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 Zweischneid wrote:
Whether or not this is an "experiment", GW hasn't been running the upper end of the price range for some time now. Not with miniatures, not with terrain (Example)

Compared what others are putting out these day, GW's almost starting to look like a discounter

I love it. You've found one company that sells expensive terrain, and suddenly that's your go-to "proof" that these GW prices aren't insanely high. Look like a discounter?

[Deleted by Moderator.]

Stupid GW. The amount of customers they must have lost with those prices must have been staggering. I am a casual lotr collector and may have thought about getting the starter set ( if I actually liked the goblins in the set which I don't) as it is, no chance!

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
Those trolls do look very big

I wonder it they'd look better with the hair the stills of the film versions have, it might make them look less plasticky... perhaps some painted static grass would work?

(a shame the film has the goblin king so large and 'blobby' too.... I can go with the new goblin, but the king, nope)

I did one of those BfSP trolls up with static grass for hair, painted it bright pink - it's a lovely effect and it works great. Can't seem to find the model now but the idea, in principle, works. Just spray black, drybrush a bit, profit!
I'll either get a picture up if I find it soon or make a new one if I don't (it was too awesome to not have around ) really, the idea is sound - go for it!
only problem I found was getting the edges of the hair to look 'natural'. that can be a wee bit tricky (though I found dabbing on glue, dipping in static grass and then 'smearing' the mixture out with your finger a little and dipping again works okay enough).

 H.B.M.C. wrote:


I love it. You've found one company that sells expensive terrain, and suddenly that's your go-to "proof" that these GW prices aren't insanely high. Look like a discounter?

How un-fething-believably self-deluded are you Zwei?

I've found other examples before. But you didn't like those either.

As you're dead-set on your crusade of "GW's prices are insanely high, cause they were lower 10 years ago" and aren't even looking for a reasoned discussion, it doesn't matter to you anyhow?

But if you keep looking only at the one single straw-comparison that flimsily supports your position and close your eyes to all the others.. well, than it sure isn't me who's into self-delusion.

 Zweischneid wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

I love it. You've found one company that sells expensive terrain, and suddenly that's your go-to "proof" that these GW prices aren't insanely high. Look like a discounter?
How un-fething-believably self-deluded are you Zwei?

I've found other examples before. But you didn't like those either.
As you're dead-set on your crusade of "GW's prices are insanely high, cause they were lower 10 years ago" and aren't even looking for a reasoned discussion, it doesn't matter to you anyhow?
But if you keep looking only at the one single straw-comparison that flimsily supports your position and close your eyes to all the others.. well, than it sure isn't me who's into self-delusion.

I gotta agree with HBMC here.
The DZC terrain is very expensive. Anyone can see that. However, it is quite well designed and detailed, there isn't a large amount of wargames terrain in that scale available, and it is relatively difficult to make comparably detailed terrain on one's own. Its not that much more expensive than similarly detailed train scenery.
The Hobbit terrain is not as expensive, but it is still expensive. The kicker is that the terrain given is essentially a bunch of flat boards, such that anyone with a few spare hours could make something comparable from balsa wood.

It's like saying 'A Mercedes isn't expensive, look at this Aston Martin!'.
GW's prices are insanely high, because a large number of other companies are offering similar products at much lower prices.

Trasvi wrote:

GW's prices are insanely high, because a large number of other companies are offering similar products at much lower prices.

Are there? Show me!

GW have always been expensive, it's just become more exaggerated in recent years.

Trasvi wrote:
It's like saying 'A Mercedes isn't expensive, look at this Aston Martin!'.

ie. A red herring, Zwei's meal of choice.

Dear thread hijackers, can we go on with the discussion of December's Hobbit releases?

Is the price of said releases off-topic?

Not exactly HMBC but it is jading the excitement for some people perhaps. Though your point is correct, I completely agree.

Just on a weird positive spin for the council box set, there is guaranteed to be 600+ pts in that box for £45 despite it being invested in 4 miniatures. All hero armies can be a lot of fun to play, Elrond with his kick ass combat skills, the powerful offensive and hindering magic of Gandalf and Saruman and the healing powers of galadriel, it could be a powerful combination played right

This is scary cos I have talked myself into wanting the set, but I do like all the sculpts despite others opinions...

Here the latest video blog by Peter Jackson on making the Hobbit movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vqyzHwnEiY
BTW according to PJ, the movie should be ready 2 days before the premiere, hopefully

These things still look more like big ogres than trolls to me.

And why does the "troll" standing up straight have muscular arms & legs, but saggy titties like an eighty year old woman

 TBD wrote:
These things still look more like big ogres than trolls to me.

And why does the "troll" standing up straight have muscular arms & legs, but saggy titties like an eighty year old woman

Because that is how WETA designed them and they obviously disagree with you over the whole "ogre or troll" aesthetic

Hmm, not sure if want

Dwarves look cool, I'll pick them up either now or later when they have loads of other versions like the fellowship, Kili looks like he could make a good ranger captain if he was slightly bigger
Gandalf looks great, but I prefer the old Ragadast
Don't like the new goblins, they look like they have the plauge or something
New orcs, I'm not sure what to think
and the trolls I don't like

But holy feth the prices, and I hope they change it to Middle Earth SBGs or something similar once everything's out

The Company of Dwarves (including Bilbo and Gandalf) are all on one sprue. I bet this will get sold separately later down the line.

Note they have already done this for the goblins in the box.

Well, they did it with the fellowship miniatures from the Mines of Moria starter ... 5-6 years after release

Minor update:
Hobbit starter boxes, painting sets, Trolls and mounted Hunter Orks will be mandatory for GW stockists from now on.

Bloody hell, when I saw the prices of the Hobbit minis I had to do a double-take to make sure I hadn't accidentally set my country as Australia... I remember when GW was pricing their LOTR units at half this.

 Kroothawk wrote:
Minor update:
Hobbit starter boxes, painting sets, Trolls and mounted Hunter Orks will be mandatory for GW stockists from now on.

Well it's always good to replace dust-gathering products with new dust-gathering products, right?

And Hunter Orcs? Why them?

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Kroothawk wrote:
Minor update:
Hobbit starter boxes, painting sets, Trolls and mounted Hunter Orks will be mandatory for GW stockists from now on.

Well it's always good to replace dust-gathering products with new dust-gathering products, right?

And Hunter Orcs? Why them?

No no... Mounted Hunter Orcs! Nuff Said!

So, Hobbit miniatures...

I know that much of the aesthetic was dictated by the movies, and the nature of the party is from the book, but none of the models really impress me. I think the new goblins are goofy compared to the Moria goblins of FotR, and I don't want to keep track of 13 different dwarves during a game.

Also, like the rest of the peanut gallery, I'm simply shocked by the prices. I bought a Fellowship and Two Towers box set because at $40, they came with some neat minis and the full rule book. OTOH, escape seems like more of a finished product (like mines of moria was) in a way that the early box sets weren't.

I've never figured out the market for LotR. I expected mass combat, and got scenario driven play. Of course, the early plastics were all for mass combat, and you needed more and more metal boxes to really play the scenarios. By the time of War of the Ring and Mines of Moria, I had lost interest. The common wisdom was either that LotR players were this massive underground culture, or that the models simply sold to collectors and painters. (I subscribe to the latter).

At these price points, GW seems to completely alienate any casual interest. You have to love the Hobbit, or the models, to cough up the dough for models for a new (or newly reinvented) system.

 Brother-Captain Scotti wrote:
Not exactly HMBC but it is jading the excitement for some people perhaps. Though your point is correct, I completely agree.

Just on a weird positive spin for the council box set, there is guaranteed to be 600+ pts in that box for £45 despite it being invested in 4 miniatures. All hero armies can be a lot of fun to play, Elrond with his kick ass combat skills, the powerful offensive and hindering magic of Gandalf and Saruman and the healing powers of galadriel, it could be a powerful combination played right

This is scary cos I have talked myself into wanting the set, but I do like all the sculpts despite others opinions...

I want the set, I'm just not willing to pay the asking price. Which means I won't be getting it unless I find it insanely cheap somehow...

I have to agree who ever said it, not to buy the rule book because this time next year there will be a new one.

I can pay $100 for a rule book that will last 4 or 5 years, but not one that will last only one year.

Will the "normal" set be cheaper than the limited edition one?

Also I have watched all of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit vlogs (just last night!). The trolls do look better in the movies because of the sparse hair and all, and you mostly see them in the dark lit by a camplight.

The Hobbit Ultimate Bundle Set is:

$1,460 in New Zealand Dollars.
$745 in United States Dollars.
£447 in Great British Pounds.

Using XE.COM:

$1460 NZD = £750.216 GBP
$745 USD = £484.85 GBP
£447 GBP = $870.01 NZD

I live in New Zealand... Get bent GW... Get bent...

 stubacca wrote:

Tezerel wrote:
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. Everyone is saying the price of the starter is obscene, and yet to me I think it is a great deal.

Dark Vengeance is 99 dollars for 48 minis, this limited edition Goblin Town is 125 for 56. Obviously I'm ignoring the differences in miniatures, but the goblin town set comes with 13 dwarf HEROES aka each one is a unique leader, gandalf, bilbo, radagast, and the goblin king. So lots of unique sculpts.

And on top of the massive number of heroes, it comes with terrain, which dark vengeance did NOT come with. So to me it seems like a pretty sweet deal. 56 minis plus rules, terrain, dice, extra crap all for 125- much better deal that GW usually offers.

Also like others have pointed out, the 3 trolls save you money when you look at the prices of trolls individually. The white council also could have easily just been 4 blister packs at $20 or more considering GW pricing.

Really most of these sets are usual GW pricing or less, it's just all bundled instead of broken up into small packets, which I guess everyone is used to.

What scenery? You don't get scenery included in this, you have to pay £35 EXTRA for the privilege of scenery, all you get in this is a chair for the goblin king to stand on

"Limited Edition contains 56 Citadel Miniatures including: Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, the limited edition Radagast the Brown, Oin the Dwarf, Gloin the Dwarf, Nori the Dwarf, Ori the Dwarf, Kili the Dwarf, Fili, the Dwarf, Dwalin the Dwarf, Bombur the Dwarf, Bofur the Dwarf, Bifur the Dwarf, The Goblin King, Grinnah the Goblin, The Goblin Scribe, Goblin Captain, 36 Goblin Warriors, and The Goblin King's platform. Also included is a 48 Page full colour 'Your Journey Begins Here' booklet, 1 Play Sheet, a 112 page full colour rules manual, 8 Dice, and 1 Ruler"

Plus if you were to compare the size of the models in the two sets with each other...

scipio.au wrote:

 Brother-Captain Scotti wrote:
Not exactly HMBC but it is jading the excitement for some people perhaps. Though your point is correct, I completely agree.

Just on a weird positive spin for the council box set, there is guaranteed to be 600+ pts in that box for £45 despite it being invested in 4 miniatures. All hero armies can be a lot of fun to play, Elrond with his kick ass combat skills, the powerful offensive and hindering magic of Gandalf and Saruman and the healing powers of galadriel, it could be a powerful combination played right

This is scary cos I have talked myself into wanting the set, but I do like all the sculpts despite others opinions...

I want the set, I'm just not willing to pay the asking price. Which means I won't be getting it unless I find it insanely cheap somehow...

I have got admit, the only reason I am thinking of getting it is because I am in the UK, after Vent showing up the prices and the differences in exchange rates, I fully support you decision! It's a joke!

Davor wrote:I have to agree who ever said it, not to buy the rule book because this time next year there will be a new one.

I can pay $100 for a rule book that will last 4 or 5 years, but not one that will last only one year.

Aye, I realised what happened last time must happen again given that it is GW, also on top of the three that will accompany each movie release there will also be a comprehensive one for everything middle-earth in the end, that's a given. I would also be willing to bet that the rule books go up anywhere between £10-£20 in the time space for them all to be released meaning the cost could be well over £200 just to be able to keep playing it....... Looks like I'm hitting eBay for a mini one! Either that or I use the old white council rules, which I bet will be almost identical given that the stats from the GW website are the same the LOTR WC rules.

 vent wrote:
The Hobbit Ultimate Bundle Set is:

$1,460 in New Zealand Dollars.
$745 in United States Dollars.
£447 in Great British Pounds.

Using XE.COM:

$1460 NZD = £750.216 GBP
$745 USD = £484.85 GBP
£447 GBP = $870.01 NZD

I live in New Zealand... Get bent GW... Get bent...

Funny thing is that Battlefront do a similar thing.. with AU at the bottom of the scale (worse than NZ in prices, actually!) I agree with you on GW though.

 Zweischneid wrote:

Trasvi wrote:

GW's prices are insanely high, because a large number of other companies are offering similar products at much lower prices.

Are there? Show me!

Try looking at any of the laser cut mdf companies like 4ground. They may not make exactly the same type of scenery right now but I have a feeling they soon will do...

 Brother-Captain Scotti wrote:

Herzlos wrote:


And £35 for Goblin town doesn't seem as bad, it's still a resounding no from me though.

j/k right?

It doesn't seem as bad as the £40-45 I was expecting. But then if it'd come from a company like Renedra (who do plastic injection scenery) I'd expect the same set to cost £15-20. Even with the GW markup it's overpriced.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 hubcap wrote:
Oof. Personally I find the US pricing a bit...oof. But the only ones that made me roll my eyes were the characters. I mean, GW pricing has been a bit oof for a while now. But $20 for a character, or $40 for a mounted character, or $75 for four characters seems over the top.

But here's the thing, I know lots of people on the internet like to talk about how stupid GW is and how bad they are at business. But they are not. There's no other game company that's been around as long as they have, selling in the volume that they sell. All the companies people compare favorably to GW - Mantic, Privateer, Battlefront, etc - would be thrilled to have the longevity, sales and profit of GW..

All of those companies are growing at a rate far beyond GW (who seems to be shrinking/stagnating), in terms of range/value/market share. GW are still by far the biggest player, given then 20+ year head start, but in another ten I wouldn't be betting on GW to remain as dominant as it is now.

What's more amusing is that Mantic and Battlefront, at least (I don't know anything about Privateer) are run by ex-GW staffers, so could have all been within the GW empire if they hadn't rejected them (FOW was apparently suggested to GW and turned down).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Brother-Captain Scotti wrote:

Just on a weird positive spin for the council box set, there is guaranteed to be 600+ pts in that box for £45 despite it being invested in 4 miniatures. All hero armies can be a lot of fun to play, Elrond with his kick ass combat skills, the powerful offensive and hindering magic of Gandalf and Saruman and the healing powers of galadriel, it could be a powerful combination played right

I've never bought into the whole "Yes it's expensive as a figure but good value for the points" argument. Yes it's useful if you want to get a competitive army for the lowest cost, but it doesn't make sense to most people who figure A can cost more than figure B in size, detail, material and age, expect that figure A is a better in-game character. It feels like a rip-off.