Giving it all up. Just too frustrating…

[grantinvanman 2182xp 2]

After this morning’s Heresy 8mm scale “pre-order” once again selling out in mere minutes, and waiting for months to get bits to complete my big scale Heresy project, I’ve decided I’m just going to flog all my collection, and be done with GW (again!).

I built a huge 40k Orks army during late COVID, only to play it once and then have the rules change. Now it sits. Better to flog it all.

Historicals, same thing. Projects started, but always seem to be waiting for various things to finish – decals, basing, whatever.

I just can’t be bothered, anymore. “Supply chain” issues just isn’t cutting it as an excuse.

I can put the money into interests where I can get what I want – music, cycling, hockey gear.

probably healthier for me, too, to not be sedentary and improve my fitness.

Screw GW. And many of the other companies, to be honest.

[sundancer 42985xp 3]

I feel you and I am very much happy that my part of the hobby is almost G’Wullu free.

Just do yourself (and your wallet) a favour and don’t just bin it. Sell it on or gift it to people who are in need of support.

Or maybe just try not to be dragged along with hype train too much.

Stay safe mate!

[grantinvanman 2182xp 3]

Thanks; I always liked the Horus Heresy stories, so it was what brought me back into GW – that and my Orks, which were a fun army to convert and paint (there’s a Golden Button on part of them, I believe).

The realistic value of what I have when I sell it is probably $3,000; nowhere near what I paid, but still fair. I’m even going to sell my airbrush rig and paints. The airbrush stuff always commands good money as artists want that kind of kit.

My hobby room has two desks – one for minis, the other is my burgeoning music studio; freeing up one table will allow me to set up a better studio and explore more options.

GW has truly gone from a company that was easy to build armies to one that kit sits unavailable as their Memphis fulfillment centre here in North America is always short of basic things. I’ve always done armies as whole chunks at a time, and then added. Can’t even start projects now. No more frustration for me, thank you.

[phaidknott 7023xp 1]

These days just “attempting” to buy anything GW related is just an exercise in frustration. I can’t think of another experience of being a customer that has you jumping though hoops just to get GW to take your money. Add in the “FOMO” GW uses in it’s marketing and retail model and you’ll never be happy as a customer.

 

As a rule I also tend to steer clear of games/rules systems that have a “healthy” tourney scene (as I’m not into competitive gaming), these usually have lots of rule changes/army list changes/balance changes that have nothing to do with reflecting any “history” the rules are supposed to represent (plus the rules are usually cack anyway, and not that much fun to play.

 

There is something to be said for sticking with a set of rules that you enjoy and not following the trend (for example I still play Johnny Reb II rules for ACW. The first edition was too complicated, the third edition too simplified, the second edition was just right. And I’ve been using them for games since the 90s). So perhaps sticking with an edition of 40K where you personally got the most enjoyment might be a thing.

 

For Historicals, I must admit I’ve not had similar problems that I’ve had trying to stick with a GW game. I usually stick to scales 15mm and below, BUT I tend to play “refights” of historical battles (rather than pointed games). So the ORBATs are fixed, my army list is there and the terrain is all mapped beforehand. The “winner” of the game doesn’t matter so much as the experience of getting together with fellow gamers as a social experience. The minis are nearly always available (and a lot cheaper), the ORBATs and maps freely available online. And I gain a lot of satisfaction from researching the battles and equipment of the day (again from either books or online).

 

Just get away from GW and the “madness” of overpainting your wargaming minis up to collector standards (with 6mm figures it’s a blob of flesh colour for hands and face, no washes, no wet pallet, no blending etc). A Battalion of Napoleonic 48 6mm figures looks more impressive than a single 28mm GW figure (and takes less time to paint). If you are feeling frustrated before you’ve even got the figures, then GW have made an experience that perhaps we all should be looking to steer well clear off 🙂

[sundancer 42985xp 2]

I can’t think of another experience of being a customer that has you jumping though hoops just to get GW to take your money.

Have you tried buying PC parts, especially graphic cards, since 2019? But then that was not only one company but the whole world.

As a rule I also tend to steer clear of games/rules systems that have a “healthy” tourney scene

This sounds like a good rule of thumb but on the other hand SW:L has a healthy tournament scene and is reasonably well balanced.  Every rule has it’s exception doesn’t it?

And speaking of not changing the rules to much: BattleTech anyone 🙂

 

[pagan8thParticipant 10864xp 0]

When I played Warmachine and Hordes I built an army that I liked the look of, not an optimised one that made the best use of points. I lost as many as I won, but they were only friendly games and it’s the playing that mattered.

Sadly I’ve not had chance to play that in years, but I still dig the minis out when I need some for an RPG encounter. Hordes in particular make great RPG enemies.

Personally, I always found the fluff in Warmachine and Hordes so much more interesting than that in anything GW do. Warcasters and Warlocks had established rivalries and backstories that appealed to me… and I can pronouce their names… plus there are good guys and bad guys… unlike 40k where everyone is an evil bastard.

[grantinvanman 2182xp 1]

So this morning I got an email that the restock of 95% of the regular scale Heresy stuff has apparently happened in Memphis. How interesting, the timing.

Makes me either more frustrated, or willing to crash through.

 

UPDATED – frustration still wins; I’ll sell off ALL my stuff locally, or use eBay if I have to.

My airbrush rig (3x professional level airbrushes and a dual-capable compressor) my spouse has convinced me to keep, along with the Createx “Professional” colours sets I have – I still have one goalie mask to paint, so I’ll need that gear for it, and will likely get more commissions from it; the rest of my my paints I can sell off – they are hobby level Vallejo, AK v3, and a smattering of GW. Don’t think I will need those…

Cancelled my pre-order of the Rogue Trader book with GW, too. Used to have a real copy, don’t need a repro.

I will flog my Orks still, I wouldn’t miss them. And my historicals. That will still generate $2-3000; I’m a former Golden Demon winner, so my painting standard is fairly high, even on an army basis, as is the conversion level. I liked to pull parts from all over to make strongly themed armies.

@phaidknott I used to paint for the GHQ Models catalogue – even 6mm can be as time consuming as 28mm! I’ve done three-colour camo on infantry (my modern French infantry for the catalogue have the tricolour on their shoulders, at 6mm!); highlights to flesh, weapons details. Just takes time and good brushes.

Modern French Infantry, 21st Century

 

 

[phaidknott 7023xp 1]

I wouldn’t worry about missing the new “epic” scale minis from GW. They’ve been cleverly hiding some massive uncut issues by careful angles when taking the photos.

 

https://i.redd.it/picture-making-the-rounds-v0-pw0l7xdroz0c1.jpeg?s=e52c99b175bfd07ad07fb984db6726c386f60bdb

 

…..not good 🙁

[sundancer 42985xp 1]

Dang that’s ugly! @phaidknott how could that have passed QC?

Oh wait, it’s Frog-World isn’t it?

[phaidknott 7023xp 1]

Nope, they are the new 8mm Legion Imperialis models fresh off the sprue. It’s what everyone who pre-ordered the game is going to get (at least that was was what was on show in the display cabinet). GW just seem to feel they can shove anything out these days and ppl will still buy it. I feel there’s going to be a bit of a backlash when gamers get their copy (as I said they were REAL careful when taking the photos) if they end up getting minis like that. Although to be fair there’s only the one figure/pose that’s really bad and perhaps gamers can hide it by sticking it at the back of the group and put other models in front of it to hide the horrible job they did in setting up the mold on this one. 🙁

 

[sundancer 42985xp 1]

I wonder if any Reviewers who go early samples will shed light on this. I’ve seen at least one channel on YouTube putting Legion Imperialis content right now.

[grantinvanman 2182xp 1]

@phaidknott – those are some TRULY AWFUL miniatures; you’re right, I dodged a bullet. Some are just lumps of plastic. Original Epic was at least clean and crisp – how did they muck this up?!?

At any rate, I’ve made my decision: I’m selling off my collection. I might paint up the Heresy to get a bigger dollar on anything that’s built, but leave the boxes that aren’t open to the buyer.

GW won’t see me back, I’m afraid – too much fuckery.

 

[osbad 4279xp 1]

Responding to the OP, I get it.  The rapid evolution of GW’s main game is one of the reasons I steer well clear of them.  Even if you can still use the models in the new iteration of the game the fact that you’ve dumped >£100 on rules/codexes etc only for them to become obsolete within a couple of years is just a passion-killer for me.  We all paint and collect at different rates, but it seems to me that the only way to keep up with GW is to become a complete obsessive in one game which will mean you buy everything you can ASAP, paint it up within a few days, and then play nothing other than that game, with that army until the next refresh of the game system.  I may be exaggerating a tad, but that’s pretty much how it feels to me.  There are other issues too for me with GW, but they are irrelevant for this thread.

I’m a hobby butterfly.  I get bored easy.  I like to move from one project to the next, one genre or period to the next.  Never staying at one for too long.  So its quite common for me to not play a system for years in between bouts of gaming it.  So such high turnover game systems are a waste of money and time as far as I am concerned.  Fortunately there are enough freely (and free, often!) available rulesets that make it possible, and I find myself increasingly playing games from publishers like Osprey that just don’t get evolved and FAQ’d out of recognition.

Now, I know there are many tournament “meta” players who prefer a rapidly updated and “balanced” ruleset and accept the obsolescence issue as a worthwhile price.  I can understand that mind set.  I just don’t share it.

I think its important that we look at ourselves and understand what makes us tick.  What we enjoy and don’t enjoy in the hobby.  And then react accordingly – pick the type of gaming that chimes with your personality, and avoid ones that don’t.  There isn’t a wrong or right answer, just different ones.  But find a system (and opponents) that suit your own preferences goes a long way to helping you enjoy the hobby to the most.  Its particularly important not to write off the whole of wargaming just because of the way GW run their business.  I’m not saying this is what the OP is doing, because he mentions problems with other, historical projects.  So the issue for him is probably larger than this.  But I would always recommend looking about and taking a deep breath before dumping your hobby.  It may be that elsewhere there is something in this vast arena that suits you better than what currently irritates you!

On a slight tangent, I have had a bit of a hobby hiatus since the summer.  I had a busy time, and just found the routine of gam e club gaming was just boring me.  So I took a break, rested, holidayed and did other stuff for a few months.  A few weeks ago I saw an advert for an old model on eBay (we’re talking 1977 vintage) that I had always admired and liked, and never owned, yet here it was on eBay for a tenner.  So I bought it, painted it, and really really enjoyed it.  Long story short, I’ve got my first game  in 5 months arranged for tomorrow night.  (Xenos Rampant, using Konflikt ’47 and WWII models as it happens).

“Never say never” and as far as the hobby goes: “You do you”!

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 1]

Agnostic rules for me! I grew up with D&D, so it wasn’t hard to go with generic fantasy miniatures and agnostic rulesets. I still have GW orcs from the 1980’s that I’m sure I can use in some Stargrave or even a Doomed game. Boardgames also rarely have rules revisions and are “complete” even if the soft plastic is more of a pain to paint than hard plastic.

Tried solo miniatures? Recent ruleset and you can go at your own pace. Works well with my pace. None of this GW tournament nonsense, even though you can still use your GW models!

[taochi 6267xp 2]

Leaving GW as well as most Kickstarter players behind. Games such as Zombicide (CMON) and all the other multi box monsters are just a consumerist mind frame that no longer fits me at all.  Not enough time to paint hordes of miniatures, not enough novelty in the rules (all flash little substance) and not enough players to go around. I will focus on littler games and spend quality time with each of them (the ‘graves’ series, Sliver Bayonet, Moonstone, Wiley games series of rules, Relic Blade, etc…).

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