What is it like to play at Warhammer World?

[grailkeeper]

Some of my friends are travelling to England to play in Warhammer world.

 

Has anyone here been there recently? What are the requirements for armies- are they looser about paint levels /3d printed parts than at events? What are the staff like about that kind of thing?

 

Any recommendations for things to do ?

[TheArtilleryman]

5 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

Some of my friends are travelling to England to play in Warhammer world.

 

Has anyone here been there recently? What are the requirements for armies- are they looser about paint levels /3d printed parts than at events? What are the staff like about that kind of thing?

 

Any recommendations for things to do ?

If you’re just booking a table for a casual game then I don’t think anyone is going to care. I played a game there a few months ago and nobody came to check on us. I had two very obviously printed Leman Russes on the table as well.

[N1SB]

16 hours ago, grailkeeper said:

Any recommendations for things to do ?

 

My friend Timperial Guard went and he bought this me:

 

 

A Bugman's whiskey flask, because true friends know his friend's drinking habits...unfortunately.  So things to do:

 

- LOTS of Warhammer World exclusive souvenirs

- Beyond the exclusive, lots of limited time items, like those reprints of 1st ed 40k: Rogue Trader
- Quite a few Forgeworld things you might've forgotten about

 

And this one Timperial Guard did at my request, and I share it with your friends as a suggestion:

 

- Walk around the 3 Factories.  They're very small, but create more than half a billion £ in Revenue

 

You've heard me go on about the 3 Factories, production capacities/costs for a long time.  Your friends can see it for themselves.  You can see their reaction when the come back and tell you all about their pilgrimage.

 

I'll see Timperial Guard later today, will ask him if there's anything else, but the above was what he mentioned when he went last time.

 

Update, Timperial Guard did suggest another thing:

- there's a "Warhammer Museum", basically all the Heavy Metal miniatures, and these huge diorama projects

Edited March 30 by N1SB

[TheArtilleryman]

6 hours ago, N1SB said:

Walk around the 3 Factories. 

I didn’t even know this was a thing you could do, and I grew up down the road from WHW… 

[Firedrake Cordova]

1 hour ago, TheArtilleryman said:

I didn’t even know this was a thing you could do, and I grew up down the road from WHW… 

One of my relatives was working away in the area years ago, and dropped by to pick up an order for my birthday - they were led on a tour of the factory, and GW added a birthday card (the old EPIC box art with the Gargants).  

[N1SB]

18 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

One of my relatives was working away in the area years ago, and dropped by to pick up an order for my birthday - they were led on a tour of the factory, and GW added a birthday card (the old EPIC box art with the Gargants).  

 

Oh that is so good, I know that art, it was a cover of a white dwarf i ruined.  That's beautiful, what a wonderful family you have.  Like they were just buying you a thing, but they actually spent time on the tour, and even got a card.

 

Brother Grailkeeper, your friends might not be able to get the tour inside anymore, because they need to focus on producing more.  [Temporarily Not Available] is real.  But just seeing the size of it, these 3 Factories make basically the entirety of GW's Core business.  This is a FTSE 100 company now.  Those Techpriests inside those 3 Factories do NOT get enough credit for keeping them running day and night to supply the whole world.

[MARK0SIAN]

In terms of army requirements they do have an official policy but it’s not really enforced. I’ve played there with several 3rd party bits and models before, however they’ve always been within an army that is 90% GW models.

 

The staff don’t check your armies when you go in but they are around in the hall every so often. I wouldn’t advise anyone to use a fully 3d printed or third party army there, I think they’d probably draw the line at that if they saw it but they don’t care about a few pieces here and there. 
 

In terms of paint, I’ve seen people playing with a sea of grey plastic there before. They only enforce painting requirements for official events.
 

The exhibition space is awesome and well worth visiting whilst you’re there. There’s loads of cool dioramas and displays and they sometimes run a contest where if you can find the hidden assassin model in the huge diorama then they give you a free model of it. I’ve never managed to find it myself though.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

Sort of related, but did GW close down the battle bunker stores or whatever they were called here in the US?

[Stitch5000]

On 3/30/2025 at 8:59 AM, TheArtilleryman said:

I didn’t even know this was a thing you could do, and I grew up down the road from WHW… 

Because you CANNOT walk around any of the factories. You can walk up and down the road (Willow Road) that the factories are on, and probably attract the attention of the security guards before long, but there is no kind of tour or access available. 

I would absolutely take the chance to look at the Exhibition, as mentioned.
The store often has stock that just isn't listed on the website, so you may find a treat that you weren't expecting. 

As for gaming in the hall, there is no real restriction on painting standards, however you can only play GW games (no Battletech or anything like that) and the staff will reserve the right to ask you to take 3D printed (counterfeit) miniatures off the tables. 

The reality of this is that unless you give them some reason to pay close attention, they probably will not notice. 

Edited April 4 by Stitch5000

[WARMASTER_]

On 3/30/2025 at 2:59 AM, TheArtilleryman said:

I didn’t even know this was a thing you could do, and I grew up down the road from WHW… 

Same! 

 

On 3/29/2025 at 1:24 PM, grailkeeper said:

Some of my friends are travelling to England to play in Warhammer world.

 

Has anyone here been there recently? What are the requirements for armies- are they looser about paint levels /3d printed parts than at events? What are the staff like about that kind of thing?

 

Any recommendations for things to do ?

I think it would depend on which staff check if any do at all but I’d just say treat that place with respect rather than bringing loads of proxy’s etc all the staff are super super nice and I’m sure they don’t want to have to be enforcing rules on guests especially visitors that have travelled a long way 

 

There’s loads of rare LTD bits and to buy and the museum is the best thing there I always spend hours just wondering how the Eavy metal team are so dammed good! You’ll love it 

[N1SB]

On 4/4/2025 at 5:02 PM, Stitch5000 said:

Because you CANNOT walk around any of the factories. You can walk up and down the road (Willow Road) that the factories are on, and probably attract the attention of the security guards before long, but there is no kind of tour or access available. 

I would absolutely take the chance to look at the Exhibition, as mentioned.

 

That's it, walk down that Willow Road.  That's around £30 mil of equipment that makes £HALF A BIL.

 

That is awesome.  Imma google maps that road right now.  Also thx for letting us know it's called the Exhibition, I didn't even know that, Timperial Guard just called it the Warhammer Museum.  I think it even has the old White Dwarf miniatures we saw as kids and to him it's like an ancient STC.

[W.A.Rorie]

I am headed to England in 2 weeks time for my Honeymoon and one of the planned stops is WHW. Sucks Bugman's is closed for remodel. But I do plan on touring the Museum and exhibt hall. Hoping I don't find anything too crazy, or must haves, shipping back to states is gonna be a nightmare. 

 

One Question friends have asked, Does WHW sell Warhammer Merch T shirts and such?

[Firedrake Cordova]

On 3/30/2025 at 11:22 AM, N1SB said:

That's beautiful, what a wonderful family you have.  Like they were just buying you a thing, but they actually spent time on the tour, and even got a card.

Well, they have an Orc & Goblin army, so it wasn't entirely altruistic on their part   (for context, it was some time before 2000)

 

5 hours ago, W.A.Rorie said:

Hoping I don't find anything too crazy, or must haves, shipping back to states is gonna be a nightmare. 

A 28mm-scale Warlord Titan seems an appropriate memento of your trip ... just need to book an extra seat on the plane for it.  

 

It looks like Warhammer World's page says they stock merch (at the bottom), but it doesn't say what, really.

Edited April 7 by Firedrake Cordova
typos

[W.A.Rorie]

18 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

 

A 28mm-scale Warlord Titan seems an appropriate memento of your trip ... just need to book an extra seat on the plane for it.  

 

It looks like Warhammer World's page says they stock merch (at the bottom), but it doesn't say what, really.

 

Wife would kill me. She would kill me if I got a Resin Thunderhawk

[TheVoidDragon]

The mentions of getting a "tour of the factory" are quite strange to me? I've been going there for over 20 years and never heard of anything like that, and I don't understand why they'd give a (not to be rude) random customer a tour of the factory as if someone showing up to pick up an order was an extra-ordinary occurrence? Not saying it didn't happen or something, just don't get it.

 

5 hours ago, W.A.Rorie said:

I am headed to England in 2 weeks time for my Honeymoon and one of the planned stops is WHW. Sucks Bugman's is closed for remodel. But I do plan on touring the Museum and exhibt hall. Hoping I don't find anything too crazy, or must haves, shipping back to states is gonna be a nightmare. 

 

One Question friends have asked, Does WHW sell Warhammer Merch T shirts and such?

Yes and no?

Years ago they used to have exclusive T-shirts and such. I haven't seen any of those in a while.

What they do have though, is a few exclusive miniatures, Bugman's themed stuff (i.e. Leather Tankards, Pocket Watch etc), Some prints/notebooks from the Warhammer Art site, Souvenir coins and a decent assortment of the various non-exclusive Warhammer merchandise you can buy in high-street shops/online elsewhere; Dice Bags, Displate metal posters, some magnets and pin badges, etc.

[W.A.Rorie]

21 minutes ago, TheVoidDragon said:

Yes and no?

Years ago they used to have exclusive T-shirts and such. I haven't seen any of those in a while.

What they do have though, is a few exclusive miniatures, Bugman's themed stuff (i.e. Leather Tankards, Pocket Watch etc), Some prints/notebooks from the Warhammer Art site, Souvenir coins and a decent assortment of the various non-exclusive Warhammer merchandise you can buy in high-street shops/online elsewhere; Dice Bags, Displate metal posters, some magnets and pin badges, etc.

 

Sweets, Thank you. Prints would be awesome. 

Edited April 7 by W.A.Rorie

[MARK0SIAN]

6 hours ago, W.A.Rorie said:

I am headed to England in 2 weeks time for my Honeymoon and one of the planned stops is WHW. Sucks Bugman's is closed for remodel. But I do plan on touring the Museum and exhibt hall. Hoping I don't find anything too crazy, or must haves, shipping back to states is gonna be a nightmare. 

 

One Question friends have asked, Does WHW sell Warhammer Merch T shirts and such?

One thing to look out for is that the stores often still carry some stock of discontinued products, particularly the Forgeworld section. Not loads obviously but I’ve managed to find a couple of bits there that had disappeared from the web store so if there’s anything like that you want to get it’s worth asking the staff and they’ll have a look for you.

[W.A.Rorie]

Thanks @Markosian, @TheVoidDragon, & @Firedrake Cordova

[GSCUprising]

Warhammer World is well worth the trip. I've not been since they axed Forge World, so not sure of what they have in terms of FW miniatures available

 

The exhibition is well-worth a visit. Since I've been collecting since late eighties to early nineties, it was a real trip down memory lane. "Got that one, got that one. Had that one, but I've no idea where it is, now." Some really spectacular dioramas there. Let us know if you find the assassin. 

 

You up to fight Jagiełło, Mona and 329? /cackle

 

Enjoy!

Edited April 7 by GSCUprising

[zarkkarn]

On 4/7/2025 at 11:00 PM, GSCUprising said:

Warhammer World is well worth the trip. I've not been since they axed Forge World, so not sure of what they have in terms of FW miniatures available

 

From what I could tell when I was last there they have pretty much all the forgeworld range if it is in stock. I always have a look at the necromunda models while there.

[Alby the Slayer]

I will be in Scotland this summer and I have also already planned a pilgrimage over there.

 

It will be on Sunday. For those who went on the week-ends, is it any different from the others day of the week or you can experience pretty much the same?

[MARK0SIAN]

2 hours ago, Alby the Slayer said:

I will be in Scotland this summer and I have also already planned a pilgrimage over there.

 

It will be on Sunday. For those who went on the week-ends, is it any different from the others day of the week or you can experience pretty much the same?

It’s busier on weekends so if you want to actually game I’d advise you to book your table in advance, they probably won’t have a free one if you just turn up. If you’re not bothered about gaming then you can experience everything the same although the wait for food in Bugmans can sometimes get quite long on the weekends. 

[Alby the Slayer]

10 hours ago, MARK0SIAN said:

It’s busier on weekends so if you want to actually game I’d advise you to book your table in advance, they probably won’t have a free one if you just turn up. If you’re not bothered about gaming then you can experience everything the same although the wait for food in Bugmans can sometimes get quite long on the weekends. 

 

Thank you!

 

Yes, I'm going mostly to see the exhibitions and maybe buy some souvenirs if there is something interesting. 

Can't wait.

[Stitch5000]

On 4/7/2025 at 9:10 PM, TheVoidDragon said:

The mentions of getting a "tour of the factory" are quite strange to me? I've been going there for over 20 years and never heard of anything like that, and I don't understand why they'd give a (not to be rude) random customer a tour of the factory as if someone showing up to pick up an order was an extra-ordinary occurrence? Not saying it didn't happen or something, just don't get it.

This is from ages past where the "factory" was just a few spin-casting machines and a picking line, and before things like H&S regulations got in the way of having people off the street wander around on your production floor, not to mention the massive IP risks associated with visitors. (bear in mind GW's plastic production is probably revving up to start on Christmas production in a couple of months.)

 

On 4/7/2025 at 11:00 PM, GSCUprising said:

Warhammer World is well worth the trip. I've not been since they axed Forge World, so not sure of what they have in terms of FW miniatures available

Forge World hasn't be "axed". There's just no need to sell through separate sites anymore.

[Vassakov]

Forge World as a separate brand is basically gone, but WHW carries a decent proportion of what is available in the range. Stock levels are variable though, I went three times before I saw the 30k Apothecaries kit for example.