What is Forge World?

I'm sure that the majority of you reading this blog are well aware of what Forge World is. But for those of you who don't, Forge World is basically a subsidiary company of Games Workshop who make a variety of resin models primarily for Warhammer 40K and Horus Heresy.

Forge World make a host of new units, vehicles and monstrous creatures mainly, that expand upon the lore of the forty first millennium including a variety of variations on established vehicles. To coincide with these, the company also releases thick hard cover tomes called Imperial Armour. The Imperial Armour books detail a conflict between the Imperium and one of it's enemies as though the author was writing an historical account, making them some of the most intriguing reads in all of the 40K lore. Contained afterwards are the rules and unit data sheets for those new units and new sub-factions (if any). These books and units are a great addition to the game. But it wasn't always so.

I first became aware of these book and units when I came back to the game during the last half of 40K's 4th edition. At this time my friends and I were happy to include these toys in our armies and frequently Forge World units were a common sight on the gaming table. The problem soon dawned upon us, as I think it did with many 40K players at the time, that these units were way overpowered and frequently under-costed. Slowly we began to see less and less of them as our gaming group started refusing to play against them unless forewarned.

Thankfully times have changed and under 7th edition and now 8th the Forge World units have had quite a revival among the 40K community. Forge World seem to have at last, possibly with Games Workshop's supervision, appropriately costed their units and made them much less overpowered. Forge World models are now a much more common sight on gaming tables and at tournaments.

The problem with Forge World models hasn't always been the strength and points costs of the models. Forge World models are insanely expensive monetarily for resign models. Even just a pack of five Horus Heresy space marines are in the range of £30 to £40 points, while a tank might be between £50 and £100. The Tau Empire even have a super heavy flyer, the Manta, which sells for a £1000! In this day and age there really is no need for it as these could easily be plastic model kits and at a much more reasonable price.

But even with such a hefty cost Forge World continues to be a popular choice for Warhammer players, especially for those who enjoy the Horus Heresy version of the game.