The LAF Games Workshop Discussion Thread

[jetengine]

I'm not feeling the Maugan Ra, personally.  Not that it's a bad sculpt...it just doesn't feel like Maugan Ra to me.  Not heavy enough, no skeleton boots, and I don't need the hood/cloak.  He feels more like a Harlequin Death Jester.  I think it's a shame since he's one of my favourite Phoenix Lords and thus far they've done well keeping to the Goodwin aesthetic.  He just looks a bit "emo" for me.

Also...general criticism of the entire range thus far...can we not be standing on slabs of rock?  Every single friggin' model...

Avatar is spot on for an Avatar (though weirdly painted by the studio with a bleeding...wrist instead of a proper bloody hand?)  I don't play 40K anymore, but I assume he may finally get rules making him suitably awesome, instead of his watered down garbage rules which were solely tied to his old model being small.

Shining Spears look fine, nothing special - helmets could have been cooler.  They're quite boring.  However, for the first time...ever(?) there will be suitable plastic bits for kit-bashing amongst all the kits.

Pretty sure that Maugan Ra is them lazily recycling the Death  Jester CAD, similar pose as well iirc

[YPU]

Pretty sure that Maugan Ra is them lazily recycling the Death  Jester CAD, similar pose as well iirc

Yeah no, as a 3d sculptor I'm pretty sure you'd be faster starting from base dollies than trying to rework the death jester to that.

[mcfonz]

Yeah no, as a 3d sculptor I'm pretty sure you'd be faster starting from base dollies than trying to rework the death jester to that.

Yup, I know a 3d sculptor and he said exactly the same thing.

[mcfonz]

Looks like the new strategy of GW isreleasing an initial one-off print for their specialist games / boxed sets and afterwards splitting them up into smaller parts which of course mean a hefty price increase if you total it up compared to the original box. Hive Scum, their Necromunda set. Now sold as a single sprue instead of the original box of 3 identical sprues.
The same they did with the slave Ogryns. And their "new" Kill Team starter has been split up between the models and the terrain.
Really, of course they can do whatever they want, but they' have to do so without me. I'll get their basic games when they are first released and that's it. Maybe another gang to game with if I like the models but for the rest, no bloody way. Plenty of other games and manufacturers to send my money to.

The only difference this time was that they said when releasing the Ogryn box that they were doing exactly that. They didn't do it with the underhive scum box for outcast gangs but, they did say that these were scum... and no other gang is going to need 12. 4 is max per gang I believe, and like with the ambots and ogryns, you probably need just one, so easier to split with a mate. Like with scum, you'll maybe only need one or two.

When it comes to paying less for larger multiples... absolutely nothing new about that. Pretty much a staple of many, many, many product lines throughout all sorts of industries... even for services.

[NotifyGrout]

Normally I don't pay much attention to GW, but I saw a television ad for their Imperium Magazine/subscription box type service.

An ad on TV. I'm still over it. Never thought I'd see the day.

Fauxhammer did a good breakdown of the savings if you buy through it versus buying separately, assuming you want what they are sending: https://www.fauxhammer.com/featured/warhammer-imperium-magazine-contents-list-issues-1-80/

I admit I am tempted to do one or two magazines just to gather some models for Stargrave and such.

[nozza_uk]

Fauxhammer did a good breakdown of the savings if you buy through it versus buying separately, assuming you want what they are sending: https://www.fauxhammer.com/featured/warhammer-imperium-magazine-contents-list-issues-1-80/

I like the Fauxhammer savings breakdown. They did a good one for the Mortal Realms magazine too.

[Vladimir Raukov]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/02/09/important-pricing-news/

At last, some good news for Aussies, not that I've felt the need to get direct from geedubs for a while.

[beefcake]

Hooray so instead of paying a 50% increase in price (generous) it's only 45%,
Still nice to know.

[Elbows]

I always love these articles...the "we've been forced to..." approach.  Gotta love it.

[MagpieJono]

Wonder why they're putting Blood Bowl teams up 20%?
Seems a bit steep.
Also why Blood Bowl teams and not Warcry or Underworlds warbands.
Very odd.

[mcfonz]

I always love these articles...the "we've been forced to..." approach.  Gotta love it.

Not sure if everyone is aware, but the UK has been hit by a rather large energy bill rise. People can hand-wave it away if they want, but a local shop owner (2nd hand stuff and antiques including some GW items) told me their leccy bill has doubled. I would say his store is about the same size as a typical GW store.

GW has 130+ stores in the UK, plus 'the' factory. From what I have heard, they recently invested in bringing in all of the production AND production of books. So an increase in overheads there, especially as that will require more leccy. Essentially, no more outsourcing to China by the sounds of things. They have mainly done that for books and terrain after a few lessons with miniatures learned the hard way. There is both good and bad involved to that, they have to pay British wages, so minimum wage etc rather than use Chinese factory prices incorporating far cheaper worker wages.

In fact, one of the suggestions that the WHQuest:Cursed City game had to be dropped was to do with some sort of law about contents from mixed countries in one box... which turns out to be more accurate than the one about it being a copyright strike as it's coming back unchanged, which puts more credit to that.

On top of all of that, there are the pandemic and Brexit related increased costs in the UK. Which is all important now as all of the products will be made and shipped from here/there (depending upon where you are situated).

Not trying to rubbish any cost argument - that will just go on forever and ever with people never agreeing and entirely pointless IMHO, but to suggest they don't have to put prices up with the increase in power (gas and electric) costs in the UK whilst being a company with shareholders is somewhat unrealistic thinking.

[Elbows]

Sure, but I can't help but look at all of the other UK miniatures companies I buy from...who are not increasing prices.

There's also the subtext that GW was barely making a buck on these boxes...when asking $60 USD for two sprues of plastic...as if they're being "forced" to charge prices to even break even or make a buck, etc.  From a company with year over year record breaking growth, the top performing stock in the country, etc.

So while I understand there are some legitimate "options" for the why prices would go up, that's all predicated on their prices not being insane in the first place - which is the part I don't buy.

As a consumer, I don't care about GW's "overhead" or how they justify their costs.  A plastic soldier is either worth the money or its not.  But when I can buy stuff from Fireforge, Victrix, Frostgrave, Oathmark, Plastic Soldier Company, etc. all...for the same price as 2-3 years ago, I don't buy GW's claims.  As you said, it's an argument that will never end - but a company making record-breaking profits for its investors?  I'm not buying the hardship they're suddenly under.

If GW is too big of a company and buckling under its own weight (which I doubt), then they need to restructure.

[jetengine]

The only other company I'm aware of increasing prices is Ral Partha, but considering nearly everything they stock is metal and possibly cast in the USA I'm not exactly surprised.

[Duncan McDane]

I think it's pretty cool of GW to get their production back to the UK, especially from a shipping / "green" point of view.
( so far politics ).
I think the stockholders are essentially the need for GW to increase those prices. They sure have much overhead and casting capicity can be a problem too but once a steel mold has been made it's just a matter of pushing the button and getting  2 or 3 high school students counting out and putting the sprues into blisters and boxes.
But after all, it's a hobby and unfortunately for the smaller manufacturers, if/when there are bills to be paid the hobby comes last  .

[Belligerentparrot]

It is just too early to make the "but other UK manufacturers aren't putting prices up" argument.

The energy price cap that protects consumers and businesses from massive bill increases is still in place. Most people's bills have gone up significantly, because it was uncompetitive to set tariffs at the cap before the crisis developed, but they've only gone up as high as the cap allowed for. So the main hit of the crisis so far has fallen on the small energy companies (over a dozen, I believe, are now out of business) rather than consumers.

That'll change when the price cap is lifted. Then it'll be homes and businesses taking the hit.

GW is big enough that it can act now. The tighter your profit margins, the stronger the incentive to put up prices only when you have to.