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.

Preorders are up:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCatsLarge.jsp?catId=cat970003a&rootCatGameStyle=athletic


























Old Post:

Here a rumour from natfka, so take salt:

a very anonymous source on Faeit 212 wrote:current GW managerial chart says that's Smaug wasn't good enough for the studio, so GW have had to go back to the drawing board, moving current releases forward so they don't miss the Christmas release window, Nids moving up to Dec, dwarfs in Jan 2014.

They'll still do the collectors releases for the hobbit, scenes from the film and such, just no new hobbit box.

Personal comment:
1.) Christmas release window? Other than LOTR and Hobbit things (due to movie release) GW never had a new army release in December, to concentrate on general Chrismas sales (the one month in the year, where they don't treat already released stuff as unworthy to mention).
2.) Smaug not good enough. Okay, all Hobbit stuff is not good enough for a management that deems profit marges from redone metal and Finecast models not big enough.
3.) On the other side, that will keep us with the current Limited Edition Hobbit box, which certainly is not good enough either and one reason for killing the Hobbit tabletop (doubling prices is the other).
4.) Can't be a recent decision, as December WD is already done for 3 months and at the printers.

Well, Nids moving up to December would certainly be welcome, but seems unlikely at this point?

Was there ever going to be three boxes? I think the studio decision to switch from two films to three didn't help those with licensing deals.

I have no proof but I base this theory on the way the Lego sets were released last year. On the story scale they went upto the barrel escape from the Elvenking's Hall, because if they stayed with movie time scale, they would not have released lego characters of all the dwarves.

I assume GW may have originally planned Goblin Town for one box and Five Armies for the second....then they got stuck with WTF! THREE FILMS. I also think that is why there have been comparitively few releases in the last 12 months. Things like Mirkwood Spiders have had to be delayed.

Smaug wasn't good enough? Now i'm not a fan of the Hobbit game, however being my favourite book of all time, I was going to grab a Smaug model if it was released for that Christmas day boredom buster. Don't know how they say Smaug wouldn't be good enough, him and Beorn are gonna be stunning models.

I smell sodium chloride.

I can certainly see New Line making a (very) late call on whether a model was acceptable

(especially if GW spend a chunk of time trying to get them to change their minds)

so having a printed WD with stuff in that ends up not appearing (or worse still means the magazine gets pulped and re-printed shipping out late) is totally believable

I'm less convinced they'd be able to get all the stuff for Tyranids out a month early... yes it would be 'finished' but I'm not sure they could get all the logistics done fast enough (especially as they've been failing to do so for their regularly scheduled releases this year)

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I can certainly see New Line making a (very) late call on whether a model was acceptable

(especially if GW spend a chunk of time trying to get them to change their minds)

so having a printed WD with stuff in that ends up not appearing (or worse still means the magazine gets pulped and re-printed shipping out late) is totally believable

I'm less convinced they'd be able to get all the stuff for Tyranids out a month early... yes it would be 'finished' but I'm not sure they could get all the logistics done fast enough (especially as they've been failing to do so for their regularly scheduled releases this year)

My first thought exactly.

I wouldn't put it past GW management to let any old nonsense out the door just to capitalise, but this decision wouldn't be down solely to internal authority, so that makes it plausible IMO.

To be honest, none of the Hobbit models looked that great to me. Not compared to the LoTR releases (Was that the twins sculpting?)

Of course there's no reason why this development isn't a month or more old internally allowing restructuring releases prior to WD printing deadlines.

No Hobbit Release? The Hobbit Fans will be devastted, all ten of them!

The fact the "Limited Edition" of Goblin Town is still up for grabs a year later should tell you something.

I'm less worried about a new Hobbit box and more worried that GW are going to attempt another 300+ page hardback rulebook. 3 rulebooks for the LOTR Triology at least made some sense; each film had a very different array of forces, heroes and scenarios, so each new book introduced quite a few new concepts. The three Hobbit films? Not so much.

alphaecho wrote:
I assume GW may have originally planned Goblin Town for one box and Five Armies for the second....then they got stuck with WTF! THREE FILMS. I also think that is why there have been comparitively few releases in the last 12 months. Things like Mirkwood Spiders have had to be delayed.

I think this is quite likely, especially given the required lead time on plastic kits.

Chad Warden wrote:
The fact the "Limited Edition" of Goblin Town is still up for grabs a year later should tell you something.

"Limited" in this case means "of limited use".

Chad Warden wrote:
The fact the "Limited Edition" of Goblin Town is still up for grabs a year later should tell you something.

It doesn't tell you nearly as much as the fact that some FLGS (or at least mine) are no longer forced to carry a number of Hobbit boxes in order to remain a GW stockist.

Since I joined the hobby (back about when the first LoTRs models were in that magazine) every store that carried GW products had to carry starter sets and basic troops for all factions of all 3 games. Now that appears to have changed, which can't be a good sign.

Chad Warden wrote:
The fact the "Limited Edition" of Goblin Town is still up for grabs a year later should tell you something.

Unlimited Edition didnt have the same ring to it.

 jonolikespie wrote:

Chad Warden wrote:
The fact the "Limited Edition" of Goblin Town is still up for grabs a year later should tell you something.

It doesn't tell you nearly as much as the fact that some FLGS (or at least mine) are no longer forced to carry a number of Hobbit boxes in order to remain a GW stockist.

Since I joined the hobby (back about when the first LoTRs models were in that magazine) every store that carried GW products had to carry starter sets and basic troops for all factions of all 3 games. Now that appears to have changed, which can't be a good sign.

Except for FLGS owners, its a good for them.

Last years Hobbit gak was a joke that nobody cared about. Year later and my FLGS still has original delivery unsold Hobbit boxes, and he won't be ordering anymore. GW should give up. They won't repeat the LOTR success.

I'm surprised the GWstapo hasn't arrived to round up remaining boxes and burn them like Dreadfleet.

My area had a really good lotr community. In my local gw you were far more likely to get a game of 40k or lotr than fantasy. Hobbit was released a year ago and now getting a game of lotr is nigh on impossible.
Lotr was actually quite a good game in small points values but now its dead I wish gw would just leave it alone and stop pretending they have improved it.

 whitehorn wrote:
My area had a really good lotr community. In my local gw you were far more likely to get a game of 40k or lotr than fantasy. Hobbit was released a year ago and now getting a game of lotr is nigh on impossible.
Lotr was actually quite a good game in small points values but now its dead I wish gw would just leave it alone and stop pretending they have improved it.

LOTR was always a great game, but the number of players fell off a cliff around six years ago. It looks like GW are taking a bath, but in this case I reckon the villains are New Line.

All the merch of Hobbit is extortionate - they're treating these movies as a cash cow where the money's already banked. Worse than that, the movie sucks: poor fan fiction that misses everything good about the book.

If this is true about Nids getting moved up I'll be a happy chappy, but this cries out salt to me.

Not for New Line saying the Smaug model was rubbish (that is completely plausible as they do have the final say of what goes on with the range), but for the issues of WD that have already been printed with Hobbit stuff in them.

If true, this has got to be a major headache for GW.

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:

 whitehorn wrote:
My area had a really good lotr community. In my local gw you were far more likely to get a game of 40k or lotr than fantasy. Hobbit was released a year ago and now getting a game of lotr is nigh on impossible.
Lotr was actually quite a good game in small points values but now its dead I wish gw would just leave it alone and stop pretending they have improved it.

LOTR was always a great game, but the number of players fell off a cliff around six years ago. It looks like GW are taking a bath, but in this case I reckon the villains are New Line.

All the merch of Hobbit is extortionate - they're treating these movies as a cash cow where the money's already banked. Worse than that, the movie sucks: poor fan fiction that misses everything good about the book.

Yeah I know what you mean. It was the lotr army books which really bought the interest back in my area - which is odd as I know they were mega unpopular with most players in general.

I'm just hopeful about the models coming out for the last film. Battle of 5 armies has to bring some love back to the game.
Atm the storyline and cast is just too small scale to inspire any real interest in big games in the same way no one enjoyed playing fellowship vs goblins in lotr.

Da krimson barun wrote:

Kroothawk wrote:

gorgon wrote:I may be completely wrong about this, but GW's actions generally seem to suggest that they're not 100% all-in with The Hobbit. If they've indeed moved the release of the next Hobbit set out of December, I don't think that's a small deal.

There will be no new Hobbit box in December.
Only question is, if there will be Tyranids.

THEY HAVE NO CHOICE THEY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH NEW LINE.They are making the box.Where did this rumor come from anyway?

Kroothawk wrote:There will be no new Hobbit starter this December. Call me the source, if you want.

Seems, there will indeed be no Hobbit starter box in December, but a book and a few splash release blisters and boxes, including 4 splash release plastics (2 blisters and 2 boxes):

Crimminy! $25 for a plastic Legolas?

$10 of that is for the special scenic base, I bet...

No new box...Well at least the bugs didn't steal December.And that's what's important.But like I have stated before how would smaug have affected the existence of a box?Would GW put a thunderhawk vs a cultist/13 HQ?No?Then why would they put smaug vs Bilbo/The dwarves?It looks like GW are going for another triumph and treachery with escalation aren't they(look at the price.It probably slaps super heavys in like lord of war in Horus heresy.)?On the subject of the hobbit:It could have sold really well.If they hadn't slapped a Tenner on the box prices and then did everything they could to ignore the game.BTW:Kroothawk you were right.Sadly...

No nids? :(

 RandyMcStab wrote:
No nids? :(

MWHU HA HA HA HA HA take that nid players!That's what you get for trying to sneak into our release month!HA HA HA HA HA!(Insert evil laughter)

Jeez, the Hobbit, talk about digging up a dead horse just to get a few more swings in.

 Las wrote:
Jeez, the Hobbit, talk about digging up a dead horse just to get a few more swings in.

At least its not arguing about the legality of forgeworld.Or whether we should hang all tau players with more then one Riptide(I vote yes)

If GW managed to miss the release because the studio rejected their Smaug sculpt, then it has to be the biggest feth up in the history of licensed miniatures market.

That model should have been ready and approved a year ago.

Makes me kinda sceptic.

 His Master's Voice wrote:
If GW managed to miss the release because the studio rejected their Smaug sculpt, then it has to be the biggest feth up in the history of licensed miniatures market.

That model should have been ready and approved a year ago.

Makes me kinda sceptic.

It shouldn't.

We had a major plot point of "The Two Towers" (and "Return of the King" come to think of it) spoiled because of model sculpts being done before the movie came out. The release list we have currently would seem to imply that the Elves are playing a pretty major part in "The Desolation of Smaug"--but that has already kind of been spoiled in the trailers. Notice how careful they have been in regards to how Smaug actually looks though. I kind of expect to see Smaug come out in February or March.

Since Smaug is SFX anyway it's not impossible that the original design document given to GW to design the mini from were changed to make Smaug look better on film after they'd started

so the mini no longer looked like the dragon on the screen and needed a swift redesign