I didn't do any panic buying either, having long switched over to other sources for almost everything. I did manage to resist getting any more FW fliers though. I have since bought some Onslaught OTC with proceeds from selling a bunch of WFB Skaven, and am going to expand it with more Onslaught and some Firestorm Armada Aquan ships for flyers, at least until OTC flyers arrive.

How has it changed my hobby? Well, not much and lots.

My own views are that we are finally free of the chains that continued support shackled us with - in terms of model selection, the baggage that I know I had from 'supporting' a GW game when I feel the company has strayed so far from where I'd personally like them to be, and in the way our (NetEA, but also all other Epic communities) efforts were seen by some as nothing more than fan lists.

Now we have new companies filling the gaps left by GW with minis that don't look like 15 year old gummy bears at an increasing rate. We have freedom over the inclusion of new units or even races into the game engine we love. And we can develop our lists to the best of our abilities without the sword of 'officialdom' over our heads.

Now my gaming group are all between where I am in my relationship to GW - I simply decided I didn't need them anymore, and could do better, but harbor no real ill will - and the rabid vitriol of a relationship that went bad and has never had any real closure. Ironically it seems the more anger and the less closure, the more wedded to official models and lists my friends are. Thus the loss of SG means more to them. I have recently aquired around 75k of Epic across 5 armies, in part to keep things 'in the family', and in part so I can poke people for the occasional game when I need it. I do need to do some legwork in recruiting new players for regular play though.

So I'm not doing much different, and with more freedom and choices to boot, but with a smaller playerbase locally. It's liberating but frustrating that SG is gone, but overall I don't really miss it.

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Hi!

I did a LOT of panic buying, but it was in 1999 when epic 40k was officially canned and GW online was selling off everything at ludicrously low prices.

I got leman russ blisters (3 per pack) for 2 dollars (regular price 9.99), great gargants for 5 dollars (regular price 29.99). Infantry boxes for 9.99 (regular price 19.99). If you had the cash you could have bought "primarchloads" of epic in the time between April 1999 (GW official kills epic 40k) and the end of the summer of that year).

I can sincerely tell you I could not get enough of it. Every since delivery I felt that I was getting "all that would ever be" regarding epic. Its a strange feeling.

I was still a resident in training though and I could get the numbers I really wanted. Had the demise been two years later i could have probably bought their whole stock!

I think a lot of us have done this sort of thing at one time or another. It all depends on when you though epic "died".

Primarch

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Primarch


The Primarchload
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Every time Epic gets cancelled, I walk away with literally a shopping bag full of stuff. At the close of third edition, when it was being removed from GW stores, they sold off all blisters at 1GBP each, and the double plastic sprues at 1.50GBP each online. When I got to the counter at the GW, the poor guy gave up counting at 60GBP and just rounded it up. I still have most of that stuff unassembled!



I only realised it after reading your post and looking back, but the thing that this made me do was actually open all of my stuff. I have boxes and boxes of stuff, still sealed or on their sprues, stored away. With the death of the range, I didnt panic buy (by the time I thought I should maybe pick something up, everything that I wanted was gone) but I did realise that what I have now I will probably never sell, because I love the game enough to treasure the stuff that I have if it cant now be replaced. Admittedly, part of this was moving country and having to compact it all down to put into storage, but the end of the range was a big factor in me thinking 'OK, I want to be able to play this game when I want, for many years, without getting bored of the same army every time'.

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Hehe. It seems they couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

I remember getting all sorts of "freebies" when I made a phone order. It was crazy.



That's the same reason I still have all lot of stuff in its original packaging. Some of it is so old the adhesive that holds the blisters together has lost its cohesion.

I too get very nostalgic and attached when I look at everything. There's a lot of "they don't make this anymore" going through my mind.

I'm glad that I still have it all though. I'm experiencing a bit of a "epic revival" nowadays. That makes me happy I'm still party of the hobby.

Primarch

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Primarch


The Primarchload
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I am used to panic buys by now. I ordered a lot, but I do have some gatherer genes to tend to. I honestly hope to put most armies together and paint them, some day...

On the other hand, it is all the new ranges spurting up all over the globe with so many talented designers that really fuel my interest right now. You will all hear from me this fall.

/Fredmans

i panicked bought Warmaster. Calm and slow with Epic and almost missed out on Orkeasaures. Missed on the Steam Gargants.

I had just finished collecting the last of my Warmaster (minus one blister of Saurus Warriors I'm still looking for!) So I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd finished my collection of BFG years and years ago.

I've had a dirtside army that's a combination of GW, BattleTech, and GZG. It's been my go-to army for years, and DS2 is my go-to system. But when Epic was going away I started to think about my mothballed minis from years ago.

Back in the Day (tm) when Trollboss Bob ruled the roost on the GW website, GW screwed up an order and sent me a vast supply of 40k models (ironically a game I don't collect!) I called them up and they sent me a UPS label and I sent it back. A few weeks later, I received a package in the mail: a vast collection of E40k and Warmaster blisters. The warmaster stuff became the basis of my collection, and most of the Epic stuff went to friends who play. I kept a small eldar force for kicks. A little ended up converted for use in my Dirtside army. And a few of my favorite models got stashed away-- mostly IG and SM.

Flash forward thirteen years, and I saw Primarch's collection on TMP. That got me thinking about a nagging interest in getting into EA. So here I am. I've been on the SG forums for a long time, and lurked here every once in a blue moon, but the end of SG and Primarch's collection were the kick in the pants I needed to get into it.

Wellspring we're glad you're here mate

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Yes welcome Wellspring!

The ending wasn't that traumatic for me when it comes to epic I basically had everything I wanted from them except for the FW warhounds which was my sole buy in the panic rush. What makes me more sad is BFG going, I have really wanted to buy a FW Tau fleet for BFG. It's a game I don't really play anymore though so couldn't justify [read get my wife to approve] buying the whole fleet at once. Now I'll never have the chance

"Now I'll never have the chance"

I read that a lot nowadays when referring to GW and Specialist Games.

Sad.

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Tau Empire, Mymeara Eldar, Tallarn Desert Raiders

I panic bought and splurged about 2 years hobby budget in a month! thanks to Jimmyzimms who helped me get the final pieces for my eldar and imperial armies!

I actually think it's a very bad thing to panic buy, I was crazy bidding on ebay orc and goblin WM auctions, now after the dust has settled, I've discovered alternative models which are every bit as good, as well as alternative companies to support I'm glad I didn't burn even more money now!

All-in-all I'm reasonably comfortable at the moment, it will be harder for new players to get involved in epic, especially if they're coming across from other GW systems and struggle to work with proxy armies, but I'm hopeful that things will look up in future....

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This. Totally this.

If the game is going to survive, we need to make it easy for new players to get in, but we also need to make sure that the manufacturers and local game stores are supported as well. It's really nice to see that many of the 6mm manufacturers are following the lead of the 15mm sci fi companies in being supportive of one another. In this niche of an already niche hobby, companies have much more to gain by working together to expand the hobby than they do by competing head-on.

Panic bought a whole IG army, spent about £250. We very rarely play epic but the thought that it was going for good was enough to motivate me, plus I have a large eldar army and when my son is older I will need an army for him.

Hi!

I'm glad my efforts motivated your enthusiasm to get into epic once. I feel my task of unpacking, documenting and posting it an endeavor well spent due to a post like yours.

My thanks to you sir and have loads of fun!

Primarch

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Primarch


The Primarchload
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I didn't do any panic buying, mainly because of the cost. I just couldn't justify buying GW's overpriced minis. I did receive a few E:A minis, mainly the SM Landing Craft, as a gift, but they were bought with an employee discount.

For the most part it really doesn't bother me that GW pulled the plug on Epic. I have plenty of minis to last me a lifetime and even if I feel the need to add to my collection, there are plenty of fine companies producing some pretty sweet 6mm minis. Plus, the Epic community here in the Northeast is active. GW's lack of support has no affect on my enthusiasm for Epic.

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart