Games Workshop Warhammer Miniatures: Frankly a bit of a rant

When I started painting figures it was Games Workshop that got me hooked.  They had a fantastic range of miniatures which were painted to perfection and showcased in White Dwarf magazine by the Eavy Metal staff artists.  The figures were fun and you got some really unusual models sometimes.

Dwarf with an inferiority complex

For you younger painters it might seem perfectly normal that they only make miniatures for use in their own mass combat games now but it wasn't always that way.  Back in the 80s Games Workshop used to make some of the best figures for roleplaying around.  Generally figures came in blister packs with three random models from each range.  So if you bought a pack from the range 'Fighters' you would be able to look through the blisters and pick the set with the three figures you wanted.

Games Workshop Mordheim Elf Mage

Now of course those days are past and everything is geared towards the Warhammer mass combat games.  With the notable exception of the Mordheim skirmish game.  There are some very good figures made for that game like the Elf Mage on the left.

Great Value from Reaper Miniatures 

Which brings me to the rant part of this post.  That single figure costs £8.20 +£3.00p&p.  Thats £11.20 for a single figure!  To put that into perspective you can get the Reaper Miniatures figure on the right for under a fiver including postage.  And this is not an isolated issue, Games Workshop figures, despite now being mostly plastic have rocketed in price.  I'm rather glad I use figures for Roleplaying and not for Wargaming or i'd be perpetually broke.

As I doubt i'll be buying many Games Workshop figures in the future (mainly because they are geared towards battles rather than adventures) I thought i'd post some photos of a miniature I painted for my local games store many years ago.  I hope you enjoy them.