A thread specifically to discuss the positive aspects of Games Workshop (and not ironically).

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**Ouze**

There are a great many things I like about GWS. I'm aware that I'm likely considered a "hater", but that's far from true. There are some very specific things they do which I do not like (and are offtopic anyway), but as a whole I love the h-h-hobby.

The casting quality in plastic is super, super top notch. The kits fit together really well, with minimal mold slip or flash usually. The detailing is fantastic, and crisp. There are usually lots of neat little extras on the sprues.

I think Finecast is a much better material to work with, and when they fix the casting issues, I will be enormously pleased with it, because I do like it from a technical perspective. It really is the future.

When there have been miscasts, GWS has some of the best customer service of any industry. I've called them a few times over various issues and I've never once ever had anything other then an expectations-exceeding resolution to my issue. Someone answers immediately, they are friendly, polite, and professional, and the problem is fixed in an over-generous manner. The aquillas are miscast on my drop pod? You'll have a new drop pod in a few days. Stuff like that. I'm talking about the phone support. I don't have a local GWS.

The Chicago Bunker is breathtakingly awesome. I've only been there once on an unrelated trip, but it was so incredible. Huge, airy, clean. No gamer smell. Walls lined with glass cases with every imaginably kind of mini. Help that was available but not pushy.

The aesthetic. While they go a little too far with the skulls, I generally like the stylings of the universes, both 40k and WHFB. The sculpting and art is just incredible for some stuff, like DE (I don't even play DE!). I love the boxy, bulky Dreadnoughts, the Crusades styling on the Black Templars, the super dynamic posing on the Skaven warlord and deathmaster.

The universe in general. If you registered to use this site then you already agree with me most likely, and I don't really need to expound upon this.

The way they push you to create your own story, and your own scenarios. I was flipping through an old WD and there was a WHFB article where they spent an entire page laying out the Empire forces. They all had little trivia bits at the bottom that fleshed it out (one guy was a coward, one squad had a penalty because they found their leader to be too effeminate for their tastes, little things like that) which made it feel like a real thing.

It's hard not to like any company that created undead, zombie robots.

**Eilif**

As something of a GW critic, I would agree with a few things about GW.

1) GW brings people into the hobby. Say what you will about GW practices, GW draws in more individuals to miniature wargaming than any other company. Many of these players will also branch into other games and enrich the hobby as a whole.

2) The Quality of GW miniatures enhances the industry. GW makes great looking miniatures. So do other companies, some of whom do better, some worse. However by being the biggest dog on the block and maintaining a very high standard for the sculpting of their miniatures, GW sets a good benchmark by which other companies will be judged.

3) GW has grown the hobby/industry of Sci-fi/Fantasy gaming. It wasn't the first, but throughout it's existance, GW has been an anchor of the miniature gaming industry. It has employed many of the sculptors, designers and managers that are now big names in the industry. Also, it has provided good competition for the many games and companies that have come (and often gone away) after it.

All this to say, that whatever my other gripes may be about GW, I do feel that it's has positively impacted the Sci/Fantasy wargaming hobby in many ways..

**chrisyella**

Strongly believe that GW does help quiet and introverted kids come out of their shell by getting involved in war-gaming.
Just my 0.02

**mattyrm**

I love the story, the fluff and the design.

Space Marines are just too awesome, and their iconic armour looks spectacular.

The game, the background and the design are first class, and I genuinelly find it amusing that grown men hate them with such a passion simply for doing what all companies do and trying to make as large a profit as possible.

The whole thing is great and I love the hobby, you cant blame the suits for wanting the $$$.

**Trondheim**

Games Workshop are resposibel for some of my greatest moments in life, the first time I completed a army ( WoC) or the time I bougth a Lord for Chaos in finecast and just sat staring in awe at the very well done moddel. They also provide very good product support, and realses new and intresting stuff at regular intervals

**Locclo**

chrisyella wrote:Strongly believe that GW does help quiet and introverted kids come out of their shell by getting involved in war-gaming.
Just my 0.02

This. A hundred times, this. I say this all the time to my parents (who disapprove of my hobby) - if it weren't for 40k, I'd sit at my computer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There's a fair chance I never would have found a job, since my people skills were severely limited before I got into this. So I have to say, for all its flaws, GW and its product has gotten me out of the house and into some semblance of a normal social life.

Aside from that, I have to say that in spite of the prices (or because of them), GW does have a lot of very high-quality models, and their customer service is superb. Kits just seem to be more and more detailed, and I've noticed that they're really straying away from their practice of "every model has the same pose." Even Necrons, the army of robots that are exactly the same, have models that can actually be put into different poses.

Even if I hate paying their prices, I know that I'm getting quite a bit of bang for my buck. Most of their models are spectacular.

**InquisitorMack**

I've always thought highly of GW because I love the fluff & models. I also disregard the "GW-is-all-about-the-$$$" online rants after GW sent me a complete Baneblade after I called about one missing sprue. They're A-OK in my book.

**mattyrm**

InquisitorMack wrote:I've always thought highly of GW because I love the fluff & models. I also disregard the "GW-is-all-about-the-$$$" online rants after GW sent me a complete Baneblade after I called about one missing sprue. They're A-OK in my book.

I bought some HH era SMs off Forgeworld and it was missing one small sprue with two sets of legs on. I wasn't even going to bother saying anything because I have spare SM legs and I pretty much never can be arsed complaining about anything ever, but after reading so much good stuff on dakka regarding this, I sent them an email and said "I'm missing a couple sets of legs by the way.." and they mailed me a whole new set of 5 guys complete!

You don't get that off Sports Direct!

**Pacific**

H.B.M.C. wrote:40K (probably) matters to me more than it matters to most of the people at this board.

That’s a fairly big statement, so what do I mean by that? Well, if we’re going on about our history and experiences with the good side of GW, then allow me to explain my history with them and the game. But before I say that, I have to say that I am physically and mentally incapable of separating the GW that created the Warhammer 40,000 universe from the GW that embargoed my country, raised prices beyond reason, through the power of pure hubris introduced a shoddy product under the guide of the greatest thing since sliced bread when all they were really doing is finding a cheaper production material, that treats its customer base like a necessary evil, that writes a rules system with a ‘near enough is good enough’ design ethos, and lets Matt Ward keep writing fluff. But with that said I’ll give it a shot...

I adore 40K. I’ve been playing since 2nd Ed came out. The first thing I got was Tyranid Attack, and I’ve loved the Tyranids ever since, and the Tyranids remain the one thing in 40K where I’m willing to ignore all the problems and bad rules. Tyranids are the one thing that would cause me to break my own embargo on GW products (well that and an Ad Mech Codex). When I stopped playing 40K during high school and it made the jump to 3rd Ed, Tyranids were the thing that almost made me jump back into the game. I picked it up again after uni started (and I’ve been here ever since), but it was always the Tyranids that kept me around. I’ve remained a staunch Ultramarines player from the time when the colour of your armour was essentially meaningless (all Marines were the same) and stuck with them through all the Internet Hyperbole and tired (and often fallacious) Ultramarine hate. I started Guard the moment they previewed the Leman Russ in White Dwarf, and now my Imperial Guard, at 30,000 points, dwarfs every other army I own, except Chaos, who I started when Andy Chambers’ amazing 2nd Ed Codex came out (I said I wasn’t going to get a fourth army... but that book was too good not to jump in).

I jumped into Necromunda when it was first released – I still remember the preview in WD, where some small photographs showed off design studio/white dwarf crew playing on these strange multi-level buildings – and now own virtually every gang in the game. It remains, to this day, my fav GW product of all time. I even got my name into Necromunda magazine once! No game has eclipsed Necromunda for me. Normally I’d talk about the missed opportunities with Specialist Games, but I’m (trying to) stay positive.

In the years since I’ve tracked down (to great expense via eBay) complete copies of 1st and 2nd Ed Space Hulk, plus Deathwing and Genestealer, as well as almost every Warhammer Quest product ever made. Weirdly I never play Hulk – but those tiles are worth their weight in gold for the 40K RPGs, but we’ll get to those. I bought 3rd Ed Space Hulk immediately after seeing the box art – that was all it took. Quest is a hilariously awesome game that punishes the players waaaay too much, but it’s such a huge amount of fun that it doesn’t matter. When Quest was first released it was actually my first step into the realm of Warhammer Fantasy. I had no interest in Fantasy, and still don’t play it, but the day in GW Chatswood (the original store, not the second or third store) when I was asked to play the Elf to make up the numbers in a demo game was a moment that changed my perception of WFB. After Quest got me in I was willing to give other fantasy based games a try, which is how I wound up playing Blood Bowl. Still don’t have many matches under my belt, but it’s a great game. This is the point where I’d talk about how these are gateway products and that promoting them would bring more new blood into the hobby, but, again, staying positive.

I lovingly built up a Lost & The Damned army when the Eye of Terror Codex came out (now that army is invalid) and jumped at the chance of building an Inquisitorial army via the Daemonhunter and Witch Hunter Codices (also now an invalid army). I built a Deathwatch army after the whisper that there might be a Deathwatch RPG. I build an Ad Mech army (thanks Micro-Art Studios!) out of my love of all things Skitarii (the Tech Guard from 2nd Ed Epic were always a fascination). GW can’t invalidate armies that don’t have rules in the first place, so I think I’m safe with those two.

Eventually GW decided to jump into the world of 40K-based RPGs. I’d never played an RPG before (aside from computer game RPG’s, and even then the only D&D based one I had ever played was the first Dungeon Siege), but I bought it anyway as it sounded interesting. After proving to be a huge hit and a major success, with the print run selling out in 6 days, GW did the only logical thing and shuttered the sub-company that made the game... no HBMC... positive! Stay positive! Then, after doing something that didn’t make any sense, GW went and made the best decision they have ever made and decided to licence their planned series of RPGs to another company, Fantasy Flight Games, where the game has expanded out to 4 games (including the Deathwatch game I had craved so much). Flash forward from the release date of Dark Heresy to today, the 2nd of Feb 2012, and I’m actually writing for the 40K RPG line. So y’all can call me a GW hater all you like folks, and I won’t deny my problems with the company, but I tell no lie when I say that 40K probably matters to me more than it matters to most of you.

I’m never going to like GW. I’m never going to understand the white knights that attempt to explain away all the problems or, worse, pretend they don’t exist. I’m never going to understand or accept the strange way the fine folks in Lenton run their company.

But I’m not giving up on 40K either. Too many good memories are attached to that game, and as long as I can experience 40K via a slight detour (the wonderful people at FFG) then I will continue to do so.

Normally I would abridge such a lengthy post, but I feel it's so bang on the money that it deserves a full quote a further couple of pages into the topic, and just in case anyone missed it the first time.

I completely agree with your closing sentiments - what I think a lot of people need to understand is that those of us who are complaining are, at least some of the time, the biggest fans. It's because we care so much about GW, that stops us from shrugging our shoulders or burying our heads in the sand.

I would love my kids, the next generation, to be able to have the chance to have the same experience and perhaps echo some of the sentiments written in this thread. If even one person in a decision making roll decides to heed some of the complaint, then that complaint is justified, and perhaps the future of Games Workshop (and the industry as a whole?) will be better off for it.

Now, lets all hold hands in a circle, and pray

**mattyrm**

H.B.M.C. wrote:40K (probably) matters to me more than it matters to most of the people at this board.

That’s a fairly big statement, so what do I mean by that? Well, if we’re going on about our history and experiences with the good side of GW, then allow me to explain my history with them and the game. But before I say that, I have to say that I am physically and mentally incapable of separating the GW that created the Warhammer 40,000 universe from the GW that embargoed my country, raised prices beyond reason, through the power of pure hubris introduced a shoddy product under the guide of the greatest thing since sliced bread when all they were really doing is finding a cheaper production material, that treats its customer base like a necessary evil, that writes a rules system with a ‘near enough is good enough’ design ethos, and lets Matt Ward keep writing fluff. But with that said I’ll give it a shot...

I adore 40K. I’ve been playing since 2nd Ed came out. The first thing I got was Tyranid Attack, and I’ve loved the Tyranids ever since, and the Tyranids remain the one thing in 40K where I’m willing to ignore all the problems and bad rules. Tyranids are the one thing that would cause me to break my own embargo on GW products (well that and an Ad Mech Codex). When I stopped playing 40K during high school and it made the jump to 3rd Ed, Tyranids were the thing that almost made me jump back into the game. I picked it up again after uni started (and I’ve been here ever since), but it was always the Tyranids that kept me around. I’ve remained a staunch Ultramarines player from the time when the colour of your armour was essentially meaningless (all Marines were the same) and stuck with them through all the Internet Hyperbole and tired (and often fallacious) Ultramarine hate. I started Guard the moment they previewed the Leman Russ in White Dwarf, and now my Imperial Guard, at 30,000 points, dwarfs every other army I own, except Chaos, who I started when Andy Chambers’ amazing 2nd Ed Codex came out (I said I wasn’t going to get a fourth army... but that book was too good not to jump in).

I jumped into Necromunda when it was first released – I still remember the preview in WD, where some small photographs showed off design studio/white dwarf crew playing on these strange multi-level buildings – and now own virtually every gang in the game. It remains, to this day, my fav GW product of all time. I even got my name into Necromunda magazine once! No game has eclipsed Necromunda for me. Normally I’d talk about the missed opportunities with Specialist Games, but I’m (trying to) stay positive.

In the years since I’ve tracked down (to great expense via eBay) complete copies of 1st and 2nd Ed Space Hulk, plus Deathwing and Genestealer, as well as almost every Warhammer Quest product ever made. Weirdly I never play Hulk – but those tiles are worth their weight in gold for the 40K RPGs, but we’ll get to those. I bought 3rd Ed Space Hulk immediately after seeing the box art – that was all it took. Quest is a hilariously awesome game that punishes the players waaaay too much, but it’s such a huge amount of fun that it doesn’t matter. When Quest was first released it was actually my first step into the realm of Warhammer Fantasy. I had no interest in Fantasy, and still don’t play it, but the day in GW Chatswood (the original store, not the second or third store) when I was asked to play the Elf to make up the numbers in a demo game was a moment that changed my perception of WFB. After Quest got me in I was willing to give other fantasy based games a try, which is how I wound up playing Blood Bowl. Still don’t have many matches under my belt, but it’s a great game. This is the point where I’d talk about how these are gateway products and that promoting them would bring more new blood into the hobby, but, again, staying positive.

I lovingly built up a Lost & The Damned army when the Eye of Terror Codex came out (now that army is invalid) and jumped at the chance of building an Inquisitorial army via the Daemonhunter and Witch Hunter Codices (also now an invalid army). I built a Deathwatch army after the whisper that there might be a Deathwatch RPG. I build an Ad Mech army (thanks Micro-Art Studios!) out of my love of all things Skitarii (the Tech Guard from 2nd Ed Epic were always a fascination). GW can’t invalidate armies that don’t have rules in the first place, so I think I’m safe with those two.

Eventually GW decided to jump into the world of 40K-based RPGs. I’d never played an RPG before (aside from computer game RPG’s, and even then the only D&D based one I had ever played was the first Dungeon Siege), but I bought it anyway as it sounded interesting. After proving to be a huge hit and a major success, with the print run selling out in 6 days, GW did the only logical thing and shuttered the sub-company that made the game... no HBMC... positive! Stay positive! Then, after doing something that didn’t make any sense, GW went and made the best decision they have ever made and decided to licence their planned series of RPGs to another company, Fantasy Flight Games, where the game has expanded out to 4 games (including the Deathwatch game I had craved so much). Flash forward from the release date of Dark Heresy to today, the 2nd of Feb 2012, and I’m actually writing for the 40K RPG line. So y’all can call me a GW hater all you like folks, and I won’t deny my problems with the company, but I tell no lie when I say that 40K probably matters to me more than it matters to most of you.

I’m never going to like GW. I’m never going to understand the white knights that attempt to explain away all the problems or, worse, pretend they don’t exist. I’m never going to understand or accept the strange way the fine folks in Lenton run their company.

But I’m not giving up on 40K either. Too many good memories are attached to that game, and as long as I can experience 40K via a slight detour (the wonderful people at FFG) then I will continue to do so

Now I fully understand HBMCs rage!

I told you, love is so close to hate.. 30,000 points of guard!?

The most passionate people are the ones that get the angriest.. That was such a great and passionate post, I now fully understand your psyche.

Ima mail it to Jervis!