Yeah I know you have seen ’em; the pretty little wolves and alien beasties.
It only took about three years for them to arrive. Besides ogling over the pretty new models everyone seems to be wondering what the frak took GW so long! Before we go into a long form discussion about that question let me let you in on a bit of Phil Kelly lore.
Thunder Cav were a last-minute addition to the codex– like a few weeks before going to print last-minute addition.
After Canis was designed there seemed like there was no reason to put entire units of wolf riders into the codex. As the codex release approached the Kelly decided the Space Wolves lacked a real wow unit that would separated it from the old codex. A unit he wanted players to talk (with a little bit of ego stamping as well) about instantly and help generate excitement, so taking the one wolf rider model and expanding it we got Thunder Wolves.
Now on to a more serious ranty discussion…
This still doesn’t explain why everything from Fenrisian wolves to Tervigons weren’t released much earlier. The main culprit often cited is the GW legal wranglings with Chapter House Studios over who can capture all the copyright bases. Now that we have new models and still a legal case raging it seems like that sort of reasoning was slightly flawed.
So why did it take GW so long to bring these models to release?
Well that is the million dollar question that really only they can answer.
All we can do is make a personal choice and vote with our wallets. I am betting though that GW knows what you are going to do.
You are might whine and complain, but when push comes to shove you will swipe our credit cards and pay the price.
Why will we do this you might ask? Because GW thinks it is the Apple of wargames and honestly they are kinda right. Let me use a personal experience that I just had to help explain.
I was at a convention last weekend where I play in a tournament every year. Nothing was different about the tournament, but as it ended I saw some other wargamers setting up tables for a Apoc pick up game they were planning on having. What shocked me, being someone who thought he knew almost every player in the area I was to finding group of about six middle age men I had never seen before. They were about to play an Apoc game with about 20 Hammerheads, over 10 Bainblades, and smorgasbord of tanks as far as the eye could see. Having gone to this convention for the last 15 I was surprised that I never seen these guys before.
Then I remember something I often forget about this hobby: it is still mostly populated by folks that don’t play in tournaments or need to leave their garage to enjoy the game. It is this that we on the Internet know, but often forget. On the hand it is something that GW doesn’t forget and it is for that reason they know six months or ten years later we will still buy; whether we play four times a year or 100 all they care about is that we keep on buying. Hence why we always where the same thing from GW: miniatures company first game company second.
What about us?
Those that read, comment, and generally follow the nonsense that goes on in the net community?
We will buy it too… though it might take longer.
It is the same reason folks buy only Apple products. Why women buy Louis Vuitton bags over the knock offs. As Vuitton and Apple are the symbols of status and luxury of their equivalent products, Games Workshop is that for Wargames. They disguised it in how they use the word “official” or how they protect their IP. It is GW incessant defense of their brand in all areas which creates a relationship (subconscious or not) where many feel that they have to buy models that only come from father workshop.
With exception of modelers and 20 something trolls that don’t have the money: you will pick up those models if you play those armies– mark my words!
You will switch out those crappy Tervigon Chapter House kits and you will eBay those Russian Thunderwolf knock offs. You will upgrade your old Arjac for the new one and you will use those chaos hounds for something else when you get our hands on the new shinny ones.
For the older players this isn’t anything new for GW, they have always been notorious, taking forever to bring products to release.
Anyone remember Drop Pods?
Yeah those things from the 3rd ed Space Wolves codex, when did they come out in plastic?
Oh yeah 5th fraking edition!
Take a moment and think how many Dropods converted or Forge World did you see before GW made plastic ones and think how many do you see today?
So everyone that cries about how GW should have released these models earlier save those tears because remember GW already has your money past, present, and future.