There has been some discussion about why Orks have been released the way they are. An extended release with any codex has been hard, and while a few people I have talked to personally are still picking up the models, it seems that most are waiting until the codex drops before expanding their Ork holdings.
I have a theory on this....................
Please remember that this is an editorial.
Games Workshop has said in the past that they believe models drive sales, not rules. That said, put out excellent models like this week's Flash Gitz, throw down some basic information about what they will do, and they will sell and everyone will be happy.
I think this release is a test of that theory. Slow down the release, push the codex back several weeks to focus on releasing a few box kits, and that will be what the hobbyists want.
Personally I think its the other way around. Yes, some people buy the models because they are just cool, but they have to be super cool models for that. I have always felt that this is above all else a game. A tabletop war game. With that rules are important, and of course the models become important as well, but Ive seen people over my time in this hobby proxy anything they can find (even soda cans) to play the game.
Now I know that this is a wide hobby, and I love that about it. We all come from our own perspectives and use the hobby differently. But do the models really dominate the sales simply by being there and being nice models? This is what I think Games Workshop is testing.
I think the Ork codex, being the first codex in 7th edition may just be the testing ground to see if its Models over rules, or rules over models. Obviously GW thinks its models first, and the codex can come several weeks (3 or possibly even 4) after the first model releases.
What do you think?