If you ever wanted to see what the aesthetic of Warhammer 40,000 and fantasy might look like if the creative brakes came off and the artists didn’t have to worry about selling toy soldiers to an all-ages audience, look no further than ’28 Collected’. This upcoming 320 page hardback artbook is packed with unique conversions, artwork, interviews, and features from dozens of creators in the ‘28’ indie model-making scene.
28 Collected is, as the name suggests, a collection of articles from the first six volumes of 28 Magazine. If you haven’t heard of that before you’re missing out: 28 Magazine is one of the coolest parts of the extended Warhammer 40k and fantasy fandom.
28 Magazine is a fan-run publication all about the grimdark aesthetic and the love of miniatures. It features creations ranging from custom miniatures to gallery artwork from a wide array of talented creatives, plus interviews, how-to guides, and features, and ties everything up with professional editing and stylish graphic design.
All of 28 Magazine’s volumes are available for free on the 28 Mag website, but fans have been asking for a print edition for a very long time. There’s currently a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds to print 28 Collected. Pledges for the book cost $60 (£49) plus shipping, and the campaign runs until 8.59am PST / 11.59am ET / 4.59pm GMT on February 11.
28 Magazine is the public face of the 28 scene, a subculture of creatives, model-makers, artists, and indie game designers. The scene took root in the late 00’s among gamers converting 28mm scale models for the narrative-heavy wargame Inquisitor. They focused on the many weird little Warhammer 40k factions that exist in the lore but don’t have models of their own, and which are usually overshadowed by the Space Marine chapters.
The scene has expanded hugely since then, to the point fans are creating their own original wargames. To pick just a few that we’ve covered before, Necropolis28, Brawl Arcane, The Doomed, Trench Crusade, and the experimental NonCombatTabletop are all genuinely interesting and innovative.
Former Warhammer 40k lead artist John Blanche was a formative member of the early 28 scene, both a participant in some of the most active gaming groups, and extremely influential on the 28 aesthetic. The ‘Blanchitsu’ column which ran in White Dwarf, and showed off both his and other members’ conversions, had a big influence on spreading that aesthetic.
Blanchitsu is a very different approach to painting miniatures compared to the standard Citadel painting style. It favors a limited palette, heavy weathering, and expressive rather than precise painting. It has proven inspirational to miniature makers and artists alike, and every volume of 28 Magazine is packed with eye-popping creations you simply won’t find in mainstream Warhammer 40k.
Fittingly, a piece of John Blanche’s art is being used on the cover of 28 Collected. Publication is being handled by Dave Taylor, who has a good track record of delivering high quality hardbacks for just this kind of niche hobby project.
If you want to learn more about the 28 scene, you should look out for the documentary ‘The Grim and the Dark’ which will be released this spring. You can learn more about it in Wargamer’s exclusive interview with the director and producers – and find out how and why the actor who played Napoleon Dynamite has a starring role.
Source: Wargamer
