My First Army by George Daniel Lea

Welcome dear Fluffer, to a semi-regular series where members of the community talk a little about the first forces they collected as they began this hobby of ours. We delve deep into George’s mind and see what, strangely, none chaos based army he had .

I don't think I'll ever forget the first time a friend at school slammed down a copy of White Dwarf magazine in front of me and demanded: "Take a look at this." Not only was it the first time I'd come across Games Workshop before (outside of hybrid projects such as Heroquest and Space Crusade), it was the first time miniature collection and tabletop gaming became crystallised in my mind as a dedicated hobby.

Amongst those pages, I found articles detailing the history of the recently-released Eldar range for 2nd Edition Warhammer 40,000; a history that utterly encapsulated my adolescent imagination. I recall so distinctly reading of The Fall, the birth of Slaanesh, the Eldar "Path," concepts such as the Craftworlds, Aspect Warriors, The Infinity Circuit...all of which conspired to bewitch and obsess me in a manner that only an 8 year old newly in love with something can be.

I immersed myself in that lore and imagery, devouring every scrap of background I could. The 2nd Edition Codex: Eldar became my bible for a time, and so well-thumbed it literally fell apart, in the fullness of time.

As for the miniatures, I found myself obsessed with the likes of the spindle-limbed, entirely alien War Walker, the Phoenix Lords in all their splendor (personal favourites remaining now as then: Feugan, The Burning Lance and Karandras, The Shadow Hunter), Eldrad Ulthran and the many-and-varied Harlequins.

They became my very first army; the one I collected obsessively and learned how to play the game with (though how 8 year olds ever learned to play 2nd edition 40K still baffles me). I still recall the thrill of seeing them on the battlefield for the first time, learning what they could do, how they worked (consistent enemies being my friend's Khornate Chaos Space Marines). They also became my first forays into painting and converting; a trial by fire, given the intricacies of those miniatures, but one that became the basis for all that came after.

In the years since, my tastes have certainly changed, my allegiances shifted (ironically towards the Eldar/Aeldari's nemesis in the form of Slaanesh), but the Children of Isha still exercise a peculiar fascination for me, and likely always wil