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Something I've just been wondering about: How long do GW wait after they've finished designing a product before they release it? Do they release them at a very precise time which is calculated would bring the maximum income, or do they simply release it after ages of final checks and changes? I'm just wondering because earlier, I saw photos of the Honoured Imperium set in the latest Chaos Codex, which was released at least two years ago, yet the Honoured Imperium was just released this month.

Valk

I doubt there's any hard & fast rules about this. Basic reasoning would have them release products relatively quickly after they're ready... Otherwise, having products ready to produce and sell but not yet available is just wasted money.

However, they do seem to be sneaky about this kind of thing at times, and it makes some sense to plan releases around 'events.' In GW's case, the events seem to be book releases, but that may not always be true.

I also wonder if some of the 'background' terrain projects are shown in very rough form, basically scratchbuilds, and the kits are made either directly or based on these designs at a later date.

They probably have some general production/marketing plan, but certain models probably don't "fit" any given slot or release window and are held until there is a more logical tie-in or slower window to get them out the door.

Well, there's a three month lead time on WD, so they'd be ready at least three months up from launch (considering that the black boxes get sent out a month before, and they ALL have to have the new release sets in them, packed and shipped).