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Bolster Your Deathwatch Army With New 40k Releases
August 13, 2016 by brennon
Games Workshop have added some more units with upgrade kits that you can use to bolster your Deathwatch army in Warhammer 40,000. Characters are the key focus of this force and so it seems apt to start with them...
Things kick off with the Deathwatch Terminator Captain that you can see above. He looks like quite the stalwart veteran and that sword is rather awesome. Following on from him we also have the a regular Deathwatch Captain who is running around in your standard Power Armour.
There are going to be variants within these upgrade kits so while you might be thinking that your Captain might end up looking the same as everyone else's; you can switch bits around. Also, it's a Space Marine so raid your bitz box for more pieces!
Hit The Road
As well as the characters we've also got some bigger vehicles for you to consider. Any good Space Marine goes into battle within a Rhino so Games Workshop have added one.
If you want to rock up into battle with something a bit more destructive then you can also check out the Landraider too.
So there you have it. Some heavily armoured options for you to roll around with when it comes to battles. If you want to support your foot troops too then you can also pick up some Deathwatch Bikers too.
Not bad right? Space Marine Bikes have always been somewhat of a weird one but when you hear about how they work - essentially just ramming into you with guns blazing like a ceramite battering ram - they suddenly get a lot cooler.
Kill Team Reporting
As I mentioned at the start of this piece character is where it's at when it comes to Deathwatch. So, you can also now pick up Kill Team Cassius from Overkill on their own.
It comes with all the characters as you can see as well as a few extra bits and pieces. I have to say that I was surprised the bundled them all together like this. I would have liked to see them sold separately so I could pick up one or two for my role-playing group.
Ah well! A nice set all the same.
What will you be picking up?
"I would have liked to see them sold separately so I could pick up one or two for my role-playing group..."
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Aren’t those character models the same as have been around for years, but with a Deathwatch paint scheme? Or do they have a couple of Deathwatch-specific pieces like shoulder pads? Is there an upgrade sprue this uses to turn regular kits into Deathwatch? Perhaps the one that comes with the new battle set and which I assume is used to turn the Vanguard Vets and Dread into Deathwatch kits?
@angelicdespot I am afraid so. This is why GW runs into so much hate. After last week, when we had a really good value boxed set, that offered plenty of new models and some older ones at a really great price – we now get a bunch of re-packs each coming with a crummy extra new sprue.
WHY GW WHY? You were onto a good thing, but instead of selling the new sprue on its own you decide to re-pack a load of old and indeed ancient models, throw in the new sprue and bang it’s a whole new product that you can sell for full price once again.
If anyone has seen The Big Short, this is exactly what Antony Bourdain explains when comparing how mortgage bonds are re-packed and sold by describing how a chef uses 3 day old fish to make a fish stew – you see it’s not the 3 day old fish any more it’s a whole new product.
So are they not going to sell the Deathwatch upgrade sprue separately? That’s disappointing.
… and if they’d just sold the upgrade sprues individually people would be complaining that they’re ripping you off charging extra for no additional minis. There really is no winning in this situation is there?
Yes there is. They could do both. No one minds having options!
Actually, someone probably would still complain, but that’s inevitable. But I don’t think I’m odd to want to buy the upgrade sprue separately.
… and I’m sure they will sell it individually at some point (or someone will split some kits or something). Doesn’t really make sense for a business to release everything in one go.
Those vehicles don’t look new, except for the guy in the hatch. Could be wrong.
Why doesn’t it make sense to release them all together?
I mean, GW has been doing just that for a good while now- having every new release to go with a new supplement available all at once. So, why wouldn’t they release them all together this time?
Unless they have no intention of releasing deathwatch upgrade sprues separately.
Who knows, my guess is probably not – or at least not yet anyway, why would they when they can use the lure of the extra sprue to flog off a load more of the same stuff everyone has already.
And that my friend is why a few weeks ago I was angry with yet another space marine release. I compared it to a salad as in the dressing may have changed but its really just the same salad. GW could do much better but are always trying peddle out the old stuff as new.
Not everyone already has those minis. I don’t. I’m sure new players don’t either. If you already do, I suggest not re-buying it as you already have it.
Let’s see: Space Marine Razorback kit £25
Death Watch transport, which is basically a Razor Back plus an upgrade sprue £25
Wow I’m being ripped off by getting an extra free sprue which I can also use to upgrade 10 marines and 2 terminators. Honestly, I don’t get the anger. Unless of course you’re planning on ripping off all of the left shoulder pads and reprinting a space marine army? Or maybe you already own all the space marine stuff you need to build a new army in unpainted and unassembled plastic? In which case eBay and bits sellers will soon be flooded with these things. Anyone buying Deathwatch kits are going to end up with far more upgrade pieces than they will ever need.
@erastus – I hadn’t realised they were charging the same as normal, so that’s good.
I do still wish they were selling the upgrade sprue separately as a) I do have several unbuilt rhinos lying around and b) this is a hobby and I want the option of being able to buy the sprues I need.
I would expect to get it at a discount if I was buying it with a kit (as it appears they are doing) but I would like the option of being able to pick it up on its own – as you used to be able to do with some of the other upgrade sprues they made.
Well I think we’ll have to wait and see. GW don’t release everything at once. There’s the new flyer at at least one more brand new character to come. I expect well then see the release of the veterans kit contained in Death Masque and perhaps the upgrade sprue.
I think it’s pretty good. Buy one character and get the upgrades to make a Deathwatch kill team (10models) from your existing collection of marines. Also, the Landraider has some extra value since normally each variant is a seperate box. This Landraider kit has the Deathwatch sprue And weapon options for the three different variants of Land raider by the looks of things.
At least they got that right. Don’t raze the price on the razor back as it’s only 3 small icons on the sprew that is of worth for that tank.
With that said, it seems like loads of useless repackaging that can be expensive for them when one simple clam-shell pack could do for everything, just like the stormcast eternal’s upgrade packs are dealt with.
Those bastards!! How dare they not charge extra for an upgrade sprue!
Adding a freebie upgrade sprue to an old kit to sell a few more = great business sense.
Sure, nobody gets shiny new stuff but if its the option of an older kit bundled with new bits or nothing, I’ll take the old kit. Not like those kits are bad minis either.
@erastus you don’t really see the point. The kit is ancient, GW aren’t selling many of them because no-one wants/needs them, so what do they do they create a new sprue that people actually do want, re-pack the old kit and throw in the new sprue to entice people to buy the same product all over again. It’s a cynical ploy to extend the life of old kits, nothing more.
Okay, fair enough. You call it cynical, I’ll call it clever 😉
I think I’ll go with cynically clever 😛
Maybe it was cleaver, maybe not. They’re definitely leaving some money on the table, it is just unclear whether it would make up for the extra investment that they didn’t put into these.
There are definitely players who would have gotten really excited about new minis but are feeling apathetic about this release.
Of course, they’ve also saved a bit of money by not making much new stuff, so this was at least the safe play- if decidedly less interesting than making something new.
Personally, I’m really disappointed with how few of GW’s “new releases” are actually new. We get loads of ‘board games’ with mostly old minis, AoS regularly repackages whole armies with different names and zero new minis, and new codecies are often released with a bare minimum of new plastic to go with them.
Maybe it is what GW needs to do to survive right now, but it doesn’t make it less disappointing.
Take me back to the 90s when you would get one, maybe 2 new releases a month and nobody was unhappy with it because it was new shiny stuff. We have been spoiled by the weekly release schedule for too long and now even that is not enough for some folk.
I always wanted to create a pretty decent cypher model out of that kill team – shame they aren’t individually sold.
It is a shame, but If you just want the dark angel deathwatch chap, I suggest you look on eBay.
Those upgrade kits do look rather good.
Where is the problem with this? They are Space Marines so they use Space Marine Stuff and if you don’t have those models lying around those boxes are quite useful and I think the Veteran box will give you plenty of pieces to convert normal Marine boxes and it’s quite probably the will sell the sprue at some point online.
Are there really gamers who can make armies of space marines out of their bits box?
Maybe I’m just not in the audience for this, since I could/have totally done that.
In the U.S. Store all the repackaged items have been increased in price by about $5 just for the inclusion of the Upgrade sprue. I for one would rather them just put the Upgrade sprue available on it’s own for $5-$10 if they are going to charge me to put it in my space marine boxes anyway. I’ll just buy the regular marine vehicles and use the icons from the troop sets to upgrade the vehicles.
The price of the land raider is $5.75 more than a standard one. The transport is $0.75 more than a razorback and the captain with the upgrade sprue is $2.75 more. Upgrade sprues for other chapters are $13.50. Draw your own conclusions.
OMG I WANT THESE!!! Been waiting yonks for the hinted Codex Alien Hunters in White Dwarf that never came. What a fantastic release. Saving some money for this now!
its allways good to have variety.
Is there any hope they they’ll do the genestealer cult models as well? Or even a genestealer cult codex? I would be very interested to see if their going to do something for the Tyranids.
Hopefully they will but I think that might require a little more work. Deathwatch can be achieved via a simple upgrade sprue whereas the Genestealer Cult would require a significant amount of extra work. If they do make a Genestealer Cult though I have a brother who may well remortgage his house for it!
So they are old models? Don’t buy them you do not have to do you. I know lets belly ache about the fact that GW have gone about making a profit. Oooo a profit such an evil empire, how dare anyone make money at the cost of the customer. No wait a minute that’s what profit is making money by using what you have to hand and selling it for money with a large or small mark up. Bad company, down company!
Or
Profit is not a dirty word it is what enables this very site to continue, by paying the wages of the team both front and rear of house, when Warren says that the back stage keep the lights on, I have never heard the argument that they should do it for free. Surely they could have full time jobs elsewhere and do the site as a hobby. Bad BOW down BOW.
The issue is nothing to do with what comes with what , it is very simply that this is by GW and GW by their very nature and business have been on every other persons bucket to kick over list since they went, right we are going not to be a free drop in place for those who want to go there every day and use the building as a youth club. They stepped away from loads of space and too many playing tables except what they need as demo tables, been in the absolute shit house since they ditched, no they did not ditch, the people who simply said we cannot play it any more from ex date because we don”t have the nounce to continue playing in protest. And everything else they have done what they should have done ages and ages ago. Thats what the issue is, it has absolutely nothing to do with the death watch release or some free sprue you gat to up grade old models.
Go by a new car this year pick just about any range and any make, you will get last years model with up grades to get shut of the old design, and then the bastards change the car by stop producing it, wait that sounds familiar, maybe that’s because every one does it to some degree or other in business.
Why don’t people just put I am angry because GW stopped my free youth club for gamers. For gods sake get over yourselves.
Thank you for reading the above I feel better even if you don’t and these days that seems to be the way to post, nuts to the rest of you I am going to simply dump for dumping’s sake and don’t worry if you pish all over someone else’s dream they do not count as long as you get your say at the cost of what they would do with the product, which is buy it.
I honestly do not care what you reply as I have already muted the follow up topic.
Thank you chrisg, you just made my Sunday morning. cheers mate =)
Isn’t it common knowledge now that if GW releases the spures individually out the gate they’d be $15 minimum which then people would complain about as well, at least this way there is some value and later can release the sprue at a more reasonable price?
This is the first 40k army that has me excited enough to debate on picking up the game again in years so that’s something
Very well written chrisg.
I am 39 now and have been following Games Workshop on and off since I was 13.
It has not been an easy journey at times and a bloody difficult one at others(The death of the warhammer world).
But nonetheless I have stuck with it as no matter what crap the real world throws at you it’s great to be able to come home and immerse yourself in some thing that gives me so much satisfaction.
I used to follow Bolter and Chainsword as well as Bell of Lost Souls but these two sites have become noting better than an outlet to pour peoples hatred of Games Workshop and some awful Journalism with the latter BOLS.
That left BOW and Youtube.
Unfortunately most of the good YouTube channels have ceased to make content for one reason or another.
Have a look at the Grumpy war gamers convention videos,nearly all those content producers have ceased with the great Templars crusade01 being the latest.
That is a travesty as far as I’m concerned as the man loved what he was doing but had to give it up not only because of work constraints but also due to constantly being reported to YouTube and trolled by talentless whingers.
Then we come to BOW
I have been a member for years and have paid for the backstage pass untill a few months ago.
Having thought about it for a while the decision was made to cancel as unfortunately there is no point in keeping the lights on if there is noting to see.
Ever since their ill fated move to England after which we lost two 40k presenters,as far as I’m concerned BOW has gone down hill since then.
Where is the GW content???
It might not be everybody’s cup of tea but it’s the biggest games company out there and all we get is a 40k series every now and then and maybe a battle report if we behave ourselves.
These reports are unfortunately done in that bloody awful bloody blog format which seems to have become the only way of presenting the likes of Salute every year,a weekend I looked forward to back when Warren did the walk around coverage that was so good it was like being there.PS thanks for the non reply to the PM I sent on that subject!
Why spend so much money on buying armies on ebay when they just sit on the shelf!!!
The weekender shows have also become a joke.
We get some presenting at the start,some at the finish but the majority is an interview with a games designer which should have been put out during the week not spliced into the weekender shows.
The reason I looked forward to these shows was because of the interaction between the actual presenters,like the old Turn 8 show.
In short give GW a break,they may be a soulless corporation but their products give old gamers like myself an outlet.
There’s noting wrong with criticism or opinion,just not criticism for the sake of it.
I will no doubt get slaughtered for voicing these heretical opinions here but f..k it,let the dice fall where they may.
Ghostdog RIP
Sorry to say but I am thinking of cancelling my subscription for the very same reasons.
To balance this out I think BoW have excellent balance of coverage between different companies and I also trust that they know what their audience wants and I happily continue to pay my subs going onwards.
I agree with solar. If it was not for BoW I might not had learned about this hobby beyond GW so I am happy that they do coverage about several game systems and models for them instead of just being just another GW fan site.
Have to agree with Solar and Mecha. BoW is the best site on the web for wargamers as far as I’m concerned and I am very happy with the way they cover everything. Its not a GW dedicated site so why would you expect them to pump out more GW dedicated content?
If you want to see more GW related stuff then maybe you can contribute it the way other members of the site do – e.g.World War 2 and Infinity. If you do some good GW stuff then I’m sure BoW will give you a slot.
Bottom line, there’s a lot more out there these days than just GW and this site is dedicated to covering the industry as a whole and not just one or two companies – if BoW doesn’t live up to your expectations then you can always move on and find or founder one that meets your needs.
I agree. I’m sometimes critical of GW and/or their products and practices, but I remain a fan of their worlds and have a lot of nostalgia towards them. I like that I can get news of GW games via the main shows, comments pages and regular news updates, but I’m pleased to have that as part of a wider and more varied offering.
I think there’s more 40K content on here than there used to be a year or two ago: battle reports, news, painting, terrain, projects, in depth explorations of the setting, etc. There aren’t many tactics articles, but you can get that from countless other sites that would probably do it better. What those other sites are less good at doing is covering the ‘grand scheme of things’ – putting GW in the context of the wider hobby and when covering GW doing so from the angle of a varied hobbiest rather than just a GW gamer. So looking at the setting, gaming in the gaps, etc.
Also remember that there was a time when BoW basically couldn’t cover GW because the company were actively persecuting ‘hobby journalists’ and generally making life very difficult. Things are much improved now, I’m pleased to say.
Don’t get me wrong, I have also learned a lot about the wider hobby from this site. Unfortunately the hobby has become so wide and varied, hearing about new game system after new game system and Kickstarter after Kickstarter has got really boring and means the content I actually like (Hobby Lab, 40k, AoS, Hobby Lab, Malifaux, WM/H and also Hobby Lab) loses out on a lot of screen time to other (shinier?) things.
What happened to the promised AoS coverage? I was very much looking forward to that as there’s not a lot of good quality AoS coverage available online yet. Its been out for over a year now and aside from an unboxing of the starter set and a hobby lab series we’ve seen nothing.
Why another themed Infinity week? They seem to get a themed week every other week.
I have enjoyed the exploration of the 40k universe but miss seeing good quality battle reports and hobby videos on the subject.
The main thing I still don’t enjoy though is the comments making folk feel bad for liking GW games. They are decreasing a little lately but still prevalent throughout the site (not just on GW articles) and not something I want to pay a monthly subscription to see. Nobody rips on other games all over the site and there are plenty out there which are bad games or have awful miniatures. I initially subscribed as BoW seemed like a community that accepted anyone with any interest in the hobby but due to a small minority that is no longer the case and is making BoW feel just like all the other hobby sites.
@ghostdog @lunchbox
Ok help me out here 🙂
We produce 40k charted that goes out more regularly than any other game related show we make.
What was wrong with the 40k battle reports we made so far, we have tried to keep them narrative and interesting?
The last hobby lab was 40k based
One of the last parts to painted was 40k based
Aside from what we do to provide content to enjoy and explore 40K, this is a community site and we do rely on community members for input, support and engagement and enthusiasm. (Because remember compared to other games every bit of content is created totally unsupported and independently of its manufacturer)
So not to just push a question back as I know that it would be great for us to always do more, but have you done anything recently you think will help? Or can you think of anyway you could be more involved in a way to help?
Regarding negative comments towards 40k as you will know I’m not a fan as we build this place for folk to just enjoy their hobby regardless of what that is. It is settling down though which is good, but equally I remember the comments from 40k players when we did anything on a non 40k game. (Point is I have seen utter crap from both sides!)
Unless 40K is the only reason you come to the site, I can’t see any complaints over the amount of coverage it gets. From my vantage point, I don’t see any other games getting more coverage than it, and I don’t see any game whose company doesn’t work with BoW to provide content getting anything like as much coverage.
40k Charted is a great intro for people who don’t know much about the 40K universe, but not really of much interest to anyone who has followed 40k fluff since c1990.
We see regular start to finish battle reports and “how to play” videos about Infinity, BA, KoW etc but the 40k reports are “live blog” style which feels broken up and difficult to watch IMO.
I get that you can’t do everything to suit everyone and the 40k content that you guys put out is great from the view of a complete newcomer but compared to other content on the site feels a little half-arsed. This is possibly due to 40k already having a huge number of fan channels on YouTube who produce great content compared to the other games, which only have BoW making videos about them. Also those other games seem to have involvement from the companies making them which I am sure helps a lot. Is this not something that you guys can arrange for some GW coverage now that GW’s focus on community seems to be shifting, particularly with Age of Sigmar?
The hobby labs started out with the “Forest Table” build, which was what got me to part with a monthly fee in the first place. After that we had loads of great stuff such as the ploughed fields, city board (what happened to that?), AoS table (what happened to that?), trees, asteroids, hay bales.. all great. Ork terrain from coffee cups, not so much. No offense meant to anyone involved but again, its getting very amateurish compared to the earlier stuff. Some folk may love the easy projects made from junk and that’s cool. Its just not for me.
All that being said, my main grind about GW content on BoW at the moment is actually about Age of Sigmar. What happened to that? Did you play it and not like it? Have you tried the new General’s Handbook rules (they improve the game vastly IMO)? Have you noticed that GW are actually working with the community quite a bit on AoS?
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that BoW has stayed open to all aspects of the hobby and not concentrated too much on one particular game system (I play non GW games too). It is refreshing to see you guys being “impartial (ish)”. Unfortunately by being impartial, very few people get much content about the games they actually play (unless they suffer from hobby ADD and play everything) as you guys simply don’t have time to cover all of the games all of the time.
And yes, you’re right, pro-40k commenters were just as bad a few years back. Shame we can’t get to the happy middle ground where everyone just gets along. To be quite fair, if it weren’t for the constant anti-GW crap on here (although I would be just as upset if any game system were getting that much hate), I wouldn’t be anywhere near as dejected about the other stuff and would continue to support the site.
Maybe its just one of those inevitable things. BoW has arrived upon its current heading and while for most people it is happy sailing, you just can’t please everyone.
Me to
@lunchbox – I appreciate where you’re coming from mate, really I do, but the danger now is that some GW fans appear to be lashing out at BoW and using them as a whipping boy for the negativity directed by other people who don’t represent BoW, not just on this site but on other sites as well. And by doing so they are doing the very thing they are accusing the negative / anti GW brigade of doing in the first place; i.e. its not fair for you to slag off the hobby I love but its still ok for me to slag off the web site / community that other people love.
We are a community and a community pulls together in times of crisis and supports each other so instead of becoming embroiled in a civil war and falling apart they become tighter and stronger by the end. Which is what we need to do now.
BoW have always been big on Community input so instead of slamming them why not talk to them. Properly. Instead of making negative comments directed to them, actually talk to them and view your concerns, ideas, what you think they are doing well, what you think they could be doing better. Warren and the lads has always been keen to engage with the community (especially ones who provide cup cakes and alcohol) and their door is always open so use that to help shape the community in the way you want. As Warren often says, you guys make this site a success. So lets all do that.
@warzan – we seem to be having a bit of a crisis of faith on here mate and I don’t think this thread is the most ideal place to discuss as there’s so much negativity around it. Would it be worth starting a new thread aimed at harvesting positive feedback and ideas from the community which could help you develop some future content and maybe solicit some community help while doing it?
You’re right. I believe that my annoyance at anti-GW propaganda and my feelings on BoW’s current direction aren’t necessarily linked. It is just that one has prompted me to comment and has drawn out comments about the other. I agree a more open discussion about the future direction of BoW would be most welcome. I know they listen to all of us and if I can do so without making it a rant about anti-GW comments that would be a lot more constructive.
I did not mean any of my comments about BoW to come across as negative or ranty. Just as (hopefully constructive) criticism. Unfortunately it is hard to make it sound constructive when I am already mid-rant about other things 🙂
Lol…rant away mate…it one of the things that makes life interesting!
Sorry Lunchie, I should have elaborated a bit more (diplomacy was never my strong point!). I was talking in general terms and was trying to build on the points you made, which are valid, constructive and well thought out. The points I made were aimed at the wider community and not you personally – its quite obvious that you are upset and annoyed, which you have every right to be, but you are dealing with it calmly and rationally and trying to find a way forward, which in a world full of Trolls and Gobshites, is a very credible trait.
Damn, that’s the problem with internet communication – everything can get skewed and doesn’t come across quite how its meant. Think what we really need is a damn good piss up, sit around a table get drunk and thrash this all out. Maybe our resident Master of Ceremonies (aka Warren) can set it up……we’re long over due a Boot Camp (or whatever BoW are calling a big lads major piss up with a bit of gaming thrown in, these days).
Lunchbox is certainly right in that there are some who post on this site, who use every chance they get to moan about GW in an infantile manner, and it frankly gets tiresome to continually read those same comments regardless of what GW actually do.
People complained about GW not opening up comments on their facebook page, but when GW eventually open things up on facebook, those same people then complain that it should have happened sooner. GW ultimately can’t win with those people, although they aren’t there to be won over, they are there to just complain.
People complain about GW not having official forums, but if you go to say the Infinity forums, you can see why they can’t be bothered with the headache; sorry to say this, because I love Infinity, but while there are a bunch of lovely / helpful posters on those forums, you have a (vocal minority?) who have an extreme sense of entitlement and certainly in the What’s New section, make it thoroughly unenjoyable to sift through. In fact, some of the tangents and the comments that are posted there make youtube comments look enlightened.
With regards to BoW, it’s still good for keeping me up to date with the most recent news of certain games. I frankly would not have gotten into Infinity were it not for the Infinity weeks / events.
I also got into Warmachine due to the “How to play videos” that seem to have gotten lost.
Some of the historical game features have also been incredible.
However, there does seem to be some “gaps” in what games are covered and what games aren’t. For example, I don’t think I’ve seen anything in years on Spartan Games (outside of their Halo stuff); or when was there a big Warmachine thing? I guess most of this complaint is down to the BoW team being relatively small to all the content out there.