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Models - good (finecast aside!)
Fluff - excellent
Customer Service - Beyond the call of duty!

Games - good social element, better than being alone playing computer games. Less competitive than mtg or chess. More fun than warmahordes. Comparative cost to warmahordes.

Playing on and off over 1/2 my life...

Obligatory whinge about prices - they will have to lower them at some point or at least freeze them.

My brother and I have been playing 40k since it came out. We actually only realized this a few months ago. Back then, we were kids and assumed it had been out for awhile, as we were just getting into the gaming scene. It was a little shocking and whatever word means "makes you feel old" to learn we were there at the beginning.

We've converted a few friends into die-hard 40k fans over the years, dominated some local scenes, and generally had a good time of it. I'm actually playing more frequently and regularly over the last year or so than ever.

I see no signs of stopping. GW's doing a great job with the game/world. The (probable) loss of the MMO was disappointing, but not everything can turn to gold.

I did abandon Eldar, after 27 years, for my side army of Necrons when their new book came out. My Eldar just didn't exist anymore, either in the background or table top, so it was time to move on. Necrons were a brand new day for me, and it was awesome. Then I got IA11 and the Cosair Eldar took me sucked me right back to my roots. Now I'm torn over which army to play and support. Damn GW, making me choose between awesome things.

I gripe and mutter from time to time. But overall, Games Workshop does a remarkable job at conjuring and sustaining the "grim distance of the far future" vibe. The narrative setting is deep and wide and weirdly, wonderfully conceived. And IMO nurtured lovingly, with geniuine fannish interest, by the company's designers and writers. That's what keeps me coming back, week after week, to the game and the backstory.

I also feel as though game play has been improving steadily, edition by edition. (I started playing in 3rd ed.)

And the models have been getting better and better too.

So while I have issues (mainly with the company's faltering support for the community), I'm still a fan boi. I still play the game and, what is more, I still spin stories about my armies.

1) When they don't go way over the top they manage to produce some evocative single miniatures. WE heroes, SM Term Chaplain, Badrukk I'm looking at you.

2) I have some great memories of scraping together every spare penny, dime and nickle in the house and getting the 2nd ed starter set. That gak blew me away as a kid. Playing 2nd Ed was amazing, creating terrain that actually had a function in the game (look my orkz are climbing up that cup!) and tons of crazy rpg-esque stuff really formed my impression of how a miniatures game should play.

3) They propagate a lot of information about painting properly via their website articles, books and staff. I've carried a lot of this information with me as I've progressed beyond GW games and it has enhanced my enjoyment of the hobby.

They have created a number of games I thoroughly enjoy.

Honestly, there is little better I can say about most any person (barring familial and other such relations), let alone a company.

A lot of what I consider positives other people have already hit, so I'll throw in a few new ones:

GW does a great job of making sure that there are models for (almost) everything the rules permit, and if there isn't an explicit model, generally all you have to do is kitbash.

Each GW faction has a small enough number of units available to it and clear enough gameplay and appearance differences between them that I can remember what each one does and understand why I would pick one over another. Furthermore, I think GW has done a good job picking names for units. They all seem to stick in my head.

There are clear differences between factions. Orks, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Tau, Tyranids, Necrons, Daemons and IG look and play completely different from one another and from the power-armored factions. Even the power-armored factions have fairly significant differences in play style.

GW's website is good - I can easily look at all the models available for a faction, organized by their role in-game, and see the contents of kits and which options from the codex are contained in the kit.

I only need 6-sided dice to play.

The literature and video-game licensing adds a lot of value to the tabletop game.

Great games, great models and their games get the biggest tournament support in my area

It's nice to see a thread like this;

There's too much
"Booo GW/Matt Ward/Ultramarines Suck"
"Why?"
"Dunno, but all the big kids are saying it...."

Happens more often than I'd like to admit.


GW have some of the best Plastic models around, Thanks to Jes Goodwin and the Perry Twins (who I believe are still working for GW)

I've been around wargaming as a whole a very long time (seriously, when discussing "Hordes" I get confused as I mean HORDES OF THE THINGS and others mean HORDES by Priviteer) and GW are (Well, at least were) the only ones who ever bothered to clean out there molds.

Plus it's nice to get figures in a box, rather than in a sandwich bag at a convention!

I posted a positive comment here but apparently the mods did not like it :(

<text redacted --Janthkin>

Yakface wrote:If you have negative feelings towards Games Workshop, that's completely fine. This thread is in no way trying to insinuate that those feelings are incorrect or wrong (far from it), but rather this thread is to focus on the positives and leave the negative stuff for another thread.

If you completely disagree with any or all of the sentiments expressed in this thread, feel free to sit at your computer, point at the screen and laugh at the poor deluded souls who are clearly drinking the GW kool-aid and posting, but please refrain from bringing any negative comments into this thread.

I disagree with the statments testifying to GW sculpt quality. It's only the metals that were phased out in the recent past that were truly fantastic, and only the current 5/6 edition crossover plastics that are good sculpts. I stand by it that on average, the SM look horrendous (proportions and uniformity, heads equally as big as helmets...) and the imperial guard are.... just..... they're terrible. Absolutely terrible.
I'd go on about my dislike of GW, but I will maintain that I've said it often enough for most people to know my opinion on the matter.

All that said, I like their game, I like their universe, and now that they look like they will be releasing mini stand-alone games on a regular basis, I find I may like them a wee bit more. (I am going to guess that next year, or the one after, we may expect a spacehulk/dreadfleet-esque revival of necromunda)

I love thier models I love the Fluff and I love their rules, compared to other war games GW games are always simple and quick to learn. I think this helps get more people into the community in gereral, and I love GW for that too, just being there to get the poeple in on the bigginer level.

poda_t wrote:I disagree with the statments testifying to GW sculpt quality. It's only the metals that were phased out in the recent past that were truly fantastic, and only the current 5/6 edition crossover plastics that are good sculpts. I stand by it that on average, the SM look horrendous (proportions and uniformity, heads equally as big as helmets...) and the imperial guard are.... just..... they're terrible. Absolutely terrible.
I'd go on about my dislike of GW, but I will maintain that I've said it often enough for most people to know my opinion on the matter.

All that said, I like their game, I like their universe, and now that they look like they will be releasing mini stand-alone games on a regular basis, I find I may like them a wee bit more. (I am going to guess that next year, or the one after, we may expect a spacehulk/dreadfleet-esque revival of necromunda)

I can get behind a constructive criticism so long as we highlight the positives and negatives.

The customer service they offer over the telephone is great--never have had any complaints.

GW makes awesome looking models that are so much fun to paint and really spark the imagination to create cool conversions.

GW is getting much better at making codexes that are balanced and fun to play. The difference between 40k 5th edition and 4th is pretty stark.

GW likes to try new things. Rather than rest on the laurels of a single game, they try to support multiple games equally. When GW thinks it's time to call it quits on a game, they do so rather than dragging it forward, zombie-like, through years of repetitive and terrible expansions.

to be specific about my distaste for the marines and IG, its all about the proportions. If you look at the metal models, they are fantastic, the plastic ones by comparison, are terrible. 5-foot long rifles, massive heads and hands.... as I'd said, its only the newer plastic sculpts (dark eldar for instance, or necrons (almost said skeletors)) that have fantastic sculpting. The GK and BA are still SM so they suffer from the same problem, but their gear has gotten much much prettier.

On that note, fine-cast issues aside, there's still a heaping pile of models that I'm fond of having access to and being able to play with them (chief among these; CSM raptors, I am so greatful that they are finecast, if only I had the willingness to spend on them. If I could spend on them, I would buy them in an instant) All told, fine-cast was an improvement on accoutn of the fact that it made models lighter.

Garden or Mor and Skullvane Manse are very cool and are a good value.

GW provides great support for its games. It distributes the full rules for the specialist games free of charge, and still produces many miniatures from those lines. It has recently updated LOTR SBG, again showing their continued support for their products.

I've been playing since 2nd edition, and I love the background. The dark universe vibe is my favorite.

Unfortunately I wish GW would take a turn back to the more complex characterizations of their factions, as they seem to be turning much more into archetypes then true characters.

The Horus Heresy books are a great set to come out from the Black Library, I just wish that some of the things in there made it into more of the codicies/canon. (And though not a Horus Heresy novel, the Night Lords series is a good example of some of the shades of grey that exist in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.)

That's what I love the most, the fact that the universe is so big that just about anything goes and nothing is exactly what it appears to be on the surface.

I like the fluff/universe they ahve created for both 40k and fantasy. Those are the main draws for me. They also do make some really good models, not everything rocks, but, you can't be great at everything.

I like that they're models truly are the best in the world.
I also like that they make really nice washes.
I like that they have hobby centers, which almost no other gaming companies do.
I like that their employees actually know what they're talking about, and know what you're talking about, and can give alright imput if you ask for it.

Best support for Game Stores offered by any manufacturer, and it's been that way for many, many years. By supporting stores, GW supports gaming communities.

Positive-

1. Blood Bowl

2. Available options, seriously. Do you want Warhammer? Warhammer 40k? LotR? A specialist game? Tons of games choices

3. Accessibility. There aren't any major game stores in the general area but there are still about 20 people around here who are into WFB and 40k.

4. Blood Bowl

There are others but these come to mind right away.

Positive: Lots of people play the games, which makes it easy to get involved with a local group.

That's pretty much the only "positive" I can think of that doesn't have associated negatives, which we aren't supposed to discuss.

I don't like a lot of GW's business practices, and I think their management echelon has some serious issues. However..

Their Models are fantastic. I REALLY love the recent Dual-kits they have been producing recently.

Models, Fluff, The Game itself are all really enjoyable things for me, and I'm sure will continue to be enjoyed by me.

They have really pumped out some amazing kits for fantasy lately, as well!

Why do I love the GW hobby?

I guess because I've had so much fun over the years with these:









...as well as WHFB, Mordheim, Apoc, Fury of Dracula, and the Dawn of War computer games. And all of the wonderful fluff in the many books.

Yep, it's gushing but I've had fun with GW's stuff for more than 25 years. There have been a lot of other companies' products in between but none of them have lasted because none of them satisfy my meglomaniacal army urges like GW does.

Ok, it's out of my system. Apologies to all but this thread needed pics.

JB wrote:
...as well as WHFB, Mordheim, Apoc, Fury of Dracula, and the Dawn of War computer games. And all of the wonderful fluff in the many books.

Oh wow I totally forgot that GW originally wrote Fury of Dracula. Hands down one of the best board games out there and a great way to get non-gamers to the gaming table.

So I'd add Fury of Dracula to my positives list as well!

Zarren Wevon wrote:

JB wrote:
...as well as WHFB, Mordheim, Apoc, Fury of Dracula, and the Dawn of War computer games. And all of the wonderful fluff in the many books.

Oh wow I totally forgot that GW originally wrote Fury of Dracula. Hands down one of the best board games out there and a great way to get non-gamers to the gaming table.

So I'd add Fury of Dracula to my positives list as well!

Hah! Good memory. Yeah, I was talking about the GW 1987 version designed by Stephen Hand. Yes, it is one of GW's good news stories. Well worth playing with some Bach Fugue music going on in the background.



The original had little metal mini gamepieces for Dracula and the three hunters. Later versions switched to plastic pieces.

Fantasy Flight came out with a new version in 2006.

I started using Games Workshop around '88 buying RPG books from them. I still have several Shadowrun books with GW price stickers on. And some of my games are still wrapped in the old-style clear carrier bags.

WRFP, 1st Edition, is one of the best ever RPGs IMHO. The rules are great and the atmosphere from the book is awesome. And I've had many great games in WFRP.

Miniatures. I started playing 40K only a couple of years ago. I didn't think I'd enjoy the model making, how wrong could I be. And the 40K miniatures are some of the greatest minis on the market. The pre-painted Star Wars & D&D minis I collect don't even come close. Art is pretty much always in the eye of the beholder, but I personally love the GW minis and have no issues about current prices in the UK.

The Game. 40K is so much fun. When my mates were trying to get me to play I was very hesitant. I'm so glad they convinced me to give it a go. And the whole 40K universe is so wonderfully fleshed out, I have bought all the 40K RPGs by FFG too.

GW Stores. My two local stores are Dudley (actually in Brierley Hill) and Birmingham. The staff in both stores are great. Sure I could buy cheaper online. But why when I can go into a friendly store and have a chat about my hobby while I'm there. I'll continue buying from the stores.

Good things about Games Workshop.

ALL the GW staff who have been aproachable. creative and talented.Thier contribution to gamers/hobbiests over the years should never be underestimated.

All the great games they have contributed to the TABLE TOP MINATURE GAMES HOBBY.

GW plc spend over £50M on recruiting new customers/gamers.


(All the bad things about GW plc are simply down to selfserving /incompetant corperate managment.)

I hardly notice all the negative stuff, cause I've never really gotten that involved in the gaming elements, I can't even remember my last game. WHFB never took hold of me, cause I'm completely fed up with fantasy, and have been for years.

WH40k on the hand... I got introduced to it by a friend shoving a Ciaphas Cain book in my hands. And have never looked back, I now own... at least 60+ 40k books, along with all HH books. I've read like all but the last 2-3 releases.

I'm also busy setting up deathwatch/dark heresy though I need to get some more mates into the setting before I can get that going completely.

So in the end, I pretty much only have praise for GW because they made one of, if not my absolute favourite fictional Univers.e

I like the game and the models, and the customer service is outstanding.

I also prefer finecast to metal, so I'm not even upset about that particular change.

I love the new Necron codex, as well.

Hmmmm..... things I like.

- the universe
- the stories (even the little one's in the dex's and such)
- the artwork
- many of the models
- the way the shake the game up every few years by making a new edition. I think without this practice, 40k would have gone the way of the DoDo years ago.