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Beasts of War are running their annual awards for numerous categories, fan-voted.

http://www.beastsofwar.com/featured/show1-sculpt-painting-scifi/

Good to see I wasn't the only one who thought the Perry Foot Knight plastics and CB Kum riders are incredible sculpts!

I find it strange that Metal miniatures and Resin Miniatures are put in the same competing category, as they are the high majority of what the market casts in, they should both be their own separate category I would think?

I collect more than I play, but this is my list:

Best Plastic Infantry

PB's Zentraedi (Regult) Battlepods

Best Plastic Vehicle/Large Monster

GW's Imperial Knight

Best Metal/Resin Model

I don't buy/follow metal/resin anymore...

Worst model

GW's Taurox

Honorable Mentions:

Wizkids: Enterprise Refit
PB: Valkyrie Battloid, Zentraedi Scout Pod

Best rule release

D&D 5E (sorry, I'm a roleplayer first)

Best fluff release

GW's End Times

Worst rule or fluff

The entirety of Sedition's Wars Rulebook

Best business move

Corvus Belli making rules available for free

Worst business move

PB's self-inflicted shipping woes - starting with Gencon and continuing through on treatment of ROW backers. There's a good chance PB's killed this game before it can get out of the gate

Greatest Wish for 2015

Robotech Tactics Wave 2 is released

Greatest Fear for 2015

GW doesn't wise up that it is killing itself

(Insert category here)

My nomination for the worst model of 2014 goes to...

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Logan-Grimnar-on-Stormrider

But I like it T-T, sure it's silly but come on, it's a grav chariot pulled by huge wolves. The only thing that'd make it better is a way to use it in my Chaos army, and/or Tigers instead of Wolves.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:


Worst model

Yeah there's a lot of shockingly mediocre stuff out there, and yeah some cringe worthy Kick Starter stuff but really for me there's only one winner.



A skeleton, riding a skeletal cow, MADE ENTIRELY OUT OF SKULLS!!!ONE!!

Does GW's studio really have no idea any more? Are they mocking themselves? Have they that little shame? I mean it's a fine looking model, but it's a parody of GW's worst excesses and I think they never even noticed!

Keep in mind GW really thought this was more viable than say, plastic battle sisters.

Dear god it looks like it's pooping skulls...

Anyways since I have no timeline on everything I'm just going by what I like/don't like that I remember being 'newish':

Best Plastic Infantry
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Militarum-Auxilla-Bullgryns

Best Plastic Vehicle/Large Monster
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Imperial-Knight

Worst model
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Haruspex -by far nothing else is as ugly or stupid looking

Runners up:
All Nurgle stuff

Worst rule or fluff
Ulthuan's destruction in End Times

Best business move
Paizo, just keeps being awesome

Greatest Wish for 2015
Sisters of Battle getting updated and new plastic kits
Price Drops
Update the rest of the 40K armies for 7th, then STOP. No more editions, unless 8th is a return to simplicity of 3rd's game set.

Greatest Fear for 2015
End Times stuff being permanent
Skaven being nerfed when they get their update
GW increasing prices

Best Plastic Infantry

Probably the Militarum Tempestus Scions. Probably the best release the IG have gotten since FW introduced us to the Kriegsmen, IMHO.

Best Plastic Vehicle/Large Monster

Really. really tough choice, but I'd probably have to go with the Glottkin. There's just so much detail on that model that it'd be hard not to give it the prize.

Best Metal/Resin Model

This is really tough. I'm torn between a few models from Mierce and some of the Primarchs. On principle, I'm going to have to go with Horus, The Warmaster from Forge World. Not only because it's such a great model, but because it's a model that's been wanted for the better part of two decades and we finally got one.

Worst Model

I'm going to have to go with the Lothern Skycutter, simply because the entire concept behind it is ridiculous, even for a fantasy setting.

Best Rule Release

Dungeons & Dragons 5E, simply for bringing in a huge influx of players and raising interest in roleplaying games as a whole.

Best Fluff Release

I may be biased, but I had a ton of fun reading (and re-reading, something I don't do often) The Seventh Serpent by Graham McNeill. It's a really great book with some great twists and turns, and I was impressed by what an intelligently written book it was.

Worst Rule or Fluff

Warhammer 40k 7E, for further accentuating the more unfortunate aspects of 40k while not adding anything to the overall quality.

Best Business Move

Going to give it to WotC for the same reasons listed above.

Worst Business Move

Take your pick of any of GW's ridiculous business decisions.

Greatest Wish for 2015

A steady stream of new models from the Horus Heresy from Forge World that aren't new Contemptor Dreadnoughts. Specifically, I hope we get at least four more Primarchs and some new Mechanicus goodies. On a personal note, I'd like one of those Primarchs to be Alpharius, and I'd love some Alpha Legion-specific kits.

Greatest Fear for 2015

Something else happens to further delay the sculpting, printing, and mailing of the Creature Caster Kickstarter models.

underfire wargaming wrote:
I find it strange that Metal miniatures and Resin Miniatures are put in the same competing category, as they are the high majority of what the market casts in, they should both be their own separate category I would think?

Yes although both resin and metal are used for sculpting detailed character pieces. I think it's odd to have plastic miniatures in there, as you're often comparing multi-part plastic kits with the detail that is possible with a single miniature resin or metal piece. Maybe 'best unit boxset' would have been a good one to have alongside the 'best sculpt' category.

So you have the Perry Foot-Knights set, which in my mind is probably one of the best plastic kit sets ever made, but it doesn't stand a chance against the Kum Riders if you're looking at singular sculpt.

underfire wargaming wrote:
I find it strange that Metal miniatures and Resin Miniatures are put in the same competing category, as they are the high majority of what the market casts in, they should both be their own separate category I would think?

My thought was 'one pose individual figures' versus 'multipart rank and file types' maybe that's how I should have phrased it since companies like Prodos are now doing multipart resin troops.

 Pacific wrote:
Did my comment come across as a criticism (looking at HBMC's comment?) It wasn't meant to be.

I'm quite fortunate in that I play with friends/clubs that are happy to experiment with different stuff (not 'put your car keys in this pot' kind of experimenting, just wargames) - downside to this is that sometimes you are just about getting an army together and your head around the rules after 6 months when they are then already moving on to the next project..

HBMC - not sure why you answered on MGS's behalf! If that's what you like, and that's all you like, then that's it and all about it! You won't catch me saying anything different.

I'm sure you didn't intend to criticize people who stick with GW but unfortunately "try something else." is the adopted rallying cry of the militant anti geedubs faction. When those words are heard it's usually followed by a ranting of how terrible GW and 40k is (it definitely has problem but they way some people talk about it you'd think they caused WW3) and occasionally insults lobbed at people who enjoy 40k.

I personally can't find the same feel you get from 40k lore and its rules (especially 30k, outflanking 2 squads of rhino veterans straight into your enemies flank while your infantry pushes them back was probably the greatest feeling I've ever gotten in any game.)

But for worst model: definitely the Gorkanaut. The model itself isn't bad but it occupies a niche already filled by the stompa, at a higher price and a smaller model.

Best model (counting FW): Kharn the Bloody. I still need to assemble the model fully (damn resin) but its probably my favorite Warhammer mini.

Worst Rules: Eldar. I don't need to explain why I hope.

My dreams are haunted by wave serpents.

I second/third/etc everybody nominating Infinity N3 and the decision to make the rules free (they're on the website right now, go download them). That completely amazed me and makes me very happy.

Can I create a "most improved resculpt" category and nominate the Infinity Morats? The whole reason I purposely avoided them when I started playing was their (in my opinion) completely awful models. Now I want them...all of them! Here's a before and after:

Before -

After -

Wow, hadn't realised how much the Morats had changed as a relative newcomer to Infinity! Now that MAF starter looks even more tempting, CA get closer to being Faction Number 3 by the day, it seems.

That new Morat starter is apparently one of the top sellers in the Infinity range, and it's not hard to see why I think.

Still got a soft spot for the old sculpts though, and of course it's a PITA if you already had some of the old range and want to include some of the new models as well.