Jump in the way back machine to one of the golden era’s of the hobby and we find out if 5th edition was the dawn of the 40k Bundle deal!
5th edition, the last of the numbered editions. If you didn’t know, Games Workshop officially calls sixth and seventh just “The Rules”. It was a great time to be in the hobby and this poster illustrates, literally and figuratively, why.
But honestly this was really the Age of Apocalypse. It had just come out in the summer of 2007 and there were a TON of apocalypse box bundles. With Apocalypse, the 40k universe had shifted to huge templates, huge armies, and ridiculous amounts of casualty. That was state of the hobby.
There was a special Gamer’s Edition as well. That one came with a cool tin, about the size of the rule book itself, and included acrylic tokens.
The tokens where labeled “run”, “pop smoke”, and other new mechanics that the edition introduced. There was a collector’s edition book with a wax seal, made out of the best paper, the highest quality card stock, and of course included the gold foil.It was the same high quality we’ve come to know and love from Games Workshop!
These collectors editions are cool to have and I love this kind of stuff. Of course, it has a shelf life, it’s not as cool when the new edition comes out but that’s the just the way it is.
This poster also showed us the neat bundles that Games Workshop was releasing; they had a lot of value at 180 USD. You’ll notice a lot of the formation names here. They’re the same as many of the formations we love and hate today; the names themselves have roots in Apocalypse.
The poster also highlighted some other accessories like a game mat, which was really just expensive felt, templates, craters and even a line of sight laser.
Look at some of these bundles! They had a Space Marine Battle Company for 450 USD, which was easily half off! People where just snapping these up left and right.
But wait there’s more! 100 Ork Boys for 175 dollars AND a Warboss? Imagine if you saw something like that released today how many kits you’d feel you need to buy just to have it (Knight Renegade anyone)?
This was an awesome time to be in the hobby because you could scoop up all this stuff and get your gear. Forge World couldn’t even keep up with the demand.
“I put instant coffee into a microwave oven and almost went back in time!”
Check out the video for the full hobby tale!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
