[SunlightEdge]

My take on Games workshop is:

1. In general I don't like their boardgames - but I like co-op Euro style board games while the majority of their games are pvp (apart from Warhammer Quest line and maybe 1-2 other ones).

2. In the early 2000s the CEO stated that they are a model company first rather than a boardgame company (and it shows in my view). They do have fantastic miniatures though.

3. Most of the cool lore was written in the 80s. Their lore is fantastic (if dated) and I do enjoy reading from the black library. To geek out, I'm not a fan of the lore change in Warhammer fantasy battle world to Age of Sigma around 2015- even if they did need to revise change the battle system the new lore sucks and come across as a money grab. I have no problem with them wanting to make money - but the new lore seems so lame (looking at you storm cast eternals). Still the AOS line seems to be doing well - I'd argue they could have had the same system in the old world.

4. The model building and painting is a healthy hobby and a nice hobby for an adult/child to do. I am about to have a child and I do want to introduce them to painting and modelling and playing boardgames - but I would be cautious about introducing them to a warhammer store - the models are very pricey, the staff are pushy, and I don't really rate the games. Maybe something like killzone or lord of the rings (but probably not).

5. Still I did pick up the new warhammer quest so they do have things in there even for me.

[bovermyer]

Mm. Part of GW's modern success is that roughly a decade ago they decided to push third parties to create a ton of Warhammer-branded experiences. There's even a Warhammer movie in the works, if I remember right. That would never have been possible before that "please use our IP" shift.

For me, over the last thirty years I've amassed and then sold a big Warhammer collection multiple times. It finally dawned on me a few years ago that I don't actually like playing the game (I'm really bad at it), but I loved the miniatures. No one else really made the same style of minis. About when we hit the "you can just 3D print an entire army" time period is when I stopped liking even that part of the hobby, and exited for good.

[SunlightEdge]

Ah that makes complete sense. So they had to go with AOS for IP reasons which allowed them to have more control of videogames, comic, future movies etc. That makes sense.

Good to know your views on playing the game! I have similar feelings (but I stopped playing with the armies side when I was a teenager).

[torginus]

Isn't painting one of the most hazardous hobbies? You're working with questionable chemicals all the time. Even the official Citadel stuff (which I think is reasonably OK most of the time) needs to be treated with a healthy dose of respect, but it's so expensive youre constatly tempted to shop around.

Even then, there were cases of a certain hue disappearing from the lineup (much to the frustration of painters), due it it being banned, because it was too toxic.

There a handful of high-profile 40k and GW people who died in their 30s-40s with illnesses probably related to exposure to this stuff.

[Symbiote]

Do you have a reference for this? It's a very serious accusation.

The paints are water based acrylic paints, sold as age 12+ in Europe

[torginus]

Apologies, I'm kind of basing this on half-remembered forum posts from a decade ago.

For the first, there was a certain color that was discontinued due to issues with the pigment (I'm fairly certain it was Citadel and acrylic) and when it came back the consensus was the old one was much better.

As for the person who died, I'm certain I remember Alan Bligh, who was the chief writer behind Horus Heresy. Poor guy died from a fast acting form of cancer at 43, and he was known to spend a lot of time painting minis. This is just a rumor, but he wouldn't be the only one who developed health issues.

[SunlightEdge]

Oh that's really interesting. I hadn't thought about the health side of painting. My assumption was that the Citadel stuff would be fine in moderate use. I am aware that a solid mask should be used when applying a primer or with glue though.

I will look into the painting risks here.

[torginus]

I'm not an expert on this, and you might be right on the acrylic paints, but modeles use a lot more stuff (solvents, primers, glues, resin) when building and painting minis is dangerous as they often use toxic solvents with VOCs. Anything that comes in a spray can definitely does.

I'd definitely consult an expert on how and if can you make this hobby kid-safe.

[Symbiote]

I think the claim is FUD — or at least far, far beyond what a child would come across, e.g. professional resins, airbrushing/spraying solvent-based paints indoors etc.

These are paints specifically marketed towards children, produced by a large company in a European country with a strong record of safety etc.

Spray primer should be applied outside by an adult (as it says on the can).

[torginus]

:( I truly regret the time I spent looking up the info in responding to yor comment. I shouldn't have wasted so much effort on a person like you.

[Symbiote]

You made a wild and massively exaggerated claim based on a rumour.

No, painting isn't "one of the most hazardous hobbies". That's something like caving, or rock climbing, or skiing, or diving, or horse riding, or BASE jumping.

And no, they aren't "questionable chemicals". They're considered safe for use by the UK, EU, USA and everyone else, as well as Games Workshop, schools, etc.

[bigstrat2003]

Eh there's no real reason to wear a mask when using glue. Spray primer I can see more, but glue isn't getting into the air like primer is. In any case I doubt very much if the acrylic paints used in 40k are unsafe to use.

[torginus]

for your own and everyone's sake, please don't make unqualified statements like this. Glue toxicity goes from relatively benign (the white stuff children use at school), to 'literally has the skull symbol on the packaging' (some industrial glues used in electronics and clothing).

A rule of thumb is to do this stuff in a well-ventilated area. Theres a million kinds of glues Wood glue is mostly safe, superglue is generally okay, epoxies are not.

And yes, paints and solvents are the kinds of chemicals that the common man will encounter the nastiest chemicals (VOCs) which can permanently and irreparably damage your brain. Not immediately, but depending on how much you use it, and how much precaution you take, this is definitely something to be aware of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_solvent-induced_enceph...