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So the most recent round of line cuts left a lot of folks disappointed and surprised with some really cool models going away forever, So I thought it would be appropriate to start an informed speculation thread on what's likely to be eliminated in the next year or so with the advice, get em now before they disappear from GW stores and the price goes insane on ebay.


Anything with a square base. Some might be repackaged but don't count on it.

Metal Sisters of Battle, any doubters?

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-40-000?N=2562756967+3639190268&Nr=AND%28sku.siteId%3AUS_gw%2Cproduct.locale%3Aen_US_gw%29&Nrs=collection%28%29%2Frecord%5Bproduct.startDate+%3C%3D+1565120820000+and+product.endDate+%3E%3D+1565120820000%5D

And I'd throw in whatever is left of that Witch Hunters and Daemon Hunters lines. Inquisition is currently an Index army and replacement models are popping up in Black Stone Fortress.

Whatever is left of Planet Fall, including the bastion and Icarus defense line. More than 10 years old, web only, replaced by the new terrain line and Wall of Martyrs, I'd throw in Cities of Death too but I think all of it is gone.

Catachans, I figure a 90% chance. Might be replaced. Surely good looking Jungle Fighters would outsell most Necromunda gangs. (I'd lay even odds that every major regiment will get a Necromunda style set in the next year, but that might just be wishlisting)

Cadians, 75% chance? One of the oldest kits still on the shelves and never that great to begin with. Either refreshed or replaced with a new regiment becoming the 'default'.

Craftworld Eldar, 50% chance? After a decade+ of neglect I can see the existing infantry being dropped or drastically reimagined.

Glow rod Necrons, 50% chance? An experiment that didn't work out and kits that aren't all that great, 15+ years old.

Classic Marines will no doubt be nibbled at. Accessory sprues like Raven Wing, some of the specialized units like Space Wolf Terminators, I don't see GW killing the line but it has to shrink at this point. But I've not played Marines in so long I can't name specific units or kits really,

Any other guesses out there?

And just for reference does anyone with visibility into retail know how well classic marines are selling? Are people buying them in the same numbers they used to? Or at all? From my position as the Gallery Mod it feels like Primaris are the current painters choice,

I think its important to note that the recent wave was a big chunk of Fantasy models and AoS is still going through prolonged growth pains and dropping models that are old without GW having time/investment chances to do what they normally do which is to merge removals with additions. It's a rare case where its more important that they clean it up and get the armies with battletomes and running rather than wait for production slots.

Hopefully its one of the last big reductions and losses from the AoS range. Though Gutbusters might be on the cards as they have quite a few finecast models.



Most of the 40K removals I would fully expect to come with new models. Either replacing the models like for like - ergo an updated sculpt - or adding new models into the army in general.

Tyranids wise I'm still expecting to see Lictors, biovores and pyrovores vanish from sale and be replaced with plastic kits with 3 in a box - one kit lictors and deathleapers; the other biovores and pyrovores - just like they did for the guard and zoanthrope/venomthrope sets.

Eldar I'd expect to see a big slew of Craftworld losses alongside a big line-wide revamp. Some of their infantry need a replacement; all those finecast aspect warriors and the guardian kit, which is one of the oldest plastics and really shows its age.


Skaven are also set to lose a big chunk one day, but hopefully, again, we'll see many of those iconic models replaced and updated. A few - like rat orgres, if they are updated fully might even make a scale jump and get bigger.

Space Marine Tactical Squad
Space Marine Assault Squad
Space Marine Assault Squad
Space Marine Bikes (after a Primaris version arrives)
Space Marine Land Speeder

The Chapter-specific equivalents of the above.

All non-Primaris Marine characters.

Old AoS / fantasy models that didn't make the transition seem much more likely to get chopped at than the (admittedly lackluster) plastic 40k kits you've mentioned, right?

Space Marine Whirlwind
Space Marine Stalker/Hunter
Space Marine Vindicator

It would be foolish for them not to combine the Rhino & Razorback, suspect the Predator will be dropped just before the Rhino/Razorback when they eventually cut oldMarines in about 2 years.

Tau Marksman
Tyranid Biovore
Tyranid Pyrovore

I think Ynarri were a failed experiment and we'll see the Ynarri triumvirate vanish soon

The entire Grey Knight line.

 Stormonu wrote:

I think Ynarri were a failed experiment and we'll see the Ynarri triumvirate vanish soon

May we all join our prayers and hope this will be so!!

I think the problem Ynarri has is the same as Craftworld - lots of old models! Only the Ynarri shows it off worse because half the army potential is modern Dark Eldar plastics. So it really shows up things like the old Guardians or the fact that most of the aspect warriors are all in finecast. Fix the Craftworld and Ynarri gets a big fix too!

Thing is, the WHFB>AoS transition is still ongoing, and we don't yet now what will or won't be deemed fitting for the new universe.

It appears extremely unlikely that everything currently supplied with square bases will disappear, let alone within a year. Part of the Free Peoples range went away with the latest Last Chance to Buy wave (RIP), which rather implies the other kits will be part of the new range - for the time being at least. Come a next update, anything with a role similar to new miniatures is likely to disappear, but if they drop all the square bases, well, there won't be anything left in that range. We also know that surviving the transition does not necessarily mean anything: Glade Guard were reboxed, proper AoS packaging with round bases and everything.. and now are gone after all.
Looking at what's gone and what's still around, the age of a kit has little to do with it.
Products don't seem to disappear unless connected to upcoming releases. So as far as AoS is concerned, the next disappearances should be in the Ogre line. At a guess, the update will be more like the Skaven rather than the Free Peoples, as the range isn't exceptionally large warranting culls like in the Free Peoples' case. Maybe some of the finecast Maneaters will go, or the Tyrant given the opcoming plastic model. Yhetees or Gorgers perhaps, as a specific part of the lore that may no longer exist. With AoS still in the process of settling down, GW overall seems to prefer continuing casting and selling old figures (including metal and resin ones) rather than create a new set for them. For now, at least.

GW aren't going to replace things like the glowy Necrons without having new releases to replace them. And good luck with that.

Nor are they going to remove things like Marine vehicles from the range when they have just released a new Codex featuring them.

The next 40K losses will likely be the metal Sisters range, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will go Last Chance to Buy - it's just as likely that they'll just disappear relatively without warning.

Unless there are replacement kits, not much of the 40k range is going to be Last Chance to buy, it's not going through the same transition AoS is right now so some of the AoS kits will be going away because they don't fit the new world.

Metal sisters will go upon release of the new Sisters, old Eldar will be replaced whenever new Eldar is released.

I think when the Rhino chassis goes, that'll spell doom for a lot of factions that use it.

Except they'd likely replace it like they have done several times before.

40K is well into the stage where it evolves rather than replaces. Most of the models are going to get new versions of themselves and just be upgraded into a new look. A few here and there might get lost, but by and large it will be replacing and expanding armies. Primaris are a huge abnormality and I'm still surprised GW is keeping going with the idea of effectively having each Marine army split in half with two almost identical army rosters running side by side where one is "old models old lore" and the other is "new models new lore and a bit better". It's just a bit odd and honestly I don't think any army but marines could have got away with it.

Heck I bet that originally Primaris were just going to be the new model of Marines that then got caught in a Kirby style marketing idea and now GW is committed to it.




AoS is very different; it has been messed around royally by GW for 5 years or so. Though since 2.0 launched its been cleaning up a lot. It still doesn't ignore the fact that the whole game got ignored for a very long time. It has a lot of old models and legacy sculpts; heck even most of the finecast is old metals changed in material to finecast. It didn't help that AoS launched by stripping out several armies and introducing a marines style heavy block release of Stormcast.
The big cull of models we recently saw lost was also because they took the remains of 5 whole armies and squished them into a single book - which was a surprise in itself because many thought it would be two or even three books (two would have have aelves in their own book with perhaps wanderers or one or two models in Free Cities = whilst three would have had humans, dwarves and aelves each with their own book).

I think its in part not just stripping out old models but also old design asthetics, just without GW having the production slots to replace them at this stage. Plus they've teased that there are two full Aelf armies coming at some point - light and dark ones.

It would be sad if sales had contributed to the choices because many of the high elf models likely sold poorly only because they've never had a battletome through the life of AoS. The dark elf side also never had one, but at least had the Idoneth and Daughters of Khaine as batteltome armies that could take dark elf units as allies so there was some support there.




In the end I hope that this big cull was the last big AoS cull without seeing new sculpts released alongside to replace/extend the army.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
And just for reference does anyone with visibility into retail know how well classic marines are selling? Are people buying them in the same numbers they used to? Or at all? From my position as the Gallery Mod it feels like Primaris are the current painters choice,

Surely the metal SOBs are going away. The one thing I could see staying is the metal Pentient Engine, the model just looks so cool as is. GW will probably sell a lot of them when the new Codex hits.

Anecdote about Classic Marines: my FLGS still sells more of them than Primaris. When Dark Vengeance hit, a lot of people started up Space Marine armies and ended up dissatisfied. They moved onto other armies (especially Dark Eldar) or expanded away from Primaris units.

New Primaris sales may be hampered by bad experiences like this. The price per box is a little high, I could see players with second thoughts about buying into them.

I believe we've seen a new sculpt of the person held on a penitent engine. I figure GW has made enough noise about Sisters that when the new range launches ALL of the old metal/finecast will be straight up gone from the store on that day if not before. In fact we've seen that there's new designs for a rhino as well.

So I feel pretty confident in saying that the ENTIRE old range will go. Plastics and metals and all; even Canoness Veridyan.


The only models that will remain is going to be Celestine, the Living Saint, as its a far more modern plastic sculpt. Otherwise I'd expect everything gone and replaced on that range.


I think if there's anything in the range you want now is the time to get it. The closer to the official launch we get the more likely it is that GW will cease production of sculpts rather than keep casting ad-hock to fill demand. Overseas (non UK) markets will be the first to be affected as stocks run low.

There’s a new Penitent Engine coming. My local GW manager has seen it and was saying about the toes on it look a bit weird.