The second round of voting is over and it is time to announce the winners of the 2010 Tabletop Gaming news Editor’s Choice Awards.

Over the last few weeks the members of the Award Jury have been submitting their votes for their top ten and then their top three entrants. Last week our “long list” was narrowed to a top ten in each category. And now it is time to announce the winner and runner-up in each of the seven categories.

This year’s awards were probably the most difficult to do. Not only was the nomination list the longest it has even been but the general level of sculpting, design and general professionalism in the hobby went up a notch this year making it quite difficult to pick the winners in this year’s Editor’s Choice Awards.


Sci-fi Miniature

Winner: Studio McVey Lt. Kara Black
http://studiomcvey.blogspot.com/2009/12/lt-kara-black.html


Runner-up: Kabuki Models Ikazuchi No Tora
http://www.kabukimodels.com/index.php?go=produkt&id=12


Alien hunter Lt. Kara Black was the clear winner in this category getting first place votes from almost all of the judges. It is easy to praise this figure but there are some important reasons why this is easily the best sci-fi mini released this year. The main reason is the exquisite sculpting by Kev White. The pose and anatomy are indicative of one of the few sculptors in the business to consistently model the human form in realistic poses. The material used to cast this model also shows off the detail in the sculpt and has allowed him to really raise the bar in terms of the intricacy of the sculpt. The other reason to love this mini is that it is a female character that doesn’t rely on T and A to appeal to gamers. She is realistically dressed and clearly in charge of her environment. Strong female sculpts are more rare than they should be in this hobby and its great to see one done so well.

Ikazuchi No Tora is part of Kabuki Miniature’s Dark Messiah range of sci-fi miniatures and is an interesting take on the Samurai themed sci-fi miniature. The traditional look of the armour and sword is offset by the more gothic embellishments such as shoulder pads and armour skirting. The model comes with two heads and the helmeted version accentuates the Samurai theme while the bare head helps to divorce the model from that historical look and give it a more villainous sci-fi look.


Fantasy Miniature

Winner: Studio McVey Ar-Fienel
http://studiomcvey.blogspot.com/2010/04/ar-fienel.html


Runner-up: Studio McVey Y’Sala and Darkness
http://studiomcvey.highwire.com/product/smm10-ysala-and-darkness


What is better than wining one category? How about winning a second? 2010 Reader’s Choice winner Y’Sala and Darkness only managed to place a distant second to Studio McVey’s Ar-Fienel figure. Both are great fantasy miniatures that contain an otherworldly feel to them but there is an air of elegant grace to the Ar-Fienel sculpt and a delicacy to the sculpting of the clothes and limbs that make Ar-Fienel stand out. Both miniatures were sculpted by Yannick Hennebo who also did the concept art. The execution of both figures is almost flawless and while Y’Sala and Darkness might have been technically ore difficult to sculpt, Yannick appears to have breathed life into Ar-Fienel.


Alternative Adventure Miniature

Winner: Studio McVey Isabella
http://studiomcvey.highwire.com/product/smm08-isabella


Runner-up: Miniature Factory Uncle Meat
http://www.miniaturefactory.net/uncle-meat/


How about a threepeat? Studio McVey also takes first place in the Alternative Adventure category with their delightful Isabella figure. This category was one of the most contentious and Isabella and Uncle Meat were separated by a single vote in the first round and tied in the second. The votes from the first round were used as a tie-breaker and so Isabella squeaked through to a victory. It is slightly ironic that the coquettish Isabella wins in this round after my comments in regard to Lt. Kara Black but despite her obvious charms Isabella isn’t quite as over-the-top as some of the figures that the hobby produces. She also seems like a more Pulp/Noir influenced version of Lara Croft. The tight and revealing clothing offset by her jacket and monkey companion.

Uncle Meat is a miniature that lacks subtlety in almost all respects. The comic-book musculature of the figure owes more to influences such as RanXerox or Richard Corben than any realistic version of the human form and the menacing look of the figure is only matched by the impressive portable meat saw he is carrying. Uncle Meat is a beefy, hulk of a man who is pissed off and ready to dish out trouble. He is also a wonderfully conceived and executed miniature and it is a testament to the Jacques-Alexandre Gillois’s skill that can make such an exaggerated monster of a figure look realistic and human.


Historical Miniature

Winner: Perry Miniatures 28mm plastic War of the Roses infantry
http://www.perry-miniatures.com/index2.html


Runner-up: Warlord Games Early Production Tiger I tank
http://shop.warlordgames.co.uk/early-production-tiger-i-4499-p.asp


Perry Miniatures always create detailed and accurate historical figures and this year is no exception. The plastic 28mm War of the Roses infantry boxed set was the clear favourite of the judges. The 40 figure boxed set has parts to create archers and billmen as well as more heavily armoured command figures. The set comes with additional parts for customization as well as 56 different heads. All sculpted to the usual Perry standards.

The Warlord GamesWWII German Early Production Tiger I is one of the first vehicles produced by Warlord for their Bolt Action WWII range. The resin and metal kit is a very well sculpted vehicle and can’t hide behind the “protection” of zimmerit or stowage. The lines in this model have to be crisp and they are.


Terrain

Winner: Tabletop World Guard Tower
http://www.tabletop-world.com/guardTower.php


Runner-up: Games Workshop Dreadstone Blight
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=&prodId=prod900168a


I think it doesn’t need to be said that the Tabletop World Guard Tower destroyed the competition in this category. The level of detail and craftsmanship in the terrain piece puts it into a class of its own when it comes to commercially available wargaming terrain. It looks less like a cast piece of resin terrain and more like an manually constructed building. This probably has to do with the method in which Tabletop World create their terrain. The price is certainly higher than most mass produced terrain pieces but this is really a stunning piece of work and another in a long line of amazing work created by them.

One of opposite end of the spectrum is the runner-up in the category the GW Dreadstone Blight tower. Being a GW product is it mass-produced and plastic but still has a great amount of detail. Being plastic it also means that it will be easy to customize or modify. Despite being produced by Games Workshop it really doesn’t suffer from the overenthusiastic misuse of gothic architectural flourishes that have plagued a lot of the terrain that GW has created. The multi-story terrain piece also had the advantage of being able to be used for mass-combat or skirmish games and the internal detail and finishes make it great to look at and allows terrain painters to add detail or paint additional detail to really make the piece shine.


Accessory

Winner: Superior POD Print on Demand Gaming Card Decks
http://superiorpod.onprintshop.com/p67/72-Card-Poker-Size-Playing-Card-Decks/product_info.html

Runner-up: Micro Art Studios Bio Tech Bases
http://www.shop.microartstudio.com/biotech-bases-c-3_60.html


This is the first year that accessories have been spun off into their own category and the nominees and the category have already proven to be contentious. The category was split from terrain based on feedback from readers as well as our general experience with the awards these past few years. Typically terrain tends to win out over tokens and bases. This year though we sought to solve this by adding a category for accessories and we also inadvertently created a slight tempest with the nomination of the Superior POD Print on Demand Gaming Card Decks. Whatever the argument against them the Jury thought that the Print on Demand Gaming Card Decks were a valuable tool not only for homebrew gamers but also for anyone wanting to create professional looking cards for whatever games they play. While services like this have existed for a few years this is the first time that a company has marketed this service to gamers. Not only did the Jury think the nomination was merited, the Jury also awarded it first place in the Accessory category.

The runner-up in this category are the wonderfully baroque Bio Tech Bases from Micro Art Studios. Micro Art is known for the intricacy of their bases and the oftentimes improbable nature of some of their ranges, like the Forest range, in which it seems almost impossible to use the bases for their intended purpose. The Bio Tech Bases skirt that fine line between base and terrain piece and provide a wonderfully detailed base that you can still manage to attach a figure to. The 40mm bases are particularly great examples with each base providing a wonderful amount of sculpted detail that still manages to provide a flat surface to attach your miniature.


Rules or Expansion

Winner: Corvus Belli Infinity: Human Sphere
http://www.corvusbelli.com/en/02_tiendainf_rtdo.asp?IDNOTICIA=566


Runner-up: Pulp Monsters Pulp City Guide
http://www.pulp-city.com/index.html


Rules are the engines that drive our gaming and it is often this category that generates the most votes and most interest each year. The most popular nominees this year were either reworked versions of rules or expansions to existing games.

Corvus Belli released the Human Sphere expansion for their Infinity sci-fi skirmish game and it added new factions, new units and new sci-fi gadgets and weapons. The rules are available in print but also available as a free PDF download. The combination of hard sci-fi and anime was a popular one with judges who awarded it first place. If you like Infinity, and a lot of people do, then Human Sphere gives you more of what makes Infinity a unique sci-fi game.

The Pulp City Guide is the print version of an expanded set of Superhero combat rules based on the free PDF rules that Pulp Monsters posted in 2008. It is difficult to determine if this is a new ruleset, due to the modifications to the rules, or an expansion due to the additional heroes and villains included. The Pulp City Guide expanded the background for the various factions in the game and introduces several new ones. It cleans up some of the action and movement rules and gives gamers a Minion construction system to build your own Minions based on your own figures.

Delephont wrote:I don't want to be argumentative, but if you are going to report on this, then please lets get all the facts...what you have stated here are the TGN EDITORS Choice awards only....

They also run the TGN READERS choice awards, and in my opinion, the READERS choice awards represent what the actual Gaming Society thinks is "best" and not just the opinions of a group of judges....

The voting is over and Tabletop Gaming News readers have made their choices for the best miniatures, rules and accessories of 2010. Voting this year was slightly higher than the 2009 awards and, as is usual, voting in the second round has higher in all the categories than the first round as readers found favourites to rally behind.

Links to the nominations and both rounds of voting can be found on the Awards main page.


Best Sci-fi miniature

Winner: Infinity Anathematic by Corvus Belli
http://www.mayasphere.net/infinity_ENG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=383:the-anathematics&catid=44:ejercito-combinado&Itemid=153


Runner-up: Lt. Kara Black by Studio McVey
http://studiomcvey.blogspot.com/2009/12/lt-kara-black.html


It wouldn’t be a Reader’s Choice Sci-fi poll without an Infinity figure in the top two but this year the Lt. Kara Black sculpt from Studio McVey came within two votes of unseating perennial fan favourite Infinity. The Anathematic figure from Corvus Belli is a classic Combine sculpt combining a humanoid form with enough alien elements to make it look familiar and yet otherworldly. Lt. Kara Black is typical Kev White magic. The pose is another example of the genius at making figures look natural and the resin shows a level of detail and precision that isn’t seen in many of his metal sculpts. The sharpness of the material allows his work to really shine out.


Best Fantasy miniature

Winner: Y’Sala and Darkness by Studio McVey
http://studiomcvey.blogspot.com/2010/06/ysala-and-darkness.html


Runner-up: Mousling Heroes by Reaper Miniatures
http://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/mousling/sku-down/10033


Studio McVey scores a victory in the Fantasy category with Y’Sala and Darkness, a figure that represents a magic-user or spell-caster summoning a Daemon or otherworldly creature and having is assemble itself from smoke or ectoplasmic vapours. The contrast in form and design between the Daemon and the summoner is also another factor that makes this a delightful sculpt. The Mousling Heroes are a surprise inclusion in the finals narrowly edging out the Farrow War Hog form Privateer Press showing that sometimes it does pay to be wee and cute.


Best Alternative Adventure miniature

Winner: Doctor Zeels by Smart Max
http://www.smartmaxstore.com/doctor-zeels.htm


Runner-up: Boy in Goat Suit by Hasslefree Miniatures
http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/pack.php?pack=2425


Smart Max scores their second consecutive win in this category with the exceptional Doctor Zeels figure. Zeels flight for his life from the tentacled horrors that live beyond the dimensional rift is well sculpted, as are all Smart Max SMOG figures, but is also dynamic and contains a great narrative element that sets it apart from the competition. Hasslefree’s Boy in Goat Suit is a more macabre figure inspired by the rather dark tales that surround a particular member of the Frother’s Forums. If you have to wonder what is disturbing and horrifying about a man in a goat suit then clearly you haven’t spent much time on Frothers.

The real surprise in the category is the low placing of the Uncle Meat miniature. The exquisitely crafted model did well in the first round of voting but didn’t appear to inspire fans in the second round.


Best Historical Miniature

Winner: Wars of the Roses Infantry 1455-1487 by Perry Miniatures
http://www.perry-miniatures.com/index2.html


Runner-up: US Special Forces Delta by Empress Miniatures
http://www.empressminiatures.com/userimages/procart35.htm


Plastic figures are really starting to gain popularity amongst many historical gamers and the best example of the quality and detail that are available in the market are from Perry Miniatures. Their 28mm Wars of the Roses Infantry set is another example of the art and attention to detail that they bring to their figures. Perry Miniatures continue to supply fans with plastic kits that not only look good but contain options allowing for a lot of customization. Empress Miniatures’ US Special Forces Delta are examples of the modern reworking of the traditional metal figure. Designed for skirmish gaming these metal miniatures are chock full of detail and deliver a look more typically seen in sci-fi or fantasy miniatures.


Best Rules or Expansion

Winner: Infinity: Human Sphere by Corvus Belli
http://www.corvusbelli.com/en/02_tiendainf_rtdo.asp?IDNOTICIA=566


Runner-up: Warmachine MK II by Privateer Press
http://privateerpress.com/warmachine


Corvus Belli continue to give their fans what they want and the Human Sphere expansion for Infinity delivers more weapons, more gadgets, a new faction and new army building options for the existing Infinity factions. Even better, the rules are available as a free download. Privateer Press spent a considerable amount of time and money in recreating their Warmachine and Hordes rules over the course of 2010. Warmachine Prime Mk II is not an expansion and it isn’t a new game but the rule changes and tweaks to stats for all the Warmachine armies made the game more playable and brought many players back into the game.

A surprise was the tie for fourth place between Eden by Taban Miniatures and Tomorrow’s War by Ambush Alley Games. Neither was close to the top three finishers in the category but they did show an impressive amount of support and even beat out Warhammer Eight Edition.


Best Terrain or Accessory

Winner: Guard Tower by Tabletop World
http://www.tabletop-world.com/guardTower.php


Runner-up: Broken Blacktop Gaming Mat by ZUZZY Miniatures

http://www.zuzzy.com/wc-bb-001-terra-flex-gaming-mat.html

It is not surprising that the Guard Tower from Tabletop World crushed the opposition in this category. The level or artistry in the Guard Tower is breathtaking and it is on a level of its own when compared to other terrain products aimed at the gaming market. The price will keep it out of the hands of most gamers but you can’t argue that it isn’t worth every single Euro. ZUZZY Miniature’s latest gaming mat, the Broken Blacktop Gaming Mat, not only has a great amount of detail but it is easily adaptable to sci-fi, modern, superhero, WWII or Pulp gaming. The latex rubber mat immediately adds an added level of detail to your game with the brickwork and broken asphalt terrain on the mat and when you’re done it rolls up for easy storage.

Kroothawk wrote:Zuzzy's other mats are more suitable for Fantasy, but they are still rubber mats, not grass mats:

And check postage costs to Europe before ordering

Erasoketa wrote:I find annoying that Lelith's mini didn't made it to the Top 10 in Sci-Fi minis.

Erasoketa wrote:I find annoying that Lelith's mini didn't made it to the Top 10 in Sci-Fi minis.

BTW Combined army's Morat warriors are my Tau Pathfinders

The Editor’s picks

One of the things that many people may not know about the TGN Editor’s Choice Awards is that I don’t vote in them any more. I like having a bit of distance from the voting process and I also find that tabulating the votes means that I have to either make sure I vote first or risk having my choices prejudiced by the standings of the products as the Jury votes. I restrict myself now to only voting in the case of a tie and thankfully for the last two years that hasn’t been required of me. That said, I still like to participate in this end of year list making as much as the next person. So what follows is my list of the top products in each of the seven categories that we used this year.

Sci-fi Miniature

Since she was released there wasn’t really anything in the sci-fi genre this year that matched Lt Kara Sloan by Studio McVey. More so than the continuing series of incredible releases from Corvus Belli, the wonderful Nova-Rus Bear Jeep by Antenociti’s Workshop or the Kem Var Leader from MERCS Miniatures, Kara Sloan really epitomized for me what a sci-fi sculpt is about.

I’ve already gushed about the mini in the other two award write-ups so I don’t think I need to say more about the figure.

If Kara Sloan hadn’t been released then the hands-down favourite would be the Kem Var Leader form MERCS Miniatures. It has a great level of detail and a wonderful “take that!” pose that really fires the imagination.

Fantasy Miniature

It is always tough to pick a single fantasy miniature from the large number of excellent sculpts that get released each year. The fantasy field has a wider range of great sculptors and companies producing figures to an incredible level. Each year there is a trove of great fantasy miniatures and this year was no exception.

More so than in any other genre, fantasy figures are about more than just the technical execution of the figure. Sometimes great fantasy sculpts are about the character, the pose or the details that bring the miniature alive.

While I really did like the Otherworld Miniature Wraiths, my favourite release of the year had to be the Mantic Games Ghouls. They are creepy, twisted and also useful for more than just fantasy games. Delightfully creepy, full of character and they look as if they are going to stagger off their bases and come slake their appetites on your flesh.

Alternative Adventure Miniature

My immediate vote in this category is for the gut wrenching WWII German Zombie set that was offered by Mantic Games and Warlord Games. Consisting of sprues of the Mantic Zombies and the Warlord Games WWII German infantry they can be combined, with some work, into some chilling Weird War Zombies. Sadly since these are more of a Reese Pieces type of delightful accident instead of a planned miniature release I don’t feel it fair to pick it.

Which makes picking a favourite rather difficult because of my stubborn fascination with Weird WWII and Weird War Zombies in particular. Some would call it an affliction really. So I find it quite difficult to really not be fascinated with anything that isn’t related to, in some way, or usable in a Weird WWII game. I look at something like Patrick Keith’s Sister Maria mini and try to figure out how I would use her in SoTR or AE-WWII.

So it should come as no surprise that my Alternative Adventure pick is the MI-13 squad pack from Grindhouse Games. Not only are their neat alternative British WWII commandoes but they can be used in Incursion, SoTR and AE-WWII. Which really is all that I am looking for in a mini some times :-)

Terrain

There is nothing I like more than good terrain. I have a lot of it (even after culling most of my older sci-fi terrain) and I am always on the lookout for more because to me, nothing makes a game good like realistic and well done terrain. The amount of good terrain that we, as gamers, have access to is staggering. Even more so when you consider how many different scales it is often available in.

I have a personal fondness for terrain that can be used in multiple games and multiple genres and so while I really like the Micro Art Studio Crate Heaps they are clearly for sci-fi. Contrast this to the North African Shelled Adobe Ruin from Kerr & King which could be used for almost any 15mm game you’d want to run.

One of my favourite terrain manufacturers is JR Miniatures. I think they are an unsung star of the industry and create an amazing amount of great terrain each year. They make a very useful range of painted RVT rubber terrain and I use their rubber roads and rivers almost every time I game. This year they have focused on 15mm releases and they put out a series of 15mm WWII Arnhem terrain that works for sci-fi as well as WWII games. The 15mm Ruined Rowhouse #2 is on my “to buy” list for this year and it is such a great terrain piece that I almost started a Flames of War British army just to justify the terrain. Happily it will look just as good with my new 15mm sci-fi figs and I can’t wait to get one or two of them to paint up and put out on the table.

Accessory

Hands down, for me, the best accessory released this year were the Warmachine and Hordes tokens from Privateer Press. They are well designed, look good, are solid tokens and they make it easier to play the game. I picked them up as soon as they were released and I immediately put away the old Gale Force Nine Warmachine and Warcogs tokens I was using previously. The tokens are clearly a evolutionary product based on gamers using, and commenting, on the other Warmachine token sets available and these are the end result of a lot of thought into what Warmachine and Hordes gamers need. It took a long time for Privateer Press to deliver these but these were worth the wait.

The only other real contender for me was the African American Head Set form Dragon Forge Design. I am actually surprised that it took this long for someone to release something like this and while I wish there were fewer heads based on celebrities it answers a real need for there to be sculpted heads that look like authentic African Americans. Just painting the correct skintone on most models often doesn’t work because of the lack of authentic facial features and so these are a great addition to and modelers toolkit if they want to add African American figures to their games.

Rules or Expansion

I am lucky in a lot of ways but one of the more interesting is that I get to see a lot of rule systems in various stages of development and also in their final forms. I am also lucky in that I often have the means to purchase quite a few rule sets and so between previews, freebies and my own purchases I get to see a lot of rules over the course of a year.

Picking the best ruleset is therefore pretty difficult for me because I just really like games and rules. So it is often difficult to pick one that really stands out technically or for its gameplay. But there are two main contenders; Warmachine Prime Mk II and Tomorrow’s War. Both are contenders not for any superiority of mechanics but just because they excite my imagination and want me to play games.

Warmachine is a great effort to return the game to a more simple and playable level. Its no secret that I quit playing Warmachine some time ago primarily based on the difficultly in playing the game. Warmachine Mk II removed those problems by taking the numerous special abilities and condensing them into a much smaller list. As well most units in the game had abilities removed and some, like my beloved Blood Gorgers, had the majority of their special rules removed.

That said, nothing this year has really stirred my imagination and got me unpacking old figures and terrain as much as Tomorrow’s War by Ambush Alley Games. Tomorrow’s War is a sci-fi ruleset written for 15mm sci-fi minis but usable for 28mm gaming. Not only have I been pulling out my old sci-fi and AT-43 figures but I have also bitten the bullet and purchased a few 15mm sci-fi figures to use with the rules.

Regardless of the professional polish, art or background material, I think that the best rules are ones that make you want to put on games and this year Tomorrow’s War has done that for me.

Something missing

Now you may have noticed that there isn’t a pick for Historical Miniature. I don’t play historical games in anything other than 6mm scale and when I see minis like the amazing Perry Miniatures War of the Roses infantry I try to imagine how they’d look as fantasy Human Levy troops. Now it is one thing to admire the sculpting or pose of figures like the Heavily armoured German pikemen from The Assault Group or the Mutineer Miniatures’ Highlander infantry but I have not and really probably never will be a historical gamer and as such I don’t really see the utility of a lot of historical minis. Unless, of course, they are 28mm WWII minis that I can use in a Weird WWII game. I think you might be seeing a pattern.

Kroothawk wrote:

Erasoketa wrote:I find annoying that Lelith's mini didn't made it to the Top 10 in Sci-Fi minis.

Lelith DID make it into top10 of Reader's Choice, ending with 36 votes on 8th place.
http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2010-tgnrca-sci-fi-miniature

BTW Combined army's Morat warriors are my Tau Pathfinders

Delephont wrote:

Erasoketa wrote:I find annoying that Lelith's mini didn't made it to the Top 10 in Sci-Fi minis.

Why would you find that annoying? In the eyes of the majority, there were simply better miniatures out there....I guess thats just the way it goes. Personally, I would have definatetly voted for Covus Belli Infinity for best Sci Fi figure, but it wouldn't have been the figure that won, but thats probably because I don't collect Combined Army miniatures....

I was surprised to see MERCS was not on the list somewhere, with either its new rules (which are awesome!!!!) or their range of miniatures.