Bretonnian Temptations: a Used Trebuchet Crew and a Surprise Jousting Rabbit Hole
We had one of those very familiar hobby chat moments: someone drops a link, someone else says “hmm, not bad”, and five minutes later we are already halfway into planning future terrain, painted knights, and weird side-games from old White Dwarf issues.
This time the spark was a used Bretonnian catapult crew spotted by Michał and thrown our way as a possible refurb project. And honestly? That kind of find is always dangerous for us. Used oldhammer-ish bits, metal crew, a chance to rescue something and give it a second life — that is exactly the sort of thing that starts as “just look at this” and ends with another package on the shelf.
The key detail here is that it is very much a “used, needs refurbishing” kind of purchase. Which, depending on your mood, means either “great value and hobby adventure” or “we have voluntarily adopted someone else’s old problem.” Usually for us it is both.
Wilini’s first reaction was basically: not bad. But, naturally, the comparison came immediately — because how could it not? If you are looking at classic Bretonnian artillery, at some point your brain will inevitably go: yes, but what if instead we just get a Highland Miniatures version for much less? In this case, the rough math was brutally simple: 80 zł vs 280 zł. Old originals have charm, history and that specific Games Workshop feel, but price has a way of entering the chat very quickly.
And then the conversation took the most Warhammer route possible: from a second-hand trebuchet crew straight into Bretonnian jousting trivia.
Michał also shared a video about Full Tilt, the old Warhammer jousting mini-game, and this may have been the real chaos agent of the day. Because even if we are not all immediately ready to drop everything and become lance experts, it is impossible not to appreciate that Games Workshop once made a tiny game specifically about knights trying to unhorse each other.
The best part was the historical nugget Michał pulled out while watching:
After the first pass, they turn their horses around and prepare to ride each other for the second course. This turning movement, or “tournee” is the movement that the world “Tournament” is derived from
Which led, very correctly, to the conclusion that Warhammer entertains and educates.
As for whether we are all fully sold on jousting as a regular side activity — not necessarily. Wilini was pretty clear that it may not be exactly his vibe. But at the same time, the existence of such a bizarre little specialist game is charming enough on its own, and once our knights are painted, we are absolutely curious enough to give it a try at least once.
And, because this is how these things always escalate, the immediate follow-up was obvious: if we do this, we need terrain. Michał already declared that when the knights are painted, we should try it, and he can make the terrain. Honestly, that may be the most important outcome of this whole exchange. Even if Full Tilt ends up being a one-evening novelty, new terrain is never wasted.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, we also started circling around actually meeting up for a game. The current practical plan seems simple enough: 2d6 is probably the easiest option because there is terrain on site already, while playing at home is always possible but a bit more awkward when one side owns exactly one hill and symmetry becomes a philosophical problem.
So where did we land?
- the used Bretonnian catapult crew looks tempting,
- refurbishing old models still has a lot of appeal,
- cheaper modern alternatives are hard to ignore,
- Bretonnian jousting is gloriously silly,
- and if this ends with more terrain on the table, then frankly everybody wins.
This is one of our favorite kinds of hobby conversations: it starts with a purchase link and ends with us accidentally planning three future projects. Very healthy. Very normal. Very Warhammer.