40 Years of Warhammer: Miniature Retrospective – Skeletons

Games Workshop is celebrating 40 years of Warhammer and it wouldn’t be a celebration without pulling a few skeletons out of the closet!

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Warhammer and Games Workshop is taking some time to look back at miniatures that had a big impact on their work. Today, we’re getting a classic miniature that you’ve probably seen at one point or another: The Skeleton!

via Warhammer Community

“This week our archivists have exhumed something very different, that’s just as integral to Warhammer as a setting and a game. “

Warhammer Skeleton

From this humble beginning we’ve gotten some major leaps forward. For starters, the Skeleton was really the first miniature that you could get in a unit boxed set. It helped to shift the game from the more Role Playing Game version to the rank-and-file mass combat system of Warhammer Fantasy. And, of course, it introduced Skulls.

Even today, skeletons are still very important to Warhammer — both 40k and AoS. Obviously in AoS we’ve got a lot more animated Skeletons running around but there’s still plenty of Skeleton parts in 40k (mostly skulls).

In AoS you can see the inspiration of the OG Skeleton in every Death army. Even the Nighthaunt’s incorporeal bodies have nods to the skeleton — or at least their weapon selection. From the 40k range the Necrons, at their core, are really the metal versions of the shambling skeletal army. Heck, even some of their weapons have scythes which are a nod to both death and these skeletons of yore.

It just wouldn’t be Warhammer without Skeletons and much of that goes back to the original models. One final thing the skeleton brought us was the first iteration of multi-part plastic kits. When you really think about it that concept has been a core tenant of the success of GW’s models for these 40 years. I’m sure there’s a skeleton pun in there about it being the backbone of their success. Let us know how you’d phrase it in the comments.

Here’s to 40 years of Warhammer and the iconic Skeleton!

Author: Adam Harrison

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table. A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam's current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.