Toy weapons

[totgeboren]

I think going after a demographic that is younger than say 12-14 is a big mistake. When you are that age, you are still a child, but you really really want to go after stuff you associate with "adult" (it should be violent, including sexy women is a big plus too, it should have clear lone heroes instead of being based on cooperative efforts and so on. i.e. it should have everything stuff aimed at children does not have).
If GW builds up a brand for younger kids, those kids will have that association when they come of they age that the standard GW settings should become interesting, meaning they will still connect the brand to "kids stuff".
It could well destroy the hobby in the long term, though perhaps GW figures that the hobby is old enough that they might as well try to milk as much as they can while they are still relevant? (In regards to them targeting a younger crowd too as of late.)

[Quixus]

Violence and boobs (which standard 40k already has/had) I get, but I don't see that children and young teenagers would disdain cooperation. While 40k factions are about cooperation among themselves the setting as a whole is much more fractured. If you look at it in certain way you could see the stereotypical highschool cliques:

Space Marines: Jocks

Chaos Space Marines: Meaner Jocks

AdMech: Nerds

Orks: Class clowns

etc.

[crimsondave]

As a very confused American I have to say I don't think Brits and Yanks will ever understand each other again. Wow. Just wow. Regulated. Toy. Guns. Wow.

[totgeboren]

Violence and boobs (which standard 40k already has/had) I get, but I don't see that children and young teenagers would disdain cooperation.

 

 

'Cooperation' is about which protagonist saves the day. In settings aimed at younger kids, it's seldom the main protagonist that carries the day by himself. Often success is due to teamwork, or some other powerful character that saves the protagonist.

For example, the Harry Potter books are a perfect example of this. Though Harry is the main protagonist, he is basically never the one to save the day. It's always someone else, or preferably a joint effort by his friends and/or peers. This is great for kids, because they can relate, since they suck in everyday life and for them it's normal to be saved by others.

 

In settings aimed at adolescents, the main protagonist is the carrier of action, which gets people at that age hocked because it is basically an idealized version of themselves. The dream of being 'the hero' can be projected onto the main protagonist. Kids at that age want to be the hero, the forward who scores the goal, the person who solves the riddle.

And so on and so forth. There is a lot of psychology behind stuff like this.

[DBadger]

As a very confused American I have to say I don't think Brits and Yanks will ever understand each other again. Wow. Just wow. Regulated. Toy. Guns. Wow.

Different culture. Not worth trying to explain either side to be honest. But guns are just not a Thing here.

[DuskRaider]

Yeah, we're getting really close to touching on a lot of things we shouldn't be discussing on here. Let's not go down that path.

[slitth]

I think toy weapons would be a smart move to GW to outsource.

 

After all it promotes everting GW related, like their PC games and the like.

Getting your brand noticed is after all very important.

[Plasmablasts]

Having read the character portraits in the blurb on the Warhammer Adventures site, it was striking that they mentioned more than once about certain characters having aversions to weapons, or preferring non-violent solutions. They seemed to be quite keen to reassure parents that there would not be portrayals of violence unsuitable to the target age group. With that in mind, I’d be a bit surprised if GW then commissioned toy guns to promote the hobby to younger children.

 

(Mind you, I think there’s be a market for full-size volkite chargers that go “choom”!)

[slitth]

I doubt that parents that are that sensitive to "action" toys would let their kids anywhere near something Warhammer or 40K related.

[Marshal Rohr]

Don’t make them for kids, make inoperable sci-fi replicas for collectors and cosplayers and charge a pretty penny. You’d make way more for something that costs pennies.

[rendingon1+]

They have already done that long time ago. I remember Archaon's sword or something made in very limited numbers. Also it was forged iirc. I wonder how did it sell...

But yes, adults/cosplayers seem a better target.

[Calyptra]

I don't think I'm qualified to talk about culture or markets, but I think the idea of nerf 40k guns is awesome and something I might buy.

 

For pure functionality, I think a nerf shuriken catapult that fired spinning discs would be *amazing.*

 

(Googles.)

 

Huh, looks like nerf guns that shoot discs are already a thing, and they apparently do have excellent range and accuracy. I wonder how hard it would be to build a shuriken catapult chassis for one...

[Skaorn]

Don’t make them for kids, make inoperable sci-fi replicas for collectors and cosplayers and charge a pretty penny. You’d make way more for something that costs pennies.

You can already easily make these with nerf guns for far cheaper than you would probably end up paying for a GW version. Since costume design is part of the hobby, most cosplayers will already have many of the tools and materials to do this.

 

As for regulation of toy guns in the US, a quick Google search will show people do get shot due to toy guns by police in the US every year, the orange plugs are shown not to be effective in allowing police to identify them in high stress situations, and (a surprise one for me) in a recent Baltimore police corruption scandal it was found that some of the officers arrested were carrying toy guns in case they shot someone who was unarmed. Now when I modded and painted Nerf guns I'd leave the plugs unpainted more for situations like if I got stopped and had to open my trunk rather than having someone suspicious calling the police to a gaming area. I knew if that happened I could be screwed, but normally we were in rented out areas, private property, or inside someone's house.

[slitth]

While there is a marked for collectables, it would just be something extra for fans to get.

 

The idea with something like toy weapons is to get the brand noticed by someone that is not already a fan.

 

That is one of the reason why Warhammer and 40K PC games have to be really good games, as they represent the brand to a new crowd.

[Marshal Rohr]

 

Don’t make them for kids, make inoperable sci-fi replicas for collectors and cosplayers and charge a pretty penny. You’d make way more for something that costs pennies.

You can already easily make these with nerf guns for far cheaper than you would probably end up paying for a GW version. Since costume design is part of the hobby, most cosplayers will already have many of the tools and materials to do this.

 

As for regulation of toy guns in the US, a quick Google search will show people do get shot due to toy guns by police in the US every year, the orange plugs are shown not to be effective in allowing police to identify them in high stress situations, and (a surprise one for me) in a recent Baltimore police corruption scandal it was found that some of the officers arrested were carrying toy guns in case they shot someone who was unarmed. Now when I modded and painted Nerf guns I'd leave the plugs unpainted more for situations like if I got stopped and had to open my trunk rather than having someone suspicious calling the police to a gaming area. I knew if that happened I could be screwed, but normally we were in rented out areas, private property, or inside someone's house.

I can cook a four course meal, that doesn’t mean sometimes I don’t eat at a nice restaurant. ;)

[Slave to Darkness]

Collectables would be good, toys aimed at kids nah. Too many snotgobblers in my local as it is, last thing we need is tables flying because little Timmy thinks he is Guilliman saving the Imperium single handed.

[slitth]

Collectables would be good, toys aimed at kids nah. Too many snotgobblers in my local as it is, last thing we need is tables flying because little Timmy thinks he is Guilliman saving the Imperium single handed.

 

I would prefer little Timmy playing Guilliman, than little Timmy going "Hulk Smash" and then send tables flying.

At least you could trick Timmy to do his homework, because that what Guilliman would do

[Calyptra]

I would prefer little Timmy playing Guilliman, than little Timmy going "Hulk Smash" and then send tables flying.

At least you could trick Timmy to do his homework, because that what Guilliman would do

Dismantling democracy is another thing Guilliman would do. I'm more comfortable with little Timmy being Hulk. (And Banner definitely did his homework.)

[Skaorn]

 

 

Don’t make them for kids, make inoperable sci-fi replicas for collectors and cosplayers and charge a pretty penny. You’d make way more for something that costs pennies.

You can already easily make these with nerf guns for far cheaper than you would probably end up paying for a GW version. Since costume design is part of the hobby, most cosplayers will already have many of the tools and materials to do this.

I can cook a four course meal, that doesn’t mean sometimes I don’t eat at a nice restaurant. ;)

But do you enjoy cooking? Would you call it your passion? Do you buy new models for your army and sometimes pay for someone else to assemble and paint them for you? Alternately do you Assemble and paint an army but sometimes have someone else play games with it so you can just watch?

 

I used to mod Nerf guns because it was a lot of fun and I played in games that used them. Those games ended and I stopped because I couldn't justify the expense. Modding a Bolt weapon wouldn't be hard, it would be fun for me still, it'd be cheaper, and when I screamed "Death to the false Emperor " I could shoot people with foam darts. Much more satisfying than just yelling "Bang" with something just meant to sit and look pretty. Most cosplayers I've met or even my best friend's wife, who is a professional costume designer for theaters, love what they do (except when it's time for A Christmas Carol). Since building a costume is the same to them as building, painting, and playing armies are to most mini gamers, I don't see them as a very good target audience. Heck, some of them make power armor to wear.

[lhg033]

.... Perhaps an Astartes Guess Who, .....

 

..is it Alpharius....

 

 

 

I don't think toy guns tie in particularly well with the GW brand.

 

Replica's for display etc might be more their thing. Abaddon's sword might be a good one.

[Felix Antipodes]

While I like the idea of helmets - all the different marks? - I'd like to see shoulder pads so I can build my own Deathwatch memorial wall!

[DBadger]

While the helmets are clearly copyrightable by GW, shoulder pads would seem to be something that the community could go out and produce!