"Royal Mail to issue Warhammer stamps" Topic

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Whatever next….

How about the greats of wargaming history.
H.g Wells
Peter Young
Donald Featherstone
Charles Grant
Tony Bath
Phil Barker
Rick Priestly
and So many more.

Talk about free advertising!

In the US your company can get stamps made of your "product" if you can make a somewhat reasonable claim to the "americaness" of your product, and, I suspect, donate a hefty sum to the Post Office. Peanuts, Marvel heroes, Star Trek, Etc.

Will we see a D&D US postage stamp next?

I guess GW got the stamp of approval….to be fair they are a pretty successful UK company and world wide cultural phenomenon.

D&D stamps? If Gygax had been British we'd have them by now.

The Post Office does seem to have widened the Commemorative stamps it wants to issue – it used to be solely things like British Flowers or Sporting Achievements or 900 years of the Bayeux Tapestry. I guess if you want to keep the lucrative business of stamp collecting going then Star Trek (done), Harry Potter (done), Tolkien/Lord of the Rings Books (done) are an obvious way to go.

I'll get some of these I expect. Be fun to post letters with Wargame figures on the stamps!

Some good points, however, I would hardly call GW a cultural phenomenon.

Its just one Brand of some pretty wishy washy sci-fi and fantasy games at best. It currently does nothing in the historical bracket, to my knowledge, and killed off its own flagship, only to come grovelling to disgruntled fans a decade on.

Wargaming is a cultural phenomenon, GW is just a group of speculators.

They have been changing their name too, so they don't even know what they are.

I guess fine cast was a phenomenon, for some. Maybe mantic, I guess. AOS more so. And Super marines, what a phenomenal idea. Only beaten by Sigmar marines.

I guess it's a phenomenon because I remember it. Like Covid.

I have always wanted to get into ACW. But I suppose thats not phenomenal enough. Maybe if I gave them shoulder pads, would that help?

Back to the stamps. Id assume money changed hands (it is greedy (phenomenal) GW) unless they see it as good advertising because marine sales are down. And when had either ever occurred?

Who was supposed to have paid anyway? RM for use of the pics, or GW to have them use them? Or is it just a free service to selected companies?

I suspect Royal Mail decided that issuing GW themed stamps would provide yet another set for obsessive philatelists o collect (thereby making money) and might also appeal to the many players of GW wargames (thereby making even more money).

I doubt Royal Mail had to pay for the privilege; I'm sure GW would simply welcome such free publicity.

Its just one Brand of some pretty wishy washy sci-fi and fantasy games at best. It currently does nothing in the historical bracket, to my knowledge, and killed off its own flagship, only to come grovelling to disgruntled fans a decade on.

I know where you are coming from but I have to disagree. Warhammer/WH40K are the most identifiable wargames around. No-one outsells GW. GW has run four or five introductory partworks in Europe – their figures are in newsagents and bookshops – who else has that? There are hundreds of spin-off novels. Who else has that? There's going to be a WH40K TV series soon – I think we'll be waiting a long time for DBA – The Movie.

In the same way that Dungeons & Dragons is Role Playing Games to most people, Warhammer/WH40K is wargames to people who don't play wargames.

One may, or may not, like this – but it is a fact.

Here's an example of the cultural crossover GW (and D&D) have – from a mainstream news parody site (which has a TV spin-off, originally on BBC2 and now on the comedy channel DAVE) – they've never run an item on Armati or WRG Ancients 7th Edition, but here's what they do, sometimes, joke about:

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I have always wanted to get into ACW.

I'm pretty sure that there have been many stamps issued in the USA commemorating the ACW.

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In the UK there have been Civil War stamps – British Civil Wars of course:

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With historical movies there are many. Oddly they tie into to historical wargaming pretty well. Gettysburg for example.

Without looking, I'd suspect there are even direct links between the two, regarding people involved. Historians who may make wargames may make films, or be involved in both at least. Possible.

Like Star Wars, 40k/Warhammer is only popular because of all the stuff it ripped off, mostly things that are phenomenons in their area. Starship troopers, Terminator, Alien/s, Anime, so on. A regurgitation of made up stuff, done better the first time.

Id think Judge Dredd/200OAD more of a phenomenon, perhaps. Oops, GW copied that as well.

I'm not sure everyone goes the Warhammer when thinking wargames/Toy soldiers. Many go to Napoleonic soldiers all set up with cannons and such. Or others with WW2 green army men.

There are still people with no knowledge of GW or its products. I doubt a few stamps will change it. Many will look at them on an envelope and say "lord of the rings," Or "Star Trek."

In a few months they will be gone, and forgotten by the general public.

The part works could help.

In the end LOTR was their biggest thing, and that looks set for phase out.

Remember, that was a trilogy everyone (exect the three your thinking of, of course) saw, even just bit on telly.

I can't see everyone watching a 40k film, even just a bit on telly. Many would just change the channel. Some hobbits dancing merrily, not so much.

I wonder if Mum will pick these up… As 20th Maine and their quoted spokeswoman says, GW is a global success story. I only wish I'd bought shares years ago, but it's proven recession and lockdown proof – I've picked up quite a few impulse buys through a local shop and Facebook marketplace.

40K is definitely their biggest thing rather than LOTR. Their IP brings in a fortune from computer games, a point made by Ian Livingtone. Yes, we can see the influence of other media in the setting (hello Navigators in the recent Dune), but overall, it is 'wargaming' for many in the UK and elsewhere. The days of Callan, Battleground and even James Bolam in 'New Tricks' are not in the public consciousness. 'Oh, you do Warhammer' and variations on the theme have been said to me many times.

To be honest, I'm just glad that something involving tabletop miniatures is seen by many as wargaming, rather than computer games.

How about the greats of wargaming history.
H.g Wells

Well … he had a series of stamps in 1995 for his top SF novels, and the Time Machine featured in the classic SF release of 2021.

So…almost

"'Oh, you do Warhammer'"

I'm not sure ignorance should be applauded.

Its like this annoying "cosplay" thing.

If someone says it to you, simply correct them.

No, I dress up in costume. I have nothing to do with cosplay.

No I'm into wargaming, not Warhammer (unless you are).