Reply To: GW (bless ’em)

Hmmm…mixed feelings about this one. Although I don’t particularly care for the way GW pushed it’s weight around with licensing and other marketing issues. And some of their figs are good, and some are utter crap. All are VERY expensive for a mass-produced item. I make of point of almost always buying GW stuff second hand to save myself money and to protest the way the market themselves.

The fact remains that they put wargaming, specifically fantasy wargaming, back into the forefront of the gaming community. In my book, that is a good thing.

There’s a lot of rumblings in the historical gaming community about how hard it is to keep doing business as a figure manufacterer, and how many brick and mortar hobby shops have closed here in the States. I think a lot of that has to do with the universal availability of hobby supplies on the internet via E-bay or direct sales. It makes brick and mortar redundant. GW has fallen prey to the same pitfalls as Starbucks. Over-expansion, loss of core identity, and watering down of the brand.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are going to hobby shops with my Dad, who was always shopping for model railroad items. I still recall seeing all the racks of the old Ral Partha and Grenadier D&D figs. GW’s stores were fun in that same way, if more slick and sales oriented. I can only hope they introduced a generation of youngsters to gaming, collecting and modelling fantasy figures.

BTW, my 3 1/2 year old son, Max, wants to say “HI” to the crowd in the Pony! This summer, I’m going to read him the Hobbit as a bed-time story for a few weeks!