"Curse You Games Workshop"!

In these modern times, it's rare that one gets a chance to quote the great American philosopher, Snoopy, but the current situation seems to be appropriate.  Neither my son or I play any GW games, we don't collect their mini's and we rarely use their paints.  I do, however, use their washes and I use them a lot.  The GW washes worked for me and made my mediocre painting acceptable.  I have many a Roman Legionnaire tarted up with "Gryphon Sepia" for that nice in-the-feild rusted armor look.  There are nameless 15mm Flames of War infantry figures that look like I actually did paint all their webbing due to a liberal dousing of "Devlan Mud".  I could go on, but the point is that is all in the past as it seems the wash line has been discontinued.  I shall pause here while you wipe the tears from your eyes...  

Now that you have composed yourself we can continue.

It seems the marketing geniuses over at GW have decided to reconfigure the paint line with new names and product lines and to mask a price increase.  Your not paying more for that bottle of "Bubonic Brown" (which is what I use for the hulls of my 1/1200 British Napoleonic Ships), your paying a fair price for the new and improved premium brand of "Zamesi Desert".  Oh these GW executives must be very smart lads, indeed, because the business world is just chock full of examples where a staple type of consumable product was successfully re-branded.  Lets see... there's um "Pepsi Crystal", well no that didn't really work.  Ummm there's the "Ford Edsel" - no wait that wasn't quite right.  Oh here we go - how about "New Coke"  hold on we don't see too much of that these days.  If one totes up the wins and losses theres typically a 15-20% chance for success from a consumable consumer re-branding launch.  One should be in very desperate straights before making this type of bet.

Why am I babbling on so much about something so trivial?  Is it because as a middle-aged wargamer, I am set in my ways and react to change the same way a creationist reacts when they find out they're a direct descendant of Charles Darwin after a cursory trip to Ancestory.com?  Are my histrionics due to being too lazy to take the time to figure out that washes have re-labeled as another line (perhaps as glazes)?.  Is my inner angst driven by being a member of a societal sub-group that pursues a fringe activity which might be viewed as silly?  Is it because I'm just a pain-in-the-***?

Of course the answer to all those question is a resounding "YES!" but that's not the point.

What is the point is I'm now faced with a stark choice.  Actually adapt to the new environment or retreat back into my survival Vault (made by Vault-Tec, of course) where I shall spend the days husbanding my dwindling supply of washes until that fateful hour they run out and I am forced to re-emerge into a desolate post-apocolytic world that was driven into chaos by the lack of citadel paints.  I think you know which path I must take.  If you want to join me in the Vault that's fine, but the admission price is two pots of "Devlan Mud" and don't try to substitute the blue or purple washes - who the heck uses those?

:)