GW Model Quality, gone downhill?

Hey all.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post pictures like those below, but I think that the newer models don't look too good. My friends and I beleive it all started after the new Giant.

Example, below are the soon-to-be-classic Striking Scorpions, and the upcoming newer versions.





Whilst comparing, I noticed that the new one just look... Well... Too busy. Ok, they aren't a massive improvement over the older ones, but look too busy, if I were to start Eldar (HA!) then I'd use the older ones.

So the metal models are getting too busy. But also, they are starting to resemble the even older models, the ones that just don't look good enough any more.

Like the new Possessed.



Classic Palanquin models (for Chaos!!)

But also, it's the plastic models. I'm sure you will all get the new WD? Right? Now, take one of the free models, and compare it to another model in a similar pose. Notice fewer crease lines in the cloth? The way everything seems flat? That, my friends, is the result of the computer sculpting, I think.

This may all be only my opinion, but you cannot deny the style of models has changed when compared to say 2003-4.

I agree completely with you BC8, however I believe I know the reason for the 'flat' models. GW's new 3D sculpting is fairly new, and I very much doubt the miniatures designers are using it properly. I do a lot of work with CAD (computer aided drafting, it's the core element of my current studies), and I spotted the problem right away. The silly gits aren't moving the model around enough! They sculpt from the front and rear, and because it looks good, they think it's ok. Of course, they don't spend much time rotating it to look side-on, and see their Dwarves look rather anorexic, or that the poses of their Striking Scorpions look good from the front, but look rather tired and boring from any other angle. Whereas when they were still sculpting with their bare hands and good old Green Stuff, they were constantly handling it, turning it about and finding irregularities in their views.

Plus GW's rediculous upsurge in white metal miniatures doesn't help. Die Casting doesn't leave much room for playing in three dimensions. I seriously wish they'd do away with metal, work more with plastic and produce some more resin parts! I mean, how awesome is the Urban Basing Kit, and the Urban Barricade kit? They're both made from resin. But then again, they'd also be muscling in on Forge World's territory, even though we know their minitures will always be superior.

I find the new Scorpions are alright. While the first photo of the current once, they where hell during games as they would tip over (my oppent army).

On the issue, I am 50/50 on it. With the Scouts, I think they could of improve there heads & with the new Possessed models... they should never off been made.

It pretty funny back in the 13th BC days, they release a terrain kit BUT we never seen it, reason being "it was not good enough" when I though it was alright. Reason I say this is, thry brought out the Chaos Possessed & even there backpack are s***.... yet a alright pice of terrain (it was a trench) never was release WTF????

As to the WD models, well you got to rememeber they are aim for newer gamers. But saying that I find the Gobbo to be alright, it just the dwarf I do not like as 1: he dose not look like one & 2: when I went to cut him out it wired there a big hole where he was attach to the spure.

But some there new stuff is still good, like the new Eldar Dire Avernger due out or the Banshies leader she look really cool.

IP

Yeah, I'll admit not all of the new models lok bad, the Aurches (or whatever) look ok, but they should be in plastic.

Yes! More plastic! I mean, WAKE UP GAMES WORKSHOP! It's a cheaper material, the casting process is insanely cheaper than die casting, and you can make MILLIONS of sprues with a plastic mould, yet with a die you can only feasibly make a few thousand metal models.

Trust me it NOT cheaper. If I rememeber rightly GW said if it was cheaper then all model would be plastic. As for molds/cast, well the Land Raider Mold alone cost a few £££ it was said to be a million for the full kit alone, while other molds your talking about a few £10,000 per mold. As these molds have to last for a long time, very long time & for the amount they use it.

Make a mold out of rubber, sure it will do alright BUT it will not last that long, I give it 6 months if you use it the amount time GW dose to make the models we get today. They got be good metal molds.

Also it IS cheaper to cast them out of metal for the not so commen unit, eg: those that are rearly use or by that I mean everone use Chaos Space Marine so they WILL do them in plastic of course.

I've already talk to GW about molds & with the plastic/metal. While in my model making course, I have been through ever mold, what there strength & weakness are & how much they cost to make & how long they will last if you use them for x amount of time.

But again plastic not that cheap, again with mold making course, right now where doing reaserch & it costing like £10-20 for a sheet of Plasticard, I am not meaing the little once you got from your hobby store, these are 6 by 4, same size as a GW gaming board.

IP

My opinion on games workshops new models in kind of mixed. I like some, like the new eldar models IMO look very good, though things like the possessed are but ugly. Regardless though I am a very big fan of older models, and I do enjoy metal models for looks more then plastic. Though plastic is much more fun to convert, and play with.
It is just natural that some models will end up better then others just the way things work, though Maybe as said they are still getting their feet wet with this new computer techno stuff, so I guess the best thing to do is wait and see.

Well IP, I'm not saying it's cheap for either method, but GW really shovel the $hit as far as how much their plastic kits cost and the quantity of product they get out of it. Injection moulding is more expensive in the terms of material and the machinery involved, but the raw quantity of product that they get out of it offsets that cost a lot. I wouldn't be suprised if the master moulds for the LR were about 1m quid, but replacing a production mould is relatively cheap, around the $5000 US mark.

I really see no reason why the new Striking Scorpions had to be metal. My only conclusion is that GW found it more 'economical' to produce individual models (with no accessories, I should add) out of white metal (individual plastic models are a killer on the chequebooks, hence the dwindling numbers of Space Marines with Special Weapons blisters...) and sell them at the hideously over-inflated price Blister models go at.

Even if there is a 5-model boxed set (which is likely), my money lies on it being around the $40-$65 mark. Which is sad, because if they had produced a plastic kit, there probably would have been quite a few neat extras (an Exarch conversion sprue would probably go down very well with Eldar players) and sell with 8 models for about $45.

But then again, I'm a Chaos and Necron player, my only desire is a plastic Dreadnought and Chaos Terminators, then IMO the Chaos model range would be perfect.

Sorry for Polish currency but I don't know the prices in England.

So, what I mean is, a box of 8 space marines costs 67zl (£11.40) , while a blister with one similar sized metal model is around 35-45zl (£5.95-7.66).

Why?

GW inflate the prices of Blister modes rediculously, as I mentioned in my last post. They do it for units that are only going to generally be used in small numbers (Chaos Terminators and Necron Pariahs are good examples), and are uneconomical to produce in small numbers from plastic. Unfortunately when I field a big unit of ten immortals in my Necron army, it hurts my nose to pay for them, shoving $140 AUS through it isn't fun...

When the new Chaos Codex comes out GW has no excuse not to make plastic Chaos Termies! I agree about the expensive metal models, but yeah, the units are mostly the smaller ones that won't be used too often. Except WFB, sorry, but metal Grave Guard are too expensive, it cost me 30 pounds to get 15! I need a unit of 30! I'm converting the rest....

Look at the quality of some of the sprues just now or whatever they are selling. My wife bought me a pred, when opened it was covered in flash, so much, that i actually had to take it back to the store that she bought it from.

My niece bought me a sorcerer...guess what... no backpack... the blister was never opened. they are really starting to slack at GW.
You would think that they would come up with amazing models.
I can't even help thinking that they dont have any new inspiration, since the new venereble dread, looks alot like the standard forgeworld one.

I had the same thing happen to me... Sort of... My dad bought me Aragorn, King of Gondor on horseback, I had the Arundril arm (which I would've thought to be the missing part) but no, since the horse + Aragorn comes in 2halves, one half was missing ... So I had half of Aragorn and his horse, and a sword arm, but couldn't use them .

Thankfully, that's the only time its happened to me, but still...

Jeez mate, talk about lousy luck... I've only had one, very minor problem with GW. A boxed set of Necrons had a slightly deformed torso piece for one of the Warriors, probably because insufficient plastic was injected into the mould. Used it on the model and it looks fine.

I actually quite like the Venerable Dread, the amount of detail is good, I think it has a bit more 'bling' than some of the FW dreads (the Black Templars Venerable Dread though... ), it's cheaper... Overall a good model for the army list, even works well as something like a Custodes Dreadnought. The Forge World models will always be better, but they're the specialist, so it's pretty much a different league.

I don't mind the Venerable Dread, but FW is much better (and always will be, except the Death Corps, I'm just not liking them), but if I'm going to use a Venerable for my Blood Ravens (you bet I will!) then I'll convert it from the regular Dread.

But I HATE the Vostroyan Firstborn models! They just don't look right at all.