First produced in 1983 by British manufacturer Games Workshop, Warhammer originally started as a tabletop wargame but over the past 40 years it has grown into something infinitely larger. 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.
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.
1st Class, Space Marines & Orks
Warhammer 40,000
“In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war...” With these thrilling and evocative words, 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 with its armies of spacefaring Orks and Aeldari, the game spans hundreds of planets in the grip of a mysterious Emperor, who rules through a combination of feudal tradition, fanatical religion and fearsome chapters of heavily armed Space Marines. Over nine editions (so far), the creators have introduced a rogues’ gallery of foes for the Space Marines to battle against, from servants of the malignant Chaos Gods to a rival Empire under the control of a technologically advanced alien race known as the T’au. Inspiring countless novels and a range of successful computer games and apps, Warhammer 40,000 is the best-selling miniature wargame in history.
£2.00 Stormcast Eternals & Slaves to Darkness
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
In 2015 a more ambitious new game would emerge. Reinventing the mythic fantasy landscape of its predecessor on a much grander scale, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar takes place in the eight Mortal Realms, where armies of resurrected warriors known as Stormcast Eternals wage war against the hideous forces of Chaos. With brand new factions like the airship-building Kharadron Overlords and the perilous, plant-like Sylvaneth, Age of Sigmar offers an epic scope unseen in fantasy wargaming.
£2.20 High Elves & Dwarfs
Warhammer: The Old World
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. Over the years, these rules would be refined and expanded as the world of Warhammer grew to include new factions and characters, such as the aristocratic Vampire Counts and the devious, scuttling rat-men known as Skaven. This immersive fantasy world would be 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.
