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So, as far as I can tell, Forgeworld is 100% legal as far as 40k goes, and thats all well and good. But is it worth the money?

As a canadian, even a 50 pound model is quite expensive, and im wondering if not for model power, do you as players see foegeworld models as something to get as a collectors item? I know it is rare to see anything hit the table, but just how rare is forgeworld in real games?

I use Forge World all the time in "real games" though I also have models that I don't use (e.g. Thunderbolt fighter) but got because they look cool.

So yes, I get Forge World models as collector's items.

Friend of mine plays 30k and uses his Alpha Legion as whatever Chapter or Legion he feels like at the moment when we play 40k. So I see quite a lot of ForgeWorld, but only because his army is a ForgeWorld army, and playing 40k is his secondary choice.

It depends a lot on the area. In some FW carries more stigma than in others. In some converting models is discouraged, sometimes banned in the case of FW. If Horus Hersey is popular, you can expect to see more FW in 40k as well. It also depends on what armies are commonly played, some armies needed FW to be competitive the last couple editions, which did a lot to make people more accepting of them.

My personal area, I'd say a lot of players use a least a couple FW units. Now, not all of those are actually purchased from FW itself, the price means many prefer to convert cheaper models than buy direct. But they are still fairly common.

Worth the money is a tough one.

Game wise, I only play rarely, and my games are all quite friendly so unit power doesn't really factor when considering value for money.

As collectors items and centre pieces I have an easier time justifying the cost. Although, I should state I don't own too many of their bigger models. Big walkers, superheavy tanks, greater daemons... I like and I don't mind spending money on them (assuming I have it to spare, or when it's the time of year when my piggy bank gets emptied).

What I've spent much more on is infantry upgrade kits. I've bought a lot of Chaos Renegade conversion kits, 40k Death Guard bits. All great kits.... but sometimes I sweat a little when clicking the "confirm" button.

My most recent order was over £60 on some arms and a few special weapons.... that has made me take a look at myself a bit. That order has probably put me of FW for a bit. Although, not being particularly flush at the moment is probably compounding my guilt a bit.

Again, it's a tough question that only you can answer.

I think FW can be worth the money. I think it often isn't. I'll always have a discussion with myself prior to a purchase, and I've never regretted a purchase which I was able to justify beforehand (except maybe that last one).

I think if you can save for a number of months, specifically for that coveted Fellblade, and still be comfortable in your day to day finances, then you get the tank bought and I don't think you should regret it.

I have a few models, mostly as centrepieces to my force. Things like a mars pattern vanquisher for my command tank and a single vulture as a CAS element. Oh, and a ramillies class star fort if you count BFG. Other than that I have a few things that didn't have a GW model when I got them, such as a pair of hydras and some BFG transports.

It's worth the money if you want to spend it, like any hobby.

I have bought forgeworld in the past, but I use the models to represent 40k models. It allows my armies to have a unique look while not having to worry about whether someone is cool with the rules.

I have a few FW items I came into on the cheap, but honestly I would never play with them. Not because of the rules, but because they're more like fancy display items. It's like one of those really complex gundam kits; technically you can play with them like a toy after assembling them but most people would rather glue them in place and sit them on the shelves as display pieces.

My experience with Forgeworld.

Design: A+ (quality of the sculpts is often quite decent)
Aesthetic: A+++ (often far more intriguing and attractive than generic GW designs)
Cost: D
Quality: C-

Exceptionally cool, but very expensive and often poorly produced when you get your hands on them. You can explore new dizzying heights of vocabulary when working on them. Large kits = I've only helped buddies and it's often a damn nightmare. The only stuff I've actually owned myself were small bits which needed some heating to straighten - they were okay, but pricey as hell. For the price you're paying the parts should be far better produced (lots of warping, occasional pitting etc.). I've received better resin from a number of 3rd party companies...often at a far cheaper cost. In short, cool factor? Off the charts. Quality/cost factor? Poor.

Also, I'll throw in a caveat: Forgeworld needs to occasionally remember what medium they work in. There are unacceptable design choices considering they use mediocre resin to produce their models (looking at you Hierophant).

 Elbows wrote:
My experience with Forgeworld.

Design: A+ (quality of the sculpts is often quite decent)
Aesthetic: A+++ (often far more intriguing and attractive than generic GW designs)
Cost: D
Quality: C-

Exceptionally cool, but very expensive and often poorly produced when you get your hands on them. You can explore new dizzying heights of vocabulary when working on them. Large kits = I've only helped buddies and it's often a damn nightmare. The only stuff I've actually owned myself were small bits which needed some heating to straighten - they were okay, but pricey as hell. For the price you're paying the parts should be far better produced (lots of warping, occasional pitting etc.). I've received better resin from a number of 3rd party companies...often at a far cheaper cost. In short, cool factor? Off the charts. Quality/cost factor? Poor.

Also, I'll throw in a caveat: Forgeworld needs to occasionally remember what medium they work in. There are unacceptable design choices considering they use mediocre resin to produce their models (looking at you Hierophant).

Some years ago I bought some DKoK for my Inquisitor... at least every other rifle was snapped, and they were as fine as hairs. I wasn't gonna use those rifles anyway, but I was really shocked that they'd sell something so shoddy for the prices they charge.
Recently I got a Vultarax Stratos-Automata, not that I can use it for anything (although I am considering getting 2 more and running them as a detachment of SM gunships) but the quality was fantastic. It is mostly just a lump, though.

 Elbows wrote:
My experience with Forgeworld.

Design: A+ (quality of the sculpts is often quite decent)
Aesthetic: A+++ (often far more intriguing and attractive than generic GW designs)
Cost: D
Quality: C-

I'd say this is pretty much my experience as well. The designs and æsthetics are spot on. Cost is, well subjective. Quality all depends on the newness of the model. The newer, the better quality and less likely to have moulding problems. The older models (I've bought some DKoK recently and they had a few problems), the more prone they are to problems. Luckily, their customer support is, in general, pretty good. Though I have had a few shirty e-mails off them when it comes to trying to get replacements and, in some cases, have had to return whole kits for replacement when it's only a single component that's the problem.

I think the molds wear out.

I've had some great experiences with things like the Stormhammer, which is brand spanking new, and then awful experiences with things like the macharius which is ancient (comparatively).

So it's probably got to do with the age of the kit. (at least, that seems to be a recurring theme).

I bought some of their Nurgle models and only on one dreadnought had a problem. Most of the time the Details were stunning. I'd compare them to Wargames exklusive or Anvil industry, even though both of them have better quality control and are cheaper. Forgeworld is possibly the Apple of miniatures - premium prices for products that are only a bit above average.

Sgt. Cortez wrote:
I bought some of their Nurgle models and only on one dreadnought had a problem. Most of the time the Details were stunning. I'd compare them to Wargames exklusive or Anvil industry, even though both of them have better quality control and are cheaper. Forgeworld is possibly the Apple of miniatures - premium prices for products that are only a bit above average.

"Forge World is the Apple of miniatures."

I'mma steal that, it's too true!

I dont think iv ever seen a legislation saying what can and cant be played in a game for war hammer.

Ive seen a few people mention quality issues with older models. Is the Khorne Blood Slaughter newer? Im good at assembling, but id rather not split hairs over it.

 vaklor4 wrote:
Ive seen a few people mention quality issues with older models. Is the Khorne Blood Slaughter newer? Im good at assembling, but id rather not split hairs over it.

Its a fairly old model IIRC

Pretty sure the shell will be ok. but you will probably get bubbles and old mould bits stuck in the piping.

 Desubot wrote:

I dont think iv ever seen a legislation saying what can and cant be played in a game for war hammer.

It's an old holdover from FW's own books from like 4th edition or earlier, where they said something along the lines of "you need your opponent's permission because things in this book is not balanced against the codexes". I think they've stopped printing that sometime around 5th edition. But people tend to attribute it to current FW items.

Some of the older FW models I own now have official rules in the Codex/Index, like the Valkyrie, Baneblade and Shadowsword. The Super Heavy Tanks were made much more powerful when GW introduced them in Apocalypse than they ever were using the Imperial Armor rules, and in general I think FW rules have always been a bit underpowered compared to stuff in regular GW Codices.

I've got some converted tanks made to emulate FW units too - a Destroyer Tank Hunter and a Thunderer Siege Tank, as well as a Hydra (now in the Index/Codex).

I never had any issues using them in friendly games, but they were only allowed in like half the tournies I attended, up until I stopped playing in 7th edition.


Quality in terms of how the models look has always been great, but resin is really really brittle compared to regular injection molded plastic. Chunky parts, like Leman Russ turrets, hold up well, even after ~15 years. My poor old FW Valkyrie was never the same after it got knocked off the table once. Heavy resin models don't balance well on tall flying stands, and when they break, they break big time
Also; I'm glad GW copied the design almost 100% with their plastic Valk though, and didn't stick a bunch of greebles to it like they did with the plastic Baneblade.

DKoK models being broken right out of the box sounds like a shipping issue, like maybe the mailman/UPS-guy had a bad day when handling the box, and maybe FW skimped out on packaging material. As brittle as FW resin is, and as delicate the DKoK lasguns are, I'm not surprised some of them broke.

 MechaEmperor7000 wrote:

 Desubot wrote:

I dont think iv ever seen a legislation saying what can and cant be played in a game for war hammer.

It's an old holdover from FW's own books from like 4th edition or earlier, where they said something along the lines of "you need your opponent's permission because things in this book is not balanced against the codexes". I think they've stopped printing that sometime around 5th edition. But people tend to attribute it to current FW items.

They never said it wasnt balanced, iirc. Just that your opponent might not know what theyre up against, stuff like that.

I just got some models but haven't gotten them table ready. For me I did a ton of messing around with lists and analyzing other peoples armies to see what would benefit me the most. Which was the need for more anti armor, so I got Blood Slaughterer and Decimator Engine

I also wanted some flavor for my army beyond the standard GW stuff.

Are they worth it as competitive units? Most are definitely not, especially as we can probably expect buffs for most GW units.

As centerpieces? It depends on your taste. My DKoK are definitely worth the premium in my opinion, but FW is not for everyone.

From what I read, some pieces are just varied versions of pre existing units. A Blood slaughterer (which im totally grabbinf) seems like just a fast attack Maulerfiend.

Kinda yeah, it gets something like 8 or 9 attacks at str 10. Both of mine are dual blades. I opted for dual blade for more attacks in combat rather than a short shooting thing.

Does anyone know the basic weapon profilw for the harpoon? I cant seem to find anything about it

FW world is rare in my area. It is by opponent's consent in friendly games and usually excluded from tournaments.

To address the OP's original question, Forgeworld is worth the money. YMMV, but I get good use out of the models I have and find them to be welcome improvements to lists that feel constrained by the Codex.

A few posters pointed out some FW models are upgraded versions of their Codex variants. That's half true. Most of the models I use are also used in my HH army lists and lack Codex equivalents.

Of the ones that could be accused of being upgrades, the upgrades are good.

- Hellforged Predator - gets better weapons like Plasma Destroyer and Conversion Beamer. Gets back a wound at the start of each turn.

- Hellforged Contemptor - gets better saves, gets better weapons.

Of the ones that lack Codex equivalents:

- Fire Raptor - flyer with a lot of guns, no Codex equivalent.

- Kharybdis Assault Claw - transport with outstanding CC attack, no Codex equivalent.

- Sicaran - light tank with excellent shooting, no Codex equivalent.

- Rapier weapons battery - gun platforms, no Codex equivalent.

- Spartan Assault Tank - sort of like a Land Raider with better guns and saves. No codex equivalent.

In terms of how they perform on the table, the differences are interesting. It never gets to the point where it feels like I am playing a different army, it's more about filling gaps that are not covered by the Codex. In a word: satisfying.

 vaklor4 wrote:
Does anyone know the basic weapon profilw for the harpoon? I cant seem to find anything about it

I'm at work atm but I'll check my index when I get home. From what I can recall it's around str 8 or 9, 12" range and gives you +2 charge distance if you charge the same unit you spear.

 chimeara wrote:

 vaklor4 wrote:
Does anyone know the basic weapon profilw for the harpoon? I cant seem to find anything about it

I'm at work atm but I'll check my index when I get home. From what I can recall it's around str 8 or 9, 12" range and gives you +2 charge distance if you charge the same unit you spear.

Awesome, thanks. I'm trying to decide if I want to get one or something else for my Khorne army, but honestly a fast attack Maulerfiend who has in my opinion a cooler model is pree good.

And honestly, the same price give or take, before shipping.

 Elbows wrote:
My experience with Forgeworld.

Design: A+ (quality of the sculpts is often quite decent)
Aesthetic: A+++ (often far more intriguing and attractive than generic GW designs)
Cost: D
Quality: C-

Exceptionally cool, but very expensive and often poorly produced when you get your hands on them. You can explore new dizzying heights of vocabulary when working on them. Large kits = I've only helped buddies and it's often a damn nightmare. The only stuff I've actually owned myself were small bits which needed some heating to straighten - they were okay, but pricey as hell. For the price you're paying the parts should be far better produced (lots of warping, occasional pitting etc.). I've received better resin from a number of 3rd party companies...often at a far cheaper cost. In short, cool factor? Off the charts. Quality/cost factor? Poor.

Also, I'll throw in a caveat: Forgeworld needs to occasionally remember what medium they work in. There are unacceptable design choices considering they use mediocre resin to produce their models (looking at you Hierophant).

This, I love the look of Forgeworld models but their resin is absolutely awful to work with and does not stand up to your average use for games. It's very fragile, bends easily, and snaps at the drop of a hat. They also have a bad habit of having parts warp or not fitting perfectly in bigger kits.

Which is honestly kind of baffling as I use resin from a huge variety of companies that holds up better, is easier to work with, and usually costs less. Hawk Wargames DZC and DFC resin for example is extremely tough and durable.