GW isn't going to offer standees - because they are, as was noted above, a hobby miniatures company first and foremost - in a stand-alone board game, so that leaves them with two options: put in simplified miniatures (two piece snap-fit, fewer details, etc.) to keep costs down, or minis that are identical to the ones in their main line. If they go with the simplified minis then they're leaving money on the table. No amount of cost-cutting on the minis side is going to deter GW players from buying up games to cannibalize them since most of them have years, if not decades, of experience modifying GW minis to make expensive units out of inexpensive ones. The board games are still an army builder's dream from a hobbyist's perspective, so GW is probably figuring that they might as well make a little more per purchase in their established market instead of exclusively chasing board gamer sales.
GW's strategy is also poised to exploit the post-Kickstarter environment where board gamers have become accustomed to paying out the nose for mini-saturated games. Granted, they're not as cheap as a lot of these Kickstarters but they're established and experienced manufacturers and designers and you don't have to wait 2 years for your stuff to show up.
And let's not over-exaggerate how much the tail is wagging the dog in these board games. Yes, they're absolutely a gateway to the hobby, but based on reviews and rules descriptions it's clear to me that the designers are interested in making compelling, chaotic and brutal old-school brit-trash games that still function as stand-alone purchases. If they're phoning it in, they're doing it wrong.
All that being said, I wish they were cheaper but I don't begrudge them their retail strategy, I just can't afford them.
I've painted a grand total of 3 miniatures in my entire life. Two Ral Partha D&D minis my friend had when we were 10 and one plastic Space Marine from the 2nd edition 40k box set. So the bulk of my time playing GW games has been with unpainted or primed miniatures. That never stopped me from having fun or the stories that were created on the table, especially playing Necromunda, Gorkamorka, Blood Bowl even 40k. I still remember the time my Space Wolf tactical marine chucked a void grenade and destroyed a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, or the time my frenzied Cawdor ganger with a head wound took out a Spyrer in hand-to-hand combat in the deadly confines of the underhive, or the time my ogre Razzogut the Titanic killed my opponent's troll in the championship final of our Pit Blood Bowl league (OK, technically that ogre was painted, but not by me).
The modeling and painting of miniatures is a meta hobby. It gives you something to do when you aren't actually sitting down to play the game. It's like CCG players pouring over card lists to build and tune new decks or RPG players writing back stories for their characters, drawing their portraits or creating whole campaigns and storylines as GMs. All of that creation makes for that "mine" feeling. I'm brining my stuff to the table to play your stuff.
I've only painted three minis before, but I'm getting closer to picking up a brush and learning to paint. I've long been an admirer of the those in the miniatures community who take the time and effort to convert up their own heroes, warbands, blood bowl teams, gangs, etc. I'd love to learn how to do that to make something that's really mine.
Shellhead wrote: For example, each of the Space Hulk scenarios that I have played felt like a puzzle for the marines player which had one specific tactical solution.
I've seen this several times over the past 5 or so years since the 3rd ed release...and I don't get it. Is Chess a puzzle? It's got one objective and very static pieces and results. SH has more than enough dynamic variables (# of command points turn to turn, blip values, combat die results) that even if there are some approaches that are more sound than others...it's no guarantee you can make that happen. It's like in BB...a cage is a sound strategy to score...but can you get it setup and chugging along correctly?
There's plenty of game in Space Hulk and it's still one of the stone cold classics. It's ok to be a detractor, but I wouldn't run the game down over being a 'puzzle'.
So far as GW games, i don't know what to say. If you don't enjoy the modeling aspect of them then the value likely isn't going to be there for you. I _love_ the roleplaying aspect of creating a team, naming characters, imagining their background fluff, etc. I like creating these little people and seeing their stories play out on the tabletop. To me, it's more visceral and satisfying than role-playing, but not too far removed. And I really dig seeing the creative work others do as well. If GW games were pre-painted they would lose their appeal.
It's very doubtful I'll buy Lost Patrol, but the one thing that would make me do it was that I always thought it would be cool to have an Imperial Guard designed as Genetic Infantrymen. LP would be a way to model that up with only a handful of minis. I would trade those space marine scouts out for some Catachan Jungle Fighters. From there you could have real Predator action, but again, I'd paint those scouts with blue skin and white hair. Some would get a green-stuff helmet. The game sounds grim enough for the scouts, you could even home-brew up a little rule where if one scout died next to another the one still alive could get his chip and some minor bonus...and I don't think it would break the game. EDIT: Modifying the setting to the RT universe would also work with this narrative. The GIs were betrayed. Their dropshop's coordinators were reprogrammed to dump them right into the midst of a genestealer colony. It wasn't a rescue mission, but they're to be hosts...
A project like that would improve the enjoyment of the game 10 fold for me.
I don't love painting, but I enjoy it enough to finish it off and admire the work created. I do know my limits though. Space Hulk 3rd ed is too detailed for me. I painted a set already and didn't much enjoy it. I've also painted a SH 2nd ed set in the past and that was much more fun.
This should be pretty simple, just use heads from the Cadian troopers.
yep and I think it'd be very cool. But buying lost patrol + catachan jungle fighters + cadian troopers will push this up to around $100 if not more. Is there enough game here to warrant that sort of cost and work?
The three minis games I have now I can model endlessly on as I convert and make new teams, cars, etc. How far can Lost Patrol be taken? Is GW going to stat up tau, necrons, orks, etc for this? Does it matter? I dunno.
I had a House Orlock gang a couple years ago made mostly of Jungle Cadians supplemented with the plastics from the Necromunda base game box. They do look very similar.
Also had a Redemptionist gang converted from Dark Elf hooded guys which was pretty neat.
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