The Road to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - Some events of interest 1983 to 1986
Some of the timeline to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - this article gives some in-progress quotes from the book about events that lead up to the launch of the iconic game later in '87.
One of the things I’ve been working on as part of this book project, is a detailed timeline of GW & 40K - this is key to understanding how the game came to be what it was; it was not something created in isolation, it emerged from experiences, inspirations and more going back many years. Here’s a few example points that lead up to the release of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader in 1987.
From 1983
As well as the launch of Warhammer Fantasy Battle (the May 1983 issue of White Dwarf - no.41 - announces WFB in a full-advert) we find in the First Citadel Compendium published in October of ‘83 … in that issue there is an advert for an upcoming game titled ‘Rogue Trader’ by Rick Priestly, "Coming Soon... Science Fiction Role Play System". In that same compendium we would also see The Spacefarers, a SF miniatures set from Citadel plus the mention of a new supplement for the new Warhammer [Fantasy Battle], titled Realm of Chaos (though, spoiler, it won’t actually appear for another 5 years and by then it will cover 40K too!)
(Image - A page of the Citadel Journal with adverts for pre-40K Rogue Trader and som SF minis, Spacefarers)
From 1984
April sees White Dwarf issue 52 published and in the news section it has reporting titled; Angry letters exchanged on Rogue Trader. The report reads, "Silence was maintained in the face of stern cross-examination in the Citadel following an exchange of letters earlier this month. Was there a Rogue Trader in the house? A spokesperson for Citadel Miniatures stated that there was no question of impropriety, and everything was above board on Rogue Trader, their new SF role-playing system." It noted, "full boxed details would be published in July." (White Dwarf Issue 52, p.39). Also in this issue we see the first appearance of a new monthly column, Tabletop Heroes. This section was written by Joe Dever and Gary Chalk and covered miniatures reviews and painting tips. It marked an important shift and acknowledgement that many of the readers were big fans of miniatures and foreshadowed the change in business that was to come!
From 1985
Spring 1985 - The publication of Citadel Journal 85. In the section ‘Bubbling Under’ which gave updates of new products, Rogue Trader was mentioned as undergoing a rewrite as work had been impacted by the resources going into WFB, the issue noted that Rick Priestly (also the editor of the publication) would be re-writing the original draft to make Rogue Trader fully compatible with Warhammer. “… Games will then be presented with a unique and totally compatible system for fantasy and SF role-play." (The Citadel Journal, Spring 85, p.4)
That same issue also introduced Slotta Bases, what would become a key identifier of Citadel products and a topic we will return to.
(Image - Citadel’s explanation of the new Slotta Bases from Citadel Journal Spring 1985. Source)
From 1986
Citadel Journal Spring 1986 also covered the release of ‘Drastik Plastik’ Orcs, which followed the Fighting Fantasy and Psychostyrene Dwarfs miniatures in the use of plastic and showed Citadel’s continued commitment to the material. This will matter for the iconic plastic miniatures releases that will accompany 40K Rogue Trader.
September ‘83 and White Dwarf issue 81 featured an advert for a new plastic boxed set, the Skeleton Horde, which the advert noted would be available late September. The cover art was by John Blanche and the box text by Graeme Davis. While, as noted in this timeline, this was not the first plastic model kit by Citadel, it was an expansive kit with multiple parts and gave the player lots of self assembly options. It set the mould (pun intended) for future sets including the fellow classic RTB01, whom we shall meet in a year on this very timeline.
(Image - Some Drastik Plastik Orcs still in the original packaging. They cost more than 99p now! Source)
Hopefully you can see from reading this that the timeline helps to set the stage for 1987 - the pivotal year that will see the launch of 40K Rogue Trader.
Thanks for reading!
Note! There is more about this project here. You can comment here or find me on BlueSky.
Also note! This book project is a personal one and not affiliated with any company that, in my day job, I work with or partner with.