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Also, Dave Andrews (think that's the fella) combines off the peg kits with old school scratch building. And with the 'How To Build Wargames Terrain' book, they still endorse it.

Mr Mystery wrote:Indeed. If you make something, promote the hell out of it. Then you sell more of it.

And people say GW have no business sense.

And you miss my point.

How shocking.



NB: One of the above sentences involves sarcasm. Let's see if Mr. Mystery can solve the... mystery... of which one it is.

Ah yes, so having spent a considerable sum developing and producing their own range of Terrain kits, they should instead, promote not using them and instead making stuff from scratch.

Good thinking, I certainly can't see a flaw in that plan.

I used to work as a store manager back in the days when GW was based in a factory unit in Eastwood (just outside Nottingham) and when Bryan Ansell was the head bloke. As I recall, he used to terrify everyone. Each month, managers had to write a report on how well everything was going (30% sales growth for individual stores was the yearly target, or some equally ridiculous number). If you submitted a less than glowing report, you got summoned to Eastwood to be bawled out. He visited my shop once; my full-time staff member hid in the stock room and wouldn't come out.

Also, reference the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Ansell

This was because Mr Ansell had moved all the WD operations from London to Nottingham, causing a certain amount of unhappiness; aah, happy days....

Classy!

Pelgrane wrote:I used to work as a store manager back in the days when GW was based in a factory unit in Eastwood (just outside Nottingham) and when Bryan Ansell was the head bloke. As I recall, he used to terrify everyone. Each month, managers had to write a report on how well everything was going (30% sales growth for individual stores was the yearly target, or some equally ridiculous number). If you submitted a less than glowing report, you got summoned to Eastwood to be bawled out. He visited my shop once; my full-time staff member hid in the stock room and wouldn't come out.

Also, reference the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Ansell

This was because Mr Ansell had moved all the WD operations from London to Nottingham, causing a certain amount of unhappiness; aah, happy days....

I did read that Ansell was a bit of a monster, in an interview with an author from the early days of GW's initial forays into novels, before Black Library.

Heh, I never realised there where two Steve Jacksons, just assumed wrongly they where one in the same.

I also find it quite amusing that they didn't bother to note that the three novels by the US Jackson was a different fella to the other.


As to Andy Chambers, saw him while watching Blizzcon live early this year, so odd to see him there when I know him as a GW Icon from my youth.

Although I have noted he was quick to grab Mark Gibbons on board for Blizzard art, probably a wise move. Still think Gibbons is the best GW artist there has ever been.

Regarding Gibbons, I seem to remember a controvosy about his Kharn The Betrayer artwork being a plagiristic work?

Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:
Although I have noted he was quick to grab Mark Gibbons on board for Blizzard art, probably a wise move. Still think Gibbons is the best GW artist there has ever been.

You're not wrong.

What the hell is that? Looks like an Ork Commissar...

That is a Blood Axe Warboss. Illustrated by Mark Gibbons.

The pic is from the 2nd ed books. Most likely the Ork Codex but I can't remember for sure.

Element206 wrote:Ive never seen or heard of Ansell before, but isnt he just a catch for all the ladies. Mullet, Stash, Sleeveless shirt, and you throw in the fact that he tinkers around with little miniature army men....thats a combination no woman can resist!

Not as suave as a stoner beard and a sports coat to be sure...

The terrain thing is because of the long term shift in strategy from supporting veteran hobbyists to newbz.

They are certainly correct that they can't sell as much ready made stuff to people who know how to make their own as can be sold to people who don't know.

The old-time vets are feeling the lack of love. We also see the lack of support for anything except the core three games.

It's similar in the videogame world where every new stab at profitability by making games more user friendly -- EyeToy, Buzz, Wii, Move and Kinect, is lamented by hardcore gamers as effort devoted away from their kind of games they like.

Of course the real old-timers were building their own terrain before GW was thought of, so perhaps it won't hurt GW much.

Where GW may lose out is the loss of helpful word-of-mouth promotion from experienced players to newbs.

The pre made stuff is so expensive. I'll never get it. Usually every year the local GW has an auction where they sell the store made stuff. It's complete, looks better and is cheaper.