FFG

Y U NO MAKE BOOKS DURABLE?

(I have this issue as well. It seems that every big rpg book tends to fall apart on its own heavy weight.)

I am religious with my books and this one is com,ing appart after a few months…

My copy of Rogue Trader had this issue quite early on, I look after my books so this was quite annoying. However Dark Heresy (Black Library edition) is still perfectly fine despite being much older and much more heavily used. You can really tell the difference in the quality of the binding between Black Library and FFG copies. Can't comment on Black Crusade as I only have a digital copy.

DW

I have four copies of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 1st Edition hardbacks, and only one of them has failed to have 300+ pages pull from the cover.
My Black Industries copy of the DH Core Rules has had no issues, yet my FFG copy has pulled from the spine, and all that keeps the pages in place are the cover pages (the sector maps, front and back) and the glue in the bindings. I dropped my Rogue Trader Core Rules down a flight of seventeen steps (and I virtually turned the air blue with my cursing as I watched it tumble), but other than some cuts and dings on the cover the spine is solid.

I haven't always treated my books like ancient relics from the days of the Great Crusade. There was a time that books would lay flat on the table for days at a time, or left with one side hanging free in one hand while the other rolled dice, and I even dropped my DMG on its spine once; which ripped the cover, but the pages stayed in and tight to the spine; and etc. That being the case, I still own the 1st Edition first-printing copies of The Dungeon Master's Guide, The Player's Handbook, The Unearthed Arcana, Monster Manuals 1 & 2, The Fiend Folio, and Deities & Demigods…and NONE of them have even had the glue pull away from the spine, even after first being used and abused for 6-8 years, then later stored in a plain cardboard box and moved from one place to another for the past 19 years. I was just in that box the other day looking for some old maps and play aids, and took a glance through them for nostalgia's sake, and they're still solid. All my friends' copies of The Unearthed Arcana fell right out of their covers…I guess I just got lucky there. Heck, even my 1st Edition Harnmaster rules, all three copies (binding-wise) are still in excellent condition. I dabbled in Earthdawn (1st Edition) for about two years, and had as much luck with those as I did with the WFRP. At one time, I owned every hardcover 2nd Edition AD&D book produced (though I ditched them all and gave up on D&D the moment I heard the first peep about 3rd Edition…), and they were put together VERY well. Very well, indeed.

TSR set the standards for book quality (for me, anyway). But as the times have changed, and certain production costs have become more and more prohibitive, many larger books have converted to soft covers (later printings of WFRP, even those done by Hogshead Publishing, were soft cover). Text books are a prime example. Money is shaved from somewhere. Now, based on my own experiences and knowing what I do regarding book production qualities, I still jumped at the chance to own hardcover printings of the Inquisitor's Handbook and Purge The Unclean, because I prefer hardcover. (As an aside, prices for those two items DID NOT increase when they went hardcover.) I own EVERY Warhammer 40K RPG book, whether it was produced by Black Industries or FFG. And I buy them ASAP after they drop. And I make far less than 20k per year, so it's not like I have a boatload of disposable income. But, quite frankly, if they switch to soft covers I may cease that practice. I don't give a damn how heavy the collection is. I have a very old Army communique satchel in which I carry the books to-and-from my games, and I just switch the sets depending on the game (DH vs. RT vs. DW vs. BC). ALL of my players do the same. We all make jokes about how heavy they are, but we don't change our habits. I view my collection as exactly that, a collection. Valued. Treasured. And hardcovers look great. If they switch to soft, I'll be less inclined to spend my money, and I'll spend it far slower, after lengthy consideration (as opposed to now, which is pretty much "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!").

I waited 20 years for a 40k RPG. Black Industries and FFG ended that wait. So I guess that means I'll be handling what I have like a relic from the days of the Great Crusade, and lovingly repairing those that need repairing. They deserve it. 

I've been having issues as well with the binding. If it becomes too loose then I will rebind it myself, if I can get my hands on some leather. Make it look like a ancient, forbidden grimoire. I'll probably need help from my historian/bookstore owner for help (He's done it alot). I wouldn't bother with customer support, I've still havent heard from them about this or replacement minis for Horus Heresy.