevertheless remains the central focus of this archive, both from a historical and collecting standpoint.

For practical structuring, I have adopted the 1991 Citadel catalogue as the baseline reference for this first phase of documentation. This catalogue provides a consolidated overview of the mature Rogue Trader range, and when mapped against it, most of the listed miniatures are already present within my collection.

However, the scope of my collection extends beyond what is reflected in this catalogue. Earlier references, particularly the 1989 Citadel catalogue, reveal a broader spectrum of rarer and more obscure releases. These will be presented separately in a later segment, forming a deeper archival layer that highlights the more specialised aspects of the collection.

This first phase therefore focuses on presenting visual scans based on the 1991 framework, with clear indicators showing which miniatures are still missing. Should visitors encounter any of these outstanding pieces and wish to explore a potential sale, they are welcome to contact me through my social media channels.

This archive represents an ongoing effort to document and preserve a collection developed across multiple generations of the hobby.