Games Workshop Stock Plummets By 24 Percent

[Megalodon]

Holy shit, I was going to say this exact thing. I recently got into it with some friends and I'm still angry about the situation. I bought two kits (Space Wolves Battle Force and Battle Pack) and dropped $125 on them which didn't net me a 500 point army.

I hope I don't sound too much like a dick here, but how do you not have 500 points? The battleforce alone can make 585 or so. 5 Scouts with combat weapons, meltabombs and power weapon (115), Drop Pod (35), 9 Grey Hunters with Plasma Gun (145), 10 Grey Hunters with 2 Plasma Guns (160) and a Rune/Wolf Priest with Rune Armour and Wolf Tooth Necklace (130). Although a better option is taking at least 3 squads of Hunters so you can add Wolf Guard squad leader to them (which you have to take as Elites).

I wasn't familiar with it at the time, but then you have to spend hours and hours gluing and assembling them, then you are supposed to paint it. It just makes me angry as I think about it. Not only are they charging entirely too much for little pieces of plastic that require lots of work, but they put up this huge time barrier for the game on top of that. Can they make it any harder to play their damn game?

You do realise that the modelling and painting are as much aspects of the hobby as playing games? I've known peopel that barely played, but they enjoyed the painting, and people that couldn't paint, but still enjoyed playing the games It can indeed be annoying top paint the models sometimes (my least favourite of the three), but it helps makes your collection unique, my Space Wolf army feels far more 'mine' because I've modelled and painted it myself, rather than buying pre-painted minis.

Also, there were rumors of an actual factual 40K AdMech army floating around last year for later this year/early 2015. So we might see them pull something like that to try and save the sinking ship.

Forge World are kinda doing this as part of their Heresy range, with Ordo Reductor and Legio Cybernetica lists, which are slowly getting models.

More on topic though, lo and behold the end times have come. [http://natfka.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/gw-changes-stores-closing-and-armies-no.html] Mark this as the harbinger of things to come.

Very sceptical of this. That site couldn't even get the breakdown of which Marine Chapters got which vehicles in the recent IA vol 2 2nd edition right. So I'll believe that when I see it from a credible source.

So, GW, you want my money? Make more of your models multi-part plastic kits, lower your ridiculous prices, STOP MAKING MODELS IN METAL (I've yet to meet a modeller who preferred metal to plastic), and let us buy individual pieces online.

No no no. Moving away from metal has been terrible. Finecast has been one of the wordt things the company have done in the last 16 years. More multi part plastics isn't bad, but I've rarely seen people complain about the old metals, with the 2 exception being zoanthropes and plastic-metal hybrids, both of which are pains to balance on a base properly.

I remember a time when a Codex was £8. Those were the days

Have to disagree with this, those 3rd ed dexes were barebones rules only affairs, it was a massive improvement when they went back to larger books with fluff in them. £30 for (admittedly nice) all colour hardbacks is a bit much though.

Slightly different perspective: Girl here.

The reason I stopped playing this was, well... The GW store people were pretty, pretty terrible (on the scale of "did you get lost, this isn't the hair stylist, lol" terrible) on top of a)even me realizing that the army lists were borked and, despite having a lot of money, b)my poor skaven army just getting too expensive for me. I really like painting miniatures and even playing, just...

...not like this.

And yeah, stop screwing with Sororitas, you jerks :/ That was the one 40k group I liked playing. And it's apparently the one army GW utterly despises, for some reason.

Where abouts did you encounter this? Because I've not observed this attitude in either of the stores I've regularly frequented over the years. While female players remain a sadly small minority, I've only ever witnessed them getting pretty much the same (if not friendlier) welcome that male players get.

This might be a bit inappropriate to ask, but have you encountered that sort of behavior from other groups/stores that deal with Miniatures? Mantic, Corvus Belli, Privateer Press? I ask because I'm trying to figure out if GW being thinly veiled misogynists is a quality exclusive to them and their fans or if it's prevalent throughout the entire industry.

To play Devil's Adovocate here, apart from doubting that "being thinly veiled misogynists" is pervasive across GW staff, it may be a simple loop. The attitude that GW isn't for girls exists, so it is entirely possible that staff can pick up shades of this belief. Working retail is a bullshit job at the best of times. So I can see how on a bad day, or after dealing with some awful customers, a staffer could assume that the girl who wanders into the shop isn't really into the hobby.

 

[webkilla]

I'll only ever start playing 40K again once I can get a nice 3D printer so I don't need to buy those ludicrously prices figures.

from when I started to play 40K to stopping they had lowered the number of figures in most boxes, upped prices like crazy - and reduced staff in all of their stores to the point that their service just sucked so bad

how they're still alive is beyond me

 

[Thaluikhain]

If anybody needs to go its all the bloody Space Marine chapters that they keep adding.

Yep...have one Codex for basicky chapters, one for angry ones and one for religious ones.

Then sell the same miniatures and let people convert and paint them differently.

 

[Roggen Bread]

I am going to add yet another "fuckers had it coming" to the long list. I have played 40k for a while, but the prices and the elitism of the people playing it (so yeah. I DO have trouble painting a soldier's eye with a diameter of .2 mm.) finally drove me away.

Also things got a lot more easier with the ladies after getting rid of this rather geeky hobby.

Anyway. I did enjoy reading the codices and the official stories and the lore and so on. Even though it was completely ridiculous.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Well.. constantly fuckin' up all codizes, raising prices, screwing over your tournament scene and then while you do all this raise prices and go into a "Must buy this unit"-codex printing madness pays its price sooner or later.

But maybe we're finally reaching the point where GW slowly but steadily breaks down so Hasbro can swoop in and rescue the franchise. *fingerscrossed*
WotC's MTG R&D for Warhammer (&40k) would be a dream come true!

 

[rosac]

The thing that opened my eyes to how horrendous the prices were getting happened 2 or 3 years ago. Cadian box sets went from 20 guys to 10, but only dropped cost from £18 to 15. £15 for, if literally everything was fully upgraded, about 100 points, although you need a minimum of 2 regiments of 10 and 2 command groups (I believe).

Dire avengers for the eldar have also recently doubled in price. Orks now cost £15 for 10 when they used to cost £12 etc etc etc.

Lower the prices. Literally one of the easiest steps to take. Make it easier for people to get into and continue their hobby. make it about the hobby, not just a business. I miss the soul of games workshop. This isn't just me being old timey, I used to be able to sit and chill with my mates whilst they painted, chatting. Now if I'm not painting I have to sit elsewhere, in case someone needs to use the space. When noone else is in the shop, and there are 4 other stations.

My uni is 20 mins from warhammer world, and in 3 years I have never ever been. There's no point.

 

[Sandjube]

Well, I literally just now started collecting stuff for Hordes, so anything that increases the playerbase of that works for me I guess.

 

[kael013]

So, GW, you want my money? Make more of your models multi-part plastic kits, lower your ridiculous prices, STOP MAKING MODELS IN METAL (I've yet to meet a modeller who preferred metal to plastic), and let us buy individual pieces online.

No no no. Moving away from metal has been terrible. Finecast has been one of the wordt things the company have done in the last 16 years. More multi part plastics isn't bad, but I've rarely seen people complain about the old metals, with the 2 exception being zoanthropes and plastic-metal hybrids, both of which are pains to balance on a base properly.

Eh, why do you say that? I'm a (new) hobbyist and I've never bought anything from GW, so is it that finecast in general is just inferior to metal or just GW's? My main reason for bringing up the metal thing, though, is that the 40K army that is the most visually appealing to me are the Adepta Sororitas - the only army who's base troops are 2-piece metal models. I just checked and literally every other army's base troops - and the basic elites of about half the armies - are multi-part plastic. This sucks because as I said, I'm a hobbyist, not a wargamer, and I prefer to add a personal touch beyond the paintjob like the pose and weapon loadout whenever possible. Well that is possible for [i/]every army but the one I like[/i] and it just ticks me right off.

 

[Sir Shockwave]

Also, there were rumors of an actual factual 40K AdMech army floating around last year for later this year/early 2015. So we might see them pull something like that to try and save the sinking ship.

Forge World are kinda doing this as part of their Heresy range, with Ordo Reductor and Legio Cybernetica lists, which are slowly getting models.

Very sceptical of this. That site couldn't even get the breakdown of which Marine Chapters got which vehicles in the recent IA vol 2 2nd edition right. So I'll believe that when I see it from a credible source.[/quote]

A source? Of course. From last year -

http://natfka.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/mechanicus-adeptus.html

http://natfka.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/something-new-on-horizon-plastic.html

Naturally, salty as all hell given an AdMech army is up there with GW lowering their prices, retconning everything Matt Ward ever penned, and plastic Sisters of Battle - but if GW really is merging it's sister companies into itself properly, it's a potential possibility, if only for Horus Heresy gamers to play with their Legio Cybernetica, Ordo Reductor and who knows what else Forge World have planned.

That said, Faeit 212 is about as accurate as Dakka Dakka and BOLS when it comes to rumormongering - there are good rumors and bad rumors (and rumors requiring entire mines of salt). Still, if you want to nitpick just because I don't read either of them and choose to keep up with the one Blog, then fine.

Australia still has those...not the standard bearer, though.

OTOH, as long as they have Empire knights, you could use them. Don't need two sets of humans if you are going to cut down.

Likewise, use the same models for all elves...works with lots of marines.

True, but I'm something of a model purist. It doesn't look right to use Empire Knights as their Bretonnian cousins if you're playing Bretonnians now X3

In short, my advice is if they're there and you're interested in any of them, acquire them now while you still can - who knows when they may be pulled next.

 

[Muspelheim]

Khemri? Beastmen? Both gone? Well... Why? And I suppose the Lizardmen's days are soon numbered as well. Alright. I guess I'm free, at long last.

Well, been for years, really. It just wasn't economically possible. I'd need to have a high income job and live in a caravan to afford the damned things at this point. And with all the gemütlichkeit and service gone, it would not be worth it.

I'm actually rather hoping they collapse inwards, and leave room for new businesses with better ideas. I do hope those lone shop workers lands on their feet, too.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

So, GW, you want my money? Make more of your models multi-part plastic kits, lower your ridiculous prices, STOP MAKING MODELS IN METAL (I've yet to meet a modeller who preferred metal to plastic), and let us buy individual pieces online.

No no no. Moving away from metal has been terrible. Finecast has been one of the wordt things the company have done in the last 16 years. More multi part plastics isn't bad, but I've rarely seen people complain about the old metals, with the 2 exception being zoanthropes and plastic-metal hybrids, both of which are pains to balance on a base properly.

Eh, why do you say that? I'm a (new) hobbyist and I've never bought anything from GW, so is it that finecast in general is just inferior to metal or just GW's? My main reason for bringing up the metal thing, though, is that the 40K army that is the most visually appealing to me are the Adeptus Sororitas - the only army who's base troops are 2-piece metal models. I just checked and literally every other army's base troops - and the basic elites of about half the armies - are multi-part plastic. This sucks because as I said, I'm a hobbyist, not a wargamer, and I prefer to add a personal touch beyond the paintjob like the pose and weapon loadout whenever possible. Well that is possible for [i/]every army but the one I like[/i] and it just ticks me right off.

Sorry to bring you down, but the Sororitas will likely never get plastic model sets. They were something of a curiosity army when they got their first own codex sometime in the mid-00's. They had a fairly small selection of troops, with many of them being metal-only models, and I think they were intended to be used more as cross-codex troops with armies like Daemonhunters (Grey Knights) and the Imperial Guard. GW said "fuck you" to that army (as they do to everything else besides Space fucking Marines) and pretty much dropped all support for it after only a couple of years. That meant no new codex, no new models, hardly any rules updates, and all their units were pretty much pulled from brick and mortar stores. They remain an extremely niche army to this day.

OT: I want this to be the beginning of an end for GW. I hope this brings them down to the dirt, so that they may look at themselves and rethink their policies. As I demonstrated in one thread I made some time ago, Games Workshop is pretty much the alpha and omega of everything that is and could be wrong with companies' customer politics nowadays. They don't deserve anyone's respect, and I hope they will crash and burn.

 

[deadish]

Give us an MMO with only one class, Inquisitor - multiple specialisations of course.

That profession is perfect for an RPG game!

 

[Mangod]

Eh, why do you say that? I'm a (new) hobbyist and I've never bought anything from GW, so is it that finecast in general is just inferior to metal or just GW's? My main reason for bringing up the metal thing, though, is that the 40K army that is the most visually appealing to me are the Adeptus Sororitas - the only army who's base troops are 2-piece metal models. I just checked and literally every other army's base troops - and the basic elites of about half the armies - are multi-part plastic. This sucks because as I said, I'm a hobbyist, not a wargamer, and I prefer to add a personal touch beyond the paintjob like the pose and weapon loadout whenever possible. Well that is possible for [i/]every army but the one I like[/i] and it just ticks me right off.

Finecast is/was bad because... it sucked. The quality was abhorrent, with miscasts, damage, moldlines...

The local store where I live had to replace over 50% of the finecast products they recieved because of unacceptable issues with the models, with broken weapons, armor, airbubbles everywhere, some models had half their head missing for some reason... Finecast is/was a mess, and it soured many people who already had issues with GW even further on the company.

Why they didn't just make the jump to plastic is completely beyond me at this point...

 

[MDSnowman]

Games Workshop is clinging to a business model that died kicking and screaming when I was a teenager with their focus on first party stores to sell/teach the game (given I'm 33 now that's saying a lot). It's been kept afloat that entire time by some fantastic fans. Fans who are slowly growing tired of being abused.

Personally I love the WH 40K universe, I read a lot of the fiction like it was intellectual crack (especially anything by Dan Abnett), and I adore the video games (DoW series and Space Marine both rocked), but I will never buy any of the actual miniatures (with the exception of Logan Grimnar, my wife and I know the guy they based him off of).

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

True, but I'm something of a model purist. It doesn't look right to use Empire Knights as their Bretonnian cousins if you're playing Bretonnians now X3

Have you tried Perry Miniatures? Their 100 years war, Wars of the Roses and Plastic 1450-1500s boxed sets fit, seeing as they were for the most part what the early Empire and Brettonian troops were based on. You can even cut the bases off a lot of the metal ones and claim they are GW produced versions.

 

[Sir Shockwave]

True, but I'm something of a model purist. It doesn't look right to use Empire Knights as their Bretonnian cousins if you're playing Bretonnians now X3

Have you tried Perry Miniatures? Their 100 years war, Wars of the Roses and Plastic 1450-1500s boxed sets fit, seeing as they were for the most part what the early Empire and Brettonian troops were based on. You can even cut the bases off a lot of the metal ones and claim they are GW produced versions.

I've looked at a few, and TBH this is what everyone's going to have to do from now on if they want their Grail Knights and such. Incidentally, I was going to suggest Gamezone for characters and stuff, but their models make GW's prices look tame by comparison X3

 

[ForumSafari]

The local store where I live had to replace over 50% of the finecast products they recieved because of unacceptable issues with the models, with broken weapons, armor, airbubbles everywhere, some models had half their head missing for some reason... Finecast is/was a mess, and it soured many people who already had issues with GW even further on the company.

It's incredible that they managed to cock up resin moulding as thoroughly as they did. Resin should be fantastically detailed and very smooth, it's also not intrinsically any more expensive than plastic, it's not like they invented resin and were working the kinks out. Compare their efforts to Spartan Games and they look like a bunch of amateurs and Spartan are a tiny company, but they can still produce lovely miniatures at a good price.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

well, gamer's workshop, perhaps if you didn't gouge the prices for your figurines as much as you do, people would be more likely to buy them. I dont' play the game, but I have a few friends who do. They tell me the prices keep going up to the point where they would rather find a cheaper miniature game then continue to invest in Warhammer.

Thats why I prefer Privateer Press' Warmachine. While the models are somewhat high in price, you don't have to have a massive army to play which cuts the costs. I also like the system better. Warjacks FTW.

 

[ForumSafari]

Thats why I prefer Privateer Press' Warmachine. While the models are somewhat high in price, you don't have to have a massive army to play which cuts the costs. I also like the system better. Warjacks FTW.

Warmachine is a great game, if you're looking for something else cheap and with great model quality I can wholeheartedly recommend Firestorm Armada.