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https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/FW-New-Limited-Stock-Selling-Fast

Apparently the production area at Forgeworld is still too small to meet demand whilst social distancing, even though they culled a good chunk of their catalogue a few weeks back. So they've introduced a new category of 'things that are still in stock and which we don't plan to retire, but we won't be able to restock any time soon'.

It includes Sanguinius, Custodes dreads, Death Korps and more.

That's a random assortment of models...

Including... the newest releases for SBG.

XD oh gw.

actual low stock or FOMO tactic, you decide (or FOMO capitalizing on low stock I suppose!)

It'll be stuff that need new molds made, would bet money on it.

They've restocked quite a lot of stuff in the past couple of weeks that was out of stock upon reopening,

robbienw wrote:
It'll be stuff that need new molds made, would bet money on it.

They've restocked quite a lot of stuff in the past couple of weeks that was out of stock upon reopening,

They specifically state it's because they can't produce product fast enough with social distance requirements, which matches up with the fact it's their newest and most popular products in the section.

 Platuan4th wrote:

robbienw wrote:
It'll be stuff that need new molds made, would bet money on it.

They've restocked quite a lot of stuff in the past couple of weeks that was out of stock upon reopening,

They specifically state it's because they can't produce product fast enough with social distance requirements, which matches up with the fact it's their newest and most popular products in the section.

Where is this specifically stated? Obviously social distancing is going to affect their productivity, but they are still able to produce stuff. They have been restocking a lot of stuff in the last couple of weeks that was showing out of stock after reopening. I've had loads of message notifications of things coming back in stock.

You wouldn't put, as you say, your newest and most popular kits to the back of the casting queue without a good reason.

Ugh, I wanted to pick up that Custodes dread. Guess I'll have to wait longer now.

 Sasori wrote:
Ugh, I wanted to pick up that Custodes dread. Guess I'll have to wait longer now.

Contemptor for custodes are nice enough that they would be a good candidate for a proper multipart plastic kit to replace the resin and atrocious current plastic contemptor.

 MajorWesJanson wrote:

 Sasori wrote:
Ugh, I wanted to pick up that Custodes dread. Guess I'll have to wait longer now.

Contemptor for custodes are nice enough that they would be a good candidate for a proper multipart plastic kit to replace the resin and atrocious current plastic contemptor.

Yes please a double Aquillus-Gallatus contemptor plastic box would be lovely for a second-wave custodes kits!

The GW site has this category as well. Not sure when it started, but there is now a 'Limited Stock' category and currently the only tickbox is 'Selling Fast' (though a 1/4 of them are already sold out, including Intercessors, Saurus, Primaris Psykers, and the basic Guard tanks)

Some of what's in there gets a skeptical raised eyebrow from me. Not sure who'd be rushing to get Uruk-hai plastics in the US market. Its not even direct only. Lord of Skull is direct only, but... really, how many of those sell in a year?


Huh. Just checked other regions, and its the same 20 kits.
At least what's sold out is different.

 Galas wrote:

 MajorWesJanson wrote:

 Sasori wrote:
Ugh, I wanted to pick up that Custodes dread. Guess I'll have to wait longer now.

Contemptor for custodes are nice enough that they would be a good candidate for a proper multipart plastic kit to replace the resin and atrocious current plastic contemptor.

Yes please a double Aquillus-Gallatus contemptor plastic box would be lovely for a second-wave custodes kits!

That would be fantastic. The only thing I don't like about the Custodes line is how so much of it is Forgeworld. FW is so unreliable, but so many of the models are just fantastic.

It's most likely codified based on kits selling out fast compared to stock held. So something like the Lord of Skulls might be on the list not because its being bought in vast numbers ,but because GW doesn't hold many in stock to start with and the buying rate for it has gone up.

They are also likely kits that GW has earmarked to be further down the production list. This might also be in response to Indomitus casting on demand since the slots for its production have to come from somewhere. Perhaps those models (and any added) are going to be the ones which have lost their "slot" for the next wave production. So when they run out its going to be longer than normal before GW can cast them up again.

 Overread wrote:
It's most likely codified based on kits selling out fast compared to stock held. So something like the Lord of Skulls might be on the list not because its being bought in vast numbers ,but because GW doesn't hold many in stock to start with and the buying rate for it has gone up.

They are also likely kits that GW has earmarked to be further down the production list. This might also be in response to Indomitus casting on demand since the slots for its production have to come from somewhere. Perhaps those models (and any added) are going to be the ones which have lost their "slot" for the next wave production. So when they run out its going to be longer than normal before GW can cast them up again.

Somehow I doubt Space Marine Intercessors are a low priority job for GW. Some of the others... yeah I'd agree with that.

Its interesting though. 'Temporarily out of stock' is currently a big issue for them, and it has been for about 4 months now [understandably so]. But I'm beginning to wonder what the impact is going to be.

For example, with the box set coming to push a new wave of interest in Necrons (and a codex probably following soon), the currently available Necron line (in the US webstore) is... Szeras. Oh, and the upgrade kit for the destroyer lord. That's it. (They cryptek and immortals were available in June, but they've fallen off now)
They've got to be wondering how much that will impact sales of people starting, expanding or rebuilding Necron armies, despite having every impetus to do so.

The logical thing to do is to sink their money into another production facility somewhere in Nottingham. They're so consistently backed up, and with the addition of social distancing requirements, they could use it. They've got the funds to do it, they're remarkably recession proof.

 Ketara wrote:
The logical thing to do is to sink their money into another production facility somewhere in Nottingham. They're so consistently backed up, and with the addition of social distancing requirements, they could use it. They've got the funds to do it, they're remarkably recession proof.

Eh. They've been consistently backed up this year, after closing down and then limiting production for the pandemic.
Most years, they aren't that backed up, so sinking money into a new facility doesn't necessarily make sense. If its a temporary thing, that's a bad financial decision- either way its dependent on details only they know.


Edit- yeah, also, as Overread says, they just finished a factory update. Immediately doing another would be bad.

They only just sunk money into a new factory.

Furthermore a new factory site is a big cost for them and a long term investment whilst Corona is hopefully a shorter term element. The last thing they want is to increase their operational costs at this time and take out a big chunk of money for a new site that they technically won't need once they can resume normal operations.

Whilst we might see some workspace and policy changes as a result of Corona, I think we all expect life to resume more normal social interactions at some stage within the foreseeable future.


Ergo we aren't thinking about masks and social distancing for Corona lasting 10 or 20 years. Which are perhaps the kind of time scales GW would be wanting to consider when taking out millions to get a new factory/warehouse setup.



GW is also in a healthy position, they can afford to leave money on the table (have products out of stock) and still do well to cover their operational costs. It's not ideal, but its the most sensible pathway for GW rather than rushing to invest in lots more infrastructure and growing their operational costs.

Especially when there's always a threat that Nottingham could get locked down. If that happened that could be not just a month shut down production; but also a month of lost money on new site construction.

 Overread wrote:
They only just sunk money into a new factory.

Furthermore a new factory site is a big cost for them and a long term investment whilst Corona is hopefully a shorter term element. The last thing they want is to increase their operational costs at this time and take out a big chunk of money for a new site that they technically won't need once they can resume normal operations.

Whilst we might see some workspace and policy changes as a result of Corona, I think we all expect life to resume more normal social interactions at some stage within the foreseeable future.


Ergo we aren't thinking about masks and social distancing for Corona lasting 10 or 20 years. Which are perhaps the kind of time scales GW would be wanting to consider when taking out millions to get a new factory/warehouse setup.



GW is also in a healthy position, they can afford to leave money on the table (have products out of stock) and still do well to cover their operational costs. It's not ideal, but its the most sensible pathway for GW rather than rushing to invest in lots more infrastructure and growing their operational costs.

Especially when there's always a threat that Nottingham could get locked down. If that happened that could be not just a month shut down production; but also a month of lost money on new site construction.

As far as I was aware, last year they just retooled their existing facility somewhat and bought a new storage unit near Castle Donington. Their tooling and manufacturing has been under strain for some years though, they've run out of stock more than a few times on popular items.

Looking into it now, they applied for planning permission to set up a new factory in Nottingham (along with another warehouse, tool shop, and office space) and obtained it as of last August from Nottingham. At which point they started demolishing some older buildings on site to clear the ground for the new buildings. I highly, highly doubt that those new facilities are online already. You don't just set up a factory overnight. Especially given that construction was still underway in mid-January according to a news report I just read, and we had lockdown from late March onwards.

It seems my idea (they need a new factory) was on the money and they're well at it. They just haven't finished it yet.

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-GB/Aurox-Pattern-Armoured-Transport-2018

The Aurox has made a stealthy reappearance.

Before COVID I would never have thought standing 1.5 metres away from another person would have such an effect on resin casting.

That's odd. Wonder if they have a bunch of left over stock they found. Anyway, snagged one!

Joyboozer wrote:
Before COVID I would never have thought standing 1.5 metres away from another person would have such an effect on resin casting.

Depends how the machines and factory are setup. Prior to Corona there was no real need to have machines distanced far apart from each other. Also don't forget its not just casting; there's also picking parts and packing which is likely heavily impacted by safety measures. Plus 2 months shutdown following increasing product demand. Chances are even if FW isn't limited in production terms; the packing and demand might be more critical areas.

Such a shame that they cut down the range of imperial armour kits over the years... coupled with the terrain bits they sold. Their range was fantastic. Now it’s just a bit meh.

Joyboozer wrote:
Before COVID I would never have thought standing 1.5 metres away from another person would have such an effect on resin casting.

I think it’s 2m in the UK and 6ft in the US. The Rona mustn’t travel as far in Australia where it’s only 1.5m

But yeah, you don’t realise how much of a pain in the arse keeping your distance is until you try and put it in to practice at work. My supervisors (working from home) talk like it shouldn’t be an issue, but in reality it massively cuts in to the workday when not only can you not ask a coworker to pass you a hammer, you have to ask them to move away so you can pick it up yourself and then sanitise it first. Wouldn’t surprise me if they have maximum numbers of people in an area also. My work has placed limits on every room, which again can massively slow down work rates.

Plus there's all those unsure moments where you might be passing someone or required to interact near them and suddenly you're both unsure if you're supposed to remain at 2m apart; or if one of you has to take superiority; or if one has to wait or even if you're ok to move together because its the most practical within the situation etc...

That can burn time very quickly. Plus if you are maintaining distance, any area that is used by more than one active person is going to generate backlogs as you have to wait for the other person to finish first.


You get this everywhere, a supermarket is a prime example. Someone taking their time to pick out an item, perhaps reading the ingredients etc... A perfectly normal thing, but during Corona they are now holding up everyone behind them. You're not supposed to move in and duck around them to grab something and move on. In a smaller shop you might not even be able to pass them so you're stuck waiting. It's only a few moments, but if you're on a production line all those litle moments and minutes add up come the end of the day.


Considering GW couldn't keep in stock reliably the world over before Corona, its no surprise they are having trouble now (actually when I look at the UK store I'm impressed at how much generally is in stock and cycles back into stock). Overseas is likely worse as there's no factory there to just shift the production around a bit to cast up more and international trade, whilst still functional, has had hiccups as well.