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I suppose this is me just venting but I have to ask, does anyone else think GW makes their more expensive models hard to assemble in hopes we screw up and have to buy another? Not even counting FW there are models that they seem to make that only take a bit of wrong placement and it’s over. In my case it’s a Baneblade and the tracks/wheels, there are so many unstable parts here and pieces that can be misaligned which can just totally screw you if you’re off a fraction of an inch.

Not really. TBH GW makes their kits easier to build than a lot of manufacturers. With high-end historical models you'll get much tighter tolerances because accuracy is important. GW usually gives fairly generous tolerances even if it means having visible gaps between parts. Just take your time, dry fit everything, and don't use glue that dries instantly. The only time I've ever had problems getting a GW plastic kit to fit is when the parts were warped and needed to be replaced.

Unfortunately I did take all evening to try and get it and now the tracks will not properly fit together

Shrug. Sometimes things just don't work out I guess. But GW definitely isn't making them difficult beyond what is necessary to make the design work.

They they are doing it on purpose, the reason being they are trying to make it more difficult to recast them. However they are failing to realize why they are loosing out to recasters is not because of difficulty to sculpt but to price.

In their quest to beat recasters they have managed to make models more complicated, which means less customization, more expensive molds, higher prices for us.

If anything I would say quite the opposite. Don't get me wrong, they have made some stupid decisions lately such as splitting the mk6 shoulder pads into 2 pieces which is a nightmare to clean up, but otherwise the fit has been great,

Wind back several years to metal wraiths, high elf dragons etc and you will really come to appreciate models that are difficult to assemble.

 Backspacehacker wrote:
They they are doing it on purpose, the reason being they are trying to make it more difficult to recast them. However they are failing to realize why they are loosing out to recasters is not because of difficulty to sculpt but to price.

In their quest to beat recasters they have managed to make models more complicated, which means less customization, more expensive molds, higher prices for us.

It's nothing to do with recasters. Making models in multiple parts would have zero effect on recasters. The sole reason that their current kits are so complicated is that plastic doesn't allow undercuts. In years gone by, they got around this by fudging detail and keeping the models comparatively less adorned in extra detail. These days, they're trying to make plastic models that look as good as metal or resin, without the flat sections and mis-shapen detail that is so often a feature on plastic models due to the moulding limitations. Doing that requires the models to be split anywhere that would result in an undercut if it was a single piece.


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Sumilidon wrote:
...splitting the mk6 shoulder pads into 2 pieces ...

Case in point. Compare the shape of the rivets on those two part pads to the studded pad from the plastic tactical marine sprue. The studs on the old version had to be stretched out sideways in order to be castable. Splitting the pad down the middle means the studs don't have to be so distorted on the outer edges.

No. GW plastic models are incredibly simple to assemble compared to other modelling companies.

Modem GW models almost assemble themselves. Everything fits neatly as if by magic.

I can criticise GW for many things, but models themselves are designed wonderfully.

It depends on the models. Releases from 1998-2014 were definitely easier to assemble.

Van Saar from Necromunda had a 2mm bitz (neck) that was a real pain to glue, and a perfect positioning to it was crucial to assemble the model correctly.

Models like the kill rig or any ork buggies are incredibly more complex and hard to assemble than any other ork relese before 8th edition.

I'd invite everyone saying modern GW models are easy to assemble to attempt to put together 10 Flayed Ones. I've encountered quite a few kits over the last couple of years that are annoying as hell to assemble.

In general GW kits are fine and in may ways better than they were for assembly. Every now and then the computer system they use to cut up the masters into sprues will spit out some really stupid assembly method that is either confusing or nearly impossible. That's not even taking into account the fact some pieces are so small and indistinct you can easily mistake them for bits of sprue.

The issues with some newer models being a PITA to assemble is because they are cut apart by an algorithm which relies on material properties and pays no real attention to how easy they are to assemble. Pair that with a mediocre instruction manual and slightly warped sprues and you feel like the model is hot garbage to build... until you ever assemble something 3D printed by a friend

As long as you don't need a vice, metal saw, pinning and a ton of green stuff, the new models don't come even close to what "difficult to assemble" means.

If in doubt, buy some 4th-5th ed WFB monsters or warmachines, assemble them and then say what you think about modern GW plastics.

I once had a mini meltdown putting together a Viper - but I put that down to being 12~ at the time.

Generally speaking I think there's certain unnecessary issues (i.e. when parts are so small they becomes difficult to manipulate with your fingers - and then glue starts going everywhere) but if I can stay patient its usually not a problem.

As said, its certainly easier that metal minis you had to saw through - or had such weight it was impossible to just glue parts together.

Honestly GW kits are not that complicated, at least compared to other modelling kits.


Things have changed, these days you do have to follow the instructions and use the specific numbered parts more often because the kits will only go together in specific ways.




Also to elaborate on earlier points, current GW kits aren't just trying to get more detail than in the past, they are also going for much more dynamic poses. Go back and really look at early kits and they are really very simple. Modern kits have wild poses and can be very dynamic, which is again part of how GW is now able to design parting.

In the pre CAD era they had to part models by cutting up a master sculpt. Today they can design them digitally. Their parting designer can make very creative cuts on the model. These cuts let them achieve better detail, better poses and also do other things. Eg the new Slaanesh Fiends kit naturally hides almost all of its join points. Yes some are still visible, but a majority of them are quite hidden. The pose and style is way more dynamic than the old model.



So they are more complex than in the past, but this comes with better posing, more posing variety and more dynamic styles and a higher level of detail.




And yep there's no sawing of metal; or filling bubble holes (though honestly the only time that was really a massive issue was with finecast). Heck metal models where parts cooled at a different rate could end up with parts slightly different sizes.

 Overread wrote:

Things have changed, these days you do have to follow the instructions and use the specific numbered parts more often because the kits will only go together in specific ways.

I'll admit, I got caught out by this with the GSC bikers. They look considerably more modular than they actually are, and I wound up having to pull the first model apart and start over...

 insaniak wrote:

 Overread wrote:

Things have changed, these days you do have to follow the instructions and use the specific numbered parts more often because the kits will only go together in specific ways.

I'll admit, I got caught out by this with the GSC bikers. They look considerably more modular than they actually are, and I wound up having to pull the first model apart and start over...

Yep there's a few kits like that where they are almost modular but not quite; or where if you don't pay attention you can easily end up with the wrong part in the wrong slot and end up in a mess. It's not highly common, but it does happen from time to time.

At least these days the models actually fit together.

Ah to be thrown back into the early 90s and told to assemble a metal keeper of secrets without greenstuff.

They are in an awkward spot between the normal wargaming company approach (flexible models in certain areas, easy to inject and build) and the modelling approach (crazy good, but nuts in terms of cuts and how to build, even articulated with metal components!). A lot of their sprue decisions though seem to be determined by computer assisted design for plastic flow.

GW models are getting nicer to build:
Mold lines along the edges where they blend in...
Sprue cut points in unseen places, like where arms fit to the torso...

The Baneblade model is 15 years old, going by a sprue date (2007) on the GW website. If GW had had enough complaints about it, they'll have replaced it by now.
Other kits from that era were fiddly to do correctly (tracks on the LRBT), so you might have hit one of those.

The Necromunda Squat box has one model that its THUMB is a separate piece, and it is HELL to glue on.

GW did that on purpose to mess with us....

I'll jump to the bandwagon that the models (usually) are not hard to build, but as stated above lately following the steps has become more important. On the other hand it annoys me that sometimes it's not clearly stated on the instructions that one piece is share across more than one model of the box, and then the scramble for laternative arms, the cutting, greenstuffing, and the cursing starts.

Yes, I'm looking at you piece A73...

M.

 BuFFo wrote:
The Necromunda Squat box has one model that its THUMB is a separate piece, and it is HELL to glue on.

GW did that on purpose to mess with us....

They like to do that in Necromunda. A Goliath had a cigar as a piece, or he was whistling oddly without it..

 BuFFo wrote:
The Necromunda Squat box has one model that its THUMB is a separate piece, and it is HELL to glue on.

GW did that on purpose to mess with us....

I also love those situations when the body has a belt with three grenades on it, but you have to glue on the fourth one as a separate bit.

I haven't had much of an issue with building the newer GW models. There's the occasional jigsaw piece that can take a while to manipulate while dry fitting to see how it fits in. But when they do, it's like magic. Many newer GW models (say, post 2019) go to great lengths to conceal cut gaps without any kind of filler. I really appreciate the models where the sprue gates surfaces are hidden as occasionally removing the stubs can scrap detail from the surrounding area.

The last GW model the gave me any issues was the Necron Tomb Blades. Which I don't consider a new kit. I picked up the Combat Patrol this year. Those models are so flimsy with super obvious ball and socket joints. And the 'canopy' plates are the definition of jank. The whole process left me feeling like I was gluing kibble to a small plastic croissant

I'll be honest, I'd rather rip out my arm pit hair with hot glue than try and re-assemble my Scions. Those stupid power cables off the HS las and the Volley guns, just soooo brittle and easy to miss allign.

 Blackie wrote:
It depends on the models. Releases from 1998-2014 were definitely easier to assemble.

Van Saar from Necromunda had a 2mm bitz (neck) that was a real pain to glue, and a perfect positioning to it was crucial to assemble the model correctly.

Models like the kill rig or any ork buggies are incredibly more complex and hard to assemble than any other ork relese before 8th edition.

I'd rather die than build and paint another kill rig or a sguig buggy (only did one of each, took me ages and I am a veteran player who assembled ton of kits over the years), +10 to that

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
I'll be honest, I'd rather rip out my arm pit hair with hot glue than try and re-assemble my Scions. Those stupid power cables off the HS las and the Volley guns, just soooo brittle and easy to miss allign.

If you like that try the FW resin DKoK grenadiers. You will end up having an aneurism dealing with those.

 addnid wrote:

 Blackie wrote:
It depends on the models. Releases from 1998-2014 were definitely easier to assemble.

Van Saar from Necromunda had a 2mm bitz (neck) that was a real pain to glue, and a perfect positioning to it was crucial to assemble the model correctly.

Models like the kill rig or any ork buggies are incredibly more complex and hard to assemble than any other ork relese before 8th edition.

I'd rather die than build and paint another kill rig or a sguig buggy (only did one of each, took me ages and I am a veteran player who assembled ton of kits over the years), +10 to that

What was the issue with the squig buggy?

No matter how advanced GWs algorithms and design capabilities are, they can't do one seemingly simple thing properly - ball joints.

Not a single Tyranid model has an actual ball joint, those are all oddly shaped blobs and holes that require heavy melting with thick plastic glue to not be connected with just a few square milimeters of contact area. The most astonishing achievement are Maleceptor limb sockets - they are not ball at all, being designed for a single pose, but somehow GW fudged those, so the insert doesn't really fit the socket and the whole thing still requires heavy melting.