Games Workshop = Disney
It’s easy to have a love/hate relationship with GW.
On one hand, the minis are amazing. On the other, they’re OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. $55 U.S. for three bats? Are you kidding me?!
On one hand, the games are great. On the other, are they though?
GW is the arbiter of our memories and nostalgia. Without them, we would forget what it felt like to be 13 years old.
They’re also an easy target. When they make mistakes, they’re big. Cursed City for example. What the heck was that? All they had to say was “we’re having some production issues” at a time everyone on the planet was having production issues. We would have understood.
At the same time, there’s a lot to love. They’re quirkily British. The minis are top notch, if you like that style. The back catalog of lore is voluminous. Their game properties are fun. Their marketing plucks right at our heartstrings. GW’s old minis seem to be more endearing each time you look at them.
There’s no denying they’re good at what they do. And they work with an unyielding audience that scrutinizes EVERYTHING!
There’s only one thing wargamers hate more than the way things are now, and that’s change.
Paraphrasing Uncle Atom over at Tabletop Minions
So where do I fall on the spectrum of love/hate? I love it. I love it all. I wish I had all the old metal minis, and all the new plastic ones. I wish I had a solid GM on payroll so I could play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I wish I had every Man O’War ship. However, buying more minis doesn’t buy more time to paint them, or more time to play games. Nor does it keep my kids young, or make me young for that matter.
But I hate that they abuse their market pricing power. They have now achieved their goal. Retail models cost the same per piece as scalped or rare vintage models on eBay. Mission: Accomplished.
But it doesn’t matter. There are enough fans and enough consumer churn that the machine keeps ratcheting up. And that makes me kind of sad. Defeated even. But at the same time, I have enough models to paint for years (at my current glacial pace). I don’t need anything new. At least, not unless they release another installment of Warhammer Quest (fingers crossed!).
