Has GW forgotten their hobby roots with these recent bannings? Take a walk down memory lane with some of the models that helped build GW as a company.
Games Workshop was a huge proponent for hobbying and converting models way back in the day. They even had whole article features of their own conversions in White Dwarfs in years past. So what happened?
Let’s take a look at some old articles of a White Dwarf and compare them to their stance on hobby today.
After Hobby Bans: GW Forgets Their Modeling Roots
Rick Priestly, the father of 40k, wrote one of the first full conversion articles for the Hover Tank in White Dwarf many, many, years ago. This was built from a deodorant bottle and various bits.
You may have seen this because, as some put it, it’s the most famous conversion in Warhammer 40k.
A converted hover tank out of household supplies & bits
A hover tank was completely put together out of a deodorant bottle and some spare bits that were lying around from other models. In the not so distant past White Dwarf would feature conversion like this every month.
Can you imagine them doing something like this after their recent stance on things?
Believe it or not, Forge World has a tank called the Javelin that pays somewhat of an homage to the deodorant hover tank. Can you see the resemblance?
Let’s look at another famous conversion that was featured back in the hobby past:
A Scout Titan Made From a Star Wars Walker
The hobby community was so strong back in the day that people would go to department stores and purposefully look for second-hand things to make brand new models out of. Talk about some strong hobby muscles.
Note the converter here is none other than the current head of Forge World himself, Tony Cottrell.
Finally, let’s take a peek at one more conversion featured by Games Workshop that was made from any items they could get their hands on.
The First 40k Tank was a G.I Joe Toy?
“Store-bought tank conversion”
Would you believe that the first Warhammer 40k’s tank featured was actually made from a G.I Joe model? If you can find one, look at issue #110 of White Dwarf Magazine and see for yourself.
Games Workshop Today
Lately, it seems like GW is forcibly suggesting certain standards of hobbyists in the community today, that pushes people towards keeping their models 100% GW.
It’s not all bad though. Games Workshop isn’t cracking down on hobbying in general. They just want you to use all of their products when you are at their “official” events or stores. GW is a successful business for a reason, and could entirely be their prerogative to place restrictions on their events and venues.
However, they still showcase the conversion side of things to this day. Take a look at one of their more recent features in White Dwarf:
This Orkish Walker was spotted in a White Dwarf article a few months ago and it started raising some question in the Community of a possible Ork model on its way.
Ultimately, It turned out to be a sweet conversion that they showcased made out of a Dreadknight, various Ork bits, and a whole lot of Dakka.
What do you think about conversions in tabletop gaming? Should GW loosen their grip and just let folks enjoy the hobby their way, just like they did as they build their company up over 30 years ago?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
