If you subscribe to Warlord Games newsletter you would have got an email today in regards to postage. For me living in the rest of the world I now have to do a minimum spend of 50 pounds to place an order, and for that privilege I get to pay 25 pound in shipping. And because they are so lazy with calculating true postage they will include a free plastic kit from a choice of their choosing to offset the postage cost.
For years Warlord have been gouging overseas customers by charging VAT at checkout. And they still are. On top of that they are now forcing us to spend significant amounts of money at the checkout and forcing us to select one of their plastic products, no doubt selected from the items that are not selling.
I am done with buying product from them. It's significantly cheaper to purchase from resellers. If there is an option to buy a similar product from a different manufacturer then I'm going to take that caption.
Thank you for listening to my rant. And thank you Peter Pig for being a reliable retailer since my first purchase from you in 1998.
That is very sad to hear, Paul, and not a little shocking.
But you've come to the right place. This section is all about grumbles - ideally not about Peter Pig and RFCM stuff!
Simon
I understand your pain Paul. I used to either subscribe to or buy off the shelf most of the UK war-games magazines going. Even living in the UK this was not cheap. I realised though that I was only reading small percentage of each one. A wargaming friend of mine pointed out that what I spent on them each month would buy me at least one Osprey and that was what he did. I can see the sense in this. I have quite a few Ospreys which I return to again and again. The magazines mostly ended in recycle after six months. So I stopped buying war-games magazines almost entirely.
John
Paul....ouch.
The times they are a changing.
I think Warlord has had a lot of new "ideas" about their postage.
From what you say Paul I think this idea will only last 3 weeks.
The trick is to make any change sound like an intended plan.
Popular ones are (THESE ARE NOT WARLORD RELATED, JUST OBSERVATIONS)
1. "Passing the company on so that a new owner can take it to the next level" = this company is really in big trouble and losing money.
2. "re- release" (within 6 months) = The existing product is appalling
3. "A last opportunity to buy" = no one is buying this product
4."This product is selling really well" = This product is not selling well at all
5 "unmissable offer"= avoid this offer
It is vital to never admit things are not going brilliantly (got that from V Putin Esq.)
martin :)
I'm in agreement with John about magazines. Back in the day (before the interweb thingy) I'd glean the odd wargaming related article from Military Modelling once a while and scan the 'classifieds' for ads of shops and groups near me. Then praise be!, actual wargaming specific mags came along. They were one of the only places I could go to and feel like I had a 'normal' hobby. I bought them off the shelf regularly over the years and watched them slowly turn into either advertising vehicles of one particular producer or concentrate on periods that tickled me not at all. This irked me because I knew there were still a large number of independent gaming shops out there with all sorts of fascinating stuff seemingly not featured at all. Then the list of articles interesting to me dried up. Then they went online and I even contributed one or two articles in my time but still seemingly evolved down the same route. Thank the dice gods for fora like this one which have periods, figures and (hopefully) a like minded community I am engaged with. Not only do they offer pastoral care to 'lead addicts' such as myself with hints and tips but help me spend my money on more worthwhile stuff! I think the printed Wargames mag has had its time.
It was
"The people get what the people want"
Now
"The people want what the people get"
martin :)
Agreed Paul.
Agreed John, I hope that you are getting back to good health.
It is good that there are a number of other manufacturers at present, so Warlord are no longer King in the market place..
I had no idea about Warlord doing that. I did get into the hobby thanks to Bolt Action, purchased the Band of Brothers starting set as my first thing, assembled it, painted some Americans and then never touched it again, changed Ruleset and Scale after that.
About magazines, I started fairly recently in the hobby so didn't live trough magazines golden age, and living abroad the only viable option is purchasing digital. From all the magazines I have seen, I only purchase specific issues of WSS. It has interesting articles and scenarios or campaigns, and it always has at least a mention of Peter Pig stuff.
That's the same to here in France.
But at least Warlords' ACW Rapid Deployment System (aka box of paints) looks handy and readily usable for 15mm armies?
Simon
Simon,
Thank you for that, I'd seen mention of the ACW Rapid Deployment System and had assumed it was something to do with their ACW game miniatures, not a paint set. I may look into it.
The marketing hasn't worked on me.😁
Best wishes,
Martin Buck
Here you go, Martin:
https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/epic-battles-american-civil-war/products/black-powder-american-civil-war-paint-set
£29.50 for 9 paints and a wash. Which feels a tad on the expensive side. But you do get a free sprue of their plastic figures to practice on.
Simon
Plastic or Warlord Resin?
Quote from: Leslie BT on March 13, 2021, 09:27:59 PM
Plastic or Warlord Resin?
Presumably whatever they make their Epic ACW figures out of. In the email they sent me, Warlord refer to them as "plastic".
Simon
Those paints are relabelled Army Painter. Cheaper to get the product number and buy them direct.
Ah, but those paints are special bespoke paints produced by the Warlord Studio to enable you to paint Union and Confederate.
So really it's like having 2 paint sets for the price of 1. And they're bespoke. Which I think they think it will make you think they are special paints, worth every penny of the £29 price tag.
Personally I'm not so sure....
I think the cost of modelling acrylics is scandalous. Just because it has a posh label on it seems to be a licence to charge outrageous prices. There are plenty of cheaper quality alternatives out there. Colour party paints is an example, but there are others. I think part of the problem is that some don't like using a mixing palette and want to buy bespoke "off the shelf" colours however much they cost.
John
Always best to trust the manufacturer.
Would they lie to you?
I have a couple of the Privateer press paints. Apparently they are the "ultimate" (ultimate meaning that there is nothing this good or ever will be). Therefore no other paint can be as good. Topic closed?
All from the same sort of rubbish as "the ultimate driving machine".
If it makes money, some folk have no self control.
martin ???
The only hobby specific paint products I buy these days is primer and washes. Both for convenience used trade primers in the past and made my own washes but not really worth it in the end. Happily been using craft and artist acrylic for many years.
Noticed that Skytrex now owned by WG have increased their flat rate postage but not to the same level.
Regarding paints, maybe it's helpful in getting folk into the hobby to make it as easy as possible to buy all the required ingredients, while reaping super profits on such sets is helpful to sustain the manufacturer?
Simon
I am waiting for Peter Pig to release their ultimate limited edition paint sets for the Mexican range.
Stewart
I can see them now, Stewart... Bandelero Brown, Rebel Red, Zapatista Zinc white, Fuerte Fawn, Carrancist Khaki, Federale Faded Linen...
Now there is a good idea
martin :)
Yes, only 1 set per customer due to limited numbers and with a unique set number registered to the buyer.
Special Collective item .
Stewart
£25 per set postage too?
Simon
Quote from: John Watson on March 14, 2021, 09:16:26 AM
I think the cost of modelling acrylics is scandalous. Just because it has a posh label on it seems to be a licence to charge outrageous prices. There are plenty of cheaper quality alternatives out there. Colour party paints is an example, but there are others. I think part of the problem is that some don't like using a mixing palette and want to buy bespoke "off the shelf" colours however much they cost.
John
I can't mix paint to save my life, so I'm quite happy to buy specific colours for uniforms, equipment, etc.
Warlord Epic are injection moulded for the infantry, and Warlord resin for the rest.