This thing is absolutely monstrous in every way. From the gigantic title, to the thousand plus pages, to the hefty price tag, Games Workshop seems to want to make it clear that they are still very much the Big Fish in the miniatures pond. This beast is the size of a large phonebook
The catalog contains listings, by faction, for Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000, GW's flagship games. The models for each army are broken up by troop type. Each of these listings contains codes and prices for the models and for each individual part. Many of the ranges also have "classic" (out of production) models listed for those with bad taste, er, I mean those who are feeling nostalgic. Yeah, nostalgic. Most armies have a couple pages devoted to color guides and painted examples from various Golden Demon winners, the 'Eavy Metal Team, and GW staffers spread throughout (Welcome to the company son. We don't actually pay you, but we'll put your figures in our magazines! How's that sound?).
In addition to the mainstream games, Lord of the Rings, and the specialist range (Warmaster, Inquisitor, BFG, Mordheim, Necromunda, Bloodbowl, and Epic) also get plenty of attention.
Interspersed with the models are brief painting and modeling guides. They are very, very basic. If you can figure out which end of the brush the paint goes on, you probably won't pick up anything useful. Don't expect too much in this department.
Although billed as "Complete", the catalog unfortunately isn't. And I'm not just talking squats here. There are many, many models not included. The catalog essentially contains the current and preceding generations of models, but nothing prior (the exception being the space marine range). With a thirty year history, there is a whole lot of "prior." One would venture a guess that many of the old molds are long gone, but oddly enough, a few of the models and pieces that did make it into the catalog are unavailable (Lamasu wings anyone?). Why include codes, pictures, and prices for items you can't sell? It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.
The binding stinks. Within a couple flip-throughs, I have already had pages starting to fall out. Others I know have had similar experiences. The hardcover edition is supposed to be better. But who buys a hardcover catalog?
A also have some nitpicky complaints. Mainly because I am a small, small man. Unfortunately much of the commentary on the past GD winning pieces is just silly. It's clear the editors are just trying to come up with things to say and, whether they're accurate or not is not a primary concern. They should be in the Cabinet. Speaking of absurd, on page 927 there are pictures of Jeremie Bonamant's Golden Demon winning Lord of the Rings battle scene featuring the hobbits and Aragorn camping near the stone remains of the trolls from The Hobbit. For some reason, in the close-up of the scene, one of the stone trolls has been castrated. Somebody at the office has too much time on their hands. How can it be okay to sell models of naked demon women with six boobs, but unacceptable to have an anatomically accurate statue of a troll? I for one am sick of it. Suppressed troll genitals of the world rise up and unite!
What it all comes down to is the price tag. Gamer's will appreciate the well organized layout. Hobbyists will appreciate the sheer volume of possibilities. But the only people who are going to get their money's worth are the hardcore. Oddly most of the extras seem to be aimed at beginners. It's a paradox.