Space Marines up for Order: Any good kitbashing there.

GW has published the sprue pictures for all the new sets.  There is some interesting stuff in them.  I will not be posting those pics since I would just be stealing them from the GW site and they really do not care for that.

First I note that the new captain and librarian are just total wastes.  They are way over priced single pose models with no real options.  One is essential just the Black Reach captain with a different head and a combi weapon.  He at least has two head options unlike the librarian who comes with an optional Cherub but other than that just one fixed models for 30 dollars.  I remember when the Space Marine Captain Sprue was like 15 dollars and it was loaded with great stuff for conversions.  The production of these models in this way is a crime against the Hobby.

The Hunter and Stalker kit looks like if you ignore the side armor part you can make both weapons to stick onto different rhinos so that might help with the cost.  So get both anti air tanks for like 100.  I still not not like the look of the Stalker but I guess it is not for me.

Centurions still look ridiculous with their exoskeleton on top of exoskeleton.  

Now onto the meat of my interests the new power armor marines.  The new tac squad is a total pass.  Nothing wrong with it and it gives you some new options in terms of the grav weapons and parts to make combi weapons but those are no longer going to hard to come by since the new Sternguard kit comes with 8 (2 of each of the four current types) and given that the rumors have the point cost for combis doubling I just do not see them on every Sternguard like last edition. 

The Sternguard kit looks to have a lot of good parts with tabard legs, ornate armor.  Now I would probably take the 50 dollar kit and combine it with 5 normal marines spreading the fancy around to fill out the sternguard units.  50 dollars for 5 power armor marines makes them a pricey unit to try to get like 2 full squads that I used to run with my Pedro list.

The new vanguard is loaded down with lightening claws and thunderhammer and storm shields which is good since those where not easy to find in plastic for power armor marines before but they do not seem to have a good collection of old fashion power swords or axes in the vanguard box with just 1 sword and 1 axe plus a relic blade.  They also appear to lack normal backpacks only coming with the jump pack.  I would probably also suggest taking this box and combining it with a normal assault marine box to make the unit if you want to go above the 5 guys.  Not sure about how they changed the unit as these really never saw the tabletop in the last codex.  I seem to recall them being fast attack last time and now they are elite which still has your terminators and dreadnoughts so not that many open slots.

I could maybe see myself buying a vanguard box or a sternguard box to mix in my marines at some point if I could get them at like 20-25% off list.  Not that I need them but I still have maybe 10 unbuilt marines that could use some new bits to make them more interesting.  Maybe take one the Sternguard and use it to produce another Honor Guard Model.

Reaper Bones: Clockwork Dragon

Here we have the Reaper Bones Clockwork Dragon.  Kit is 10 parts: 2 Wings, Body, 4 Legs, Tail, and 2 of the shield plates on the legs.  It is 5-1/2 inches long tail to head and 8-5/8 inches tall feet to wind tips.  Retail is 25 dollars.

You can see the rivets on the armor plates on the neck.  The horns are slightly bent but nothing serious.

This is a pretty good model and might work well with some GW Empire Look.

You will note that the wings are very straight.  They are made with a different blend of plastic and are very stiff.  The do not bend and I bet you could sharpen them to an edge.  The are also likely to snap it roughly handled so if you let you 2 year old handle your Bones, I would keep this one away.  This one unlike most of my other Bones models came in its retail box which I am guessing was to help protect the wings.  The similarily sized Ebonwrath Black Dragon was just in a plastic bag.

New Space Hulk Video Game Means More Interest in Space Hulk Probabilities.

So I was noticing some increased traffic to my series about the probabilities in the Space Hulk game that I did a few years ago.  I was sort of confused by this but then I remembered that someone just released a Space Hulk video game.  I have not really looked into the game so I cannot say if it is just a transfer of the boardgame to computer so the probabilities will hold but maybe it is.

I studied the probabilities of events for every possible die roll/attack combination in space hulk and have it broken down in a series of posts that can be found here or follow the link in the right side bar to the space hulk probability page.  So if you like Space Hulk or Math go check it out.  Interesting just yesterday Spikey Bits had a post up about club dice and how they affect rolling but the comments to the post suggested that the person was talking out of his ass as he did not do any testing and people have tested GW and Chessex standard dice in the past had the affects were opposite as he suggested with 1s being statistically more common than expected.  Maybe I will have to pull out my space hulk set and try those dice to see how they roll in real game conditions.  That is a lot of rolling and tabulating.

Is the Hunter one of the Worst Dollar to Points Models Ever?

Just noticed in one the leaked white dwarf pics that the Hunter was like 70 points.  I thought this kit was about 70 dollars so amounts to about 1 dollar per point on the table top.  I think Rhinos and Drop Pods are now down on level also so I guess it is just the new normal.   From the rumors I saw this unit cannot shoot first at flyers but also can only shoot at flyers so they made it cheap but would it have been better to maybe make it generally useful so that 40K does not become a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors.  Having a unit that is essentially useless (I guess mobile cover is the other application) unless your opponents bring something specific is pretty lame.  I hope I was just reading the rumors incorrectly.

Reaper Kickstarter Bones Now Available at their Webstore

Reaper has released the Bones Kickstarter Models onto their webstore.  There are definitely some good models to be had in the line but I would recommend avoiding Kaladrax.  At 75 dollars the model just lacks the details you would expect from even something for table top play.  Some models are even available at less than the Kickstarter prices or very similar level.

You can read up on my impressions of the Kickstarter Bones,  or check out the Griffin and Frost Wyrm models.

What to talk about next?

I mainly use this blog to archive my model collections since I am a hoarder as I have a hard time getting out of the house to play during normal hours when I am not at work.  So I have picked up a ton of new stuff since I was actively updating the blog on a more regular basis.  I have new Epic models (Current Space Marine and Eldar Lines), new Blood Bowl models(Humans, Lizardmen, Big Guys, Star Players), all those reaper Bones, Legend of Drizzt board game, X-Wing Mini game, and Lego sets both of the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings variety.

If I look at the long term hits that posts get I should concentrate on Lego since those get more hits but seems to be people not really interested in the Blog.  I am guessing it is mainly people looking to buy the sets.  Ofcourse I sometimes get emails from people trying to buy my other minis but everything that is for sale right now is listed in the Bargain Bin.

I also get more short term hits on 40K stuff but as I am still not active there and will not be for this edition I am guessing due to my dislike of both the Allies and Flyer rules not to mention GW's general tomfoolery.

Anyone have anything they are interested in seeing more off.

Reaper Bones: Frost Wyrm

Here is one the extras I got from the Reaper Bones Kickstarter, the Frost Wyrm.  This model is 4 pieces: tail and base, body, crest, and top of head.  Details are pretty good.

 

 View from the other side.  This model came unassembled and is not yet cleaned, glued or straightened but still looks pretty good.

 

Little closer.  The eyes are not a faceted as you would want but still pretty reasonable.  Definitely one of the Bones to check out.  Retail price is 15 dollars which is about right maybe slightly high but still reasonable.  The model is 3.5 inches tall as noted in the comments below.

X-Wing Miniatures Meet Lego Corellian Corvette

One of the first Lego Star Wars sets I got a couple of years ago when I got interested in Legos again due to my kids starting to be the right age was the Corellian Corvette, Tantive IV.  This set has some minifigure play features but it is not minifigure scale.  When I first heard about the X-Wing Miniature games one of the things that held me back was that I have a ton of Lego Star Wars ships which are like 10 or more times bigger that I got for maybe twice the prices that the X-Wing ships go for.  I see that you also get cards and card stock pieces so that can add to the price to make it better a little more understandable.  Now the minifigure scale star fighters are way to big to use for the game unless you are using a open gym or conference center floor but I was wondering about my Lego Tantive IV.

The game lists the scale 1/270 and I get a measured scale 1/288 at 52 cm for the Lego Tantive IV version of the Corellian Corvette.  It would need to be 55 cm long to be exactly at scale but it is within 5% which is very good.   Better than the Kenner/Hasbro model people have been using.  It is certainly a playable size that can be moved and positioned on a board that is say 6 by 6.

Now if you wanted a Star Destroyer in this scale it would be 6 m long so you will essentially having to play with it static in a very large room.

As a note, this post was written before FFG announced that they were releasing a Corvette at Gencon.  This lego set is no longer in print and the price point for the FFG model is significantly less than what this can be had for even if that one is scaled 30% smaller for costs and playability reasons I would guess.

Here is an update showing the Lego vs FFG models for comparison.  Like a mommy and baby.

Are New Space Marines Enough to Bring Me Back?

So like anyone who still follows the 40k scene, I have seen the pics and rules leaked for the upcoming Codex Space Marines.  Now I have not bought anything for 40K since the Nid codex came out as a disappointment.  GW still got some money for specialist games but nothing for any of the mainline stuff.  I packed it up and have not really looked for a game in quite a while.  So 6th edition has been here for a year and my primary army is getting an update.  Is it enough to get me off the sidelines?

Probably not.  First issue is rules cost, ~ 60 dollars for the Codex and 75 for the main rules will certainly hold me back.  Just to start playing the game again I am out 125+ dollars.  There is a think about throwing good money after bad.  People have said that the new Codex format is worth the 100% price increase but at the rate they are updating these now what used to be a 6-8 year purchase is probably down to like 4.  After that time is up and it is obsolete it is like 5 dollars.  Second, the new power armored models would be nice to add in to my force but I would probably buy the Sternguard, Vanguard, and Tac squad boxes and mix them all up but I still have unbuilt marines from several years ago and have like 150 power armor marines already.  Do I need to spend 130 dollars for another 20?  The non-power armor units do not really bring me in.  I am like most people who think the Armor on Armor models generally look stupid.  The new tank is interesting but at higher than 60 dollars and no Interceptor rule to help limit flyers alpha striking it makes the Hunter less interesting to me and the Stalker which is probably the better build looks like a bunny rabbit head.

So I will let it go by.  I will watch Nids but probably let them go by also as I never even updated my forces with the new Tyrant, Trygon, and Tyrannofex kits.  More new kits just puts it more in the rear view.

A Day for Detroit

Cotopaxi, Frederic Edwin Church 1862 Held by DIA (Used Without Permission)

Now I stay out of politics on the Blog, but even a some one with a minor interest in fine culture is sickened by the idea of auctioning off pieces of art from the Detroit Institute of Arts due to the city's money issues.  A Day for Detroit is a series of blog posts around the web highlighting pieces of art which could be lost to public view if such an auction happened.

Cotopaxi is my favorite painting at the DIA.  It is just overwhelming as it is 45 by 85 inches of fantastic color and detail.  Check out the DIA website to see some more of their great pieces.

Lego Star Wars Mini Z-95 Headhunter

 While I was away on a business trip back in June, I was able to pick this up.  Lego sends different polybaged sets to different retailers (Target, Walmart, Toys'r'us) and I really only get them at Target so I had never seen this one.  It was the last one so I got it.  Ofcourse when I got home I saw that this was the set that my local Meijer was getting so a little bit of a let down on the found object but that is ok.

Here it is built. Pretty basic construction but I do note that Lego is pretty loose the on scale for polybag models.  This Z-95 is longer than the similar X-wing.

I also came with a piece I had never seen before.  This smooth round stud.  Not bad for the standard impulse buy.  I am waiting to get the mini-figure scale one that was released earlier this year.

Some Reaper Bones not Being Released to Retail

If you have been following my blog recently you will remember that I said some of the Reaper Bones from the kickstarter were not very good.  Apparently Reaper has agreed and will not be adding them to the line going forward.

Juliette, Female Sorceress
Townsfolk: Mom & Kids
Drago Voss, Male Assassin
Ellen Stone
Dita,Steampunk Witch

I would post their images from the Reaper Preview Gallery but they have disappeared.

Stating the Obvious: X-Wing Pilot Skill

So as I was first going through the X-Wing game rules, it took me a few moments to understand the value of Pilot Skill.   Higher Pilot skill corresponds to higher model cost with all other stats are the same so it has to have some real value.  First, Higher Pilot skill allows you to shot first which can be important as dead opponents don't shot back but only of so much value in a game where multiple shots are usually required to down an enemy craft.  High pilot skill also has you moving later but as you determine all your moves ahead of time it did not really seem to matter there.  At least that was what I thought after playing the Quick Play rules which does not use actions.  I had seen Actions in my scan of the rules but thought there was an Action phase like a movement and shooting phase.

This is not the case, the actions for each ship is declared after that ship moves so having a high Pilot skill is very important to getting the most out of your actions.  The later moving ships have a much better feel of how the turn will play out so it is easier for them to optimize their action choice between Evade, Focus, Target Lock, Barrel Roll, etc.  For example Barrel Rolling out of someones fire arc is great but will be more effective if the enemy in question has already moved.  Target Lock is even more dependent on Pilot Skill early in the game since you have to be with at least the 3 Range level so as two ships approach each other the one going second due to higher pilot skill will be more likely to be able to get the first target lock.

This is all obvious to anyone who has experience in the game hence the post title but I wanted to make it explicit to other newbies like myself.  Now in this system the fine grade of pilot skills are less important as it is a comparison between you and your opponent to have higher values.  If your opponent is usually using Pilot skill 4 than it does not matter if your pilots are 1 or 3 pilot skill you still move first and shot last.  Almost like a game of chicken to find just the correct value to get the most out of your ships and limited points.

How Can GW Get to Know Their Customers?

So while going through some discussion on the GW financials, I was thinking about how it really does not provide much real useful information to evaluate the health of the company.  It shows the profit and costs and such based on various groups which they are constantly shifting around, but it does not really provide information about the customers and how they interact with the company.  I actually noticed it very much lacked any focus on the customers in the document.  We are hardly mentioned in the directors forward.  This should probably be no surprise as they management in previous reports essential belittles the customers by showing confusion as to why people are  interested in their products.

This lack of interest in the customers might explain why they talk about increasing sales in such a vague way.  They have worked a ton on improving their margins in recent years through price increases, staffing reductions, and store re-locations and are quite happy about those levels now but note that they do want to see some real sales growth in terms of units.  They might even accept some reduction in margins again to achieve that.  They do not list any plans or changes they are going to make to accomplish that just notice that they would like to see it.

Now to increase the sales volume, they really need to think about their customers and know about their customers both people buying at the GW stores, independent brick and mortar, and independent internet based stores.  Many retail companies track their customers with credit card databases and loyalty programs.  Think about all the emails and real mail you get from various companies that you shop with.   Lego sends me emails about their new products and promotions, two small magazines with new products/builds/comics every other month, plus catalogs a few times a year.  American Girl sends us catalogs, adds for magazines, etc.  Not that GW should be just sending out tons of junk mail and spam to everyone near their stores but I am a known customer.  I probably have 10 web orders listed with their store and have gotten several replacement parts through their customer service, and used to subscribe to White Dwarf.  I cannot imagine that in every one of those orders I checked that I did not want to get emails from them.  I do get the weekly email from Forge World but only seem to get a catalog when I place an order now.  Given how pushy GW sales people can be when you go to the stores, it is really surprising that they are so weak in the direct marketing department.

GW has a little bit tougher time than a pure retailer in linking sales to customers as they have multiple distribution channels but I think they could do a much better job than they seem to be right now.  I remember a couple of years back they made everyone sign up for gw accounts online to view they old white dwarf stuff (which I am pretty sure is all gone now anyway).   Now GW would probably like to know how many different customers, how many new customers, how individual buying habits are changing to evaluate their sales and marketing efforts.  People generally give up this type of information for almost nothing but not actually nothing.  A loyalty card is not going to capture non store purchases so it is going to have to be something on line.  This also means that giving out 5 dollar coupons is not really going to work since they will then have to work with their trade partners on redemption.  So how do we get the customers in all the different channels go online and essentially register their purchases.

Digital Download codes.  My daughters pokemon cards come with a download code that unlocks cards in the online game.  We do not use them since we do not play the online game but GW could do something similar using their digital content.  Books and minis come with a download code that allows you to earn points to unlock digital content.  They already seem to be building up a library of non essential content that they are charging real money for.  Consider the codex supplements.  Those seem to have some interest but most non diehards are shocked by the prices.  Say after 6 months or 1 year you can use your points to open it up, then you might be inspired to make that special army and GW has learned all about you regardless of your purchase point.  They know what armies you are actively purchasing, what other armies you might be interested (by the fluff content you are redeeming your points for), etc.

I would not expect them to have you download a Rulebook or Codex for nothing as those are really needed but for example you register that you just bought a box of plastic SM terminators and the screen pops up about using the points to download White Dwarf X which has a painting tutorial from when they were release or this fluff piece about terminator heavy weapons, etc.  You give the customers something for taking the time to get engaged with you but not something that really costs you any real money like discounts and such would.  The content your giving also feeds them right back into your products.

Now this is not a ticket to increased sales, it is about better interaction with the full customer base so you actually have real data about the purchasing behaviors and geographic locations of your customers.  You can find ways to get them more involved in the game, bring them back in if they have drifted away, and look to find better ways to bring in new players and keep them buying.