Stephane Montabert lives in Switzerland, which he says is a nice place, but pricey when you consider shipping costs from the States.
He was very kind to grant us an interview with him and even though English is not his first language, he’s very passionate about his Specialist Games - he even started interviewing himself!
Firebase: How long have you been playing wargames?
Stephane: It all started in 1990, when I was young with plenty of free time. I mainly played Warhammer Fantasy, Man O’War and Necromunda until 1995. Since then I got into Epic, Space Hulk, Warhammer 40,000 and Warmachine -that’s just for miniature wargames!
FB: When did you start playing epic?
Stephane: In 1995. At first, I was a fantasy player and I found that the 40K setting was too stupid for my taste: People fighting with swords and WWII tanks in the 41st millennium -come on!
Yet, I was interested in the Epic scale, because of the massive
armies involved and the impressive stance titans had in the middle of ground troops. Nothing appeared ridiculous here. This scale difference made the game very interesting visually in my taste.
28mm scale gaming appeals to painters and onlookers, but 6mm gaming has a beauty of its own. It makes you see the big picture.
So, I was interested in Epic but hesitated to join. All my friends were playing one race or another so I didn’t know what to play. The release of the Tyranid army supplement in 1995 was the deciding factor, since no one had this army yet.
FB: Why did you choose your army?
Stephane: As I said before, because I wanted some variety.
Variety is essential in a gaming group. I prefer losing with an army that’s unique than winning with the same army as everyone else.
Had Tyranids not been there, I’d have played Squats out of their originality.
Naturally, aesthetic is important too. Good painting goes a long way, and a painter needs to like the miniatures he’s painting to
Firebase • issue 3 • March 2007
sustain the work involved in a full army, but at Epic scale, it’s less of a factor.
So, I prefer losing with beautiful miniatures than winning with ugly ones! It looks like I’m losing all the time! But it’s not true; as long as the game system is somehow balanced, you can make a decent force of any army list. Sure, it’s harder for some races. Yet, in Epic again, the system is quite balanced. It has some flaws but I’ve never met a win-at-all-cost-type Epic player. I can’t explain why Epic games are more relaxed. Perhaps people identify themselves less with their supreme commander?
FB: How long did it take you to make your army?
Stephane: I don’t remember how long it took for the Tyranid army, but the irony is that the Epic line was out of print long before I finished painting my army (and I moved too!). In the end, I played my first Epic game in 2003, eight years after purchasing my first army.
Since then, I created a number of Epic armies.
Each of them takes up 6 months of work as I can only find time to paint in the evenings. I try to create scenery associated to each army for more interesting battlefields.
When you are a defender supposed to defend your home, it’s better if the scenery actually looks like it!
FB: What’s your favourite model?
Stephane: Tough question! I’m the proud
owner of several beautiful painted miniatures, but I can’t decide which one I prefer.
When I considered my very first army, for Warhammer Fantasy, I had all the rulebooks at hand and carefully computed everything to choose the most powerful one. In 1990, it was the Skaven! Then, I walked in the store to buy them. Bad luck, they hadn’t been released yet! Then I saw the human miniatures of the Empire army -no doubt the weakest army at the time, but it made no difference, I was hooked. I knowingly fell for puny humans. I found them beautiful, no matter what they would do on the battlefield.
I discussed the subject many times with my friends. In my humble opinion human or similar miniatures are better than any other exotic race. It’s easier to become identified with them. You can show them to visitors completely unaware of the Warhammer world which is harder to achieve with mutants and daemons. They are the most recognisable faction in any game. So, human miniatures are my favourites, no matter the game system, publisher, or scale.
FB: So, what other projects have you got for the future?
Stephane: All ‘veteran’ gamers are full of projects and have buckets of miniatures hidden in their closets. My project is to have all major Epic armies. So far, I’ve published several galleries on my website but more are planned in forthcoming years. It might seem a slow pace, but it’s really irrelevant.
Epic is out of print anyway, so there’s no rush.
FB: So how long do you plan to own your collection? Are you someone who will you sell it when a new army book is published?
Stephane: Some people do that. There are even gamers buying whole painted armies on eBay and selling them a few years later - actually renting their armies from the gaming community. But not me. I’ve never been able to part from miniatures I painted. The best I can do is to try to have everything complete and game ready -all races, books, miniatures for the games I enjoy. This is the true independence.
This way, I can play whatever race I want and introduce new players at will, lending them the army they want. It’s the fun factor of the game that matters, not its presence in a publisher’s catalog.
FB: Do you struggle with the lack of miniature support in specialist games mainly?
Stephane: Of course, availability is always an issue, but it shouldn’t be exaggerated. As I said, I’m heavily involved in Epic and found most of my stuff on eBay in a few months. Prior to that, I had nothing but several Tyranid miniatures.
Everything can be found with a bit of patience.
FB: Do you have any advice for other Squat players?
Stephane: Sure! The first one is to be proud -proud to give life to
7
Firebase • issue 3 • March 2007
a forgotten race. Squats deserve to live, for they are interesting and refreshing. They don’t belong to Games Workshop and their publishing policy. They belong to the gaming community. They have a place in 40K universe, beyond marketing decisions, simply because they have existed in a point of time with a consistent and interesting background. I’m always impressed by the number of
people that have heard of them -contradicting GW’s attempt to erase them and pretend they never existed. Squats have a symbolic value for that, extending far beyond other older armies like Genestealer Cults for example.
My second advice to would-be Squat players is that they shouldn’t be afraid to jump in! There are plenty of Squat miniatures around, eBay sometimes features full armies. Necromunda weapon sprues and Fantasy dwarves provide plenty of material for custom conversions.
Moreover, Squat players are most welcome everywhere. It’s not like someone tried to create the Super-Alien-Army-Of-Doom from planet X.
Squats are a part of the universe. The amount of work involved in such a collection always deserves respect and wonderful conversion opportunities.
For example, there are an impressive number of Squat super heavies that could be translated into spectacular W40K vehicles. Who will be the first to build a 40K scale Squat Land Train?
FB: I shudder to think! Thank you for your time.
M
I N I-C
RONSYves Marie, a.k.a. Hojyn, is 28 and lives in Brest (quiet at the back you!) in Brittany, France. He’s been working as a freelance translator for almost 2 years now, mostly translating video games. really played Warhammer Fantasy, but I got into pretty much all the other games from Games Workshop including Necromunda,
Space Hulk, Gorkamorka, Mordheim and of course Epic, my all-time favourite.
FB: When did you start playing epic?
Yves: Almost as soon as I discovered it in White Dwarf. I think it was in issue 2 or 3 and it was called Space Marine back then.
I loved the idea of playing with hundreds of small miniatures and huge titans -and I still do!
FB: Why did
converting stuff. Part of the fun of doing this was looking for the right piece, chasing minis over Ebay and doing the conversions.
Also, Corey (the Necron Army Champion) did a great job writing the rules for them in Epic. They are great fun to play with and a tactical challenge, both for the Necron player and their opponent.
FB: How long did it take you to make your army?
Yves: Over a year, to 6 months if you don’t have much free time.
I’d also like to add a little something on painting 6mm models.
One of the first things people say when they see Epic armies is
“whoa, that must be hard to paint!” So here’s the truth: No, it’s not harder than painting 28mm models and it doesn’t take much longer. Quite the contrary, actually. Most of my painting is basecoat and drybrushed and/or wash and some details. As long as you have the right tools (fine detail brushes), it’s relatively easy and even if you mess up here and there, nobody will notice and your army will still look good!
Firebase • issue 3 • March 2007
FB: Was it expensive?
Yves: All things considered, not that much. Chaos Androids (my Necron Warriors, the biggest part of the army) were not highly sought after at the time and the rest of the army is made of converted plastic models: Ork Boyz (Immortals), Eldar Exarchs (Pariahs), 40K Scarabs (Mecarachnids), Techmarine (Necron Lords).
The Aenic Orb is probably the most expensive model, since I used 8 Jackal Raiders from Battlefleet Gothic to make it. All in all, I think the total price must be around 250€ (that’s roughly $300 or £170).
Not too bad for a 6,000 points army.
FB: Not at all. What’s your favourite model?
Yves: My Abattoir.
appropriate pieces for it. It’s made of plastic took me ages to finish it. Once it was over, I must admit I was (and still am) quite proud of the result.
FB: What other
projects have you got for the future?
Yves: Lots! Like most gamers, I still have tons of models to paint, probably enough to last me a life or two. My painted Epic armies are: Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Eldar, Necrons and Orks. I’ve just begun painting a Chaos Space Marine army and I have thousands of points worth of models for most armies: Tyranids, Squats, Titan Legions, plus some more Orks, Space Marines and Eldar. I’ve (almost) stopped buying models and I hope to have it all painted one day, but that’s still many years down the road!
FB: Finally, Do you have any advice for other potential Necron players?
Yves: Well, be creative would be the main advice. With no official Necron models for Epic, you have to be imaginative or steal other people’s ideas (like I stole François Bruntz’s ideas of using Ork Boyz for my Immortals or 40K Necron torsos for my Destroyers). Oh, and be patient too! It will be long before you have enough models to make a full army, but the effort is well worth it.
FB: It definitely is. Thanks for you time!
- SIMON FISHER