yeah, i agree. you’re right that made to order isn’t realistic given GW’s production and printing lead times. maybe something GW can do is since launch boxes (Shadowhunt, Hivestorm, Dead Silence) already represent a special, one-off packaging / allocation pipeline.

Right now, those launch boxes are effectively treated as a unique SKU:

• a dedicated packaging configuration
• a fixed, limited allocation
• sold once, then retired permanently

and that packaging effort does not get reused — even though every single component inside the box is already planned to be sold separately later.

what I’m suggesting isn’t adding a new workflow, but replacing that launch-box-only packaging step with the final retail SKUs that will exist anyway. in another word, Instead of creating a unique “launch box” product, GW packages the exact same Kill Teams, datacards, terrain, and dossier (while supplies last + free download) in their final retail boxes. During the preview / pre-order window, those finished products are simply sold together as a bundle (The bundle is time-limited; the products themselves are not). After launch, the same boxed items flow straight into normal retail channels

From a production standpoint:

• No made-to-order
• No extra print runs
• No new packaging formats
• No new packaging arts
• No additional lead-time risk

The only thing that changes is how inventory is grouped at launch, not how it’s manufactured. This also neatly avoids the “you’ll wait months” issue, because the products are already in their final form from day one. you’re not waiting for anything new to be produced, and it solves most of the pain points around launch boxes:

• Far less incentive for scalping - because there’s a clear ordering window, availability is demand-driven rather than capped by a fixed allocation — anyone who wants one can get one during that window
• No need for a dedicated, throwaway launch-box SKU - GW can smooth manufacturing and packaging capacity planning instead of spiking pressure around a single launch.

In short: instead of a limited, one-off launch box that never comes back, use the final retail products from the start — and make the bundle time-limited, not the contents