Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Obviously I'm not talking about cases where there are technical limitations re: plastic injection, or hard-to-reach recesses that hobbyists may want to paint before assembly. I'm talking about mono-pose models that are in 10 pieces where only one or two pieces would suffice. E.g. take the Battle Sisters kit... For most of the models, the only customizable parts are the head and the choice of gun. You could almost make them push-fit models like the cheap 5-Cadian kit. So why are there so many bits? Sometimes you have to attach the foot to the leg, for frak's sake! Don't tell me they couldn't make a mold that includes both the leg and the foot!

And of course, if you lose a single tiny piece, you become unable to complete the model. A cynic might say that it's the whole point for this sort of design.

I wish they'd either give us poseable models or simple-to-build models, instead of the worst of both worlds.

.

With the HIPS plastic GW uses, there can be no undercuts. So while it might be fine from some angles, if you want layered detail, gaps, side details, you often need to be in seperate bits.

If you look at some of the monopose bits vs. the full kits, they do make compromises, where the area behind a detail is just solid plastic, or the lines on a shoulderpad blur becasue it’s not directly in line with the molds.

-Guardsman- wrote:
Obviously I'm not talking about cases where there are technical limitations re: plastic injection, or hard-to-reach recesses that hobbyists may want to paint before assembly. I'm talking about mono-pose models that are in 10 pieces where only one or two pieces would suffice. .
.

You are talking about cases where there are technical limitations.

The seemingly haphazard way that GW design their plastic models is a direct result of needing to avoid undercuts. They have the choice of either cutting them into a whole bunch of pieces, or distorting or removing detail to remove the undercuts. They used to go with just fudging the detail, which looks bad. So now they go the multiple part option.

Production needs. Which, imo, are a bit misguided, cause who really needs fully detailed clothing on insides of a robe that is fully encased when glued to the base?!