Tale of Romanian Wargamers: Episode 7 (Warhammer Fantasy)

Balogh Endre tells us how he got into the hobby and shows us an easy way of using a Daemon army in both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k.

Hi there!

A few words about how i got into this hobby: i got a Shadows over Camelot last year as a gift, a boardgame with some unpainted miniatures included. When i found out about a miniature painting community in Cluj i saw the perfect opportunity to enhance the game that impressed me so good. During the next few months i painted the majority of the miniatures – see bellow a selection of my best models.

Next step was to get into an actual wargame. There was a Warhammer Fantasy trend starting right then among local players (see Raul R. Lizardmen army) so i decided to join. I knew a few Warhammer 40k players as well (and another two that seemed interested) so decided to look for a solution to play both systems. I didn’t want to buy two separate armies – the hobby is expensive as it is already.
After a long time spent on forums i settled on Chaos Daemons / Daemons of Chaos – an army that is identical in both systems except the bases that the models are mounted on (round for 40k and square in Fantasy). (For those interested Orcs & Goblins / Orks are also recommended with a few compatible, yet not identical, models.)

For models that can be used in both systems the general recommendation on the web is to magnetize the bases. There are a few ways to do that:
1) magnetize both bases and glue the model to the smaller base. When you need the other base simply overlap them and the magnets catch on. For example an infantry model can be glued to the round (40k) 25mm base which fits on the square (Fantasy) 25mm base. For models with small square base (20mm) it would be the other way around: glued on the square base and mounted on the round base.
2) glue the models on round (40k) bases and use movement trays for Fantasy.
3) magnetize both bases and glue the model on a metallic stand. This way you can change the bases as the miniature metal will catch on the magnetized base.

These options have both advantages and disadvantages.
The first option necessitates the least amount of working time. However the base overlap can result in taller models (cover counts allot in 40k). Also it doesn’t look that good if some models are mounted on two bases and others on only one (for example for daemons the infantry base is bigger in fantasy but the cavalry base is bigger in 40k).
The second option is the cheapest: you use only one magnet per model contrary to the two for the other solutions. It does need a bit more work on the movement trays side (you need some cardboard or wood covered in metallic or magnetic sheeting). You can get into trouble in the case of the models with the round base bigger then the square base (they don’t fit onto the standard movement tray).
The third option looks the most flexible if you find an adequate metallic stand. It also has a hidden benefit: a piece of metal under the miniature enhances its equilibrium – especially on a standard bearer that leans his flag forward.

After allot of further forum reading i decided on the metallic stand option – precisely bought allot of 25mm washers and a few bigger ones for bigger models. I managed to mount up 10 bloodletters, daemonettes and pink horrors until now. The magnets on the base are extremely strong (thank you Wargames Romania!) so you can lift the model together with the base however you hold it. The gravity point is way lower so the pink horror model with the flag sits upright and doesn’t fall nose first at the first breath of air.