White Dwarf has reached its 500th milestone with no signs of slowing down, and here at Warhammer Community we’ve been reminiscing over our first issues of this mighty magazine. Where did we first witness the stern brow of Grombrindal looming over the newsagents’ rack? What drew us into a life of wonder and Warhammer?
For every person we asked, we got a completely different answer. Here’s a few of the stories we collected from across the Warhammer Community team, the Warhammer Studio, and beyond.
Graeme, commissioning editor: White Dwarf 158 caught my eye on a newsagent shelf. The cover art showed an army of Elves and a mighty Dragon, firing my imagination. Within was a whole new universe – several, in fact. And I had questions.
What was a Tyranid Attack?* Who was Ragnar Blackmane, and why were his Space Wolves battling an army of Space Orks led by someone called Ghazghkull Thraka? But most of all, who was Eltharion the Grim?
I got the answer to this in a six-page story by Warhammer legend Bill King, telling the tale of Goblin warlord Grom the Paunch's ill-fated invasion of Ulthuan and Eltharion's heroic efforts to defeat him. I fell in love with Warhammer and collected a High Elf army – led by Eltharion atop his mighty griffon Stormwing, of course – and nearly 20 years later, quoting from that story and relating my love for it got me the chance to work with Bill King in Black Library.
Jon, WarCom lead designer: Though I had been dabbling in Warhammer 40,000 with my school friends for a couple of years, White Dwarf 221 planted the seeds of a lifelong hobby passion – the knights of Bretonnia. The issue began with collecting advice for budding Bretonnian generals by the hobby legend Nigel Stillman, and also an instalment of the very first Tale of Four Warlords.
And to top it all, a gigantic 48,000-point battle report as the massed forces of the Empire clashed with an Orc & Goblin horde. No Bretonnians, but nonetheless it contained more than enough heavy cavalry and Steam Tanks to satisfy my childhood imagination.
Nick, Battle Report presenter: My first White Dwarf – Issue 174 – was given to me by a school friend when I was just 11 years old. It blew me away, and looking at the lovingly cared-for copy I still have now, it's easy to see why.
The colours are incredible. The vivid yellow and green cover with that huge, roaring Blood Bowl minotaur from Dave Gallagher's Deathzone artwork hooked me instantly. Inside there's the Champions of Death Blood Bowl team, loads of Warhammer 40,000 models, a Man O'War ship, a feature on a little something called Golden Demon... it was incredible to look at, and I wanted more!
I had been wargaming with my dad for about five years at this point, so I knew about Warhammer, but this was the first time I had seen all those glorious photographs in print. I was sold. A lifetime dedicated to Citadel Miniatures began!
Lyle, White Dwarf editor: Imperial records say White Dwarf 166 was my first issue. This one was incredible – it had the Warhammer 40,000 Second Edition box art on the cover and featured the edition's first battle report in it. It's one of my favourites, because it's one in which Tycho was gravely wounded, and that later became part of his lore when he got a proper miniature of his own.
Charlie, copy editor: White Dwarf 281 was my first issue. The cover art, taken from the then-new Lizardmen Army Book, screamed (or roared, or hissed) at me from the newsagent stand. It was like nothing I'd ever seen, and the actual contents covered the hobby from each and every possible angle, shaping the way I would engage with Warhammer for literal decades to come.
It had everything! Anthony Reynolds explained the design behind the new Lizardmen, the continent of Lustria came alive through the in-setting journal of a Cathayan explorer, and a detailed history of the Relictors solidified them as my favourite loyalist Chapter. Then it had articles about kitbashing for the Eye of Terror campaign and Daemonhunters Codex, and even an exotic (to me) look at Battlefleet Gothic ships... All ideas that set my tiny little half-formed brain alight with creative possibilities and ambition.
Rob, WarCom writer: I'd only just started getting into Warhammer 40,000 in my first year of high school, and really resonated with the brand new army coming in at the same time. I was a Space Marine guy at the time and it would still be a few years before I started my own T'au collection, but the bright blue and orange vibe of White Dwarf 262’s cover is my enduring memory of those halcyon days.
Some of the new miniatures coming in were mind-blowingly cool – I actually refused to believe that a Hammerhead's railgun was S10 AP1, because my small child mind couldn't conceive of something stronger than my Vindicator's demolisher cannon – and the issue capped it off with a fun Battle Report between Empire and Bretonnian armies. Good times.
Andy, Warhammer Studio manager: On my first visit to my local gaming store – the now-long gone 'Not Just Stamps' in High Wycombe – I was captivated by the magazine display and flicked through the available issues of White Dwarf. I settled on the one that had what 14-year-old me considered the best selection of photographs of painted miniatures, which happened to be issue 85.
It was an 'Eavy Metal article showing several painted dragons that really got me. One was a Great Spined Dragon painted by veteran Citadel Miniatures designer Nick Bibby and modelled on a scenic base made from a human skull – I have no idea if it was a real skull, but it certainly made an impression!
Do you remember your first issue of White Dwarf? Have you been a dogged follower of Grombrindal since the early days, or hopped on the hobby train recently? Be sure to let us know on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X, and make sure to join the White Dwarf Issue 500 celebrations with us!
* A board game from the early 1990s featuring Space Marine Scouts venturing into the living innards of a Tyranid hive ship.