Games Workshop Introducing Space Marine Heroes Range To Japan
July 31, 2017 by brennon
It looks like Games Workshop is trying to krak their way into the Japanese market with Warhammer 40,000 as the website for Space Marine Heroes launched recently.
The idea of the range is that they are all cheap to pick up and work as 'blind buys' meaning that you'll not know what you've got until you crack open the box. The first wave of models that you can see above brings together a squad of Tactical Space Marines and we've included some of them below.
All of the models that they are bringing out are single pose so there's no fiddling around too much for those who just want to dip their toe into the world.
All of the models also have a backstory which you can follow along with over on their Space Marine Heroes website. You will be able to delve into some of the details about each of them, perfect for those looking to design a kill team.
Interestingly these Space Marines are all the more typical design that folks will be used to rather than the new Primaris that have hit over the last couple of months. This is also a range which is exclusive to Japan right now and I don't imagine we'll see them coming across to Europe and America anytime soon.
With them being Series #1 could we also see them branching out to include other races and units from Warhammer 40,000?
Thanks to @redben for spotting this and community member @dawfydd as well.
Do you think this is going to work in Japan?
"The idea of the range is that they are all cheap to pick up and work as 'blind buys'..."
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Those are nice versions of classic marines. that said what I do wonder is why these are Japan exclusive.
I hate the concept of blindly buying stuff, but I do like the models for their variety.
Then again … it they are cheap enough it’s worth a shot.
(dear god, I hope I’m not giving GW any ideas … )
Indeed…… that is why I refrained from commenting on the Whiz Kids, D&D boxes (I mean … I don’t REALLY like to sound like a broken record)……..Oops I commented …… blast
We can do you get doublers (unless I get al the good ones of course 😉
It does work with the packet legomen – you see them listed (as an opened non-blind buy afterwards – though probably £500 each knowing uk ebay sellers…)
I meant so say that we can do swaps
Heh 😉
Nice Marines, really like the sergeant but I thought GW was already selling them, considering they were shown in Warhammer Community article on the 31st of May.
Interesting. And weird, too.
They are interchangeable it seems. Also, I don’t get why they wouldn’t reshape the proportions a bit. After all, they need to be good looking compared to the regular guys (Primaris these days) and they already did make them a tad taller, right? The thighs just look far too slim.
Hobby link Japan has them listed at approx 45mm when assembled.
So they should be taller than a primaris even if that 45 mm includes the base.
I wonder if these guys are in those gashapon vending machines or are they being released in toy shops or modeling stores? Also wondering what the price per figure is? The whole blind bag thing has become very popular even here in the states. One of the stores near me has quarter of an aisle just with blind bags.
It looks like the price converts to a little over £5.
That’s not much more than a lego minifigure – I’d imagine that they would have Tesco in mind rather than gw stores if they tried it here.
If you look here (https://war-of-sigmar.herokuapp.com/bloggings/1978) at the second picture on the left is something like a Rhino they are probably sold in that one in stores, but who knows maybe you can get them in vending machines too.
Price listed there is higher though but I don’t know which one is rght.
https://www.facebook.com/Warhammer.Harajuku/posts/981005158709387
fantastic looking marines.
I think they also come with a choice of heads as in bare or helmeted per mini.
Very tempted by these especially if their similar in size to the tall marines I’ve converted.
Collectables and randomised purchases are a very big thing in Japan. However, this is a very different aesthetic to the other such pieces on the market there. It’s a good design and marketing choice but I think it may still struggle to establish itself outside of the gaijin market, at least initially.
I love these. Iconic, characterful and not covered in tabards, cloaks, skulls and bling. And at proper “40k” scale.
Is there more Space Marine comics/animations coming? I can see that tying into a marketing strategy that’d maybe appeal to the Akihabara regulars.
Lost all interest at blind buy. If they were blisters maybe, blind buy forget it! Than again I don’t live in Japan so my opinion doesn’t matter 🙂 It is a very different market. Best of luck!
Asia is very much the next frontier for GW. So I am not surprised that they will be bringing out these gateway products to increase their visibility in the market.
I actually think this product is more aimed at vendors not end customers. A vendor that is more familiar with the 40k universe is more likely to sell their full range.
I kinda wish we had a more Japanese stylized version to be honest.
Not to say they look bad. Just would be sweet to see how a retro-metal Japanese 40k Space Marine would look like.
I have to say, this is where I really struggle with GW. I want to like them these days, and they almost had me with 8th edition. Reasonable price great looking set. Then out come the special characters at $60AU a pop … Wow .. too much for a single plastic for me … the justification I hear is .. there isn’t many of them and they are special sculpts. Then I see there “Alternative limited edition sculpts and they say they are going to be cheap. Contradictions like this cause me to be very sceptical. If they can produce… Read more »
I’ve gone through this whole thread and no one has posted this link yet? https://m.imgur.com/t/warhammer_40k/JyDVK. Beyond brilliant, absolutely beyond brilliant.