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WARNING

Looking at the USA forgeworld website the following models are listed as sold out - which in FW terms means not being returned to sale

Blood Angels Leviathan Dreadnought
Tyranid Malanthrope
Death Korps of Krieg Autocannon Team 2
Death Korps of Krieg Infantry Squad at Ease
Legion Anvillus Pattern Dreadclaw Drop Pod
Eldar Hornet
Necron Pylon - also sold out on the UK forgeworld site.


NOTE of all those only the Necron Pylon is listed as sold out on the UK website. All of the others are listed as normal for sale and are not marked as "Last Chance". In addition the Tyranid Malanthrope listing on the US website shows sold out on the main page, but clicking through to the product page it is on sale (its normal that the GW/FW website is more accurate on the product than the overview page).



I should note that over the last 2 years FW has gutted most of the AoS/Old World models from sale with little warning. Though its somewhat shocking to see these models vanishing since they are all "current lines" according ot the recently published rule book for FW models.

UPDATE
I emailed the list above to FW and got the following reply

Thanks for the email.

Please don't worry these items are not discontinued, they are undergoing some product packaging updates and will return to the store once the product updates are complete.

Please keep an eye on the web-store for updates and they will return in time.

Kind regards


Luke

Dang. I like the DKK at ease, but they're so expensive...

These don’t necessarily mean they’re gone. It could be a reboxing or a mould has blown and needs remaking. I highly doubt the Blood Angels leviathan has gone.

 Overread wrote:
Necron Pylon - also sold out on the UK forgeworld site.

Not surprising, given it used bits of the old Monolith kit. Wonder if we'll see a re-done one later on?

 zedmeister wrote:
These don’t necessarily mean they’re gone. It could be a reboxing or a mould has blown and needs remaking. I highly doubt the Blood Angels leviathan has gone.

It's true. Sometimes a mold blows, and then when they sell out of available inventory it's pulled from the store, then a few months later it'll reappear without fan faire. Happens not infrequently.

Aye but as with all things FW its impossible to predict. Just means if there are regions where those things are in stock and you do want them you still have at least a friendly warning to grab them in case they go for good.

Anvils is listed as temp out of stock on the uk site. Though one of the Moirax knights is sold out so who knows ?

The anvillus and leviathan already come in boxes so who knows.

EMAIL EMAIL EMAIL

I'm getting REALLY tired of Forge World's absolute and utter inability to communicate anything with their customer base. I'll be sending an email right after I type this out, and I suggest that everyone else do the same. Let them know(politely!) that you're frustrated by their products constantly having such uncertain availabilities and often going "Sold Out" or "No Longer Available" with no warning or communication whatsoever. The very LEAST they could do is create a disclaimer on each product's page to let customers know what the status is - whether or not the mold needs to be remade, etc etc.

I say email because complaining on a forum or social media is one thing, but actual emails going to their customer service are a trackable data point that FW can directly use to gauge customer satisfaction and interest in their products.

For anyone in the US needing their customer service email address, it is: forgeworld@gwplc.com

I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

Maybe it's their strategy to make you panic buy stuff. Works on me but I really resent them for it.

 Overread wrote:
I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

So true to my word I just sent FW an email and basically reiterated what I said in my post up above; that it's frustrating to constantly have this happen with their products. I had an Anvillus on my wish list for my 30K Alpha Legion actually. Guess that's not gonna happen now. It wouldn't bother me so much if Forge World bothered to communicate even the smallest bit with their customers, and it wouldn't take much to put up a disclaimer along the lines of "The molds for this model are currently being reworked. Thanks for your patience until we can stock this again."

As far as I'm aware no other miniature company in the world constantly pulls this kind of stuff, and as a customer if I have the option to express myself via email and let them know I'm not happy, then you bet I'll do that.

 Irkjoe wrote:
Maybe it's their strategy to make you panic buy stuff. Works on me but I really resent them for it.

It both works and fails. Eg I want an Eldar army mostly build around FW stuff, but its not a plan for today. However each time Eldar stuff randomly vanishes or goes like this where it MIGHT go I don't have the money to just throw at them. If anything it if keeps happening I just won't invest into them and abandon the idea.

I do get that part of the issue is people likely not buying enough, but FW is part of GW; they've got THE MOST powerful marketing in the business. Yet all the time I see people on facebook who don't even know what FW is. Some think its a side company; one that GW bought; one that makes unofficial etc... I'm reminded of a community article on Exalted Greater Demons which did not mention the FW sculpts once.

Heck about the only FW AoS models left are the Gloomspite Gitz models and they are about the only ones I recall GW actually marketing more than a one-off mention.

 Mr. Grey wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

So true to my word I just sent FW an email and basically reiterated what I said in my post up above; that it's frustrating to constantly have this happen with their products. I had an Anvillus on my wish list for my 30K Alpha Legion actually. Guess that's not gonna happen now.

I see this said sometimes about FW stuff ("This is awful. I was going to buy this thing and now I can't and this situation quite unjust"). I don't understand it tbh. I doubt you'd hold other companies to the same standard. You aren't upset you can't buy an iphone 9 anymore, are you? Why didn't you buy the stuff, if it was important? How long was that mini you wanted in production for?

Not to defend GW and their shocking inability to run a stock management system.
Seriously the amount of times I have had people find stuff they are "sold out of and awaiting a new production run of" is scary.
Best one was being told I couldn't buy the item in my hand as it didn't exsist on the computer

Also I'm not sure if your aware but this wonderful amazing thing called brexit happened and it's turned import export into a resounding success story with avarage customs clearing timea going from days to weeks for prioritized non urgent esentials
I hate to think what the time is for non urgent non esentials probably months. And new GW product leaving the UK and any new supplies are probably going to be moving slower the the Big E on his golden throne eight now, on top of them yet again being closed for lockdown. Atleast I think they are closed.

JWBS wrote:

 Mr. Grey wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

So true to my word I just sent FW an email and basically reiterated what I said in my post up above; that it's frustrating to constantly have this happen with their products. I had an Anvillus on my wish list for my 30K Alpha Legion actually. Guess that's not gonna happen now.

I see this said sometimes about FW stuff ("This is awful. I was going to buy this thing and now I can't and this situation quite unjust"). I don't understand it tbh. I doubt you'd hold other companies to the same standard. You aren't upset you can't buy an iphone 9 anymore, are you? Why didn't you buy the stuff, if it was important? How long was that mini you wanted in production for?

In my particular case - because Forge World products are expensive. I have an Alpha Legion army for Horus Heresy. It has a small selection of FW units. The list of things that I still want from Forge World for my army is probably close to $1,500 worth of stuff. My hobby budget is maybe $50 a month. You do the math.

So yeah, in instances like this, when a product that I wanted to add to my army someday suddenly goes "No longer available", I get kind of upset. This goes even more so when the company in question has a bad habit of discontinuing miniatures with no warning and no communication to their customers about why.

GW and FW offer no long term army planning these days. Stuff comes out and disappears without notice sometimes. FW raised their prices sitewide like 20-40% a few years ago then gutted the 40K, AOS, and even the 30K line. Every boxset GW does now is limited, and things like the Blood Angel tactical squad, which was a wonderful kit, was axed after only 6 years or so. FW especially though, after the aforementioned stuff they pulled a few years ago, have lost all confidence and respect at least with me as a consumer. Im pretty sure in 2017 a Spartan Assault tank was $95-105 USD. Now its $175...uh, why?

And things like transfer sheets, which they released so many really nice ones for fringe factions like titan and knight houses were taken away. How much warehouse space are those taking up? You cant just fill some comic boxes with a few hundred every year or so and push them in a corner? Nah, lets give the scalpers another avenue to absolutely murder the wallets of people whose only mistake was buying FW armies in the first place and not spending enough money on stickers.

And lets be honest, since they've switched to fully digital sculpting, the models have taken a hit in quality. FW peaked in 2012-2016.

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:
GW and FW offer no long term army planning these days. Stuff comes out and disappears without notice sometimes. FW raised their prices sitewide like 20-40% a few years ago then gutted the 40K, AOS, and even the 30K line. Every boxset GW does now is limited, and things like the Blood Angel tactical squad, which was a wonderful kit, was axed after only 6 years or so. FW especially though, after the aforementioned stuff they pulled a few years ago, have lost all confidence and respect at least with me as a consumer. Im pretty sure in 2017 a Spartan Assault tank was $95-105 USD. Now its $175...uh, why?

And things like transfer sheets, which they released so many really nice ones for fringe factions like titan and knight houses were taken away. How much warehouse space are those taking up? You cant just fill some comic boxes with a few hundred every year or so and push them in a corner? Nah, lets give the scalpers another avenue to absolutely murder the wallets of people whose only mistake was buying FW armies in the first place and not spending enough money on stickers.

And lets be honest, since they've switched to fully digital sculpting, the models have taken a hit in quality. FW peaked in 2012-2016.

That price rise was not actually a FW change. That was them being absorbed by GW main and subjected to their world wide pricing model, instead of FW old way of just charging you the GBP equivalent in dollar's.

JWBS wrote:

 Mr. Grey wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

So true to my word I just sent FW an email and basically reiterated what I said in my post up above; that it's frustrating to constantly have this happen with their products. I had an Anvillus on my wish list for my 30K Alpha Legion actually. Guess that's not gonna happen now.

I see this said sometimes about FW stuff ("This is awful. I was going to buy this thing and now I can't and this situation quite unjust"). I don't understand it tbh. I doubt you'd hold other companies to the same standard. You aren't upset you can't buy an iphone 9 anymore, are you? Why didn't you buy the stuff, if it was important? How long was that mini you wanted in production for?

Thing is many products have a rough estimation of a lifespan. The new iPhone you can generally estimate its lifespan. You have at the very least a rough window of known opportunity. Forgeworld is totally random. Some of the sculpts are decades old, others are fairly new yet any one can vanish with little warning. AoS has lost a LOT of sculpts over the last 2 years and I doubt its because all the moulds broke at the same time. Thing is the warning window is short for products that run into the £100s very quickly if we do get warning and often as not the "last chance" warning appears just as the mould breaks and FW decides not to renew it (so there is no warning).

I don't blame FW entirely, its very clear that there's some political/management/economics pressure thing going on in GW and FW which resulting in some of this fallout. So sometimes it might be that FW is turning to central management for money for a new mould and are getting refused. Who knows.


The problem is uncertainty. If we at least had a few months warning or a heads up on likely to be removed products or something we'd at least be able to plan purchases. Right now its very random which adds to the problem


Central GW is a little better, most products tend to only vanish around key moments like army updates and even then its typically older sculpts/metal/finecast that vanish. Of course card stock tends to vanish after its first printing and other things like transfers and upgrade sets are very erratic.




In the end its about communication and also about the fact that GW products are often long term things. These aren't iPhones that are replaced each year or so with a new fancier model. Heck the core of most armies is the same as its been for near on 30 years. Tyranids still use gaunts, warrors, zoanthropes etc.. - things that came out when they first appeared.

JWBS wrote:

 Mr. Grey wrote:

 Overread wrote:
I've already emailed to try and get a confirmation and hope we can get one. After that I'll likely message about a few of the models if they are going off sale - esp the Hornet!


Sadly the only two things we can do is encourage people to buy FW (actual money going into the pot) and email FW direct. After that we really don't have much influence and GW central doesn't help. Heck I don't think their community team on FB even remembers about FW half the time.

So true to my word I just sent FW an email and basically reiterated what I said in my post up above; that it's frustrating to constantly have this happen with their products. I had an Anvillus on my wish list for my 30K Alpha Legion actually. Guess that's not gonna happen now.

I see this said sometimes about FW stuff ("This is awful. I was going to buy this thing and now I can't and this situation quite unjust"). I don't understand it tbh. I doubt you'd hold other companies to the same standard. You aren't upset you can't buy an iphone 9 anymore, are you? Why didn't you buy the stuff, if it was important? How long was that mini you wanted in production for?

Apple as a company offers an entirely different product type than FW. It is known that next year's iPhone model will be better than the last due to "advancements" in tech or what have you. Comparing Apple to FW, which has always been viewed as a supplier of boutique products for a miniature game, is downright silly. Your comparison basically states, "Hey if you want that just have enough money." That's ridiculous in the context of a miniatures game. It takes some people years to build the army they've been dreaming of due to their income, and there's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't be screwed over because they aren't rich.

Even if you ignore money, models take time to build and paint. Even if you've got the money sometimes you have to pause in buying to catch up the build and paint phase of the army. Or perhaps you collect two or three and GW is doing a big update of one army so another steps back. That Eldar army might well be on hold right now as you work on your Slaanesh or Necron or Marine force. So suddenly its not just having the money, its prioritising what you are spending on.

They could be cutting the lowest whatever percent of sales because there's no room for the parts in their molds. I've read somewhere that it's all about being economical with space and if they can't fit even one part they just cut the entire miniature. Though I have a hard time believing the blood angel leviathan doesn't sell.

 Overread wrote:
Even if you ignore money, models take time to build and paint. Even if you've got the money sometimes you have to pause in buying to catch up the build and paint phase of the army. Or perhaps you collect two or three and GW is doing a big update of one army so another steps back. That Eldar army might well be on hold right now as you work on your Slaanesh or Necron or Marine force. So suddenly its not just having the money, its prioritizing what you are spending on.

This is very true. I've had this happen to me a bunch, I was even going to start a 28mm Legio Astorum force and had it all planned out. However I was focusing on my Salamanders and Night Lords. Then after a year or two the transfers disappeared, followed by the Lucius Warlord head. And now that plan has fallen in the dumpster. I dont see why they cant have a made to order catalogue if storage space is such an issue.

I'm willing to bet they still have moulds/masters and if sales are that low that they pull them from general sale then yeah surely made to order would work. It's just really hard to tell what FW and GW are thinking about the FW model range, it comes and goes and is an enigma that we, on the outside, have no way to know what's happening

Heck internally I don't think they are sure either, they formed an AoS team at one point and their only out put was a few stormcast alternative heads before they were closed down. That's it about the only AoS models are those, the Chaos dragon (which was started in End Times) and I think one other khorne demon. 3 models in 5 years of AoS is a very poor show for what is supposed to be GW's second biggest model line and also a huge fantasy line.

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:


And lets be honest, since they've switched to fully digital sculpting, the models have taken a hit in quality. FW peaked in 2012-2016.

That's absolute nonsense. Vehicles in particular have improved markedly in the years since digital sculpting came in.

 Overread wrote:
I'm willing to bet they still have moulds/masters and if sales are that low that they pull them from general sale then yeah surely made to order would work. It's just really hard to tell what FW and GW are thinking about the FW model range, it comes and goes and is an enigma that we, on the outside, have no way to know what's happening

Heck internally I don't think they are sure either, they formed an AoS team at one point and their only out put was a few stormcast alternative heads before they were closed down. That's it about the only AoS models are those, the Chaos dragon (which was started in End Times) and I think one other khorne demon. 3 models in 5 years of AoS is a very poor show for what is supposed to be GW's second biggest model line and also a huge fantasy line.

I think they're at the point where you'll never see an AoS or 40k mainline release for FW again. It's going to be all plastic going forward for the two core games.

FW will I think be dedicated to purely specialist. Bounty hunters and pets for Necro, star players for Blood bowl, secondary characters and elite units for Middle-earth etc. And of course whatever is left for the heresy.

We'll have to see if The Old World becomes their next major project with the heresy winding down.

As some point soon there will be no Eldar left on Forgeworld.

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:

Apple as a company offers an entirely different product type than FW. It is known that next year's iPhone model will be better than the last due to "advancements" in tech or what have you. Comparing Apple to FW, which has always been viewed as a supplier of boutique products for a miniature game, is downright silly. Your comparison basically states, "Hey if you want that just have enough money." That's ridiculous in the context of a miniatures game. It takes some people years to build the army they've been dreaming of due to their income, and there's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't be screwed over because they aren't rich.

So what are you saying, they shouldn't retire stuff, even if it doesn't sell? Sounds a lot like you're saying that, and that would be nuts. No way to run a profitable business, and bad for consumers too, them keeping a load of garbage skus hanging around for the four dozen people a year that want to buy it (but not yet - some time eventually, but not now - just keep it around, yeah?). And this is w/o factoring in that they're shrinking FW out of existence, for reasons we all know, it's been discussed ad nauseum. Basically if you want something from FW, you need to get it because you'll likely be upset eventually. Much of their stuff is obsolete, with an aesthetic that a great many former customers don't want now (due to Primaris. The fact that they're 40K is irrelevant, they've made huge swathes of the FW catologue unappealing to customers becuase they just look a lot better), added to the facts that Bly is gone, and FW caibalises GW proper, and Chinacast canibalises FW. People should know by now, from experience, that FW (as we knew it from 90s to about 5ish yrs ago) is basically winding down and a lot of the stuff you might want will be a China import only soon enough / eventually.

JWBS wrote:

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:

Apple as a company offers an entirely different product type than FW. It is known that next year's iPhone model will be better than the last due to "advancements" in tech or what have you. Comparing Apple to FW, which has always been viewed as a supplier of boutique products for a miniature game, is downright silly. Your comparison basically states, "Hey if you want that just have enough money." That's ridiculous in the context of a miniatures game. It takes some people years to build the army they've been dreaming of due to their income, and there's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't be screwed over because they aren't rich.

So what are you saying, they shouldn't retire stuff, even if it doesn't sell? Sounds a lot like you're saying that, and that would be nuts. No way to run a profitable business, and bad for consumers too, them keeping a load of garbage skus hanging around for the four dozen people a year that want to buy it (but not yet - some time eventually, but not now - just keep it around, yeah?). And this is w/o factoring in that they're shrinking FW out of existence, for reasons we all know, it's been discussed ad nauseum. Basically if you want something from FW, you need to get it because you'll likely be upset eventually. Much of their stuff is obsolete, with an aesthetic that a great many former customers don't want now (due to Primaris. The fact that they're 40K is irrelevant, they've made huge swathes of the FW catologue unappealing to customers becuase they just look a lot better), added to the facts that Bly is gone, and FW caibalises GW proper, and Chinacast canibalises FW. People should know by now, from experience, that FW (as we knew it from 90s to about 5ish yrs ago) is basically winding down and a lot of the stuff you might want will be a China import only soon enough / eventually.

Tell you what, I'll give you my Paypal and then YOU can send me some cash so that I can buy all my FW wants right now, just in case they should happen to go OOP before I get the chance to grab them. Must be nice to live in a world where the solution to this issue is to just buy it immediately so that you won't be disappointed later when it suddenly goes off the site with no warning whatsoever.

 Mr. Grey wrote:

JWBS wrote:

 Midnightdeathblade wrote:

Apple as a company offers an entirely different product type than FW. It is known that next year's iPhone model will be better than the last due to "advancements" in tech or what have you. Comparing Apple to FW, which has always been viewed as a supplier of boutique products for a miniature game, is downright silly. Your comparison basically states, "Hey if you want that just have enough money." That's ridiculous in the context of a miniatures game. It takes some people years to build the army they've been dreaming of due to their income, and there's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't be screwed over because they aren't rich.

So what are you saying, they shouldn't retire stuff, even if it doesn't sell? Sounds a lot like you're saying that, and that would be nuts. No way to run a profitable business, and bad for consumers too, them keeping a load of garbage skus hanging around for the four dozen people a year that want to buy it (but not yet - some time eventually, but not now - just keep it around, yeah?). And this is w/o factoring in that they're shrinking FW out of existence, for reasons we all know, it's been discussed ad nauseum. Basically if you want something from FW, you need to get it because you'll likely be upset eventually. Much of their stuff is obsolete, with an aesthetic that a great many former customers don't want now (due to Primaris. The fact that they're 40K is irrelevant, they've made huge swathes of the FW catologue unappealing to customers becuase they just look a lot better), added to the facts that Bly is gone, and FW caibalises GW proper, and Chinacast canibalises FW. People should know by now, from experience, that FW (as we knew it from 90s to about 5ish yrs ago) is basically winding down and a lot of the stuff you might want will be a China import only soon enough / eventually.

Tell you what, I'll give you my Paypal and then YOU can send me some cash so that I can buy all my FW wants right now, just in case they should happen to go OOP before I get the chance to grab them. Must be nice to live in a world where the solution to this issue is to just buy it immediately so that you won't be disappointed later when it suddenly goes off the site with no warning whatsoever.

So...a reply with absolutely nothing of substance. Cool, at least it was short. Don't worry, you don't need me to send you any money, just put the stuff you want in your basket and buy it whenever. Next year maybe. If worst comes to worst there'll be a thread here when it gets discontinued where you can express your disappointment.