Company Strategy (Unsupported)

We have all noticed recently the amount of Codices and Army Books that are being released with Unit Options that don't have a model. Case in point the recent Beastmen release that had Cygors, Ghorgons, Razorgor Chariots, Jabberslythe, and a spattering of characters (which I'm less bothered about) without a model released for them in the initial release or prospect of one coming months after.

I think the last fully supported release I can remember is Lizardmen (copyright 2008) or possibly Imperial Guard (again copyright 2008), given that some items are available on forge world if you really want a Vendetta Squadron.

So by my count thats Skaven, Beastmen, Space Wolves, Tyranids that have been released without the ability to buy from Gamesworkshop all the Unit Options that are listed in their repective books. All these books are copywritten 2009 and released in '09 or '10, meaning something between 2008 and 2009 changed in the way Games Workshop went about publishing its product.

Firstly they are Unit Choices that have no models, but what ties all these Unit Choices beside that fact?

I'll list them:

i) Thunderwolf Cavalry (SW)
ii) Warp Grinder (s)
iii) Poison Wind Mortar (s)
iv) Doomflayer (s)
v)Plagueclaw Catapult (s)
vi) Hell Pit Abomination (s)
vii) Tyrannofex (T)
viii) Harpy (T) *available at Forge World
ix) Tervigon (T)
x)Sky-Slasher Swarm (T)
xi) Ghorgon (B)
xii)Cygor (B)
xiii) Jabberslythe (B)
xiv) Razorgor Chariot (B)

so 14 kits that GW does not supply, and you'd have to convert, and what links all of them? They are all larger then normal bases. A big sculpt that would be rarely bought. Even the Sky-Slasher Swarm (rippers with wings) requires a large diameter base.

These big items are not emerging from the Manufactorum at the moment, and its not something I blame GW for.

The recession is still biting and will for a couple of more years, I imagine. For most of us it is tougher leaving a recession than going into one, as we struggled through the deepest dip, interest rates are tiny and hardly reward what we have saved, as you leave interest rates increase again, costs go up as does inflation, but your wage doesn't match it, and now it is an environment worth saving in, if you have the funds spare any more. Anyway thats a whole other blog. Just take my word that leaving the recession (now till 2012 approxiamately) will be worse than 2007-2009 were.

The List above is full of luxury items in the hobby, Special, Rare and eccentric choices for the army in question, and with a low profit margin and therefore drawn out return. Something like the mould for plastic Space Marines probably makes the money back spent on original design, tooling, research amd production costs reletively quickly, and each new casting means you can count more of the retail price as profit. A profit that subsidises products that sell less well (as well as wages, costs, R&D, white dwarf, tournaments, movies, etc). Without really having any knowledge lets say it subsidises an Ogre Gorger (retail price £12) that remains on the shelf of some Hobby Shop for a year or more. I suggest that considerably fewer of these are sold every year than are sold plastic Tactical Squads. And this has to be the case so that the money from Space Marines can go on to subsidise the existence of Ogre Gorgers.

Increasing the amount of large, rare options that a space marine kit has to subsidise by 14 times (see list above) in one or two finacial years would be Economic Suicide!

The strategy it seems is to keep hooking the young kids who love to buy Space Marines and Orks and Land Raiders and generate a good revenue stream that can diverted into new releases of these extravagant and bulky models that are currently unsupported. The more that are bought the slightly more the percentage of each one sold can go towards supporting other kits, as the original costs R&D are being paid off. More people should start a Space Marine Army if you want a new Tomb Kings Army Book.

The only suggestion I would make is why include so many Bulky Beasts if this was going to be the strategy. Could someone not have tapped Andy Hoare and Phil Kelly on the shoulder and said, "These exciting new units you are putting in the book, Ghorgons? Cygors? Do you have to have them? Can't you leave Spawn in there? Or Dragon Ogres? Or Khorngors? No true. These are new and exciting, okay, but.... How about making them an expansion kit to a kit we already have? So Ghorgons are an additional kit to a Minataur, and Cygors an add on to a Giant. Much like Dark Angels get an adaptor kit, and Space wolfs just have".

The only reason I can think of is they would still not sell enough to merit it. Maybe in a year or two when something is released this is what they'll give us. An expansion kit for an already existing sculpt, and they are sat on the idea until a more advanageous market place exists. I do believe that in time they will release the models.

The books contain Art work for all the examples in my list for what the said Unit should look like. They have obviously done some work on them. And have given us some shape to convert towards.

But at the moment it is up to us to convert such units ourselves. An expensive and consuming option for you and me, but in its way rewarding and creative. That does not mean its ideal. It is rewarding and creative to get to work doing Parkour, but most times I'd rather drive.