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lord_blackfang wrote:The Megaforces are worth mentioning. They seem to be very popular, I expect quite a few people will start new armies thanks to them.

Getting the Skaven Megaforce + Queek Headtaker and bam, insta-Skaven army. First foray into Fantasy.

That cost is due to having to make more molds and those molds only making 1 mini sprue at a time each. Metal molds could crank out 8-10 models at a time with relatively fast demolding times. Resin is a very different deal. That being said, it is overall a less expensive medium, and no one asked for metal to be phased out. I'm in no way defending GW with their price increases, but that is likely their "justification" about it.

You are correct that models that required no work to change to resin shouldn't have had price increases.

The year was somewhat alright, kind of a mix of the good and bad cancelling each other out.

MrFlutterPie wrote: GW direct sales. I bought an immolator from them which was shipped in a bag as loose spures with no instructions and missing the clear glass canopy. You know those instruction sheets are costing GW millions I call up GW direct to get instructions and the guy argues with me about needing instructions. I finally argue with him enough that he so graciously emails me a copy.

You should see the how exorcist arrives.
Plain brown box with immolator sprues and a smaller white box inside with the metal pieces.

Quite a good rundown, Flashman - even if it's very much "GW through the lens of Dakka" and plays unnecessarily to the Dakka peanut gallery. The gratuitous references to 'failcast', for instance (the roll-out was botched, but the quality issues have greatly diminished, and the advantages of a light resin over metal, especially for larger models, have become apparent to most). You're also overly dismissive of the Stormraven, which was nothing like as bad as certain posters here wanted it to be.

I agree with you that the Garden of Morr was a spectacular kit - I bought one and I don't even play WHFB. And for once the skulls weren't gratuitous.

Some positive trends I've identified:

- the WHFB plastic single-sprue models are a very promising step, and hopefully we'll see WH40k versions.

- the most recent codexes have all included flyers. Presumably this will continue with future codexes. Their high points cost would suggest that they're going to be better in 6th Edition.

Some negative trends (apart from the pricing issue):

- GW's expertise with plastic kit design is leading to them going a bit overboard with the fine detail. Arguably, some of the recent releases (like the DE) have tended to include parts which are very fragile and rather fiddly - underminding one of the key virtues of plastic gaming models, which is that they're relatively robust.

- the fluff in recent codexes has been so turgid and over-written that it's actually hard to read. This doesn't bode well for the 6th Edition rulebook. WH40k needs some sly humour and a bit of a wink to the reader, because taken at face value it's pretty ludicrous. The current approach to fluff is to turn everything up to 11.

MrFlutterPie wrote:My compliant was that many finecast minis sculpts are the same as their previous metal versions but are priced higher then the old metal minis.

No offense, I'm really not trying to start an efight, but you should have said sculpt. A mold is different. When you said that some had the same molds, it was not true, which is why I made my post.

C'mon Loki. It was pretty clear what he meant when he said that they were the same but cost more.


I don't think the negativity towards the Storm Raven is unjustified. It's a bad kit. It looks bad, and not because it's a flying box (all Marine vehicles are boxes - that's their 'style'). It's too short, has no real body, and looks awkward. The CHS kit really improves it (I never would've bought a Chibi-Hawk if not for the CHS conversion kit).


Overall this has been one of the most stunningly bad years for GW in recent memory (stay with me kids, the praise starts halfway through this). Price rises come and go, and we're all used to that, but the gak GW pulled this year was above and beyond. The utter contempt they have shown towards their customer base, especially their 'rest of world' customer base, and the naïve manner with which they approach the internet is just shocking from a company in 2011.

The enhanced secrecy is also plainly stupid, especially when you consider that every major release has been leaked prior to it coming out with the exception of December's releases (we knew of the upcoming Warhammer expansion, but not what it was). And the marketing hyperbole surrounding Failcost was just abominable, especially when you consider the overpriced shoddy product they delivered. I have no issue with resin. I have an issue with resin marketed as the cure to all worldy diseases.

But it's possible to ignore all the above (except the embargo), because the other soul-crushingly bad part of this year was the Grey Knight Codex. Mat Ward destroyed everything that the Grey Knights are and were, ruining an army and replacing it with utter drek. And no I'm not talking about its competitiveness on the table - I couldn't care less about how good the latest GK Netdeck list performs at a local tournament - I'm talking about the spirit of the army and what makes (or made) Grey Knights fun. It's not just Draigo. It's not just the Blood Tide. It's not just the Babycarrier - it's the sum of all these parts and more. When Codex: Grey Knights came out it killed whatever interest I had in them, almost as completely as it killed my Inquisitorial army.

I consider myself a very patient person, and it takes a lot to drain that patience. GW drained my patience this year.


Of course, in the same way that a broken clock is still right twice a day, GW did get a number of things right this year.

I think the Necron release was great. I think Ward's badly written nonsense fluff hurt the Necrons (not as badly as it hurt the GKs or BAs mind you), but I still think they emerged on the other side better than where they started. I question the need to completely retcon the C'Tan's story, but I think we got some great looking new models out of it and a booster shot to the arm for a race that was seen as many as too dull (I wouldn't call myself one of them - I like my Necrons).

Dreadfleet had pretty models. It was a complete waste of time and money on GW's part - making a game that no one asked for when they have a stack of existing games that players are chomping at the bit for - but that Arabay ship is just so darn nice lookin'!

I have a general bias towards undead, despite not playing Fantasy, and I thought the Tomb King release was great. I love the new models, especially the War Sphynx thingy. I kinda want to do a Tzeentchian Defiler using one.

Surprisingly, for an army I don't like all that much, I felt the Ogre release was quite a good one. That Gutsman guy with the chain-scythe is a fantastic model, and their big beasties are lots of fun. I love the massive cannon chariot thing. That's awesome!

But my fav release of the year, and the one and only thing I will say 'good job' to GW on this year, are the single-frame plastic characters for Fantasy. An inspired idea, I truly hope that this is the way of the future for single-pose character releases, and I hope we start seeing that show up in 40K come 6th Ed. Aside from the iffy and could-kinda-already-be-done-with-existing-plastic-kits Saurus Old Blood, the single-frame plastic minis are great. Full of character despite their limited posing, and we saw from the big thread in modelling where people converted them into 40K models, their limitations aren't really all that limiting! This range of models was a bold-step forward and in the right direction for GW, with any of the hamfisted nonsense that they usually manage to throw into every release. More shockingly, this wasn't even talked about. They spent pages of their website going over how Failcost was going to cure the blind and bring about cheap economical inter-planetary travel, when really all it was was a change over to resin to save a buck on expensive tin, but not a word was said about these fantastic new plastic models.

More of those. Less of the other thanks.

When is it we should see the financial report that reflects their sales after the June debacle?

Valkyrie wrote:Could you elaborate how the Necromancer would be the miniature of the year? Seems pretty boring to me.

Well as I said the simplicity of the design is what sold it to me (literally). It's not overly busy and restricts itself to the details that should be there, like the spellbook and staff. It also looks how a necromancer should look based on the current fluff (a lowly miserable subordinate to vampires). His face appears very old without looking like a zombie and the way the cloak flows almost protectively around the his frail body is a nice touch. Yes it has four skulls, but in this context, I believe they're justified

Tailgunner wrote:Quite a good rundown, Flashman - even if it's very much "GW through the lens of Dakka" and plays unnecessarily to the Dakka peanut gallery. The gratuitous references to 'failcast', for instance (the roll-out was botched, but the quality issues have greatly diminished, and the advantages of a light resin over metal, especially for larger models, have become apparent to most). You're also overly dismissive of the Stormraven, which was nothing like as bad as certain posters here wanted it to be.

Your constructive criticisms are noted for future reference

Pretty good summary. For me, the good that GW do is outweighed by the bad that they do, hence why I don't buy anything from them anymore. I guess that is true of a lot of posters here; its like a see-saw that reaches a certain tipping point. Sadly, from my own point of view, it seems to me that GW seem intent on pushing their customers as far as they can towards that tipping point.

Aduro wrote:When is it we should see the financial report that reflects their sales after the June debacle?

The full year's report won't be out until the back end of July 2012. There should be an "interim" bare-bones financial report of the 6 months to November 2011 out in January 2012. Comparing report turnover from the 6 months June-November 2011 with the same period in 2010 should give some idea of the impact of "mad June" on their business. Although without the detail they give in the full annual report it will still involve a lot of guestimating (for instance the international sales data will not be there).

Juvieus Kaine wrote:

lord_blackfang wrote:The Megaforces are worth mentioning. They seem to be very popular, I expect quite a few people will start new armies thanks to them.

Actually I'd at those because checking the prices, its £130 for either of them. That's ridiculous, considering before they pulled the Megaforces off the shelves, the only 2 in stock (Orks and SM's) was £100. I'm sorry where did the extra £30 demand materialise from?

Um, the new ones have more stuff in them

WD subscribers getting their mags a week later the shops is pretty poor going for such a poor mag despite the Sisters stuff later in the year which though hit and miss is a shot in the arm at least. Still can't fathom why you can get 10 Kasrkin for £25 but a sisters squad with all the trimmings is nigh on double that.

The 40k releases seemed more divisive than the FB ones probably due to their long update times and somewhat wonky fluff updates upsetting existing players, GW really need to look at their writing standards. Also how they're going to ride out this recession which looks set to get a lot worse without losing a lot of players due to cost hikes, living standards/income have flatlined since 2002 and won't rise till 2016 in the UK according to figures out today.

Chaos Daemons player here. As usual, people seem to have forgotten that people play this army (if they even remember it exists at all). GW released a Chaos Daemons starter box, Finecast heraldry, and a Herald on Disc of Tzeentch in September. The starter box is good, not great, but good in only that it saves a little money, but the Herald on Disc of Tzeentch? Talk about pleasantly surprised! That looks fantastic, and is precisely what a lot of Daemon players have been wanting (among many other things granted, but still...) I say that September was a good year for GW. Dreadfleet, after all, may be iffy as a game, but as a collection of miniatures, terrain, and best of all that mat, I'd say it's definitely something good at least.

Oh, I forgot to talk about those daemon banners. Uuuuh, no. 3 banners for 20 dollars? Nothing new there. This seems to be yet another testament of their preference to Fantasy Daemons--They're the ones that are all about heraldry. Because of this, I feel as though this release can be more attributed to Fantasy, with the rest of 2011 feeling much the same.

Let us compare their releases, shall we?

For Fantasy: Tomb Kings, Storm of Magic, Dreadfleet, Ogres, Terrain, more Storm of Magic, more Terrain, Beastmen.

For 40k: more Dark Eldar, Grey Knights, more Dark Eldar, Necrons.
(I would say Daemons for both sides, but 1 new model and some bits simply is not enough to call it a "wave".)

This all really seems to give me the feeling that they're throwing all their money at Fantasy to save it. People are playing it less and less because it's inferior in almost every way to 40k, which is sad.

youve hit the nail on the head my freind

I'm a Tyranid player....and I'm still scratching my head.

Considering we'll probably see a Necron Wave 2 before a Tyranid Wave 2....

What a crazy idea....

Quarterdime wrote:This all really seems to give me the feeling that they're throwing all their money at Fantasy to save it. People are playing it less and less because it's inferior in almost every way to 40k, which is sad.

They emphasised Fantasy this year because this year was a Fantasy year. Next year if a 40k year, like last year. They alternate emphasising their main systems each year.

In my area many people have the same opinion of Fantasy as Quarterdime. I think that if GW gave Fantasy more support when they brought out 8th, then they would have been in better shape. One reason that they MAY have delayed the Fantasy stuff was the release of Finecast. They may not have wanted to make metal molds for things such as the Jabberslythe, Ushabti, etc. Thus those items were held back until this year. I think that GW totally mishandled Fantasy and I expect this to be evident in their financial report.

GW produced some top notch kits in 11, but they also released some lemons. Not surprisingly most armies still suffer from having key units with ugly models.

The Garden of Mor was nice, although I am sure there are people out there that would rather have GW produce models for units that do not have them.

I really hope that 6th fixes some things. I also hope that GW moves away from codicies. It is really sad to see whole armies like nids nerfed, and left to wallow for years. Either make a more balanced game, or change things up more frequently so that certain races are not useless. With the new Finecast packaging it is possible to include rules with minis.

Thank you Flash man. My take on this

The key element of this year is lots and lots of product with price increases to be sold to the shrinking customer base. Some of it was good such as the Tomb Kings and Tomb Kings in Spheees product line, but that was essentially it.

H.B.M.C. wrote:I don't think the negativity towards the Storm Raven is unjustified. It's a bad kit. It looks bad, and not because it's a flying box (all Marine vehicles are boxes - that's their 'style'). It's too short, has no real body, and looks awkward. The CHS kit really improves it (I never would've bought a Chibi-Hawk if not for the CHS conversion kit).

Plus just a year or two back they hit it out of the park with the release of the Valkyrie. That's a flier that manages to be clearly 'imperial' in its boxy shape but also look sleek and agressive and downright plausible as an aircraft.

The Chibi just... isn't good in any way. The compartment is too small, the hurricane bolters look tacked on, the dread hanging by his head strapped to the back is just laughable, the top turret is too large... I could go on but why. It's just bad.

Yeah, the Hurricanes aren't good. I plan on giving them to a unbuilt Ba'al Predator I have. TL-Assault Cannons and Hurricane Bolters. Heheheh!

The simple change of putting a razorback turret on there instead of the turret it had would have helped immensely.

It would have helped make the turret look less ridiculous, but it wouldn't have helped with the 'lack of body' problems.

My Chibis are going to exist sans turret. And probably sans goofy dorsal-mounted drag-causing air-intake.

Which ones are the single frame plastic fantasy character kits mentioned earlier? I don't keep up with fantasy releases but am curious to see what the buzz is about.

I agree that the official storm raven look is pretty bad but it could have been even more chibi! (although this exaggerated one actually looks better as its kind of cute)



@HBMC:

I'm certainly not the first to think of it but I'd say take a look at some of the half air scoop conversions out there. The top of the storm raven looks a bit boring without anything behind the turret (especially with the Chapterhouse extension) but looks horrible with the full scoop. The best fit for me personally is somewhere in between.

warboss wrote:Which ones are the single frame plastic fantasy character kits mentioned earlier? I don't keep up with fantasy releases but am curious to see what the buzz is about.

GW has released eight of these this year and they were as follows...

Chaos Sorcerer
Tzeentch Chaos Sorcerer
Dark Elf Sorceress
Necromancer
Banshee
Wraith
Saurus Oldblood
Nurgle Chaos Lord

Here's the banshee sprue as a frame of reference...

Thanks for the review!

I'm afraid I have to agree with H.B.M.C. on this one, this year has been stunningly bad for GW. Not necessarily for miniatures, although I'm not sure I like some of the larger, toy-like monsters and the like which have come this year, but just in terms of business decisions which have affected me personally - in this situation, the ban on R.O.W. imports. Now, in a round-a-bout sort of way I can understand the reasoning for it in certain territories. And from the comments above from people in Aus and NZ, if they are happy to pay two or three times what people in the UK or US pay, then far be it from me to stop them. But, living in South Korea at the time and having spoken to other people in this part of the world (all of asia that doesn't have stores selling GW goods - i.e. most of it) that move essentially killed the hobby for them. The massive pain in the arse that asking friends and family to ship a planned orc&goblin army around the globe simply was not worth it, and so I canned the project. I'm back in the UK now, and could potentially buy the army, but my stomach for it has gone and I have since moved on to other (non-GW) projects.

Other things (like the secrecy act, price rises and finecast problems) were irritating but really have come to be expected. Fortunately, as wargamers and hobbyists there is much more out there these days, and nonchalantly swallowing whatever GW decides to feed them can be left to staff members, newcomers to the hobby.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Plus just a year or two back they hit it out of the park with the release of the Valkyrie. That's a flier that manages to be clearly 'imperial' in its boxy shape but also look sleek and agressive and downright plausible as an aircraft.
.

Absolutely, the Valkyrie is a beautiful kit, and with the FW options has a great deal of scope for customisation. My first thought of the Storm Raven was that it reminded me of a Fisher Price toy. I can only think that the designers had their hands tied in terms of number of sprues or production method.

++EDIT++ Oh and as a final gripe, the new GW paint pots are bloody terrible!

Finecast is mostly ok.

New monsters are great.

Didn't get Dreadfleet.

Dark Eldar are great. Don't care about the marines.

Forgeworld getting slept on by OP is lulz-worthy. So is the haters getting their hate on.

2011 - the year GW convinced me to switch to Infinity.

Worglock wrote:So is the haters getting their hate on.

So, so very predictable Locky. You even read any of the criticisms? What's that? You don't know what the word 'criticism' means? Let me try and explain. It's a way of having a reasoned point of view for disliking something and then explaining why you dislike something rather than saying you dislike something and not giving a reason. You often confuse it with this other concept called 'hate' which is quite perplexing really.

Don't worry though Locky - all of us here at Dakka are waiting for the day when you understand the difference.

H.B.M.C. wrote:

Don't worry though Locky - all of us here at Dakka are waiting for the day when you understand the difference.

I wouldn't hold your breath...