Warhammer - 8 June 2023: at last something really British.

Warhammer is a tabletop miniature wargame with, originally, a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first published by the Games Workshop company in 1983.

Founded in 1975 by John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process. It expanded into Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1990s. All UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham in 1997. 

(Readers of a certain age, especially those with children now in their 40s, may remember the Fighting Fantasy, series of role-playing gamebooks produced by a company of the same name co-founded by Sir Ian Livingstone CBE and Steve Jackson.)

£2.20 Old World Dwarfs stamp

As in other miniature wargames, Warhammer players use miniature models (minis) to represent warriors. The playing field is a model battlefield comprising models of buildings, trees, hills, and other terrain features. Players take turns moving their model warriors across the playing field and simulate a battle. The outcomes of fights between the models are determined by a combination of dice rolls and simple arithmetic. Though the gameplay is mostly based on medieval warfare, it incorporates fantasy elements such as wizards, dragons, and magical spells.

Warhammer was the first commercial miniature wargame designed to use proprietary models. Prior to this, miniature wargames rulesets were designed to use generic models that could be bought from any manufacturer.

For millions of hobbyists around the world, Warhammer is more than just a game – it is a way of life. From collecting, customising and painting model figures to constructing battlefields and landscapes for them to rampage through, and from playing online games and reading novels set in these huge fantastical universes to joining fellow enthusiasts for mammoth tabletop battles decided on the roll of a dice, Warhammer is an endlessly creative, competitive and collaborative hobby. 

Now collectors of stamps may regard this as all a bit extreme - but game players are enthusiastic as many stamp collectors and philatelists are. 

Stamp details

A set of six stamps depicting some of the characters used across the three games of Warhammer- Warhammer: The Old World, Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. Presented as three vertical se-tenant pairs.

Set of 6 Warhammer stamps issued 8 June 2023, 2 each 1st, £2, £2.20.

1st class - Space Marines, Orks. Warhammer 40,000 announced itself to the wargaming world in 1987. Drawing on a whole range of science-fiction influences, while also incorporating a unique fantasy element.  Over nine editions (so far), the creators have introduced a rogues’ gallery of foes for the Space Marines to battle against. Warhammer 40,000 is the best-selling miniature wargame in history, and this is probably why this series has been chosen for the 1st class stamps.

£2.00 - Stormcast Eternals, Slaves to Darkness. In 2015 a more ambitious new game was produced. Reinventing the mythic fantasy landscape of its predecessor on a much grander scale, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar takes place in the eight Mortal Realms.

£2.20 - High Elves, Dwarves. The first edition of Warhammer was set in a mythical medieval landscape populated by knights, elves, wizards and goblins, where fierce battle could be joined according to guidelines detailed in the first rule book. This immersive fantasy world was explored further in Games Workshop’s in-house magazine, White Dwarf, and in an ongoing series of popular novels published by their own imprint Black Library, allowing players to imagine in ever greater detail the legendary domain in which their games took place.

Minisheet

Since its inception, Warhammer has been defined by its unique visual style, incorporating elements of fantast, sci- fi, horror, religious iconography, surrealism and black humour.

The Miniature Sheet captures this aesthetic style in four stamps featuring paintings and illustrations used in Warhammer’s codexes and rule books across four different worlds.

1st class: Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader. 1st class Warhammer The Old World - Battle for Skull Pass.
£2.20 Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Yndrasta, the celestial spear.  £2.20 Warhammer The Horus Heresy - The Emperor of Mankind.

Technical Details

The stamps and miniature sheet were designed by Common Curiosity and printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers. All the stamps are 60 x 30 mm, the miniature sheet 192 x 74 mm.  The stamps are printed in sheets of 36 with conventional gum, and the miniature sheet is in press sheets of 12 on - what seems to me very thin - self-adhesive paper.   © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2023.

Unfortunately Royal Mail's information does not say who the artists of the miniature sheet paintings are.

Products available

Set of 6 stamps, miniature sheet, two first day covers, presentation pack, stamp cards, press sheet of 12 MS, collectors sheet, fan sheets, medal covers, silver plated ingots, framed set & collectors sheet.

Collector sheet

Warhammer Collector Sheet - 10 stamps with related labels - litho, self-adhesive.

Fan sheets - Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar - each containing three stamps, limited edition of 5.000 each at £7.50

Medal covers - Warhammer 40,000 with the set, and Age of Signar with the miniaure sheet. Silver-plate medals are also colloured.  Limited editions of 5,000 each at £19.99

SilverPlated Stamp Ingots - Spare Marines (Warhammer 40,000) and Stormcast Eternals (Age of Signar) - again 5,000 each at £24.99

 

Gaming mini models are usually sold unpainted allowing the players to create their own colour schemes. The FDC insert shows eight of the models against a plain backrgound.

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