The LAF Games Workshop Discussion Thread

[Belligerentparrot]

I want to like these minis (Necromunda minor faction - a very religious noble house), as I love the ideas behind them. I don't just mean the fluff, but also the design - the mix of how GW think rich hive worlders look and how GW think religious lunatics look.

But something is really putting me off. The boots maybe? Again, I like the idea, I bet the design sketch looked great, but it hasn't come through in the sculpt.

[HerbertTarkel]

It’s the hats. They look like they have a penis and testicles sculpted on. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. 

Someone pointed it to me, and bam, there it was …

[Belligerentparrot]

Goddamnit, now I can't unsee it either 

[westwaller]

Weird primate like faces too. The one without the beard has a judge dredd chin.

[Duncan McDane]

I think the paintjob doesn't help it either. Too clear, too bright. A bit more darkish would help those a lot but tbh, I don't like the sculpted smoke and those models have far too much detail sculpted on for my liking. But as I'm not their target audience, who cares 

[anevilgiraffe]

Now, did 50% of parents come into the store with kids asking if they sold board games...

and I'm old enough to remember when they did...

[Mammoth miniatures]

I think public perception is part of what drove the re-branding. I have a had a few conversations with people outside The Hobby; a lot of them use warhammer to refer to the game, the company and/or the hobby. In fact, last year I was painting 18mm Crimean War minis and my daughter, who is 26, came over and asked if I was painting my warhammer. 

It's this - warhammer has over the last ten years or so become a household name and the generic term for miniature modelling, tabletop gaming, and wargaming, in the minds of the general public. Like hoover, range rover Airfix and lego before it, warhammer has reached he point where the brand name is so well known that it has become a generic term for a wider product category. Franky it's be MAD for games workshop NOT to take advantage of this. It helps casual sales because people will think "oh, there's a warhammer shop, I'll pop in and get so and so something, they're always painting their little warhammers..." and the fact that so and so only paints 1:72 scale biblical era figures is neither here nor there as far as games workshop are concerned, because to the non hobbyist warhammer is warhammer, and so anything from the warhammer shop will do the job.

it's the kind of solid gold brand recognition that other brands would kill for. Dyson outperforms hoover by huge metrics but they'd probably still fight to the death in a shitty pit for the chance to become the household name for all vacuum cleaners. Apple CEOs would sell their teeth for macbook to repalce laptop as the generic term for a portable computer, because the sales they'd make from someone asking for "A macbook" when they just mean laptop would be amazing.

[Elbows]

and I'm old enough to remember when they did...

Yep, even in the early 2000's GW was smart enough to have stuff like Space Hulk, Necromunda, Talisman (occasionally), Warhammer Quest, etc.  A lot of products you could try to shift a customer into if you were a decent sales person.  "Most of what we sell is tabletop wargaming, but these are some 'board games'..." etc.  Having those 'one box' games was an easy conversion and something you could frequently sell to normies.  They were also - conveniently - all expandable by buying more GW minis, etc.

[Vladimir Raukov]

Yep, even in the early 2000's GW was smart enough to have stuff like Space Hulk, Necromunda, Talisman (occasionally), Warhammer Quest, etc.  A lot of products you could try to shift a customer into if you were a decent sales person.  "Most of what we sell is tabletop wargaming, but these are some 'board games'..." etc.  Having those 'one box' games was an easy conversion and something you could frequently sell to normies.  They were also - conveniently - all expandable by buying more GW minis, etc.

Must've been nice having a store big enough to stock those.

[HerbertTarkel]

Must've been nice having a store big enough to stock those.

It was. Fond memories…

[Elbows]

With actual employees..and gaming tables...and painting tables.  It was wild. 

[anevilgiraffe]

Yep, even in the early 2000's GW was smart enough to have stuff like Space Hulk, Necromunda, Talisman (occasionally), Warhammer Quest, etc.  A lot of products you could try to shift a customer into if you were a decent sales person.  "Most of what we sell is tabletop wargaming, but these are some 'board games'..." etc.  Having those 'one box' games was an easy conversion and something you could frequently sell to normies.  They were also - conveniently - all expandable by buying more GW minis, etc.

80's GW in the Bull Ring had games like Starship Combat Simulator, Valley of the Four Winds and Squad Leader...

[Lost Egg]

...and painting tables.  It was wild.

Oh yeah, my local had one of those built in tables and chairs you used to get in McDonalds.

[Duncan McDane]

Try getting a single fig as a present for kid for under a tenner ( Euro ). Impossible. GW is not where you go to get as quick and cheap present for someone.
Thank goodness we have another shop in Town that does Northstar, Warlord etc. so yeah, nice little gifts are still possible but not everyone will be so lucky unfortunately.

[Lost Egg]

I went into a WH today with my two kids and my wife. I was immediately engaged by a store guy who fired question after question at me despite me saying I just wanted to browse. I was polite but kept moving, trying to look around but gave up.

Outside the shop my son (12 years old) was quite clear in how jumped upon he felt and while, like me, wanted to have a look he felt he couldn't. I think both my kids would have happily sat down a built a mini of the month but felt too intimidated to do so.

Such a far cry from how things used to be. Tis a shame as I would have quite liked to have a good look at the new LoTR box.