DOES Games Workshop make the best miniatures in the world?

[Path Walker]

And anyone who works retail of GW miniatures will tell you that this is not true. The vast majority of GW minis are sold to people who purchased them specifically for use in a GW game.

Certainly there exists the handful of customers who buy every single GW miniature that comes out, simply to have, but they are incredibly rare. As a hobby store employee I can recall two such customers who fit this criteria, but the sales figures of these customers aren't even a drop in the bucket compared to the primary demographics: people who purchase GW's minis for gaming in GW games.

Yes, if you work in a hobby store, you might see mostly gamers, but with online and other channels, the market is much larger than hobby stores, the game is a small part of the hobby, something to do with a collection of miiatures you've bought and painted, thats how GW has always seen it.

I collect a lot of different games, most of which I've not actually played. and miniature quality is the biggest factor to me, Infinity has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, Spartan are the same, the difference between my two Terran fleets is massive, Guild Ball might just be my favorite models of the year so far and I've yet to see them mentioned.

Where GW have the advantage is being able to do all they do on a scale that means they can supply so many people, they make a product that appeals to a massive base of people, something other manufacturers can't manage. And to be fair, some of their stuff in the last few years has been stunning, the Imperial Knight is an amazing kit, the Mechanicus Tech Priest Dominus is creepy and intricate and a real joy to paint. Their ability to make kits in plastic really still is miles ahead of anyone else, only Wyrd come anywhere close and they're still just not quite there yet.

Do they make the best sculpts - probably not, no
Do they have the best plastic miniatures available to the most people - definitely.

[CoffeeGrunt]

That reminds me,
Attachment 15146

VM have made this peice of lovely available as an add-on to Bones III. I imagine there are a few guard players out there who might like this, especially those hankering after female models.

I do personally love Victoria's sculpts, there's a reason I have a Chem Dogs Kill Team made almost entirely of her bitz with a few GW ones smattered around as loot. I really wanna convert that thing up into a railway cannon like the old WWI style. It'd fit something like a Death Korps Artillery Carriage beautifully...

[daboarder]

Yes, if you work in a hobby store, you might see mostly gamers, but with online and other channels, the market is much larger than hobby stores, the game is a small part of the hobby, something to do with a collection of miiatures you've bought and painted, thats how GW has always seen it.

I collect a lot of different games, most of which I've not actually played. and miniature quality is the biggest factor to me, Infinity has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, Spartan are the same, the difference between my two Terran fleets is massive, Guild Ball might just be my favorite models of the year so far and I've yet to see them mentioned.

Where GW have the advantage is being able to do all they do on a scale that means they can supply so many people, they make a product that appeals to a massive base of people, something other manufacturers can't manage. And to be fair, some of their stuff in the last few years has been stunning, the Imperial Knight is an amazing kit, the Mechanicus Tech Priest Dominus is creepy and intricate and a real joy to paint. Their ability to make kits in plastic really still is miles ahead of anyone else, only Wyrd come anywhere close and they're still just not quite there yet.

Do they make the best sculpts - probably not, no
Do they have the best plastic miniatures available to the most people - definitely.

This is blatantly untrue and even a cursory understanding of the shape of GW sales proves that.the game drives aales which is why as the gmsales eb and flow with the games balance and in oarticular viabillity as a tournament game. You just have to look at their sales over the last 6-7 years to see this

[Path Walker]

This is blatantly untrue and even a cursory understanding of the shape of GW sales proves that.the game drives aales which is why as the gmsales eb and flow with the games balance and in oarticular viabillity as a tournament game. You just have to look at their sales over the last 6-7 years to see this

Its not, but thanks for chipping in.

[40kGamer]

To go to 'the best miniatures' you have to look at literally hundreds of manufacturers and design studios across the globe. So no, not the best. DaBoarder already posted up the amazingly intricate stuff coming out of Corvus Belli for Infinity... and you can look up the historical miniature lines of Richard Ansell, who is an outstanding sculptor. I'm especially partial to the 28mm work Richard did for Minden Miniatures for the Seven Years War. His models are well proportioned anatomically and highly detailed. I do think Jes Goodwin would have to be in the conversation for best overall sculptors.

[ted1138]

That's really two questions, not one. Are GW the best miniatures company in the world? Probably yes. Do GW make the best miniatures in the world? Probably no.

[40kGamer]

Yes, if you work in a hobby store, you might see mostly gamers, but with online and other channels, the market is much larger than hobby stores, the game is a small part of the hobby, something to do with a collection of miniatures you've bought and painted, thats how GW has always seen it.

I collect a lot of different games, most of which I've not actually played. and miniature quality is the biggest factor to me, Infinity has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, Spartan are the same, the difference between my two Terran fleets is massive, Guild Ball might just be my favorite models of the year so far and I've yet to see them mentioned.

Where GW have the advantage is being able to do all they do on a scale that means they can supply so many people, they make a product that appeals to a massive base of people, something other manufacturers can't manage. And to be fair, some of their stuff in the last few years has been stunning, the Imperial Knight is an amazing kit, the Mechanicus Tech Priest Dominus is creepy and intricate and a real joy to paint. Their ability to make kits in plastic really still is miles ahead of anyone else, only Wyrd come anywhere close and they're still just not quite there yet.

Do they make the best sculpts - probably not, no
Do they have the best plastic miniatures available to the most people - definitely.

This is blatantly untrue and even a cursory understanding of the shape of GW sales proves that.the games drive sales which is why the sales ebb and flow with the games balance and in particular viabillity as a tournament game. You just have to look at their sales over the last 6-7 years to see this

Its not, but thanks for chipping in.

If we're completely honest Games Workshop doesn't really know who is buying their products. 50% goes through non-GW sales channels and even the sales going through their own stores can't be tracked to person and use. So it may be true that the majority of sales goes to casual collectors who buy a kit here or there, but it's equally likely this is not the case. What we commonly see is that 'if' something has a high utility in actual gameplay it sells remarkably well. Also if we're playing probabilities it is far more likely that a collector will only buy one of something while a gamer will buy many if it is useful.

On a side note if you read through the threads of high quality miniature artist's on CoolminiorNot, GW is far from the company of choice for most of them. Another compelling reason to vote no on them offering the best miniatures.

[CoffeeGrunt]

On a side note if you read through the threads of high quality miniature artist's on CoolminiorNot, GW is far from the company of choice for most of them. Another compelling reason to vote no on them offering the best miniatures.

Eh, that's a bit like saying, "well all these Formula One racers wouldn't want to buy a Ford family car, so Ford clearly can't be the best car company."

I mean, many of the models on that site are gorgeous to levels I won't be achieving any time soon, if ever. I'll also warrant that a very small percentage of them have ever touched the tabletop as well...

[Path Walker]

If we're completely honest Games Workshop doesn't really know who is buying their products. 50% goes through non-GW sales channels and even the sales going through their own stores can't be tracked to person and use

They know how many rulebooks they sell though

[daboarder]

And in the digital age and gaming groups that doesnt mean much.

Ill be honest 40k gamer has the right of it. Neither we nor GW has the information to make the call. BUT as gamer pointed out the more powerful in game units and armies sell consistently MORE than other model kits. We know this because the community includes store owners that make that data available to us. You dont get to refute it without solid evidence of your own.

Edit: you mention online sales being larger than walk in customers. And while that may be true it is incorrect to use such a statement to try and diminish the input evidence from independent game stores as many of those have their OWN online distribution methods that are still supporting the conclusion drawn above.

Furthermore given that said stores are often able to sell at a lower price point than the GW wenstore non exclusive modela probably move a high volume per customer through those other store channels.

Edit: all that aside the topic of conversation is the qualitity of GW miniatures not the customer demographic.