A run of white dwarf magazines issues 130-182

[LeChegg]

Hi guys,


This is my first post and I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I’m very sorry if this is out of order or not in the right place.


I’ve recently come into possession, through a relative passing it on to me, of a large collection of 90s White Dwarf magazines — a complete run from issue 130 to issue 182. Some of them still have miniatures sealed on the front covers, and card inserts are still untouched inside.


What I’d really like to ask is whether this collection is historically or culturally significant, and if so, what would be the best way to preserve it to make sure it lasts.


I’ve only been collecting and playing modern 40K for around seven months, so I wanted to come to a forum where people would know what they’re talking about. Any information, help, or clarification would be greatly appreciated. I’ll also attach an image so you can look for yourselves.


Thank you for your patience with me.

 

[Knight Girl]

That's quite the collection, I have some of those and they are treasured by me. I'm not a preservation expert but there used to be Mylar bags and acid-free backing boards (thin cardboard) designed for comic book collectors, I think they made ones that fit magazines as well. A search on "storage for collector item magazines" might be helpful.

 

[Fimm McCool]

Whilst not especially rare that is what some would consider the golden age of WD. I bought a collection of mid-80s to early 2000s WDs (pretty much straight run) about 10 years ago for less than £2 a magazine because they wouldn't post. It was an hour's drive from me so totally worth collecting. I'd say these days you're probably looking at £5 an issue. Mine are just in a bookcase, they might get a bit crinkled from reading but not much. The figures attached make that a bit more awkward I grant!

 

[Brother Meredith]

Yup, this was my period of regularly gettIng White Dwarf. My brother had a subscription up to #200.

This was an the interesting transition period from end of 3rd Ed WFB & RT to boxed sets for 4th Ed & 40k, the private equity funded management buy out from Ansell to Kirby and the clear shift in focus and expansion into the younger market.

Just as the shift from RPGs to Warhammer wargaming is apparent to the generation preceding, this change was similarly striking at the time. I held off taking the later issues out of storage until recently…

Anyway quite popular issues for many folks and £5 a pop for individual issues seems the going rate atm…

 

[pahoota]

Beautiful collection!

Although Rogue Trader was my entry into GW, and still my favorite version of 40K, my childhood chums and I didn’t have disposable income until a few years later, in the early 90s.

My buddy ended up with a WD subscription and this collection of yours mirrors the era I read, almost to the issue.

There’s so much gold in that run, from the complete coverage of the Space Fleet game, the transition to Space Marine 2nd Ed., and all the WD articles for Man O’War.

My advice, especially as you’re playing modern GW… read ‘em! Preservation and enjoyment don’t have to be mutually exclusive. By all means, bag and board them, but read the stuff that makes people remember that era of GW so fondly.

 

[Eric]

This is my first post and I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I’m very sorry if this is out of order or not in the right place.

Welcome onboard, it's in the perfect place!

I’ve recently come into possession, through a relative passing it on to me, of a large collection of 90s White Dwarf magazines — a complete run from issue 130 to issue 182. Some of them still have miniatures sealed on the front covers, and card inserts are still untouched inside.

Lovely. Running from the early hundreds up to about then is such a wonderful period of White Dwarf, very much their period of transformation and growth. That's a collection to treasure.

What I’d really like to ask is whether this collection is historically or culturally significant, and if so, what would be the best way to preserve it to make sure it lasts.

Whilst many of us are in the "play with the toys" camp on this occasion I would say if you have good condition White Dwarfs with their cover models intact and card inserts intact I would keep them that way. Whilst White Dwarf magazines are not rare as such those that are fully intact are considerably more so and so I'd probably keep these that way.

As to looking after them in general as a minimum with all my magazines I pop them in poly bags. So any good comic shop (and there are some that sell online as well) will have bags for comics and magazines (in various sizes!) that will offer some shelf/box protection for the magazines - simple enough to use - you pop the magazine in fold over the flap and seal with a bit of tape (I like to use Scotch "magic" tape since it has a much better shelf life than sellotapes). So they end up looking like so:



If you want to up the ante in your storage you can get better quality bags - as Knight Girl already mentioned - made for longer term archiving in Mylar and so forth, and also card backing sheets that are buffered with calcium. Papers contain acids and these acids eventually degrade the paper, having an alkaline "sump" (ie the calcium buffer) in with the paper helps to neutralise the acids as the leach out of the paper and prolongs its life. The card, like the bag is generally a bit oversized for the magazine so also offers some additional protection for the magazine corners from dings and so forth. However it is harder to find buffer boards for magazines (much easier in US comic sizes) so I'd probably not bother about doing that myself. I ended up finding some buffer boards, but I had to cut them to fit the bags so I only bother for the odd issue:



For those with miniatures on the front obviously those are a bit harder storage wise. They can still be polybagged, but if you want to have all the WDs on a shelf or in boxes (generally on their edges for easy access rather than on top of each other) you'll need to pop it in a box, if you're being nice and fancy and want acid free card companies like PEL - https://www.preservationequipment.com/archival-storage/boxes-trays do a wide assortment of such things. Otherwise given everything is in poly bags you could probably just get away with a normal "large letter" box for posting things to pack it out for storage.

Storage wise - just avoid anywhere damp really. Ideally in a normal room inside the house, so avoiding lofts/attics and cellars! I keep all my own White Dwarfs (1 - ~200) in magazine boxes on some shelves out of the worst of the sunlight, but my collection is by no means mint (having recollected it over the years, my originals being with my brother).

A note - I would not use the A4 paper pockets you get for ring binders in places like Rymans and so forth for storage. Certainly I've found with odd bits I've rediscovered from my childhood that they can end up sticking to the inks on paper and lifting them. Use something designed with storage in mind (and enough bags to last you will only be £10-15 tops).

I’ve only been collecting and playing modern 40K for around seven months, so I wanted to come to a forum where people would know what they’re talking about. Any information, help, or clarification would be greatly appreciated. I’ll also attach an image so you can look for yourselves.

Well by the time you've read through all those WDs - and do read them! We'll have converted you to the old ways ... and your poor new 40k will be languishing and you'll be hunting down some lovely old lumps of lead!

In all seriousness however welcome to the forum, enjoy your collection and perhaps you'll find some inspiration in some of the old issues for painting ideas and modelling ideas you can take into your current 40k games.

 

[LeChegg]

Welcome onboard, it's in the perfect place!


Lovely. Running from the early hundreds up to about then is such a wonderful period of White Dwarf, very much their period of transformation and growth. That's a collection to treasure.


Whilst many of us are in the "play with the toys" camp on this occasion I would say if you have good condition White Dwarfs with their cover models intact and card inserts intact I would keep them that way. Whilst White Dwarf magazines are not rare as such those that are fully intact are considerably more so and so I'd probably keep these that way.

As to looking after them in general as a minimum with all my magazines I pop them in poly bags. So any good comic shop (and there are some that sell online as well) will have bags for comics and magazines (in various sizes!) that will offer some shelf/box protection for the magazines - simple enough to use - you pop the magazine in fold over the flap and seal with a bit of tape (I like to use Scotch "magic" tape since it has a much better shelf life than sellotapes). So they end up looking like so:

View attachment 19705View attachment 19707View attachment 19708

If you want to up the ante in your storage you can get better quality bags - as Knight Girl already mentioned - made for longer term archiving in Mylar and so forth, and also card backing sheets that are buffered with calcium. Papers contain acids and these acids eventually degrade the paper, having an alkaline "sump" (ie the calcium buffer) in with the paper helps to neutralise the acids as the leach out of the paper and prolongs its life. The card, like the bag is generally a bit oversized for the magazine so also offers some additional protection for the magazine corners from dings and so forth. However it is harder to find buffer boards for magazines (much easier in US comic sizes) so I'd probably not bother about doing that myself. I ended up finding some buffer boards, but I had to cut them to fit the bags so I only bother for the odd issue:

View attachment 19709

For those with miniatures on the front obviously those are a bit harder storage wise. They can still be polybagged, but if you want to have all the WDs on a shelf or in boxes (generally on their edges for easy access rather than on top of each other) you'll need to pop it in a box, if you're being nice and fancy and want acid free card companies like PEL - https://www.preservationequipment.com/archival-storage/boxes-trays do a wide assortment of such things. Otherwise given everything is in poly bags you could probably just get away with a normal "large letter" box for posting things to pack it out for storage.

Storage wise - just avoid anywhere damp really. Ideally in a normal room inside the house, so avoiding lofts/attics and cellars! I keep all my own White Dwarfs (1 - ~200) in magazine boxes on some shelves out of the worst of the sunlight, but my collection is by no means mint (having recollected it over the years, my originals being with my brother).

A note - I would not use the A4 paper pockets you get for ring binders in places like Rymans and so forth for storage. Certainly I've found with odd bits I've rediscovered from my childhood that they can end up sticking to the inks on paper and lifting them. Use something designed with storage in mind (and enough bags to last you will only be £10-15 tops).


Well by the time you've read through all those WDs - and do read them! We'll have converted you to the old ways ... and your poor new 40k will be languishing and you'll be hunting down some lovely old lumps of lead!

In all seriousness however welcome to the forum, enjoy your collection and perhaps you'll find some inspiration in some of the old issues for painting ideas and modelling ideas you can take into your current 40k games.

This is incredibly helpful. I’ll be sure to look into some of the things you’ve all mentioned soon.


This community seems absolutely great, and everyone has been nothing but helpful and informative. I think I probably read some of these magazines when I was a lot younger, and they may well have influenced my decision to paint Crimson Fists as my first army.


Again, I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to reply to this thread. I have a much better idea of what to do now, and I’m looking forward to learning more about this fascinating part of the hobby’s history.


Thank you all very much for your patience and help.