"Alien forest" Topic

GW has an alien forest up for pre-order.

It looks pretty neat. Definitely things I would not have come up with on my own and not your typical pine trees in space thing.

link

Looks like you get a few different "species" of "plant" and you get quite a bit of stuff in the box. I'd imagine enough to fairly well cover a 2x2 area of a board. I wish they had some pictures with figures next to the stuff so you could see how big it is to know for sure though.

$130.00 USD?
No, thanks.

Looks like crap

@ Pictors Studios, one of the pictures show the artwork for the product which has some eldar and space marine next to the trees.

I like em, bit pricy new but if I can score some cheaply off ebay I'd get them

It doesn't really do me, either. I think they could have a lot done better. If they are only going to do a hand full of "plant" scenics, they need to go a lot more general-purpose that this and the three-tree grove.

I'll just have to settle for weirdly day-glow aquarium plants.

I'm not a fan of most of them.

The gold tipped ones look decent, as do the violet ones.

Better to go out and find some twigs and roots, add a few things to the tips, and spend $10 USD on puff-balls, than $150 USD+ including shipping.

For $30 USD you an go to Walmart and buy brightly colored, plastic aquarium plants. Works wonders as alien flora.

Amen to that Mako!

I much prefer their old jungle trees, do they still have them? At least you could use them in lots of games.

Some one should post some home made alternatives!

Thick wire
Various weird nut shells, gum nuts, seed pods
Weird beads from a bead shop, those things from the base of some cake candles, so on
Bases, figure bases, jar lids, cut card or foam core or wood.

Cut 6"? lengths of wire, say 5-6, twist together. Bend to tree shape.
Hot glue to base.

Use hot glue, tape or plaster or putty to add texture as desired.
Hot glue on beads, nut shell, what not.

Spray, paint, and, most importantly, post! (oh and play, of course)

And do us a favor, and sneak some in and leave on the GW tables, when no ones looking.

Cover a table for less than $50. USD

I like them; very different kinda fauna. I think they would look good on a swamp type table, given the roots on their bases. This terrain is refreshing, not some gothic ruins or Infinity techno cube. Hopefully we can see more of this kinds kit.

I do wish they had shown some next to a few figures. However, they look to be a decent size. I counted 12 pieces in the set, so that works out a little over $10 USD Pete's for a multi plastic kit. Honestly, that's not too bad, and you can get it much cheaper online, I sure I'll be able to find it for about $100. USD Really, anyone who pays retail for GW is looking hard.

And, they look a hell of a lot better than some twigs with cotton balls, which sound like it would look like garbage.

Whoop! A photo, keep 'em coming!

Hey, spaceghost, shouldn't you be minding the shop, some kids are nicking space marines!

They're okay, but certainly not what I'd expect for $130 USD – $150 USD+, including shipping.

For that kind of coin, they should be spectacular.

Nothing like a leisurely afternoon.

Cost me nothing but for masking tape, glue and paint.

Found two bits of bamboo. Taped on pine sticks. Tape bits for texture. Taped to yogurt pot lid. Glued on pine nuts and garden rocks and sand to base.

Ignore the rough paint job.

Thats my effort, who's next?

I like that they are out there and weird. Too expensive for me though.

Yeah, the pricetag is a killer. Like the way they look, though.

I actually thought that the price was pretty good for what you got. It looks neat, way different from most other stuff and it is going to be pretty durable and, most importantly, easily transportable which is often a big issue with terrain.

It seems to have the toylike soft detail and half-hearted sculpting with a genuinely talented studio paintjob that they've been showcasing since they started Age of Sigmar. Check out the dragons for that – take a good look at the scale patterns and you'll notice that they're just suggestions that peter out. Same with the bark and leaves for this release. But they've gotta fill the shop tables with something since "scratch build" was purged as heresy.

Your right with the poor detail on the plastics. Its been like that for years. Bowmen, who's bent arms and shoulders blur into a smooth surface. Ears with no hole details. Scales that disappear, as mentioned above. Lets not even start with hair and fur.

This is why metal is superior, as it has a flexible mould that can have undercuts, allowing for detail.

GW is not longer a games and miniature company run by hobbyists. It is a corporate machine trying to do nothing but make money. However, they are hurting their customers (and, of course, as many become, former customers) to achieve this end. It does not sound sustainable.

I notice a lot plastic aging sick ma terrain has specific special rules. Are these new plastic abominations the same? Furthering the requirement for players to buy GW terrain?

I like them I've got plenty of the plastic aquarium style jungle I got cheap from a pound store but this stuff looks more dangerous as befits a 40K death world. having said that £80.00 GBP would be the bulk of my budget for a whole gaming board and I doubt this set would make much of a dent in covering a new gaming board in scenery.

They don't look half bad for alien flora. The price is in line with GW offerings I suppose, and it would've made the deal sweeter for me if they'd replaced the Wh40k specific relics with more plants or some other whatnot (tho obviously they needed to put in something that ties it to the 'verse). All the same, I'm actually considering this, which is not what I thought I would be doing with a GW product ever again.

Pricey, but looks nice and spikey. I'd probably go in with a few others, shared terrain for a club or store. Mix with some Citadel Woods for an 'ecological mess' look. It's not a lot of ground coverage for the investment, though – really, for serious table coverage, scratch-built is the way to go.

(For the price, I find their buildings to be a lot more useful, at least for our tables.)

GW is not longer a games and miniature company run by hobbyists. It is a corporate machine trying to do nothing but make money. However, they are hurting their customers (and, of course, as many become, former customers) to achieve this end. It does not sound sustainable.

Been hearing that for more than 20 years now…

That said, I am, or at least was, surprised at what the market will bear – and some of their plastic releases have had serious quality issues; city detail sprues, I'm looking at you…

Yes the constant litany of people saying GW are about to go bust has been going on since at least 1995 and probably before that and yet GW had a record half year, with profits being 1.5 times what they were the previous year or something like that.

Sounds pretty sustainable to me.

when I get this set I'll put it out on a table and get some pictures to show how much coverage it gets.

A very nice effort there, The H Man.

I like it!

Cheers Mako!

Still awaiting other peoples stab at it (hint,hint).

I doubt GW will got out of business any time soon, what would we have to whine about? However they are turning, into nothing more than a toy/board game shop. Painting and some conversion seems to be the only thing left thats creative and thats only because you have to buy the paints.

Check out my topic in 28mm sci fi regarding no terrain in GW for more on this!

With the profit thing, is that wargames only, or are they including computer games and such? As I suspect Marvel makes more out of film than comic books.

I know its called death world forrest, but with such a large universe, or even one planet, there is bound to be more than, what, ten types of trees. This is where eliminating scratch building sees them shoots themselves in the foot.

I don't think they have eliminated scratch building at all. You are, of course, welcome to scratch build as much stuff as you want.

Liscencing was a big part of their revenues, but their sales of wargaming products increased and that accounted for a large portion of the increase in revenue.

GW has been doing more recently than at any other time to try to encourage their customers to paint the models. They have been putting customer painted models right into their website.

The warhammer live stuff has been pushing all kinds of creativity.

Even the entire Age of Sigmar system went for a year without points seemingly trying to encourage people to do more than just play points matched competition games.

To say that they have abandonned creativity because they are making and promoting their own terrain seems to be ignoring 90% of what they have been doing for the past two years in favour of 10% of what they are doing.

Never in the entire time I've been playing GW games, since 1995, have I seen the company encourage more creativity in their gaming community.

Ooook…

If you check out my "no terrain in GW" discussion in 28mm sci fi, you will see than one chap in a GW store at least has told me that he does not mention scratch building, unless people ask about it. This I would call trying to eliminate it, as they are not telling people about it. Remember, to kill Freddy, you have to forget about him (horror film dude, although I think he still came back, but you get the idea)

Yeah, the licensing makes it hard to judge, as it is also advertising.

Of course they are pushing painting…they sell paints!!! If they were pre-painted, they would not be able to sell them for as much as models+paint+brushes.

I have not seen warhammer live (is it on ice?), but suggest it is out of sink with the rest of the company, or at least the stores I have been in. (What's going on in a store near you? Comment below!)

I feel aging sick ma went without points to encourage people to buy more figures for limitless figure games. It also seems they only added points after people started releasing their own lists with point values. (and we can't have people making up there own rules now can we, that would show imagination)

I did not say they have abandoned creativity because they are making and promoting their own terrain. I am saying they are abandoning creativity because there is at least one GW employee who will not promote, or even bring up the subject of, scratch building, and one store that dose not have any.

More creativity now than in 1995??? Sir, you have not been paying attention. (Says me who only just realized they don't have scratch built terrain)

So your theory about an entire company is based on an N of 1.

Interesting reasoning.

H Man, I wouldn't put too much stock in what individual store managers say, as anecdotal accounts have them doing things and setting policies that are bad for GW but good for their own sales numbers. No doubt we all have heard of some GW stores banning the use of Forgeworld items because they hurt in-store sales.

No store manager or clueless parent is going to prevent a kid from learning about scratch built or third party terrain once they get online anyway.

I do agree that GW pushes their terrain sets too much. The result is that most of the photos of minis and battlescenes are, in my opinion, extremely boring to look at because they show the same minis from the box art standing next to the same old terrain pieces.

On the other hand we get the magnificent dioramas at Warhammer World…. which the majority of GW customers will never get to see in person.

No my reasoning is based on an P of 4??? If your going to say something, say it!

From the incomprehensible to the logical, good one alpha, well said.

Stand aside Tom Hanks! I may have deciphered it, Pictors!

If you mean I am basing my opinion of an entire company based upon one chap in one store, well, yes, and no.

I can't speak for their company, but as this was their (sole? I believe he was) employee in the store with their name on it, I am justified in forming an opinion of it. This is because this person is the representative of their company. If he is unfit to have such a role, they should not have employed him, or should have provided better training. Think of him as the mouth of sauron (hope I spelt that right), only not as ugly (and, no he wasn't riding a horse).

And then no, as I do realize this is only 1 store. Well staffed or otherwise.

"From the incomprehensible to the logical, good one alpha, well said."

That is a little harsh. You should be less critical of yourself. I think that we could understand your posts even if you're not using perfect English.

I feel I'm better at terrain, and thats what counts.

Not by the pictures.

GW stuff is better.

It does cost more though.

I actually thought that the price was pretty good for what you got.

The price is outrageous, $130 USD with shipping for those.

No way.

As Thorr66 has stated.

Looks like crap.

GW stuff is better.

No it not it just outrageously expensive.

You can go outside and pick up sticks or as others have stated create your own, or hit up Hobby Lobby/Michaels and buy enough stuff to cover a size table and it would look far better than GW's.

Never in the entire time I've been playing GW games, since 1995, have I seen the company encourage more creativity in their gaming community.

So you missed the nearly prior ten years before this were they actually pushed individuals to be creative.

GW does not want their customers to be creative since if they are they will not be able to sell them their over price stuff.

Thing is I started out with GW stuff in 1989 and in 1991 when I got station in the DC area I quickly found a GW store.

The manager of that store was Owen Branham, who later moved over to UK and became a terrain builder for GW.

link

But prior to him moving over there I was able to provide him two large boxes of plastic cards that he used in creating terrain. I still have a box filled with them.

There was a time when GW wanted the players to be creative.

But that was nearly three decades ago.

Today they want the players to buy their terrain sets and the last thing that they want is for them to be creative.

Been hearing that for more than 20 years now…

Yup, because that is when they started to just screw over their customers and focused just on how they can get more and more money out them before GW chased them away.

Omg! $130 USD

Not for me. I've been out of work for some time now.

Dan
TMP link
TMP link

"Yup, because that is when they started to just screw over their customers and focused just on how they can get more and more money out them before GW chased them away."

Except that their customers disagree with you because they are spending more money on GW stuff than ever.

GW does want their customers to be creative. Age of Sigmar requires way more creativity than WHFB ever did. Instead of lining up two rows of troops on opposite sides of the table and then spashing them into each other they are encouraging people to come up with scenarios, do campaigns and making systems to allow them to do all this.

The terrain for WHFB is now more than just an obstacle to go around, it actually serves a purpose in the game and all of the figures can interact with it.

This allows you to do some pretty amazing things in Age of Sigmar that you never really saw people doing in WHFB.

I did this:

link

because of Age of Sigmar. I would never have come up with that for WHFB because the rules were too restrictive to do it. I know they had some sort of ship thing with WHFB using skirmish rules but the rules were just a little too static for it to be fun.

This is the kind of scratch building that GW is currently killing, apparently.

Here are some more pictures of scratch built stuff specifically made for AoS games:

"Oh, but wait," you say, "AoS may be inspiring some more creative use of terrain but what about 40K? HAHA, 40K is now all those ruined gothic buildings and nothing else."

Ah, maybe so, maybe not, but 30K is inspiring all kinds of creativity and building work. Here is my Prospero table, or some of it.

TMP link

And here is the one that GW did and posted on Warahmmer Community:

link

The idea that GW "killed" creativity is ridiculous. It is laughable. They have more models out now than they ever had. They have models for all kinds of stuff but if you want to convert something it has always been cool to do so. It still is.

They are even promoting creativity with the very things you guys are bitching about. They are now promoting customers painting this stuff up more than ever because if you do and you post your pictures online they might put them up on their website.

Look at the Imperial Sector below and you can see what customers did with the kits because GW put it up right on the catalog page.

link

You have to be pretty out of touch with today's GW to believe this pig crap about GW killing creativity.

OMG, you have some pretty amazing patience Pictor's. I haven't been to TMP for weeks as I got tired of the fact that it seems like the purpose of this board has become complaining about things, and being "too cool"for GW and Battlefront products.

I guess I was better off not paying attention. I came to this thread for some interesting discussion about terrain from a company, and all I got was more out-of-touch elitism.

Congrats everyone else, you can scratch build. Scratch build CAN end up being a superior option if you are either talented with the right tools OR have low standards. I like a lot of GW's products, and happen to have little time and inclination to build terrain from scratch.

Pictor's: You seem to be one of the few here legitimately interested in 40K and providing interesting articles/input on the subject. Is there another site that you frequent that gives a similar experience to TMP but without the 90% "zomg I hate GW" ratio?

First off, that grav tank Spits all over anything on offer from GW today. A deodorant bottle, if I remember correctly. Awesome.

As far as customers spending more than ever on GW stuff. They kind of have to, or play something cheaper.

As mentioned ships are nothing new. Also what GW has done, by destroying the world, or what ever, is remove the english country side style, thus eliminating the ability to use model train terrain and such. Also adding in rules, that come with the terrain, hooks people into having to buy their terrain. This may not be the case across the board and it is good money making practice (perhaps at the expense of customers though), but it does help damage creativity. If that is a problem, which I think it is.

All that guff about GW not squashing scratch building is false, according the GW employee I spoke to, and what was in the store, unless they are running rogue. Tried to go in again today. Surprise, surprise, they were closed, as usual.

Its not laughable, according to the chap I spoke to. They are not mentioning scratch building and that is creative, thus they are attempting to eliminate creativity, either in whole or part, they are.

As mentioned, here, there, somewhere, they apparently have so many models that organizers at their own tournaments don't recognize the old ones.

They have models for all kinds of stuff, but zoats or squats (or that chaos warrior with bolt gun, its coming, its coming). Half their staff probably couldn't recognize one anyway.

Hey, wait, are we talking about miniatures now? I thought we were talking about terrain?

Paint your figures and they may put them on their web site! Sounds like a pretty cheap reward for all the money they expect you to spend on their paint and brushes.

All those imperial sector pics seem to be GW kits painted with GW paints. How creative. I bet they wouldn't put a pick of someone else's figure on their painted with GW paints. (show me the picture, show me the picture)

No, I am not out of touch at all, I was only in there the other day when the staff member told me they do not mention scratch building unless asked and offer no examples in store. If that is not killing creativity, I do not know what is.

(Notice I do not need to swear to try to get my point across, this is a public forum after all and children may be present)

You went in one store.

You ignored everything else.

That is out of touch.

I like one of the alien vegetation models. If they offer it separately ($40), I might consider a box. Too expensive to buy a forest, though.

because they are spending more money on GW stuff than ever.

Only because GW is gouging the hell out of them and they are giving GW more money than what the miniatures are worth.

they are encouraging people to come up with scenarios, do campaigns

Actually they did this for WFB as well.

Look at the Imperial Sector below and you can see what customers did with the kits because GW put it up right on the catalog page.

Yes for $120 USD plus shipping and taxes.

If I spent that much on the Pegasus Hobbies stuff I would be able to put far more on to the tabletop.

Actually it looks like GW does what it does best and steal ideas from someone else.

But you can buy GW and spend a lot or shop around and spend the same amount and get 3-4 times as much.

I will pick the latter since getting more is better than spending a lot and getting very little for my money.

A deodorant bottle, if I remember correctly. Awesome.

Yes plus some plastic spoons and a few other odds and ends.

But that is not what GW wants you to do today.

Surprise, surprise, they were closed, as usual.

Yup while I can walk into either of the two FLGS every day of the week this is not the case with the GW stores, since they tend to be closed a lot.

Sorry mate. But my gripe is only based upon what I saw in that one store. If its different else where, good for them. But the store represents them as a company to the public of the area. I won't reiterate what happened, again. Read previous posts for yourself. (apologies to any new readers, its for Pictors benefit. I have a topic "no terrain in GW" in 28mm scifi. Pictors and myself have competing topics with competing views, what fun, worth a look)

Read you, manoferebor. But if you were to buy 1 box, you could make a bunch similar yourself (scratch built, not cast). Together you would have a whole forrest for basically the cost of the box and have both GWs and your own variety. Best of both worlds.

I do wander what a GW forrest would look like 10? trees x 20? may work, or be a bit copy/paste? Any pics? (the old jungle trees seemed to work well, but I think they were more multi part)

Correct, Mithmee.

About value. Last time I checked, plastic was running at around 3 dollars AUS per kg. Metal, depending on typer 20-60 dollars per kg. Hmm… where is the real value? And I don't know that resin is recyclable at all. Though this is not really the point, but I wouldn't suggest giving your girlfriend a plastic engagement ring, so hmm… Its the look that counts, I guess (just don't tell your girlfriend!)

Guess they really don't want our money that much after all. This is hard to take. I don't know how to handle this. Think of a happy place, think of a happy place…