Ramdom Hobby Thoughts

A bit of a random post today…

I’ve been thinking about some of the latest kits to be coming out of Games Workshop and how they are getting more and more complex.

I think we can all agree that some of the old plastic vehicle kits were a bit poor. Talking Orks specifically, the old warbuggy and wartrack kits (I say old they are still current really) were pretty naff, the buggy gunner for example, oh dear…

The kits also had few options, so unless you got your bitz box out your models would all look the same.

Now however I feel things have gone too far the other way.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the new models, I really do but they are all so… I don’t know… fiddly.

Even small models such as the new Ork Warbiker kits have dozens of parts. The Trukk has scores, the Battlewagon has over 100 and the Stompa over 200.

Now the Stompa is a centre piece model so you can forgive this and you get so many spare parts that it’s easy to build a unique looking model, and add character to several others with the bitz left over, but the Trukk?

An army can contain several Trukks and as there are so many parts they are pretty time consuming to build, the same applies to the warbikes.

However, as I said before I love all these models, the detail on the Trukk is fantastic, the bonkers idea of building a perfectly modelled chassis is brilliant (insane but Brilliant). The warbikes are great models, just so much better proportioned then the old one’s.

So what am I whinging about?

I think it boils down to 2 things for me.

Point 1: The models take much longer to build

Although I love the modelling part of the hobby, Warhammer 40,000 is more about the game for me and I guess the complexity of these new kits is slowing my army building down (I am a little on the particular side when it comes to building and painting my Orks).

Point 2: I think that for all their complesity the kits still fail to allow the building of truely unique looking models.

Example 1: The Ork Battlewagon

There are a host of ways to build the Battlewagon, yet the dozer blade, which to me is the most distinctive part of the model doesn’t really have any real options for personalisation.

For my second Battlewagon I left it off, and replaced it with a kinda scrap bumper and mudguard combo (pics in a coming post I think).

The kit would have benefited from having more opions to customise this area of the model, I’m not suggestion offering several dozer blades as it is a big bit of plastic but maybe a multi-part blade that could be built in different ways, or a kit that allowed the building of the Battlewagon without the blade fitted (and without the need then to get the saw/hobby knife out to remove the bits the blade attaches to.

Example 2: The Stompa

Great kit, just one criticism, the legs, only one pose available. The additional variety that could have been introduced by allowing the legs to be switched would have been well worth the additional time it would take design the kit.

Even Better adjustable Ankle Joints!

Conclusion

It probably sounds like I’m saying the models are too complex in point 1 and not complex enough in point 2, rather contardictory…

I guess the point I’m trying to make is additional complexity is OK but if kits are going to be made more complex it should be for a reason.

To my mind that reason should be the ability to produce some genuinely unique looking models.

Anyway, that’s probably enough for one post, it’d be interested to hear people thoughts on this.