40k Buying Guide: The Current Top Selling GW Products
Warning
40k Buying Guide is rated empty your pockets. These articles are meant to help you continue complaining about GW pricing schemes at the same time you are buying used models on Ebay
As you may or may not know Games Workshop has an interesting feature on their website that has come and gone over the last year. Whenever you go and check out the Warhammer 40k tab on the GW site you will notice filters, and one shows their best selling models. This is an interesting look into the highly secretive company making our favorite toys. We can assume the list represents the top selling models ordered from the GW site, and if you look at the list it seems mostly likely they are not trying to convince us to buy poorly selling kits.
Let us take a look at this list and break it down from the obvious to not so obvious. Keep in mind we can’t tell if the list is in any particular order.
Cadian Defense Force
This is an odd one and the only Imperial Guard item on the list. How could this be one of the Top 11 products sold? Well it is all about value. If you bought these items individually you would spend $210, so you are saving 45 bucks about the cost of the Leman Russ tank. All the units are also useful and are pretty standard for any IG army, making this one of the best army boxes you can buy.
Imperial Knight Warden
- Duh? Did anyone not expect this model to be in the Top 11? The new extra kitted out Imperial Knight instantly made all old Imperial Knights feel obsolete. This is one of the best models GW has ever made and deserves to sell even if the price is approaching “too damn high” levels.
Necron Battleforce
- This bundle is the only Necron item to make the list and most likely here because for the value. You pay $115 for $155 worth of models saving getting you a few box of Necron Warriors. The kit combines new and old models together releaving GW of older stock while giving players some new toys. You still have to wonder though, isn’t their enough Necron Warriors one can get second hand?
Stormfang Gunship
- Here we get our first Marine entire into the list (half the list are Marine things) the Stormfang the Space Wolf flyer is only a year old and still selling like hot cakes it seems. Traditionally the GW flyers have sold fantastically, so why should this one be any different? You can understand especially in the context that no newer flyer has come out since.
Space Wolves Venerable Dreadnought
- This kit is by far the strangest one to make the list. It has been a year since it’s release and to think there is enough Space Wolf players who use Dreadnaughts is shocking. So why would people be buying this model? The easiest answer is options; this kit makes four different unit choices, not only that, but gives you bits and options to use on other Dreadnaughts. It is this hidden value that could be propelling sales, as well it has been painter/collector centerpiece model of choice.
Adeptus Mechanicus Ironstrider Ballistarius
- The first Ad-Mech entre is the Ironstrider, no surprise here, it is fantastic looking model along with being part of an entirely new model range. I would’ve thought the price point would keep it’s numbers down, especially by not being the best unit in terms of game-play, unless of course you spam them, which might explain a lot.
Blood Angels Tactical Squad
- One of the most underrated releases of the year, the Blood Angel Tactical Marine box is chock full of bits and signature pieces to really separate them from the generic Tactical Marine box. It was also the first box to feature the larger base size, making it any easy pick up for a lot of players. Too bad the Blood Angels codex fell flat in light of the most recent releases.
Harlequin Troupe
- The only Eldar kit comes in the form of the Harlequin Troupe. As you will notice the list is filled with the basic Troop choices for armies, so it is no wonder Harlequins should crack the list. Also don’t underestimate any kit that goes from metal/resin to plastic, especially one with a lot of pent up anticipation, even if everyone is getting tired of the Elf hopping on one leg sculpts.
Space Marine Tactical Squad
- The real number one seller and an item never to leave the top of the charts, is the Space Marine Tactical box. This iteration of the models is also still fairly new, and when you need grav-weapons you really have no choice. To put things in perspective at one point the Space Marine Tactical box has sold more units in one month than the entire Fantasy range for the same period, and you wonder why we have Age of Sigmar.
Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii Vanguard
- Another no shock box in the list, the Skitarii Vanguard have so many things going for them. Good price point, part of new model range, basic troop choice, great sculpts. If it wasn’t for supply chain problems GW could’ve sold enough more units, but it didn’t stop the kit from making into the top.
Drop Pod
- If you ever got the chance to tell Tom Kirby to his face that tournament 40k players can drive sales, you would use the Drop Pod as the prime example. The Drop Pod can be found in every Adeptus Astartes army, but most importantly any Imperial unit can jump inside one. If you want a direct correlation to rules = sales the Drop Pod is the prime example.
There you have it, the current top 11 Warhammer 40k kits. Once again you don’t see single model kits, nor any Finecast kits making it into the list. If you break it down, by army only two boxes on the list come from xenos factions. GW seems to update the list haphazardly, but if they can get it down to some rhythm I think it would interesting to track the changes as new models and trends happen.
