I live in Little Rock and I've been to MidSouth Hobbies once or twice. I don't remember much about the staff but they had a great selection of stuff.
Here I am back in this thread. Why? Because participating in the conversation earlier reminded me how much I missed painting miniatures. So I logged on to the GW site and purchased some paints and a few skeleton miniatures! Woot! After nearly a decade I'm going to be getting back in the saddle.
Why do I think GW is a good business? I'm glad you asked.
#1. They've been profitable for many years, even when other similar businesses have failed.
I don't think there's any doubt that GW has been largely profitable for about 35 years now. While this isn't the only rubric we might use for measuring success, I think we can all agree that any business that can be described as good must be a profitable business. GW has managed to bury much of their competition over the years. I used to love a game called Warzone and Chronopia which were published by Target Games back in the 1990s. Unfortunately, Target Games went out of business in 1999 or 2000 and with it those two games. FASA was the maker of the popular Battletech and they went under as well though the game lives on, sort of. I grew up painting Ral Partha miniatures and they also went under back in the first part of the 21st century. I started playing WH in part because I figured they would be in business 10 years later.
#2. They make excellent miniatures/models.
GW's products are easy to assemble and they look great. (Okay, not all of them look great.) Furthermore, the miniatures are of comparable price to most other companies. A box of 20 skeleton warriors costs $24.75 ($2.48 each) from GW's Vampire Counts army list. I can buy a pack of 3 skeleton spearmen from Reaper Miniatures for $8.49 ($2.83 each). The GW skeletons are customizable including options for a musician and a bannerman. The Reaper spearmen are all the same and if I wanted a skeleton drummer it would cost me $4.99 for that figure alone. From Foundry Miniatures I can get a pack of 20 skeleton warriors for $56.15 ($2.80 each).
A box of mounted Black Knights from the Vampire Counts army range from GW is $29.75 for 5 ($5.95 each). The cheapest equivalent I found with Reaper Miniatures was the Deathrider which costs $9.99 for a single figure. I found no such equivalent from Foundry Miniatures. I think you get a lot of value for the price of Citadel miniatures.
#3. Games are regularly updated.
Some people complain about planned obsolescence. Rules updates are generally a good thing because they address complaints that players have and ultimately improve the over all game play. Citadel Minis purchased in the 1980s are still useable today. If I wanted to use a squad of Squats in my Imperial army I can still do so today even if they are officially extinct. Of course, they'd be regular Imperial troops. If I wanted to use the very first Space Marine miniatures sold they are still good to be used in my I can still use them. Any game of this type will need the rules to be updated on occasion to make sure everything balances as well as possible (lofty goal that isn't always achieved).
Criticisms of GW.
#1. Price. Yeah, their miniatures are a good deal I think. However, it takes a lot of money to even get started playing Warhammer. Let's say you want a Vampire Counts army. The rule book is $75 plus about $40 for the Vampire Army book. So before you've even bought a miniature you've already spent $115. A Vampire Counts battalion costs $115 three regular units plus 1 vehicle type unit. So before we even start playing the game you're out $230. (I'm not counting painting supplies as that's a cost any miniatures game will have included.)
#2. Tertiary games not always well supported.
My favorite GW games were Mordheim, Necromunda and Blood Bowl. These games are only marginally supported these days by their "Specialist Games" brand.
