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I just bought two packs (= 4 warhounds) a couple of months ago via the phone.
The story that follows, I am sure has been told by others also, but, when I called Forgeworld and was talking to the 'troll' (gw used to call them mail order trolls in hapier times) he said that the warhounds are the ONLY Epic (non-aeronautic) that Forgeworld would continue to caste/repair mold for etc. Everything else (non-Aeronautic) would be sold until gone then would just disappear. He also stated that the Warhounds would only be available via phone, and that you had to call and ask what they had.
So, I would guess that Warhounds are not OOP but 'off the list'.
A very vauge reference was made to the possibility of 'mistakes' (eg. whatever the staff wanted on a whim, etc.) and other 'stuff' laying about, that 'might' be available (if you knew what to ask for, he wasn't volunteering, you know the typical 6mm 'drug deal/contraband' mystique). I actually bought two packs of Krootox and Kroothounds at that time. They were the off white brittle resin, and looked like they had been laying in a box for years.
When asked why Forgeworld was abandoning Epic, he said, "we are so busy, and make so much money selling our giant 28mm++ Hummels (ok, I made the Hummel part up) that we simply do not have the time nor see any reason to go through the time consuming effort of making a slow selling item such as Epic"
When asked if they made money off of Epic, he said, "it's not even comparable, and not worth their time". (if you read GW's investor relation documents, around 2005-2006 Kirby (I believe) clearly states they will not compete with themselves by producing products that compete with their 'core' games, direct reference was made to 6mm and the failure of Epic to garner market share after considerable investment in sculpting new figures)
I suppose if GW can find customers to pay them 100+USD for one 28mm scale tank can you blame them? Any time spent away from that is (to the board) like ignoring the 'golden goose' and it mathematically makes sense in Capitalist wonder world, even if you do end up alienating a few 1000 customers here and there.
It's sad, when one considers the main reason Epic lost it's market (which, granted, would always be a smaller percentage due to the reality that 6-8mm is not as visually appealing as 'heroric' 28mm) is because GW kicked it to the kerb, and kicked it out of stores, provides no coverage, and never introduce new product. In GW's defence, it looks like the business plan is working.
The only licesee that would probably ever stand a chance to get Epic (and perhaps the only business entity already contractually entitled to it) may be Fantasy Flight Games, and they would basically turn it into a card game with pre-painted Chinese miniatures of (probably) a different scale. Guess the status quo might not be so bad.
Oh well, long story short, Forgeworld Warhounds available via phone orders.
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