twopounder

In 3rd/4th it was common to see 6 rhinos on a table. It even carried into 5th, though drop pod assault + Sternguard made drop pods the new transport spam. I haven't seen a heresy army with more than 2. But hey, I forgot 6 is less than 2 whenever we have to defend GWs honor.

This isn't about providing a discount on something you need, its about moving inventory. The 2.0 box sold like crazy, so nobody is buying the separate mk6 boxes, especially with MK2 released. Rhinos are another thing that didn't move much, considering they were easy to pop and only carried 10 models. The leviathan is an interesting choice, but a powerful entry as an ally for sure. I think ad mech is the best value for someone just getting started or building a new army. Could easily snag two of those and then a magos to make a solid beginner army. Solar is weakest due to leman russ getting nerfed and needing a lot more infantry. Seems like they would have been better with two cohorts, command, and a leman russ (or ogryns). But again, its about moving models.

It was unbelievably atrocious, both in art and gameplay. I don't see enough content for a WoT style game. Maybe its 30k and not 40k, which would make a lot more sense (though once again screw xenos players). There just aren't enough vehicles outside of imperial armies for the type of vertical sandbagging required by these types of games to squeeze money out of players. A game more similar to Planetside 2 would have made more sense, but Behavior screwed that up quite substantially some years ago.

And of course, this 100% justifies removing Sanguinary Guard and making White Scar HQs walk everywhere.

Battles and events are not all new units. This isn't 40k. It has a very strictly defined beginning and end with a finished novel series. The unit list is complete, outside of things you could easily kitbash. This is Horus Heresy, not The Great Crusade. Its why Luthor and Astelan aren't even in it, even though they were alive and major characters throughout the entire setting. There is no battle where GW can reasonably say "oh, and there is this totally new faction in the imperium with 10 billion soldiers that nobody ever knew about and 10 tank hulls that are nothing like what already exists in the game". Not unless they decided to add the two missing legions. No, the unit list is complete and they know it. The entire hope was that the out-of-print resin and newest units would all get a plastic release. Not just unceremoniously removed from the game.

Which is what makes a 207 page legends PDF so frustrating. The storyline is finished and set. Its not like they introduced new aliens, surprise new war machines or a censored legion. They already know exactly what units exist, what people potentially have (either because they sold it as a box or its been a unit for 2 editions) and they act surprised when people are upset that the unit got dropped for extremely flimsy reasons. And these aren't fringe units either, many of them are core to how multiple legions army build. Look at how empty the pages are under the centurion and Praetorian entries. They could have easily put bikes and jet bikes on the pages. Same with terminator armor for the consuls.

There is QC in the design process, not just production. And yes, they let things go intentionally to save time and money on the design. It's not just the quality of finished product. When you have guns that are melded into each other, that's an intentional design choice. I've seen fallout from a product that was 100% on spec for manufacturing, but turned out to be highly toxic because QA allowed formaldehyde in the mixture and it off gassed. Just because QC in production did their job, doesn't mean QC in design did theirs.

My assessment comes from experience 3d modelling for printing, and manufacturing with laser cutting and PVC extrusion, and an elp company with hundreds of mills. These all involved dedicated QC departments. What backs up your assessment that my opinion is daft?

Sadly they seemed to go very fast

Just discovered this and was able to grab one today - https://www.target.com/p/games-workshop-dawn-of-war-onslaught-board-game/-/A-94739548#lnk=sametab It has a heroes of the chapter sprue ($170) in a $50 box. Only catch is that they seem to be very limited. It was the last one on the shelf when I grabbed it and another guy got there a few seconds after me and asked if it was the last one. We looked around and didn't see any else. The store only started with 4 in stock. When I got up to checkout, the girl literally said "oh, are you the one that keeps calling about this?" Apparently its so hot that even random cashiers know the box by name. I checked stock online and there was nothing left within 100 miles of me. As a bit of a funny side story, I told her I only wanted the sprue and was going to toss the rest, since I don't care about it (I mean, its Blood Ravens). She asked if I'd give it to her instead. I was surprised and told her its basically just a bunch of cardboard, but she insisted she wanted it. I pulled the sprues and gave her the rest of the game. Maybe it will get her into 40k at some point. Not sure if this is US only, but it seems to be a Target and Barnes and Nobles exclusive.

MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price). How and where there are enforcements is a bit convoluted though. Some places seem to have perpetual sales (like Costco) while others are held to rigid price models. I think, generally, larger retailers have more leverage to discount than smaller stores that don't want to risk getting blacklisted. Last sales data I have for GW is that they sell 2:1. So you would pay $60 and get 2 kits that you could then sell for $60 each. That was a while ago though. Not sure how its done now, especially with larger chains that couldn't care less about the handful of GW products they carry. I've been able to get a lot of stuff on 50% clearance from Barnes and Noble, Target, etc.

Shapeways seems to have made a return, though they were hugely expensive the last time I checked (but that was before their bankruptcy) They removed UFD for powder based printing, so there is nothing better than FDM. I wouldn't recommend this for helmets unless you want a goop head. You could also check with some of the members here that do 3d printing. I'm currently taking a break from it, or I'd offer to help. Cults does partner with 3d printing services, so check that as well. No idea how good they are, but they advertise that you can contract for a print from various providers.

Odd question - is there a US based shop that's good for brushes? Amazon seems to only stock the knockoffs and my local shops only sell Army Painter. The non-gaming hobby stores sell the cheapest of the cheap brushes that are only really suitable for terrain. I keep getting burned on bad brushes that literally curl right out of the package.

The pricing is very interesting. MSRP at $315, ebay is selling for ~$260. This seems like a lot compared to 299 from 2.0, but the Konflikt 47 box is debuting at $330 and looks to be around the same content (including hardbound rule book). The GW box actually looks slightly better content wise. No idea how it stacks up in terms of points, as I don't play, but I don't think I've ever seen an indy game MSRP above GW like this. I don't think I have any interest in playing the game, as it looks like a train wreck of rules. I might pick up the box for collection purposes and have MK II for Dark Angels. Reading the leaked rules feels like trying to read local ordinances. Overly wordy, dry and really disengaging.

Despite this, they could have made it DA themed. There are no power swords, plasma, chaplain, terminator, etc. Why even have a chapter at all? Could just make it completely generic or just stick with ultramarines if its just bolter marines.