I think we have a Winner!
Okay! Here is a great first project to begin our new Blog. Like I previously stated, I'm really in the mood to start a new army of Skaven for the game 'Warhammer Fantasy' by Games Workshop. Again, thanks Ash @ miniwargaming.com for his excellent battle reports and for getting me hooked into the mindset that I needed to learn yet ANOTHER game!
So, I decided to start small and see what we could find. This is what i've located after about 20 minutes of searching.
This particular auction has a few things going for it. Number one, it's the faction we are looking for with a lot of the models we need. Now, that sounds a little obvious, but you always have to scrutinize the auctions for actual validity before considering a purchase. Too many of these auctions contain items advertised as being from Games Workshop, when in actuality they're from Mantic or Avatars of War, or some other company that creates cheaper, less attractive models (although, to be truthful, Avatars of War line produce some INCREDIBLE looking stuff...Games Workshop, take note.) Ugh, again with the sidetrack...now where was I.
Oh, okay yes...these are actual Games Workshop product and range from some older models to an assortment of the new stuff. Specifically, I see some older generation metal models (plague Monks and the Assassins) and some new 'Clan Rats', which I suspect are actually from the Island of Blood starter set. (As you'll come to find it doesn't take long to become an expert in the hobby you're investigating or interested in joining. Until 2 weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about Warhammer Fantasy, and now I know a considerable amount, to include past starter sets, rare and out of print models, look alike proxies from other manufacturers, etc)
So, the second thing this has going for it, and probably the most important aspect, is the price. It is currently sitting at $50.00 with a $17.90 shipping charge (which is obviously inflated because this will more than likely come all packed in an $8.00 pre-paid shipping box or envelope.) Regardless, at its current price it is looking good. So, how do we know it's a good price? Well, we READ and COMPARE. First off I took a look at what is actually included in this auction:
*snippet from the actual auction description*
Here is what is included:
1 Queek Lord METAL
1 Doom wheel
2 Assassin's METAL
1 Master Moulder
2 Rat Ogres
3 Jezzails Sharpshooter METAL
10 Plague Monks (I believe) METAL
1 Rattling Gun METAL
2 Warp fire Throwers METAL
1 Poisoned Wind Mortar
1 Warp Fire Throwers
1 Warlord
1 Warlock Engineer
20 Storm Vermin
40 Clan Rats
Plus tons of bases, spare parts, paint supplies, plastic spatter charts, and more.
So, lets take a conservative look at the retail price for some of this stuff. I'm not going to list the price for each and every item, but you'll get the idea very quickly.
First off we have '40 Clan Rats, 1 Warlord, 1Warlock Engineer, 1 Poisoned Wind Mortar, 2 Rat Ogres, 1 Warp Fire Thrower and a "Master Moulder" (which is actually just a herder model). Now then, we can assume all of this comes from the Skaven side of the Isle of Blood starter set, which retails for approximately $100.00 You can find it cheaper on Amazon ($85.00) or sometimes broken up on Ebay for $70.00'ish. So, conservatively, lets put the value of these listed here as half the average going rate, so $42.50. (Half because we are only getting the Skaven half of the starter set.) The Doom Wheel is another $33.00 MSRP from GW, and the Jezzails are still pricey, but you can get three for around $30.00 if you look on Ebay. So far that's $105.50 retail, and we still have 20 vermin, 10 Plague Monks, a Rattling Gun, a couple Assassins and a Named Character Unit, which always tend to be way over priced IMHO.
Well, what do we do now? Take into account that this particular faction is a 'Horde' faction, meaning they rely on superior numbers (ie. tons of models) to compensate for their 'non-elite' status, to get the job of winning the game done, so we're going to need ALOT of them. Many more then what is listed here. In fact, I would estimate the actual point value of this army (without adding upgrade filler, such as magic weapons, armor, artifacts, etc) is around 1400 points. And that's with the named character, which in this case is right around 215 points alone. AND that's if this was even a viable army, which, in first looking at it, I'm going to have to say ...Viable? Yes. Enjoyable and competitive? No. There isn't enough of the Core to make this army work well competitively, but it WILL be a great base in which to start fleshing out our unstoppable horde of rat goodness!
So what should we bid and what should we expect to spend to bring this army out of the 'bin of disrepute and neglect' and shape them into a beautiful and well oiled machine of destruction, that will get praise on its appearance and mechanics? Good questions. It all hinges on what you personally have to spend on the hobby and the amount of work you're willing to put into making it look sharp. For me, I'm comfortable bidding about 33% over the current asking price of $50.00 plus the $18.00 bucks in shipping, but not by much. Although some of the models are painted and it is obvious we are going to have to do some repairs on others, it's still not a considerable amount of work. This is one of the Win/Win auctions in which we satisfy our two primary goals! Low Price and Workable Product!
The auction is scheduled to end Mar 16th 2015, so I'll keep you posted on the project and how this is going to all come together! Until then,
Casey
So, I decided to start small and see what we could find. This is what i've located after about 20 minutes of searching.
 |
| Potentially our first project! |
Oh, okay yes...these are actual Games Workshop product and range from some older models to an assortment of the new stuff. Specifically, I see some older generation metal models (plague Monks and the Assassins) and some new 'Clan Rats', which I suspect are actually from the Island of Blood starter set. (As you'll come to find it doesn't take long to become an expert in the hobby you're investigating or interested in joining. Until 2 weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about Warhammer Fantasy, and now I know a considerable amount, to include past starter sets, rare and out of print models, look alike proxies from other manufacturers, etc)
So, the second thing this has going for it, and probably the most important aspect, is the price. It is currently sitting at $50.00 with a $17.90 shipping charge (which is obviously inflated because this will more than likely come all packed in an $8.00 pre-paid shipping box or envelope.) Regardless, at its current price it is looking good. So, how do we know it's a good price? Well, we READ and COMPARE. First off I took a look at what is actually included in this auction:
*snippet from the actual auction description*
Here is what is included:
1 Queek Lord METAL
1 Doom wheel
2 Assassin's METAL
1 Master Moulder
2 Rat Ogres
3 Jezzails Sharpshooter METAL
10 Plague Monks (I believe) METAL
1 Rattling Gun METAL
2 Warp fire Throwers METAL
1 Poisoned Wind Mortar
1 Warp Fire Throwers
1 Warlord
1 Warlock Engineer
20 Storm Vermin
40 Clan Rats
Plus tons of bases, spare parts, paint supplies, plastic spatter charts, and more.
So, lets take a conservative look at the retail price for some of this stuff. I'm not going to list the price for each and every item, but you'll get the idea very quickly.
First off we have '40 Clan Rats, 1 Warlord, 1Warlock Engineer, 1 Poisoned Wind Mortar, 2 Rat Ogres, 1 Warp Fire Thrower and a "Master Moulder" (which is actually just a herder model). Now then, we can assume all of this comes from the Skaven side of the Isle of Blood starter set, which retails for approximately $100.00 You can find it cheaper on Amazon ($85.00) or sometimes broken up on Ebay for $70.00'ish. So, conservatively, lets put the value of these listed here as half the average going rate, so $42.50. (Half because we are only getting the Skaven half of the starter set.) The Doom Wheel is another $33.00 MSRP from GW, and the Jezzails are still pricey, but you can get three for around $30.00 if you look on Ebay. So far that's $105.50 retail, and we still have 20 vermin, 10 Plague Monks, a Rattling Gun, a couple Assassins and a Named Character Unit, which always tend to be way over priced IMHO.
Well, what do we do now? Take into account that this particular faction is a 'Horde' faction, meaning they rely on superior numbers (ie. tons of models) to compensate for their 'non-elite' status, to get the job of winning the game done, so we're going to need ALOT of them. Many more then what is listed here. In fact, I would estimate the actual point value of this army (without adding upgrade filler, such as magic weapons, armor, artifacts, etc) is around 1400 points. And that's with the named character, which in this case is right around 215 points alone. AND that's if this was even a viable army, which, in first looking at it, I'm going to have to say ...Viable? Yes. Enjoyable and competitive? No. There isn't enough of the Core to make this army work well competitively, but it WILL be a great base in which to start fleshing out our unstoppable horde of rat goodness!
So what should we bid and what should we expect to spend to bring this army out of the 'bin of disrepute and neglect' and shape them into a beautiful and well oiled machine of destruction, that will get praise on its appearance and mechanics? Good questions. It all hinges on what you personally have to spend on the hobby and the amount of work you're willing to put into making it look sharp. For me, I'm comfortable bidding about 33% over the current asking price of $50.00 plus the $18.00 bucks in shipping, but not by much. Although some of the models are painted and it is obvious we are going to have to do some repairs on others, it's still not a considerable amount of work. This is one of the Win/Win auctions in which we satisfy our two primary goals! Low Price and Workable Product!
The auction is scheduled to end Mar 16th 2015, so I'll keep you posted on the project and how this is going to all come together! Until then,
Casey
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