Switch Theme:

Oldhammer Observation on Later Decades of Codex Threadmill  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in ua
Stubborn Hammerer




Sweden

The 1980s were characterized by a wild plethora of all manner of miniature releases, many of which were niche to boot, and which has later been mined for inspiration or reintroduction by studio people. A whole slew of fantasy Regiments of Renown and 40k figures (and background) such as Administratum, Mechanicus personnel, Genestealer Cults and Ambulls, serve as but a few examples.

Games Workshop since the 1980s has seen a growth of army book straitjacket, or codex threadmill, and a loss of freewheeling creativity. The format of producing extensive and growing army ranges made it harder for the studio to follow their fancy and jump on odd one-off releases where a couple of handful of sculpts in some cheap metal moulds sufficed to call it a day. Increasingly, the miniature releases turned ever more rigid into catering to the codex threadmill. The transition into full plastic ranges only exacerbated the army book straitjacket, since hard plastic moulds are so expensive.

This trend has been something the studio has always fought back against, as if they wish to recapture the freewheeling creativity of the 1980s. The 1990s saw a healthy number of Regiments of Renown, petering out with new iterations of Mengil Manhide's Manflayers and Ruglud's Armoured Orcs after 2000. Niched vignette pieces (e.g. animosity Orcs), summer campaign releases and things like Specialist Games and Dreadfleet all stand as proof of attempts to have an outlet for freewheeling creativity in niche areas. As do Forgeworld itself.

Yet the army book straitjacket was inevitable. To sell well, most releases had to cater to existing armies, or had to introduce whole new armies with extensive ranges (Tomb Kings, Ogre Kingdoms, Necrons, Tau, Dark Eldar). More exploratory half-sized new armies were repeatedly attempted up to the early 2000s, with everything from Sisters of Battle, 1990s Chaos Dwarfs, Kislev and Daemonhunters, many of which turned out to be neglected one-offs in the long-term codex threadmill.*

Gone were the days when Citadel could release a Nipponese rocket launcher with crew and call it a day. Things had to increasingly fit the big army books.

The 40k Imperial Guard range serve as one example of how GW's freewheeling creativity was stymied over time (though it is not an example of peak freewheeling creativity in the 1980s):

The 1980s Imperial Army was standardized, all Necromundan if you so like. Plastic and metal.

The 1990s Imperial Guard sported plastic Catachans and metal Cadians, Mordians, Pretorians, Tallarns, Valhallans and Steel Legion in 2000. Lots of different regiments to hint at a vast setting with infinite variety.

The 2000s Imperial Guard sported plastic Cadians and a brilliant spasm of metal Vostroyans. There was no shortage in the early 2000s of new alternative Guard regiment descriptions and artwork, yet without models. FW also produced Elysians and Death Korps of Krieg.

The 2010s Astra Militarum was all plastic Cadians and Catachans. No White Dwarf exploration of other aesthetics without miniatures, since that could throw third party manufacturers a bone (IP mania is destructive for creativity).

Likewise, it may be noted that recent plastic kits' inclusion of funky details like silly Nurgling minions, fly mutant Terminators or a scorched heretic for the Sisters of Battle is a way to do some fun niche stuff within the constraints of all plastic ranges. As is the tendency to more carefully (and less freely) pose plastic miniatures like you would a metal model, but previously not a multipart plastic mini.

As such, when you see funky old models making a return in Necromunda or niche box games, remember that the army book straitjacket was something the design studio always tried to break free from, seemingly to recapture some of the exploratory and freewheeling creativity that was a hallmark of Games Workshop in the 1980s.

It should also be remembered that while ranges of primarily metal or resin sculpts allow more creative freedom for the sculptors, ranges of multipart plastic allow more creative freedom for the hobbyists. It's a trade-off, and no kit has ever struck a perfect balance between the two. The plastics released around 2000 were the peak of convertibility, but their poses were not as naturalistic as those of better metal models. The current trend of virtually pre-posed plastic kits is clearly an attempt to recapture some of the sculpting quality lost when moving from metal to multipart plastic. Yet it occurs at the loss of Lego-like customizability for the hobbyist.

Just some observations on GW creativity through the decades. The spark has never died through all the natural style shifts, but the constraints have increased. That is one reason as to why the 1980s was such an outstanding creative rollercoaster.

Cheers

___________
* Several newer half-sized armies in 40k and Age of Sigmar seem to have pulled off this stunt with more success, such as Harlequins and Custodes. Plastic sticks better. Change in CEO aside, this is one viable way for freewheeling crativity to explore niches of the setting with miniatures. It's still an army, but the required work and investment is more limited than entirely new fully fledged armies require.

   
Made in ca
Longtime Dakkanaut





Some cool musings here.

I think the trend was certainly present in 8th- BSF did AMAZING things for narrative 40k; three brand new beautiful plastic Rogue Traders, two new beautiful Inquisitors (though Greyfax is technically a 7th ed release) and the return of the oddball GSC, the apotheosis of Sisters of Battle and the return, in beautifully rendered plastic, of the Ambull and the Zoat.

9th has yet to hit it's stride in this department, mostly because it was the fantasy range that got the Warhammer Quest game this time around.

We'll see what happens when the Custodes dex comes- this has been developing and changing since 7th, and depending on whether or not they add units (especially for the SoS half of the Talons), we may some forward momentum. There's also the Ynarri question- an attempt at EXACTLY the kind of off-the-wall thinking you're talking about. And I suppose it's even possible to see the Primaris experiment in this light. Obviously, the Primaris took hold, and GW has moved forward. Time will tell if the same happens on the Ynarri front.

Kill Team is worth mentioning, in the absence of a 40k themed Warhammer Quest game. It has been used to introduce a new regiment to the official GW range (it's true that they were always there as FW, but bringing them over to GW plastic ramps up accessibility by an order of magnitude). It is also being used to introduce SoB Novitiates- a unit that has existed in fluff for decades.

This is the thing that keeps me in the game, despite some of the bloat and balance issues that have driven others from the game.
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Lebanon NH

Well written post! Enthusiastically exalted!
   
Made in de
Contagious Dreadnought of Nurgle





BSF and the Rogue Trader Box Set were pretty nice throwbacks to those old times.
   
Made in es
Inquisitorial Keeper of the Xenobanks






your mind

No model, no rules. No claim to proprietary IP, no model. Lockdown is the inevitable result. Welcome to CCG minis, 40kcrisis protocol.

   
Made in nl
Regular Dakkanaut






That certainly is something that happened and keeps happening. After all, there always is the clash between the creatives and the realists. Molds for plastic minis are a factor. They are pretty expensive, if I'm not mistaken they cost thousands to make (based on some kickstarters) which, sure, they would get a return on because of the sheer volume even the more niche GW products sell compared to other manufacturers. But, at the same time, those same resources (also time) could go into products that would sell more and have a higher chance of enticing spending that otherwise wouldn't occur.

   
Made in us
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!






I think the change is a natural side effect of the growth of the GW franchise. The bigger a company gets, the more streamlined things must become. However, it is sad to me that "No model, no rules" is being enforced so aggressively nowadays. I'd personally do it both ways, offer the meat & potatoes in-house but also leave the door open for creativity to flourish more through kitbashing & converting. Heck, I'd even encourage DIY'ing new models/units for using in Open Play games, win/win for everyone involved.

There's so much untapped potential in Open Play that GW is ignoring.. They treat it like an afterthought so the playerbase mostly ignores it as well.. I'd even go so far to say its causing them to lose potential sales and reaching more RPG-oriented gamers who love adding lots of their own spin to their games.

They could easily borrow some bits from Apple's playbook. Create a "Made For Warhammer" licencing program and allow 3rd parties to cater to the more esoteric & individual needs (and profit from the licencing) of the players, whatever they might be. They could still enforce a strict "Only GW made or MFWH licenced models allowed in Tournament Play" if they wanted, in order to keep control of the reins.


This message was edited 8 times. Last update was at 2021/10/10 11:37:40


 
   
Made in ca
Longtime Dakkanaut





 tauist wrote:


There's so much untapped potential in Open Play that GW is ignoring.. They treat it like an afterthought so the playerbase mostly ignores it as well.. I'd even go so far to say its causing them to lose potential sales and reaching more RPG-oriented gamers who love adding lots of their own spin to their games.



Agreed.

I love Crusade, and feel it's well supported. And it is the role-player in me that makes me like it as much as I do,

I don't personally play matched, but there's no doubt that it is supported.

Open doesn't get much. There's the deck, and the weird Tactical Deployment Mission pack and its associated card set was supposed to work for all 3. I think the White Dwarf Maelstrom reboot also works with open, though I don't think it was made specifically for open.
   
 
Forum Index » 40K General Discussion
Go to: