The cheap price differences in similar Warhammer 40k products are wild; here is how to always get the most for your hobby dollars!
Games Workshop tends to price their items at whatever they want; this is a luxury hobby, but they tend to follow a pattern mostly. However, sometimes a few of the units (that are basically the same size, have the same role, and number of sprues, etc) are pretty far off in price comparatively. We had seen this before, and now the recent Assualt Squad for Horus Heresy is so far off in price from the Primaris Jump Pack Assault Intercessors that it got us thinking: How can the price be so different?
These Price Differences in Similar Warhammer 40k Products Are Kinda Wild
The new Horus Heresy Assault Marines are going for $70 (a bit of an odd price to begin with), but when you compare this to the Primaris Jump Pack Marines, these seem to be a great deal!
The Jump Pack Intercessors go for $60 for five models. While they do have more tactical rocks, they don’t have flight stands, and with the updated HH sizing, they really aren’t that much bigger, either. So, with that being the case, what makes these cost $12 each, and the Horus Heresy models cost $7?
Again, GW can make their price whatever they want, but it’s not even like the Intercessors are new sculpts (basically old models with jet packs and rocks added). So how did they end up being almost double the cost?
Is it the Amount of Plastic That Determines the Price?
The only significant difference is that the Assault Squad has three sprues for ten models, and the Jump Intercessors would be four. Mathematically (which may not have been the best approach), this seems to have necessitated a 50% jump in pricing for only 25% more material. You could say sometimes that the difference in pricing is the number of sprues, but that argument hasn’t been valid for recent releases either…
The new Tahlia Vedra costs $150 and has three sprues in the kit. Let’s compare it with another recent release, with three sprues and 59 pieces.
Lord Kroak comes with 56 pieces, is a named character, and has three sprues as well. However, this is $20 cheaper; the only difference is three bits and a slightly smaller base. So basically, you pay one dollar for every mm of base size bigger despite being almost identical in other aspects. $20 might not seem insane, but that’s a lot of extra cash for a slightly bigger base!
The Rule of Cool Always Wins
These differences are all over the place, and we can’t seem to figure out why the prices can vary so much for similar items in a lot of cases. If we were buying for us, we would always go for the rule of cool and either convert or use something of a similar size to represent models that may not have that much value. Plus, when there is something similar available out there for less price, it seems like a win-win to use that and make a fun little hobby project out of it to make a creation unique to your army.
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What do you think about the differences in pricing for similar Warhammer models?
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.
