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I've been following the development of GW models for 18 years, even when I was out of the hobby. Some of the old metal sculpts like Commander Dante have stood the test of time really well. Others, like the older space wolf ICs, suffer from bad proportions or "terrible pose" syndrome with weapons and arms either flat to the body or perpendicular. Most of the newer kits are hands down a mile better than the old ones in both detail customisation and overall aesthetics.

But there are a few new kits that I think are actually worse looking than their predecessors -I was recently lucky enough to get my hands on a full squad of metal Karskin. Is it just me or does anyone else think the Tempestus Scions suck compared to them? Not that I think the Scions are bad looking by an means, but to me they look like pretty generic sci-fi soldiers, whereas those Karskin are some of the finest stuff GW has sculpted. Why in hell they didn't finecast Karskin or update them as plastics is beyond me...

Out of curiousity, does anyone else have any old models they prefer? / new ones they think are design abominations?

(On a related note, I'm not too fond of the flying shoe, aka the land speeder, and I think whoever designed space marine centurions, and that stormwolf flyer needs a retina transplant. But I'm guessing that's already been talked about extensively, so I won't digress)

Daemonettes.

/thread

Azreal you fool. You can't /thread your own post. It invalidates your opinion.

However I will /thread your post for you. Because you are correct.


The old metal Cadians are a superior kit to the current plastic Cadians. It's just to bad the old Cadians didn't get plasticised. That being said, I do feel the plastic Cadians are fine looking in their own right. They are good generic looking solider and provide a good launch pad for conversions. I agree with the Kasrkin > Scions too. The Scion are great looking models but they just don't compare to the Kasrkin. Or to the Inquisitorial Storm Troopers either for that matter.

Full Disclosure: I like metal more than plastic or resin. That being said, I'm right with you when it concerns the Kasrkins vs. Scions. Plastic Kasrkins would have been awesome; Scions, not so much. I've also felt that the Grey Knights plastics were very ham-fisted from a design standpoint. The sickle mags on the stormbolters are ridiculously awkward looking, and the inlaid lettering on their armor was actually better when it was indistinct. I find the words "GREY" and "DEATH" and "AEGIS" and "DAEMON" just tragically obvious.

I'd also rather not even discuss the disgrace that is the Dreadknight...

I like the Scion models just fine, but Kasrkin have a special something to them. They're just so satisfyingly chunky.

I've been working through a retro Ultramarines/Cadians project for quite some time, and did a Valhallan IG army before that. I prefer the older models to the new ones as the designs tend to be more "pure" and less laden down with baubles and bling. A lot of them may be pretty cartoonish, but there's a charm to them that you don't get in the current era.

My favorite Stormtrooper sculpts were these guys:
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Ash-1_photos/Imperial%20Guard/IGStormtrooperssquad2.jpg

Other BETTER old sculpts:
This fella:
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2008/11/29/2088_md-2nd%20Edition,%20Carnifex,%20Copyright%20Games%20Workshop,%20Screamer-killer,%20Tyranids.jpg

I just love how bulky and 'living' tank it looks.

The Hive Tyrant/ alien ripoff:
http://kofler.dot.at/40k/units/Tyranid_Hive_Tyrant_2.gif

The OLD Rhinos:
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120414215316/warhammer40k/images/e/e9/Rhino003.png

OLD Whirlwind:
http://kofler.dot.at/40k/units/Ultramarine_Whirlwind.gif

Best looking multiple missile launcher ever sculpted.

That's all I can think of right now.

I love the variety in old metal guard. My current army is mainly steel and cadian but includes models as far back as rogue trader because it gives some character to the army. Also because they're the only guards in carapace I've ever found in the GW range.

 Brother SRM wrote:
I prefer the older models to the new ones as the designs tend to be more "pure" and less laden down with baubles and bling. A lot of them may be pretty cartoonish, but there's a charm to them that you don't get in the current era.

My sentiments exactly. Designing them with CAD instead of hand sculpting allowed for easy standardisation of components and proportions, but at the cost of the uniqueness / individuality of hand sculpting.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
My favorite Stormtrooper sculpts were these guys:
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Ash-1_photos/Imperial%20Guard/IGStormtrooperssquad2.jpg

The troopers are excellent. The detail on them could be a but crisper, but yeah, love the look of them. It was a hard choice for me between these and the karskin.

Old karskins are great. I only have the sgt but beats the new stuff by a mile. Makes a great snr Sgt figure for my guardsmen.

Just a quick history question from a non IG player--

Is there a difference between the old stormtroopers and the kasrkin? If so, which is the older sculpt?

Asides from Daemonettes I have a hard time thinking of more old models that I like more.

Gragga Da Krumpa wrote:
Just a quick history question from a non IG player--

Is there a difference between the old stormtroopers and the kasrkin? If so, which is the older sculpt?

For gameplay purposes, the two are no different. The metal Stormtroopers were made in 2000 for 3rd Edition and were just generic Stormtroopers for all guard armies. The Kasrkin were made alongside the new plastic Cadians and represent the elite of Cadia specifically. The Kasrkin's armor and uniform match the plastic Cadian aesthetic.

Pretty much all the metal demons from the same generation as the Diaz daemonettes were better than their current plastic counterparts.

As they phase out finecast we're going to increasingly lose a lot of old character sculpts that I prefer to the monopose plastics.

As a marine player I may be about to commit heresy by saying that I prefer the metal veterans to the new plastics. The new kits provide a plethora of bits that are fun to distribute throughout a force, but built straight out of the box their detail, practicality and posing don't compare to their predecessors. One particular example is the Vanguard Lightning claws that are inexplicably poorly designed if you keep them in their obvious pairs and don't fix them. Sternguard legs didn't need tabards and the helmets didn't need scrollwork decoration.

Shame they arent making them, I would totally make an army of them.

Agreed on the Veterans, while the new kits look great (but hideously expensive) the old Veteran kits have so much character to them that the plastics can't really match.

Again, while the new one on the charoit is quite cool, I like the old Logan model as well, as it proves you can do character, motion and style without excessive amounts of bling.

While I like the new multi-pose plastic vets, some of the older, single pose, metals are better IMHO. While interchangeability is nice, when you work with a fixed pose there is more the sculptor can do.

I like some of the old aspect warriors as well.

 Azreal13 wrote:
Daemonettes.

/thread

I weep that I never made an army of them when I could...
Now I either gotta like buy them online for a lot of money or like... think like a pirate... yarr

+1 for the old storm troopers. So much better lookimg than the scions (as were the kasrkin)
Xv15 stealth teams. I know you can still get them but they wouldve been great with more poses and a fusion gun option instead of the xv25
Old dark elf hydra. 1000x better looking than mr plastic with his awkward legs and square denture teeth
Old dark elf executioners. The helmets were way nicer than SKULLS on my face ones
Old GK Terminators
Old tau commander, the new one has a cool concept but the model and pose are horrible
All the daemon troops
Ratlings
Catachans

Necron Overlord in metal. On the finecast, I had to drill a pin into his staff from one end to the other to keep the damned thing from breaking.

 Rainbow Dash wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
Daemonettes.

/thread

I weep that I never made an army of them when I could...
Now I either gotta like buy them online for a lot of money or like... think like a pirate... yarr

Yarr!

Oi be in possession of a map to the hidden treasure, tis truly the pirately way!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Snrub wrote:
Azreal you fool. You can't /thread your own post. It invalidates your opinion.

Fool?

FOOL?!!

I've killed men for less.

There's a lot of old metals I prefer to newer plastics. Many of the old metal Lizardmen models, the old metal Space Wolves from 2nd ed.

Oh! The old bretonnians. They were so much better IMO. The archers, men at arms and knights all looked better IMO, but especially the archers and men at arms.

The old Storm Troopers by far were my favorite. The Kasrkin are a close second. I hate the new Scion models, the gothic chest plate just does not look good in my opinion.

Some of the older stuff I thought was better. (either in detail or just by the looks)
Daemonettes and Daemonett cav
SM Predators
SM Vindicators
Logan
IG Commissars
IG Hellhounds
Lizardmen Carnosaur
Skaven Screaming Bell
Skaven Doom Wheel
Skaven Warp-lightnig canon
Skaven Strom Verman (Look A LOT better than the new ones).

Between my GW Baneblade and my FW Baneblade I really like the FW one more.

Now there are a lot of new things I like more than some of the older stuff to even it out.

Much prefer my metal plague bearers. I've bought and painted 130 of them in the last twelve months.

I honestly think the quality at the moment is streets ahead of anything ever. The versatility of the plastic kits leaves endless kitbashing opportunities and so much possibility. The old stuff is boring and mono-pose... There is nothing worse than a group of 10 models that all look the same, the new kits give you the opportunity to genuinely make 10 different models out of what you are given.

Old Marauder Metal Dwarves beat all of the current ones any day.

There's a few nice old ones out there in my opinion like the bonesinger. Even the RT farseer makes a nice spiritseer now.

 Azreal13 wrote:

Fool?

FOOL?!!

I've killed men for less.

Come at me broheeb. I'll deck you. You'll get dropped faster then a metal thunderhawk.




How has no one mentioned the old Empire state troopers. The old ones with the slashed tights and sleeves were soooooooooooo far and away superior to the current set.
Mr. "I'm not wearing shoes" and his cohorts.

YOU! YOU ON THE END. WHERE THE feth ARE YOUR SHOES MAN?! GET IT TOGETHER YOU DUD.

BAN wrote:
I honestly think the quality at the moment is streets ahead of anything ever. The versatility of the plastic kits leaves endless kitbashing opportunities and so much possibility. The old stuff is boring and mono-pose... There is nothing worse than a group of 10 models that all look the same, the new kits give you the opportunity to genuinely make 10 different models out of what you are given.

The same-ness and mono-pose doesn’t get bad until your unit size gets larger then the number of sculpts available. Which, admittedly, is often something like four. In an ideal world, you have a mix of new plastics, so everything is a little different, and some old metals, which while identical to themselves, are completely different poses then the plastics around them.

Metal death company & space wolves for sure. Also the old metal captain that came in the command squad. His plastic replacement was just dull. The metal chaplains, especially the biker chappy. And I much prefer the metal catachans over the plastics. I hate the plastic catachans tbh. I feel they're some of the worst models gw has made.

 Red_Starrise wrote:
Metal death company.

Oh, that's a tough one. I do love the motion and 'speed' of the sculpts, but the new ones have soooo many wonderful bits.