Now that the recent wave of GW hate has subsided a little bit (yes, I did say a little bit), I thought it was time to openly discuss some issues that people have with GW, and in my opinion how to handle these concerns, and negativity when it comes to our hobby.
A while back, GW once again decided to raise thier prices, to which I provided my insight. I love this hobby as much as most people (according to my wife, even more than most.), and I am not ashamed to admit a certain respect for GW as a company. Being employed there on 2 separate occasions, gave me some insight. More importantly however, it gave me life-long friends that I can share my hobby with. Now before I sound too much like a fanboy, allow me to defend myself a little. I said I respect GW, I don't agree however with most of their business practices.
That being said, I will say with some authority, that GW has been looking at making their complete line plastic for quite some time.
And from a business standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. (More profit for one) Now, I could divulge how much profit GW makes on some of their box sets, but 1.) I don't want a lawsuit. and 2.) You would probably be more upset about pricing than you already are. and 3.) That is not the point of this blog or article...
The bottom line is this, GW introduces Finecast, but I feel it was a bit early, as there were still some bugs to work out of the system. In their usual rush to get things out, quality was sacrificed to the expediency gods, and we ended up with the short end of the stick...for now. I could go on about how I have heard horror stories about Finecast models being left in a car, only to have them melt after a short time in the July heat. (You shouldn't store minis in your car anyways!) But, I have heard similar stories about people leaving them in window sills just to have them warp...ok, I am sure the quality is somewhat lacking, and we pay a lot of money for quality product and get upset when we don't get it. But, relax, if it is one thing GW has had in my experience is excellent customer service, and support. In all seriousness, I have never had an issue gettting a replacement part or model if there was an issue.
I think that Kharn on the Screaming Heretic has an absolutely great post on the Finecast product, without raising a huge smily, GW banner, Kharn has effectively given some insight into how the Finecast Fiasco came about, and how it can turn around. There is enough negativity concerning Finecast models out there, it is refreshing to see a well written article that actually discusses the product in a fair manner that wasn't slamming GW for once.
(Still not a fanboy, I just like the hobby.)
Enough chatter, time for the squig scale! I rate Kharn's article a parasite squig on the squig scale.
Sorry for the lolcats, I couldn't resist...