It’s been three years ago now that the Aleatorblog went online with its first post in March 2013. We already celebrated our first birthday and our second birthday during the last years and now it is time for a celebration post again.
Looking back on our last hobby year one can hardly notice any notable changes. Still painting & gaming, still not focused on one game, still enjoying what we are doing. Yet there is one cool new thing to report – we got a new member among our ranks. Regular readers might already know this guy as he often appeared in the comments section and some battle reports. Let’s welcome Felix / Kjeld our newest member!
Actually we thought using this anniversary post could be a good place to introduce our now seven members to you the readers. Even though we got spread throughout the country these days we are all from the area of Cologne Germany and usually still meet up here. Now have a look at our painting stations and whatnot, if you like.
Broncofish:
Greetings, Readers.
The Broncofish in known by the name Rudolf (33) and joined the Aleatores in 2010 after a quick game in the local GW with Goatmoerser and Voldemort followed by lots of Whisky with Goatmoerser (which is another shared hobby by the way). I’ve been collecting miniatures since 6th grade which equals 21 years as of today. Of course the hobby had ups and downs and before I met the other guys the whole thing was a rather lonely thing, because I have always been more interested in painting and collecting than the actual gaming.
Now after almost 6 years in the club I still don’t know the rules but despite that I can prevail through superior luck with invulnerable saves. 3 years ago I founded this blog with Goatmoerser (who has been the backbone of the whole thing, so kudos to him!) and I am very happy that we have a small but loyal readership throughout the world.
But now for something a lot more interesting: miniatures (or as we call them in German PÜPPCHEN!). Unfortunately I relocated in 2014 and left the beautiful Rhineland for a mordoresque place called Fulda. Nevertheless (thanks to the internet and the invention of the wheel) I of course still participate in our events and spread the love between my many unfinished projects and the main collections of White Scars, Saim-Hann Eldar, Word Bearers and Heresy Era Mechanicum.
My current “long term project”: building a gaming board for my Armies.
And another one: finishing 1000p Chogorian Brotherhood White Scars
My Mars pattern cogitator which compiles my blog posts.
The two guardians of my painting table: one more fearsome than the other…
The library
The cabinet of shame part one…
.. and part two. (Yes, these are 9 unfinished knights.)
Elrond de Gravenesse:
Hi everyone, my name is Sebastian, or Elrond de Gravenesse on the net. With 29 years of age I am the youngest among the Aleatores even though I am one of the senior members of the group. Since the 5th edition of WHFB I am part of the hobby and since something around 10 years I am playing 40K aswell.
My first true love (besides the obligatory Space Marines) were the Adeptus Arbites which I played as Imperial Guard – 2500 points strong.
Of course there is more … Orks, Chaos, Necromunda, Mordheim.
And recently Horus Heresy. Here and there even non GW models are to be found.
Here I am crafting my stuff … (and that’s the tidied up state 
)
Flattervieh:
Moin moin, my name is Markus also known as Flattervieh. I am married and 37 years old. After a long break I got back on collecting miniatures in 2007 and made my way back to the hobby. In early 2010 I became a part of the Aleatores. After the construction of our house was finished I got my own hobby floor under the roof.
My paint and working place with some World Eaters WIPs and boxes full of bits.
Over the years I collected lots of stuff and started quite some castles in the air.
Storage board.
The WIP-board: Space Orks, Deathkorps, Necrons and all sorts of tanks.
Another storage place with new projects: Necron board, Grey Knights, Ultramarines first company, even more terrain boards.
Finished stuff such as Deffkorps Orks, Horus Heresy, Necrons, Lord of the Rings and Mordheim.
Kill Teams and World Eaters.
Goatmoerser:
Hjolda! The name is Nic, 34 years of age and married. Proud father of a son and in a couple of months of a daughter, too. I got introduced to the hobby at the age of 9 by my older brother. Ever since I got stuck and am still enjoying it pretty much. I am really glad that I got in touch with the other maniacs here (actually I am the last remaining founding member of the Aleatores). Even if you’re spending most of the time alone at your painting station there is nothing more motivating/exciting than meeting up with your hobby Bros and celebrate the fanboyism galore.
My unspectacular painting station. Sitting mostly in front of my PC, watching a movie while painting. No fancy airbrush available here (unfortunately).
Here I am storing a lot of my 40K projects just like my Sons of Horus.
The one on the left is occupied by my astra militarum alone (plus some very few adeptus mechanicus). The board on the right is the home of a lot of different 40K related projects, Battlefleet Gothic and Aeronautica Imperialis.
This old-fashioned cabinet is the place where I keep my Warhammer, Warhammer Quest, Mordheim, Lord of the Rings and Bloodbowl stuff.
Here you can see the storage for unfinished projects, treasures and stuff to come.
I thought it would be fun to show my complete collection of (german) White Dwarf magazines as I am still collecting them. Here you can see every german White Dwarf ever released – 328 in total. I bet there are some english folks who can outplay this with a complete english collection?
Of course I have to start with the relic issue number one, released in December 1994 / January 1995. I just turned 13 years back then and the first german Games Workshop would soon open its gates in the city of Cologne.
As the 5th edition of Warhammer got released there came a special unnumbered issue between number 12 and 13 in October 1996.
Therefore we got 202 issues of the old White Dwarf in Germany even if the last number is 201. In October 2012 they decided to change the magazine drastically (worldwide).
The new format only lasted 16 months / issues until the last edition dropped. It started with number one but here you can see an issue that is commonly refered to as number zero as it’s a free promotion letter for starters (and has the same cover picture as number 46 by the way).
Over to the so far last issue number 110 I bought some days ago. Still a good read after all those years and I still like flipping through the older WDs from time to time.
Kjeld:
Hey guys, my name is Felix, 32 years young and I´m the new kid in class. I came to the Aleators through constantly spamming comments in the blog´s comment section (it worked!) Through this I got talking to Bronco, Goatmoerser and Flattervieh and they invited me up for some games of Horus Heresy. And so it began…
I came to the hobby about 6 years ago, after walking by my local Games Workshop for several years but never going in. So one day I decided I had to get some of those shiny models and started my first army with, you all guessed right, Ultramarines 
After playing 40k for a while, it got too crazy and competitive for me, so I stepped back from it and started playing X-wing (fun game and expect a post on the blog about it) and other non GW games. But with Forge World doing the Horus Heresy and me loving those awesome models, the narrative character of the setting got me back into Warhammer, now with 30K. For that I started a Blood in the Void campaign with some friends, but my small-scale plan for Night Lords soon got out of hand and I wanted a bigger army. So at the moment, Night Lords are my only real project, but expect more to come this year with a new legion and a couple of side projects.
Here you can see a couple of shots from my workbench, models and showcase, which are still a bit chaotic due to my recent move in a new house, now with my own spouse approved hobby room.
My plans for this year is to play more games (shouldn´t be too hard), especially of HH, finish my Zone Mortalis table and start a City table for a City Fight campaign I´m dreaming of. Also I want to get to know my new club mates better and maybe even introduce them to new games they never played before. So read you guys soon.
Rekrom:
Hello, my Name is Tom and I am 31 years old. I am playing 40K since I am 12 years old. During my hobby career there was a time in which I sold all of my Warhammer stuff. At the end of the 4th edition I started to collect miniatures once again. Since then I am still collecting and playing Warhammer 40K and also other Games Workshop games.
In 2011 I took part in a Kill Team tournament at a local Games Workshop organised by the Aleatores. I really scored badly but won the price for the best looking team. The invitation for the event I received from the club member scrum which I already knew from another 40K club. Eventually I joined the Aleator club.
That’s the Kill Team…
… I played that day.
And the trophy I won at the tournament.
Beside the strong individualization, modelling and customization of miniatures, I also have a passion for older GW and Forge World models. These old miniatures do not correspond to the present time but are having a certain charm.
My biggest army are the Tyranids. Furthermore I also own some smaller armies, which I collected during my hobby time.
The biggest part of my collection.
My latest creation is a Genestealer Patriarch from 1988.
I added some small details.
scrum:
Hiho, my name is Alex, 44 years old, married and I got two kids aged 11 and 14. In 2009 I met Goatmoerser by accident in the local Games Workshop in Bonn. This was when my entrance to the hobby really took up speed. I was part of another gaming club before but I wasn’t that satisfied with their attitude towards the hobby (they even dared to play with non painted minis!). So I got in pretty late at the age of 36 even if I had painted some minis for a P&P RPG when I was 16 but eventually it took me 20 years to really start as my buddies back then were just not showing any interest.
I’ve got a couple of other hobbies aswell, therefore you won’t see stuff from my side on a regular basis here on the blog. But now that my son discovered the LotR game and painted up a small force I am all in for the hobby again (we’re working on our own gaming board right now – TWS tutorial ). And I would like to follow Goatmoerser’s example and take part in an official LotR-tournament. Thus you’ll certainly see fresh pictures of my Dwarves from Khazad-Dum here on the Blog.
Even if our bunch of lunatics aren’t located as close together as we were back in the day, we established a foundation that keeps us tied together. That means comfy gaming while having a high approach on the visual standard and the lore.
I like to paint in the kitchen. Putting all the colours I need for a specific miniature at the moment in a box makes things easier. I can place the box in a cupboard and take it out in case I need them. My son already got his own little hobby box aswell.
After my son discovered the hobby we’re now building our first gaming board. I used the tutorial of the guys at TWS (Tabletop Workshop) here to have a foldable board. We sanded the whole thing to get it more heavy / sturdy.
That’s the space where I keep my finished projects…
…half finished and (majority) non finished projects.
I am a huge fan of the White Dwarf magazine aswell and read in them almost on a daily basis. The painting guides tought me a lot about painting and I am still hunting to complete my collection.