Flyers inbound

[BigBarryJazz]

Haha, just what I thought too, Kenny. Lends some credibility to the eldar rumour but it still seems odd to me that none of the regular rumour-mongers haven't commented about any of them, especially if there are some new Tau units already waiting in the wings as well. GW's ability to clamp down on information getting out must have improved considerably. Anyway, fascinating stuff, Ornithopter.

[Tonny]

Sorry for bursting your bubbles. Demiurg is a fraud or the victim of a fraud.

I was told, that GW is trying to invert their release order. Instead of two follow up waves after a Codex release they will release one or two smaller waves of models before every codex, one big release with the codex and some stragglers thereafter (mainly re-releases and model updates). This is widely known and not hard to deduce. But I was also told that this is only a test run for two upcoming releases and GW is fully prepared to switch back to the old modus operandi or a completely different release schedule. GW has used the period of reduced LotR activity to produce new ranges far in advance. GW sits on a whole pile of army books/codexes and finished masters and has the flexibility to alter their release schedule seamlessly. The next two releases (Warriors of Chaos and Dark Angels) follow the old pattern, but the next two releases (Tau and Eldar) after these are deployed in the new fashion. The Tau Codex was pushed back because of this, but only the book. The first batch of models will be released even earlier than planned (maybe even this year) – and yes, there are Kroots and no, there is no Lamprey – this whole set of rumours is 105% fake. GW has tighten their information policy for all releases around the end of the year. This includes everything not just the Hobbit stuff because one major source of info are business plans and logistics tables that are shared with subsidiaries and external companies. Most unregulated sources sit at one of those joints. The blackout period lasts from October to February and ends there because it is not sustainable for a long time. There will be no wave of fliers this year outside of the blackout period (my source does not know if one is planned for this period or not, but if it is the info is definitely not avaible for regional distributors - whatever that is). One last bit: GW has buried the plastic character stop gap and switched to multi-part finecast kits, with emphasis on “multi-part”. The sheer number of bit of these kits is on par with plastic releases. The first kit will be the re-modeled Avatar. The four Greater Demons are worked on. All of them will be larger than their predecessors and come with a lot of variety.

(First and last post with this account)

Does this means no plastic clampacks as is done for fantasy? Damn, I thought plastic clampacks were the best thing GW had done in years and I hoped this would also be done for 40K.

[Silvertongue]

Well, didn't Harry say there were 40k characters done in plastic clampacks too? Also, upt to this point, everything seemed to point towards finecast being a stopgap for plastic, not the other way around.
Although the post eems superficially plausible and sensible, it also flies in the face of many things we've heard or known. I honestly can't decide whether I believe it or not. As much as I'd like some parts of it to be true, I shudder to think the price a Finecast multi-part Greater Daemon could reach. Also, with every single reliable rumour-monger saying one billion times how GW wants to move to an all-plastic range, this is kind of unexpected.
For some reason, I also find it hard to believe that GW are "sitting on a pile" of minis and codices.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Starchild]

@silvertongue: To me it makes perfect sense and it's actually been GW's modus operandi for a long time. The models are done at least one year in advance. I don't know about Finecast models but the dates stamped on the slotta base tabs of GW metal models reveal how far in advance the sculpting was completed.

What I question is the reason for halting the LoTR releases. The main sculptors of the range are the Perry twins so unless they've pulled the twins to help sculpt 40k and/or Fantasy models, I can't see that claim as being completely true.

[Vovin]

Isn't the 'everything in plastic' mantra kind of old? The main reasons for wanting everything in plastic were shipping costs and metal prices and both problems have been solved with the introduction of Finecast. I am sure the execs would love to be able to produce everything in plastic, but you need the sales number to do it. This may be still GW's long time goal but I can't recall Harry or Hastings talking about this in the last couple of months or years.

[Starchild]

@Vovin: I think the issue is that some models can never justify the expense of plastic production.

The case in point is character models. Personally I'd love to see plastic multipart HQ kits for Eldar Autarchs or Ork Warbosses. But GW tried this with the plastic Space Marine Commander and apparently the sales did not meet expectations.

Anyway, I thought the claims of another flyer wave this year were far fetched, considering how full the schedule is. Harry admits that timing is the variable so the new flyers will probably be out early next year.

[The Dude]

@Vovin: I think the issue is that some models can never justify the expense of plastic production.

Nonsense.

You just have to make a large sprue with multiple iterations of the character sprue on it which are then clipped and boxed individually. With the current pricing structure, they can offer more ROI per press than infantry boxes and I suspect more lifetime return than large kits such as the Baneblade or Stompa.

[MajorWesJanson]

Does this means no plastic clampacks as is done for fantasy? Damn, I thought plastic clampacks were the best thing GW had done in years and I hoped this would also be done for 40K.

Plasticmini-sprues are awesome, but honestly are limited in some cases. The size of the sprue limits the size of the model and number of parts it can have, limiting them to single infantry sized models without large extra parts. Some models would do well for them in 40K. Chaplain was mentioned by JesG as an idea. PA models could also include librarains, chaoslords and sorcerer. Other models would work too. Farseers, Exarchs, commissars, things like that. Other kits are too big for the mini-sprue: anyone with a jump pack or wings, models that would be on a 40mm base, likely most daemon heralds, ect.

Finecast still has a quality control problem, but I am interested to see what they come up with for full multipart kits in finecast. I can see potential there.

As for fliers, the topic at hand, I can see them being added to another wave. If CSM and the starter are compacted in September, October may see Warriors of chaos, November with a 40K model wave (Tau and Fliers?) Late November, early december seems dedicated to Hobbit (ad in this months white dwarf for the movie) Jan could see Dark Angels. The release schedule is compressing rather a lot it seems.

[KarlPedder]

What I find amusing is that people take the attitude that because none of the more credible rumour mongers have come into THIS most rescent thread on flyers that somehow things they have already stated in previous threads on the same topic are erased. If you do a little bit of a search you will find that Stickmonkey mentioned this 2nd flyer wave a month or so back and he mentioned that the Tau Flyer was named after a Snake instead of a fish and he knows that if it didn't pan out he would take heat for it but that was what he had heard to which Harry came in and said that while it is more associated with snakes it's also the name of a fish. The thread then largely devolved into people trying to guess the name and no new rumours were added so it was moved.

Maybe it's more a case that rumourmongers don't feel the need to come and reiterate everything they have already said each time a new thread comes up on a topic they have already covered and perhaps have nothing new to add. I guess my point is that just because YOU haven't seen them mention anything doesn't mean nothing has been said rather YOU have not been paying attention for long enough.......

[The Dude]

This is part of the reason I have been making a concerted effort to put new rumours in the roundup.

This doesn't always go to plan though.

If there's anything you feel could be added, feel free to PM me.

[Beppo1234]

Nonsense.

You just have to make a large sprue with multiple iterations of the character sprue on it which are then clipped and boxed individually. With the current pricing structure, they can offer more ROI per press than infantry boxes and I suspect more lifetime return than large kits such as the Baneblade or Stompa.

it doesn't even have to be an iteration of the same character. It could be multiple characters on the sprue, which are clipped and boxed separately.

[KarlPedder]

This is part of the reason I have been making a concerted effort to put new rumours in the roundup.

This doesn't always go to plan though.

If there's anything you feel could be added, feel free to PM me.

Is there an entry for this topic in the rumour roundup?

Anyways these are what I'm reffering to I've posted links because I can't quote as the thread is closed.

4 posts down the linked page Stickmonkey first mentions the 2nd flyers wave and it's probable contents.
http://www.warseer.com/forums/showth...-Fliers/page31

9 posts down this page Stickmonkey states that he knows the "snake" name seems odd but that he is just reporting what he was told.
another 9 posts further down is where Harry supports the "odd" name of Tau flyer being along similar lines to what SM suggested.
http://www.warseer.com/forums/showth...-Fliers/page32

18 posts down this page Stickmonkey injects more info on the subject:
http://www.warseer.com/forums/showth...-Fliers/page76

That post on page 76 was made 3 months before this current thread was even started and so I think it's safe to say that credible rumourmongers have already piped in on this topic they did so months ago and most folks on these boards consider Harry to be one of the most credible rumourmongers and based on what I've seen over the last few years Stickmonkeys rumours have been aweful close to the mark with the caveat that his timelines tend to be alot more generous than the actual release schedule. Which considering that timeline is where even the most credible rumourmongers tend to make mistakes (Harry has said this is why he doesn't like to go too far into the future with rumours) Stickmonkey's rumours have been quite accurate especially considering how far in advance some of them have been, so I've come to consider his rumours pretty damn credible too.

[silverstu]

Just to pull in a few other comments from the 2012 release thread which supports the 2nd flier wave

MajorWesJansen

Well, there is talk of a second flier wave, maybe Harry's Autumn of Fliers. *SNIP*

As for contents of the second flier wave, the guess over at the BoLS lounge is the Void Raven, a Tau flier, and an Eldar flier.

Too which Harry replied-

There is another wave of flyers. ...

Thats not it.

Harry went on to hint that the Voidraven was coming, just perhaps not with that combination of other fliers.

[TheySeeMeRollin]

I'm currently working on a tau/space marine army and one of the reasons for doing so is because I need a Stormtalon for anti-air. A tau flier would be welcomed

[Nicho]

I'm currently working on a tau/space marine army and one of the reasons for doing so is because I need a Stormtalon for anti-air. A tau flier would be welcomed

Theres always the Barracuda

[kabalite]

So when can we expect the Voidraven Bomber??

[Jericho]

The 'cuda looks like it has the right tools for the job. Missile pods, ion cannon and burst cannons means a good handful of S5/6/7 shots

[Nicho]

The 'cuda looks like it has the right tools for the job. Missile pods, ion cannon and burst cannons means a good handful of S5/6/7 shots

Just ordered one this morning along with the aeronautica book. Looking forward to testing it in an apoc game at the weekend :-)