This is a sour topic in my opinion. So lets just get that out that this is one of those things I really believe turns the community. "Limited while stocks last" for a new product is very frustrating for the community.
It brings back the bad memories of the Void Shield Generator. It is able to be fielded in groups of up to 3, was a high costed oversized model, and gone in minutes. It shut down the site, made it impossible to order, unless of course you were buying it second hand off of ebay.
Now we are back to this with the Plasma Obliteator. All the sites were near impossible to navigate when they went up for pre-order, and some people somehow managed to beat the system and get 10+ in the few minutes there were available.
It would be interesting to sit in a board room meeting when this is discussed, because I really want to know the reasoning behind these releases. Are these supposed to be models for the game? or not?. If so what is up with these shooting from the hip releases. Obviously they would of sold a lot of them regardless during pre-orders, and continue with the sales down the road over the next few weeks.
these types of releases really sour everyone that is even aware that they happened. After-all there is no advertising or mention of what is going to be up for pre-order beyond sites like mine. Not everyone in the community spends time online.
Regardless of this, limited edition items that are supposed to be a part of the game, and have rules, should never be limited to an event or hour of online time. Perhaps a cool better looking version of a model could be limited like this... but not something like a Void Shield Generator, or a Plasma Obliterator.
I have no real problem with collector editions, special limited runs on codices, etc. The people that want them, or collect these can get them. They are however not getting any game advantages, or access to special rules within these special edition runs. This is not the case with the Voidshield Generator and now the Plasma Obliterator.
Of course there are rumors out there that we will see a Voidshield Generator coming. This to me is an afterthought, a way to calm the masses that still feel betrayed with these types of releases.
Next time GW when you are doing a run like this...... give us a standard Plasma Obliterator for everyone, and if you want to do something cool..... make a limited edition Adeptus Mechanicus Plasma Obliterator (cool model, but with the same rules as the standard version.)