I had the pleasure of visiting the Warbases HQ today. I’ve only recently just got back into the hobby after a long exile, and in that time I’ve been discovering great looking companies on a weekly basis.
I’d seen Warbases mentioned a lot on Twitter. It was clear that they were a very established and well respected company. What came as a complete surprise to me though, was that they’re actually based about 30mins drive from my house here in Scotland.
I reached out to them to say hello, and the owner and founder Martin very kindly invited me down to their workshop for a tour.
As someone who grew up with little access to the hobby (aside from a monthly copy of White Dwarf and a yearly trip to the GW store) it was a brilliant experience to be shown round behind the scenes of a company like Warbases.
The Warbases Tour
The workshop of this small but thriving family business was busy with activity. I saw terrain and miniatures being created, orders being fulfilled, and parcels being prepared to be sent as far afield as Australia.
As Martin showed me round the various benches, machines, and bits of kit, I learned about the work that goes into creating their superb looking products. They create miniatures (most recently, a new range of 28mm fantasy pieces under the Bifrost Miniatures banner), movement trays, scenery and terrain.
As I’ve mentioned, Warbases are a well thought of company in the hobby. They’re used by many a celebrated wargaming brand, including the legendary TooFatLardies. Looking round their stock and various products it’s not hard to see why, and I was very grateful to be sent off with a handful of free samples too!
Martin very kindly gifted me a movement tray for a unit of 16 miniatures on 25mm bases, a little hay barn and cart, and a cool wee Warbases hit counter. I look forward to painting these up.
One particular highlight of my tour was to meet the company “foreman” Scout – a beautiful and friendly 4 month old German Shepard.
Another pleasant surprise about Warbases was the value of their products. You can buy grand and intricate buildings to decorate your battlefields for £10-£15 each. They’re creating stuff in the fantasy, historical, and sci-fi genre, and in various scales, from 10mm to 28mm.
The Local Miniature Wargaming Scene
I’d always just assumed that companies like Warbases would be based down in England (Nottingham, in particular!) or further afield. However, Martin told me there were a decent amount of other companies up here that they work with. On top of that, he gave me info on a number of events coming up in the first half of 2020. Vapnartak in February in York, Carronade in Falkirk in May, and the Glasgow Games Gathering in June.
In all, it was a really enjoyable experience today, and Warbases have certainly won themselves a new lifelong customer!
What’s not to like about being based in Scotland, other than the drive to the Southern shows 🙂