Friday, November 27, 2015

Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Leather Bound Edition part 1

I've always loved antique and rare books. Since I was little I've wanted to own a bookstore. I'm also fascinated by illuminated manuscripts and bookbinding. Warhammer has always been one of the most important things in my life, sad I know. To me it is more than "just a game". It has played a very large part in my childhood development. I love the artwork, the miniatures and the stories. So I have decided to put all of these loves together in one form. I am going to start making leather bound copies of most of the rulebooks for Rogue Trader and 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy. The list of books I want to do is: Rogue Trader Rulebook, Warhammer 40k Compendium and Compilation, Battle Manual, Vehicle Manual, Waaagh! Orks, 'Ere We Go, Freebooterz. Warhammer Fantasy 3rd edition rulebook, Warhammer Armies, Warhammer Siege, Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness, Lost and the Damned. Each one will be its own volume, except 'Ever We Go and Freebooterz, which I will probably bind together. Each one will be full leather bound.

When will this being?
It has already begun.
I've striped the cover off of the Rogue Trader rulebook and had the backs of the pages trimmed. Next I will be using strips of paper to connect pairs of pages together. I have built myself a book press and have most of the supplies I'll need to sew the pages and attach the cover. I've decided to bind the book in a traditional style, which is that I will be attaching the cover directly to the pages and spine of the book using cords and glue. I'll be posting progress pictures as I work on it. I don't currently have all the books I need, but I have enough to last me for quite a while. Depending how difficult the process is I might just sell one of these to help fund the others, we'll see after I'm done with the first one.
The final nudge of inspiration for this project came from Geoff at Fimm McCool's, who is binding Warhammer Fantasy's many editions into leather bound books. He is working on a step by step tutorial on the process, so you should check that out if you are interested.

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13 comments:

  1. Mr PapafakisNovember 27, 2015 at 10:28 PM

    Please don't tell me you cut up a perfectly good copy of RT to to this?

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    Replies
    1. Urion FranzNovember 27, 2015 at 11:42 PM

      Psh. Would I do that? Yes, yes I would, and did. Tee hee.

      Delete
    2. Mr PapafakisNovember 27, 2015 at 11:50 PM

      For shame, you have just committed an extremely sacrilegious act my son :(

      Delete
    3. Urion FranzNovember 28, 2015 at 1:32 AM

      And if all goes well I have five or six more to go before I have to buy more to desecrate. All of them in pretty good condition. I'm saving the two Realm of Chaos books for last. :D

      Delete
    4. Fimm Mc CoolDecember 2, 2015 at 7:59 AM

      I don't get viewing it as desecration, you're doing a much better job than the original binders did on those books! A warning about RoC though, StD and LatD are very differently bound...

      Delete
    5. Mr PapafakisDecember 2, 2015 at 8:54 AM

      For me, destroying one of these old books -that has nothing wrong with it- is an act of desecration.

      I'm well aware that these books were bound terribly, and if I had one that was falling to pieces then I would definitely rebind it this way. But tearing the pages out of a serviceable book, that there are fewer & fewer serviceable, original examples in existence I might add, is abhorrent to me.

      Delete
    6. Urion FranzDecember 2, 2015 at 9:26 AM

      I view it the same way as painting a miniature. You could say that taking a miniature out of its package filing off the mold lines and painting it "ruins" the miniature because it is no longer in its original state. In the same way I am getting rid of the negative aspects of the original book and improving them with more attention and better materials. Its taking something that is utilitarian and turning it into art. To me these books are more important that using them for a game these are part of my childhood that deserve to beautified.

      Delete
  2. ScaleneNovember 28, 2015 at 4:32 PM

    That's not desecration, it'll be much better when he finishes. Surely your list should include the first Chapter Approved, although it's so thin you'd probably need to bind it in with something else.

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    1. Urion FranzNovember 28, 2015 at 4:49 PM

      I'm sticking mainly to the major books. If I can get a hold of the three vehicle manuals I'll bind them together, but most of the small stuff and the Book of the Astronomicon I'll be leaving out.

      Delete
  3. Fimm Mc CoolDecember 2, 2015 at 7:58 AM

    Glad to have been the nudge! The first part of the step-by-step is here: http://fimmmccools.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/collected-warhammer-volumes-part-5-step.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Urion FranzDecember 2, 2015 at 9:28 AM

      Still looking forward to the second step-by-step.

      Delete
    2. Fimm Mc CoolDecember 3, 2015 at 7:18 AM

      It's nearly ready. The 'demo copy' is sewn, just need to get some glue on and I'll be ready to write the post. :)

      Delete
    3. Urion FranzDecember 3, 2015 at 9:24 AM

      Sounds good. I'll be glad when I get to bind one that is already in signatures. Having to glue pages together isn't fun.

      Delete

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