No thanks. I'll take my Warhammer 40k like I take my women; grim, humorless, and with a sense of abject futility. posted by Justinian at 12:35 AM on May 18, 2008 [9 favorites]
Just in case anyone's interested in this sort of thing: here in Japan, the character is not referred to as "Hello Kitty" (even though the English phrase "hello kitty" often accompanies the products), but rather, as "Kitty-chan". posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:28 AM on May 18, 2008 [2 favorites]
Oh, Warhammer...
There's something really special about a game that tends to be capped at four turns, which run a combined total of eight hours, and uses hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of little miniatures. I played a few times in high school (with borrowed pieces) and kinda saw the allure, but the barrier to entry was way too high.
Sweet modifications, though! posted by kaibutsu at 7:36 AM on May 18, 2008
Dammit, someone else got to the ONLY WAR jokes. posted by Artw at 9:05 AM on May 18, 2008
Warhammer 40k: an interesting game, but not for poor people. If you think WotC wrings every last drop of lucre out of gamers' wallets, well, wait until you see Games Workshop.... posted by JHarris at 9:49 AM on May 18, 2008
See, in high school we played with empty mini bases and a rulebook we'd bought used for ten bucks, and we did just fine. Every once in a while one of us would save up and buy a mini to paint out of sheer boredom and geekiness, but that was about it.
(What WotC and GW have in common is that they've grown a tournament circuit where you can't compete unless you do shell out the big bucks for the latest everything.) posted by nebulawindphone at 10:10 AM on May 18, 2008
IN THE GRIM FUTURE OF HELLO KITTY THERE IS ONLY WAR. posted by loquacious at 10:20 AM on May 18, 2008
It also attracts perhaps the world's most talented Nazis.
Do you have any evidence at all that the guys at Grey Matter Musings are Nazis (as opposed to people who occasionally, as in one out of 40 photos in that gallery, paint Nazi tanks)? If not, shut up. Trying to label somebody with a political ideology over one mini is pretty ridiculous.
I mean, who would ever think to paint a tank with Nazi stuff? Talk about coming out of left field! I cannot imagine where they could have gotten the idea!
As for the article -- great conversions, but they need better photos. And it made me spend half an hour browsing through Cool Mini or Not again! posted by vorfeed at 10:44 AM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
kaibutsuwrites"Oh, Warhammer... "There's something really special about a game that tends to be capped at four turns, which run a combined total of eight hours, and uses hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of little miniatures. I played a few times in high school (with borrowed pieces) and kinda saw the allure, but the barrier to entry was way too high."
It's gotten a lot quicker since 2e (at least 40K has, I don't know about fantasy). An average games last less than 3 hours and you usually get all six turns in. The cost isn't any worse than most other leisure activities people spend money on. My 2000 odd points cost less than just a single season lift ticket for the local ski hill. Plus 40K doesn't have to have much in the way of on going costs (though a new rule book is coming out that'll clip me for the price of a weeks worth of starbucks but it is the first in several years).
It's laughingly cheap compared to golf, or ice hockey, or motor sports or anything but bare bones fishing. posted by Mitheral at 2:27 PM on May 18, 2008
Pink tanks...AWESOME! (But must be a bitch to keep clean.) posted by P.o.B. at 3:13 PM on May 18, 2008
While I'm gonna be more relaxed about it that Vorfeed, I'm gonna have to agree that painting little toy soldiers up to be Nazis is hardly evidence for Nazi leanings in real life.
I mean it wouldn't make any sense if my Churchill Crocodiles hosed down a stand of American troops with napalm, would it? posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:55 PM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
I mean it wouldn't make any sense if my Churchill Crocodiles hosed down a stand of American troops with napalm, would it?
You totally don't understand the 40k ethos, and probably like sappy Dan Abnett books where everyone is all nicey-nice to each other and it all turns out in the end. It has to be Nazis against chaos Nazis, because the grim future of the dark world of the ONLY WARness is that future space nazis are as good as it gets. Everything else is EVEN WORSE. posted by Artw at 9:29 PM on May 18, 2008 [2 favorites]
It has to be Nazis against chaos Nazis, because the grim future of the dark world of the ONLY WARness is that future space nazis are as good as it gets. Everything else is EVEN WORSE.
Well, sure, but there's no way we can have just two armies. You have to have at least six, plus a couple of sub-armies for each, and at least one brand new army every decade so that people have to go out and buy all the minis! But maybe it can be Nazis, chaos Nazis, horrible alien Nazis, armoured-suit Nazis, elf Nazis, dark elf Nazis, undead Nazis, and green Nazis.
Possibly also Cadians. posted by vorfeed at 10:07 PM on May 18, 2008
Isn't draping a giant swastika flag over a tank that's meant to be from the wacky future a bit beyond the pale, though? And painting Nazi propaganda posters all over your stuff? I mean, come on, I understand thinking that Tigers are awesome but why shoehorn Nazism into a setting that already has perfectly good space-fascists? posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 10:24 PM on May 18, 2008
Isn't draping a giant swastika flag over a tank that's meant to be from the wacky future a bit beyond the pale, though?
From the wacky future that's partly basedon WWII, you mean? And allows for pretty much any army paint-job you want? No, not really. It's not as if nobody has ever fielded a Nazi-based 40K army before. In fact, it's a pretty obvious idea. Next you'll be accusing Forge World over the Death Korps models, I suppose.
And painting Nazi propaganda posters all over your stuff? I mean, come on, I understand thinking that Tigers are awesome but why shoehorn Nazism into a setting that already has perfectly good space-fascists?
Well, why not? It's just a mini, not a plate of beans.
At any rate, the painter's reply to this kind of political accusation is here. posted by vorfeed at 11:25 PM on May 18, 2008
While true Space Wolves pack Bolters, I suspect that a Hello Kitty AK-47 would still be a source of pride. posted by quin at 1:39 PM on May 19, 2008
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