# Unit Size



## Nipolian (Nov 4, 2009)

Why is it that GW sells guys in packs of horable numbers 

Ex A unit of guys is normaly fielded in units of 20 so GW sells them in packs of 16 what the hell

Is this just an other way for GW to make money off of us or is there an actual reason be hind this.

Personaly i find it a cheap way for them to get more money off of us. i think there is a unit that they sell in unit sizes of 19 - that really sucks!!!!!!!!!

So post you thoughts about this situation


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## Ascendant Valor (Jan 3, 2009)

Who says what unit size is best? Your preferred unit may be 20 models, but I may prefer 16 in mine, so that box is perfect.

The flaw in your argument is you're making the assumption that there is only ONE way to assemble a certain unit. We can sometimes agree that certain units should be composed in a certain way, but that's a very subjective, limited view. A prevalent concept to WFB is the individuality that we can apply to whatever we value about the hobby. This is why it's always a point of contention for GW (at least I would imagine it would be) to determine such details as unit box contents and sizes, batallion/battleforce contents, and so forth. They just make a decision that works for them (often based on sprue sizes - 4 sprues with 4 models on each sprue tend to make 16 models).

Cliffnotes: box contents are determined by a conscious decision, often informed by material supply (read: sprue size).


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Most of those boxes came out when ranks were four-wide, rather than five-wide. So the multiples of four made more sense for a box then.


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## Wolf_Lord_Skoll (Jun 9, 2008)

Aye and 4x4 (16 men) was the "20 men" units of that edition. Minimum number of models to get a full +3 Rank bonus.


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## Blue Liger (Apr 25, 2008)

No as said before the old rank was 4 strong across


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## Kale Hellas (Aug 26, 2009)

no because of the 4 ranks thing and if they made units of 20 instead of 16 they would probably put the prices up ridiculously (more ridiculously anyway)


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## matty570 (Jun 14, 2007)

Yes and no there are some unusual numbers in some boxes and command bilsters usually have all three in there and you might not want to use all three, but lets be honest it's not really a problem and I dont think they've actively sat down and thought I know how I can get customers to buy more.

Although one frustration was that I only wanted 5 fell bats, but had to buy 6... Damn them


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## officer kerky (Jun 12, 2008)

yes GW do seem to scam us these days.

at the start of the year the IG cadian and catachan troopers used to be 20 guys for $50 now its 10 guys for $35 now you can't say that is a profit for us.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Funniest ones I know about are gnoblar trappers- sold in blisters of either 4 or 7 when the min unit size is 8... Doh


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## Blue Liger (Apr 25, 2008)

My favourite though is though elite units that they sell in blisters of 1 when the max unit size is around 5 and the fact that 1 of them is just plain useless - a fine example of this is a Warhawk rider of the Wood Elves - yes we can take 1 as a squad but who would do that when they cost so much for 1 already and the enemy will be like ooh free points.


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## stevenhassell (Aug 5, 2009)

Guys! there is a simple answer to this and if you think about it its proabably this. the molds in the machine that pours is set for a size of 16 modles probably. if you notice that all the sprus regardless if its 40k or fantasy are basicly the same size. thats be cause the, lets say, 10,000 dallor machine is set to recive different molds but only a certan amount at a time can be poured. now do you think games work shop went out and bought new redesigned machines and assembely line, so you can have a box of 20? insted of 16? which is what they used for the 15 years before they changed it to a 5 rank in lue of a 4 rank. and dont forget the GW is a buisness and as far as growth gose over the years GW is not growing like microsoft, its relativly a small company in the buissness world. I would rather pay alittle more for the hobby i love than to see it go under and then disapier. GW is doing what it can do to survive in this econmey and its not easy for somthing not so maine stream as gamming is. this is what i think at least i may be way off and its only a guess, but i refuse to put GW in the BIG brother out to screw the man jondra.


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## Warlord Imp (Mar 20, 2009)

I guess 16 was the old 20...


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## Nipolian (Nov 4, 2009)

Im not saying they should go out and by new machines but maybe sell them in unit sizes more compatible to the 20 man block for example 10 (and of corse they would be cheaper to)


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## stevenhassell (Aug 5, 2009)

> Im not saying they should go out and by new machines but maybe sell them in unit sizes more compatible to the 20 man block for example 10 (and of corse they would be cheaper to)


well then they would have to change their assembly line to fit the diferrent packing. if GW is Fully atomated then this would very costly. but if it is a maned line it wont be as costly but will still requiare a cost in change, IE the guy making minimum wage now has to break the sprues down to a diffrent number. not to mention GW will have to trash all the printed boxes in storage for boxes of 16 men of arms, for the new 20 men of arms boxes, how would you feel to throw away $10,000 of all ready bought packaging if it were your small company? there is a very biger picture to changing a product output that you guys are not seeing. now if you notice some of there newer boxes are coming out in gourps of 20 IE the new gobos. so gw is making the change with there newer product but im sure thier is alot that we dont know. In the end im sure that their not thinking to stick it to the customer


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## astornfleshlay (Apr 1, 2009)

I don't know what the heck you guys are talking about!

Take this example:

Units used to get rank bonuses when units were 4 wide, so they made you buy 16 to get full ranks (makes sense)

Now it's 5 wide, so you need 20. Why would they sell boxes of 16 still?

People argue that there are 4 models per sprue
4 models x 4 sprues = 16
Gotcha

But guess what? Add another sprue and that box = 20 models (I don't know why people haven't clued into this yet or, at the very least, vocalized it in this thread)
4 models x 5 sprues = 20

And if anyone says they couldn't fit another sprue in a current unit box...well, you're just lying to yourself

We have a cow here (They're milking us for what they can get!) :grin:

Just something for everyone to think about


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