Black Library Bibliophiles is our occasional series on the collection and display of Black Library books. From diving between the covers of deluxe editions to chasing rare treatments and notable misprints… from collectors’ well-stocked personal libraries to the curated display of trinkets, curios, and other Warhammer memorabilia… we go beyond the pages to celebrate the love of the books themselves.
I’ve long been a believer that if you want to see something in the world that isn’t there, rather than wait for someone else to come along and make it happen you should roll up the sleeves and get to work.
Back in 2024, for instance, I was amazed to find that there just wasn’t a cohesive body of work out there chronicling the history of the Black Library. Sure there were bits and pieces all over the place, but a true narrative? I reached out to Tabletop Battles (then Goonhammer) and offered to write it, a series that became the 40K History of the Black Library.
In a similar vein, I was genuinely surprised to find that there had never been a real “Hall of Fame” for the Black Library. Sure, Games Workshop made a modest and short-lived stab at it in 2016, asking authors of the day to select books to include, but after just nine selections it quietly shuttered. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work, and now it’s been a continuous project since last November that has- with the help of the community- examined every novel each year has produced, and inducted over fifty of them into the Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame1.
So in short, if you want to see something in the world, give it a go yourself instead of waiting for someone else to2. You might be waiting forever.
Enter Wicked Brick
This same philosophy is what brought Wicked Brick into the world. A decade ago some collectors in Cambridgeshire realized that their collectibles didn’t have any quality protection and display options. The market has always been a bit of a laggard here, given that it responds to market forces that have already hit a critical threshold before making preservation products available.
For instance, Ty’s Beanie Babies were introduced in 1993, but it took around four years (and a massive craze) to see plastic “tag protectors” begin being offered. It took slightly longer for Funko to roll out Pop! Stacks, acrylic display and protection cases for their vinyl figures. It’s notable that in each case, third party manufacturers beat the official companies to market by about a year, which gives some idea of market agility.
Not seeing the kinds of solutions they were after, the founders of Wicked Brick opted to bootstrap their own. “We loved collecting,” they note on their company site. “We just didn’t love how our collections looked sitting on an open shelf. Dust, UV light, the odd knock. We knew there was a better way to show them off. So we built it. A display that did what nothing else on the market could: protect the set, enhance how it looked, and let the collectible be the focus.”
In 2024, Wicked Brick landed the license to produce official displays for Warhammer, and it’s these that are in the spotlight in today’s feature.
Plastic, Meet Paper
My own Black Library collection has two components, the Library and the Museum. The former is exactly what it sounds like- bookshelves full of books, arranged in whatever formation happens to be most aesthetically (and organizationally) pleasing in the moment, but the Museum is where the Black Library truly comes to life.
Plastic miniatures are a key component of my displays, and today we’ll look at Abaddon, the Despoiler, who stands vigil in front of the Liber Chaotica and (a presently non-limited edition) Black Legion by Aaron Dembski-Bowden one of display shelves.
More specifically, we’ll look at his containment field, a Wicked Brick Limited Edition. Let’s get a closer look.
Wicked Brick has adopted the FOMO-inducing “limited” model for many of their releases, which is more or less industry standard at this point. All Wicked Brick products are made to order, which means that any limitation is entirely arbitrary and artificial. It also means that you’ll typically experience a wait time of 8-10 weeks between order and delivery3.
Assembly
Wicked Brick products are shipped unassembled, meaning it’s on you to put the thing together. This makes complete sense, lest you pay significantly more postage for what would, ultimately, amount to a bunch of trapped air. Assembly was fairly simple and straightforward, and there are instructions on the website.
Pricing
When I ordered it this past January, the Abaddon Limited Edition case was USD $67, and I also purchased a pair of the standalone plaques (like the one above that says ABADDON, but instead for the Ultramarines and Thousand Sons) for $17 apiece. An introductory promo code knocked 10%, and adding in shipping and duties the total came to $131.61.
Looking now, prices have come down a bit. The same case now goes for $54, with the non-limited edition priced at $48. The plaques are currently $14 apiece.
So that’s the second pain point with these, after the long order time. They’re not cheap, even if they’re a little less now than when I pulled the trigger. Factoring in all of the associated costs, this will set you back about the same as a Special Edition book, though mileage will vary depending of course on geography (they’re UK-based).
Satisfaction
In all other regards, I couldn’t be happier. It’s a very sturdy construction, and the Limited Edition looks fantastic. Having a Black Library quote as the background image (from The Talon of Horus, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden) makes it a perfect accessory for highlighting your favorite characters or legions in your museum or library.
I found the upcharge over the Standard Edition to be worth it, as the text gives it a certain museum-display quality I find irresistible. Here’s what the regular one looks like, for the curious:
If I won the lottery tomorrow I’d order one of everything. In the meantime, I’ll have to be a lot more selective (such as this upcoming one that appears to be for Gaunt’s Ghosts). And if you’re interested in the Abaddon Limited, at time of writing Wicked Brick appears to have sold 95 of them, meaning there are only 5 left.
Other Options
There are plenty of other offerings in the Limited Edition range of displays, many of which fittingly enough bear quotations from the Black Library.
For example, here’s our main man Bjorn with an excerpt from Black Library Readers’ Hall of Fame inductee Battle of the Fang, by Chris Wraight.
For a more current example, howabout Ferren Areios from Rob Young’s Master of Rites.
Marrying Black Library books with miniatures displays is absolutely inspired stuff, and I’ll be keen to see what else they have in store.
Beyond that, they also have some products that are fitted to IKEA shelving solutions. The IKEA Billy shelf is one that many Black Library collectors swear by, and having an acrylic window that slides right in is a great way not only to display your memorabilia, but to keep the dust off your books as well.
Community Shelfies
Finally, some shelfies that caught my eye recently from around the community, because as much as I like to look at what’s in my own study, it’s a blast to see how others are displaying their own collections!
First up is u/g1aice’s beautiful collection of omnibuses for Warhammer Fantasy. Some of these- in particular the later Gotrek & Felix ones- can be difficult to source and/or pricey, and it’s great to see them together. I’ll share here that seeing Malus volume two before Malus volume one was a bit triggering, though.
I liked this display from u/ChillSappho, because it shows how even a small collection of books can be turned into a terrific display for anywhere in the house. I haven’t managed to convince the wife to let me expand my bookshelves beyond the study, but this might be the way to go.
Loads of deluxe goodies on these shelves, which comes to us courtesy of Ryan Hamilton in the Black Library Nutters group! I’m still kicking myself for not getting that Astra Militarum canteen when it was originally offered during last year’s Black Library Celebration.
Where to begin here? Obviously the Siege of Terra Limited Edition run is the star of the show (though I love the cheeky cameo of Justin Woolley’s Da Freebooterz Code Special Edition on the third shelf), and this helps illustrate why so many people went so mad for them. It’s a breathtaking centerpiece, but Paul Benham’s accessories- particularly the skull, brown-glass bottles, and candle- alongside the rich hue of the bookshelf give this almost a wizard’s study vibe. The Horus Lupercal bookends holding down a rack of Horus Heresy hardcovers is a very nice touch, too.
Congrats on completing the collection, Paul!
I’m genuinely envious of u/Joker8392 here for two reasons. First, for having all those lovely Siege of Terra maps, and second- just as important- having the wall space to display them. My copy of The Primarchs Collection: Visions of Glory and Despair is still sitting in the box, awaiting the day when I’m able to frame and mount them somewhere.
That’s it for this week, may your books be abundant and your shelves overflowing! Next time, we’ll look at what happens when chocolate and peanut butter collide.
And that’s just through 2011! At current pace the project will “catch up” to the present day by the end of this year, so plenty of time to get involved if you haven’t yet!
A second lesson here is “don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good.” I look back at my earliest content and marvel how much I’ve developed since then.
Mine was ordered on 26 January, shipped on 27 April.
You have captured a very specific, agonizing brand of anxiety here.
There is a quiet tragedy in being a bibliophile in the modern era, where collecting often feels less like a quiet passion and more like a high-stakes race against scalpers, print runs, and deteriorating spines. "Bricking it" is the perfect way to describe that constant, low-level dread of actually handling the rare books we love because we are terrified of lowering their grade.
Thank you for putting words to a feeling that so many of us quietly wrestle with on our bookshelves.