There is one last thing left Games Workshop needs to make to complete the hobby wishlist, and you already know what it is…
That’s right, all but one of the doomsday clocks have been fulfilled, and now the only thing left for Games Workshop to make is a plastic Warhammer 40k scale Thunderhawk (among other things)!
The Last Thing Games Workshop Needs to Make Now…
We know, technically, there is a plastic one out there, but it’s too small to count. We want a full-sized plastic one! Not only would it finally fulfill the GW’s Doomsday clocks, but it would just be awesome. Especially with the Leagues of Votann on the way and plastic Sisters in the rearview mirror, it just makes sense for Games Workshop!
After the Warhammer Fest reveal of a plastic Thundehawk flyer in 2021, for Aeronautical Imperialis, hobbyists once again turned their attention to this iconic Warmachine of the Adeptus Astartes!
While the hype has died down some on the idea some, and Squats are a thing now again, it still seems appropriate to look at the only clock left.
The Thunderhawk is the be-all-end-all flyer for the Astartes. There are only two problems currently. The resin one costs as much as a down payment on a car, and it’s almost too expensive to bring in a 2,000 pt game. However, this could all be solved by some rules changes and a price decrease because of plastic!
Thunderhawk Gunship $847
At this time, the Thunderhawk has been put back in stock on Forge World, but the price rose again… This time by more than $100… Anyways, so obviously, a plastic version of this would have to be cheaper, as Imperial Knights are in the $170 range.
Currently, the Thunderhawk kit sits at a price that you don’t just order on the fly (pun intended). Granted, this thing is a massive help to any larger scale army being able to provide transport and an exterminatus-load of firepower.
Forge World also already came out with a new Thunderhawk model in 2017, so we’ve probably got a while before we would even see any sort of plastic kit for this monster anyway, right…
But what if… Let’s see how the price could actually not be too bad even if there were tons of sprues.
Does Sprue Count Matter?
The newest big boy Knight classes are pretty surprising coming from a cost standpoint. The kits are only three sprues (two of which are the same, and one class-specific). Both Dominus-Class Knight kits weigh in at $170.
That’s right, there’s actually only one different sprue in each of the boxes that make them unique. Granted, this is the biggest Knight model we’ve seen outside of Forge World, and we all know how expensive Warhound titans are.
But it seems that the amount of sprues/ materials doesn’t affect the price too much. The Bandeblade kit has seven sprues and is only $150. It looks like there’s a more clever marketing strategy going on here that has to do with how the model plays on the tabletop as well as how much hype is funneled toward the model.
Courtesy of GW, here is the Knight Castellan on sprue:
Compared to the much larger Baneblade model released in the late 2000s, this model is way more efficient in sprue count but still has about the same retail price. Which could bode well for the development of a plastic Thunderhawk.
Here’s the layout of the Baneblade on the sprue; look at all that plastic:
Judging from these seven sprues above, for a box-like vehicle, it’s possible that a plastic Thunderhawk would require up to three times as many sprues. Sure many sprues like the wings and engines could be duplicates, but it would still be a very ambitious product when it comes to sprue count.
What Can We Hope For?
With the rate of new releases that have been coming out from Games Workshop in plastic that have been ported over from Forge World (looking at you Horus Heresy). It’s been proven that they DO listen to the community (well, sometimes…), well perhaps if they think there is money to be made, but hey, it’s still listening, right?
Obviously, the $80 price point of the Marvel Crisis Protocol Quinjet is out the window, but still, it shows a plastic kit is possible.
After only years of begging for plastic Sisters of Battle, we finally got an all-new plastic line of Sororitas (well, twice even), and now Squats are basically here. So, if we get this, what could be the next three clocks?
What Could the New Clocks be?
Reset all the clocks!
So, now that we’ve talked about the plastic Thunderhawk (and if you do count it as made), what realistically be the next set of three clocks?
Well, our number one pick might have to be Dark Mechanicus, and we did get a teaser at Warhammer Day that looked an awful lot like Dark Mechanicus.
Well, this could easily also just be chaos but hey, why not dream? Next, we could wish for Exodites! Who doesn’t want to see Aeldari riding dinosaurs? We sure do.
Lastly, and by no means actually last, remaking Epic! We want Epic back; just make it already Games Workshop!
Would you like to see the final Doomsday clock resolved? What would you like to see Games Workshop make next?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
