Games Workshop is Dead! Long Live Games Workshop!

[DSP_Zulu]

Re: 3D Printing

Last I knew, players in official Games Workshop tournaments could not use any figure or vehicle that was not at least 75% Games Workshop material. Therefore, anyone wanting to participate in sponsored events would not be able to use 3D printed miniatures.

No one would be able to tell; the 3D models for the figures are already out there in the interwebs. When i was at Dragon*Con this last year (2013) there was a guy downstairs in the tabletop area of the Hilton who was literally printing a Leman Russ on the spot. I off-handedly asked him how much it was going to cost him, and his response was.. "oh, about the cost of that spool of plastic... 25$", which, last i checked, was cheaper than what GW charges for a Leman Russ.

And it wasn't readily apparent that it wasn't totally legit - especially after he had started painting it the next day.

The Space Marine/troops models are going to look exactly like the GW models, because someone has already scanned the GW models into 3D printer compatible files.

 

[major_chaos]

Assembling metal is pretty easy if you buy the right tools and take your time.

and plastic is easy without special tools, and easier to customize. Also my clumsy hands + superglue= pain. Plastic glue is a wonderful thing.

You know why that is? Because 40K has the strategic depth of a drying mud puddle.

Suggestions for something better then? Something that isn't Warmachine, because I fucking hate everything about Warmachine and my gaming buddies didn't care for it when they looked into it.

 

[veloper]

Wargaming miniatures used to be made out of metal in the good old days.

For the money GW are asking for their plastic crap, they could make metal figures.
Make the power armor out of real metal, then let people try to match that level of quality with their crappy 3D printers, but that won't likely happen because it's all stort-sighted greed.
An unpainted, plastic miniature should only cost a couple dollar cents to mass-produce, which explains the big profits even in relatively poor times.

 

[ForumSafari]

May I ask what game is this, Id like to find another BFG like game but can only find mongooses armada, been wanting to find out if the model quality is any good since I display the models more than play them.

Sure thing, the game's called Firestorm Armada and it's made by a company called Spartan Games.

The models are gorgeous but they're hard to evaluate in pictures, Spartan doesn't have many decent model painters on staff so the pictures just don't do them justice. Here's two of mine, the brute in the background is half done and the smaller vessel up front is finished. My paint job is terrible but you can see the detail on the model is very good.

Spoiler

By the way that's not pink, it's the flash

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

It's a pity GW axed their own baby EPIC, as it would seem to offer everything you like in a much better ruleset.

Really though, I think it's about time miniature wargaming went back to its roots. Why waste our time and money on companies that don't respect us as customers when we can easily make our own rules which are way better balanced than anything the big companies put out, and use the entire world of miniature figures to stock our armies?

This is a very good idea. I still play GW games, I just don't do so at a GW. So I don't have to worry about using only GW models, having to play with the latest ruleset or codex, actually having a codex legal army, getting badgered to buy a load of shit I don't need, or only playing games that are still supported by GW.

I get why people go there, sometimes it's hard to find a game or learn about wargaming when your starting out, but once you've been there a few times you'll probably bump into a few people who'll know about other gaming clubs or just some guys house you can go to and play whatever you want, however you want. Back when I started playing, going to GW for a game didn't even come into my head, you just played at a friends house. In the intervening years people just seem to have been convinced that GW is the only place to play their games.

Also, on the Epic front, I suggest ebay and Net Epic. I still play 2nd ed and net epic is based on that with a few homebrew rules for newer units and some tweaks and clarifications. Some epic stuff has gone up in price a bit since GW cut it completely, but the majority of it has stayed the same since it was OOP anyway.

 

[Mangod]

Snip

I actually did a comparison between Warhammer 40k and Warmachine/Hordes in terms of price, using Vanilla Marines as the GW baseline, and... the difference in price was rather staggering.

Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook - $74.25
Codex: Space Marines - $58.00
Space Marine Captain - $30.00
10 Tactical Marines - $40.00
Total: $202.25

Warmachine: Prime/Hordes: Primal rulebook - $29.99
Warmachine/Hordes Battlegroup - $49.99
Total: $79.98

Now, I'm not sure if a basic Space Marine Tac unit starts at 5 or 10 models, but if it's the latter you need to add on another 40$ to the GW price, making WH40k THREE TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE COMPETITION. That's insane. No wonder people are buying less; the competitions prices virtually butcher Games Workshop's.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I actually did a comparison between Warhammer 40k and Warmachine/Hordes in terms of price, using Vanilla Marines as the GW baseline, and... the difference in price was rather staggering.

Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook - $74.25
Codex: Space Marines - $58.00
Space Marine Captain - $30.00
10 Tactical Marines - $40.00
Total: $202.25

Warmachine: Prime/Hordes: Primal rulebook - $29.99
Warmachine/Hordes Battlegroup - $49.99
Total: $79.98

Now, I'm not sure if a basic Space Marine Tac unit starts at 5 or 10 models, but if it's the latter you need to add on another 40$ to the GW price, making WH40k THREE TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE COMPETITION. That's insane. No wonder people are buying less; the competitions prices virtually butcher Games Workshop's.

Or you could go for the GW starter boxed set, which is the equivalent of $90, gives you 2 armies (48 models including a dreadnought, & a few bikes), rulebook, templates, dice etc.

Sure, you're stuck with marines or chaos, but getting started isn't that expensive. It's the add ons that cost bucks. They get you hooked on free cheap samples then jack up the price.

 

[Dwarfman]

Wow, I didn't know Warhammer was so cheap in the US! That a Tac Squad, Rhino, and 5 paints would cost me $135 here. I can't imagine why anyone in Australia plays the game.

The sad part is I remember when I first started collecting, $100 would have gotten me all of that plus the Codex Astartes with change left over for a White Dwarf. Oh yeah...And all ten marines were made from lead or pewter.

 

[Muspelheim]

I've never played a GW game in my life, but reading that article makes me think they certainly deserve to burn. Hell, the whole thing comes off as a letter from an abused lover. Dump their asses; go out into the world and find someone new!

I did. It as a bitter divorce, but it had to be done. Now, I've heard they might be planning on axing the two factions I happen to like the most, leaving nothing to return to. Which at this point just feels like luck.

 

[Elijah Newton]

I'd like to underscore this great suggestion. I loved Mordheim to pieces. The scale of it was perfectly matched to the scope of its story (competing warbands scavenging a devestated city for Warp McGuffins) and the games were frickin' lightning round fast compared to WH40k battles.

Guess what.

They've pulled the miniature ranges for Mordheim.

Did they just do this? I had made the (entirely uninformed) assumption these minis had been off the shevles for years now.

It's a pity but, as you've noticed, a nice wake-up call that other people do the similar things better.

 

[RicoADF]

Sure thing, the game's called Firestorm Armada and it's made by a company called Spartan Games.

The models are gorgeous but they're hard to evaluate in pictures, Spartan doesn't have many decent model painters on staff so the pictures just don't do them justice. Here's two of mine, the brute in the background is half done and the smaller vessel up front is finished. My paint job is terrible but you can see the detail on the model is very good.

Spoiler

By the way that's not pink, it's the flash

Heh I actually found that after asking you, yeah it looks quite nice and in a few weeks I might get a few models, I'll check some hobby shops here. Yeah the model detail looks amazing, have you tried dry brushing? The paint would come out better on the model.

They do need more physical painted models images for players to see what their selling.

 

[ForumSafari]

Yeah the model detail looks amazing, have you tried dry brushing? The paint would come out better on the model.

I have funnily enough. Started with a black undercoat, drybrushed silver and inked over with black. As I say they're not great but the camera does them no favours.

 

[RicoADF]

I have funnily enough. Started with a black undercoat, drybrushed silver and inked over with black. As I say they're not great but the camera does them no favours.

The silver part does look better, it's the red that looks flat and painted on.
I just hope I can find somewhere around here to get the game as GBP to AUD has a terrible conversion rate (approx $150 AUD for 80 GBP)

 

[ForumSafari]

The silver part does look better, it's the red that looks flat and painted on.
I just hope I can find somewhere around here to get the game as GBP to AUD has a terrible conversion rate (approx $150 AUD for 80 GBP)

I'm considering inking it to add depth but to be honest I like it looking flat and painted on, it seems appropriate for a space ship to have its' main colours painted on very cleanly.

Don't know what to recommend on price, it's a small game and its' British so most sellers are from over here. Maybe eBay will have a storefront or something?

 

[thehorror2]

I want GW to die a painful death, slowly enough that they have to auction off their IPs to avoid debt-driven lawsuits, THQ style. Why? Because WH40k under Privateer Press would be a thing of beauty. Those guys know how to make a wargame that sells. Look at how well they did, with a fraction of Warhammer's installed base to support them.

 

[rednightmare]

I still have two 40K armies lying around here. Part of me wants to get back into it, But the cost to just update the rules and the time to paint the remaining models is way to high for me right now (especially since they discontinued my main color for one of the armies).

Above them there are 6 Hordes Models. 4 of these form a playable army. I got them for ?50 new and they came with rules even. It's just very hard to consider going back to Warhammer 40K, when Hordes and Warmachine have better and easier rules, lower entry costs and far smaller armies to paint.

I don't neccesarily want GW to burn, but in the end I never felt like Games Workshop respected me as a customer. Maybe Privateer Press will.