Why do I Like Oldhammer and what even is Oldhammer?

I think for me with most oldhammery type stuff, it is the buy in factor, which in turn is influenced by the look/style.

I want to believe the things I see, they should make sense and have a logical purpose.

There needs to be internal consistency with any setting or the setting itself is not to be believed. 


The Townscape buildings being a perfect example, I can very easily believe that people would build them:





The fortified manor is just a bit too toy like and too high fantasy for me.

This Skull Tower model; no chance:

Yet this Skull Hill; yes:




But why, they both have mad big skullz?!

I think I like a feel of WFRP 1st edition to my WFB.
WFRP really brought the world to life and I prefer that version to the WFB take on it.

I find it to be more about context.

Quality over quantity.

The Skull Tower and The Skull Hill to me appear as two very different ideas, executed in two different styles.

For me it comes down to buy in, if someone asked me to place the models in the 3rd edition (ish) era setting I could with the hill, not with the tower.

The Hill looks like the long dead carcass of some strange forgotten creature that has been warped by the eons of chaos, it is to my mind likely in the chaos wastes or possibly some other area of high chaotic presence (maybe Sylvania at a push?).
The creature was odd looking to begin with (maybe even a demon) and over the centuries the effects of chaos had twisted both the body and the very ground on which it lies, forming into some sort of mingled confusing mess of skeleton and living earth, yet still a mockery of both.

The tower looks like something that has been constructed by man.
You can see the brickwork, the rooftiles, the wooden planks, the ironwork, the carvings and so on.
But then there is no real thought or logic to the construction. Bits of have just been glued on in places that make no sense.
No architect would make anything like that, it is not plausible to my eye.
Then the giant skulls, just how?
The tower is clearly stones/brick, but then you have great skulls clearly carved from a single piece of stone and hefted up and somehow attached to the stonework, this makes no sense.
Maybe the whole thing is carved from a giant outcrop, but then the brickwork and random towers and glued on bits make no sense.
I would not place this in the chaos wastes as it clearly looks Empire in terms of architecture, to some degree, constructed by tradesmen and labourers.
I would not place it in the Empire as it looks just the imaginings of a teen who thinks skulls, spikez and blood on everything is cool.
The Townscape buildings look like Empire dwellings to me.


Buy in.
The hill makes sense and I can place it in the setting.
The tower is a mess and I have no idea where or indeed what it is meant to be.



The Hill.
It has been made from scratch, I am a sucker for such things.
The rock/earth is not all the same colour, you can see greys with greens and browns.
A lot of skill and thought has gone into and it shows.

The Tower.
It has no soul, it is all the same sort of grey with a hint of plastic sheen that you can see on so many kits.
It looks mass produced, but without the same sort of character the metal models of the day had.
I suspect some sort of CAD was used to copy paste detailing.
Texture, again it is very meh as is the colour, massive stone buildings are not all plain grey, rocky outcrops are not all plain grey, neither are they smooth as shiny plastic.

The same also applies to the infantry.
Rank and File cavalry on horses, yes.




Rank and File cavalry on magical beasts, no. 





That is my quick take on it.
I suspect I am in the minority and that is fine.
I am quite happy playing in the setting as I see it.
Others, the vast majority, no doubt think differently and that is also fine.

The point of any hobby is to get enjoyment from it.
Oldhammer means different things to different people, I can not define what oldhammer is, as it is a concept at best?

But I think of myself as an oldhammer player and know what feels and looks right for my own take on it.
What makes oldhammer oldhammer for you?