April's free mini of the month is a Deathwing Knight!

[Matrindur]

1 hour ago, Nephaston said:

No wonder they keep having to discontinue whole model lines and other errant kits if they have to dedicate so much work and storage for a sprue that will only ever be used for a month and then vanish into the nether. What's the price of milling a steel mold again? 5k to 10k?

 

I'm also fully on board that those are a waste of mold production since they could have just used the normal kit instead but its also very likely multiple of these smaller sprues per 5k/10k mold and it can probably be made cheaper than normal ones since it only has to hold up a month. So not quite 5k/10k per month, probably more like a fifth or less of that. And that isn't too bad once you realize its probably just another marketing expense instead of being part of the actual model kit budget.

[Halandaar]

The concept of people driving two hours for the specific purpose of collecting a single "free" mini is absolutely baffling to me. If you're going anyway then sure, but to make a specific trip?

 

I guess different cultures and petrol/transport prices or whatever but yeah, put this one down in the "the European mind cannot comprehend" meme category.

[Xirix]

Ah, so this model (and the reason it's yanno, a Terminator and not a generic troop like we usually get) is because of the store anniversary it seems? At the very least my store was but I dunno if it's just "his" store, or all the stores. But would make sense.

[Grotsmasha]

3 hours ago, N1SB said:

I was confused at 1st, there's a hole in the arms that suggest it joins to a peg on the torso? 

The old kit was the same, I think it's to aid magnetisation?

[ZeroWolf]

1 hour ago, Xirix said:

Ah, so this model (and the reason it's yanno, a Terminator and not a generic troop like we usually get) is because of the store anniversary it seems? At the very least my store was but I dunno if it's just "his" store, or all the stores. But would make sense.

It's pure coincidence I'm afraid, my store anniversary is a couple of months away and they have it. It could be a new approach they're trying.

[Dwango]

Managed to grab it this morning. Individual sprue as stated. No mace, just sword. 

 

Part built it in store and should be able to add a mace and some chaplainy bits, head etc. 

 

Will make a fine addition to the inner circle task force.

 

[Arikel]

5 hours ago, Halandaar said:

The concept of people driving two hours for the specific purpose of collecting a single "free" mini is absolutely baffling to me. If you're going anyway then sure, but to make a specific trip?

 

I guess different cultures and petrol/transport prices or whatever but yeah, put this one down in the "the European mind cannot comprehend" meme category.

You don’t know the half of it. The closest “large” cities to me is  a 30 minute and 45 minute drives, respectively.

 

There is no public transport from my town to anywhere, including within town. There is no local taxi, let alone uber anything. If you want anything besides the most basic of services or a store open past 7 pm than you need to drive. This includes most medical services, any goods beyond basic grocery/hardware, restaurants, entertainment etc.

 

Even considering that, it is generally cheaper to drive the 50 km to get groceries than pay the mark up at the local store. Usually means I would stop in and take a look at one of my “local” gamestores at the same time.

 

In any case, if I did go up to the closest actual GW, I would  probably try to get a sitter for at least the younger kids and make a day of it with my wife and maybe the 2 eldest. Lots of things to do there after all.

[Marshal Reinhard]

5 hours ago, Halandaar said:

The concept of people driving two hours for the specific purpose of collecting a single "free" mini is absolutely baffling to me. If you're going anyway then sure, but to make a specific trip?

 

I guess different cultures and petrol/transport prices or whatever but yeah, put this one down in the "the European mind cannot comprehend" meme category.

The gotta collect them all is strong in this one

[TheArtilleryman]

Even where I live in the UK, the closest Warhammer store is a good 45 mins drive. There’s a FLGS in my home town but their range in store is limited. I can ask them to order stuff in, but it’s generally better to just order stuff to my door from other shops online or use eBay, because the discount is greater. I only tend to go into the FLGS for paint and other hobby supplies because I’m usually only spending a couple of quid and the postage isn’t worth it.
 

I often wonder why anyone buys things from a Warhammer store these days. I recently visited Warhammer World in Nottingham with my family. My son had over £150 saved up from Christmas and birthday but even with the draw of “it’s there right now,” he took one look at the prices and just said “nah, I’ll order stuff online.” The proliferation of online discount makes buying direct make literally zero sense.

 

I’d love to grab one of these but unless we are going to the city for another reason, I won’t have a reason to go.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Drove 40 minutes to the nearest store, and they hadn’t even received them yet 

[307kg]

10 minutes ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

Drove 40 minutes to the nearest store, and they hadn’t even received them yet 

Im stuck in class... But, I wanted to calculate the cost in gas for this trip. (using average gas prices here in the D.C. USA and average MPG for a car)

 

Assumptions:
1. The average fuel efficiency for a car in the United States is about 25 miles per gallon (mpg).

2.  The average gas price in Washington D.C. is approximately $3.60 per gallon.

 

Calculations:
1. Estimate the distance covered in an 80-minute drive:
   - Assuming an average speed of 60 miles per hour (mph), the distance covered would be: 
     Distance = Speed × Time
     Distance = 60 mph × (80 minutes ÷ 60 minutes/hour) = 60 mph × 1.333 hours = 80 miles

2. Calculate the amount of fuel consumed during the 80-mile drive:
   - Using the average fuel efficiency of 25 mpg, the fuel consumed would be:
     Fuel consumed = Distance ÷ Fuel efficiency
     Fuel consumed = 80 miles ÷ 25 mpg = 3.2 gallons

3. Calculate the cost of the fuel consumed:
   - With the average gas price in D.C. at $3.60 per gallon, the cost would be:
     Cost = Fuel consumed × Price per gallon
     Cost = 3.2 gallons × $3.60/gallon = $11.52

 

The cost approximately is $11.52 in gas

 

That is about the same price per model as just purchasing the kit on Amazon.

[ZeroWolf]

Called into Middlesbrough GW today with my two boys and my nephew, and the store was busy with people fighting over space to build this mini. They all got one though, so they were happy. Also saw a lot of business being done.

[Karhedron]

Lucky enough to have a GW within walking distance so we all popped in and got one. The handy thing about being a family of 5 is that it is a complete squad! 

[Cactus]

9 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Lucky enough to have a GW within walking distance so we all popped in and got one. The handy thing about being a family of 5 is that it is a complete squad! 

I've never heard a better argument in favour of having children.

[Halandaar]

1 hour ago, 307kg said:

The cost approximately is $11.52 in gas

 

That is about the same price per model as just purchasing the kit on Amazon.

 

This is pretty much what I was thinking; that if you're driving the distances people are talking about here, the amount of money you have to spend to get to the store for the "free" mini is basically the same as just buying it outright.

 

2 hours ago, TheArtilleryman said:

I often wonder why anyone buys things from a Warhammer store these days. I recently visited Warhammer World in Nottingham with my family. My son had over £150 saved up from Christmas and birthday but even with the draw of “it’s there right now,” he took one look at the prices and just said “nah, I’ll order stuff online.” The proliferation of online discount makes buying direct make literally zero sense.

 

That's fine when it comes to general availability stuff that third-party stockists have access to, but there are a surprisingly large amount of products that are GW-only, so if you're after one of those kits you are no worse off buying them in a physical Warhammer store than you would be from buying online. 

 

Warhammer World in particular is the best GW_operated store in the country in that regard because on top of the direct-only kits you'd have to buy at full price from the webstore anyway, they also have the Forgeworld store (you can't get FW minis cheaper anywhere online unless you're buying recasts) and stuff like the Command Tanks kit which is limited to just a few sites worldwide, and they often have stuff like previous years' anniversary and event minis available. Sure your son might not have wanted any of that stuff, but there's plenty of products available there that you are not costing yourself a discount on by buying in person.

 

26 minutes ago, Cactus said:

I've never heard a better argument in favour of having children.

 

Spoiler alert; they cost more than a box of Deathwing Knights.

Edited April 6 by Halandaar

[Redcomet]

10 hours ago, Nephaston said:

No wonder they keep having to discontinue whole model lines and other errant kits if they have to dedicate so much work and storage for a sprue that will only ever be used for a month and then vanish into the nether. What's the price of milling a steel mold again? 5k to 10k?

They can make molds cheaper, but they wont last as long. 

[Karhedron]

6 minutes ago, Redcomet said:

They can make molds cheaper, but they wont last as long. 

 

Yes, moulds made of hard aluminium are cheaper than steel but have a shorter lifespan. Actually this makes them ideal for ltd edition models.

[Nephaston]

16 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Yes, moulds made of hard aluminium are cheaper than steel but have a shorter lifespan. Actually this makes them ideal for ltd edition models.

Interesting, that certainly makes all the one-off anniversary/model of the month, or the max-year warhammer+ models way less baffling of an investment.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

2 hours ago, Halandaar said:

 

This is pretty much what I was thinking; that if you're driving the distances people are talking about here, the amount of money you have to spend to get to the store for the "free" mini is basically the same as just buying it outright.

 

 

That's fine when it comes to general availability stuff that third-party stockists have access to, but there are a surprisingly large amount of products that are GW-only, so if you're after one of those kits you are no worse off buying them in a physical Warhammer store than you would be from buying online. 

 

Warhammer World in particular is the best GW_operated store in the country in that regard because on top of the direct-only kits you'd have to buy at full price from the webstore anyway, they also have the Forgeworld store (you can't get FW minis cheaper anywhere online unless you're buying recasts) and stuff like the Command Tanks kit which is limited to just a few sites worldwide, and they often have stuff like previous years' anniversary and event minis available. Sure your son might not have wanted any of that stuff, but there's plenty of products available there that you are not costing yourself a discount on by buying in person.

 

 

Spoiler alert; they cost more than a box of Deathwing Knights.

But when I take my gf she also gets one, shifting the balance.

besides they don’t sell terminators in singles, unless it’s a character, and a character costs a lot more than the gas costs 

[Cenobite Terminator]

My closest shop is two miles away so I’m going to try to get one if there not all gone.

[Elzender]

Was around the city centre so I popped in and got the mini for myself, I can confirm it is the same sprue here (Belgium based).

I joked with my partner to have her go as well to get a second one, but she is not into Warhammer and I would rather spare her from the GW sales pitch for newcomers (the shop staff are nice, but they do need to follow the GW code).

[N1SB]

[TheArtilleryman]

8 minutes ago, N1SB said:

Good that the DA shoulder pad is a separate part, so you can just switch it if you’re building it for another chapter. No filing of the symbol needed.

Edited April 7 by TheArtilleryman

[LostTemplar]

Is it an exclusive model? Not one of the regular DA terminators? Neat

[de Selby]

I'm pretty sure it's the guy at bottom  right here

https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/shop/dark-angels-deathwing-knights-2024

 

but on his own sprue. I was in the store on Saturday with people building their free models with staff help and it would have been utter chaos if every model wasn't separate and identical, I understand why a few grand out of the marketing budget to do that is considered worthwhile.