Warhammer 40K: quite glad I don't have the time or money.

[SoupOrMan]

After going through a link that HTRN put in another thread, I went to Forge World, the maker of the really big and really rare models and miniatures for Warhammer 40,000. Comparing the current prices to what I paid in the late 80s & early 90s I lucked out. The Space Marine kits are long out of favor, apparently. 20 plastic Marines for $20? Hah! Not anymore! So if I did get back into the game I'd have quite a bit of trouble having to buy extra vehicles and support units. That's time & money better spent on things like exercise. (Rink time for hockey costs money, calisthenics costs time, bike maintenance costs time.)

The other thing that sucks is that the preferred method of stripping the paint off of miniatures (dunk in ATF, wait, then apply stiff-bristled brush) is pretty much a guaranteed way to destroy the plastic miniatures under the paint. So I can't even get rid of my painting jones by stripping the paint and re-doing the color schemes.

I loved playing the game and painting as a kid, but I can't see how anyone could afford a starting army anymore.

[Jericho941]

Yeah, GW hasn't really figured out how to do tabletop these days. They've done well enough with licensed video games like Dawn of War and Space Marine, but the steep prices, rules shake-ups and the like have pushed a lot of players into other tabletop games like Warmachine.

[Highspeed]

I worked for GW in the late 80's for a couple of years in their art department as a figure painter, modeller and artist.

Without any false modesty I was probably one of the best miniature painters in the UK at the time. Definitely in the top ten.

I could tell you some stories about that company...

[SoupOrMan]

If it was still as affordable now as then I'd finish up my dream of a full company of Space Marines. Rhinos for everybody!

[HTRN]

I looked into Warhammer when it started getting big locally a few years ago.. Decided it was cheaper and easier to simply set fire to several hundred dollars. And from what I hear, it's by design - it's been reported that GW has an unofficial policy to "seperate the suckers from their money".

[MiddleAgedKen]

AThe other thing that sucks is that the preferred method of stripping the paint off of miniatures (dunk in ATF, wait, then apply stiff-bristled brush) is pretty much a guaranteed way to destroy the plastic miniatures under the paint. So I can't even get rid of my painting jones by stripping the paint and re-doing the color schemes.

Try Pine-Sol for stripping paint from plastic minis.

[Yogimus]

warhammer made cheap:

Buy 8 cans of spraypaint

Spraypaint 100 pennies the different colors
Same with some pringles can tops
Ditto with coffee cans

PRETEND.

[SoupOrMan]

AThe other thing that sucks is that the preferred method of stripping the paint off of miniatures (dunk in ATF, wait, then apply stiff-bristled brush) is pretty much a guaranteed way to destroy the plastic miniatures under the paint. So I can't even get rid of my painting jones by stripping the paint and re-doing the color schemes.

Try Pine-Sol for stripping paint from plastic minis.

Pine-Sol? I'd never heard of using that before.

[Highspeed]

I have a bunch of friends in the gaming business... Games Workshop's arrogance and assholery are as legendary as their incompetence and idiocy.

The current regime isn't the same as the one I worked under. They were a different kind of idiot. The kind that couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

They pissed me off to the point where I was actively trying to get sacked. I didn't much like the job anyway, I came to miniature painting from a background of military 1\35th scale figures and painting elves and pixies and stupid bloody goblins all day turned out not to be fun. I never liked fantasy gaming at all, which didn't help.

I was given the job of doing the artwork for the border of the cover of the book " Realm Of Chaos " - my brief was that it should be ancient looking cracked stone tiles, each set with a gem. I knew that GW were trying to break into the US market at the time and were getting a lot of grief from the Christian Right, so I put a message into the cracks on the stone tiles which read " Give Your Soul To Satan "
Sadly no-one bloody noticed. It didn't help that the printing process made it a lot more difficult to read than I had intended.
If you have a copy then take a look, the message starts in the bottom left corner I think and runs counter clockwise ( Widdershins - I don't believe in that crap, but it seemed appropriate )
I think you know my real name Chris ? you'll find me mentioned in the books credits - I think I'm the only one listed without a surname.

John Blanche, the director of the art department at the time, was actually a great guy. We became friends outside work because he was a biker as well. I had to go in the end though, the place drove me nuts and I went back to being a casual construction site worker for the sake of my mental health.

[SoupOrMan]

I looked into Warhammer when it started getting big locally a few years ago.. Decided it was cheaper and easier to simply set fire to several hundred dollars. And from what I hear, it's by design - it's been reported that GW has an unofficial policy to "seperate the suckers from their money".

It's pretty much always been that way. Just much cheaper 25 years ago.