Games Workshop alternatives - how to choose the best ones?
Generally speaking, some particular mechanisms exist in our world. Once a company becomes well-known, most popular, or even best at what it does, the value of its work usually grows. Although such a process is highly desired by almost every firm, from our point of view - customers' point of view - it isn't a piece of cake. We might cheer our favorite company and fall in love with their products, but constant price elevations (and sometimes a slight decrease in the quality of product simultaneously) may one day become too much for some.
The case described above can be a suitable reference to the current situation of Games Workshop - producer of our beloved wargames like Warhammer 40k or Horus Heresy. That is why more and more firms try to attract customers with their own products - miniatures, bits, and even whole vehicles "similar" to the ones from the Games Workshop factory. These can be easily used as alternatives. Finally, we at Kromlech - as one among many - also do our best to meet the needs of all wargaming enthusiasts.
Alternatives to Games Workshop that will save you money
Saving your money is almost forged in the term “alternatives.” That’s because it’s a common practice that such parts, models, and everything else is more affordable than the primary products. After all, the price attracts most players to decide on alternative wargaming parts.
A wide range of different conversion parts grants almost infinite possibilities for the customization of your models, such as tanks, etc.
It’s good to remember that it’s a typical case but not the only one. It isn’t always like that - sometimes, a specific alternative’s price can match or surpass the value of the model it’s imitating. It may happen when the company producing the alternative focuses on making a complete, high-quality product, and its “alternativity” is just a bonus during the designing stage.
If the primary intent isn’t to create an alternative, and it happens somehow “by the way,” then the producer doesn’t look at his creation as an alternative in the first place. He doesn’t force it to be cheaper than a similar model from another company at all costs. He gives it a price fitting the materials, work, and everything else that was a part of the creation process. Then it’s up to us - the customers - to decide which model we like more and how we feel about the price we need to pay.
Alternatives offering a wider variety of elements
Sometimes a particular alternative can offer even more parts or elements than the primary model. On the other hand, it may also happen that there will be a set of parts, which could be add-ons to some miniature, even though such parts aren’t a part of this specific model. The reasons for those odd situations could be numerous.
When you walk into a case such as these stated above - and you need to know “why?” - it’s a good idea to check the system from which the figure originates. Reviewing the rules, you can find that a character the model is portraying may have special weapon or equipment options that weren’t included in the final product. And that is - obviously - a chance for other firms. If the one producing the miniature wasn’t interested in adding such (significant, after all) parts, then the others might pick up a glove and design a specific set, which will be highly anticipated by the players wishing to add those parts to their models.
Remember that the parts or kits we wrote about earlier can take various forms. Lately, 3D printing of such extras has become an often-used practice. That is why we highly recommend looking at our Kromlech 3D Workshop offer. Who knows - maybe you’ll find some valuable add-ons your models are missing.
Benefits of choosing an alternative
The natural benefit of choosing an alternative is more diversity within your army. You avoid deploying the same or similar-looking troops and make your force more good-looking and exciting.
Nowadays, finding desired bits for your models is easy because of many various ways of affording them - 3D printing is a perfect example here
The second benefit of using an alternative is an expansive cafeteria of possibilities. It may happen that the faction you’re playing (for example, in some Games Workshop systems) doesn’t have much variety regarding the troops’ choice. Thanks to the existence of alternatives, you can always deploy such models next to the original ones - if these happen to be a great alternative, then it may be that some players won’t even notice that.
Another great benefit of alternatives is that they give you access to solutions that one producer may not even think about. An interesting example can be our gaming accessories. This handy equipment - like tokens, markers, templates, and so on - can significantly improve your game’s comfort. Nonetheless, many companies producing wargames don’t offer such things.
The benefits above aren’t the only ones, but they undoubtedly are the most significant. Nonetheless, for some, they still aren’t much in opposition to possessing a complete collection of miniatures exclusively made by one producer. After all, it depends on your most appealing solution, but it’s good to remember that some people aren’t keen on alternatives.
How to find the best alternative to Games Workshop?
The answer to the question stated above isn’t straightforward. That is because it depends on several things. Firstly, it depends on which faction you play. Some firms (like ours) focus on models and parts dedicated to one particular faction. That is why - when looking for some ork alternatives - you should check our webstore.
Nonetheless, we expand our range of products as much as possible. Thanks to that, you can also find at Kromlech some alternatives for fantasy dwarves, futuristic, space marine-like Legionaries, Daemons, and noble elven space voyagers (with more factions still to come in our offer).
Another critical condition required to answer the question above is what kind of alternatives you seek. As we stated earlier, many things dedicated to wargames can have their alternatives. For example, you can look for some models, parts to these models, or even completely different stuff like bases (which can be found in our modeling and basing category - in many shapes and forms) or terrain. In the context of the last one, great landscape pieces can be built from sets offered by Tabletop Scenics.
Research before settling on a store
One more thing which should be said is to stay safe. Always check if the site you’re browsing is secure. Unfortunately, many online shops on the Internet are frauds that rely on unwary buyers. If you spot something strange on any website, you better think twice before you decide to leave some of your money there.
What’s more, you better look at several sites before buying anything. It may happen that one shop will keep their prices a little too high. After all, why should you overpay? Keep that in mind.