Over at BoLS poster Bigred is retiring his old school IG army. Why would he do such a thing? Well he thinks his old models do not work anymore and he is getting tired of kids telling him that they are not GW. Which I think are two really stupid reasons to retire an army, especially one really rare and awesome.
Warhammer 40k is all about history, using those old models represents your passion for the game. You played before their was the Internet, you played before the competitive scene, and you played before you knew how to paint any better. I understand Bigred will for change, but he does not have to completely disregard this entire army. If you look at his original post from 2007, it shows how he has updated the army over time. I really do not see what in 5th edition has made his army unplayable? Just because some units have been changed around does not mean they cannot be incorporated in a new way.
His second point of having to tell noobs that his army is really GW is a pussy way out. New players should be looking up to Bigred, I know if I saw that army I would. I would want to know everything I can about that army, when were they made, how old they were, and how long did it take to collect them. A true 40k enthusiast young and old would take great joy in seeing that army. Really, if someone is going to complain about it they need to learn respect and get some education.
Here is my translation of the real reason for giving up on this army. It is embedded in one single line, “the latest minis have gotten to irresistibly good for me to pass up”. Simply all the other excuses are cop outs, I want new figures. Instead of dancing around the issue just come out and say that. In fact have a post about why you think the new models are just so cool, how they make you stand down your old army. That would be a much more powerful post especially coming from someone that has played so long. It would of showed how cool the new codex is and how cool GW new models are. Do not try to illicit some sort of pity, that the burden of this army is just so great that it is someone else’s fault for giving up. You are the only one making the choice to ditch it, not new players and not GW’s new rules.
The reason I feel so passionately about this, is Bigred almost has my identical army. I started playing around 20 years ago and I have all the figures he has displayed. IG was my first army and soon I will be updating, using all the old models. As Bigred goes in the opposite direction, it means one less army being played from all those years ago, for that we all should be disappointed.