Been a big gunpla fan and builder for a long time now, just got into warhammer over the weekend with a free miniature and paint session. I got hooked with painting and the nice staff asked me to go around the store to look for things to put on the wishlist, my jaws dropped after seeing some of the prices for GW miniatures it was insane. Finally I just caved not buying something so i decided on the paints and tool set for $32 to paint my own gunpla models and its been super fun. I started with a gundam converge that was about 12$, comes already as on with colour good 2-3inch tall model and that has been a blast to paint
@@wangaesins yeah they work hard at those stores and they're always cool, but those prices always make me leave. Nice product but too pricey. Glad you got some paints!
Ive been a gunpla and plamo builder for a long time. Many many decades ago i picked up a full warhammer army. Built them, started painting, then the warhammer scene in my area dissolved and i was left with a hugh pile of plastic which had no value to me and i ended up giving away. I kept going with Gunpla and Plamo over the years and recently a friend of mine wanted to do warhammer. I pushed back hard because i remembered the amount money i wasted so many years ago. Long story short, i now own a large warhammer army again and my friend who wanted to play, bout an army and never built or painted a thing has lost interest and im left with another pile of plastic i dont have a use for. At least they are well painted and look good on the shelf. But i could have picked up so many diorama supplies and a higher end 3d printer for what i dumped into the warhammer minis
Im a gunpla fan and just recently discovered 40k. I love the detailed models but you are correct they are very overpriced for what you get. Currently i only jave one warhammer model and dozens of gunpla. I would love to get more warhammer models as i love building and painting them but the simple truth is i can get more gundams for my money than warhammer.
@@littleBIGrobots been looking around for warhammer starter kits or literally anything cheap just to try it out and there really isn't a ton of options out there. I don't wanna buy a box with 11 different minis to paint but the only other starter kit for cheap I can find is like 25 dollars for 1 marine and tyranid which feels like nothing compared to gunpla
@f91-f97 yeah it can be hard. Try a small tank maybe? Expensive but at least when you're done you will have a vehicle you might be able use with something else?
It seems to me that it's arguably cheaper to get a buncha' JoyToy Warhammer, than actual Warhammer these days. Kinda crazy. Of course, you lose out on the "experience" of painting them yourself. Not that you can't paint them anyway.
@@updatedude true! That's really my main point. The minis are made to be painted, but you can paint anything. You can even buy artist blank toys. I'm curious to see if the 40k minis come down in price ever.
@@littleBIGrobots It's interesting that there's been a surge of WH40K fans "discovering" Gunpla. It means we can finally talk about the elephant in the room, which is that miniatures, but especially GW, are absurdly overpriced when compared with other products. I think we were all too "polite" to really argue the point before, because as fellow hobbyists, we default to supporting each other's hobbies. It's also a good time to be into Bandai. To tell the truth, 15+ years ago, I would have said that Transformers were the best bang for your buck. They were durable with good joint tolerances, had complex designs that were distinct as well as varied, and hands-down, the best engineering on the market (outside of the Figurise Bicep-Flex Tech). But while Hasbro's increased their pricing to absurd levels in recent years, Bandai's been offering more affordable and accessible products instead. RG's are not that badly priced and HG have stepped up their game. 30MM are not only casual friendly but much like Moderoids, brings us variety and non-Gundam aesthetics. I know, I know. Gundam fans will forever point to the Ball or Z'Gok as evidence that Gundam has a variety of designs, but come on, 75% of Gundam designs are derivative of the RX-78, 23% are Guncannons or Zaku and the remaining 2% is where you get the weird stuff. Although in recent years, they've really pushed the boundaries. There's nothing wrong with being derivative mind you. But I digress, the point is, Bandai's really upped their offerings these past few years. You don't even have to go to Kotobukiya for your alternatives anymore. I mean heck, 30MM's got the Armored Core license. And we don't even have to pay crazy prices to some garage company for a resin of a Mecha Girl these days. There's also loads of smaller, 2-3 inch minis that can be easily repurposed for WH40K or even cheapo candy toys in the 3.75 to 4 inch range. It depends on how strict a hobbyist is in regards to the lore. Anywho, sorry about the rambling.
Ganes workshop has been overcharging for so long and yet periodically they keep bumping up the prices. Too bad it still sells so cant expect them to lower them
Been building Gunpla and 40K for over 20 years and they both have their ups and downs. GW's is absolutely price in recent years (it has basically doubled since I started in '01) as well as taking away some of the customization, that I and many others enjoyed, with the current mono pose kits. Bandai however has continued to innovate and improve their kits while keeping the price relatively the same (they just raised the prices recently, but not to GW silliness) in the time I have been in the hobby. Availability of some Gunpla is kinda dumb on Bandai's part (Looking at you P-Bandai) vs GW being far easier to get with far less hard to find kits (Give me my GM Cannon in mainline Banda!). Personally, I have largely stopped buying GW models as they are just not affordable anymore. My hobby money has been pushed towards Gunpla, Battletech and 3d printing. All way more affordable options over GW (Well, the printer is a heck of a cost up front, but once you have it, print mediums are fairly affordable).
Only just started building. Not at the point of painting etc ywt but just starting some panel lining. Been thinking about it for a while but honestly the price was really what got me in. Goty first two (one entey grade and one hogh grade) for literally £18 ($20). Its insane.
While I'm mostly too cheap to buy GW stuff and find the engineering of gunpla impressive (based on what I've seen online), I very much prefer the aesthetics of most of GW's stuff. So far it's only the Maschinen Krieger franchise out of the Japanese realm that I've been really interested in. But if there's something like the Death Guard Warhammer 40k-faction made by Japanese manufacturers I'd definitely take a deep look at it.
@@littleBIGrobotsthe licensing has gotten real wild with Lego, it's what saved em but damn if the prices haven't gotten more inflated with each Disney deals
I think regional pricing is playing a part here. I live in the UK, where WH is created and manufactured. Kits aren't exactly bargains here, but they are a lot cheaper than in the US. From what I have seen, the US warhammer kits are about twice the cost of stuff in the UK. On the flip side, I have started looking into buying my first gunpla this last week (apparently it's the hot topic on YT right now and it looks pretty cool) and I am not finding anywhere in the UK with the prices American youtubers are giving out. The HG kits I've been looking at are £30+ (that's $38.) I am probably looking in the wrong places, but that is only slightly cheaper than a space marine dreadnought (£35 which is $44.6) P.S. If anyone know where to get gunpla for cheap in the UK please let me know 😅
@@AndrewBater ah, great to know! It's possible the pricing is twice here, which sucks. Try and see if you have a local shop with gunpla, they might be a bit cheaper?
@@D3rpp00l Yeah, although they have arguably better paint jobs and sculpts, but given that a tiny 5 inch JoyToy cost more than an 8 inch MF, or even a massive 10 inch MF Ork, the price to plastic ratio feels off. That said, a tiny unassembled and unpainted miniature is still going to cost more than the JoyToy. And they don't even have to pay licensing fees.
No argument from me on paint quality for JT over MF, they are beautiful figures. But that price gap is nonsense. Same for the Bandai figures. $100 USD for a single Marine? Nope, all set Bandai. Gunpla for me.
I personally don't understand how you could even compare the two. Game workshop miniatures are used in a game like setting and aren't just for display purposes. They're all scaled to their game world sizes, I dont want a giant model for x amount of money. It's like comparing coffee to water, they're two completely different beverages. Yes, water will hydrate you and is very inexpensive - but coffee is more expensive and a far more enjoyable experience that makes you feel good while doing it (painting, playing, etc.)
@@zeftlovescats2433 you're right for sure! But I did it for two reasons: 1) Warhammer tubers are comparing them right now, it's the hot new thang and 2) it's a value comparison, showing how the price of plastic and quality of the kits are something to be compared. I'm not really talking style or preferences, just the overall value for each hobby.
Also check out the smaller scales I mention -- the 1/35 Archecore are incredible lil tough space marines, perfect for gaming, and can still be painted. Or the 1/60 scale light year toys or even Rihio kits. For gunpla smaller scale you don't have too many that are around the same RL size of a WH space marine, but there are a million kits I'd have to check. lol
@@littleBIGrobots But thats still silly. How do you value the time I spend playing a game of warhammer. I could spend an hour building a unit, another 4 hours painting it, and then 30 hours playing with it. Not to mention that the support for warhammer in terms of other media is larger. It is a more expensive hobby pound for pound but you cant compare the value.
I own both, bro do you even have any MK thats over 5 years? you see how trash the joints plastics are...they decay and your joints will be super flimsy....honestly prefer warhammer plastic...its sturdy while the japanese model kits feel cheap. PVCs are better but they got paint problem over time
@@sonofsanguinius176 yeah I started building around 2014, have done around 300 or so kits. I have some MGs that are older and they're still good. But yeah WH plastic is really high quality! I should have talked about the plastic type!
Actually started into it for real around 2012, heres one of my first vids about it. This is still on my shelf today. Lol got a buster Gundam and was just messing with it the other day, it's good so far. th-cam.com/video/VVs-VJ5aGKo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=12s9urb5KrXfRPVu
I am a Warhammer guy who has been watching a lot of Gunpla videos. I think GW value boxes are still relatively fairly priced, & the GW premium is not completely unfair given that we are watching Warhammer grow into such a massive brand with a strong game, lore, media, & community behind it. When you factor in the cost of labor for the entire GW operation, the price makes more sense & I am happy that it is exploding into the mainstream.
It is absolutely a luxury hobby & I don't agree with everything GW does, but it is hard to put a value on the work that all of the artists, writers, & game designers do. Between that staff & the marketing they do, they for sure spend a lot investing into their brand that goes beyond the cost of the plastic & distribution. You alluded to this a little bit when acknowledging that the cheaper toys are often built with cheap foreign labor, but it goes a little beyond that.
also doesn't help that polysterene hard plastic is still a toxic material while in a liquid state and GW is made in the UK. Not like it's made over seas then imported back to GW, so they have to pay people you know actual wages to make the stuff.
Right, I get that if you build a product in a country that has better wages, etc, the product will be more expensive. But that's why I bring up Vietnam or Japan - both countries that are taking some business away from China. There are ways to get the kits cheaper for sure. I admire GW for making it in their own country as well, but that just means it will always be a very niche hobby compared to say, Bandai, who has sold 700 million or so kits. Trust me I don't wish any I'll to GW at all ( I consume it after all) but there is no wonder so many GW fans are discovering other kit makers and going "Wow!"
They can easily work with Bandai and make a 40k Titan set for cheap. The real issue is that 3D printing is getting really good and you can print out a whole army for really cheap. Granted the 3D printer is the more expensive bit but they have a ton of use and you can print out more army's.
@@littleBIGrobots 3D Printing's been ramping up in recent years. There may well come a time in the next few years where it's relatively cheap, affordable and fast. I wonder if that'll force GW to try and be more competitive or will they just go around suing people who make .stl available? Remember, let's say you buy a mini online, it'll arrive to you in say, 24-48 hours. If you had a 3D Printer, even if it takes say, 6 hours for a tiny mini, it's still faster than the 12 to 24 hours minimum for the delivery to arrive.
Been a big gunpla fan and builder for a long time now, just got into warhammer over the weekend with a free miniature and paint session. I got hooked with painting and the nice staff asked me to go around the store to look for things to put on the wishlist, my jaws dropped after seeing some of the prices for GW miniatures it was insane. Finally I just caved not buying something so i decided on the paints and tool set for $32 to paint my own gunpla models and its been super fun. I started with a gundam converge that was about 12$, comes already as on with colour good 2-3inch tall model and that has been a blast to paint
@@wangaesins yeah they work hard at those stores and they're always cool, but those prices always make me leave. Nice product but too pricey. Glad you got some paints!
Ive been a gunpla and plamo builder for a long time. Many many decades ago i picked up a full warhammer army. Built them, started painting, then the warhammer scene in my area dissolved and i was left with a hugh pile of plastic which had no value to me and i ended up giving away.
I kept going with Gunpla and Plamo over the years and recently a friend of mine wanted to do warhammer. I pushed back hard because i remembered the amount money i wasted so many years ago. Long story short, i now own a large warhammer army again and my friend who wanted to play, bout an army and never built or painted a thing has lost interest and im left with another pile of plastic i dont have a use for. At least they are well painted and look good on the shelf. But i could have picked up so many diorama supplies and a higher end 3d printer for what i dumped into the warhammer minis
Im a gunpla fan and just recently discovered 40k. I love the detailed models but you are correct they are very overpriced for what you get. Currently i only jave one warhammer model and dozens of gunpla. I would love to get more warhammer models as i love building and painting them but the simple truth is i can get more gundams for my money than warhammer.
@@onixfieroandscalemodelworks yeah same, I want more of their models but that price... Lol
No shit, even as a working professional I somehow felt outpriced by this hobby I once loved.
@@littleBIGrobots been looking around for warhammer starter kits or literally anything cheap just to try it out and there really isn't a ton of options out there. I don't wanna buy a box with 11 different minis to paint but the only other starter kit for cheap I can find is like 25 dollars for 1 marine and tyranid which feels like nothing compared to gunpla
@f91-f97 yeah it can be hard. Try a small tank maybe? Expensive but at least when you're done you will have a vehicle you might be able use with something else?
It seems to me that it's arguably cheaper to get a buncha' JoyToy Warhammer, than actual Warhammer these days. Kinda crazy. Of course, you lose out on the "experience" of painting them yourself. Not that you can't paint them anyway.
@@updatedude true! That's really my main point. The minis are made to be painted, but you can paint anything. You can even buy artist blank toys. I'm curious to see if the 40k minis come down in price ever.
@@littleBIGrobots It's interesting that there's been a surge of WH40K fans "discovering" Gunpla. It means we can finally talk about the elephant in the room, which is that miniatures, but especially GW, are absurdly overpriced when compared with other products. I think we were all too "polite" to really argue the point before, because as fellow hobbyists, we default to supporting each other's hobbies.
It's also a good time to be into Bandai. To tell the truth, 15+ years ago, I would have said that Transformers were the best bang for your buck. They were durable with good joint tolerances, had complex designs that were distinct as well as varied, and hands-down, the best engineering on the market (outside of the Figurise Bicep-Flex Tech). But while Hasbro's increased their pricing to absurd levels in recent years, Bandai's been offering more affordable and accessible products instead.
RG's are not that badly priced and HG have stepped up their game. 30MM are not only casual friendly but much like Moderoids, brings us variety and non-Gundam aesthetics. I know, I know. Gundam fans will forever point to the Ball or Z'Gok as evidence that Gundam has a variety of designs, but come on, 75% of Gundam designs are derivative of the RX-78, 23% are Guncannons or Zaku and the remaining 2% is where you get the weird stuff. Although in recent years, they've really pushed the boundaries. There's nothing wrong with being derivative mind you. But I digress, the point is, Bandai's really upped their offerings these past few years. You don't even have to go to Kotobukiya for your alternatives anymore. I mean heck, 30MM's got the Armored Core license. And we don't even have to pay crazy prices to some garage company for a resin of a Mecha Girl these days.
There's also loads of smaller, 2-3 inch minis that can be easily repurposed for WH40K or even cheapo candy toys in the 3.75 to 4 inch range. It depends on how strict a hobbyist is in regards to the lore. Anywho, sorry about the rambling.
Love both. It’s not even close. Gunpla is leagues above GW’s 40k minis.
Ganes workshop has been overcharging for so long and yet periodically they keep bumping up the prices.
Too bad it still sells so cant expect them to lower them
No previous interest in gunpla. Spent 60 minutes browsing videos and models after watching this. Dammit, Beau.
a.k.a. Ardwulf BTW
@@VoyagesIntoImagination lol nice to see ya man! Don't blame me, blame YOURSELF lol
@@littleBIGrobots Thankfully I didn't buy anything! But these are really very nice.
Been building Gunpla and 40K for over 20 years and they both have their ups and downs. GW's is absolutely price in recent years (it has basically doubled since I started in '01) as well as taking away some of the customization, that I and many others enjoyed, with the current mono pose kits. Bandai however has continued to innovate and improve their kits while keeping the price relatively the same (they just raised the prices recently, but not to GW silliness) in the time I have been in the hobby. Availability of some Gunpla is kinda dumb on Bandai's part (Looking at you P-Bandai) vs GW being far easier to get with far less hard to find kits (Give me my GM Cannon in mainline Banda!).
Personally, I have largely stopped buying GW models as they are just not affordable anymore. My hobby money has been pushed towards Gunpla, Battletech and 3d printing. All way more affordable options over GW (Well, the printer is a heck of a cost up front, but once you have it, print mediums are fairly affordable).
Nice. good to hear from someone who has a lot of experience in both!
Only just started building. Not at the point of painting etc ywt but just starting some panel lining. Been thinking about it for a while but honestly the price was really what got me in. Goty first two (one entey grade and one hogh grade) for literally £18 ($20). Its insane.
@@marcrics yeah it's an accessible hobby for sure! Enjoy!
While I'm mostly too cheap to buy GW stuff and find the engineering of gunpla impressive (based on what I've seen online), I very much prefer the aesthetics of most of GW's stuff. So far it's only the Maschinen Krieger franchise out of the Japanese realm that I've been really interested in. But if there's something like the Death Guard Warhammer 40k-faction made by Japanese manufacturers I'd definitely take a deep look at it.
That digimon is machinedramon
@@HexaDecimus ah, right, thanks! Love that kit
Lego is overpriced too.
@@waynegoddard4065 true that!
@@littleBIGrobotsthe licensing has gotten real wild with Lego, it's what saved em but damn if the prices haven't gotten more inflated with each Disney deals
I love acid rain.
The Digimon would be a great ork mech stompah
@@jacobfoster9185 hell yeah I keep thinking that haha
I think regional pricing is playing a part here. I live in the UK, where WH is created and manufactured. Kits aren't exactly bargains here, but they are a lot cheaper than in the US. From what I have seen, the US warhammer kits are about twice the cost of stuff in the UK. On the flip side, I have started looking into buying my first gunpla this last week (apparently it's the hot topic on YT right now and it looks pretty cool) and I am not finding anywhere in the UK with the prices American youtubers are giving out. The HG kits I've been looking at are £30+ (that's $38.) I am probably looking in the wrong places, but that is only slightly cheaper than a space marine dreadnought (£35 which is $44.6)
P.S. If anyone know where to get gunpla for cheap in the UK please let me know 😅
@@AndrewBater ah, great to know! It's possible the pricing is twice here, which sucks. Try and see if you have a local shop with gunpla, they might be a bit cheaper?
Joy toys and McFarland 40k are not expensive at all and are very articulated and highly detailed and you can get artist ones that come without paint.
@@jacobfoster9185 yeah I have all the MF war figs, other than a few of the newest 3. I've got a joy toy robot there on the shelf you can see. :)
Joy toy is way overpriced. McFarland less so.
@@D3rpp00l Yeah, although they have arguably better paint jobs and sculpts, but given that a tiny 5 inch JoyToy cost more than an 8 inch MF, or even a massive 10 inch MF Ork, the price to plastic ratio feels off. That said, a tiny unassembled and unpainted miniature is still going to cost more than the JoyToy. And they don't even have to pay licensing fees.
No argument from me on paint quality for JT over MF, they are beautiful figures. But that price gap is nonsense. Same for the Bandai figures. $100 USD for a single Marine? Nope, all set Bandai. Gunpla for me.
I personally don't understand how you could even compare the two. Game workshop miniatures are used in a game like setting and aren't just for display purposes. They're all scaled to their game world sizes, I dont want a giant model for x amount of money. It's like comparing coffee to water, they're two completely different beverages. Yes, water will hydrate you and is very inexpensive - but coffee is more expensive and a far more enjoyable experience that makes you feel good while doing it (painting, playing, etc.)
@@zeftlovescats2433 you're right for sure! But I did it for two reasons: 1) Warhammer tubers are comparing them right now, it's the hot new thang and 2) it's a value comparison, showing how the price of plastic and quality of the kits are something to be compared. I'm not really talking style or preferences, just the overall value for each hobby.
Also check out the smaller scales I mention -- the 1/35 Archecore are incredible lil tough space marines, perfect for gaming, and can still be painted. Or the 1/60 scale light year toys or even Rihio kits. For gunpla smaller scale you don't have too many that are around the same RL size of a WH space marine, but there are a million kits I'd have to check. lol
Found the GW employee lmao
@@littleBIGrobots Rihio? I see you are a man of culture.
Oh, I also like Archecore but alas, like WH40K, they feel overpriced.
@@littleBIGrobots But thats still silly. How do you value the time I spend playing a game of warhammer. I could spend an hour building a unit, another 4 hours painting it, and then 30 hours playing with it.
Not to mention that the support for warhammer in terms of other media is larger. It is a more expensive hobby pound for pound but you cant compare the value.
I own both, bro do you even have any MK thats over 5 years?
you see how trash the joints plastics are...they decay and your joints will be super flimsy....honestly prefer warhammer plastic...its sturdy while the japanese model kits feel cheap.
PVCs are better but they got paint problem over time
@@sonofsanguinius176 yeah I started building around 2014, have done around 300 or so kits. I have some MGs that are older and they're still good. But yeah WH plastic is really high quality! I should have talked about the plastic type!
Actually started into it for real around 2012, heres one of my first vids about it. This is still on my shelf today. Lol got a buster Gundam and was just messing with it the other day, it's good so far. th-cam.com/video/VVs-VJ5aGKo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=12s9urb5KrXfRPVu
I am a Warhammer guy who has been watching a lot of Gunpla videos. I think GW value boxes are still relatively fairly priced, & the GW premium is not completely unfair given that we are watching Warhammer grow into such a massive brand with a strong game, lore, media, & community behind it. When you factor in the cost of labor for the entire GW operation, the price makes more sense & I am happy that it is exploding into the mainstream.
It is absolutely a luxury hobby & I don't agree with everything GW does, but it is hard to put a value on the work that all of the artists, writers, & game designers do. Between that staff & the marketing they do, they for sure spend a lot investing into their brand that goes beyond the cost of the plastic & distribution. You alluded to this a little bit when acknowledging that the cheaper toys are often built with cheap foreign labor, but it goes a little beyond that.
also doesn't help that polysterene hard plastic is still a toxic material while in a liquid state and GW is made in the UK. Not like it's made over seas then imported back to GW, so they have to pay people you know actual wages to make the stuff.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 fairly priced
@@sheepfly I wouldn't argue with anyone that disagrees with that, they are expensive no doubt. I'm still fine paying the Amazon prices personally.
Right, I get that if you build a product in a country that has better wages, etc, the product will be more expensive. But that's why I bring up Vietnam or Japan - both countries that are taking some business away from China. There are ways to get the kits cheaper for sure. I admire GW for making it in their own country as well, but that just means it will always be a very niche hobby compared to say, Bandai, who has sold 700 million or so kits. Trust me I don't wish any I'll to GW at all ( I consume it after all) but there is no wonder so many GW fans are discovering other kit makers and going "Wow!"
They can easily work with Bandai and make a 40k Titan set for cheap. The real issue is that 3D printing is getting really good and you can print out a whole army for really cheap. Granted the 3D printer is the more expensive bit but they have a ton of use and you can print out more army's.
Yeah I'm dying for a printer but not sure if I have enough mental bandwidth for more hobbies haha
@littleBIGrobots it can add an additional hobby time. The cost is much better but you mostly get a static pose for a model.
@@bacawaka2813 Mannnnnnnn don't tempt me! Stay away devil! lol I only have so much rooooom!
@@littleBIGrobots 3D Printing's been ramping up in recent years. There may well come a time in the next few years where it's relatively cheap, affordable and fast. I wonder if that'll force GW to try and be more competitive or will they just go around suing people who make .stl available?
Remember, let's say you buy a mini online, it'll arrive to you in say, 24-48 hours. If you had a 3D Printer, even if it takes say, 6 hours for a tiny mini, it's still faster than the 12 to 24 hours minimum for the delivery to arrive.
@@updatedude Yeah I want to get into it for sure. Maybe early next year.