Games Workshop, An Appreciation Thread

[Lorfarius]

After a bit of banter in the Wanted section I decided to dig out some of my old Warhammer 40K stuff and get back into it. Not really interested in playing the game but fancy having a go at painting the models again. I only have 2 things left from the early 90's (when I was a kid into the game) so thought I would kick start this thread by showing off what I have. The plan is to post more images after I've done some painting, the current ones pictured are a bit crappy but seeing as I was only 12 or so when I painted em its understandable. I'm hoping my latest attempt wont look anywhere near this bad! I do recall just how long and the large amount of effort it took to actually paint them. That funny looking base beneath the dreadnoughts feet is actually a piece of painted cardboard.

Anyhoo folks start posting your pics and lets get a good thread/discussion going about the game My plan is to purchase the Battle for Macgreggor set tomorrow from a Games Workshop and start another UltraMarines army. Always liked the colour scheme for them and should make a good start as they are a bit basic colour wise to paint.

[LittleJoe]

After a bit of banter in the Wanted section I decided to dig out some of my old Warhammer 40K stuff and get back into it.

I'll dig out some of my Warhammer stuff painted at a similar age and take some pics. That's if there's room for the fantasy side of things?

I've always wanted to go back to it, but like you said, probably only to have a more capable attempt at painting them. Once you haven't been in a Games Workshop for five years it can be a imtimidating place!

[Lorfarius]

I'll dig out some of my Warhammer stuff painted at a similar age and take some pics. That's if there's room for the fantasy side of things?

I've always wanted to go back to it, but like you said, probably only to have a more capable attempt at painting them. Once you haven't been in a Games Workshop for five years it can be a imtimidating place!

Feel free to post Warhammer or whatever here Maybe I should change this to the GW thread!

So how is it intimidating? I'm going in tomorrow and its been a decade at least since I visited one

[LaParka]

I love Warhammer 40k, been reading the novels again. Such a vast wealth of background, can really go to town on designing your own force.

the shops are creepy though, the shop guys jump on you as soon as you walk in.

[LittleJoe]

Feel free to post Warhammer or whatever here Maybe I should change this to the GW thread!

So how is it intimidating? I'm going in tomorrow and its been a decade at least since I visited one

They seem like internet forums in physical form. Lots of injokes and a natural distrust of newcomers.

My local GW is in Romford though, so maybe that explains it.

[Sabreman]

I had a massive nostalgic buzz for miniatures at the start of the year - hadn't touched them since I was about fifteen. Bought loads of them and loads of paint, brushes and tools. I only ended up painting two 'proper' minis and the majority of my Battlelore army. It's very time-consuming, but it's all there when I feel like going back to it.

Go to Coolminiornot and sort by ratings for some really amazing stuff.

Edit: And yeah, I absolutely will not shop in the GW brick and mortar again. The last time I went in I got set upon by a particularly avid sales assistant, and ended up leaving with something other than I went in for entirely.

[Lorfarius]

How did you do those bases? That grass looks amazing.

[JoeK]

I'll dig out some of my Warhammer stuff painted at a similar age and take some pics. That's if there's room for the fantasy side of things?

I've always wanted to go back to it, but like you said, probably only to have a more capable attempt at painting them. Once you haven't been in a Games Workshop for five years it can be a imtimidating place!

I tend to get the bug every couple of years or so, and I'm in the throes of one at the moment. I was hugely into the whole thing. I was a fairly crap gamer though - I never quite understood why there should have been so very many rules for something that is basically 'roll a dice, highest roll wins'. That and I got bored very often...

The thing which you have to get used to in GW shops is the sheer enthusiasm of the staff. I've never been in a store where there's clearly so much passion for what they do - because it sure as hell doesn't pay very well (Store managers on a basic salary of between £12-15k? Fuck right off). And I like that very much. But it can be terribly in your face if you're not fully prepared for it!

To be honest though, the main thing putting me off is the price of the damn things - miniatures have always been fairly pricey, but they're hideously so now.

That and I struggle to work out quite how they justify charging £150-odd for 65 bottles of paint.

I'll check my paints here, see what I've got lurking around. Chances are they've dried up a smidge, but we'll see.

First thing to get the hand back in - basic Space Marine.

[JoeK]

How did you do those bases? That grass looks amazing.

It looks like judicious use of flock, along with a wee bit of painted sand for good measure. Lovely models though. I need more to me in the mood!

[Lorfarius]

To be honest though, the main thing putting me off is the price of the damn things - miniatures have always been fairly pricey, but they're hideously so now.

Back in the day I remember saving for aaggeess to buy a set of Terminators. At the time they cost about £15 for 5 models. Damn fortune back then come to think of it. The same set is £25 now. Shocking.

My biggest worry at the moment will be spraying them with undercoating. Cant really do it inside my flat as theres nowhere near enough ventilation and I dont have a back/front yard. Probably going to have to be on a windowsill

[Frosty]

It looks like judicious use of flock, along with a wee bit of painted sand for good measure. Lovely models though. I need more to me in the mood!

Static grass.

[moosegrinder]

The shops are horrible. The staff are over friendly and do that "matey matey ribbing you gor blimey yes haha having a joke with you but we're probaly mocking you behind your back, you fucking OUTSIDER" routine. I fucking hate that.

[Frosty]

The shops are horrible. The staff are over friendly and do that "matey matey ribbing you gor blimey yes haha having a joke with you but we're probaly mocking you behind your back, you fucking OUTSIDER" routine. I fucking hate that.

[LittleJoe]

The shops are horrible. The staff are over friendly and do that "matey matey ribbing you gor blimey yes haha having a joke with you but we're probaly mocking you behind your back, you fucking OUTSIDER" routine. I fucking hate that.

That's it!

Although when you're in the flow of going reguarly its great. One of the store managers leaving was actually a significant factor in my quitting Warhammer, the spark just wasn't there with the new one.

[JoeK]

The shops are horrible. The staff are over friendly and do that "matey matey ribbing you gor blimey yes haha having a joke with you but we're probaly mocking you behind your back, you fucking OUTSIDER" routine. I fucking hate that.

They can do that to me all they like - fact is I'm old and gnarled enough to have bought the very first Warhammer rule book (well a box with three books in it). That and lurking around at the old family homestead are early 80s copies of White Dwarf - with articles on Traveller for god's sake.

Behold my glory and bow to my anally retentive knowledge of the hobby.

Of course, I wouldn't ever dare challenge anyone to a game of warhammer - couldn't ever really get into playing the actual game very well - bit too long winded for me...I think the only one I really liked were the Epic scale battles - somewhat easier, and I liked having hundreds of figures on a table.

[Lorfarius]

Of course, I wouldn't ever dare challenge anyone to a game of warhammer - couldn't ever really get into playing the actual game very well - bit too long winded for me...I think the only one I really liked were the Epic scale battles - somewhat easier, and I liked having hundreds of figures on a table.

Theres a new set of rules/campaign out for 40k at the moment called Apocalypse which seems to do something similar. You can have battles with entire regiments or as many miniatures as you want. Looking at the GW site though and its about £280 for a full marine army

[JoeK]

Theres a new set of rules/campaign out for 40k at the moment called Apocalypse which seems to do something similar. You can have battles with entire regiments or as many miniatures as you want. Looking at the GW site though and its about £280 for a full marine army

£280!

They can fuck right off with that.

I understand that the raw materials cost a fair old whack for them, but the amount of profit they get from their mark-ups is astronomical. Back in the day, a mate of mine became a manager of the GW in Bedford. They give significant staff discounts on metal figures. I think it was somewhere in the region of 40-50% then. And they still made a profit on those sales.

I think the products they produce are fab, I really do. But the mark up surely puts folk right off the whole thing.

All of this made choosing an army to fight with very easy -

For warhammer, it was always hundreds and hundreds of plastic skeletons...

FOr 40k...hundreds and hundreds of plastic Space Marines.

Notice a theme?

[Lorfarius]

£280!

They can fuck right off with that.

Seems silly. This is what you get for your money:

Battle Companies are deployed to meet full-scale threats that other forces of the Imperium cannot counter. A Battle Company can defeat an enemy army ten times its size, such is the breadth of their skill that there is little in the field of war that they cannot achieve. This box set contains 1 Space Marine Commander, 5 Command Squad Space Marines, 6 (10-man) Tactical Squads, 2 (10-man) Assault Squads, 2 (10-man) Devastator Squads, 1 Razorback, 8 Rhinos and 1 Vehicle Command frame. For a total of 106 Marines and 9 Vehicles.

Theres not even any Terminators in there.

[max]

I used to paint Blood Angels, never really got into playing. Oh, and I turned a model of ED-209 into a dreadnought/Titan, that was pretty cool.

[Wolfshoes]

I ended up preferring to play Epic 40k, just for the scale of it all with the titans and whatnot. I had that utterly ridiculous Imperator titan too which was practically indestructable (in the game).

I did paint a bunch of 40k models though, should have a look for them.

[MrCadbury]

I used to be into Games Workshop games but I have to agree - going into the shops always was and I assume is a horrible experience. Over-matey shop assistants, the overwhelming atmosphere of desperation. No, ta.

Still, Blood Bowl was everything you could ever want in a game. Beats the hell out of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k and was relatively inexpensive, compared to the 2 aforementioned games.

[LaParka]

I like Qee's. Have the 2.5" melvins Qee on my key-ring.

Also have the Kozik ultraviolence sets.

Edit: looking, i have far too many Qee's. 10 of the 8" ones

I always found the Vallejo paint was of better quality than the GW version. Cheaper overall and the cap meant it didn't dry out.

[Stilly]

This could well turn out to be the best thread ever and I may just have to sticky it!

I used to love 40k and 40k Epic - I had a huge army of marines, land raiders, rhinos and titans and they're all in the garage at the moment - I'll have to dig them out and post pix.

My brother was into Warhammer before me and before they did the 40k stuff. As a schoolkid he sent off some designs of robots/space soldier 'marines' to GW and they made one of them and sent it back to him! I'll try to dig that one out too when I visit my parents next week.

Let the good times roll!

[CrispinG]

The shops look weird. There were always about five beardies in black t-shirts hovering around a big table pushing orcs around like generals before a war. I never went in and think you're all freaks.

[Lorfarius]

I used to love 40k and 40k Epic - I had a huge army of marines, land raiders, rhinos and titans and they're all in the garage at the moment - I'll have to dig them out and post pix.

How many do you think you had? Would be interesting to see if anyone ever painted a whole army of the things.

[Stilly]

They now do regular 40k titans at just £280 each, mail order only!

Link to GW

[Lorfarius]

Compare what I painted in the first post to the above. Theres going to be tears isnt there....

[Stilly]

How many do you think you had? Would be interesting to see if anyone ever painted a whole army of the things.

iirc one of those Emperor titans (the massive ones with church steeples on the roof!), about 12 regular titans, 6 super heavy tanks, around 40 land raiders and 40ish rhinos and approx 600 marines.... but I might be way out. The Epic marines could either be really easy to paint (quick undercoat then topcoat plus a splash of paint for the helmet and shoulder) or very fiddly. I chose the lazy route.

I never got round to completing the painting as hormones and girls took over my special interests!

[Lorfarius]

iirc one of those Emperor titans (the massive ones with church steeples on the roof!), about 12 regular titans, 6 super heavy tanks, around 40 land raiders and 40ish rhinos and approx 600 marines.... but I might be way out. The Epic marines could either be really easy to paint (quick undercoat then topcoat plus a splash of paint for the helmet and shoulder) or very fiddly. I chose the lazy route.

Get that camera out! I demand pictures

[Stilly]

Compare what I painted in the first post to the above. Theres going to be tears isnt there....

Haha, my stuff looked a lot like yours - remember GW have hairy guys that spend all their time painting miniatures.

Check out more 40k stuff in all their beauty - remember, these are regular size Warhammer 40,000 and NOT Epic:

Chaos warhound titan

Tyranid hierophant bio titan

Eldar revenant titan

Thunderhawk transporter (£395!!)

Stormsword super heavy siege tank