Specialist Arms Forum
Warmaster => [WM] Warmaster Fantasy Discussion => Topic started by: athensfantasy on April 14, 2012, 09:02:34 PM
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Hi all and apologies if this has been discussed in another topic (I did use the search function :o )
Getting back to the game and got a few people interested as well in the local wargaming club. Perfect!
But I am always worried on when GW would be pulling the plug on those wonderful minis. (maybe as everything switches to resin?)
So I am thinking of doing a panic order for some of the armies I d like to build in the future (must haves: skaven, dark elves, nice to haves: araby, undead, lizardmen).
What is your feeling on this?
Of course in such a catastrophic >:( scenario having those minis for myself does not help in getting more players into the game etc
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Just a humble opinion. I have no "direct line" with GW. So just my opinion. I feel there is a lot of panik out there. If you are willing to make the order, do it, and enjoy the minis. But sometimes I feel blackmail by the feeling of "sword of Damocles" that is over warmaster, that is no good. Just enjoy the hobby, it is my little advice. Buy your minis if you are willing to.
Maybe this feeling of fear is what makes some out of production go for insane prices on ebay... do not know.
Or the possibilities of the molds suddendly cracks... do not know.
I have felt this fear in the past and bought the Empire mortars and panther knight from GW to finish the empire range. Then both sets disapear and a year of so the mortars pop up again in GW page. The lection learned... don't try to comprehend GW, it is bussness that moves for the interes of buisness beyond the users willing. I only know that I enjoy sitting in my workbench with a tea and paint some figures at the end of the day.
Just my opinion.
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I've aimed to get two of the "starter" armies... ie the oldest: High Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, Empire, Khemri undead, Chaos. ASAP - at about 50% RRP via ebay. Those armies you've chosen are the rare ones it's worth paying full whack for, except Undead, which seems to be the cheapest army to buy on ebay from my experience.
So perhaps skip the undead, unless you mean Vampire Counts. =-P
If I had to buy an army right now - would be Skaven - beautiful models!
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I just started Warmaster in January and at first I was buying everything and all things regardless of price location etc. Three months later I am better organized and have a list of priority items I am working on. I no longer feel like 2012 is the last year for Warmaster and I am better able to coordinate my hobby now. I currently have priority, secondary and tertiary lists made up for my war master eBay shopping and it helps keep me focused. I also love checking off those boxes when they are completed!
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I would decide your order of most wanted armies list.
Then decide what size force for each you want and make a list for the first 2-4 armies.
Then buy what you can afford, as fast as possible, one army at a time.
When you have at least 2 armies you can relax a bit as GW can't ever take those away from you.
After that its just risk of never being able to buy those figs again (could happen next month or in 5 years, who knows?) vs the risk of spending loads of money in a small lead mountain.
Personally I've gone for the lead mountain.... :)
Dave
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But I am always worried on when GW would be pulling the plug on those wonderful minis. (maybe as everything switches to resin?)
Many of my friends work for GW, some of them are in positions where they have meetings with high up people. I used to work for GW myself, and i've kept the friendships going with lots of designers and staff. I asked the same question a year ago and according to Mark Wells (i think that's his name? think he's the MD? there's a whole gang of them that have come from Boots in nott'm, so they have no gaming background, just good with buisness) there's no plans to stop the warmaster range, but also they won't be moving to resin or plastic (the initial investment cost for plastic is huge compared to silicon moulds and metal) Unfortunately though his views of all the specialist games is "they are a distraction from the main range", so i doubt they will get much support.
That was a year ago though, and maybe those views will change? i don't know
This does kinda remind me when they got rid of all the old range from Eastwood site. They were paying to keep the old range in a strongroom that was costing them a lot of money. The amount of figures they'd sell per year meant they were losing money, so they decided to scrap all the old moulds and melt down the tin masters. I know this because i was given the job (with 2 others) to melt those masters down and scrap the 9" master moulds, a sad day. I'm unsure if they are making money on warmaster.
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I too have just started collecting warmaster , and love the depth and breadth of the game . E bay seems to have gone into the silly zone for some of the units even ones not out of production !.
I have now just about completed my first three armies ,
High Elves
Empire
Chaos
I will be looking to expand my goblin/orc's and undead and would like to collect Araby and lizardman . I to am becoming slightly more organized with wish lists .
Is there any where where people meet asnd have organised play ?. I'am baswed in York UK
Kind regards
Stuart
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The main "paranoia" of WM supporters comes because GW removed suddenly the whole Kislev range without warning, and all the secondary/elite poses of all the armies too.
All people that like the game are afraid that "the threat is real", and it can happen to other armies, or even to the whole game.
What is sure is that GW is not supporting WM (no ads, no events, no new releases, no promos or support)
Why are they going to support a game where you can buy a cheap army (compared with 28mm), and the ruleset doesn't change (you don't have to buy a new ruleset) every year or so?
Unfortunately though his views of all the specialist games is "they are a distraction from the main range", so i doubt they will get much support.
Moneytalks! :-\
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"there's a whole gang of them that have come from Boots in nott'm, so they have no gaming background, just good with buisness"
This explains so much. =-/
Boots is good at tax dodging and loyalty cards. And I don't see any loyalty cards in GW. =-P
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My take on GW is that it is being run with short term profit in mind i.e. the 1-2 year time span. I suppose this makes sense if you are a senior manager with shares and you know you might be booted out if the figures for two consecutive years are poor.
For me, the whole point of the SG range is that it keeps veterans who are bored of WHFB/WH40K from wandering off to other games/manufacturors. Its is a long term thing i.e. a long slow burn. I have spent thousands of pounds on 7 large warmaster armies over the last 10 years that would otherwise have been spent with other non GW games.
I suppose there just aren't enough of us to make our presence felt, money wise?
Dave
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Has anybody ever wrote to GW in an honest letter to find out what is going on with the SG range?
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On a positive note, there are various manufacturers of 10mm figures. Certain ranges (Undead, Orcs, Elves, Dwarves) are well covered, others not (Lizardmen, Skaven). Araby / Brettonians and Empire could be built by historical miniature ranges. I am sure alternative manufacturers would jump to the opportunity if GW was to stop producing their 10mm range.
I wish Copplestone Castings and Eureka would keep expanding their 10mm range. I find their minis are well up to the quality of the GW warmaster range. Pendraken/Kallistra are not that pretty but a workable backup solution for gaming.
In the meantime I am preparing for the Dark Elf army order.... Skaven will stay in the wish list for a bit.
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I would really like a good proxy army for Kislev. Perhaps I should make a new topic and ask if anyone could fill the whole range with just non-GW models.
I think the bears and bear riders would definitely be the hardest to proxy.
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No bears in the market, by now... Pendraken has "fantasy bears" in the upcoming wish list.
Catalogue of figures is good tool for search the suitable figures.
http://sg.tacticalwargames.net/forum/index.php?topic=4118.0
I suggest for kislev:
reanissance polish
Great northern war (russians)
Mongols
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Do any of our esteemed members here have any contacts in GW - especially the mould storage area - to see if the moulds are still around for the rarer items that we would all love to get?
I would happily pay a premium price to specially cast up a wad of rarer/OOP WM minis (if it was at all possible) - mainly to fill out my collection and not have to pay the ridiculous prices that are now coming up on ebay. I'm sure we, as a group of dedicated WM players be able to make it worthwhile for someone in GW to go to the effort of searching for; casting up and then sending the order to one person and then we all get our bits.....
Anyone with the contacts? Anyone? Anyone?
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I do, i know lots of people in the mould room and casting and the studio.
I've never asked about the OOP warmaster stuff. I know they still have some of the old castles in WM scale, just because it came up in conversation in a pub last month. (i never really ask about any GW products, and usually what i am told is accompanied by a "tell noone!!")
But i wouldn't get your hopes up about getting cheaper castings of the OOP figures. The mould room isn't like it used to be, it's all regulated now. It used to be alot easier to just grab a mould out the strongroom, and cast whatever you want. You can't do that now.
I'll ask, but i'm fairly certain the reply will be... "yes we still have the moulds, and no we can't cast them"
It's a shame i wasn't into warmaster when it first came out ;)
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I am increasingly convinced that someone high up in GW is running it like Brewster's Millions - and positively allergic to having people pay them money for things they want. x-D
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It is bonkers! They have the moulds, gathering dust and taking up shelf space. They have the demand? Is it not worth the time of the casting crew? This is what happens when an organisation gets big. Dictats and policy from the top become increasingly disconencted with common sense if you're working at the coal face.
Either smash the moulds up and recycle the material/free up the storage space or use them!
Ho hum - at least there's e bay.
Dave
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Why not approach Kallistra miniatures there newer stuff in 10mm is really good . I have just got some of there ACW's , it's worth a look !. Mongols look really cool as well . Pendragon have also redone a polish winged hussar figure which rocks . Bears i picked up on silly bay from Italy with mounted commander on bear .
Kallistra also do a good range of medievals / fantasy .
Stuart
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The problem with Kallistra is that their figs are bigger than other producers (GW, Pendraken, OG, etc), around 12mm I think instead 10mm tall, and they don't fit well on the table if you mix brands.
I don't have any Kallistra fig, but I have seen some comparison pics on the net.
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I guess Eureka are better positioned to gradually start producing alternative minis for the game.
I hope they do it. Their quality is comparable to GW and they seem to have the capacity to produce and deliver a large range of minis.
http://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_100_101&sort=3a
Copplestone castings could also help although their range is small and I am not sure how quickly they could come up with a significant range of minis:
http://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/range.php?range=FAN
Pendraken/Kallistra are cheap and fun but as mentioned they are very large compared to GW's line and surely not nearly as detailed as GW, Eureka and copplestone castings. Maybe the more recent Kallistra figures are more aligned to GW in terms of size - not sure. And at least they would still make it possible to game on!
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The only things stopping eureka from making the bears are orders for them. Then again, if someone can provide the 'greens' i can talk to him about getting them produced that much quicker.